The landlord curled his lip and let out a disdainful snort through his nose:
"Ha, as if everyone knows the Thunder Bureau."
The next second, like a master of disguise, he instantly forced out an extremely fake smile, took small, quick steps to rush forward, and repeatedly bowed and scraped to the leading squad leader, trying to get close to him, while saying ingratiatingly:
"Oh! Comrades from the Thunder Bureau! You've finally arrived! Thank you for your hard work, sirs."
He leaned closer to the captain, deliberately lowering his voice, his tone revealing a shrewdness and eagerness that bordered on mercenary:
"A misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding! My relationship with Yu Kun, the second captain of your Tiancheng Thunder Bureau's special operations team, is like a life-or-death bond! Please, just lift a finger, we can resolve this small matter privately..."
The landlord chuckled slyly, looking like he knew the rules: "I understand the logic!"
As he spoke, he deftly pulled out a wad of crumpled Zhongzhou coins from his pocket, cleverly using his large body to block the view of others, and secretly slipped the money into Tian Jing's hand, his movements as practiced as if he had rehearsed them a thousand times.
However, to the landlord's utter surprise, his usually foolproof trick backfired today.
"I don't know him," the squad leader said coldly, offering a curt refusal.
The Thunder Bureau squad leader in front of him had a cold expression, completely ignoring his fawning smile and the money offered, and even actively distancing himself from the Thunder Bureau of Tiancheng.
The other person's gaze seemed to be drawn to them, landing directly on Li Yu and the other two, their eyes revealing respect and seriousness.
The squad leader did not directly address the three star lords by name, but simply nodded slightly in polite greeting.
Immediately afterward, the squad leader strode up to Li Yu, straightened his back abruptly, gave a perfect salute, and shouted in a loud and clear voice:
"Tian Jing, captain of the 37th Squadron of the Thunder Bureau, is reporting to you!"
"Please give instructions!"
Li Yu's answer surprised Tian Jing: "Okay. Could you pay the rent for me first?"
Putting everything else aside, it's only right that we help Luo Fei pay his rent; it would be better if someone else did it.
Seeing Li Yu looking coldly at the landlord, Tian Jing immediately understood.
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the landlord's face, contorted with shock, and the Zhongzhou coins in the landlord's hand, his eyes gradually turning cold.
"Rental fee, how much?" Tian Jing's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.
"Two thousand eight...no! Two thousand! Just two thousand!" The landlord trembled in fright and dared not ask for more, hurriedly changing his mind for fear of quoting an extra penny.
Tian Jing expressionlessly took out his wallet from the inside pocket of his uniform, quickly counted out two thousand yuan, and handed it to the landlord.
"Here is your rent, not a penny less. Take it and settle the bill."
The landlord looked at the stack of money, reached out halfway but then pulled back as if electrocuted, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace, and stammered:
"No, no, how can this be? I can't accept this."
He's always the one giving money to the Thunder Bureau; how could he let the Thunder Bureau give him money?
"Take it!" Tian Jing frowned, his eyes sweeping over the landlord like a knife, his tone leaving no room for negotiation, clearly not wanting to say it a second time.
He grabbed the landlord's wrist forcefully, practically prying his fingers open, and shoved the two thousand yuan into his hand. The force was so great that the landlord staggered.
Under Tian Jing's strong grip, the landlord could only clutch the money tightly in his hand like a puppet on strings.
Looking at Ueda Kei's emotionless, condescending gaze, he felt that this was not money at all, but a red-hot branding iron, burning his palm.
Under Tian Jing's imposing presence, the landlord was ultimately forced to accept the money.
"Money taken, matter settled. Anything else?" Tian Jing's voice was as cold as ice.
"No...it's alright now." The landlord kept nodding.
Tian Jing: "If you don't have it, get out of here!"
As the captain of the Thunder Bureau in the city, Tian Jing deals with these kinds of people all day long. He understands the nature of these street scoundrels all too well and naturally knows how to deal with them.
That means you can't give them the slightest bit of kindness. If you show them even the slightest bit of friendliness, they'll take advantage of you the next second, like a leech.
"I'll get out right now, I'll get out right now." The landlord agreed repeatedly, bowing and scraping, and then turned around and scrambled out of the garage.
Just as he was about to disappear through the doorway, he suddenly turned around, his murky little eyes flashing with a venomous, snake-like malice, fixed on Li Yu and the other two, his heart filled with rage:
'You guys are ruthless. Just you wait and see.'
A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Once those bastards from the Thunder Bureau are gone, I'll have them all killed!
The landlord stumbled and ran a distance before finally stopping to catch his breath behind a corner of a dilapidated shack.
He stared into the distance at the garage that had caused him such a humiliating defeat, his facial muscles contorted and twitching with extreme anger, a surge of rage coursing through his body, burning him to the point of near explosion.
The landlord's face grew increasingly angry, and he felt a surge of frustration.
"Damn it... I've been living like a king in this shantytown for over a decade, when have I ever been treated like this!"
He spat out a mouthful of saliva, his eyes so sinister they seemed to drip with water, and growled through gritted teeth:
"Rent if you want, don't want to rent if you don't want to? There's no such thing as a simple matter!"
The landlord's hatred intensified as he thought of Luo Fei's mother.
"And you old bastard, wait until they leave, I'll make you pay!"
The landlord's lips suddenly curled into a malicious smile, as if he had remembered some winning formula:
"Old man, you probably don't know this, do you? The agreement your precious son signed with me is written clearly in black and white: if the lease term is less than a year, the penalty for breach of contract by forcibly terminating the lease will be the same as a whole year's rent!"
He could almost see the old woman kneeling and begging for mercy, and the three meddlesome fellows helpless. The thrill of revenge made him tremble with excitement.
"I'll get back today's humiliation tenfold! A hundredfold!"
The landlord's greedy and resentful gaze swept towards the garage; he had already memorized the identities of Li Yu and the other two.
"And you meddlesome bastards... This isn't over!"
With the rent issue resolved, there was naturally no need to stay in that musty, damp garage any longer.
Li Yu turned to Tian Jing and asked succinctly, "About the house?"
Squad leader Tian Jing spoke quickly and clearly: "Report! The commander has given the order, and the resettlement site has been arranged by a special person! Please come with me, gentlemen and elders!"
He turned to the side and made a standard guiding gesture.
To get the old woman out of this predicament, Li Yu knew he needed to dispel her wariness.
He stepped forward, deliberately keeping his voice calm: "Old man, we are Luo Fei's friends. This was all arranged by him; he entrusted us to come. Please come with us."
Hearing that it was her son who had arranged it, the old woman's tense body finally relaxed a little, and she let her guard down.
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