C15 Two Choices

After exiting the hospital, Lin Hao was on his way back home. But as he stepped out and veered into a nearby alley, a van parked at the side abruptly jutted out, effectively blocking most of the alleyway. Lin Hao assumed the driver was attempting a U-turn, but to his surprise, seven or eight individuals disembarked from the vehicle.

Armed with sticks and machetes, their menacing appearance was anything but friendly. Sensing trouble, Lin Hao prepared to reverse and make his escape. However, another car suddenly appeared behind him, cutting off his retreat.

Surrounded by more than a dozen assailants, each emitting guttural roars akin to the slaughter of pigs, they charged in his direction. Lin Hao knew he couldn't just sit there and await his fate. As he eyed his attackers, a quick scan with his gaze brought up each person's information on the monitor before him.

Then, the monitor presented him with two options:

Please choose: 1. Fight 2. Escape

Preferring to avoid further complications, Lin Hao intended to press the Escape button and follow the monitor's escape route. But in a startling turn of events, a hand wielding a knife smashed against the car window beside him, prompting a startled Lin Hao to hit the 'Fight' button instead.

"Damn it!" he swore under his breath.

With no other options left, he followed the monitor's guidance, flung open the car door, and sent the shouting assailant with the knife stumbling backward, his weapon clattering to the ground.

In the next instant, a peculiar glow emanated from the monitor, enveloping Lin Hao in its light. What unfolded next was astonishing. Before the half-meter-long machete could hit the ground, Lin Hao's right leg kicked out involuntarily, flicking the blade up as if it were a shuttlecock.

Then, with a swift motion, he snatched the machete from the air with his right hand and began to weave through the fray, guided by the actions displayed on the screen. His movements were not particularly swift, but it was as if his subconscious was steering his limbs, deftly avoiding each incoming strike. The machete in his hand fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, and soon, the alley was filled with the sounds of anguished screams.

After roughly five minutes, Lin Hao took a powerful leap, delivering a forceful kick to the neck of one of the assailants. Using the momentum from his legs, he twisted his body mid-air and unleashed a spinning kick at another attacker.

Executing an aerial roundhouse kick demands considerable strength from the waist, a feat many martial arts experts can only manage as a performance. It's exceedingly rare to find someone like Lin Hao who can deliver such brute force with the move.

Upon landing, Lin Hao flung his right hand, sending the jagged machete slicing through the air. It impaled the lead knife-wielder's clothing, pinning it to the ground, the handle quivering ominously.

"ALERT CLEARED!"

Those four words flashed across the screen, and Lin Hao felt a rush of relief, as if he had just reclaimed sovereignty over his own body.

He gazed at the sprawled knife-wielders, a shiver of fear running through him despite his tough exterior.

But Lin Hao was no saint; with the situation still unresolved, he couldn't just walk away.

He planted his foot firmly on the leader's chest and demanded, "Who sent you?"

The man remained silent, defiant to the core.

Lin Hao's sneer deepened as he applied more pressure underfoot. The sound that followed was almost certainly that of bones cracking, and the leader's coughs became desperate gasps for air.

"This is your last chance. Will you talk, or not?"

"You struck first. If I end up killing you, it'll be self-defense. Think carefully before you answer!"

The man's voice was raspy as he finally relented, "Yes, it was Boss Bao, from the city's west!"

Lin Hao had a vague recollection of the name.

"Boss Bao from the western district of Lin Hai City?"

Not being part of the criminal underworld, Lin Hao's knowledge was limited. He knew of Boss Bao as a name associated with the logistics industry, someone with a certain notoriety in the city's west, a mid-level power broker in his own right.

But why would Boss Bao target him? Lin Hao couldn't recall any bad blood between them.

"Why did he send you after me?" Lin Hao pressed.

The man shook his head painfully, "I—I don't know. I really don't!"

Lin Hao sensed the man wasn't lying. He had hoped the monitor might provide some answers, but it seemed bound by certain rules, displaying neither the intentions nor the information of unseen individuals or objects.

"Fine, go tell your Boss Bao we've got a feud now. I've got nothing to lose. If he dares to come at me again, he can't blame me for not holding back!"

With a forceful stomp, Lin Hao returned to his car, leaving the coughing killer with a look of terror in his eyes.

He inhaled deeply and floored the gas pedal, the car roaring past the figures sprawled on the ground.

...

"What? You're telling me that more than ten of you couldn't handle one kid?"

Inside the Audi, Boss Bao was catching his breath after a busy moment. He had been hoping for a break but was interrupted by a call from one of his men.

"I don't care how you do it, just dig up information on him. I want his full name, address, everything. Got it?"

Boss Bao ended the call with a slam, his anger palpable.

Beside him, Zhou Ya, still disheveled, asked anxiously, "What's going on? Didn't you say you had someone on it? How could this happen…?"

"That kid's trickier than we thought. My guys, over ten of them, couldn't take him down. He's not as simple as we assumed," Boss Bao explained.

"So what do we do now?" Zhou Ya pressed, her voice laced with worry. "Lee Guangrui has arranged to meet with him tonight, I'm afraid that he..."

"Don't be," Boss Bao cut in with a smirk, "I've got a plan."

He leaned in and whispered his scheme into Zhou Ya's ear.

Zhou Ya's eyes went wide with alarm. "Are you sure this will work? Isn't it too risky?"

"Relax, just follow my lead. Anyone I, Long Bao, want to take down won't see the sunrise," he said with a cold laugh, his hand wandering into Zhou Ya's clothing.

"Hey, not again... be careful, will you? That hurts!"

Zhou Ya's cheeks flushed as she began to emit those peculiar sounds once more.

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Hao had doubled back.

He was close enough to the Audi to make out the silhouettes in the back seat through the windshield.

"So, you're Long Bao!"

Lin Hao's smile was icy. "Stealing my wife and then having the audacity to try and take me out? Looks like we're in for quite the game."

With that, Lin Hao pulled out his phone and zoomed in the camera, capturing the faint outlines of the scene inside the car.