Chapter 36 - The Great Crisis Incident

"Sis, I was wrong." The thug said with a bitter smile.The woman in front of him was a lunatic, definitely a damn lunatic!

A presence that was absolutely untouchable.

How could he be so unlucky, out of all the drinkers, he just had to fix his eyes on the most untouchable one.

"Can I leave now? Sis..."

"Kneel properly."

"Yes!"

Xu Xiaoyou was counting in her mind how the time should be up by now.

Are the people from the Lion Group really this slow?

Finally, when she was getting a bit impatient, a gunshot shattered the silence.

"Damn, the people from the Lion Group are here, let’s go!"

A masked thug whispered to his companion beside him and turned around, crashing into a solid chest, stumbling to the ground.

Just as he looked up, he met a pair of scarred, murder-filled eyes. Under the changing stage lights, the lion’s robust figure exuded a chilling aura.

The thug tried to struggle to pick up the weapon beside him, but his hand was crushed by the scarred face with a merciless stomp, the sound of bones shattering echoing amidst his miserable screams.

More and more black lion figures flooded into the bar, charging towards the thugs’ direction. They were well-trained and coordinated; these vicious criminals were no match for the lions.

Soon, most of the thugs were cleared out, most were caught in the dance floor, dragged down from hiding spots on the second floor, and those who attempted to escape through the bar’s back alley were stopped at the alley’s entrance.

Seeing the lions approaching in groups of threes and fives, hands in their suit pockets, the last masked Tigerman was cornered, still attempting a final struggle.

He suddenly swelled up, his eyes turned blood-red, just about to roar, a root stabbed in, smashing his teeth.

A lion stepped forward and punched the Tigerman’s jaw, knocking him to the ground, broken teeth flying out.

"Damn, what the hell is coming to mess with us?"

"I thought it was the Animal Gang, just a few punks making us create such a big scene?"

The Lion Group members surrounded the Tigerman, took off his headgear, and started kicking him harshly. Before long, the Tigerman was covered in bruises, his swollen eyelids rendering his original appearance unrecognizable.

The hunchbacked lion squatted down, pulled up the Tigerman’s head and jerked him upright, face fierce:

"Are you damn desperate? Didn’t you hear this area is under the Lion Group’s protection?"

The hunchbacked lion was none other than Manji, looking not much better than the Tigerman himself, with a swollen left face and a crooked nose twisted on his face.

"Even dared to snatch our territory?"

He was furious, eager to vent all his anger on the Tigerman in front of him, but unexpectedly the Tiger raised his chest, spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto his face:

"I’m taking over your territory, your bar!"

"Damn!" Manji raised his fist, about to punch, but was stopped by a calm voice behind him.

"Manji, stop."

"Tch." He barely restrained his anger, turned around, and found Scarface coldly staring at him, the gaze sent chills down his spine.

"Got it." He quietly stepped back into the lions, glaring fiercely at the Tigerman on the ground.

At that moment, the Lion Group made way, a powerful presence emerged from the middle, the well-dressed Deerman stepped out, his chest firm, gaze piercing.

"You?"

Upon seeing Mr. Hao clearly, the Tigerman grinned.

"That’s ridiculous, a deer leading a bunch of lions."

The Tigerman, disregarding his injuries, endured the pain to twist his body, sitting up against the wall, meeting the Deerman’s gaze.

As if recalling something amusing, he burst into laughter: "Hahahahaha!"

"In my opinion, you lions are all cowardly wimps, gutless, actually willing to be under a deer."

"BOSS."

"What did you say about our boss?"

Scarface’s chest heaved with suppressed rage, the surrounding lions fidgeted. Mr. Hao merely raised his hand with a smile and, after a long pause, spoke:

"Alvin York, residence at 135 John Street, orphaned at a young age, living with a blind sister..."

Witnessing this, Xu Xiaoyou, who had been observing from the shadows, showed an intrigued expression.

The figure kneeling nearby saw the girl’s expression, feeling completely unsettled.

Indeed, the woman was a lunatic!

"Touch my sister and you’re dead!" Alvin shouted, eyes red with anger.

"No need to be so hostile, Mr. Alvin, that’s not my intention." Mr. Hao replied calmly. "I’d like to know why you’re here?"

Alvin suppressed his anger: "It’s that bastard surnamed Lu, deliberately raising the protection fee for this area. Our dock worker wages barely keep us alive, damn him."

"I led the brothers to protest, but he managed some trick, got me fired, and Xiaoying has surgery next week..."

"That guy must be bold, daring to collect additional money behind our backs?" Scarface was furious.

Alvin glanced at the lifeless body lying in the blood pool, straightened his body, and closed his eyes tightly:

"Anyway, I’ve already killed him, revenge is taken, do whatever you want with me!"

"Good!" Mr. Hao shouted. "Take him down and carve him up."

"Yes!"

A few lions stepped forward to grab the Tigerman’s body. As they began to drag him away, the heroic demeanor vanished from Alvin’s face, replaced by fear. He began to struggle frantically, but it was futile against the robust lions. He was dragged away.

Seeing how things unfolded, Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit surprised.

Seeing Alvin about to be killed, some expressions in the lion’s midst changed.

"Wait, BOSS!" Scarface leaned in close to Mr. Hao, looking somewhat anxious. "This isn’t what we agreed upon."

"Such trash, keeping it around only dirties my sight." Mr. Hao said coldly.

"No, don’t kill me!"

Finally, Alvin began to beg for mercy.

"Xiaoying, Xiaoying is about to have surgery, I can’t die! I can’t die!"

As if anticipating this, Mr. Hao looked toward the Lions with a calm gaze.

The Lions understood, lessening their grip, and Alvin broke free from their restraints, scrambling and crawling beneath Deerman, clutching his leg, sobbing uncontrollably:

"Don’t kill me..."

"I have to stay alive for Xiaoying."

Only then did Mr. Hao let out a cold smile:

"Now that’s a bit manlier, what was that just now!? You thought dying would solve everything, leaving your sister alone in this city?"

Seeing a chance, Alvin’s eyes brightened slightly, and he quickly nodded along with Mr. Hao’s words:

"Yes, yes..."

"Stand up!" Mr. Hao commanded sternly.

Alvin quickly got up, completely different from before, trembling in front of Deerman.

Seeing this, Mr. Hao knew he had achieved his goal.

He helped the Tigerman in front of him tidy up his disheveled clothes, patting the dust off him:

"I’m giving you a chance."

"From now on, you will be the manager of this bar."

"Wha, what?" Alvin was stunned.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Deerman simply said, "Isn’t your sister having surgery next week? I’ll cover her expenses, and I’ll take care of all subsequent medical expenses, as long as you manage this bar well, understand?"

Alvin numbly nodded.

"Clean this place up yourself, we’re still opening for business tonight."

When the Lions left with Deerman in tow, the dim red bar lights elongated Deerman’s shadow, making him appear taller. It was only then that Alvin snapped back to reality, perhaps from the joy of surviving or because everything felt like a dream. He knelt on the ground, his tears flowing freely as he kowtowed toward the disappearing figure:

"Damn it, my life, Alvin’s life, is yours to use from now on..."

In the shadows, Xu Xiaoyou only felt like she had watched a good show, standing up and tossing a coin into the air.

She looked at the Tigerman figure expressing sincere gratitude with pity, shaking her head: "Giving your life away, giving your life away, is that how people in this city always are?"

"Anya, let’s go home."

Anya tilted her head quizzically at Alvin kneeling on the ground, then quickly jogged to catch up with Xu Xiaoyou’s figure.

She was beginning to understand why a pride of lions would willingly bow to a deer.

"Quite skillful, really."

"What a pity that such a leader doesn’t understand the basic principle of repaying debts."

Xu Xiaoyou deftly caught the falling coin, and the golden goblet reflected the girl’s face.

"No one can always hide their flaws."

"Let’s bet on it; within six days, I’ll get that money back."

At night, Xu Xiaoyou returned home, removed her suit, and collapsed onto the sofa as if liberated.

"You’re hurt!" Lin Ran exclaimed in surprise.

Xu Xiaoyou glanced sideways and only then noticed a wound on her arm, the blood long dried on her shirt.

The bar’s lighting was too dim; she hadn’t noticed at the time.

Probably from the fight with Catwoman.

As she was lost in thought, Lin Ran had already moved next to her with household medical supplies, tending to her wound.

The wound wasn’t deep, but the sting of disinfectant on it made Xu Xiaoyou’s face twitch slightly.

Seeing Lin Ran’s nimble technique, Xu Xiaoyou casually remarked:

"I didn’t realize you could do this too?"

"Of course, there are lots of things you don’t know!" Lin Ran replied proudly and then frowned: "What exactly did you do to get hurt?"

Xu Xiaoyou didn’t respond, her gaze relaxedly fixed on the ceiling, lost in thought while Lin Ran’s endless chatter filled her ears.

As if suddenly remembering something, Lin Ran casually said: "Did you know? We have a new neighbor nearby who moved in this morning, looks quite cute and pure, like a girl next door."

"Mm." Xu Xiaoyou responded indifferently.

"It’s just that the hammer she’s carrying is a bit intimidating, bigger than she is."

"What!?" Xu Xiaoyou reacted. "What did you just say!"

She abruptly got up, shaking Lin Ran’s shoulders.

"A girl, carrying a hammer?" Lin Ran didn’t understand why the girl suddenly seemed so panicked.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and a sweet voice called out:

"Hello, is anyone home?"