Chapter 21: I Want to Bust Them All At Once

The boy was dragged until he stumbled. Before he could react, he was pinned to the ground. Raising his head in utter shock, he looked up at the girl who seemed entirely fearless. Just as he was about to speak, a sharp, searing pain shot through his wrist, so intense that he grit his teeth in agony, unable to squeeze out a single word.

Seeing the boy taken hostage, the other thugs instantly lost their tempers and began taking steps forward. Shang Ying dragged the boy back a few paces with her and delivered a punch straight to his back.

"Don't come any closer! Every step you take closer, I'll hit him once!"

The boy, who had been in too much pain to speak, almost spat out a mouthful of blood upon hearing Shang Ying's threat. He blurted out in pure outrage, "What's wrong with you?! I didn't even hit you, and you're hitting me?!"

"I never said I wouldn't hit you! If they hit me, I can only hit you! Tell them not to hit me, and I won't hit you!"

Shang Ying's logic was completely airtight. While she was wasting time talking nonsense earlier, she had already observed that the other thugs treated this young guy with extraordinary respect. Even being quite polite to him. They hadn't even blamed him when he casually exposed the buyer's identity.

So, this guy was either their leader or someone very close to their leader. As the wise ancestors said, ‘to catch bandits, capture their king first.’

Sure enough, Shang Ying caught a flash of panic crossing the thugs' faces. They exchanged looks and prepared to step forward, but seeing their movement, Shang Ying's fist landed heavily on the boy once again.

Her strikes followed no technique, relying purely on chaotic, heavy blows. With her immense strength, the boy couldn't break free from her grip at all and could only take the beating. His painful groans echoed throughout the alley with quite a persuasive impact.

"Fuck your father! Fuck! Stop hitting me!"

"Go ahead and fuck my dad! He's not a good guy anyway, feel free to chew on that tough old meat if you can handle it!"

"Ah, ah, ah! Stop hitting that spot! Don't hit there! Ah, ah, ah!"

The thugs couldn't stand watching any longer. Some even clenched their fists fiercely.

"Let him go! You little girl, just wait and see how we deal with you!"

"Yeah, hurry up and release our Young... release him! Otherwise, don't expect us to show any mercy later!"

As the five men shouted in turn and charged forward, they saw Shang Ying pull a knife directly out of her pocket and press it against the boy's neck. They slammed the brakes immediately, not daring to move an inch.

The boy was equally terrified, freezing rigid on the ground, terrified that a slip of Shang Ying's hand would send him straight to the underworld.

This knife was actually something Shang Ying had brought specifically to school for peeling apples. Since she won’t eat cafeteria food and couldn't stay hungry at lunch, she ate fruit instead. Who knew it would come in handy today?

"If you step any closer, I won't show any mercy either! At worst, I'll kill him, and then you guys can beat me to death! A life for a life. Come at me if you dare!"

When it came to spewing aggressive threats, Shang Ying could earn a doctorate degree. Having navigated the world for years, though she couldn't win a group fight, she was more than capable of taking down a single individual.

That girl surnamed Lu probably hadn't made it clear to them that the target was a female, which was why these street thugs hadn't planned to beat her to death, likely just intending to use sticks to hit her a few times to teach her a lesson.

However, her butt hadn't even fully healed yet. Only a fool would willingly take another beating!

Seeing the blade, the thugs didn't dare advance further, finally willing to toss the batons and stun sticks in their hands aside.

Shang Ying watched them vigilantly.

"Give me back my phone!"

"Okay, okay, just don't hurt him." Scarface looked at the boy lying on the ground, feeling as if those hits were landing on his own face.

He took two steps forward holding the phone, but was called to a halt by Shang Ying again.

"Don't come close! Throw it over!"

What if he tried to pull a sneaky move once he got close? Having watched plenty of police and crime detective shows, her safety awareness was through the roof. After catching her phone, Shang Ying unfolded the knife, opened the camera, and snapped a photo of the boy on the ground.

"What are you taking photos for?!"

Shang Ying slapped the hand he raised to block his face. "Move your hand!"

Then she waved the knife again, forcing the boy to behave. She pulled his hair upward and, enduring his glaring expression, snapped a clear portrait photo.

Now things were set. The boy beneath her looked about her age, and boys at this age were all thick-skinned. If he dared to come looking for trouble again, she would post this photo online to thoroughly humiliate him!

‘Too sinister!’ The boy pinned beneath her widened his eyes in shock. This was his very first time going out on a mission, yet he encountered such a nightmare. How was he supposed to survive in this line of work in the future?!

And to think he hadn't intended to fight earlier just because she was a girl! It was a complete waste of his good intentions. An absolute ungrateful wolf!

*’Ungrateful wolf!!!’

Seeing Scarface attempt to step forward again, Shang Ying immediately pressed the knife back against the boy's neck. The boy beneath her instinctively shrank back and began cursing loudly.

"Back off! Do you want her to beat me again?! You useless trash!"

BANG!

Another punch landed straight on the boy's chest, the pain causing his facial features to twist erratically as he let out another howl of agony.

Shang Ying slapped his face. "Shut your mouth! So noisy, you're the most useless one here! If it weren't for a trash like you, they would have finished the job and gone off work by now! Why are you wasting everyone's time here?!"

Scarface: ‘Clapping.’

The other thugs: ‘Well said!’

Shang Ying impatiently glared at the boy, dialed a phone number, while the boy whimpered slightly, bitterly turning his head away to avoid looking at her.

The call connected quickly, and Shang Yi's uncertain voice sounded from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Brother, I'm surrounded and being beaten up. Bring a few people to pick me up. Don't tell the old man." If the old man found out, he'd scold her for causing trouble again.

The boy on the ground: ‘?? How do you have the nerve to say that out loud?!’

The thugs: ‘Heaven above, please distinguish loyalty from treason!’

The call was abruptly hung up.

Holding the knife, Shang Ying leisurely sat on her "human sofa," staying in a deadlock with the thugs. The thugs wanted to run, but with their important person captured, leaving meant they couldn't report back to their boss, so they could only stand there helplessly.

If the boss found out they abandoned the Young Master and ran off, they'd be the ones lying on the ground tonight instead.

‘Sigh’, they felt immense regret over taking this job. When the boss handed down the assignment earlier, they thought picking on a student kid would be easy money, so they rushed to grab it.

If they had known it would turn out like this, they never would have come. Now, they had even let the Young Master get pinned to the ground. How could this be allowed?!

Shang Ying pulled an apple from her pocket, casually peeling it with the knife while sincerely advising them.

"Since you're out to hit people for money, don't pretend to be some mafia boss holding pity or chivalry for women. Hesitating just because the target is a girl will easily make you suffer losses."

Her words carried deep wisdom, leaving the thugs staring back at her in speechlessness.

Before long, hurried footsteps echoed down the alley. Shang Ying raised her eyebrows. They had arrived faster than expected. At the alley entrance, Shang Yi appeared alongside several bodyguards, his breathing heavy as he spotted Shang Ying sitting on the ground.

His expression was solemn, his eyes scanning Shang Ying up and down to check for injuries. Upon closer inspection, his hands were trembling slightly.

"I'm fine."

Reassuring Shang Ying was also his way of reassuring himself. He turned his head toward the thugs who were now surrounded by the bodyguards, his eyes like sharp blades stabbing into them.

The boy lying on the ground wanted to scramble up and run, but Shang Ying grabbed him by the collar, dragging him in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The boy raised his head in humiliation.

"None of us even laid a hand on you, why won't you let us leave?!"

‘Oho, now he wants to talk reason.’ Too late! Where was this reasoning when they surrounded her earlier? Wanting to leave just because they realized they were at a disadvantage. How could things be that convenient?

A dark glint flickered in Shang Yi's eyes as his brows knit together, thoroughly displeased with this shouting boy. When the boy touched his gaze, his voice paused instantly, and he looked away.

‘Terrifying... That guy's gaze looks like he wants to kill him.’

"Call the police, I want to bust them all at once!”