Chapter 25: Stay Calm When Trouble Arises

Data during the new book period is crucial. Friends, please remember to add this to your library. Also, I humbly ask for recommendation tickets and investment. Thank you.

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Bang!

The door was kicked open from the outside.

Over a dozen men wielding machetes stormed in. Their eyes immediately locked onto Hua Shi'er, and one of them shouted, "That’s the brat! Hack him to death!"

Amidst Chen Nian’s scream, the men brandished their blades and charged past the sofa where she was sitting toward Hua Shi'er.

Hua Shi'er grabbed the coffee table in front of him, swinging it left and right in a sweeping motion. The flimsy machetes were no match for the twenty-pound table and his immense strength. He swiped the dozen charging thugs, sending them and their weapons crashing to the floor.

Behind them, a middle-aged man with tattooed arms, wearing a colorful short-sleeved shirt and a fleshy face, watched as Hua Shi'er effortlessly downed his henchmen. His eye twitched uncontrollably.

Spotting the screaming Chen Nian, he had an idea. He rushed over, grabbed her by the hair, and pressed a switchblade against her throat.

"You little brat! If you dare make another move, I’ll slit her throat right now!"

Chen Nian’s scream cut off instantly. The tears in her eyes and the sheer terror on her face proved she was scared to death.

With a loud thud, Hua Shi'er dropped the now-shattered coffee table. The middle-aged man gave a smug smile. "Kid, do you know who I am? They call me Ma Qi, and if people show me respect, they call me—wait, what are you doing?"

Before he could finish his posturing or deliver a threat, he saw the guy pull a phone from his pocket and start snapping pictures of him.

*Click, click, click...*

Hearing the shutter sound repeatedly, Ma Qi was infuriated. "You little brat, are you really not afraid that I’ll kill her?"

Hua Shi'er finished photographing Ma Qi, then took a few more of the thugs lying on the ground. Hearing Ma Qi’s question, he flashed a faint smile.

"Don't panic when things go wrong; just take a photo and post it to your social media feed!"

He turned the screen to show Ma Qi the photos he had just taken. The image of Ma Qi holding a knife to Chen Nian’s throat was crystal clear.

Hua Shi'er then remarked, "The famous Seventh Master of Anqiao, right? Do you know what a social media feed is? I have over a hundred people on mine. You might be the notorious king of thieves in Anqiao, but the moment I tap my finger and upload these photos, you’ll instantly become a kidnapper and a violent thug—the kind with rock-solid evidence!"

"If anything happens to this girl, you better prepare to spend the rest of your life on the run!"

In reality, he didn't have a hundred people on his feed, but he was just putting on a show.

"I... damn it!"

Ma Qi had plenty of subordinates who stole phones; he changed his own every few days. How could he not know what a social media feed was?

He was left feeling disoriented, wondering who he was and where he was. Even his usual tough-guy slang failed him. He never expected this brat, whom he had cornered and intended to maim, to pull such a move!

*How is this even a thing you can do?*

"Hand over that phone! Do you believe I’ll kill her right now?" Ma Qi snarled, brandishing the blade.

Hua Shi'er gave a light cough.

"By the way, I recorded that, too. Now I have the photos and the audio. If anything happens to her, you're as good as dead!"

"Go ahead, do it. Then it's a life for a life. I’ve posted it—I’m doing it right now! I’m really sending it... I’m sending it..."

Ma Qi gulped. "Wait... what exactly do you want?"

The once-vicious Ma Qi, who came here to hack someone to pieces, now sounded like a mistreated, timid wife. He couldn't win a fight, he wasn't as clever as his opponent, and most importantly, what kind of tactic was this? It was way too underhanded!

Hua Shi'er laughed. "Please, you’re the ones who broke in, swinging weapons. Now you’re asking me what to do? Are you confused?"

Ma Qi felt his mind reeling. He instinctively asked, "Then what should I do?"

Chen Nian, still being held hostage, was completely baffled by the conversation between Hua Shi'er and Ma Qi. She felt like laughing, but since she was the hostage, she was conflicted—would it be disrespectful to the kidnapper if she started laughing now?

Hua Shi'er also found it amusing. He asked, "How about this: you let her go and leave. I’ll delete the photos, and we’ll pretend this never happened. You’re a big boss in Anqiao, and I can’t afford to offend you. Seventh Master, please show some mercy and don’t bother me or this girl again. How’s that?"

Ma Qi hesitated, then grumbled, "You beat up my men and got some of them arrested. You expect me to just let that slide?"

Hua Shi'er pointed at the kicked-in door. "You kicked my door in, too!"

"Damn it..."

If it were his usual temperament, Ma Qi would have started hacking by now. But the guy had evidence, and more importantly, that social media feed—it was infuriating.

In the end, Ma Qi had no choice but to let Chen Nian go and put his knife away. "Fine, I agree to your terms. We'll call it even today, and I won't bother you again. But delete the photos now!"

Hua Shi'er shook his head. "That won't work. If I delete them and you go back on your word, I'll be like meat on a chopping block!"

Looking at his men struggling to get up, Ma Qi said angrily, "Over a dozen men with blades couldn't beat you! You’re hardly 'meat'!"

He grabbed Chen Nian again, ignoring her scream, and shouted, "Are you deleting them or not? Otherwise, we all go down together, and I’ll start with this girl."

"Alright, alright, don't be impulsive. How about you all back out and watch me delete them from outside the room?"

Hua Shi'er found it funny, watching Ma Qi act like he was the one being wronged, and proposed his idea.

Ma Qi thought about it, nodded, and signaled his men to head out. His henchmen picked up their machetes and followed their boss toward the door.

Seeing this, Hua Shi'er gestured for Chen Nian to hide behind him and called out, "Seventh Master, leave the blades behind. You’ve got a dozen men with weapons; I’m not comfortable with that!"

Ma Qi swallowed his rage, thinking the blades weren't worth much anyway. "Give them to him!"

The dozen blades were tossed on the floor. Hua Shi'er called out again, "Seventh Master, what about that switchblade? Who knows if you're a master with the knife? If I delete the photos and you come back, you could take me down in a second!"

Ma Qi just wanted to end this mess and settle the score later. He snorted, threw the switchblade on the floor, led his men out, and turned back to stare at Hua Shi'er, waiting for him to delete the photos.

Hua Shi'er went to the kitchen, grabbed a vegetable cleaver, and held it in his hand, blocking the door just in case. With his other hand, he held the phone and tapped the delete button on all the photos.

Seeing him delete the photos, Ma Qi and his men finally relaxed. They considered reneging on their word, but looking at the brat standing at the door with a cleaver and remembering his shocking combat skills, they decided to abandon the idea of immediate revenge. With a cold snort, they turned and left.

Hua Shi'er suddenly thought of something and asked from inside the room, "Seventh Master, can you tell me how you found my place?"

"That Wang guy told me!"

Ma Qi clearly didn't intend to cover for Boss Wang; he was hoping Wang and Hua Shi'er would go at it and destroy each other.

Two vans were parked in the distance. Once Ma Qi and his men got in, the vans started up and disappeared from sight shortly after.

Hua Shi'er put the cleaver back, turned to look at the cold-faced Chen Nian, and asked, "Are you full? Do you want something else to eat?"

Chen Nian asked coldly, "Who were those people?"

Hua Shi'er lit a cigarette and explained, "The one holding you was Ma Qi, a famous thief in Anqiao. The guys I sent to the station the other day were his pickpockets."

Chen Nian nodded, then gritted her teeth. "You just told him to kill me?"

Hua Shi'er walked over and gave her a light flick on the forehead. "You're supposed to be an honor student—don't you know what 'retreating to advance' means? I took photos of him holding you hostage to upload to my social media. If he dared to hurt you, it would be concrete proof of a crime. He’s not an idiot; why would he do that?"

"If I had shown the slightest bit of fear, do you think either of us would have made it out unscathed?"

Although Chen Nian was still angry, she had to admit he had made the right choice.

Ignoring her, Hua Shi'er pulled out a mesh bag, put on a glove, and started gathering the machetes from the floor.

Once finished, he said, "Come on, go to the police with me. Revenge shouldn't wait overnight—let's get Ma Qi put away today!"

Chen Nian was surprised. "Didn't you delete the photos?"

Hua Shi'er didn't look back. "Don't forget that photo albums have a trash bin. I didn't empty it, so the photos are still there. Besides, even if I had truly deleted them, we could just recover them with tech. Ma Qi is just suffering from being uncultured!"

He chuckled, pointing at the weapons he’d bagged. "Plus, there are fingerprints on these blades. Including Ma Qi, every single one of them is going down!"

"..."

Chen Nian looked at Hua Shi'er with an expression that said, *You are far too cunning.* She started praying for Ma Qi and his men—who did they choose to offend? They had to go and provoke this crafty bastard.

Hua Shi'er noticed her look. "Hey, what’s with that look? A handsome guy like me has to learn how to use the law to protect himself. Otherwise, what happens if some ugly woman tries to take advantage of me..."

"..."

Chen Nian wanted to curse. *Why are you looking at me when you say 'ugly woman'?*