I Start with a Mysterious Island

Chapter 304 - 246: Superpower ’Smoke Manipulation

The young man, terrified by the youth with the earring, hid behind Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee.

But the worldly Ms. Wang wasn’t as easily intimidated as the young man. She righteously rebuked the youth with the earring.

"He’s already lost several thousand to you. Even if you keep hounding him, he doesn’t have another cent to his name. You should just quit while you’re ahead!

If you keep pressuring him, I’ll have no choice but to call the Security Bureau and have the Security Officers handle this dispute.

Given that you set him up, I’m sure he’s not the only person you’ve scammed.

If the Security Bureau gets involved, you’ll find yourselves in a world of trouble."

There’s no substitute for experience.

The crowd of onlookers showed expressions of admiration after hearing what Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee had to say.

"..." The youth with the earring fell silent. The situation was just as Ms. Wang had described.

They had, in fact, scammed several people. If they let this blow up and the Security Bureau got involved, they’d be in for it.

Seeing the youth with the earring fall silent, Ms. Wang breathed a sigh of relief. ’This is probably over,’ she thought.

But just then, the young man hiding behind her...

...seeing the youth with the earring go quiet, had a sudden, foolish burst of confidence. The once-terrified young man jumped back out, pointed at the youth with the earring, and started yelling.

"See! A guilty conscience, huh? And you said you didn’t set me up! If that were true, why would you be afraid of the Security Officers?"

"Son of a bitch..." The youth with the earring had been convinced by Ms. Wang’s words and was about to drop the matter.

But this brazen taunt sent him into a rage. He rushed forward and punched the young man in the stomach.

THUD.

"Agh...!"

The young man collapsed, clutching his stomach and crying out in pain.

"What are you doing?! You can’t just hit people!" When Ms. Wang heard the young man’s outburst, her heart had sunk. ’This is bad,’ she had thought.

But by the time she could react, the youth with the earring had already knocked the young man to the ground.

"Damn it, I give you an inch and you take a mile! I was going to let it go, but you just had to push it..."

His face contorted with rage, the youth with the earring strode forward, ready to land a few more punches on the fallen young man to vent his anger.

Ms. Wang hurried after him, grabbing the arm of the youth with the earring to stop his assault.

But how could a woman in her sixties possibly stop a strong, able-bodied Cultivator?

The youth with the earring merely shook his arm, and the immense force sent Ms. Wang stumbling backward.

A fall could be serious for someone her age, whose body was already frail.

The surrounding onlookers gasped. "Be careful!"

Just as Ms. Wang was about to hit the ground, a figure appeared at her side, catching her arm and steadying her.

"Lin," Ms. Wang said in surprise, turning to see who had caught her.

"Ms. Wang, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Thank you, Lin. If you hadn’t caught me, that would have been a nasty fall."

"AGH...!" Another scream rang out. The enraged youth with the earring had kicked the young man on the ground.

"Lin, quickly, stop him! If he keeps kicking like that, he’s going to seriously injure that boy..." Ms. Wang pleaded with Lin Li, her expression anxious.

Lin Li hadn’t wanted to get involved, but since it was Ms. Wang asking—a woman who had helped him out many times in the past—he nodded and walked forward.

BAM. Seething with anger, the youth with the earring landed several more kicks to the young man’s stomach, who could only wail in agony.

"You little punk, you think you can get away with that? How dare you speak to me with that tone?

Let me make this clear: you’ll pay back every last cent you owe us. Otherwise, I won’t let you off the hook."

After cursing at the young man, the youth with the earring raised his foot for another kick, but a figure suddenly appeared at his side.

The newcomer placed a hand on his shoulder. "He only owes you money, not his life," the person said calmly. "That’s enough. Don’t take it too far."

"Huh?" The youth with the earring was seeing red. He was in no mood to listen to anyone.

He immediately swatted the hand off his shoulder and, with a curse, went to shove the newcomer.

"Get the hell off me! Who the hell are you to tell me what to do...?"

"Ugh—"

The youth with the earring reached out to push him, but the newcomer caught his wrist.

He tried to yank his arm away, but the hand gripping his wrist was like a steel vise. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.