Chapter 85

The one who kicked Ling Wei was Huoya, who had rushed over to “rescue the boss”; he landed the hit and felt a surge of triumph, thrusting his switchblade straight out from his chest!

He meant to cut Ling Wei so badly he’d lose all ability to fight back!

But he didn’t expect Ling Wei, after taking that heavy kick, to keep attacking without missing a beat!

Of course—by the time he realized it, the blade had already slashed his left thigh; the searing pain only fueled his ferocity!

Ignoring the agony in his leg, he pressed forward with the mindset of trading one wound for another, swinging his switchblade with a wet *thwip!* into Ling Wei’s right arm holding the knife!

This wasn’t the dull ache of the earlier kick—the blade slicing through skin and muscle sent a tearing agony through his right arm, instantly robbing it of strength!

He quickly assessed the scene: four opponents, two wounded—the first stabbed (Little Sparrow) was out of action, the one who stabbed him (Huoya) had a minor leg wound and could still fight, the fat one (Nine Fingers) was nearly unharmed, and his target, Chang Huazhong, had already pulled out his phone, likely calling for help.

And there were still plenty of diners at the scene—someone was bound to call the police! The cops would be here soon; he had little time left!

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, without slowing his movements for a single second.

He switched the dagger from his right hand to his left, twisted his body nimbly to dodge Huoya’s second attack, and kicked upward with his foot straight into Huoya’s chin! At that moment, Huoya was shouting to Nine Fingers: “Fatty! Protect Brother Zhong! This kid’s tough!”

Sudden, searing pain struck his chin—his upper and lower teeth slammed together with a jolt; a sharp, sour sensation shot from his jawbone straight to the crown of his head!

He couldn’t scream from the pain—*pfft!*—spitting out two bloody teeth! Huoya’s gap had just gotten wider!

As he spat out the teeth, his head and body toppled backward—*thud!*—his skull cracked against the corner of the wall, his body going limp as he slid down the wall.

While Huoya was downed, Chang Huazhong had slipped past during the struggle, protected by Nine Fingers, and reached the door!

Seeing this, Ling Wei ignored the blood pouring from his right arm, gripped the dagger tightly, and sprinted to the door!

Nine Fingers shoved Chang Huazhong out the door, turned, and grabbed two chairs—one in each hand—swinging them like clubs down onto Ling Wei’s head and face!

Nine Fingers always relied on his extraordinary strength and never carried weapons; to him, whatever was within reach became a weapon.

Now, the two chairs in his hands whistled through the air like flimsy sticks, spinning wildly!

Ling Wei was trapped inside the shop—he saw Chang Huazhong nearly reach the car; if the vehicle drove off, he’d never get another chance to strike at Chang Huazhong!

He’d come out here on pure rage, without his preferred weapon—the gun—and though Chang Huazhong’s men weren’t skilled fighters, they were all fearless, which surprised him—but he quickly dismissed the surprise. He spotted a glass turntable on a round table, snatched it up, and hurled it like a flying disc!

The glass turntable spun through the air toward Nine Fingers!

Nine Fingers roared, slammed both chairs together—*bang!*—the turntable struck the chairs and shattered with a *crash!* A shard of glass, as if guided by fate, *whizzed!* and buried itself in Nine Fingers’ fat cheek!

Nine Fingers screamed to cry out—but the moment he opened his mouth, the pain doubled! In panic, he dropped the chairs and reached for the glass shard embedded in his face.

Blood gushed over his face in an instant; though the wound wasn’t fatal, the visual impact was horrifying.

Ling Wei had no time to admire his grotesque state—he lunged forward, *whoosh!* leaping past Nine Fingers, closing in on Chang Huazhong, who was just reaching the car!

At that moment, four young men sprinted out from deep within the alley.

They moved with terrifying speed, reaching Chang Huazhong’s car in barely ten seconds; Chang Huazhong noticed them, and upon closer look, his heart sank.

Though their clothes differed, they shared one striking trait—all wore large face masks.

In that era, unlike today, people hadn’t yet endured SARS or COVID; wearing masks in public was extremely rare.

Yet these four wore identical masks—Chang Huazhong knew this couldn’t be coincidence.

They had to be this skinny kid’s accomplices!

The thought flashed through his mind—he didn’t hesitate. He yanked open the car door, stepped onto the running board, and prepared to climb into the driver’s seat!

His Land Cruiser was tall; before he could fully enter, sudden, searing pain lanced through his right thigh!

Ling Wei had closed the distance behind him; seeing him about to get in, he panicked and hurled his dagger like a throwing knife!

The blade struck true—right into the back of Chang Huazhong’s right thigh!

Chang Huazhong froze from the sudden pain—Ling Wei reached him in an instant, grabbed the hem of Chang Huazhong’s shirt with his left hand! (Ling Wei was already shorter than Chang Huazhong; now, with Chang Huazhong standing on the SUV’s step, he towered over Ling Wei by thirty to forty centimeters!)

Ling Wei yanked hard backward—Chang Huazhong was about to topple face-up—when Ling Wei felt a chill at his back, then a cold, sharp blade pierced through his spine!

He looked down—saw a blood-slicked triple-edged spike protruding from his chest!

In that instant, he knew someone had stabbed him from behind; the pain hadn’t reached his brain yet. He released his grip on Chang Huazhong’s shirt, used his right arm—the one already wounded by Huoya—to yank the dagger from Chang Huazhong’s thigh, then spun his hips and waist!

The dagger, slick with Chang Huazhong’s warm blood, *sizzled!* across the neck of the man behind him!

The severed carotid artery erupted like a fountain, spraying a torrent of crimson rain!

In a single move, Ling Wei had killed one of the four masked men!

Blood splattered across Ling Wei’s face, blinding him—he wiped his eyes with his hand, then lurched forward—

Chang Huazhong had seized the moment to kick him hard in the back. After being pierced through the lung by the triple-edged spike, Ling Wei had used his last strength to kill his attacker—but now he was spent. The kick sent him tumbling forward—*thump!*—he crashed face-first onto the ground!

At that moment, the other three masked men reached Chang Huazhong’s car—three identical triple-edged spikes lunged at him simultaneously…

Chang Huazhong had just been dragged out of the car by Ling Wei—he could’ve escaped while the first masked man attacked Ling Wei from behind, but he was furious at Ling Wei and delivered a final kick!

That two-second kick was all it took—the other three masked men closed in, trapping him outside the car!

As three lethal triple-edged spikes stabbed toward him at once, Chang Huazhong thought: *It’s over. I’m dying here today.*