Chapter 96: Nightmare

"Big Brother! Second Brother's death is my fault! All these years, whenever I dream of Second Brother, I... I see him covered in blood..." Chang Huazhong said, choking back sobs as he recalled that cold night over a decade ago.

Chang Chang Huaqiang reached out and patted his head just as he had when they were children. "It's been over ten years; there's no right or wrong anymore. Perhaps it was just fate." He stared intently at the scene before him, the bright red neon lights outside looking exactly like the blood that had sprayed from Chang Huasheng's body that night...

The iron shovel swung up, whistling sharply as it hacked toward Chang Huazhong's head! Had that blow landed, the consequences would have been unthinkable!

Chang Huazhong had spent years brawling; he was experienced in street fights. Although he couldn't see the attacker's face clearly in the dark, he reacted to the sound of the shovel cutting through the air, twisting his body to the side. The shovel struck the concrete ground, sending sparks flying!

Furious that the opponent had aimed for his life from the start, Chang Huazhong felt all his blood rush to his head! He roared and swept his crowbar out horizontally!

The blow struck the waist of the man who had attacked him with the shovel. The man groaned and crouched down. Seizing the moment, Chang Huazhong retracted the crowbar and thrust it forward like a spear toward the face of the crouching man!

By now, the leader of the gang had reacted. Seeing Chang Huazhong's ferocity—how he had downed one of their men with a single strike of his crowbar—the leader panicked!

These men were indeed local villagers. Because their village was near the national highway, they often saw vehicles passing by loaded with goods. Living in poverty, they had developed crooked intentions and decided to rob vehicles to "get rich."

However, fearing the heavy traffic on the highway, they dared not strike there. Someone had mentioned seeing vehicles take a small side road outside their village, and they figured they could succeed if they targeted a lone vehicle on that path!

And so, these "amateur" players had set up a blockade by felling a large tree, never expecting to run into the three Chang brothers today!

This gang had no experience; very few of them had even been in a fight. Their "weapons" were nothing more than shovels, hoes, and rakes!

Thus, after Chang Huazhong downed one of their men, the leader grew flustered! The situation reached a stalemate.

But those further back hadn't seen what happened at the front. A few had crept to the side of the truck and slashed the canvas cover, discovering to their shock that the truck was loaded with electrical appliances!

Someone shouted, "The truck is full of valuable stuff! A whole truckload of appliances!"

They say people die for wealth, but they forget that wealth can also embolden cowards. The crowd erupted in a frenzy!

A mad scene ensued. The dozen or so villagers roared, waving their various "weapons" as they charged toward the truck bed!

Chang Chang Huaqiang, who had originally intended to pay a "toll" to avoid trouble, saw the situation and shouted for his two brothers to get back on the truck. He prepared to force the truck into reverse and flee!

Just then, Chang Huazhong swung his crowbar left and right, knocking down another man trying to climb onto the truck!

Chang Chang Huasheng also swung his wrench, blocking the truck bed. While fending off the villagers, he shouted, "Little Zhong! Get the Boss and get on the truck! Hurry! Back the truck out!"

Chang Huazhong had just knocked down another man and was sprinting toward the truck bed. He intended to climb in so he could fend off the villagers following the truck once it started moving!

By now, Chang Chang Huaqiang was in the driver's seat. Because Chang Chang Huasheng had been cautious, the engine had never been turned off. Once settled, Chang Chang Huaqiang roared, "Get on! I'm backing up!"

Chang Huazhong reached Chang Chang Huasheng. Chang Chang Huasheng crouched down and braced himself, shouting, "Little Zhong! Go!"

Chang Huazhong understood his Second Brother's intent. He prepared to step on his brother's thigh to leap into the truck bed, but he noticed his Second Brother's eyes seemed to be spitting fire! "Hurry!" Chang Chang Huasheng shouted, grabbing Chang Huazhong and using all his strength to heave him upward!

Leveraging the force of his Second Brother's lift, Chang Huazhong stepped on the tire, grabbed the side rail, and vaulted through the torn canvas into the truck bed!

He stood steady and reached out to pull Chang Chang Huasheng up, but he saw his Second Brother roar again, swinging his wrench to smash the wooden handle of an incoming shovel. However, Chang Chang Huasheng's own thigh was already a bloody mess!

It turned out that when he had signaled for Chang Huazhong to climb up, he had seen a rake swinging toward him. In his desperation, he had taken the blow head-on just to heave Chang Huazhong up quickly.

By now, the truck was already reversing. Chang Huazhong shouted, "Second Brother! Hurry! Let me pull you up!"

But Chang Chang Huasheng let out another roar, grabbing the wooden handle of a shovel swinging toward him with his left hand and pulling it toward his chest, while his right hand brought the wrench down hard on the attacker's face! A sickening crunch of bone and flesh echoed out. The men behind saw their comrade fall backward, face covered in blood, and assumed he was dead. They screamed, "Little Xiao Mazi has been beaten to death by that big guy!"

Hearing that one of their own had been beaten to death, the other villagers stopped chasing the reversing truck. Fueled by the rage of a fallen comrade and the mistaken belief that "the law cannot punish the masses," the dozen villagers swarmed toward Chang Chang Huasheng, who was hobbling on his injured left leg, wielding all manner of weapons...

The truck had already reversed over a hundred meters. From the truck bed, Chang Chang Huaqiang and Chang Huazhong saw the crowd swarming toward Chang Chang Huasheng. Chang Huazhong gripped the rail and roared, "Big Brother! Drive the truck into them! They're going to beat Second Brother to death!"

Chang Chang Huaqiang's eyes were bloodshot. Breathing heavily, he stared at the dancing shadows of the crowd in front of the headlights. He slammed on the brakes, shifted gears, and floored the accelerator! The 130 truck roared like an enraged lion as it charged forward!

Among the crowd, there were still some who remained relatively calm. As they swarmed in, someone dragged the fallen Little Xiao Mazi over and checked his breath, finding he was still alive. Just then, they saw the truck, which had been retreating, now accelerating toward them like a vengeful ghost!

They realized disaster was imminent! Someone immediately shrieked, "The truck! It's coming! Little Xiao Mazi isn't dead! Run!"

In a matter of seconds, the crowd that had been surrounding Chang Chang Huasheng scattered!

The truck screeched to a halt! Chang Huazhong leaped from the truck bed and saw his Second Brother standing in the darkness, head bowed, back turned to him!

Seeing his Second Brother standing, Chang Huazhong felt a wave of relief, thinking he was unharmed. "Second Brother! Get on the truck!" he said, reaching out to grab his brother's arm!

The car stopped with a "creak!" Chang Huazhong jumped off the car with a "whoosh!", and saw his second brother Chang Chang Huasheng standing in the dark with his head down, back to himself!

Chang Huazhong saw his second brother standing, thinking he was fine, his heart couldn't help but relax, and he said happily: "Second brother! Get in the car!" Saying that, he reached out to pull Chang Chang Huasheng's arm!