Chapter 305 - 246: Superpower ’Smoke Manipulation

"You’re a Cultivator bullying a regular person. I can call the Superpower Administration Bureau right now and have an Investigator come have a ’friendly chat’ with you."

Lin Li gripped the wrist of the youth with the earring, his expression nonchalant. His tone was calm and unhurried as he offered his advice.

The youth with the earring struggled with all his might, his face flushing red from the effort.

When he suddenly heard the other man point out his identity as a Cultivator, he was stunned. He stopped struggling, and his seething anger instantly cooled.

Gazing at the composed Lin Li, the youth’s expression shifted several times. After some thought, he decided this man was not to be trifled with and spoke up.

"Fine. I’ll give you some face today. We’ll let this matter drop."

Seeing the other man back down, Lin Li chuckled and released his grip.

Freed, the youth with the earring cursed at the young man wailing on the ground.

"You’re lucky this time someone spoke up for you. Don’t let me catch you again, or else..."

The youth had wanted to add a few more threats to scare the young man, but he noticed Lin Li’s gaze sweep over him. He immediately shut his mouth, pushed through the crowd of onlookers, and hurried away.

"Hiss... Damn, that guy’s grip is strong. Even stronger than Big Brother’s. That hurt like hell."

The youth with the earring turned, crossed the street, and walked a good distance away.

Only then did he lift the right hand that Lin Li had gripped. The spot on his wrist was already turning purple.

To bruise someone’s wrist just by grabbing it with one hand—that strength was terrifying.

The youth with the earring stared at his swollen, purple wrist. He thought back to the young man’s calm and collected expression and felt a wave of belated fear.

’If I’d lost my cool and attacked him just now,’ he thought, ’I definitely would have ended up just like that kid I knocked to the ground with one punch.’

"Damn it, that guy could tell I was a Cultivator, so he must be one too.

He doesn’t look that old, but he’s so strong. You really can’t judge a book by its cover."

Muttering to himself, the youth with the earring hailed a taxi, gave the driver an address, and left.

* * *

The gawkers were all amazed to see Lin Li talk down the earring-wearing youth, who clearly looked like a bad guy, with just a few words.

Seeing that the show was over, the gawkers began to disperse.

"Are you all right?" Ms. Wang from the residents’ committee walked over to the young man on the ground and helped him up.

"Ma’am, I’m okay. It just hurts a bit where he hit me. I’ll be fine after I put some ointment on it at home," the young man said, aching all over as he was helped up, rubbing the sore spots.

"You shouldn’t play cards with people like that anymore. You’re still young; you should be focusing on your studies," Ms. Wang admonished the young man.

"I will." The young man nodded. The experience had terrified him, and he probably wouldn’t dare play cards with strangers again.

Afterward, the young man thanked Ms. Wang and Lin Li, then left.

"Lin, thank you for what you did just now. If you hadn’t stepped in, that kid would have ended up in the hospital," Ms. Wang said to Lin Li, who was standing beside her, as she watched the young man’s retreating back.

"Ms. Wang, do you know him?" Lin Li asked.

Ms. Wang shook her head and briefly explained what had happened.

It turned out Ms. Wang didn’t know the young man at all. She had been on her way back from the market when she happened to see the youth with the earring cornering him at the neighborhood entrance.

Always one to help, Ms. Wang could tell at a glance that the man was a street punk. Seeing him verbally abusing a young kid, she went over to see what was going on, hoping to intervene.

After hearing Ms. Wang’s story, Lin Li couldn’t help but shake his head and advise her.

"Ms. Wang, you’re not young anymore. If you see something like this again, it’s best not to get involved.

That punk was relatively civil. If you run into one who’s completely unreasonable and violent, you could get hurt."

Ms. Wang smiled and nodded, saying she would be more careful and not meddle in such things in the future.

Seeing her reaction, Lin Li shook his head inwardly. ’Knowing Ms. Wang and her kind heart,’ he thought, ’she’ll definitely step in again if she sees something like this in the future.’

"Lin, I don’t have anything on me to thank you with right now, but please, let me give you an apple!"

Ms. Wang lifted her shopping bag and took out a bright red apple, handing it to Lin Li.

"Ms. Wang, I just had lunch at a friend’s house, and I ate a lot of watermelon afterward. I’m too full to eat an apple right now. Please, you keep it!" Lin Li said, waving his hand to decline.

"If you can’t eat it now, take it home for later." Ms. Wang pressed the apple into Lin Li’s hand with a smile.

"Alright, then."

It was hard to refuse her kindness, so Lin Li nodded. Holding the apple, he walked into the residential complex with Ms. Wang.

* * *

In a bustling arcade, the boss’s office was filled with smoke.

A burly man, about six-foot-one, with a rugged build and wearing a black tank top, sat in an office chair. He was leaning back with his feet propped up on his desk, puffing out clouds of smoke from the cigar in his mouth.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

There was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

The man in the tank top, cigar still in his mouth, called out lazily upon hearing the knock.

CLICK. The youth with the earring pushed the door open and stepped inside, immediately choking on the thick smoke that filled the office.

Despite his flashy clothes and street-punk appearance, he didn’t actually smoke.

Every time he came to his Big Brother’s office, he choked on the smoke. The youth with the earring never dared to say anything about it out loud, but he complained about it in his head every single time.

"You’re back," the man in the tank top said, taking a deep drag from his cigar before exhaling another cloud of white smoke.

"Yeah."

The youth with the earring nodded, standing before the desk. The smoke in the office was making him extremely uncomfortable; he just wanted to report in quickly and get out to a well-ventilated area for some fresh air.

"Did you get the money?"

"Big Brother, I didn’t get it."

"You didn’t get it? Couldn’t find the guy?"

"I found him, but he can’t pay up."

"..."

The man in the tank top fell silent. He thought for a few seconds and was about to tell his subordinate to get the money from the guy’s family instead.

Suddenly, he noticed his subordinate’s badly injured wrist and frowned.

"What happened to your wrist? Who did that to you?"

The youth with the earring hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but since his Big Brother had asked, he explained what had happened.

"That guy dared to lay a hand on you? He really has no respect for us, does he?"

After hearing the whole story, the man in the tank top let out a cold laugh.

Just then, he noticed that his subordinate seemed to be uncomfortable from the smoke in the office.

At that, a wave of Spiritual Energy suddenly emanated from his body. Then, the smoke filling the office, as if guided by an invisible pair of hands, began to rapidly converge in one direction.

A few seconds later, all the smoke in the office had gathered together, condensing into a grapefruit-sized ball of smog that floated in front of the man in the tank top.

* * *