Chapter 770: Handcuffed on the First Day of Taking Office

Monday morning, Lin Dongfan did not take the special car sent by the Wuzhou Municipal Government. He had Lao Ba drive, and the two arrived early in Wuzhou, checking into an inconspicuous budget hotel.

The twenty-four hours before taking office.

He didn't want to waste it in the usual officialdom routine of greetings and farewells; he just wanted to use his own eyes to personally look at the city he was about to govern.

"Fan Ye, really no need to notify the city?"

Lao Ba asked while driving.

They were currently driving through the urban-rural fringe of Wuzhou's western suburbs, with chaotic self-built houses and small workshops lining the road, the air filled with the smell of industrial waste gas and coal smoke.

No need.

Lin Dongfan looked out the window: "If notified, what you see will be a carefully prepared template."

The car turned onto a narrower road.

According to Yang Qing's report's address, this area is the core zone of the old mining area's demolition and redevelopment. The Zhao Group has taken the largest plot here, intending to build Wuzhou's most high-end housing project—Cloud Peak Mountain Villa.

In stark contrast are the dilapidated old houses by the roadside, like stubborn patches embedded at the edge of the city's bright panorama.

Suddenly, a clamor came from ahead.

Lin Dongfan looked up and saw a simple blue plastic canopy set up in front of an isolated three-story building.

The canopy hung with mourning cloth, and in the center sat a black-and-white portrait, with incense and candles flickering before it.

Several relatives dressed in mourning knelt inside the canopy.

The wailing was anguished.

Outside the canopy, a dozen or so youths in flowered shirts with arm tattoos, cigarettes in their mouths, were loudly shouting something.

Two minivans were parked by the roadside, their doors sprayed with the words 'Honest Demolition Service Company'.

Pull over to the side.

Hmm.

Lao Ba obeyed Lin Dongfan's order, stopping the car at the alley entrance fifty meters away.

Lin Dongfan opened the door and got out: "You wait in the car; I'll go take a look."

"Fan Ye, those people don't look like pushovers," Lao Ba said, somewhat worried, wanting to go together.

Lin Dongfan replied, "In broad daylight, could they still eat people?" He straightened his ordinary jacket and walked toward the canopy.

As he drew nearer, the weeping and cursing became clear.

"What are you crying for? You've been crying for three days—enough already, right?"

A bald, muscular man stood before the portrait.

He clutched a demolition agreement in his hand and shouted at the mourning middle-aged woman: "Black on white, your husband signed it himself, pressed his fingerprint! Now that he's dead you want to back out? No way!"

The woman kneeling before the portrait lifted her head.

Her originally pretty face was now exhausted, her eyes swollen like peaches.

With tear-filled eyes she said, "It's because you forced us into this! You block the door every day, cut off water and electricity, even dump feces at the entrance! My husband had asthma; when you came to cause trouble that day, he couldn't take it and..."

She couldn't continue, merely clutching tightly in her arms her shivering daughter.

"'Died of anger? You say it's us who angered him to death, so it's us who angered him to death?' The bald man sneered coldly: 'Do you have any evidence? Any hospital proof? We're all civil demolition, we talk about the law!'"

A flower-shirted youth beside him chimed in: "Exactly! Your shabby house would get only three hundred thousand under policy compensation, but our President Wang is benevolent and gave five hundred thousand! That's generous enough—don't act all high and mighty!"

"'Five hundred thousand...'"

The woman's voice trembled with despair: "This house was passed down from my grandfather's generation, three stories with front and back yards. Now surrounding property prices are over twenty thousand per unit, and you want to take it away for just five hundred thousand? My husband argued with you about this, and that's why you..."

"'Your husband just couldn't take it!'"

The bald man interrupted impatiently: "Don't waste time on useless talk! Today you will sign this agreement whether you like it or not! Sign it, and we'll let you handle the funeral in peace. Otherwise..."

He snorted coldly, glanced at the little girl, and said: "Your daughter is quite pretty; you'd better watch out for her on her way to and from school."

A naked threat.

The woman shuddered, holding her daughter tighter as tears streamed down: "You…… you still have any king's law..."

"'The law?'"

The bald man seemed to have heard a joke: "In Wuzhou's western suburbs, what our Honest Company says is the law! You ungrateful wretches, come on! Let me smash this memorial hall!"

Stop!

Just as the memorial hall was about to be smashed, an angry voice rang out from outside the crowd.

The bald man startled, turned his head, and saw a man in his thirties wearing an ordinary jacket who had somehow already walked up to the canopy's edge, staring at him.

"'Who are you?' The bald man sized up Lin Dongfan from head to toe: 'Just passing through? Get lost, don't meddle.'"

Lin Dongfan ignored him, looking at the woman kneeling on the ground: "What's going on? Tell me slowly."

The woman, as if grasping at a lifeline, sobbed uncontrollably: "They forced us to sign the demolition agreement; my husband refused to sign, so they came to harass us every day... On Wednesday last week, my husband argued with them at the door, was surrounded by a dozen of them and beaten, his asthma flared, and they snatched his medicine... That night he was gone."

She pointed trembling at the portrait: "He was only thirty-three... left us a widow and orphan... now they still want to force me to sign... saying if I don't sign they won't let us handle the funeral."

"You're talking nonsense!"

The bald man tried to move the tearful accusing woman, but Lin Dongfan reached out and stopped him.

He then angrily demanded of Lin Dongfan: "Where did this idiot come from, pretending to be a big-tailed wolf? Get lost!" As he spoke he reached out to push Lin Dongfan's shoulder.

Lin Dongfan did not dodge.

That hand pressed on his shoulder and shoved hard, but didn't budge.

The bald man blinked, increased the force on his hand, yet still couldn't move it.

Only then did he carefully examine the man before him—half a head taller than himself, not especially sturdy in build, but standing there as steady as if nailed to the ground.

"'I told you not to meddle, you don't understand human speech, huh?!' The bald man's eyes turned vicious: 'You'd better scram while you still can, or I'll take care of you too!'"

Lin Dongfan looked at him, his tone still flat: "Demolition compensation has standards; forced buying and selling is illegal. If there really is a case of causing death, that's a criminal offense."

"'A crime?'"

The bald guy seemed to have heard a joke, turned his head to glance at his companions, and the group in floral shirts burst into laughter.

"Did you hear? They're saying we're committing a crime!" The bald guy turned his head, his face almost touching Lin Dongfan's, and exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke: "Kid, let me tell you, in the western suburbs of Wuzhou, what our Integrity Company says is the standard! What we do is legal!"

He pointed a finger at Lin Dongfan's nose: "Now, final warning—scram!"

Lin Dongfan still didn't move.

The bald guy's patience ran out, and he shouted a vulgar curse: "Damn it! You shameless bastard, you're asking for death!" He raised his fist and swung at Lin Dongfan's face.

That punch came with a whoosh, considerable force, and the kneeling mother and daughter nearby screamed in fright.

Lin Dongfan moved.

He didn't retreat; instead he stepped forward half a pace, raised his left hand to precisely block the bald guy's punch, and simultaneously clenched his right hand into a fist, delivering a precise hook to the bald guy's ribs!

"Ugh!"

The bald guy let out a muffled grunt, his body doubled over, and his face instantly flushed red.

Lin Dongfan's punch used refined force, striking the nerve cluster between the ribs; it didn't break bone, but the intense pain was enough to temporarily incapacitate someone.

"Shit... shit..."

The bald guy clutched his ribs, staggered backward, and the pain made his speech slurred.

The youths in floral shirts froze; their boss was famous around here for his fighting skills, yet he had suffered a loss in just one encounter?

"What are you standing there for! Beat him to death!"

The bald guy bellowed.

Over a dozen youths reacted, howling as they charged forward.

Lin Dongfan's eyes turned cold.

He stepped back half a pace to create distance, sidestepped the first floral-shirt's incoming punch, and drove his right elbow into the opponent's chin.

That person let out a miserable cry and fell flat on his back.

The second and third attackers lunged at him simultaneously, but Lin Dongfan moved as swiftly as a gust of wind.

He had trained in sanshou for over a decade; although work had been busy these years, he still went to the gym at least three times a week, never letting his fundamentals slip.

Dealing with these thugs who relied only on brute strength was effortless for him.

Side kicks, straight punches, swinging punches, knee strikes...

Every move was clean and decisive, with no hesitation.

In under two minutes, seven or eight people lay on the ground; the few remaining circled him, fear in their eyes, unwilling to advance further.

The mother and daughter under the awning stared dumbfounded; the woman had her mouth open, forgetting to cry.

The bald guy struggled to stand, his eyes venomous as he glared at Lin Dongfan: "Who... who the hell are you?"

Lin Dongfan didn't answer.

He glanced at the groaning thugs on the ground, then at the bald guy: "Can we talk now?"

"Screw your mother!"

The bald guy pulled out his phone, dialed a number, his voice trembling: "Leopard Brother! We've run into a tough opponent at Old Liu's place! Several of our brothers have been taken down—bring men fast!"

After hanging up, he pointed at Lin Dongfan: "Kid, you're dead! Leopard Brother will be here any moment!"

Lin Dongfan frowned.

He didn't want to make a big scene, but seeing the situation, the other side clearly wouldn't back down. He was weighing whether to reveal his identity when sirens wailed in the distance.

Two police cars screeched to a halt at the roadside.

Five or six officers jumped out, led by a middle-aged official in his forties with three stars on a single bar on his shoulder insignia.

"What's going on? Who's fighting?"

The middle-aged officer scanned the scene, his gaze landing on Lin Dongfan. He was the only one standing while a pile of people lay on the ground—this 'perpetrator' was obvious.

The bald guy immediately stepped forward, putting on a smile: "Chief Zhang! You've come just in time! This kid attacked us for no reason—look what he did to our people!"

Chief Zhang glanced at the thugs on the ground, his brows furrowing.

He obviously recognized the bald guy: "Old San Wang, again you? Didn't we say the demolition should be civilized?"

"We are being civilized!" the bald guy protested: "We're negotiating compensation with the Liu family, then this kid suddenly rushed out and started hitting people! Chief Zhang, you need to back us up!"

Chief Zhang looked at Lin Dongfan, his tone stern: "Are you the one who hit them?"

Lin Dongfan nodded: "Yes, but they struck first—I was acting in self-defense."

"Self-defense?" Chief Zhang glanced at the seven or eight people lying on the ground, then at Lin Dongfan: "One person, self-defense taking down that many?"

"I've trained in sanshou for a few years." Lin Dongfan replied.

"Sanshou?" Chief Zhang's eyes grew scrutinizing: "Show your ID."

Lin Dongfan patted his pocket—he was wearing casual clothes today, and his ID was in his hotel luggage.

"I didn't bring it."

"You didn't bring it?" Chief Zhang's face darkened: "Name, address, workplace."

"Lin Dongfan—my address and workplace… are inconvenient to disclose for now." Lin Dongfan said calmly: "I suggest you contact the City Bureau, or directly contact Secretary Wang."

Chief Zhang was taken aback.

"Secretary Wang Qigang?" What background does this person have, dropping the Municipal Party Committee secretary's name right away?

Meanwhile, the bald guy snorted: "Chief Zhang, did you hear? This kid's just showing off! Still want to contact Secretary Wang? Hurry up and take him back for interrogation—I think he's a fugitive!"

Chief Zhang hesitated.

He had been the precinct chief here for over a decade, knowing well who stood behind these demolition firms. Just now, over the phone, the bald guy had shouted 'Leopard Brother'—that's the head of Zhao Group's security department, a figure with extensive influence in this area. And the person before him, though impressive in demeanor, dressed ordinarily and refused to reveal his identity…

What if he really is a tough opponent?

But what if he isn't? Offending the Zhao Group would mean his tenure as chief would be over.

After weighing it repeatedly, Chief Zhang made his decision.

He waved his hand at the police behind him: "Take the people back to the station first! And these injured, call an ambulance!"

Two young policemen stepped forward, pulling out handcuffs.

Lin Dongfan looked at those handcuffs, suddenly laughed: "Are you sure you haven't cuffed the wrong person?"