Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Madman

High Tianxiong was extremely efficient; less than ten minutes later, he called back. Qian Duoduo had checked out an hour earlier and left the Merlin Hotel in a Porsche bearing a South City license plate.

A sharp light flashed in Hong Chen’s eyes. An hour earlier—by the reckoning of time, that was almost exactly when Lin Yufei had phoned him. Most likely, just after Lin Yuxin had been rushed to the hospital, Qian Duoduo had checked out and slipped away. If that was not the guilty conscience of a thief, what was?

“Look into the background of the Qian family in South City. If Qian Duoduo is still in Qing City, I want him found tonight no matter what. If he’s already gone, set out for the Qian family in South City at first light tomorrow.”

After giving his orders, Hong Chen hung up. The GTR left the hospital and, after a quarter of an hour, arrived at a restaurant called Medicinal Cuisine House. He took a private room and ordered several of the house specialties, nourishing dishes with rather extravagant prices.

Soon, two dishes were brought up together. Hong Chen had been hungry for a long time and immediately started eating.

...

At the same time, in a private room of a seafood restaurant, Qian Duoduo was drinking and feasting with two friends from his circle when a message arrived on his phone. He opened it, and the knot in his heart instantly loosened.

“Damn it, that little bitch thinks she can play the pure and virtuous maiden with me? Just you wait. I’ll make her kneel and beg me to let her climb into bed...” He knocked back a full glass of strong liquor in one gulp, then glanced at the knife wound on his arm, his eyes glinting with malice as he cursed out his frustration.

He was six feet tall, weighed a hundred and eighty pounds, and had trained in boxing, taekwondo, and Muay Thai. He had thought that taking down a delicate beauty like Lin Yuxin would be child’s play, yet she had actually carried a fruit knife on her person and resisted him with death in her eyes, nearly slicing her own throat...

What bad luck!

At least the King of Hell had not taken the woman away; otherwise, the trouble afterward would have been no small matter. Besides, it would have been a pity for such a top-tier beauty to lose her life like that.

His two friends were startled and did not understand what had gotten into him.

Qian Duoduo was not drunk. Realizing he had lost his composure, he grinned and said, “Today I set my sights on a little lamb, and just as I was about to swallow her whole, she actually got away. I’ve been holding a bellyful of fire ever since. Tonight I need some excitement.”

One of them said, “Duoduo, how about street racing at West Wind Mountain?”

Qian Duoduo was somewhat tempted.

The other rubbed his hands together and said, “Today’s Saturday. All those internet celebrities in Qing City with over a million followers will be there. Oh, and I can also introduce you to Young Master Liu and Young Master Fang.”

Qian Duoduo’s eyes lit up. He slapped the table and said, “It’s settled then.”

...

Hong Chen had been eating for more than half an hour when, while smoking a post-meal cigarette, High Tianxiong called again. He said someone at West Wind Mountain had spotted the Porsche with the South City plate and asked Hong Chen what to do next.

Hong Chen thought it over and decided to go there himself, telling High Tianxiong only to have men keep watch on the car and not worry about anything else.

After hanging up, Hong Chen paid the bill and left. Once outside the restaurant, he leapt into the GTR and sped away like a bolt of lightning.

By the time Hong Chen reached West Wind Mountain, it was already past nine. At the starting point for the races, people had gathered in twos and threes—no fewer than two hundred in all. In an open area nearby, more than twenty supercars worth over a million each were parked.

The GTR roared into the clearing with thunderous force, kicked out a drift, and came to a screeching halt beside an Aston Martin. The commotion drew the attention of many onlookers.

Hong Chen got out as though no one else were there, his gaze moving from one supercar to another. After a moment, he frowned. Not here?

Just as he was about to take out his phone and call High Tianxiong, his peripheral vision caught sight of a golden Porsche on the track. He focused slightly, and the South City plate came into view at once.

A cold curve lifted at the corner of Hong Chen’s mouth. After a few glances, he locked onto a heavy oval stone lying not far away. He walked over, lifted it into his arms, and then stepped toward the Porsche.

His actions drew even more attention. The crowd, not understanding what he intended, followed him with their eyes.

Crash!

Only when a violent shattering sound rang out did everyone’s hearts lurch. One by one, they stood there dumbfounded, their expressions stunned.

Hong Chen had smashed the Porsche’s windshield with the stone. Fortunately, the impact had landed between the driver and passenger seats, so Qian Duoduo, who was in the driver’s seat, was only sprayed with shards of glass and was not struck directly by the stone.

“Damn it, what lunatic is this?” Qian Duoduo cried out in shock, flinging the door open and stumbling out. His face was full of panic and confusion. Hong Chen darted forward in two swift steps, seized him by the collar, and slammed him hard against the car body. It all happened so fast that Qian Duoduo did not even have time to resist.

“What’s your name?” Hong Chen asked, staring into Qian Duoduo’s eyes.

Qian Duoduo thought to himself, What the hell—he doesn’t even know who I am and he’s already attacking me...

“Who the hell are you? Let go of Young Master Qian right now!” a roar came before Qian Duoduo could speak. The moment Hong Chen heard the title Young Master Qian, he knew he had found the right person. He turned and gave a glance at the two men running toward him, then uttered a single cold word: “Scram!”

Then, with one hand, he lifted Qian Duoduo’s hundred-and-eighty-pound body and flung him upward, the landing point being the roof of the Porsche.

The two men’s faces changed. They both stopped at once.

Good heavens, what had this man eaten to grow such strength?

Hong Chen quickly ducked into the car. A moment later, he emerged again holding the stone, circled to the fuel tank, and smashed down hard. Instantly, fuel began to seep from the cracks spreading across the tank.

The crowd’s eyes twitched as they watched his every move. By the time Hong Chen took out a lighter, everyone finally understood exactly what he meant to do. Their pupils shrank in unison, and they hastily backed away.

Qian Duoduo leaped down from the roof of the car like a madman, staggered forward a few steps, and then fell to the ground. He did not care about the pain. Struggling up in terror, he again rushed forward, screaming as if he had seen a ghost.

Boom!

As Hong Chen lit the lighter and threw it, the Porsche ignited at once. A moment later, an explosion rang out, and the entire car was engulfed in roaring flames.

Hong Chen stood less than three meters from the blaze. The firelight reflected on his cold face, adding a sternness that made people instinctively fear him.

The scene fell silent. Everyone who had retreated to a safe distance was unsettled, exchanging glances with one another. Then, as Hong Chen stepped forward, he immediately became the center of all attention.

“I don’t know you, you lunatic. Don’t come any closer!” Qian Duoduo was already terrified out of his wits. Seeing clearly that Hong Chen was coming for him, he sprang up and bolted toward a group farther away, crying, “Young Master Liu, Young Master Fang, some madman has set his sights on me! Save me!”

“Hong Chen, what the hell are you doing?” Only then, in the glow of the flames, did Liu Hao make out that the one burning the car was Hong Chen. Faced with Qian Duoduo’s plea for help, he did not refuse. He stepped forward, fixed his eyes on Hong Chen, and shouted sharply.

Hong Chen met Liu Hao’s gaze without slowing. He raised a hand and pointed at Qian Duoduo. “This man means harm to my wife. Stay out of it.”

Qian Duoduo cried out, “I don’t even know you, let alone your wife!”

Hong Chen said, “My wife is Lin Yuxin!”

Qian Duoduo froze, his face full of disbelief. This lunatic’s wife was Lin Yuxin? Impossible. Shen Tianbao had told him that Lin Yuxin and her husband were already living apart and were in the process of getting divorced. That was not the main point, though. The main point was that Lin Yuxin’s husband was a useless coward, a live-in son-in-law who would neither talk back nor fight back.

Very quickly, he came to his senses and, convinced he had figured out the situation, hurriedly tried to clear himself. “You’ve got it wrong. I do know Lin Yuxin, but she definitely isn’t your wife. The Lin Yuxin I know is married to a useless live-in son-in-law.”

At those words, Liu Hao suddenly turned his face toward him, his expression somewhat strange. Before he could say anything, Hong Chen’s voice rang out.

“I am that useless live-in son-in-law you just mentioned.”

“You, you...” Qian Duoduo’s mouth opened wide at once, wide enough to fit an egg. Liu Hao said in time, “That’s right. He’s Hong Chen, the Lin family’s live-in son-in-law.”

With Liu Hao’s confirmation, Qian Duoduo still found it unbelievable, but he believed it all the same. At the same time, a surge of confidence gradually returned to him.

He had truly been shaken by Hong Chen’s aura when Hong Chen burned his car in public. He had thought Hong Chen must have an enormous background, and since Qing City was not Hong Chen’s home ground, he naturally had not dared to fight him head-on.

But who would have guessed? What enormous background? Nonsense. He was nothing more than a useless son-in-law of the Lin family. His wife had been bullied, and this was merely a common man’s burst of anger!

“Hong Chen, let me tell you, you’re finished. Dare to burn my car? Over two million yuan—selling you wouldn’t even be enough. Selling your wife would only barely cover it!”

Reborn with confidence, Qian Duoduo seemed like a different man. His face hardened, he pointed at Hong Chen, and shouted with full assurance.

But the moment his shout fell, Hong Chen was already in front of him in a flash. He grabbed one of his fingers, twisted it back, and with a crisp crack, a bone segment sprang out from where the finger met the hand, stained with bright red blood.

“Ah!” A piercing scream tore into the night. Qian Duoduo was drenched in sweat, his face deathly pale. His bulging eyes told everyone he could not believe it—how could a useless son-in-law dare break his finger?

But this was only the beginning. The finger that had just been broken was his index finger. Next, Hong Chen forcibly pried open his middle finger and twisted again. Another crack rang out, and another segment of bone popped free in the same brutal fashion.

Qian Duoduo was nearly driven mad. With his other hand he threw a punch at Hong Chen’s face. Hong Chen raised his hand and met it with a punch of his own.

Crack.

Fist met fist. A burst of force traveled through Qian Duoduo’s knuckles, and at his wrist another bone segment sprang free, spraying blood everywhere.

The pain nearly made Qian Duoduo faint. He let out shrill screams of agony, making everyone listening feel a chill run straight through them.

“Didn’t you say I was a madman? That’s right, I am a madman. Today I’ll make you understand the price of harming my wife!” Hong Chen looked at the expression of utter torment on his face, his eyes filled with merciless coldness. He held tightly onto Qian Duoduo’s hand and would not let go. His icy voice drifted out on the night wind. These words were meant for Qian Duoduo, and also for everyone present. By the end, he once again forcibly pried open one of Qian Duoduo’s ring fingers and twisted it heavily outward.