Chapter Ten [Don’t Be Afraid]
A group of n in black swiftly pried open the mansion’s gate and stread into the courtyard.
Their leather shoes trampled the neatly manicured flowerbeds into a ss.
With a BANG, the front of the house, along with its doors and windows, had been shattered!
The mother’s cries of alarm, the young boy’s roars of anger, and the young girl’s piercing screams successively emanated from inside.
The mont the doors were forcibly smashed open, the three family mbers inside seed to freeze for a second, but the quickest to react was Li Yingwan’s brother.
The boy, who had been kneeling on the ground, swiftly got up and imdiately positioned himself between his mother, sister, and the strangers.
But regrettably, he was quickly kicked to the floor. It was only then that the mother seed to snap out of her shock and cried out as she rushed to her son, while Li Yingwan, who had been drinking soup, knocked over the bowl and let out a scream.
Chen Nuo did not move; he clung to the exterior wall like a gecko, quietly observing the chaos inside the house through the window.
The n in black who had invaded the Li Family’s ho began to disperse slowly. Soon, so rushed upstairs to search each room. After a short while, upon confirming there were no outsiders left in the house, three n who were obviously the leaders walked in, surrounded by their subordinates.
Chen Nuo recognized the man leading the way, his hair streaked with grey, nad He Zhengzai. He appeared to be quite old, but in fact, at this mont, he was only forty years old.
This was the sa man whom Li Yingwan had shot in the head with a gun when Chen Nuo first t her in his past life.
As for the other two n beside He Zhengzai, they looked a bit younger and bore a striking resemblance to each other. According to what Chen Nuo knew from his past life, these were brothers: the elder nad Che Taiyong and the younger Che Jingxun.
The Li Family’s massacre—He Zhengzai, and the brothers Che Taiyong and Che Jingxun—these three were the main culprits.
The overall situation of this grudge could be explained like this:
He Zhengzai and Li Yingwan’s father partnered in the shipping business in their early years. After twenty years of hard work, coinciding with South Korea’s economic boom over two decades, by the year 2000, their shipping businesses had grown substantially. They owned more than a dozen cruise ships, and their transportation network spanned all of East Asia and even reached Australia and North Arica.
By this ti, both could be considered rising figures in the shipping industry, occasionally even jokingly called "Shipping Kings" in so circles.
In the company, Li Yingwan’s father was the dominant figure. He held more shares and served as the chairman, while He Zhengzai served as the president (which roughly equates to the relationship between a chairman and a general manager).
Then, in that year, the two n had a falling out due to differences and disputes—perhaps these had been simring for a long ti during their business operations, but they erupted at this ti.
The trigger for the outbreak was none other than the Che brothers.
These two, well, let’s just describe them with a simple term: scum.
Their business included monopolizing construction projects and dominating building materials transportation. Of course, these were just a facade for their more illicit activities, which involved usurious lending and trafficking drugs and human organs.
Drug users bought narcotics from them and, after gradually running out of money, would turn to them for high-interest loans. When they could no longer pay back... Simple, pay your debts with your organs!
A true one-stop industry.
Seems familiar, right? There’s a similar background setting in a South Korean movie called "The Man from Nowhere."
And the Che brothers had set their sights on the company of Li Yingwan’s father and He Zhengzai, or more precisely, on their shipping routes.
Whether it was trafficking drugs or human organs, these routes were crucial for the scumbag brothers.
Thus, He Zhengzai was the first to be roped in. However, things ca to a standstill when it reached Li Yingwan’s father.
Because by the ti Chen Nuo got involved in this matter in his previous life, Li Yingwan’s father had been dead for several years, so it was impossible to know exactly why he had refused to collaborate with these three n.
Perhaps Li Yingwan’s father was an upright businessman who refused to participate in such an immoral trade.
Or maybe they couldn’t co to an agreent on the distribution of the profits.
It’s unknown.
To be frank, Chen Nuo personally leaned towards the latter explanation.
Because from what he knew, He Zhengzai and the scumbag brothers had been trying to draw Li Yingwan’s father into their circle from very early on. If Li Yingwan’s father had refused on the grounds of justice and conscience, he would have had plenty of ti to call the police.
He didn’t; instead, he chose silence and perhaps even concealnt. So there is a strong possibility that the two parties rely couldn’t reach an agreent on their interests.
This was sothing Chen Nuo hadn’t delved into in his past life. There was no need to dig deeper when people were already dead; otherwise, if it turned out that Li Yingwan’s father was also a scumbag who had originally planned to wallow in the mire, that would do no good for the only surviving Li Yingwan.
Last month, Li Yingwan’s father went to Australia to discuss an expansion of a shipping route and then died there.
The murderers were the Che brothers.
By the ti Chen Nuo was reborn, according to the tiline, Li Yingwan’s father had already passed away, so he had no chance to change anything.
SLAP!
The young boy, who was trying to rise from the floor to charge at He Zhengzai, was knocked back down with a slap.
The boy’s eyes widened, nearly bursting with fury.
The mother was loudly scolding and questioning He Zhengzai.
Chen Nuo remained by the window, unmoving.
Even as Che Jingxun, one of the scum brothers, forcefully dragged Li Yingwan from the ground with her hands tied behind her back, pulling her in front of her mother and seemingly threatening her loudly, Chen Nuo, watching Li Yingwan’s pained, pale face, rely furrowed his brows.
He glanced at the clock on the wall in the room, calculating the ti in his mind.
Just as Che Jingxun’s face revealed a malicious smile, his face nearing Li Yingwan’s, Chen Nuo’s fingers touched the glass window!
At that mont, the urgent sound of sirens ca from afar as two fire engines roared over, their flashing lights stark against the night.
Chen Nuo’s clenched fingers slowly relaxed.
A man in black guarding outside the Li Family estate quickly rushed into the house to report loudly. He Zhengzai and the scum brothers exchanged glances.
Che Jingxun walked to the window and pushed it open with a swift movent—Chen Nuo imdiately retracted his body!
He could even look down to see Che Jingxun’s head poking out from the window below.
"Fire engines are coming!" Che Jingxun turned and said quickly.
After exchanging looks, Che Taiyong, with a flash of irritation in his eyes, waved his hand. "We can’t do it here! Take them all back!"
A group of Che Taiyong’s n sward forward, grabbing the family of three. The young man seed to want to resist, but after a few punches, he was escorted out, followed by Li Yingwan’s parents. They were all forcibly taken out of their ho and stuffed into a black van.
The crowd sward out of the Li Family estate and got into their cars, speeding away into the night.
And at that very mont, two fire trucks had already appeared at the distant intersection, heading this way.
The fire trucks were naturally summoned by Chen Nuo. He had simply sneaked into an uninhabited mansion next to the Li Family’s residence and used a lighter to heat the room’s fire sprinkler temperature sensor for a few monts until the fire alarm went off, prompting the nearby fire departnt to respond imdiately.
After the group’s cars turned the corner, the Li Family estate’s garage door opened. Chen Nuo started one of the Li Family’s sedans, driving rapidly out of the garage to chase after the convoy.
Revenge isn’t the goal.
Wiping out those scumbags wouldn’t be too difficult.
But Chen Nuo’s purpose on this trip was to change history, to alter Li Yingwan’s nightmarish life.
Therefore, the place to strike shouldn’t be Li Yingwan’s ho.
Otherwise, killing all those scumbags would be easy, but what then? A dozen bodies left in Li Yingwan’s house would only bring imnse trouble to the widowed mother and her orphaned children.
Chen Nuo drove, following them. He wasn’t too worried that sothing unexpected might happen en route—if it did, he was ready to change his plans and take action at any mont.
He Zhengzai felt his heart pounding fiercely tonight.
I thought I was nervous... but upon reflection, that seed off. I hadn’t been this anxious when I killed Li Donghe a few days earlier.
That was his best friend, whom he’d grown up with and worked alongside for twenty years.
When I smashed his head with a hamr, blow after blow, then threw him into an iron drum, sealed it with concrete, and dumped it into the sea... I wasn’t nervous then. Far from nervous, I even felt a kind of long-suppressed exhilaration and liberation! When had I started to hate Li Donghe? Was it when we first clashed over business and he scolded in front of everyone as if I were his own dog? Partly, but that wasn’t the whole reason. Was it many years ago, with our first big earnings, when he took advantage of my lack of financial knowledge, setting nurous traps in the calculations to secure a larger share of the company for himself? That was a factor, but still not the entire reason. Then... it must be because of that woman! Damn Li Donghe! I knew her first! Yet, in the end, she married him and they even had two little brats!
He Zhengzai gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the car in front, imprisoning the family of three.
The brothers Che Taiyong and Che Jingxun saw He Zhengzai gritting his teeth and exchanged glances in the dark.
"What’s wrong? Still feeling resentful?" Che Taiyong lit a cigarette and sneered. "Once we get there tonight, that woman is yours. Do with her as you please!"
He Zhengzai gave Che Taiyong a cold look.
Che Jingxun, smiling like a venomous snake, offered He Zhengzai a cigarette and personally lit it for him.
He Zhengzai took several harsh drags and then threw it out the open window.
His voice was demonic as he declared, "Not only will I enjoy Li Donghe’s wife, but tonight I will also savor the taste of his daughter! HAHA! That bastard, even in hell, he’s a loser!!"
The cars drove southward, gradually reaching more secluded areas. They were on a road leading to a concrete mixing plant the Che brothers had set up in the suburbs.
The cars drove into the factory building, and Che Taiyong’s n imdiately got out to close the plant’s tal doors.
Li Yingwan and her family of three were dragged out of the car and, after staggering a few steps, were pushed to the ground.
The mother held her children close in her arms, blocking her son who was trying desperately to fight back, while also loudly pleading with He Zhengzai.
He Zhengzai didn’t take in a single word.
As he stepped out of the car, he was unbuckling his belt. By the ti he reached the family of three, He Zhengzai looked down at the woman who was crying and pleading with him.
Suddenly, he lifted the belt high and lashed out fiercely.
The mother turned her back, using it to shield her children from the belt’s strike.
"He Zhengzai, why must you do this! What have we ever done to wrong you! Is your heart completely rotten and evil?!" The mother, realizing she couldn’t escape, suddenly gathered her courage and loudly condemned him.
The young boy let out a low growl, leapt up, and tried to topple He Zhengzai by wrapping his arms around his waist. But after being pushed back a few steps, He Zhengzai was quickly propped up by his henchn. The boy’s arms were then pulled apart, and he was punched and kicked until he rolled on the ground.
Li Yingwan, at this mont, her mind was completely blank.
The sixteen-year-old girl was utterly petrified.
She had even forgotten to cry. Her face stained with tears, her eyes filled with terror. With her mouth agape, she watched the nightmarish scene unfold, unable to even scream aloud...
If this is a nightmare... please, I beg you, let it end quickly!!!
For a brief mont, the image of the strange boy she saw earlier that night flashed through the girl’s mind.
It seed that when he did those odd things to , he said sothing... He said he would... dispel my nightmares?
BOOM!!!!
The main door of the factory building was smashed open with a crash!
A white Hyundai sedan charged into the factory building like a mad bull and ramd into the rear of a sedan owned by one of Che Taiyong’s n!
For a mont, everyone in the factory building was stunned; even the ones who were beating up Li Yingwan’s brother stopped and instinctively looked over.
Only Li Yingwan, watching the car burst in, had a strange expression in her eyes.
That’s... our family’s car!
COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!
Chen Nuo erged from the car, coughing vigorously, his right hand waving frantically in front of him trying to clear the dust, while his gaze accurately found the three mbers of the Li family amidst the crowd.
"Cough, cough... I have to say, there’s sothing wrong with your family’s car. The clutch is a bit loose, and the acceleration is too jerky. The steering is sowhat off as well; it probably needs so readjustnt."
After saying this, Chen Nuo’s gaze fell on Li Yingwan’s face, a smile spread across his own. "Hey! Good to see you again, Little Firefly."
Li Yingwan’s face was blank, but suddenly a glimr of hope flashed in her eyes!
"Hey! Who the hell are you!" Che Jingxun bellowed furiously.
Che Taiyong shoved his brother aside harshly; the gang leader was as decisive as ever. Without hesitation or wasting words, he bellowed, "Get him! Take him out!"
One of the henchn closest to Chen Nuo, wielding an iron rod, charged with a shout. As the iron rod swept over, the smile on Chen Nuo’s face vanished instantly. He twisted to the side, barely avoiding the deadly edge. Then his left hand lifted, fingertips coming together like the beak of a crane, and lightning-fast, tapped the assailant’s neck.
THUD!
The man lay on the ground, the rod already flung away, his hands clutching his throat, his body writhing.
His Adam’s apple was crushed!
In the brief silence, Che Taiyong’s face filled with murderous intent. "What are you waiting for? Get him! Kill him!!"
Over a dozen n roared as they charged!
After a brief dozen seconds, half lay on the ground!
And the boy before them, unhard, wore a half-smiling expression, looking at Che Taiyong, who stood behind his n.
Che Taiyong felt his mouth go dry, and He Zhengzai was slowly backing away.
"Jingxun! Kill him." Che Taiyong glanced at his brother.
Che Jingxun was Che Taiyong’s last trump card, and among all the people surrounding Che Taiyong, he was the most capable and formidable fighter!
Che Taiyong’s teoric rise in just a few years owed much to this terrifyingly skilled and fearless brother at his side.
Che Jingxun was once an elite soldier in the front-line troops of South Korea, one of the most elite units to have ever been stationed on the border.
Though Che Jingxun was inwardly shocked at this mont, there was no trace of fear in him. Focusing on the boy before him, he slowly bent down, tightened his bootlaces, and pulled a combat knife from a strap on his trousers. He flicked the knife, creating a flourish in his hand, assuming a standard tactical stance as he slowly advanced towards Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo frowned at the approaching Che Jingxun and sighed.
"Let remind you, you’re the second person in this world to pull a knife on . Do you know what happened to the last one who did?"
Che Jingxun didn’t answer. His movents were quick, his tactical steps as sly as a serpent, his hands raised high, the knife gleaming sharply while he hunched his shoulders and drew in his chest.
Even in the strictest of military units, his combat maneuvers were impeccable!
The knife sliced through the air!
Chen Nuo dodged!
Che Jingxun unleashed a sweeping kick, and Chen Nuo stepped back! The car door next to him caved in from the sheer force of the kick!
Che Jingxun fought with fierce power, relentlessly advancing as Chen Nuo dodged left and right...
"...Alright."
After several steps back, Chen Nuo suddenly smiled, and then, in an instant, he stopped retreating!
The seemingly frail figure of the boy suddenly lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, ducking down just as Che Jingxun’s blade ca slashing across!
It wasn’t just the speed that was impressive, but also the strange, twisted sense of rhythm to his movents! It was as if his motion was out of sync with Che Jingxun’s, not on the sa tiline!
The feeling of that distortion and displacent was particularly eerie!
Che Jingxun’s attack missed. Chen Nuo had already sidestepped close, inside Che Jingxun’s reach, pushing aside Che Jingxun’s left fist with one hand while his right hand swiftly brushed past Che Jingxun’s neck.
In a step, the two crossed paths.
A line of blood appeared on Che Jingxun’s throat, then blood gushed out, and he dropped to his knees.
On the tip of Chen Nuo’s finger, the edge of a utility knife blade flashed briefly, then disappeared between his fingers.
Chen Nuo turned to look at Che Jingxun, who was now only exhaling, not inhaling.
"Flashy."
WHOOSH!
A backpack flew by, hitting He Zhengzai, who was already trying to flee, on the back of his head, causing him to fall down stiffly.
The backpack fell to the ground, its zipper open, spilling a bunch of items.
An ugly blue and white school uniform, ballpoint pens, and other stationery.
But what made Che Taiyong’s eyes widen was the four or five bricks inside the damn pack!!
"What are you looking at? These were obviously ant for you."
Chen Nuo glared.
Che Taiyong looked at his n, half of them already down, and at his dead brother...
Suddenly, he grabbed Li Yingwan off the ground in a frenzy, a dagger already in his hand, its tip poking Li Yingwan’s neck, breaking the skin and drawing blood!
"I don’t care who you are! You seem very concerned about this little girl, huh!! Then let go!!" Che Taiyong yelled madly.
Chen Nuo frowned as he looked at Li Yingwan, clasped under Che Taiyong’s arm, the girl’s face covered in tears.
"Hey, girl, you’re really scared, aren’t you?" Chen Nuo ruffled his hair, then suddenly smiled, gazing into Li Yingwan’s eyes and speaking two words in a hushed tone.
"Don’t be afraid."
Those words seed to carry magic. Li Yingwan’s trembling body gradually cald down; though she still sniffled, her tears stopped.
The girl looked at the boy in front of her, who appeared to be her age, with a special gaze.
Chen Nuo addressed Che Taiyong, "I didn’t want to use this move... I haven’t fully regained it yet, but... I’ll use you for practice."
Watching the dagger in Che Taiyong’s hand, Chen Nuo suddenly raised his right hand.
Then, he snapped his fingers lightly.
SNAP!
Chen Nuo’s complexion seed to pale slightly. He took a deep breath and coldly stared at Che Taiyong.
He sneered, stepping directly towards Che Taiyong.
Che Taiyong’s face turned red! His entire body was shaking, his arm muscles contorted, and his fingertips trembled... but no matter how hard he tried, the dagger in his hand could not stab downward even a milliter!
Chen Nuo slowly took five steps, reaching Che Taiyong and looked him straight in the eye.
"You’re the third person who’s drawn a knife on tonight."
With that, Chen Nuo snatched the dagger from Che Taiyong’s hand, spun it expertly, and plunged it straight into Che Taiyong’s heart!
He twisted the handle violently!
)
Chen Nuo pushed against Che Taiyong’s forehead, and he fell backward.
Looking at the girl in front of him, Chen Nuo exhaled and then touched Li Yingwan’s face with his hand.
"Still afraid?"
"..."
"Don’t be. I told you, I will chase away your nightmares."
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