Volume One, Chapter 13: A Gang of Young Hooligans Suffer a Crushing Defeat at the Hands of Ghost Foot Qi

The young delinquent trailing behind looked as if she wanted to say something but held back, eventually slipping quietly into the shadows.

Stepping into the factory, piles of miscellaneous junk were stacked around, leaving the center area conspicuously empty—nowhere to be seen were the fighters the girl had mentioned.

A single electric bulb hung high from a beam, creaking and swaying.

“Bang!”

A muffled thud echoed through the factory.

Ye Lin turned around just in time to see the large door slam shut. A few thugs appeared at the entrance.

At the same time, the clanging of metal echoed from inside as a dozen or so more thugs emerged from the darkness, wielding iron rods.

The rods struck nearby objects intermittently, producing intimidating sounds.

Seeing them, Ye Lin calmed his nerves. Judging by the situation, he had walked into an ambush.

Since it had come to this, he resolved to face it head-on.

Casually striding toward the center of the factory, Ye Lin spoke before the thugs had a chance.

Pointing his baton, he commanded, “Squat down, all of you. If not, I won’t hold back.”

His arrogant and domineering demeanor, paired with his rogue-like appearance, momentarily stunned the blond thug opposite him. Damn, who’s the real hooligan here?

“I’m talking to you,” Ye Lin said, pointing the baton at the blond. “Dyeing your hair blond doesn’t make you a gangster. Squat down!”

Damn it, this was intolerable.

The blond scowled. He had been planning to start with some bravado, but now he saw this young cop was even tougher than himself. No need to hold back.

“Hit him!” The blond raised his iron rod.

“Charge!” The dozen or so thugs behind and at the door surged forward with a roar.

Ye Lin instantly regained his composure. This was exactly the chaotic brawl he wanted; by provoking the blond before they had fully organized, he could gain the upper hand.

To his right lay a heap of old machinery and scattered tables and chairs.

Ye Lin darted toward it, with a few thugs in pursuit.

The formation immediately broke apart, and several faster thugs reached Ye Lin’s front.

He sneered, relishing their reckless courage.

Whoosh!

A steel pipe swung at him with a fierce gust.

Ye Lin sidestepped smoothly, then lifted his leg in a whip-like kick, striking a thug squarely in the face.

The thug’s vision darkened instantly, and he collapsed unconscious.

Ye Lin leapt onto the pile of junk, evading another steel pipe.

Using the debris as leverage, he extended his right leg at a nearly impossible angle, delivering a powerful kick to another attacker’s chest.

The man flew backward like hit by a tank, crashing into his comrades behind him.

Landing nimbly, Ye Lin launched into an offensive, charging the thugs guarding the door.

He didn’t wield his baton, only his legs flying in a flurry of martial strikes—sweeping one thug down and side-kicking another away.

One remaining thug panicked and turned to flee.

But how could he outrun Ye Lin? The cop caught up from behind and sent him sprawling with a flying kick.

Having swiftly knocked down five opponents, the remaining thugs halted, glancing at one another, unwilling to advance.

“What are you afraid of? Just attack! There’s over ten of us, and he’s only got one leg! Charge!” the blond shouted, leading the charge.

Ye Lin frowned inwardly. Damn, there really were quite a few of them.

But how could the “Ghost Foot Seventh” be afraid?

He scraped his right foot across the dusty floor, sending a thick cloud of gray dust swirling into the air, blurring the area ahead.

“Damn, I can’t see!”

The dust blinded the several thugs charging head-on.

Like a leopard, Ye Lin crouched low and sprang forward.

His legs flew in rapid succession, knocking several thugs down and revealing the blond behind them.

Seeing the danger, the blond took a cautious step back, attempting to hide behind his remaining men.

Ye Lin seized the moment, leaping into the air.

His “Shadowless Kick” landed four consecutive blows on the blond, who spat blood and collapsed, unable to rise.

The others tried to come to their leader’s rescue, but Ye Lin spun and side-kicked them all to the ground.

In just two minutes, the once menacing group lay groaning on the floor, writhing in pain.

Ye Lin squatted before the blond, coldly asking, “You wanted to take me down?”

The blond looked at Ye Lin like a mouse confronting a cat, shrinking back in fear.

“No, big brother, it’s a misunderstanding, a mistake, wrong person,” he stammered.

“Wrong person? Do you take me for a fool?” Ye Lin snapped, slapping him twice without mercy.

The blond’s face swelled, and he spat out a bloodied tooth.

“Speak clearly. Why set an ambush for me?”

“We just wanted to become famous,” the blond sobbed. “You recently arrested that Er Bao, right? We wanted to make a name for ourselves, so we tried to beat up a well-known cop.”

“Big brother, we really just wanted fame.”

The sincere, pleading look in the blond’s eyes left Ye Lin speechless. Seriously? You want to get famous by ambushing me?

What kind of logic is that?

“You guys are indeed famous now—just that your fame will be earned behind bars.”

After confirming there were no other plots, Ye Lin called the station.

Minutes later, Chief Xie stormed in with officers.

“Where are they? How dare you assault a cop!” Chief Xie barked.

“Here,” Ye Lin gestured.

“Damn, you took them all down?” Zhang Degen looked at the sprawled thugs, only Ye Lin standing among them.

Ye Lin waved it off coolly. “Just a bunch of small-time punks, not worth the trouble. Catching A-Tong is more meaningful.”

The group was speechless. Damn, you really know how to brag.

Well, he had just arrested A-Tong earlier that day.

“Take them all in!” Chief Xie commanded, and several assistant officers hauled the thugs up in a line and led them out.

At the same time, a system voice echoed in Ye Lin’s mind.

[Congratulations, host, for capturing a gang of small-time hooligans. Reward: one bottle of “Deodorizing Potion.”]

“Deodorizing Potion?”

What the hell?

Ye Lin checked his inventory, finding the new pale yellow potion in addition to the antidote card.

[Drinking this can resist any foul odor.]

That was printed on the “Deodorizing Potion.”

Ye Lin wanted to curse. What use was this?

Previously, the system had rewarded him with the “Howling Dog’s Nose” to smell scents; now it handed him deodorant?

What kind of useless nonsense was this?

Was he supposed to drink this before eating stinky tofu or snail noodles? What was the point?

Damn, the dog system really didn’t act like a human.

At the entrance, Ye Lin glanced around but saw no sign of the young delinquent. She must have left.

He recalled that when she stopped him earlier, her eyes had seemed a little unfocused—perhaps she had hesitated.