But I know how to comfort myself.

As they drew closer, Zhang Pa said, "Parking is not allowed here. It will deduct points from your license."

Miao Zili gave a slight smile. "You really are quite interesting." Then he asked, "Does it hurt?" As he spoke, he pointed at Zhang Pa's face, which was severely injured.

Zhang Pa replied that it was not too bad, and proceeded to pull the items out of his pockets—his money, keys, ID card, and bank cards—piling them on the ground before placing his phone on top of the stack. He stood up and asked, "Who is coming?"

Wang Zhongxing stepped forward to look at him. "So as not to be accused of bullying you, I can wait until your injuries heal before we fight."

Zhang Pa smiled faintly. "If it weren't for being trapped inside that room yesterday, those five wouldn't have been enough to even look at."

It was an extremely arrogant statement, yet the five qualified enforcers showed not the slightest reaction, their expressions calm as if they failed to understand his words.

Wang Zhongxing smiled. "Do you perhaps not know who they are?"

Zhang Pa glanced at him. "You are smiling too early. Do you think victory is already secured, so you're standing here pretending to be suave and magnanimous?"

Wang Zhongxing smiled again. "Actually, I am not pretending at all. Let me introduce them to you. Chen Feilong—you must have heard that name?"

Zhang Pa asked, "Who is that?" He looked at the five military experts who had beaten him yesterday and asked, "Which one of you is Chen Feilong?"

"I am." A burly man over one hundred and eighty centimeters tall stepped out from behind Miao Zili. He wore military combat boots, loose trousers, and had a military-green coat draped over his shoulders.

Zhang Pa asked, "Are you better at fighting than the five of them?"

Chen Feilong did not take the bait, clearly not unintelligent.

Zhang Pa stretched his limbs and turned to face Wang Zhongxing. "I want to have a chat with you."

Wang Zhongxing said casually, "Go ahead."

Zhang Pa asked, "Dare to step a bit closer?"

Wang Zhongxing's expression darkened slightly as he took a step forward. "What kind of tricks are you trying to pull?"

"I want to say a few words, and also establish some rules," Zhang Pa said. "First of all, I am not afraid of you."

Wang Zhongxing smiled without replying; in his view, the mere utterance of such words proved that Zhang Pa was already terrified.

Ignoring his expression, Zhang Pa continued, "No matter how rich, connected, or powerful you are, you only have one life. Unless you can completely wipe me out, I will definitely find an opportunity to reach you."

Wang Zhongxing said with disdain, "Threatening me? Is there any point?"

"It's not a threat. Just chatting with you," Zhang Pa said. "What you are afraid of is the leak of those photos. Admittedly, those pictures did not turn out very flattering." As he spoke, he produced a memory card and tossed it gently over. "If I were you, I wouldn't want such things floating around either. And you can rest assured, I don't have a backup, nor do I stoop to doing that kind of thing."

Wang Zhongxing caught the memory card and inspected it.

Zhang Pa went on, "You mentioned a five-million-dollar stake. I know you are wealthy and don't care about five million; but I also know you wouldn't just hand over five million for nothing. Even if you lost it in a boxing bet, even if you threw it into the sea, you wouldn't be happy to see that money end up in my hands. I understand that. That's why I want to lower the stakes—not because I'm afraid of you, but because I don't want too much trouble."

Wang Zhongxing sneered, "After all that talk, isn't it just fear?"

Zhang Pa smiled. "Look into my eyes. What I'm about to say is utterly, completely sincere." He paused, then added, "Let me threaten you one more time. Our business, along with the matter concerning Liu Xiaomei, ends right here and now. After today, everything resets to zero. Do you agree? Let's settle it right here."

Wang Zhongxing said, "You've already given me the memory card. What negotiation or settlement is left?"

Zhang Pa pointed at his own nose. "Me! I am the qualification, I am the bargaining chip. What is a memory card? As long as I am alive, as long as I want to, I can take photos like that all over again—as many as you like."

Nobody likes to hear such words, and even less do they want to hear them spoken in such a tone. Wang Zhongxing's expression gradually grew solemn.

Zhang Pa said, "You told me to spend a week healing before we fight. There's no need. I'll let you see just how pathetic the experts you hold in such high regard really are in front of me." At this, he glanced at the five men from yesterday. "They are formidable—genuinely formidable. Their specialty is likely killing people, but they might not necessarily be able to kill me."

"Are you going to fight or not?" Wang Zhongxing was losing patience.

"I will fight, I must fight. Not only am I going to take down this so-called Chen Feilong of yours, but once I win, I'm also going to challenge the five military experts who bullied me yesterday," Zhang Pa said. "Now let's talk about the stakes. You burned down my landlady's house. I told her I would compensate her one hundred thousand. She's a good person and only asked me for thirty thousand. Since you have money anyway, let's add another fifty thousand—twenty-five thousand for a match. If I win, you give me twenty-five thousand; if I lose, I only give you twenty thousand... No, I can only give you seventeen thousand. Sound fair?"

"Fine," Wang Zhongxing replied readily.

Zhang Pa continued, "And then, you and I will wager another twenty thousand. I want to fight all five of them. On one condition: I take no responsibility for any severe injuries or crippling blows. Is that acceptable?"

At that moment, Wang Zhongxing suddenly realized that Zhang Pa was much harder to deal with than he had imagined—at least not nearly as weak as he had appeared the previous night. He paused and asked, "What on earth are you trying to accomplish?"

"I want to fight you until you are terrified, until you fear me! To the point where you never dare to come looking for trouble with me again," Zhang Pa said coldly.

Wang Zhongxing stared at Zhang Pa for a long moment, then raised his right hand and curled his fingers. Someone immediately hurried over.

Wang Zhongxing instructed, "Bring a million."

Without asking questions or uttering a sound, the man turned and ran back to the line of vehicles, retrieved a bag from the trunk of one of them, and sprinted back, placing it right in front of Wang Zhongxing.

Wang Zhongxing said, "Let's not make it complicated. There is one million here. If you win, it's all yours; if you lose, you give me seventeen thousand. You have to fight two rounds and win both; losing even a single round means I win." He paused, then added, "Rest assured, if you win, I won't feel distressed about losing a million. I'll just consider it thrown to a stray dog."

Zhang Pa said, "You might not feel distressed throwing it to a stray dog; but losing to me might be a different story."

Wang Zhongxing chuckled. "Remember: my surname is Wang, and my name is Wang Zhongxing." The name seemed to carry infinite power, a source of great pride for him.

Zhang Pa replied, "As long as your heart doesn't ache."

With a cold sneer, Wang Zhongxing turned around and commanded, "Feilong, fight however you like. As long as it's not fatal, broken arms and legs don't matter at all."

Chen Feilong let out a dry laugh. "Understood."

Wang Zhongxing looked at Zhang Pa. "Can we begin?"

Zhang Pa said they could.

Wang Zhongxing walked over to the side, where two young men immediately stepped in front of him to provide a clear view and act as a bodyguard. The others formed a semicircle around Wang Zhongxing, cordoning off a small arena.

Zhang Pa took off his coat and dropped it on top of his phone. Chen Feilong likewise removed his upper garments, revealing a body of solid muscle.

Zhang Pa took a deep breath, walked slowly back, and said softly to him, "I'm sorry."

Chen Feilong was momentarily stunned, then reacted with a sneer, "Save it—if you actually have the ability."

Someone outside the perimeter shouted, "Get ready."

Chen Feilong immediately assumed a combat stance. Zhang Pa remained standing lazily.

The man then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Begin!"

At the sound of the word, Chen Feilong surged forward. Standing completely still just a moment ago with seemingly no motion, he suddenly lashed out, his right foot whipping toward Zhang Pa's face.

The movement was fast, accurate, and vicious; if it connected, the fight would be over instantly.

According to normal human reflexes, dodging was the best course of action. Zhang Pa did no such thing. The instant Chen Feilong lifted his leg, Zhang Pa charged straight ahead. Just as the foot seemed about to crash into his face, Zhang Pa raised his arm to block while driving a vicious hook with his other hand straight into Chen Feilong's lower stomach.

Strictly speaking, the blow landed a bit lower—just a fraction above the groin, grazing right against it.

That area was composed of bone; one didn't even need to punch it, merely pressing down with a hand caused agony. With a single punch from Zhang Pa, Chen Feilong collapsed on the spot.

Chen Feilong's desperate kick had thrown him off balance as he relied on a single supporting foot. Although that kick also sent Zhang Pa staggering sideways, at that exact same moment, Zhang Pa's punch landed squarely on target, dropping the big man instantly to the ground with a heavy thud.

Zhang Pa did not hold back, nor did he intend to give his opponent any chance. He stomped down twice directly on Chen Feilong's ribs. Chen Feilong curled up like a cooked shrimp.

Still not finished, Zhang Pa lunged forward, straddled Chen Feilong's chest, and began raining blows down with both fists onto the man's head, only stopping and standing up when the opponent passed out completely.

Looking at Chen Feilong now, his face was covered in blood, utterly unrecognizable as a human being.

Turning to look at Zhang Pa, his eyes radiated ferocious intent. Although bruised, swollen, and laced with bloodshot veins, with purple contusions covering his face, when paired with that fierce glare, he looked terrifyingly intimidating.

Having dealt with Chen Feilong, Zhang Pa turned his gaze toward Wang Zhongxing.

At that moment, not only Wang Zhongxing, but even the five military elite fighters wore deeply solemn expressions. This fellow's movements were simply too fast—a mere blink, a single punch, and the fight was over? How could it possibly end so quickly?

With a gloomy expression, Wang Zhongxing stared at Zhang Pa for a moment before turning back to issue an order: "All five of you, go. Hold nothing back."

The five military experts glanced at Wang Zhongxing, then back at Zhang Pa. Almost simultaneously, they shed their coats and began walking slowly forward.

They took up five distinct positions, coordinating their movements to maintain their formations while boxing Zhang Pa in.

Zhang Pa did not move, allowing them to encircle him completely.

The same man who had spoken earlier shouted again, "Get ready." After a brief pause, he roared, "Begin!"

Before the sound had even faded, Zhang Pa was already in motion.

The moment he moved, all five men charged at him simultaneously.

Acting as if he didn't see them, Zhang Pa chose the shortest distance between two points—a straight line. He rushed directly forward without even turning around. Quicker than the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of the youth directly opposite him.

The young man was exceptionally capable and understood the value of teamwork. He threw a straight punch directly at Zhang Pa's face, not even requiring a clean hit—as long as it delayed Zhang Pa for even a fraction of a second, allowing his comrades to close in for the encirclement, he believed it would recreate the scene from the previous night.

Having witnessed Chen Feilong's fate, the youth did not dare underestimate Zhang Pa and responded with utmost caution. Yet he still underestimated him. At a moment like this, standard procedure dictated falling back to buy time while teammates closed the trap; why would anyone step forward to meet the blow with a punch of their own?

Zhang Pa did not dodge. His body continued its forward momentum, merely twisting his head slightly to the side as the punch came in. The adversary's fist grazed past his cheek, leaving a bleeding gash.

As if completely immune to pain, the moment the opposing youth struck him, Zhang Pa unleashed his own fist, putting the full force of his entire body behind a punch aimed squarely at the man's temple. A single blow was all it took; his opponent collapsed into unconsciousness.

The five men were indeed elite soldiers, but even as the one directly in front was met with a counter-punch, the youth approaching from behind lunged forward with a flying kick.

Their objective was clear: victory was secondary as long as they could disrupt Zhang Pa's momentum and actions.