Master Zhan, your daughter has gone out to catch ghosts again.

Chapter 252 Kid, you're pretty arrogant.

"Oh?" The leader looked at Zhan Shichao with interest, shifting his focus and approaching him step by step.

"Kid, dare to fight?" The leader brandished an iron rod in a fancy move, then pressed it against Zhan Shichao's chest.

Zhan Shichao glanced down at the iron rod, then raised his deep eyes, filled with murderous intent, and arrogantly tilted his head, saying, "Come at me all at once?"

The leader glanced at his men behind him with amusement, as if sharing a joke that would become a legend.

"Boy, you are crazy."

The leader nudged the iron rod that had been pressed against his chest during the war.

"Boom..."

"what..."

Before the leader could finish speaking, Zhan Shichao snatched the iron rod, turned around stylishly, gripped the head of the rod, and swung the thicker part of the rod, slamming it hard into the leader's face.

"Boss."

"Boss."

"Boss."

The group of underlings all crowded around to see what was wrong with their leader.

Xiao Yijiang swallowed hard, his lips pressed tightly together as he looked at Zhan Shichao. After all these years together, he only knew that Zhan Shichao knew judo and taekwondo, but he didn't know that when he fought, his ruthlessness was no less than that of those gangsters.

The leader covered half of his face, blood streaming down his forehead, but he didn't seem to care at all.

In the underworld, it's common to be battered and bruised one day and covered in wounds the next.

"Are you coming or not?" Zhan Shichao ignored him and turned to Xiao Yijiang to ask.

"Um...Shi Chao, I..."

"Want to leave? Not so easy!" The leader stood up firmly and gestured for his men to surround them.

During the war, he remained calm and unhurried, his eyelids lowered, appearing languid and indifferent.

"Kid, you probably don't understand the situation yet. This guy next to you, Xiao Yijiang, is one of our people. Do you know why he brought you here?" The leader's side of his forehead had been bandaged, and he became tough again, asking with a smile.

"I'll ask you one more time, are you coming or not?" Zhan Shichao ignored the leader's words, his eyes fixed on Xiao Yijiang.

“Shi Chao, actually, I think joining them is a good idea. You can earn a fair amount of money, although it's not as much as your monthly allowance, but at least you can earn some. And now that you're on their turf, they're not going to let you leave,” Xiao Yijiang said.

A month ago, out of curiosity, and having heard that there was money to be made, although not much, Xiao Yijiang was going through his parents' divorce at the time, and his heart was filled with resentment and bitterness. He also suddenly lost his pocket money. Under these circumstances, in order to retaliate against his parents' irresponsibility, Xiao Yijiang was easily brainwashed by others and eventually followed that red-haired guy here.

Unexpectedly, once they arrived, they couldn't get out.

"You're not going to take the high school entrance exam? You're going to spend your whole life making a living through extortion?"

Zhan Shichao, dressed in a clean school uniform, stood tall and straight like a bamboo shoot. A soft moonlight shone through a hole in the wall, illuminating Zhan Shichao's profile, making him appear even more sharp and three-dimensional, clear and fair. His usually gentle peach blossom eyes now looked fierce and serious.

Xiao Yijiang looked at Zhan Shichao, silently lowered his eyelids, and concealed his emotions.

Upon hearing the word "extortion," Red Hair immediately retorted angrily, "Kid, let me tell you, don't use such harsh language. What extortion? We're doing a perfectly reasonable business. They pay the protection money, and we beat them up. It's perfectly reasonable. It's a mutually agreeable deal. How can it be called extortion?"

“Some of you are causing disturbances by gathering crowds, while others are collecting protection money. What is this if not indirect extortion?” Zhan Shichao turned his head, smiled slightly, and said slowly.

The leader, whose heart had been struck, instantly broke down, gritting his teeth and saying angrily, "You... brat, don't think you're so great just because you're educated. Let me tell you, all of us brothers, if we're all united, can easily take you down."

"Then let's give it a try, all at once."

"Shi Chao, don't confront them head-on. They are far more numerous than just these people," Xiao Yijiang said.

As soon as Xiao Yijiang spoke, the leader became even more smug. His underling lit a cigarette for him. "Kid, you only have two choices now: one, join us; two, never leave the gates of our steel mill."