Seeing this, I smiled faintly and looked back at Brother Tianji, saying, "Brother Tianji, if I didn't want to solve the problem, I wouldn't have come today."
"Brother Bao San once told us something: if you're wrong, admit it; if you're beaten, stand still!"
"As for the matter of cheating on the slot machines, as long as you can present concrete evidence, I guarantee I won't say anything more. We'll do whatever needs to be done!"
"But if it's just baseless accusations..."
"Unless you kill all three of us here! Otherwise, as long as one of us can walk out alive... I can guarantee!"
"I guarantee your Happy World will never be happy again from now on!!!"
I delivered the last sentence with resounding conviction.
"Heh!"
After a cold laugh, Brother Tianji let out a long sigh and asked in a heavy tone, "Is that so!?"
Nodding, I returned his cold smile, "You can try it if you don't believe me!"
With our faces pretty much revealed and our words spoken harshly, Brother Tianji and I stood in a cold standoff.
Honestly, since I started my career, besides being repeatedly outmaneuvered by Queen Bee Yu Shuang, no one else has been able to get the better of me!
People like Brother Tianji, I don't even put them in my sights! This is the martial world, there are plenty of punks who can put on a show for 300 yuan, and with the cost of handling things, it can be settled for less than ten thousand without bloodshed.
Touch me? You can!
If you can't kill me, I'll kill you later!
Seeing that Qin Lei and I could remain calm and even unyielding under the encirclement of so many people, Brother Tianji seemed to be losing his composure, his expression stiffening severely.
At this sight, a barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in the depths of my eyes.
In fact, with Sun Miao's situation reaching this point, if Brother Tianji was unsure of Qin Lei's and my identities, and still couldn't produce "evidence," he would likely compromise and try to extort some money.
After all, Brother Tianji was vastly different from those punks who roamed around all day.
Running a business, especially an arcade, was all about making money.
The arcade that Brother Tianji managed purely relied on various gambling machines to earn money.
In this day and age, there were definitely no small number of people who lost money playing gambling machines and caused trouble.
Otherwise, Brother Tianji wouldn't have needed to hire so many young thugs to guard the place.
Therefore, if someone caused trouble in an arcade, under normal circumstances... drawing a little blood wouldn't be a problem.
But if someone actually lost their life, then there would be no discussion, and the place would have to close down!
Just as Brother Tianji's expression kept changing and he fell into deep thought...
The red-haired punk who had been confronting Qin Lei earlier suddenly snorted and said, "Don't you dare talk to me about Bao Sanlin!"
"I, Zhang Songhuan, only recognize one thing."
"Your brother was caught cheating on the slot machines in Brother Tianji's establishment. Either you pay money to redeem him, or according to the rules of the underworld, we'll break one of his hands!"
"There are only these two options! Choose one, you decide!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the red-haired punk Zhang Songhuan immediately looked at me, his eyes filled with ferocity, and asked sternly, "You're the one in charge, aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, I directly nodded and replied, "Yes, that's right!"
Seeing that I had agreed, Zhang Songhuan immediately pointed at me and said, "Come on, you're in charge, so speak up!"
"Are you choosing fifty thousand yuan or one hand? Give me a clear answer!"
I didn't speak immediately, but first turned to look at Brother Tianji.
Seeing that he still hadn't spoken, I immediately understood.
It seemed that the strategy of borrowing the prestige of Bao Sanlin hadn't worked completely!
Although Brother Tianji was wary of Bao Sanlin, he was unwilling to back down just like that, which was why he feigned a thoughtful demeanor and let his subordinate speak for him.
This way, even if things escalated and Bao Sanlin became involved, Brother Tianji could claim that he wasn't the one who said it...
After figuring out the intricacies, I directly replied, "Fifty thousand yuan, I definitely don't have it."
"And my brother's hand will absolutely not be broken by you!"
If you lose the battle, don't lose face! Since I had already decided to use Bao Sanlin's name to stall, I couldn't show any sign of backing down in terms of momentum!
As if he hadn't heard my words at all, Zhang Songhuan sneered and said, "Since you can't produce the money and are unwilling to let your brother break his hand..."
"Then you might as well take the punishment for him and leave one of your hands behind!"
With that, Zhang Songhuan waved his hand violently, and someone beside him immediately handed him a fruit knife.
After taking the fruit knife, Zhang Songhuan first showed me the glinting blade and then said in a deep voice, "Left hand or right hand? Speak!"
Hearing this, I immediately sneered, "Why don't we do this! How about I give you both my hands!?"
"Hahaha! Alright!" Zhang Songhuan laughed heartily, "As long as you dare to give them, I dare to take them!"
As soon as I heard this, I guessed that Brother Tianji might not have been completely intimidated by Bao Sanlin's name!
It seemed that tonight... it was likely that we were in for a lot of trouble.
Before Zhang Songhuan could make a move, Qin Lei, who was beside me, directly interjected, "You dare!!!"
"The rule of the underworld is to catch the thief, not the stolen goods. You can't produce evidence, yet you're forcing people here and playing dirty. Are you bullying us because we're outnumbered?! Believe it or not, I'll call the police right now..."
Before Qin Lei could finish his sentence, Zhang Songhuan, having received a signal from Brother Tianji, instantly leaped forward and jumped directly in front of Qin Lei.
"Call your motherfucking phone!!!"
As he yelled angrily, Zhang Songhuan raised his left foot and kicked Qin Lei in the waist, while simultaneously swinging the fruit knife tightly gripped in his right hand towards me.
Caught off guard, Qin Lei was directly kicked to the ground by Zhang Songhuan, curling up and clutching his waist as he rolled on the ground.
As if he had put too much force into it and lost his balance, Zhang Songhuan's right hand, holding the knife, lost its stability.
Seeing this, and with no time to think, I immediately grabbed a chair nearby and smashed it hard onto his back.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Zhang Songhuan, who had been hit hard in the back, staggered and fell to the ground.
Without a word, they started fighting instantly!
Everything that happened before my eyes occurred in the blink of an eye.
Except for Brother Tianji, the mastermind behind the scenes, all the other subordinates stood there dumbfounded.
Just as these thugs snapped back to reality and prepared to attack us, Sun Miao suddenly erupted in fury.
With a swift step, Sun Miao rushed to the card table and casually grabbed an ashtray from the table, smashing it hard onto the head of one of the thugs.
The moment the ashtray shattered, the thug, who didn't even have time to let out a grunt, immediately rolled his eyes, kicked his legs, and fell straight to the ground, knocked unconscious.
This sudden turn of events instantly stimulated all the thugs present.
When all the thugs reacted and prepared to surround Sun Miao, seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, Sun Miao and I moved almost simultaneously, instantly rushing to Brother Tianji's front.
With our arms on either side holding Brother Tianji, I casually picked up the ashtray fragments that had splashed onto the table and pressed them directly against Brother Tianji's neck.
"Don't move! If you move, I'll stab you to death!!!"