บท 12: CHAPTER 11 - Li Hu Intervenes.
'...Impossible... This is absolutely impossible…'
Ye Feng's face turned pale as he stared at the result. He had lost. Lost was his so-called "X-ray vision."
The tens of thousands spent on buying raw stones suddenly seemed insignificant to him right now.
'...What now...' His eyes then moved to Haoran, who was examining the jade. 'If I'd known, I wouldn't have been greedy for those millions...'
The crowd, however, didn't share his terror; they just kept whispering among themselves.
"How's he gonna pay now?"
"Is he really going to have his eyes plucked out??"
"Heh, he looked like a thief since the start."
"It's a pity; I thought he was really good when I saw him earning some 100,000 from the other stalls a while ago..."
Ye Feng gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger and frustration as he heard those words. They were speaking the truth, they were saying their minds, but those words struck like sharp arrows on him.
"Damn it... This loss isn't my fault...' He growled under his breath, but no one heard him as they were busy discussing among themselves.
Ye Feng had his head lowered and his body trembling. He, a protagonist, was now cornered—he was scared even. He didn't know what to do right now. But as his thoughts got jumbled, and he recalled what he muttered a second ago, his eyes widened in realization.
'That's right! It's not my fault! If my x-ray vision hadn't stopped working out of the blue, I wouldn't have lost!'He exclaimed, as if he was enlightened, 'The reason my x-ray vision stopped working is why this bet is invalid!'
The more Ye Feng thought about it, the more sense it made—to him, at least.
Fang Haoran, on the other hand, paid no attention to Ye Feng, whose face shifted between pale and flushed. Instead, he calmly instructed the gambling hall manager to calculate the jade's total value and transfer the money to his account.
[Ding! Ye Feng has shocked others with his loss, falling into a crisis. Ye Feng's Protagonist Halo: -150! Host's Luck Points: +150! Ability Points: +15!]
It was only when the system's voice rang in his mind that he turned toward Ye Feng with a faint smile on his face.
"The total for the raw stones comes to over 600,000. When are you planning to pay up? Don't keep the owner waiting." He reminded Ye Feng and advised him as if he were a well-wisher. He didn't need to pretend like the brain-dead villain anymore.
Ye Feng, however, grew increasingly anxious as he heard those words.
He couldn't let his supernatural abilities come to light, so using the excuse that "the x-ray vision malfunctioned and made the bet invalid" was out of the question.
What to do? What to do? What to do—
He kept asking himself the same question, wanting to know what he could do, but his eyes widened when he saw Haoran picking up the stones he had won, the ones he got from the last three stones.
"Put down my stuff right now!" He barked as he glared at Haoran.
"Your stuff? It's mine now. Have you forgotten our bet?" Fang Haoran, listening to his words, questioned, his tone calm yet firm.
"I haven't forgotten!" Ye Feng retorted indignantly, gritting his teeth as he added, "But our bet is invalid!"
"According to the rules, before making a bet, both parties must confirm they can meet the wager's requirements." He glared at Haoran with fury as he went on, "And I don't have 600,000 on me. That means I couldn't fulfill the condition of 'the loser covering all costs for the raw stones,' and I wasn't qualified to bet in the first place."
"Therefore, our bet is invalid!" He concluded, but his words made no sense.
Hearing Ye Feng's words, everyone collectively thought: Huh? Why the hell does your words not make any sense at all?
Fang Haoran was the first to break out of his daze and counter Ye Feng's argument. "How could you not have 600,000? Did you forget I wagered a billion against your eyes, and you agreed?" He pointed at the 100 million yuan check and added, "That means you currently have 100 million on you. So there's no issue with your qualification!"
But Ye Feng shamelessly argued, "So what if I agreed? You can't put a price on human organs. That's illegal! What you're doing is a crime!"
The crowd stared at Ye Feng like he was an idiot.
'You suddenly care about legality? Then why were you gambling in the first place?'
Gambling on jade stones has always been a gray area. Even if it is technically illegal, as long as both parties agree beforehand, the bet stands. This little punk had been so cocky before the bet. Now that he'd lost, he's suddenly quoting the law?
It was like Ye Feng was treating everyone, including Fang Haoran, as fools.
Initially, some bystanders felt a bit sorry for him. Now they were all hoping to see him pay the price.
As Ye Feng continued his shameless charade, everyone turned their eyes to Fang Haoran, curious about how he would handle the situation.
Fang Haoran, uninterested in arguing further, gestured to the gambling hall manager. "Take him inside."
But before the security guards could act...
"Mr. Fang, let it go. Show mercy when possible." The deep voice spoke up, "With your status, why make things hard for a student?"
The voice came from a burly man with a crew cut and a fierce expression. He slowly stepped forward, making Fang Haoran narrow his eyes. He recognized the man. This was Tiger Lord, or Li Hu, Ye Feng's early-stage backer.
'System.' He called out to his system, and even without further instructions, the system showed him Li Hu's status window.
[Li Hu: Leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang
→ Strength: 150 (Early Stage Ming Jing)
→ Physique: 100
→ Spirit: 70
→ Trust: -10]
Tiger Lord originally came over just to check out the commotion, but seeing that the person in trouble was his sworn brother, he felt compelled to step in.
"Tiger Lord!" Ye Feng exclaimed as his eyes lit up with joy.
He had once saved Tiger Lord's life when he was ambushed by an enemy, so surely, Tiger Lord would come to his rescue now.
"Brother Lin." Tiger Lord also nodded to Ye Feng before turning to Fang Haoran. "Mr. Fang, here's ten million. Could you give me some face and let this go?"
"Oh? And what if I refuse?" But Fang Haoran wasn't having it, as he questioned calmly, making Li Hu's eyes flash with sharp intent.
"So, Mr. Fang, you're really going to use your status to bully someone?" As soon as Tiger Lord said this, seven or eight lackeys behind him straightened up and stepped forward, flanking him like bodyguards.
Li Hu was good at twisting narratives. Fang Haoran was merely enforcing the terms of the bet, but now Li Hu was making it sound like he was abusing his power.
Besides, if anyone was guilty of throwing their weight around, it was the Fierce Tiger Gang. Without the gang's backing, Li Hu wouldn't even intimidate the street vendors selling grilled sausages.
"Oh, interesting. So it seems the Fierce Tiger Gang wants to test its strength against the Fang Group?" Fang Haoran, not in the least intimidated by those men, shot back with a smirk.
Unfazed, Tiger Lord countered, "Of course not. However, considering your construction projects in the southern district, you might find it beneficial to collaborate with us."
"Fine, fine." Fang Haoran laughed coldly upon hearing those words. "In the spirit of 'collaboration,' have Ye Feng kowtow to me ten times. A million per kowtow. Deal?"
He added another condition, and without waiting for a response, Fang Haoran snatched the bank card Li Hu had prepared for him.
"Fang Haoran, you can kill me, but you can't humiliate me! Don't even think about it!" Ye Feng, however, roared, his face red with anger.
Even Li Hu hesitated, but before he could speak, Fang Haoran cut him off, his expression as cold as it could be. "Li Hu, are you expecting me to give you another chance? Because if I do, you might not be able to handle it."
Li Hu understood the warning in Fang Haoran's gaze. He couldn't push his luck too far. If things escalated, it wouldn't end well for him, especially since Ye Feng was wrong to begin with. Lowering his stance, Tiger Lord tried to coax Ye Feng.
Ye Feng, desperate, urged Tiger Lord to help him fight their way out. But after Tiger Lord pointed to the reinforcements arriving from the gambling hall's security team, Ye Feng had no choice but to abandon the idea. All he could do was clench his fists in anger.
Perhaps still shaken by the earlier threat to his eyes, Ye Feng finally lowered his head after nearly ten minutes of persuasion.
Yet, as he approached Fang Haoran, he couldn't resist one last attempt at manipulation.
"Fang Haoran, if Teacher Liu knew how you're treating me, she'd be so disappointed in you!" He glared, wanting to make use of Haoran's love for Liu Quingshaung.
"Oh…"
Hearing her name, Fang Haoran paused for a moment, but only to pull out his phone. "Thanks for the reminder. Let me record this and show her the video."
He thanked Ye Feng with a smile, making Ye Feng almost explode.
"You…"
But before he could complete those words...
"What 'you'? The sooner you kowtow, the sooner this ends. If you'd rather continue embarrassing yourself, I'm fine with that too." He paused, shrugging nonchalantly before he added with a stern expression, "But just so we're clear, I want proper kowtows. If you try to fool me, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Ye Feng was practically fuming, but he understood that he had no leverage. Any more tricks would be pointless. It was better to endure now and find a way to get back at Fang Haoran later.
"Fine! I'll do it!"
Gritting his teeth, Ye Feng kneeled before Fang Haoran and bowed his head to the ground.
Thud—Thud—Thud—
The sound of his forehead hitting the floor echoed through the room.
Thud—Thud—Thud—
Each strike was heavy, deliberate, and humiliating.
Thud—Thud—Thud—
With the final bow, Ye Feng clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with hatred and humiliation.
Thud.
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