Saturday Restaurant

In the long silence, time passed by second by second. At this moment, several men entered one after another from outside, each sitting at different tables. Some read newspapers, some chatted, some played with their phones, and some buried themselves in their food. Not a single one of them glanced in this direction, seemingly indifferent to everything around them.

Though they appeared not to know each other, the subtle exchange of glances between them couldn't escape the notice of Ye Chong.

From the moment they entered until they took their seats in just a short span of ten seconds, Ye Chong's intuition already made it clear to him: this place was dangerous!

From their occasional eye contact and strange gestures, he quickly caught on to one piece of information: their target was not someone else, but the woman sitting across from him!

Judging by their actions, even if they weren't professional killers, they were well-trained thugs.

It seemed that the woman had already gotten herself into big trouble, yet she remained oblivious to it all.

Although he remained calm on the surface, Ye Chong secretly kept a close watch on every tiny movement of those men.

With a pale face, the woman said, "Do you know what this means for a woman?"

This time, Ye Chong wisely kept his mouth shut and refrained from speaking.

"Destruction!" Her voice choked up, her long eyelashes quickly moistened, and she struggled to contain her surging emotions. "It's like the end of the world, where there's no sunshine or hope left in life. It's a feeling of being alive but already dead inside, do you understand?"

As she finished speaking, she turned her face away towards the window, tears rolling down incessantly.

Ye Chong handed her a tissue and whispered, "You're too emotional right now. It's hard to have a conversation like this. Go to the restroom, freshen up, and calm down."

The woman got up and left swiftly, like a gust of wind.

As soon as she left, those men exchanged glances and two of them attempted to follow her. But before they could take a few steps, someone blocked their way.

Ye Chong grinned mischievously. "Gentlemen, it seems like you're heading to the wrong restroom."

Seeing it was him, their expressions changed instantly. Before they could react, Ye Chong struck out like a dragon with both hands, accurately targeting their throats. With a "crack" sound, both men collapsed without even a groan.

Seeing that the situation was not favorable, the others were about to get up when Ye Chong leaped over tables with large strides, delivering a flying knee to the chests of two more men.

Their chests caved in like cardboard boxes, and blood sprayed from their mouths before they fell onto their chairs, sliding out a considerable distance.

A cold wind swept in diagonally, and Ye Chong swiftly grabbed one man's wrist. He twisted it, causing the knife to fly out of his hand. Then, he grabbed the back of the man's neck with both hands and alternately struck his ribs with his knees. At first, there was a crisp "crack" sound, but soon it turned into the whooshing sound of air escaping a ruptured bellows.

Letting go, the man fell backwards.

The last man was dumbfounded by the scene before him. His face drained of color, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He tried to run but could only retreat backward, waving the knife in his hand. "D-don't... don't come any closer... don't come..."

His face was filled with fear, his facial muscles twitching incessantly, and tears and snot flowed down unknowingly.

Ye Chong came over and squatted down in front of him, tilting his head to look at him, speaking in an incredibly calm tone. "Who sent you?"

"I... I..." Whether out of fear of Ye Chong or because he didn't dare to say what he wanted, the man just kept stammering.

Ye Chong cupped his head in both hands, and together they looked out the window. "The weather is nice today. You should take a good look. This world is so beautiful, with sunshine, rain, green grass, and flowers. There are so many things worth cherishing. It's a pity..."

Crack!

The man's head tilted to the side, his wide eyes rapidly dilating, still imprinting the beautiful scenery outside the window on his retinas.

Ye Chong stood up slowly, still looking out the window, and continued in a cold voice, "You must bid farewell to this beautiful world."

When the woman returned, she was much calmer. Ye Chong was still sitting in his original seat, but now he had lit a cigarette, quietly enjoying the view outside the window.

The men remained in their previous positions, maintaining their previous postures. However, with the woman's current mood, they could only become miserable and insignificant background figures.

She said word by word, "I will find you again, but don't think you can escape. I can protect you, but I can also leave you without a burial place."

Without waiting for Ye Chong to speak, she had already gracefully left.

Ye Chong knew he had gotten himself into big trouble. Even a fool could see that this woman was no ordinary person. Despite having so many women to choose from, he had to sleep with this woman. His luck was truly abysmal.

As he was about to leave, his phone rang. Taking out his phone, he saw an unfamiliar number.

"Hello," he answered, and a strange woman's voice came from the other end. "Are you Mr. Ye Chong?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"I'm Su MoNing, we met last night."

Ye Chong was truly scared by women today. First, it was that fierce female detective, and then a stunning beauty. If he hadn't been lucky enough, he might have been riddled with bullets long ago.

As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of ropes for ten years. Today, he was indeed afraid of women. This girl suddenly showed up; could it be another life-threatening situation?

He forced a bitter smile, "Oh, do you need something?"

"I want to meet you."

Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but tense up. "I think it's better not to. I'm currently on bail pending trial, and if it affects you..."

Before he could finish, the woman interjected, "Tonight at 7 p.m., Willow Street, Saturday Restaurant. I'll be waiting for you."

The other party hung up, leaving Ye Chong with a headache. The woman sounded resolute; he was afraid she wouldn't take no for an answer tonight.

Regardless of whether it was good or bad luck, he had saved her once. Surely she wouldn't turn against him?

After making up his mind, he glanced at the untouched drinks on the table, picked up a beer, gulped it down, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then patted the man's shoulder, "Thanks for the beer."

As he left the restaurant, the man collapsed to the ground.

Leaving the Black Hawk Shooting Club, he hailed a taxi on the roadside and got in.

The driver asked solemnly, "Where to?"

"Willow Street, Saturday Restaurant."

As the car started moving, he instinctively reached for his pocket. To his dismay, it was empty. His face changed immediately.

His pocket was as clean as his face, not even a single hair. He suddenly remembered that all the money he had taken from Ma Hong during his time in the detective team had been confiscated.

Now penniless, he finally understood the saying "a hero with no money is as good as dead."

How could he not know if there was money in his pocket on a rainy day? 

True, but Ye Chong was the type of person who was oblivious to money, even if he was as poor as a church mouse.

"Driver, sorry, please stop here. I happen to have no money on me."

He expected the driver to grumble and kick him out of the car, but instead, the driver said, "No money, no problem, as long as you have life."

Ye Chong's expression froze. "What do you mean?"

"Just that." Before he could react, the driver had a gun in his hand and pulled the trigger towards the back!

Bang!

A burst of orange flame erupted from the gun barrel, filling the entire cabin with the pungent smell of gunpowder.

But just as the shot rang out, Ye Chong remained unharmed. In that split second, he had opened the man's arm.

The bullet grazed his hair, shattered the rear window, and went through.

Without giving the assailant a chance for a second shot, Ye Chong grabbed his arm and fiercely smashed his knee until the gun slipped from his hand.

This time, he was beyond furious. Nearly getting shot in the head twice in one day, barely escaping both times, only to encounter an assassin in a taxi ride.

With a surge of energy from who knows where, he grabbed the man's clothes and threw him straight into the backseat. The man struggled, kicking and punching wildly.

Ye Chong grabbed his throat, choking him until his eyes rolled back, gradually losing his strength to struggle.

"Who sent you?" Ye Chong demanded, his eyes full of anger.

The man's eyes were filled with malice and confusion. Slowly raising his right hand, he weakly swiped at Ye Chong's face.

Ye Chong's expression darkened. Without another word, he pushed open the car door and threw the man out of the car.

As the man hit the ground and rolled, struggling to get up, he saw a car speeding towards him from the opposite direction. His pupils constricted violently, and he let out a scream of agony, "Ah..."

At that moment, the taxi was driving on a highland road, with cliffs on one side and the sea on the other. 

In the midst of the struggle, the car lost control, heading straight towards the rocks at the roadside. Ye Chong swiftly climbed into the driver's seat, sharply turned the steering wheel, and brushed past another car on the opposite lane.

Crash!

The door of the car flew open like a piece of paper, and the car slid back onto the original lane.

Ye Chong slowed down, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and opening the glove compartment and the glasses case with the other. As he expected, the driver wasn't the owner of this car at all, but the words "Jiarong Auto Shop" were deeply engraved in his mind.