Chapter 45: Saving the Beauty

In the beginning, Lin Yun did not want to save Ma Li. Why would he possess the energy to help others when his own life was in peril?

However, after spotting Ma Li’s helpless gaze, he was reminded of Feng Ke all of a sudden, for some unknown reason. He recalled the day he stood in front of Feng Ke and protected her. How could he not save Feng Ke if she was in trouble?

He murmured self-derisively, “It’s an impossible feat to oppose a whole planet by myself. The plan I made in a rush was filled with flaws, and yet, I actually hope to successfully escape? Since I will be captured sooner or later, why don’t I help some people before that happens?”

With that thought in mind, his gaze toward Ma Li gentled, as he inquired softly. “I’m a mercenary. Are you willing to hire me?”

Momentarily stunned, Ma Li muttered, “But… I don’t have a lot of money.”

“Can you provide me with a full meal?” Lin Yun asked with a smile.

“Yes.” At a loss, Ma Li nodded.

Lin Yun took two steps forward, stood in front of Ma Li, and informed the three hooligans. “I’m sorry, but this lady hired me. Therefore, none of you can take her away.”

The three of them visibly startled at this. Evidently, they were very used to being tyrannous, and not many people dared to go up against them.

“Who the f*ck are you, to go up against the Blue Dragon Gang? Did you hit your head somewhere? You must be suicidal.” The golden-tooth skinny man pointed at Lin Yun and ridiculed him.

The other two brawny sidekicks asked in flattery, “Brother Skinny Monkey, shall we cripple him since he doesn’t know what’s good for him?”

The skinny man sized Lin Yun up, snorting upon noticing Lin Yun’s scrawny limbs. He said in contempt, “It’s a piece of cake for me to defeat people like this. Watch carefully as I cripple him.”

When the two sidekicks heard that, they exclaimed, “We can finally see Brother Skinny Monkey demonstrate his power and capabilities. Brother Skinny Monkey is the best!”

“Don’t win too fast, Brother Skinny Monkey. Let us learn some moves from you.”

Lin Yun shuddered in disgust upon hearing the two men’s flattery.

“Come at me, punk! I will let you have the first move!” The skinny man jeered, looking very much like a manically-laughing monkey.

“I need to maintain a low profile, so I can’t reveal my full strength. Otherwise, my identity will be exposed easily.”

With this in mind, Lin Yun sauntered forward and threw a punch at Skinny Monkey’s chest using 30% of his strength.

A punch at 30% of Lin Yun’s strength had about 120 kilograms of weight behind it. Anyone who had slight training in the martial arts could easily parry it. Lin Yu used this punch to conceal his weakness.

Upon suffering from this blow, Skinny Monkey’s face took on a look of disdain. From the look in his eyes, Lin Yun’s punch seemed as insignificant as a feather brushing past.

“Brother Skinny Monkey is invincible! Brother Skinny Monkey is the best!”

“Give up, punk! Your punches can never harm Brother Skinny Monkey.”

Skinny Monkey grinned brightly, his golden tooth gleaming in the light when the two sidekicks showered him with praises. He beckoned provokingly at Lin Yun. “What kind of punch is that, punk? I felt nothing! Come, punch me again, or else, people might say that I bullied you.”

He then slapped himself on the chest and said provocatively, “Hit me here!”

Lin Yun silently used 50% of his strength to punch at the skinny man’s chest. This time around, the latter’s eyes grew comically wide, and his entire face turned red.

50% strength was equivalent to a 200-kilogram-weight punch. This punch acted like a huge steel hammer that slammed onto Skinny Monkey’s chest. As he was totally unprepared, Skinny Monkey suddenly couldn’t breathe, and he was in so much pain that his face flushed red.

“Brother Skinny Monkey is the best! Surrender, punk!”

“Brother Skinny Monkey is only playing with you. Surrender!”

The two sidekicks hastily threw out flattery. Then, they saw Skinny Monkey pat his chest and let out a long breath.

“I failed to expect that you possess this amount of strength, punk. However, you’re far inferior to me. Congratulations, you have successfully angered me. I will cripple your four limbs and make you crawl around on the floor like a dog for the rest of your life.” Skinny Monkey glared at Lin Yun with a dark expression.

Lin Yun grunted and used 70% of his strength to punch Skinny Monkey’s abdomen.

“Bang!” An explosive sound resounded with the punch.

Don’t underestimate the 20% difference in strength, for that was a 78-kilogram difference in the weight behind the punch. The nearly 80-kilogram difference was like heaven and earth. To give an extreme example, you might feel nothing much if you carried a beautiful young lady. However, what if that young lady gained 78 kilograms in weight, thus becoming a heavy, fat girl?

After suffering from such a heavy blow, Skinny Monkey couldn’t help but kneel on the floor, clutching his stomach with both hands and hacking dryly.

“Brother Skinny Monkey is circulating his technique and exchanging his air, ready to release his ultimate move!” One of the sidekicks still couldn’t comprehend the situation, so he yelled in hopes to flatter the man.

Skinny Monkey climbed back up with great difficulty, kicked him, and hollered angrily. “What are the two of you standing around for? Are you guys able to take responsibility if my time is wasted? Both of you, go and cripple this punk.”

The two sidekicks looked at each other and quickly dashed toward Lin Yun. Skinny Monkey repeatedly rubbed his stomach, his eyes filled with ridicule. “Punk, you might possess some strength, but you’re still a youngster, after all. How can you hold against two brawny men?”

A few seconds later, Skinny Monkey was dumbfounded.

Two punches!

Lin Yun only threw two punches, and the two men had collapsed onto the group, unconscious.

“How could this be possible? The two of them are professional fighters, and their bodies have just broken through to Level 4. Could this be this punk’s true strength?”

As soon as he thought of this, Skinny Monkey’s expression changed. His arrogance completely disappeared and fear replaced it. It was like how one originally wanted to step onto a centipede and kill it, but this insect suddenly transformed into a long, huge snake.

When he looked at these three hooligans, Lin Yun wondered if he should kill them all. A sharp gleam flashed past his eyes the moment this thought appeared.

Skinny Monkey started sweating bullets when he saw how unfriendly Lin Yun’s eyes were and when he sensed Lin Yun’s killing intent. All of a sudden, his legs wobbled and he knelt onto the floor, repeatedly prostrating himself at Lin Yun.

“I’m wrong, sir. Please let me off. I failed to recognize how formidable you are. I dare not do this anymore. Treat me like dirt and let me off, please.”

Lin Yun glanced at Ma Li standing beside him and hesitated. Did he need to kill Ma Li as well, to prevent his presence from being revealed? He could kill the three hooligans, but he didn’t have it in him to kill an innocent like Ma Li. Moreover, the three hooligans were members of the Blue Dragon Gang. If he was to kill them, the Blue Dragon Gang would definitely become his enemy. Given his current situation, he shouldn’t create trouble without reason.

Therefore, Lin Yun walked in front of Skinny Monkey, lifted his right hand high, and slapped the latter.

“Piak!”

A red handprint appeared on Skinny Monkey’s face. He fell onto the ground due to the force of the slap. The golden tooth he had immense pride in dropped as well.

“Scram. I will kill all of you if I see you guys again.”

The three hooligans felt relieved and hastily fled. When the skinny man left, he remembered to pick up the golden tooth that had fallen onto the ground. Lin Yun failed to notice a cold gleam flashing past the man’s eyes.

In the blink of an eye, only Lin Yun and Ma Li were left in the empty alley.

“Thank you, thank you, sir.” Ma Li sighed in relief and hastily thanked Lin Yun.

Lin Yun smiled and said, “There’s no need to thank me. I’m a mercenary, so I will receive remuneration after saving you.”

“Remuneration. What remuneration?” Ma Li seemed to think of something scary and hugged her chest as she looked at Lin Yun evasively.

“A full meal, as we agreed upon,” Lin Yun replied with a chuckle.

Hearing that, Ma Li’s anxious expression eased. She hastily said, “Of course. Please follow me, sir.”

She silently picked up the garbage bag discarded on the ground and led the way deep into the alley. The footprints she left on the thick snow layer were alternatively deep and shallow.

After following Ma Li, Lin Yun arrived at a small dilapidated hut, which only contained a small bed and a worn chair. Piled on one side of the room were countless metal trash. It seemed that her livelihood was sustained by picking up garbage.

“My house is very shabby. Sorry about that, sir,” Ma Li said softly, looking embarrassed. She passed that chair to Lin Yun and informed him with red cheeks. “I will prepare dinner for you, sir. Please hold on a while.”

Then, she dragged out a simple wok from beneath the bed and walked out of the room. She left for a long while and did not come out. Bored, Lin Yun started looking through the pile of metal garbage.

“This city is indeed abandoned, or else, there should still be cleaners present. Ma Li seems to earn money by selling the metal scraps she scavenges.”

As Lin Yun contemplated, he casually took out a piece of rusty iron from the pile. Suddenly, a familiar female electronic voice sounded in his mind—

“System component found. Please install it as soon as possible!”