Chapter 2: Aren't We Friends Too?

"Arrest this piece of trash named Zhao Tai for me!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the air in the lobby seemed to freeze solid.

The AC blasted out cold wind. Dozens of officers were present, yet not a single one moved half a step.

Who owned the skies over Jianghai City? Shengshi Group!

Arrest the Young Master? That was practically joking with your own life.

Zhao Gang wiped the fine layer of cold sweat off his forehead, shrank his neck, and pretended he hadn't heard a thing. He even took half a step back, terrified that blood might splash onto his brand-new police uniform.

A few young trainee officers exchanged glances.

They gripped their batons so hard their knuckles turned white, but the soles of their feet felt glued down by superglue. They couldn't move their legs no matter what.

After a brief, dead silence.

"Hahahaha—"

Zhao Tai froze for two seconds, then burst into hysterical laughter. He laughed until he doubled over, tears nearly shooting out of his eyes.

"Arrest me? Listen up, all of you! This begging lunatic says he wants to arrest me!"

He raised his Rolex-clad hand, pointed right at Lu Zheng's nose, and roared at the black-suited bodyguards behind him.

The lead bodyguard, a man with a scarred face, curled his thick lips to reveal a mouthful of disgusting yellow teeth.

He spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the marble floor in pure contempt.

"Kid, did a donkey kick your brain out?"

"Go ask around. In this patch of dirt called Jianghai, who dares touch a single hair on Young Master Tai's head!"

The scar-faced man cursed as he spoke. Relying on his two-hundred-plus-pound frame, he reached out to shove Lu Zheng's shoulder.

Those fingers had thick joints. They'd held machetes and hurt plenty of people before.

"Don't know what's good for you. Get the hell out before you dirty Young Master Tai's eyes!"

Just before that filthy hand could touch the old jacket, Lu Zheng moved.

No nonsense.

No flashy opening stances.

Lu Zheng's left hand shot out like a venomous snake, clamping down on the scar-faced man's wrist like a hydraulic iron vise.

Before the guy could even curse, Lu Zheng yanked him downward. His right knee tore through the air with a whistling sound and slammed heavily into the man's soft ribs.

"Blegh—"

The scar-faced man's eyeballs bulged out. Stomach acid mixed with last night's foreign liquor sprayed across the floor.

Lu Zheng sidestepped in disgust.

Immediately after, his right elbow came down like a heavy sledgehammer, smashing brutally into the wide, exposed back.

*Crack!*

A bone-crunching sound that set teeth on edge echoed clearly through the empty lobby.

The scar-faced man collapsed like a puddle of mud. He didn't even get the chance to scream. His eyes rolled back and he passed out on the spot.

Fast. Too fast.

From the first strike to crippling a tough guy who lived by the blade year-round, it took less than two seconds.

Zhao Tai's manic laughter instantly jammed in his throat, like a drake whose neck had been suddenly grabbed.

"What are you standing there for! Are you all blind? Kill him for me!"

Zhao Tai shrieked in terror, pointing at Lu Zheng while his feet retreated uncontrollably, step after step.

The remaining seven bodyguards finally snapped out of it.

They'd run rampant alongside their boss for years, all with blood on their hands. They immediately drew steel collapsible batons from their waists and charged forward with red eyes.

"Seeking death."

Deep within Lu Zheng's pupils, a trace of scarlet brutality instantly spread.

That was a killing instinct fed by the blood of countless enemies in the borderland slaughterhouse.

Facing this bunch of street thugs was like an adult tiger playing with a few Chihuahuas.

A baton chopped down at his face, whistling through the air.

Lu Zheng didn't retreat. He advanced, ducking under the edge, and slid precisely into the man's guard.

His hands locked tight onto the guy's forearm. Using the momentum, he executed a crisp, clean military shoulder throw.

The hundred-and-eighty-pound brute was swung in a full arc and smashed into the ground, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.

Right after, Lu Zheng pivoted and unleashed a heavy, low sweeping kick into the outside of the third bodyguard's knee.

*Snap!*

The man's lower leg instantly bent into a grotesque L-shape. He clutched his leg, rolling wildly on the floor and howling.

The fourth bodyguard saw things going south. He grabbed a stainless steel reception chair nearby and smashed it down toward Lu Zheng's head.

Lu Zheng raised his left arm and blocked the strike head-on.

Didn't even frown.

The metal chair instantly warped and dented inward. He snatched it back with a reverse grip and whipped it straight into the guy's face, shattering his nasal bridge on the spot.

Blood sprayed wildly.

Ten seconds.

It only took ten seconds.

Four bodyguards were already lying on the ground, screaming and twitching. The floor was covered in blinding crimson.

The remaining three bodyguards held up their batons, their legs shaking like sieves.

They looked at Lu Zheng like they were staring at a death god crawling straight out of hell. None of them dared take another half-step forward.

"Is... is this fucking guy still human?"

The watching officers sucked in a breath of cold air, their eyes practically popping out of their skulls.

Zhao Gang's legs gave out entirely. He plopped down on the steps, every ounce of fat on his body trembling.

This wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided slaughter!

Lu Zheng flicked nonexistent dust off his jacket sleeve. Treading through the bloody water on the floor, he walked toward Zhao Tai, step by step.

His tactical boots crunched against broken glass, making a heart-stopping scraping sound.

Zhao Tai's arrogance was completely gone now. That face, ruined by excessive indulgence, was pale as paper.

"You... stay away from me! I'm warning you, I'm the heir to Shengshi Group!"

Zhao Tai's back slammed hard against the solid gold coffin. Nowhere left to run.

"My dad is Zhao Zhenhai! If you dare touch a single hair on my head today, tomorrow I'll have your entire family wiped out!"

He screamed himself hoarse, trying to use his family's vicious reputation to mask his extreme terror.

Lu Zheng stopped right in front of him.

Looking down at this so-called Young Master of Jianghai City.

"Shengshi Group? Zhao Zhenhai?"

A cruel curve tugged at the corner of Lu Zheng's mouth. His eyes looked at the man like he was already a corpse.

"Never heard of them. I only recognize the national emblem on this police uniform."

Before the words even faded, Lu Zheng suddenly reached out and grabbed a fistful of Zhao Tai's slicked-back, greasy hair.

"Ahh—let go! It hurts! It hurts, damn it!"

Zhao Tai let out a pig-slaughtering shriek, desperately clawing at Lu Zheng's fingers with both hands.

But that hand was cast from iron. It dug into his scalp and wouldn't budge a millimeter.

Like dragging a dead dog, Lu Zheng hauled Zhao Tai by the hair, dragging him forcefully to the side of the gold coffin.

"Don't you like giving people coffins?"

Lu Zheng's indifferent voice exploded next to Zhao Tai's ear, carrying zero warmth.

"Not letting you lie inside to test the size today would be such a shame."

"No! I was wrong! Commissioner Lu, I was wrong! I have money, I'll give you money!"

Zhao Tai finally broke. A puddle of yellow liquid seeped out from his crotch, and a foul stench instantly spread through the air.

There was no pity in Lu Zheng's eyes.

He abruptly lifted his right foot and stomped hard into the back of Zhao Tai's knee, then kicked him squarely in the ass.

"Get in!"

Accompanied by a despairing wail, Zhao Tai's entire body traced a parabolic arc through the air.

*Bang!*

He crashed heavily into the solid gold coffin. His head smacked against the hard inner wall, splitting open and bleeding on the spot.

Lu Zheng showed no mercy. He reached out and pulled.

The heavy gold lid slammed shut with a muffled boom.

"Let me out! I'm suffocating, let me out!"

Zhao Tai frantically pounded his fists against the metal lid from inside, producing muffled *thud thud* sounds of desperation.

"Lu Zheng! You're dead! My dad definitely won't let you off!"

The voice inside grew increasingly hoarse, yet still dripped with undying malice.

Lu Zheng sneered.

He directly lifted his thick-soled tactical boot and stomped heavily onto the sealed lid.

*Vmm—*

Hundreds of pounds of force made the coffin emit a massive hum. Inside, Zhao Tai's ears instantly burst with blood from the vibration, and he went completely silent.

Right at that moment, a tower-like brute sauntered in through the station doors.

Nearly two meters tall, muscles coiled everywhere, wearing a black tactical vest that looked ready to burst.

This was Chen Han, the personal guard Lu Zheng had just recruited—a former elite blade soldier from the special operations unit.

He'd gone to the backyard to park that busted jeep. The second he walked in, he smelled the blood filling the lobby.

"Boss, I was only gone long enough to park the car. Why'd you start doing it yourself again?"

Chen Han rubbed his shiny shaved head, scanning the unconscious bodyguards on the floor with a face full of regret.

Didn't even leave him a sip of soup.

Lu Zheng stood atop the glittering gold coffin, looking down at the entire silenced police station.

He raised his hand and pointed toward the dim interrogation room deep down the hallway.

"Drag the man and the coffin into the interrogation room!"