Yang Mo walked toward Le Dagger with a calm smile. "Brother Mo, I really didn't know it was you. Please forgive me," Le Dagger stammered, his face filled with regret. His eyes glared sinisterly at Green Hair and the others beside him. This entire mess was their fault.
Without another word, Le Dagger turned to Green Hair and slapped him hard across the face. "Hurry up and kowtow! Apologize! Do you hear me?"
"Y-Yes!" Green Hair, now completely panicked, fell to his knees. His minions, equally terrified, followed suit, bowing their heads low. They were nothing more than street thugs, unprepared to deal with real criminals like Le Dagger, who had seen the worst the underworld had to offer. They were merely small-time bullies, and now they had met someone they couldn't intimidate.
"Stop. I have no habit of making people kneel to me," Yang Mo said, waving a dismissive hand. "But my aunt and her family are running a simple barbecue stall, and your little brothers came to stir up trouble for no reason. What do you say about that?"
Le Dagger's face darkened as he turned to his underlings. "What? They actually did such a thing? Simply inhuman!" He strode up to one of them and delivered another slap. "What have I always taught you? No bullying the common folk! You idiots are a disgrace!"
"Y-Yes, boss! We were wrong!" Green Hair and his lackeys stammered, their confidence shattered.
Watching this, Yi Shing Yu couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. Just moments ago, these men had been acting like untouchable tyrants, and now they stood in line, trembling like scolded schoolchildren.
"Alright, old rules. Pay up, and we'll let this go," Yang Mo said, his voice indifferent.
"Yes, yes! We'll pay!" Green Hair nodded furiously, eager to escape this nightmare.
"$10,000. That should be enough, don't you think?" Yang Mo's voice was firm.
The three thugs paled. They had come expecting to extort money but were now being forced to pay instead. Green Hair searched his pockets frantically and came up with only a little over $2,000. The other two combined had about $3,000, bringing the total to only $5,500.
"Big brother, we don't have enough. Please, have mercy," Green Hair pleaded.
Le Dagger scoffed, shaking his head in disgust. "How dare you act like gangsters with this kind of pocket change? Shame on you!" He sighed before begrudgingly pulling out $5,000 from his own wallet. "Here. But let me be clear—this is the last time I'm helping you idiots."
Green Hair shakily handed over the full amount to Yang Mo. "Big brother, can we go now?"
Yang Mo counted the money before handing it over to his aunt, Fonley. "Alright, you can leave. Dagger, teach these fools a lesson. If they don't have the guts, they shouldn't pretend to be gangsters. There's no future in it."
"Yes, yes! What Brother Mo says is right!" Le Dagger nodded vigorously, though inwardly, he was seething. He had come here expecting to collect money, yet he had ended up losing $5,000 instead. His eyes burned with rage as he glared at Green Hair, silently promising retribution later.
Just as they were about to leave, the sharp wail of a police siren pierced the air. Within moments, several armed officers arrived on the scene.
"Who called the police? Someone reported an armed robbery here," one officer announced.
Yang Mo stepped forward. "I did. That one," he said, pointing directly at Green Hair, "he pulled a knife. Everyone here can testify."
Hearing this, the lead officer turned his attention to Green Hair and his crew. He wasted no time, immediately pulling his gun from his holster. "Hands up! Drop the knife and get on the ground! I won't repeat myself!"
Terrified, Green Hair and his lackeys instantly complied, throwing their hands up and discarding the blade. They were street-level thugs, used to intimidating vendors and weaklings—not dealing with actual law enforcement.
Within minutes, the officers had them handcuffed and loaded into the police car.
The lead officer turned back to Yang Mo. "You and your family—none of you are hurt, are you?"
Yang Mo shook his head. "No, we're fine."
The officer gave a nod before signaling for his team to head back to the station.
As the police car drove away, Yi Shing Yu turned to Yang Mo, admiration shining in her eyes. "Brother Yang Mo, you're incredible!"
Yang Mo simply smiled. "Just doing what's right."