"What... what is he doing?"
From the outside, Xu Mo's actions appeared utterly strange. It didn't look like he was preparing to strike; instead, it seemed as though he was holding an invisible gun. Even someone who had never practiced martial arts could easily tell that the pose, with his body turned and arms extended sideways, was not one designed for powerful strikes. On the contrary, it formed a nearly triangular, super-stable shape.
If it weren't for the ongoing bet match, Xu Mo's motion would almost appear as if he was performing some special martial arts ritual.
To the onlookers, the two seemed unusually calm, but only the participants could feel the danger. The moment Xu Mo's fist made contact with the bald man's chest, for some reason, that seemingly harmless move gave the bald man an almost suffocating sense of terror. It felt as though someone had just pointed a gun at his head, and his life and death were completely in the hands of the young man before him.
Having been through numerous battles over the years, the bald man was extremely sensitive to the presence of danger. He had been on the edge of death multiple times, so he did not believe that the unease he felt at that moment was a mere illusion.
Though the young man simply stood there, in the bald man's eyes, he was slowly transforming into a monstrous beast, emerging from the abyss, ready to unleash a terrifying, earth-shaking strike. And he was the prey, locked in the beast's sights, helpless and with no chance of resistance.
The bald man could almost hear the footsteps of death approaching. Small beads of sweat poured down his shiny forehead, hitting the ground with a soft pat, his mind gripped by the torturous wait. He wished Xu Mo would just strike already, end it all—waiting for the inevitable, with the sound of death's cruel laughter in his ears, was unbearable.
"Start it!"
Xu Mo exhaled slowly, a faint orange gleam flashing in his eyes.
"Wait! Wait a minute!" The bald man's resolve finally broke, and he leaped back, gasping for air and waving his hand, "Little brother, you win! I surrender..."
The sudden change in the scene left everyone in the crowd dumbfounded. The bald man had surrendered after just a light touch? What was going on here? Was there some sort of agreement between them? Were they just playing a trick to entertain the crowd?
"Brother San? Have you got a fever? Is this kid using some sort of hypnosis on you?" The bald man's followers were in an uproar. The sight of their idol—their "war god"—falling before a high school student was so shocking that they couldn't comprehend it.
The bald man, however, wasn't interested in explaining his instincts to his men. After all, sixth sense was a mysterious thing, and it was hard to explain to anyone outside the experience. His face darkened as he snapped, "I said I lost, I lost. Do you doubt me? Let him go!"
The students, seeing the crisis pass, erupted into cheers. If not for the fact that the bald man and his group were still present, they might have carried Xu Mo off on their shoulders, throwing him toward the ceiling in excitement.
"Brother San, think it over!"
A few of the bald man's men tried to persuade him. In their line of work, life and death often didn't matter in gang disputes, but losing to a high school student, especially one who voluntarily surrendered, would be a major embarrassment. How could they show their faces again if word of this got out?
At that moment, a muscular man from the bald man's group suddenly rushed forward. Grabbing a wooden chair from the restaurant, he swung it toward Xu Mo's head, shouting, "Damn it! What kind of potion did you give Brother San? I don't believe you're some kind of superhero! Die!"
"Watch out!" Several girls in the crowd screamed in unison.
Just like the saying goes—"The king of hell is easy to face, but the little ghosts are troublesome!"
The bald man had already admitted defeat, yet his underlings still wanted to fight back. Xu Mo had never relaxed his vigilance since the moment the bald man surrendered. He had never trusted the so-called honor among gangsters; survival of the fittest was their true creed. As the massive man swung the chair toward him, Xu Mo sneered. Instead of dodging, he turned to meet the attack head-on and threw a punch without hesitation!
Boom!
It was as though a small bomb exploded on the spot. The shockwave spread, wood chips flew, and the solid yellowwood chair shattered completely. The center was pulverized into fine dust, which enveloped the area like a thick fog.
"What?"
The burly man was stunned, but Xu Mo didn't pause. His right fist landed precisely on the man's abdomen just as the chair broke apart. The man's shirt ripped apart, revealing his six-pack abs, which were crushed inward as if kicked by a horse. The huge man, weighing around 180 pounds, flew backward like a broken sack, crashing into the wall before slowly sliding down to the floor. He kneeled, blood pouring from his mouth in torrents.
"Short-range power!? No, that's not it!"
The bald man now finally understood where his fear came from. The power behind Xu Mo's punch had completely surpassed anything he had known about martial arts. Even the best fighters he had seen wouldn't be able to break a solid wooden chair in such a rushed manner. And yet, Xu Mo had enough residual power to knock down his strongest man—Big Ape—with a single blow.
Big Ape was strong by nature, and among his men, only the bald man could match him in terms of endurance. That Xu Mo had not only broken the chair but also sent Big Ape flying with such residual force... If the bald man had not chosen to surrender, he knew that punch would have either killed him or left him lying in a hospital bed for years!
This kind of terrifying force was beyond the realm of hard qigong. It was probably only possible through the legendary inner power—Qi! But hadn't his master said that inner power was just a myth invented by non-martial artists?
"Big Ape~! Damn it! Brothers, grab your weapons and follow me!"
A few of the bald man's younger followers, unable to comprehend the situation, turned red with rage. Seeing their comrade's fate, they immediately grabbed anything they could as weapons and rushed at Xu Mo.
"Bastards! Stop right now!"
The bald man shouted urgently. His subordinates were good at fighting in street brawls, but against a true martial artist, they were no match. The gap was as vast as the difference between homemade pistols and military-grade AK47s.
Moreover, Xu Mo was clearly a martial arts expert capable of inner energy, meaning that if he truly got angry, these men would be killed in an instant!
But it was already too late. The bloodshot-eyed young men were beyond reasoning. Some even drew knives, clearly bent on taking Xu Mo's life.
As the gang members charged, the students were terrified and scrambled into the private room, yelling for help. Xu Bi Lin, though concerned about Xu Mo's safety, helped the injured Ouyang Ning into the room.
"Quick... lock the door! Call the police! Even though they have connections, they won't dare to let these gangsters kill students in broad daylight!" Ouyang Ning urgently ordered as he entered the room.
A male student from Class 3 tried to lock the door, but Xu Bi Lin pushed him away and blocked the door with her body. "No, we can't lock the door! Xu Mo is still out there!"
"Xu Bilin! What are you thinking? I have to ensure the safety of all the students! I believe Xu Mo will understand!" Ouyang Ning argued, trying to be reasonable. "Otherwise, we'll vote on whether to lock the door or not!"