Chapter 580: Crisis
No one in the room paid any attention to Zheng Yingxiong; instead, they were all staring at Tiantian.
"Anything?" Old Fang stepped forward with a grin. "Little girl, you're too naive. Do you know what's about to happen?"
"Yes," Tiantian replied solemnly. "Whatever happens, I can handle it. But you have to let this kid go first."
When no one answered, she reiterated, "No matter how you look at it, I'm the most useful to you, right? Keeping him here is pointless."
"But what if you're disobedient..." Old Fang started to get handsy with Tiantian, only to find she didn't react at all.
"Disobedient...?" Tiantian seemed confused. "I'm the one who proposed this plan. Why would I be disobedient?"
"You..." Old Fang was taken aback, then turned to look at the suit man and the young man. He seemed to have never met a girl like this—she was too cooperative.
The middle-aged man in the suit kept frowning at Tiantian, as if trying to figure out her motives.
Meanwhile, the tall young man who had been silent all along finally spoke. His expression looked somewhat unnatural. "Uncle Fang... Uncle Liu... maybe we should call it off... If we go through with this, how are we any different from animals?"
"Shut up!" Old Fang barked. "We're animals? The stuff we stole, did you eat it or not? Did you drink it?"
"I..." The young man was at a loss for words. "Uncles, I've stopped you plenty of times before when you were stealing, but you always brought up your experience and seniority... That's in the past, I won't bring it up again. But what are you doing now? Robbery, rape, murder?"
"Xiao Cheng, just stay put and keep quiet," Old Fang said. "It's all illegal anyway, but out here, no one's going to stop us. If the victim dies here, anyone passing by won't even spare a word of pity. We've lived miserably enough in the real world. Do we have to suffer here too?"
He turned back to look at Tiantian and reached out to touch her face. "How many of you have ever slept with a girl like this in real life? Huh? The opportunity is right in front of you, and you don't take it. Do you really want to escape from here, go back to being failures, and then regret, 'Why didn't I do it?' Huh?!"
"No... that's not right..." The young man called Xiao Cheng frowned deeply. "No matter what you say, forcing someone is wrong. She's a human being, not a tool!"
"Forcing...?" Old Fang's hand slowly moved to Tiantian's neck and gently gripped her throat. "Girl, am I forcing you?"
Tiantian had seen far too many of these situations. She slowly closed her eyes and said, "No. I'm doing this willingly. As long as you're willing to let the kid go, everything from here on out is completely voluntary."
Her words made the three men hesitate again.
In all the TV dramas they had ever watched, there had never been a scene like this. Why was she being so cooperative?
"She's definitely up to something," the suit man said. "Tie the kid up, or she'll try to run."
"What—" Now it was Tiantian's turn to be baffled. "Are you people out of your minds?! I've already said this much... and you still won't let the kid go?!"
"It's... it's okay, big sister..." Zheng Yingxiong picked himself up from the ground, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. "I'll protect you..."
Countless thoughts flashed through Tiantian's mind. Was there any way, any way at all, to save Zheng Yingxiong while also getting herself out unscathed?
"No... I don't need to get out unscathed..." Tiantian murmured to herself.
Zheng Yingxiong, still trembling, raised his newspaper short sword again. "I am... a hero..."
"Little brat..." Old Fang clearly hated children. The look in his eyes as he stared at Zheng Yingxiong was practically blazing. "I'm going to break your legs today..."
With that, he lunged forward. In the nick of time, Zheng Yingxiong dropped his short sword, threw his arms around Old Fang's arm, and bit down hard.
"Ow!"
Old Fang cried out in pain, but before he could retaliate, Zheng Yingxiong slammed his head into Old Fang's groin.
In just a second or two, Zheng Yingxiong had managed to bring the overweight Old Fang to the ground.
Tiantian froze for a moment, then immediately reached out to grab Zheng Yingxiong. "Run!"
They spun around and bolted for the door. The suit man saw what was happening and got up to chase, but the young man quickly blocked him. "Uncle Liu! Maybe we shouldn't—"
"Get lost!" The man called Uncle Liu kicked the young man to the ground, then grabbed a stick from the floor and gave chase.
Tiantian and Zheng Yingxiong were already at a disadvantage in stamina. In just seven or eight steps, they were caught. Old Liu swung the stick viciously at Tiantian.
Zheng Yingxiong shouted in alarm and immediately turned back, hurling himself forward and ramming into Old Liu's chest.
But Old Liu was clearly much stronger than Old Fang. The impact only halted his advance for a moment, making him stumble back half a step.
His expression hardened, and he swung the stick down again.
Zheng Yingxiong was right in front of him, unable to dodge. The blow landed squarely on his forehead.
The rotten wooden stick shattered against his small head, but his body wobbled without falling. Dark red blood streamed down his forehead until it blurred his vision.
Tiantian gasped sharply and took a big step forward to shield Yingxiong. She was a bit taller than him, but still nowhere near the size of the burly Old Liu.
"Dammit..." Old Liu held the broken stick in his hand, looking at Tiantian. "I knew you were trying to run. Still don't get the situation? If I say you can leave, you leave. If I say you can't, you die right here."
"I was wrong... big brother..." Tiantian, trembling all over, held Zheng Yingxiong behind her. "We won't run anymore. The kid's already hurt. Don't hit him again. I'll do whatever you want."
Seeing that the man remained unmoved, she hurriedly started pulling at her clothes. "Look, big brother, I can do it. I can do anything."
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her eyes had completely lost their earlier composure.
"Interesting." The man casually tossed aside the broken stick and looked at Tiantian, now disheveled, with keen interest. "Why are you so set on protecting that kid? What is he to you?"
"Just a stranger I met by chance," Tiantian said. "He saved me once, so I'm saving him once."
"Big sister... don't worry about me. I'll protect you. I can die here..." Zheng Yingxiong muttered weakly behind her. "You just run... I'll hold him off..."
Hearing this, Tiantian quickly turned around and reached out to wipe the blood from his forehead. "Why are you so foolish, kid? Why do you need to protect someone like me? There's no need..."
"Big sister, I told you before... because I'm a hero."