Chapter Twenty: Hurry Up and Fight!

“Cannon, are you alright?” Just as Yang Meng and his group left, one of Cannon Zheng’s men hurried over, helping him up from the ground.

Cannon Zheng ignored him. Once on his feet, he immediately took out his phone and dialed Hammer’s number, relaying Yang Meng’s whereabouts. After making an excuse about going to the hospital, he hung up.

The lackey who had helped him up quickly asked, “Boss, shouldn’t we go join the action? Or maybe we can call some more people to back up Hammer and the others?”

“Back up? Back up with what? Right now, get all the wounded to the hospital. Then call for cars and get all these vehicles out of here. We’re done with business for today!” Cannon Zheng snapped.

“But what about you, Boss? Aren’t you going to the hospital?” the lackey asked, worried.

Cannon Zheng glared at him, “Use your brain! Just a little, alright? Where are my car keys? Hurry up and find them! Useless lot, all of you!”

After Cannon Zheng left, someone else in the crowd quietly took out his phone and made a call, speaking in a low voice, “Boss Qian, something huge just happened…”

Meanwhile, in the Longyun Fitness Club, a man was carefully watching a video on his phone. Outside, a convoy had pulled up to the doors—one look at those getting out made it clear they were not to be trifled with.

Underneath the current of surging rivalries, what was Yang Meng doing? He was lying in Duan Bowen’s car, watching a movie—truly lying back and enjoying himself.

Duan Bowen drove a three-seater Volvo S90, with no front passenger seat. Instead, there was a footrest and a foldable little desk, plus an iPad Pro for watching movies or handling documents while reclining.

Duan Bowen glanced at Yang Meng, unable to make sense of his composure. How could he be so calm at a time like this? Did he not know so many people were plotting against him?

How could he be so unconcerned? People like this were either fools, ignorant and fearless, or they had everything under control.

But Yang Meng didn’t look like a fool, not at all.

“Mr. Yang, you don’t seem nervous at all?” Duan Bowen asked curiously.

Yang Meng grinned, “Dead men face the sky, the living last forever. In all honesty, Secretary Duan, I’m far stronger than you can imagine. So really, it’s those waiting for me who should be nervous. And don’t forget to tell your Young Master Long—if he wants to mess with me, he’d better prepare the compensation money.”

Duan Bowen replied, “...I already told him. He said the money should be paid—otherwise, it would be awkward if you didn’t have enough for medical bills.”

Yang Meng was taken aback, then burst out laughing. “I’m starting to like your Young Master Long. No matter his skills, the man’s got style! By the way, Secretary Duan, this car of yours is nice. How much did it cost?”

Duan Bowen was surprised by the abrupt change of subject, but answered truthfully, “A little over a million.”

Yang Meng clicked his tongue in amazement. Here he was, feeling pleased over earning fifty or a hundred thousand, and after all that effort, it didn’t even amount to the price of a car. He really needed to stop being so small-minded in the future.

Duan Bowen said, “Mr. Yang, this car is much more comfortable as a passenger than as a driver. What can I say? Being a secretary means serving others.” As he spoke, he opened the storage compartment, revealing wine and cigars. “Mr. Yang, help yourself.”

Yang Meng shook his head at the sight of the cigars and imported wine. “Rich people really know how to enjoy life. That bottle of yours is probably worth several months of my salary. Secretary Duan, don’t insult my intelligence—there’s no way you’re just an ordinary secretary.”

Duan Bowen smiled and shook his head. “I’m just a regular secretary. It’s just that my father served Old Master Long all his life. Now it’s my turn. Mr. Yang, we’ve arrived.”

Yang Meng looked out the window and whistled. “Ah, back to this place again. ‘Longyun’… Oh, I only just realized, this is one of the Long Group’s businesses as well.”

Duan Bowen paused in surprise. “Mr. Yang, why do you call this place a scam? Longyun Fitness Club is nothing like those money-grabbing, fraudulent gyms. This is the most reputable fitness club in the city, and since it’s owned by the Long Group, there’s no way it would scam people.”

These days, as people’s living standards improved, they naturally became more concerned about their health. New gyms were cropping up like mushrooms after the rain. Many believed it was a booming new industry, but few realized it was actually one of the most scam-ridden businesses around. It was common for someone to buy a membership card, only for the gym to close down soon after, with the owner running off with the money.

People often wondered how such large venues with so much equipment could simply vanish overnight. In reality, these scam artists operated with almost no capital—just find a suitable space, pay a small deposit to the landlord, promising to settle the rent after renovations. Then, after setting up a convincing facade with rented treadmills and such, they would hire salespeople to sell membership cards. Glossy flyers, tempting membership deals—many people fell for it, only to become sheep waiting to be shorn.

Once enough money was collected, unscrupulous owners would simply shut down and disappear. If they had a little more conscience, they’d play the ‘thief crying thief’ trick, reporting themselves to the fire department or other authorities. Naturally, the inspections would fail, giving them the perfect excuse to close and ‘renovate’—then they’d move on to another city to repeat the scam.

This had become a standard con, used not just in gyms, but also in swimming pools and hair salons.

Even legitimate, properly-run fitness clubs rarely turned a profit. To make money, a gym needed a constant influx of new members, which required immense time and effort. After deducting all operating costs, profits were minimal. Without new members, gyms hemorrhaged money.

So even reputable gym owners would use membership sales to quickly accumulate funds for other investments or seek additional revenue streams, like competition prize money.

Longyun Fitness Club belonged to this second category. As Duan Bowen had said, it was indeed the most reputable and the largest fitness club in the city—the only five-star club around. Six floors in a single building! Most gyms only featured pools or saunas in their brochures, but here, they actually existed.

The club also offered a wide range of activities: in addition to standard fitness, there were departments for taekwondo, karate, Sanda, Latin dance, yoga, and more, all with top-tier coaches frequently winning awards at national competitions.

As a proper club, it also boasted an excellent environment, making it an ideal social venue. In this city, when it came to fitness, Longyun was unrivaled.

Yet Yang Meng called it a scam, which piqued Duan Bowen’s curiosity.

Yang Meng sighed, “My ex-girlfriend used to come here to work out, so I tagged along. Whenever I was training, there were always beautiful women working out nearby. I gritted my teeth and bought a membership card. But after that, all those pretty girls vanished… Isn’t that false advertising? For ordinary folks like us, a membership here is ridiculously expensive!”

Duan Bowen managed a strained smile at the complaint. “Well, those are just standard operating tactics for gyms nowadays. It’s all about the beauty economy, isn’t it?”

Yang Meng opened the car door and got out. “So I was just the fool who fell for the honey trap.”

Duan Bowen laughed, “You’re joking, Mr. Yang.”

The two of them bantered as they walked into Longyun Fitness Club. But as soon as they entered, Yang Meng was amused. “Whoa, look at all these people!”

Duan Bowen was also startled by the crowd. More surprisingly, the people inside were clearly divided into two hostile groups. One side was made up of muscle-bound men—obviously club staff—while the other looked like the kind who’d get their IDs checked on a train—not exactly model citizens.

“Secretary Duan, weren’t they supposed to be coming after me today? What’s this—some kind of warm-up match?” Yang Meng joked. His words had a mocking ring, causing both groups, who had been glaring at each other, to now glare at him.

But Yang Meng remained unfazed. “If looks could kill, you’d all be dead by now!”

“You’re Yang Meng?” two men asked in unison.

One was dressed in sportswear, the other in a suit. Yang Meng sized them up, assuming the man in the suit was the young master of the Long family, but Duan Bowen pointed to the man in sportswear. “Mr. Yang, allow me to introduce Mr. Long Teng.”

Long Teng looked at Yang Meng with haughty disdain. “I didn’t think you’d actually dare show up. For your courage alone, you deserve to be my opponent.”

Before Yang Meng could reply, the man in the suit spoke up. “Mr. Long, we don’t want to make enemies with you, but this Yang guy hurt our brothers! We have to settle this score, or we won’t be able to show our faces again. Our boss gave strict orders—this man must be handed over to us! Give us this favor, Young Master Long, and I, Zhao Haicheng, will owe you one!”

Long Teng just sneered. “This is my place, and I’m the one who called him here! Why should I hand him over to you? Who do you think you are? Why should I do you any favors?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the two sides were at each other’s throats again.

At this point, it was Yang Meng who spoke first. “Why are you all wasting time? Hurry up and get on with it—I’m here for the show!”