Chapter 138: Women and Money

"Understood!" Feng Zhixiao nodded immediately. The dispersed customers complained endlessly, but upon learning that the management was closing the venue to repair machinery, they could only leave with curses. A few exchanged some chips, but the majority left with their chips clutched tightly to their chests. With the casino closed, a large group of underlings stood ready. Although there were only slightly more than sixty men in total, every single one of them was prepared to die. This place was their lifeline; without this casino, who would pay them wages, who would provide them with money for food, drinks, and entertainment?

"Brothers, if we hold the casino today, five thousand yuan for each man!" Feng Zhixiao held a large stack of cash, neatly bound with rubber bands. Stack after stack of banknotes was tossed onto the floor. He looked at the crowd, ruffled his messy hair, and declared, "If we lose, this money will be used to buy our coffins! Do you hear me?"

"We hear you!" the men shouted in unison. Da Hei stood right behind Feng Zhixiao, thoroughly satisfied with this morale-boosting tactic. Those who roamed the underworld lived for money, and using money to motivate everyone was the most effective method. Of course, there was one other thing: women. Having money meant having women. However, having women did not necessarily mean having money.

The underlings at the scene brandished their weapons. Although the styles of the weapons left much to be desired, the sheer momentum of the brothers was enough to deter anyone from approaching.

Prince and his men's vans were slowly approaching the casino, while Feng Zhixiao and his underlings awaited them at the entrance.

"Oh, isn't this Prince? What wind blew you here?" Feng Zhixiao twirled a machete, speaking with a tone that was neither warm nor cold. "Could it be that you heard my casino was opening and came to show your support?"

"Support your fucking mother!" Prince spat on the ground and said, "I'm here to smash this place today! Let me tell you, Feng Zhixiao, starting today, this university town territory belongs to me!"

"Haha, Prince, you sure know how to joke!" Feng Zhixiao laughed heartily.

"Damn it, I'm not in the mood to joke with you!" Prince said coldly, "Take a look—this is the demand of the hundred-plus underlings behind me!"

Roar, roar, roar...

The hundred-odd underlings standing behind Prince immediately raised their weapons and roared wildly. Passersby scattered in all directions, and even nearby shop owners hurriedly bolted their doors shut, with waiters and bosses peering through the door cracks to watch the gang fight.

"Quite a grand spectacle indeed. If you want my territory, you'll have to ask the brothers behind me whether they agree!" Feng Zhixiao puffed on a cigarette. Facing Prince, he showed not a shred of fear. Through constant tempering and growth, Feng Zhixiao was gradually transforming from a petty thug into a leading boss. Across the lands of Jianghuai City, Feng Zhixiao was slowly becoming an immortal legend...

"We don't agree! We don't agree!" the crowd roared madly.

"Damn it, no one dares refuse Prince's demand!" Prince waved his hand and commanded, "Brothers, we are wolves! If you want meat, charge at them!"

"Kill!" Prince's gang immediately charged forward.

"Humph!" Feng Zhixiao sneered and waved his hand as well. However, the underlings behind him did not move. Upstairs, Xiao Er was leading a group of young punks, hauling a thick rope. Once the rope was in position, a massive barrel was instantly tipped over. More than a hundred pounds of quicklime powder came cascading down from the sky, raining heavily toward Prince and his men. Once that quicklime powder got into someone's eyes and mixed with a bit of moisture, it would instantly burn and ruin their vision.

Feng Zhixiao had planned this carefully. To defeat Prince with certainty, he had to resort to underhanded tactics. Therefore, he had moved some leftover quicklime powder from the renovation up to the rooftop and instructed Xiao Er and the others to pull the rope the moment they saw his signal.

"What the hell is this? What is this thing?!"

"Gosh, it burns so much! It's quicklime!"

Prince and his men roared instantly. Eight or nine out of ten underlings were drenched head-to-toe in quicklime powder. Their entire bodies were completely white, to the point where even their hair and eyebrows were indistinguishable. Feng Zhixiao grinned and asked, "Brothers, have you ever built a snowman when you were kids?"

"We have!" the crowd shouted in unison.

"Today, we're going to smash some snowmen!" Wielding his machete, Feng Zhixiao charged out first, taking the lead, followed closely by the rest of the underlings. Those underlings whose bodies were covered in quicklime powder could not open their eyes for a time, instantly becoming easy prey under the blades of Feng Zhixiao and his men. With a single slash, blades bit directly into arms. Prince squinted painfully, barely managing to make out the approaching enemy forces. He swung his machete wildly, barely fending off a few attacks from the opposition.

The underlings who had been sprinkled with quicklime finally regained their bearings, and the two sides began a fierce, bloody clash. Although Feng Zhixiao was slender, he was ruthless when it came to hacking people down. Within two or three moves, he had already chopped down several of Prince's underlings. The two factions fought fiercely and evenly matched. Having suffered the disadvantage of the quicklime initially, the enemy had lost over twenty men, but now both sides were evenly matched in numbers, making the combat exceptionally intense.

"Prince, you dog, hand over your life!" Gritting his teeth, Feng Zhixiao lunged fiercely toward Prince. Prince sneered coldly, "Feng Zhixiao, you son of a bitch, I'm going to chop you up to feed the dogs today."

With that, Prince immediately slashed at Feng Zhixiao. Feng Zhixiao swung his machete, and the two blades collided instantly, sending up a shower of dazzling sparks. Prince gripped his machete with both hands, bearing down on Feng Zhixiao with overwhelming pressure. Feng Zhixiao's eyes widened; he practically took the force of the blade with his shoulder, the back of the knife sinking deep into his flesh. Prince laughed coldly, "Feng Zhixiao, today I'll show you what true power means!"

"Humph, save the big talk!" Gritting his teeth, Feng Zhixiao rebuked angrily, "Don't talk about you being Prince; even if Yan Er'er came, he wouldn't be taking my life away!"

Saying this, Feng Zhixiao dropped backward, swinging his machete viciously toward Prince's arm. Prince retreated continuously, narrowly dodging Feng Zhixiao's blade. If that strike had landed, his arm likely would have been severed. Catching his breath, Prince gritted his teeth and said, "You brat, you're courting death!"

With that, the two engaged in fierce combat once again.

The battle at the scene was extremely intense. The onlookers scattered far away, yet not a single person chose to call the police. The spectators were ordinary, poor civilians, and none of them dared to offend the gangsters. Therefore, they all chose to simply watch from afar. Chinese people shared a common flaw: treating matters that didn't concern them with indifference.

Upstairs, Xiao Er and the others watched the fierce combat below, itching to jump in and help. But remembering Feng Zhixiao's previous instructions, they stayed put honestly. Xiao Er shouted, "Damn it, boys, trigger the second magic spell for me now!"

"Hehe!" Several students around Xiao Er's age immediately began pulling the second rope. As the rope was yanked, a barrel of water cascaded down. The torrent of water soaked everyone on both sides like drowned rats. Taken aback, Feng Zhixiao looked up and roared angrily, "Damn it, Xiao Er, you bastard! You drenched your own people too!"

Seeing that his own men were getting hurt, Xiao Er had acted too impatiently. However, Xiao Er's anxiety actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The barrel of water drenched the enemy completely, causing Prince's underlings to roll around on the ground, clutching their eyes. More than half of them lost their combat effectiveness. Prince was dumbfounded at this sight. Watching his underlings roll on the ground as if possessed, Prince stood in shock and yelled, "Damn it, what are you all doing? Get up!"

"Prince, quicklime got into their eyes! Once water hits it, it burns the skin!" an underling with a slight understanding of chemistry immediately informed Prince.

"Damn it, hack them to death!" Prince gritted his teeth.

However, Prince's forces on the scene had clearly dwindled. A large number of men had been slashed and injured, and in the blink of an eye, Prince was left with only thirty-odd men. Meanwhile, Feng Zhixiao's side remained completely unscathed, with over sixty men surrounding and furiously hacking away at the remaining thirty-odd foes. The enemy's will to fight shattered. Prince stumbled as Feng Zhixiao kicked him in the back. Immediately following that, Da Hei charged forward at the forefront, landing an elbow strike directly onto the back of Prince's neck, sending Prince crashing face-first into the dirt.

"Damn it!" After Prince hit the ground, several underlings rushed forward, slamming a foot onto his back and pinning him down relentlessly to prevent him from standing up. Prince roared frantically, "Damn it, let me go right now, or I'll slaughter you all!"

Feng Zhixiao walked over and sneered coldly, "Prince, aren't you overestimating yourself a bit? You brought over a hundred men, and now your entire army is wiped out. What gives you the right to slaughter us? Besides, you're our prisoner right now—your own life is hanging by a thread!"

"Scoundrel!" Prince had never been humiliated like this before. To his utter disbelief, he had suffered such a crushing defeat at the hands of this puny Feng Zhixiao. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to stand up, only to be pinned firmly back to the ground by Da Hei and the others. He roared angrily, "Let me go, or I'll kill you!"

"Humph, someone bring him inside!" Feng Zhixiao snorted coldly. Without a second word, Da Hei and the men hoisted Prince up and hauled him inside. Turning around, Feng Zhixiao instructed his remaining underlings, "All of you, stay put and behave yourselves. Prince's life is right in your hands."

With a single sentence, every single enemy dropped their machetes and weapons to the ground, shoulders slumped in utter dejection. This time, their defeat was absolute; not only were most of their eyes facing the danger of blindness, but these men had completely lost their ability to fight. And the adversaries opposite them were entirely unhurt.

Prince was dragged down into the basement and bound tightly with heavy ropes.