The bespectacled teacher approached Xie Sui, his scholarly appearance perhaps leading to Xie Sui's lowered guard.
"Little Xie, you're quite something. I'm a good judge of character, and I know fighting alone in a place like this won't cut it. How about we form an alliance?"
"What should I call you?"
"My surname is Liu. Liu Ziqing, a high school teacher."
"How did you get in here?"
Liu Ziqing sheepishly admitted, "I was dating a female student, and her parents caught me. They insisted on pressing charges."
"Holy crap!"
Xie Sui instinctively recoiled. This guy was incredibly sleazy. He'd always suspected that people who looked refined weren't good.
"Can you blame me for this? She was the one who pursued me. You know how it is, men generally don't have much resistance to a girl's advances. I was helpless."
Xie Sui scoffed, "You're a hypocrite, aren't you? If you were so helpless, why didn't you get yourself neutered? If you want to talk about love, just talk about love. You ruined a naive student, and you think you're in the right? Wait, are you married? Do you have kids?"
"I'm married, and my son is eight years old."
Xie Sui raised his hand and slapped him. "Your son is eight, and you're causing this kind of trouble? What will your child think of you in the future? Stay away from me, you scum. Alliance? I'm afraid I'll be struck down by heaven along with you. Get lost."
Xie Sui was truly disgusted by people like this, who wore human skin but acted like beasts.
Liu Ziqing, after being berated, showed a flicker of malice in his eyes before turning and leaving.
Gan Houer sidled up. "Brother, well said. I can't stand those kinds of people, corrupting young girls. He really should have his dangly bits chopped off."
"What about you? Why are you in here?"
"Well, I steal, you know. I'm not good at fighting, but I've got to make a living."
Gan Houer had seven fingers on his two hands; three had been chopped off, yet he hadn't changed. It was understandable, though. Besides this, he knew nothing else, so he had to continue stealing.
"Among these rogues, you're not bad."
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Gan Houer was delighted. He didn't show any disgust, feeling moved to tears. Xie Sui waved his hand, feeling weary. It was all about comparison; compared to an animal like Liu Ziqing, Gan Houer was doing alright. At least he was making a living with his "craft."
Wu Xiong stood out in the crowd. Equally noticeable was another burly figure with a buzz cut, a broken eyebrow, and thick lips on a flattened nose, resembling a gorilla. His skin was dark, the kind of person who was usually a good fighter. He was the boss here, surrounded by lackeys, and he was even smoking.
Xie Sui asked, "Where did he get his cigarettes?"
"He bought them. We have shops here too, but the prices are ten times what they are outside. As long as you have money, you can buy anything."
Xie Sui's eyes lit up. He wasn't short of money. "I'll have people send money in. Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Gan Houer asked, "Brother Xie, is your family very rich?"
"Let's just say my assets are measured in billions."
Gan Houer looked up. "Brother Xie, do you see any cows in the sky?"
"Who are you calling a liar? I'm not bragging."
"It's fine, keep bragging. I just want to listen and learn, so I can brag to others later. It's a skill, you know."
"Get lost! You think I'm joking? If you follow Brother Xie, you'll go hungry three days out of every nine."
Gan Houer grinned. "Now that's something a person would say."
Xie Sui shook his head. He was about to be proven wrong. Just as he was about to request a phone call, an incident occurred. Wu Xiong was cornered by the black gorilla. "Kneel, submit, or die."
Wu Xiong's expression turned extremely ugly. He had his pride. He'd always let the black gorilla have his way, but why was he acting crazy and picking a fight with him today?
"Brother Hei, we've always minded our own business. Do you really have to force my hand?"
"So what if I force you? I just don't like your face today. Got a problem? Keep it to yourself!"
Xie Sui casually stopped walking and chatted with Gan Houer. "I think people can't be idle. When they're idle, they cause trouble."
"What else can we do if we're not causing trouble? This is a detention center, not a prison. There's no work to be done. In prison, everyone has to build bridges, pave roads, or sew, working like dogs, and then nobody fights."
"Have you been to prison?"
"For people like us, if you haven't been in a few times, can you even say you've been around? I've already planned it. When I get too old to work, I'll rob a bank, get a life sentence, and retire in prison."
Xie Sui gave him a thumbs-up. "A genius!"
He was an oddball, but an interesting one. Xie Sui thought he could keep him around, maybe as a bodyguard. He'd pay him, it wouldn't cost much, and it would be like doing a few good deeds. Meng Changjun even kept a few petty thieves and tricksters around.
While they were talking truthfully, a fight finally broke out over there. The black gorilla was pushing too hard, and Wu Xiong wasn't a pushover either. They finally fought. Everyone was overjoyed, shouting and cheering. The guards didn't intervene; fights broke out every day, and as long as no one died, they didn't have to do anything.
Wu Xiong was no match for the black gorilla, who was the prison boss for a reason. He pinned Wu Xiong down, raining blows on his face with his fist the size of a sandbag.
"This is going to be fatal. Wu Xiong is from our block. Let's go help."
Xie Sui actually wanted to help. Gan Houer was terrified. "Brother Xie, isn't it better to be alive?"
Xie Sui: "..."
He still rushed forward and punched the black gorilla on the back of the head. However, the gorilla acted as if nothing happened, like being bitten by a mosquito. He turned and glared at Xie Sui. Xie Sui gave a dry chuckle. "I was just swatting a mosquito, believe me?"
"Believe your grandmother! You're looking for death!"
"If you don't believe me, fine. Why are you cursing? Old Wu, get him!"
Xie Sui directly poked the gorilla's eyes. The black gorilla, unaccustomed to such a rogue, covered his eyes and yelled, "Where are you hitting? You're looking for death!"
Xie Sui followed up with a low kick, and the black gorilla collapsed in pain. Wu Xiong rolled over and started counter-attacking with punches.
The black gorilla's subordinates were unhappy. "You dare to gang up on him? Are there more of us? Go, beat this pervert to death." Su Dan Novels Online.
Seeing them charge, Xie Sui picked out a smaller guy. He took out a milk carton, its sharp opening like a dagger, and slashed the guy's face, drawing blood. "Who dares to come forward? The next one will be a throat slit. Come if you're not afraid of death!"
The crowd faltered. They weren't really loyal enough to die for him. "I can't stop them. Kill him!"
The black gorilla was truly ferocious. After recovering, he knocked Wu Xiong down again. The next target was Xie Sui. This time, he was determined to strangle this small guy to death. He'd been here for so many days, and no one had dared to gouge his eyes or kick his groin. If he didn't beat this guy to the point of being unable to get out of bed, he wouldn't be a prison boss.
Xie Sui's heart sank. "What a wimp, calling himself a big brother!"
"You little bastard, you can say your last words!"
The black gorilla grinned menacingly and walked towards Xie Sui, everyone backing away, watching him with schadenfreude.