Madman!

Chapter 18: Without Backing, You're Nobody

"Kid, you dare hit people?" A man in his twenties with long hair and a floral shirt stepped forward, his expression twisted with menace as he shoved a hand into his pocket, clearly reaching for something.

Chen Wujun exploded into motion, pushing off the ground and closing the distance in two swift strides.

The man had just pulled out a folding knife, but before he could even flick it open, Chen Wujun was already airborne. Both hands seized the man's head as his knee drove downward like a sledgehammer, smashing into the man's chest with savage force.

Thwack!

Chen Wujun's grip tore into the man's hair as the knee connected with his sternum. The man crumpled face-first into the ground, and the small knife clattered to the floor beside Chen Wujun's foot.

'Striking first really is the way to go. If I'd waited for him to get that knife open, things would've gotten ugly.' Chen Wujun didn't spare a glance at the blade by his foot. Instead, his eyes swept the crowd around him.

He noticed several others whose gazes burned with restless intent. Any one of them could be carrying a knife just like the man on the ground.

The space was cramped and packed with people—no room to maneuver.

Chen Wujun stomped down on the back of the fallen man's skull and declared coldly, "You dare steal from someone in Hetu? You lot must be done living in the Walled City!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the handful of figures in the crowd exchanged uneasy glances, brows furrowed. None of them dared move."Brat, you say you're Hetu and we're supposed to just believe it?" someone in the crowd called out.

Chen Wujun was simply too young—barely more than a teenager, and dressed in a cheap T-shirt at that.

"If you want payback, come find me at Jindi Finance in Lianghe Building!" Chen Wujun fixed a cold stare on the speaker, committing his face to memory.

The man's frown deepened at the mention of Jindi Finance in Lianghe Building, and the fight visibly drained from his eyes.

These street rats scraping by in the Walled City knew exactly who they could mess with and who they couldn't.

And Jindi Finance was firmly in the "couldn't" category.

Behind Jindi Finance stood Shark Jiu—one of Hetu's Four Heavenly Kings.

"Pathetic punks. Keep your eyes open from now on, or you'll be dead before you even know what hit you!" Chen Wujun drove his foot into the fallen man's skull one more time, then walked over and snatched up his belongings with a scowl.

He swept one final glare over those few lurking figures in the crowd before turning and walking away.

Chen Wujun kept his senses razor-sharp as he moved. Only after putting some distance between himself and the scene, confirming no one was following, did he allow himself to think:

'So that's how it is. Being able to fight is only half the equation—you need clout behind you. There were at least three more of them in that crowd. If they'd all rushed me with knives at once, I'd have been in real trouble.'

'But the moment I dropped my affiliation, those punks didn't dare make another move.'

'They still have to survive in the Walled City. I beat them down and they can't even think about revenge!'

'Using power to press people down... not a bad feeling at all!'

Chen Wujun was in high spirits. He'd been training hard these past days, but all his practice had been against the wooden dummy—a dead target.

Today he'd fought living opponents, and the experience had given him a much deeper understanding of his fist techniques.

'In a few days, I'll borrow some men from Ji Xiang and hunt down those pickpockets. They can serve as my live training dummies.'

'They stole from me and even pulled a knife—that's unforgivable. A single beating is letting them off easy.'

'In this line of work, you have to repay every slight. Only when people fear you will they stay out of your way. Everything becomes easier after that.'

Before long, he arrived at the apartment he was renting. The landlord was already waiting.

He pushed the door open. The interior was roughly twenty square meters, and even after being cleaned, it still looked grimy.

A tiny bathroom held a squat toilet and a water bucket. The kitchen and bedroom were one and the same space, furnished with a few pieces of battered furniture. That was everything.

The one redeeming feature was that the window faced the street. During the day, actual sunlight found its way in, along with fresh air.

In most Walled City apartments, the view from any window at any hour was nothing but the pitch-black corridors of the labyrinth.

This unit was on the top floor. Chen Wujun climbed up to the rooftop to take a look and found it strung with clotheslines, all heavy with drying laundry.

He walked along the rooftop's edge, pausing every few steps to rap his knuckles against the parapet wall, testing its sturdiness. Satisfied that it was solid enough, he nodded and went back downstairs to sign the lease with the landlord.

He rented for six months, with one month's deposit and one month upfront.

As for what would happen after six months... he figured he wouldn't need to live in a place like this anymore by then.

After the landlord left, he gave the room another quick cleaning, then headed home for dinner.

"You're back this early?" His mother, Huang Meizhen, poked her head out from the kitchen.

"I still need to go to the martial arts hall! Cleaning during the day, extra training at night!" Chen Wujun replied.

"You can sleep at the hall too. I'm thinking of staying there—it'll be more convenient for cleaning and practicing."

Huang Meizhen stepped out of the kitchen, still wearing her apron.

Concern softened her voice. "If it's too hard on you, just stop. Being a dentist is a perfectly good career!"

"My senior brother says I have real talent, and I can feel myself improving fast!" was all Chen Wujun said.

Seeing his mind was made up, Huang Meizhen let out a sigh and stopped trying to dissuade him, though worry still lingered in her heart.

"Let him go, let him go! If he enjoys it, then let him give it his all!" Chen Hanliang chimed in from the side.

Chen Hanliang's philosophy was simple: as long as you loved what you did and put in the effort, you wouldn't do too badly at anything. Making a living wouldn't be a problem.

"But you come home for meals!" Huang Meizhen added firmly.

"Deal!" Chen Wujun nodded.

When nothing else demanded his time, coming back for dinner wouldn't be an issue.

After the meal, Chen Wujun returned to his room, retrieved the money he'd hidden in the wardrobe, and headed to his rented apartment. He tucked the cash under the mattress, then changed into black trousers, a blue button-up shirt, and a pair of leather shoes.

Then he called Ji Xiang.

Moments later, Chen Wujun arrived at a bar just outside the Walled City.

The bar was relatively empty. In a booth along one wall, Shark Jiu sat with her legs crossed, deep in conversation with someone.

Ji Xiang and a few others occupied stools near the bar counter.

At the far end of the counter sat several broad-shouldered men in suits who were clearly not from the Walled City.

They were foreigners—tall noses, deep-set eyes.

"Brother Ji Xiang!"

"Looking sharp today!" Ji Xiang looked him up and down with an approving grin, then lowered his voice slightly.

"We're here while Sister Jiu handles a business meeting. Shouldn't be any trouble, but stay alert just in case."

"Got it." Chen Wujun nodded, then turned to the bartender. "Soda!"

He took the bottle and settled into a seat off to the side, sizing up the foreigners from across the room.

Just as Ji Xiang had said, nothing happened. A short while later, both parties went their separate ways.

...

Over the next ten days, Chen Wujun shifted his rooftop training to four in the morning, spent his days at the martial arts hall, and his evenings shadowing Shark Jiu to learn the business.

Most of the time there was nothing to do. Occasionally he'd accompany Shark Jiu to meetings and negotiations.

During this period, he also pieced together a clearer picture of Shark Jiu's operation.

Shark Jiu's most important subordinates were Ji Xiang and Karen, followed by Ah Hao, Flower Boy Rong, and a man called Cun Bao.

Ji Xiang ran the finance company—the loan sharking operation. It didn't just lend to gambling addicts; it also provided short-term loans to small factories in need of cash flow.

Karen managed several strip clubs and brothels.

Ah Hao oversaw four gambling dens of varying sizes. Flower Boy Rong ran three unlicensed food processing plants—one making dumplings and two producing fish balls.

Two streets' worth of protection fees, plus any minor disputes that cropped up, all fell under Cun Bao's purview.

On most days, Cun Bao could be found at the Hetu Martial Arts Hall.

In total, Shark Jiu commanded just over a hundred men, most of whom answered to these five lieutenants.

'A loan sharking company, several strip clubs and brothels, four gambling dens, three food processing plants, and protection money from two streets... and that supports over a hundred people? Is it really that profitable?'

Among Shark Jiu's hundred-plus men, thirty to forty were core members trained at the martial arts hall, each drawing a substantial monthly wage.

Ji Xiang, Karen, and the other leaders took home even more.

Keeping that many people fed and paid had to cost at least seven or eight hundred thousand a month.

And that wasn't even counting Shark Jiu herself.

All told, monthly expenses had to exceed a million. An astronomical sum.

Could these businesses really generate that kind of revenue?

Chen Wujun concluded that he simply didn't grasp the profit margins involved. These operations were probably far more lucrative than he imagined.

Day by day, his martial skills grew sharper through training at the hall. Night by night, shadowing Shark Jiu, Ji Xiang, and the others, he gradually absorbed the unwritten rules of the Walled City's streets and the way these people conducted their affairs.

The one thing he did regret was not having time to watch "Crime Watch" anymore.

It was his favorite program, but he quickly found a solution.

He tracked down a video rental shop in the Walled City and paid the owner two hundred dollars to record each week's episode. He'd pick up the tapes and watch them on his own time.

...

One afternoon, after Chen Wujun finished his training, his senior brother called out to him. "Come with me. It's time you met the Master."