Chapter 86: This Fellow Is Truly Ruthless

Chai Jin could hardly bear to listen any longer. He quickly tossed his things aside and hurried away. Behind him, Liu Shan called out, “Jin, where are you going? Not working today?” But Chai Jin ignored him.

Following the address on the note that Chen Ni had given him yesterday, he spent a long time before finally finding Su Wenbin’s dormitory. By then, however, the farce inside had already ended.

The dorm was a chaotic mess—even Su Wenbin’s iron water cup and the bowl he used for meals had been trampled flat. Su Wenbin, his face bruised and swollen, was quietly cleaning up the mess inside. He looked terribly wretched, and every so often someone would pass by the door, glance in, and then quicken their pace to leave. They whispered to each other, “Why meddle in other people’s business? Isn’t that just asking for trouble? You think reporting it will get you a raise? We’re all here working far from home—why make problems for ourselves?” This was what most people struggling to make a living away from home thought; forced by reality.

Chai Jin stood outside, watching him, suddenly overcome by a sense of calm. He was still the same person as in his previous life—his temperament unchanged at all. He couldn’t tolerate the slightest injustice, honest and guileless, never knowing how to bend. It was no surprise he’d ultimately died in a fire trying to save someone else. This personality had brought Su Wenbin countless troubles in his previous life. He was a typical idealist, like a character from “A World Without Thieves.”

Chai Jin noticed that Su Wenbin’s pants were torn at the legs, exposing numerous wounds beneath. He took a deep breath at the door, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. The smoke drifted into the dormitory; Su Wenbin caught the scent, looked up with a swollen face, and asked, “Who are you?”

Chai Jin exhaled a thick cloud of smoke at the doorway, giving Su Wenbin a calm glance. His eyes fell on the balcony, where a steel clothes rod was resting—thick and roughly made. Without a word, he strode in, grabbed the rod, and turned to leave.

Su Wenbin hurriedly called after him, “Hey, brother, what are you doing?”

Chai Jin stopped at the door and asked, “The people who beat you—what dorm are they in?”

“312. Why?” Su Wenbin replied.

“Forget it. What’s done is done. I can’t stay at this factory anyway—I’ll resign later…”

“Where are you going? Bring the clothes rod back when you’re done. We only have one in our dorm…”

Before he could finish speaking, Chai Jin, cigarette dangling from his lips and the clothes rod in hand, had already disappeared down the corridor.

Su Wenbin scratched his head in bewilderment. “What’s with this guy? Borrowing the clothes rod without even saying anything.” Thinking of his own future, a wave of gloom washed over him. Even though he’d been retaliated against, he had no regrets about what he’d done. He simply and sincerely went back to cleaning. The dormitory wasn’t his alone—he would tidy up before resigning. That was Su Wenbin’s straightforward nature.

But after about ten minutes, groups of people suddenly rushed past the door, as if something major had happened outside. Su Wenbin paid it no mind. A few more minutes later, one of his dormmates burst in. “Su Wenbin, it’s wild! Something blew up!”

“Some guy just barged into Zou Shiwen’s dorm by himself and fought everyone inside—damn, he’s fierce! He took down four or five guys all by himself!”

“Zou Shiwen?” Su Wenbin immediately perked up. This was the man who had kicked in their door just before seven that morning and led the assault. He was also a coworker from the warehouse.

“What happened?” Su Wenbin asked.

“How should I know? Come with me and see for yourself.”

“That guy was awesome—fighting like a madman. Zou Shiwen and the others were beaten so badly they were on their knees, begging for mercy.”

He dragged Su Wenbin out. When they reached the third floor, sure enough, a crowd had gathered outside Zou Shiwen’s dorm. As they approached, Chai Jin pushed through the crowd and emerged, holding the now bent and battered clothes rod he’d borrowed from Su Wenbin’s dorm. From the looks of it, he’d fought with brutal force.

Seeing Su Wenbin, Chai Jin said coolly, “You’re just in time. Here’s your rod back.” With that, he walked off toward the end of the corridor.

Behind him, dozens of people watched his retreating figure, scarcely daring to breathe, all wondering where this outlaw hero had come from. Inside the room, Zou Shiwen and the others were all kneeling on the floor, looking even more miserable than Su Wenbin had earlier. Two of them were curled up on the ground, clutching their groins and moaning in pain.

Su Wenbin stared at the bent rod in his hand, utterly stunned.

…

Chai Jin had barely returned to the plug-in assembly area when Guo Minghao came rushing over, brimming with anger. “Did you just get into a fight?” he demanded.

Chai Jin said nothing.

Guo Minghao, seething, reached out to grab Chai Jin’s collar and press him further. But suddenly, Chai Jin looked up, and those eyes—capable of piercing a man’s soul—fixed on Guo Minghao like a blade stabbing straight through his heart.

Instinctively, Guo Minghao shuddered and froze in place.

Old Huang and Liu Shan, standing nearby, also got to their feet, their faces dark and menacing as they looked at Guo Minghao. Their meaning was clear: if you lay a hand on Chai Jin, we’ll do the same to you.

Sensing he was outnumbered, Guo Minghao, furious and flustered, spat out a threat: “Just you wait! Sooner or later, I’ll have you fired!” With that, he turned and stormed off.

Old Huang spat in disdain behind him. “What’s his problem? I already handed in my resignation—no need for him to fire me.” He turned to Chai Jin. “Xiao Chai, who’d you fight with just now? Why’d you run out without a word?”

Chai Jin smiled. “No one.”

“Get ready, Old Huang. The friend I told you about last night will be back at one this afternoon.”

“Alright,” Old Huang replied, still concerned. “But don’t be so reckless next time—don’t fight alone. What if you run into real trouble?”

Liu Shan chimed in with his own advice.

Chai Jin said nothing more.

As for Guo Minghao, he’d been on edge all morning. He’d learned early on that someone had reported the boss’s phone theft—he’d gotten wind of it from his cousin He Kai, who was also furious that theft had occurred in their factory, which was, after all, his family’s business.

He Kai immediately launched an investigation and soon found out it had been Su Wenbin who spoke up to the boss’s daughter the previous day. He ordered Zou Shiwen to surround that country bumpkin and make him explain to the lady that it was all a misunderstanding.

But the stubborn country boy wouldn’t budge.

Unable to restrain themselves, they resorted to violence.

This was a serious matter—if word got out that he was behind it, not even the boss’s daughter or He Kai would protect him.

After swallowing his anger at Chai Jin’s place, Guo Minghao headed to Zou Shiwen’s dorm, where Zou and his crew begged him to avenge them. But Guo Minghao had no such intention. “Are you out of your minds? If you make a scene, won’t it just draw more suspicion? Now you all better figure out a way to clear your names, or none of us will have a good ending—we might even get handed over to the police.”

The others were dumbfounded, tears of anxiety welling up. Then someone came up with a wicked idea: “What if we just say that the country bumpkin was the one who stole it?”