Wu Hongyi immediately sneered with disdain: "Do you take me for an idiot? The owners of this place are two women. What does that have to do with you? Are you a woman too?"

Wang Zhuo was momentarily choked up. This guy named Wu Hongyi was certainly sharp-tongued. He, a dignified man of nine feet, had just been hit with a rather pointed question!

Considering he was still holding a woman hostage, Wang Zhuo decided not to haggle over such verbal skirmishes. He calmly inquired, "Didn't you want to see your wife? What needs to be said requires brandishing a knife and shouting threats?"

"None of your business, I want to see her!" Wu Hongyi impatiently waved the boning knife in his hand.

Pursing his lips, Wang Zhuo scoffed, "That's hardly the attitude for solving a problem. Do you think dragging this out is interesting?"

"It is interesting!" Wu Hongyi let out a strange laugh, a sickly triumph coloring his expression: "Aren't you newcomers running a big establishment? An international chain? Do you entertain important figures? The longer I stall, the more passive you become! Let's see who wears out the other one..." Wang Zhuo was nearly driven to exasperation, wondering if the man suffered from mental instability, given his utterly chaotic way of thinking!

Frowning slightly, Wang Zhuo scanned Wu Hongyi's brain with his X-ray vision but found nothing unusual. However, Wang Zhuo had his answer because Wu Hongyi’s expression was steeped in a profound emotion: cynicism.

Now Wang Zhuo understood. Ah, this man was a zealot. Disapproving of everything, defiant toward everyone. He was clearly a failure in life, coming here today ready to burn down the house just because he already had nothing left to lose. No wonder he caused such a scene!

"Alas," Wang Zhuo couldn't help but sigh, saying with pity, "If a man lives to the point you have, it's truly a miserable failure."

Wu Hongyi’s eyes bulged, as if he had suffered the greatest insult. His face flushed purple, and his lips trembled.

Seeing he had struck a nerve, Wang Zhuo decided to pour oil on the fire: "How about that, was I right? You look well-dressed, you're not exactly young anymore, so how is it you can't even handle your own wife?"

This statement wasn't just a slap in the face; it was outright naked humiliation. To call him a failure as a person was one thing, but to suggest he couldn't even manage his wife—wasn't that subtly implying he wasn't a real man?

Crack! A woman in the lobby, watching the commotion, couldn't help but let out a laugh. Although her sense of humor seemed low, Wang Zhuo's biting sarcasm was sharp indeed—it voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"I'll fight you to the death!" came a hysterical roar. Wu Hongyi charged out from behind the reception desk, lunging at Wang Zhuo with the knife.

Wang Zhuo had been waiting for this exact moment—when he released the receptionist, Zhao Si'ai. Seeing him rush in, Wang Zhuo couldn't help but show a cold smile. He subtly shifted his stance to assume a solid, balanced posture, his gaze locked onto Wu Hongyi. With complete focus, it was as if he were watching a slow-motion film.

"Ah!"

A woman screamed out loud. Seeing the assailant rush forward to attack, the handsome young man being targeted appeared completely unprepared; he didn't dodge, only made a slight body adjustment!

In a flash, just as He Ye and Xu Chu felt their hearts jump into their throats, Wang Zhuo’s arms shot up so fast they were reduced to twin blurs. Wu Hongyi’s thrust, aimed squarely at the chest, halted instantly. Wang Zhuo had intercepted and firmly grasped his wrist with speed and precision!

That thrust was fueled by rage; it carried immense power and fierce momentum, but it lacked any subtlety—no feints, no room for retreat. Because of this predictability, anyone who wasn't paralyzed by fear and was reasonably agile could have avoided it under pressure.

But avoiding it was one thing; actually managing to seize the wrist of the man wielding the knife was extraordinary. Moreover, life wasn't a game of chance; having skill was one thing, but daring to risk everything to disarm him barehanded was another matter entirely.

Amidst gasps of astonishment, Wang Zhuo, having gripped Wu Hongyi’s wrist, simply twisted, shook, and jolted him. Wu Hongyi cried out in pain as he was spun around, the knife dropped, and his arm joint was jarred out of place.

Clean and efficient!

The entire sequence was executed with such fluid grace that it could serve as the textbook standard for subduing a violent attacker!

From the moment Wu Hongyi burst from behind the desk to stab Wang Zhuo in the chest, to Wang Zhuo's slight misstep and sudden grab of the wrist, followed by the takedown—the entire process took less than three seconds, barely the duration of a momentary distraction.

Many people hadn't even registered what had happened before the situation had completely reversed. Wu Hongyi was forced to kneel on the ground by Wang Zhuo, his face pressed against the gleaming marble floor, suffering both pain and fury, his breathing heavy like an ox panting.

"Say, is anyone else coming over here?"

Wang Zhuo, still holding Wu Hongyi’s arm pinned behind his back, turned leisurely toward the security guards.

The guards finally snapped out of their daze and rushed forward to help Wang Zhuo restrain Wu Hongyi. Despite how vital the man had seemed while holding the weapon, now that the knife was gone and his arm dislocated, he seemed utterly emasculated, his bravado completely gone.

"Now you know, don't you? You only feel like a tough guy when you're holding a weapon. In reality, you’re still just mediocre." Wang Zhuo glanced down at Wu Hongyi with mild indifference, then turned and strode away.

Wu Hongyi couldn't even manage a final threat. The security guards, unaware his arm was dislocated, pressed down hard to prevent him from struggling, gripping him like a pig being prepared for slaughter during the Lunar New Year. The immense pain radiating from his shoulder caused him to howl loudly, like a trapped beast.

Wang Zhuo returned alone to He Ye and the others' office. A short while later, Xu Chu returned, scolding him severely. She lamented that his actions had been far too reckless; it wasn't worth engaging directly with such a deranged person.

"If I hadn't stepped in, should I have relied on those security guards?" Wang Zhuo scoffed dismissively.

"Then we could have waited for the police!" Xu Chu argued logically.

Wang Zhuo chuckled lightly: "The police? By the time they arrive, our business for the day would be completely ruined..."

Just as he finished speaking, the intercom crackled to life. Connecting the call, He Ye's voice came through: "The police are here. I'll manage the initial formalities, then I’ll come up..."

Wang Zhuo could only scratch his head; this plot point was too much like a Hong Kong or Taiwan drama, where the police always arrive exactly after the good guys have neutralized the villains!

"Pingci, don't do such stupid things again. I nearly had a heart attack from the fright just now," Xu Chu said.

"Oh? Your wings have hardened, haven't they? Daring to speak to me in that tone..." Wang Zhuo looked at her with a half-smile.

"I'm just concerned about you..." Xu Chu adopted a delicate pose, blinking her thick eyelashes innocently.

Wang Zhuo replied facetiously: "Honestly, I was forced into it. Who knew he would suddenly charge out?"

Xu Chu pouted and huffed: "Stop denying it. You just love fighting; you enjoy seeking thrills."

Wang Zhuo smiled wickedly: "It seems you know me quite well then. But do you know what else I like?"

Xu Chu's delicate face flushed slightly. She bit her lower lip lightly and whispered close to Wang Zhuo's ear: "What you like most is having beautiful women wrap you."

"Wrap? Wrap what?" Wang Zhuo anticipated her answer. Couldn't suggestive talk be a form of flirting too?

Xu Chu’s eyes darted, and instead of the two words Wang Zhuo expected, she suddenly burst into laughter: "Angry Birds..."

While the two debated the merits of small birds versus big eagles, the local officer, in a temporary room provided by the beauty salon, gathered the basic cause and sequence of events.

It turned out Wu Hongyi was an aspiring but unsuccessful online writer. Tian Chun was a full decade younger than him. Since marrying him, she had shouldered the entire burden of supporting the household. Fortunately, Tian Chun worked as a beautician, and between her salary and product commissions, they managed to cover their living expenses.

When they first met, Tian Chun was attracted to Wu Hongyi's potential, naively believing she was investing in a rising star. However, after marriage, as age and experience broadened her perspective, coupled with a deeper understanding of Wu Hongyi, she finally realized she had pinned her hopes on the wrong person.

Yet, a major virtue of traditional Chinese women is loyalty unto death. Tian Chun adopted the attitude of 'following her husband like following a dog,' resigned to her fate, intending to live out her life this way. But Wu Hongyi grew increasingly hopeless. He lived off her income while simultaneously complaining, and spiraled further by becoming addicted to online gaming.

In the world of online writing, unless you become a huge hit, you can't make significant wealth; you only scrape by enough for basic sustenance. Wu Hongyi’s skill level didn't even reach that threshold, let alone cracking the ranks of those few super-famous, god-tier writers who earned fortunes daily.

Having pursued his writer's dream and his dream of wealth for several years, only to realize he simply wasn't cut out for it, the psychological gap was immense. Alienation from friends, mocking remarks from relatives, and sighs from his parents only deepened his depression. In online games, however, he could lead a glamorous life using a virtual identity. Over time, he inverted his priorities, viewing his virtual life as more important than reality.

To use Tian Chun's description: he had lofty ambitions but shallow talent—all style and no substance.

But when the police officer curiously asked for the title of Wu Hongyi's works and looked them up online, they discovered his writing foundation was actually quite decent. The problem was that the stories were like plain boiled water: bland and tasteless, relying entirely on stylistic flourishes without any engaging plot to draw the reader in.

The officers were merely casual novel readers; they couldn't grasp the core issue. After a brief investigation, they set the matter aside. Even though Tian Chun pleaded repeatedly, this was the second time Wu Hongyi had caused trouble, and this time he had held a hostage at knifepoint. After Manager Li consulted Wang Zhuo, the company decided to prosecute Wu Hongyi for inciting trouble.

Facing Tian Chun's tearful begging, Wang Zhuo comforted her with apparent sympathy, advising her, "It might be good for him to be locked up for a while. On one hand, it might cure his internet addiction. On the other, perhaps while inside, he can finally quiet his mind and write something—consider it research experience for an author."