Mi Xue suddenly grabbed Zhang Yang’s arm, letting out a small scream, her face a mixture of horror and urgency.

He had already seen it without her needing to say so. The person sitting there, the one who had just been hit over the head with a beer bottle, was Su Zhantao. Struck by the bottle, Su Zhantao seemed not entirely sobered up; he suddenly staggered back to his feet, grabbing another beer bottle in his hand.

"Mi Xue, wait for me here!"

Zhang Yang glanced around, pulled Mi Xue over to the side aisle. They hadn't fully entered the nightclub yet, so moving in any direction from here was easier. His first priority in going to help was Mi Xue's safety. He absolutely had to secure her well-being first.

"No!"

Mi Xue clutched Zhang Yang’s hand, shaking her head vigorously, her expression incredibly tense. It wasn't that she didn't care about Su Zhantao—after all, they were friends together—but she was primarily terrified for Zhang Yang. The scene from the KTV exit, where Zhang Yang was ganged up on and beaten by a group of thugs, was still vividly etched in her mind. That time had thoroughly frightened her. Back then, her feelings for Zhang Yang weren't so intense, but now, with her entire heart devoted to him, she was even more worried he would run into trouble going over there.

"Trust me, I’ll be fine!"

Zhang Yang shook his head, firmly pulling his hand free from Mi Xue’s grip, and swiftly ran toward the interior. At this point, he had no choice but to go. Su Wei was already shrieking in the background, and Su Zhantao, having taken two more blows, had dropped the bottle he was holding somewhere. He was now surrounded by four young men, one of whom was even holding a steel pipe. If he left Su Zhantao there, who knew what the outcome would be.

Zhang Yang moved incredibly fast. Mi Xue couldn't hold him back, and he was already gone. After a slight pause, Mi Xue showed no hesitation and ran right after him. Fights in nightclubs were practically common occurrences; if a club hadn't had one, it barely qualified as a proper club. Following the initial chaos, the surrounding young men and women were no longer panicked. Instead, they formed a circle, watching the brawl inside with keen interest. As Zhang Yang arrived, some patrons were still tilting their heads back to drink beer, shouting encouragement like, "Beat him to death!"

"Little girl, this guy is useless. He’s just a paper tiger. How about you come with me, sis?"

Beside the four young men stood a bald man covered in tattoos. He wasn't very old, perhaps only twenty-five or twenty-six, but his extensive ink and shaved head made him look terrifying. He was the one who had smashed the beer bottle over Su Zhantao’s head earlier.

"Get away from me, get out!"

Su Wei waved her hands continuously, shouting loudly, her face contorted with fear. She never expected that just as she stepped out of the private room, someone would target her. This bald man had coolly sauntered over and sat right down at the table they had claimed. Given Su Wei's temperament, she certainly wouldn't offer him a pleasant reception. Su Wei's retort had immediately put the bald man in an awkward position. Normally, Su Zhantao would have led Su Wei away instantly; this wouldn't have escalated. The bald man was clearly trouble, and Su Zhantao understood the wisdom of not fighting when discretion is the better part of valor. Unfortunately, Su Zhantao had drunk quite a bit that night. A man fueled by alcohol is easily provoked, especially in front of a woman—even if that woman is his sister. Su Zhantao had immediately uttered some harsh words, and since the bald man couldn't easily lay a hand on Su Wei, he showed no mercy to Su Zhantao, smashing a beer bottle over his head. Everything after that was what Zhang Yang had witnessed.

"Refuse a toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit!"

The bald man's expression shifted drastically. He believed he had shown the young woman enough respect, but since she completely disregarded him, he lost all patience.

"Thud!"

Just as the bald man reached out to grab the young woman, a loud crash from nearby made him whip his head around. His eyes instantly widened. A young man had appeared from nowhere, kicking one of his underlings so hard that the loud noise was the sound of the subordinate hitting the floor.

The newcomer was naturally Zhang Yang. He hadn't arrived too late; his first move was to hoist up the man holding the steel pipe, then kick him flying. This individual posed the greatest threat to Su Zhantao. The remaining three were all stunned. None of them expected an unexpected player to suddenly enter the fray and take down one of their own so decisively. Faced with this sudden turn, instinct caused them all to freeze momentarily.

While they were stunned, Zhang Yang was not. Zhang Yang shot out his right hand, grabbing the nearest man. With a surge of internal force, he tossed him aside with just one hand. The current Zhang Yang was no longer the frail scholar of the past; when it came to a brawl, he wouldn't hesitate against a dozen, or even several dozen, opponents. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yang had dealt with two men. The last two finally snapped out of it, shouting as they raised their beer bottles. Unfortunately, their movements were too slow. Before they could even fully lift their bottles, each received a solid punch to the face. Those small fists carried considerable power, sending them flying back to the ground, completely unable to rise. Clean and efficient, in just a few seconds, Zhang Yang had neutralized the four men. Only then did he let out a breath, supporting Su Zhantao with one hand, and turning to face the bald man.

Mi Xue had also rushed over and was standing behind Zhang Yang, staring in stunned silence. She had witnessed Zhang Yang displaying his mighty power, taking down the four men in seconds. Now, Mi Xue covered her mouth, her face filled with disbelief. She had never imagined Zhang Yang could be so formidable. What had just happened wasn't a fight; it was purely Zhang Yang overwhelming his opponents single-handedly.

"Damn it, who are you, daring to hit my men!"

The bald man finally recovered his senses, slamming his hand on the table in fury and leaping to his feet. He was the one who had smashed the bottle over Su Zhantao. Zhang Yang recognized him now and couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. As soon as the bald man stood up, Zhang Yang reached out and grabbed his arm. The bald man instantly felt an immense force pulling his body unnaturally toward Zhang Yang. There was a table separating them, yet Zhang Yang hauled him up with one hand, dragging him over the table. With a slight twist of Zhang Yang's wrist, the bald man instantly squatted down, howling like a slaughtered pig. Zhang Yang appeared mild-mannered, but his grip strength was significant; this single move nearly crushed the man's bones. This was already Zhang Yang holding back considerably. If he had used his full power, the bones in this guy’s arm would surely have been pulverized. His internal energy channeled through his fingertips, generating unimaginable force.

"What happened?"

Only now did Zhang Yang speak, directing his question toward Su Wei.

"I—I don't know!"

"You don't know?"

Zhang Yang frowned sharply. His imposing presence, even without anger, made Su Wei, who was still recovering from the initial shock, tremble instantly.

"I really don't know. This—this man just came over and demanded to drink with me. I didn't agree, so he started cursing. My brother cursed him once, and then he started hitting people, and then a few more guys ran over!"

Su Wei huddled slightly, speaking very quietly. Mi Xue rushed over to hug her, whispering words of comfort. Frightened by Zhang Yang's intensity, she managed to articulate the basic sequence of events. Though there were minor inaccuracies, the general picture was correct. Zhang Yang paused briefly, then shook his head. He could largely guess the situation. Nightclubs were among the most chaotic places. It was entirely normal for young men there to approach beautiful girls to flirt. Given Su Wei's personality, it would be strange if she hadn't spoken harshly when approached. Since she had exchanged harsh words, conflict arising was predictable.

"Bastard, how dare you hit me!"

Su Zhantao seemed to have sobered up. He touched his head and then shouted in a sudden rage. He snatched a bottle from the floor and brought it down hard onto the head of the bald man who was still whimpering for mercy.

"Smash!"

The bottle shattered on the bald man's head, and a thin line of blood slowly trickled down past the shards of glass, especially noticeable on his smooth scalp. The surroundings quieted down again; even Zhang Yang was momentarily taken aback. It seemed the young man had been stunned into inaction earlier, only now realizing what had happened and seeking revenge. However, this guy did possess a certain degree of violent tendency; he struck that bottle with considerable force. After delivering the blow, Su Zhantao touched his head again, then held up his hand to inspect it. Only after confirming his hand was clean of blood did he let out a sigh of relief, then fixed his gaze on Zhang Yang. The commotion seemed to have cleared much of his drunkenness.

"Who is it? Everyone stand back! Who is causing trouble here? Damn it, don't you know this is my turf, Huang Si's place?"

From the edge of the room, more than a dozen men rushed in, led by one shouting loudly and cursing. Nightclubs usually employed security personnel; needless to say, these were the bouncers arriving now. They seemed rather late to the party.

"Mi Xue, call the police!"

Zhang Yang frowned slightly and handed his phone directly to Mi Xue. Zhang Yang was no novice; these security guards usually patrolled nearby. They should have appeared when the fight started to intervene. Their absence initially, and their arrival now, clearly suggested something was amiss. This wasn't his territory. While Zhang Yang himself was fine, he had several other people with him, so calling the police was indeed the best course of action.

"Okay!"

Mi Xue took the phone and nervously dialed 110. Seeing Mi Xue pick up her phone, Su Wei seemed to remember something and quickly pulled out her own phone, dialing while crying.

The man outside, claiming to be Huang Si, had now moved to the center. He stood nearly six-foot-three, looking exceptionally imposing, with a prominent scar across his forehead that added to his terrifying presence. A man like this would likely cause others to steer clear on the street. Upon entering, he first glanced at the bald man kneeling on the ground with his arm still tightly grasped by Zhang Yang, then looked at the two girls on the phone.

"Brother Si, save me!"

The bald man saw him and immediately cried out. Zhang Yang’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and he instinctively tightened his grip, causing the bald man to scream again. Only then did Huang Si look up, his gaze settling on Zhang Yang. His brow furrowed deeply.

"My friend, could you perhaps give Brother Huang some face and release him for the moment?"

Huang Si was much taller and sturdier than Zhang Yang, and standing before him, the two looked almost like an adult and a child. Huang Si could easily lift the young man in front of him with one hand. Yet, Huang Si addressed Zhang Yang with a remarkably calm tone, seemingly laced with a degree of deference... Monthly ticket bonus chapter, friends are very supportive, Xiao Yu will also work hard, more updates coming soon... RQ

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