“You brat, you really don’t know when to quit. I’ve been looking all over for you, and here you are, walking right into my lap…” Boss Tong eyed me, oozing confidence as he lit a cigarette.

Cold sweat traced a path down my cheek, yet I showed no sign of cowardice, meeting his gaze. “What you’re doing will come with a price, Boss Tong.”

Boss Tong let out a cold scoff and beckoned behind him. A man with a thin mustache, clad in a leather jacket, sauntered closer.

Then, Boss Tong addressed him: “Go fetch all the migrant workers nearby. Tell them they’re getting a raise today.”

I knew exactly what he meant; he planned to use money to direct those laborers against me. If that man managed to call them all over, even if I had three heads and six arms, escape would be impossible. My only chance was to flee right now.

But when I looked toward the main gate, I saw the two laborers who had been mixing cement earlier chaining it shut.

Boss Tong watched my eyes darting around and said, “Stop struggling. You aren’t getting out today. Relax, I won’t beat you to death. Causing a fatality would be a major incident, after all.”

I remained silent, simply staring coldly at Boss Tong, calculating my next move.

Just then, Foreman Li, the one from earlier, asked, “Boss Tong, you know him?”

Boss Tong sneered, “I know him… Yesterday, Jiajia and I were eating noodles at the shop. This guy dropped three hundred yuan and then dragged Jiajia away, acting like I didn’t even exist.”

Foreman Li, who had been polite to me moments before, instantly transformed into a fawning lapdog. Upon hearing Boss Tong’s words, he bristled with feigned indignation. “This punk actually treated the young madam like that! He must have a pair of dog eyes, and to offend you so brazenly—he deserves to die!”

Boss Tong grunted. “That’s not all. Last night, Jiajia ran out of her room to hide at his place. When I dragged her back from school, she claimed this man was pawing at her and wouldn’t let her leave.”

Hearing this, I felt as if I’d plummeted into an ice cavern. I demanded loudly, “Miss Zhao… Miss Zhao really said that?”

Boss Tong snorted again. “Stop playing dumb with me. Don’t you know what you’ve done?”

Foreman Li’s teeth clenched with shared hatred. “This scumbag! I almost arranged work for him just now, and I never expected this kind of person. That request for a loan must have been a trick too, right? You probably weren't even planning to show up tomorrow! You look young, like a university student, but you turn out to be such a degenerate!”

The two of them took turns launching verbal assaults, attacking my character until my head felt like it would explode from rage. I clenched my fists tightly, muttering to myself: If Miss Zhao really said those things, then I truly am an idiot. I tried to help her out of kindness, only for her to turn on me like this!

It seemed I was still too naive. Despite having survived numerous life-and-death crises, I still knew nothing of the treachery lurking between people.

Yet, I tried to comfort myself, perhaps Zhao Jiajia lied because she felt her life was threatened. Or maybe Boss Tong fabricated the entire story to ensure the others wouldn’t hesitate when it came time to attack me. After all, in their eyes, I was now nothing more than a complete villain and a fraud.

Seeing my visible rage, Boss Tong seemed immensely satisfied. He turned to Foreman Li. “Is this kid here looking for work?”

Foreman Li nodded. “He said he didn’t even have money for food. Though he looks like a university student, he had to come for manual labor. Seeing how pitiful he looked, and that he has strength, I was ready to assign him an electrician’s job, even without an ID… I didn’t expect…”

Boss Tong nodded after listening. “Go get a labor contract.”

Foreman Li paused, asking, “Boss? Didn’t you have an issue with him?”

Boss Tong snapped, “Just go get it.”

Foreman Li asked no further questions, retrieved a *packet from a nearby QQ car, and pulled out a contract.

Boss Tong glanced at the document and stated, “Once we beat him down, make him press his thumbprint.”

Foreman Li, clearly no fool, realized the implication immediately. “Boss, you mean…”

Boss Tong nodded. “Accidental deaths among employees happen all the time. We’d have to compensate the worker’s family, sure, but if the worker doesn't even have an ID, then we save the money. The body can be donated to the hospital, and we avoid burial costs entirely.”

Although I had guessed his intention, hearing him articulate it—the sheer dismissiveness in his tone, as if ending a life was as simple as pulling a weed—my fury erupted like a volcano.

Truthfully, I wasn't usually prone to outbursts. This was the first time someone had managed to provoke me to this degree. Though anger didn't often consume me, when it did, I couldn’t control myself.

So, with my blood boiling, I snatched a shovel from nearby and charged straight at Boss Tong without a word.

Boss Tong had never witnessed my skills, and seeing my seemingly frail appearance, he never anticipated I would attack him directly. I knew Boss Tong must be someone accustomed to comfort, likely incapable of crushing even a chicken. In reality, the man from the car, plus the two laborers present, could have easily handled me. But he clearly lacked self-assurance and wanted to make an example of someone; that’s why he sent the tall man to summon so many others. The more people there were, the safer he felt. Therefore, I was certain he possessed no capacity for defense.

As expected, when I rushed him, Boss Tong’s face instantly turned pale green. He yelled at me, “You! What are you doing?” While shouting, he scrambled backward, tripping and falling onto the ground.

At that moment, Foreman Li, seeing Boss Tong about to be beaten, tried to earn favor by grabbing a steel pipe from the side, attempting to block me. He showed a degree of viciousness, obstructing my path while yelling, “You dare rebel!”

Seeing him roar at me, I knew he was no tough guy either, just using volume to bolster his own courage. I slammed the shovel down onto his pipe. The pipe flew from his grasp, and he stumbled backward, landing in a clumsy heap. I stepped over his body and continued my charge toward the retreating Boss Tong. Watching him flee in panic finally gave me a small sense of vindication.

However, the two laborers who had been mixing cement rushed toward me, one wielding a sledgehammer and the other a steel rebar. Deeply versed in combat techniques, even without my supernatural abilities, my reflexes were far superior to those of the clumsy pair. I ducked under the sledgehammer aimed at my chest and raised the shovel to block the rebar attack.

The man with the hammer was quick; after missing his initial swing, he immediately spun around to attack again. But I countered with a swift back-kick to his abdomen, sending him sprawling and temporarily unable to rise. Then, I drove a punch into the nose of the man with the rebar, dropping him instantly.

Boss Tong witnessed all this and was too terrified to utter a sound. My anger still unspent, I picked up the shovel and advanced on him step by step, contemplating whether to knock him out, strip him naked, and dump him on the street, or break three of his legs and ensure he’d never be able to stand again.

At that moment, a commotion erupted from inside the construction site, and a dense crowd started pouring out. Seeing them, I knew I had to leave immediately. I spat in Boss Tong’s face and growled, “Today, you got lucky, you son of a bitch. I’ll settle this score with you later.” Then, I bolted toward the main gate.

Unexpectedly, Boss Tong lunged and grabbed my leg, screaming, “Help! This guy is attacking and killing people! Whoever catches him, I’ll reward them a hundred thousand yuan!” After shouting this, he actually started gnawing on my leg.

The bite stung sharply. I struggled violently, unable to shake him off. Seeing the approaching crowd, armed with various makeshift weapons, I panicked. I brought the shovel down hard onto the back of Boss Tong’s head, knocking him unconscious.

Then I scrambled toward the gate, only to find it locked tight. The pursuing crowd was closing in, and cold sweat streamed down my face in sheer anxiety. I could have easily slashed a gap in the advertising cloth wall, but doing so now would mean being captured before I could even break through.

Just as I thought I was finished, the old gatekeeper shuffled out of his shack, key in hand, and frantically unlocked the chain. As he worked, he said to me, “Young man, I can tell you’re a good person. You did well to fight today; that Boss Tong is a monster. But don't ever come back here!”

My gratitude was immense; for a moment, I was speechless. Once the gate was open, I managed a hurried “Thank you” and rushed out.

I hadn't run far before I heard the curses drawing nearer. Driven by money, the dark mass of people rushed toward me like rabid dogs. Thankfully, the skills honed over years in ancient tombs made my escape swifter than a rabbit’s. I soon hit the main road, veered into a nearby residential area, and managed to lose them after several quick turns.

I hid in an outhouse behind someone's home and waited a full half-hour before emerging. On the street, I saw no sign of the laborers, so I hurried toward where I was staying. I had to go back because my extremely important Shen and that set of designer suits were still there. If I didn’t retrieve them now, Boss Tong would undoubtedly tear the entire village apart once he woke up, trying to skin me alive. I had to grab my things and disappear. I wasn’t sure where to go, but getting away from here was paramount.

Despite this clear thought, when I returned to my lodging, the guesthouse had already been ransacked. My room was a mess. The suit was gone, and the Shen in the bottle had been crushed underfoot on the floor.