Ji Manxiang.

The guy with the blue hair tilted his head, looking at Luke with a cold, sinister gaze.

Although his status in He Sheng Hall isn't high, he's quite notorious in Chinatown, and ordinary people fear ruffians like him the most.

Ordinary people hold a sense of reverence for real gang bosses, but as there's no direct interaction, the fear isn't all that deep.

To put it simply, they're not on the same level; your couple of bucks mean nothing to the gang bosses, and there's no conflict of interest.

Instead, it's these damn punk thugs that make people both hate and fear them.

They have their ways to mess with you.

Just like today's incident, they're counting on Li Zhaonian not daring to call the cops, and even if he does, they're not afraid as they're used to dealing with the police, knowing just how far to push it to leave you stuck in an uncomfortable situation.

Such things aren't common in America, only in places like Chinatown, and only toward fellow Chinese they know well; they wouldn't dare act this way elsewhere even if given the courage.

Some hot-headed restaurant owners might directly take out a shotgun and confront you; it's not certain who'd go down.

The thing about these thugs is that they're like local snakes, familiar with the surroundings, and they know how to deal with each person; they know Li Zhaonian doesn't dare to resist or act rashly, so they just manipulate and disgust you.

Li Zhaonian's reactions were all within their expectations.

But Luke was an unexpected variable. When he pulled down the shutter, even the blue-haired guy was momentarily stunned, wondering what the hell this guy was up to.

Why not follow the script?

The pockmarked young punk rolled up his sleeves and cursed at Luke, "You little punk, we told you to beat it, and you're not leaving. What the hell do you want?"

The guy with the blue hair held back his subordinate and nodded at Luke, "Kid, what do you mean? Want to arm-wrestle with our He Sheng Hall? Do you have that kind of clout?"

Luke smiled, "Don't act all high and mighty on me. If you guys leave now, I'll act like none of this ever happened.

Otherwise, suffer the consequences."

The blue-haired guy laughed angrily, "Kid, who the hell are you? Speaking so tough."

Luke didn't plan to reveal his identity as an FBI consulting investigator, firstly because it wasn't necessary to deal with these three thugs, and secondly, he worried it might affect Will.

Since Will's gone missing, Luke hadn't seen him and wasn't sure if he was really involved in the Zhang Qilong murder case. Revealing his cards now seemed premature.

Luke suspected Zhang Qilong's murder might be gang-related. Once a gang is involved, things become complex. If He Sheng Hall learned of his FBI consultant identity, they'd have a corresponding strategy and setup, so it would be better to conceal his FBI identity for now, to find their flaws and clues to the case.

"This is my uncle's restaurant and I'm taking charge of this matter."

"Then I'll just beat you up too.

Get him!" The tension had escalated to this point, and the guy with the blue hair didn't want to lose face in front of his subordinates; otherwise, how could he keep rolling with them?

The scarred guy was eager for action, swinging a slap toward Luke's head, cursing, "I'm showing you some face here!"

Luke sidestepped deftly, dodging the slap, and threw a right hook at the guy's cheek.

"Bang!"

The punch landed solidly, leaving the scarred guy stunned, and he staggered backward.

Luke didn't intend to let up, stepping forward and swinging his left fist at the guy's head.

"Bang!" Another punch landed.

This time, the scarred guy was utterly dazed, dropping straight to the ground with blood at the corner of his mouth.

Luke stomped on his stomach.

"Ah!"

The scarred guy cried out in pain, curling up like a shrimpy prawn.

The other thug, a burly guy, wasn't just standing idly either. Seeing his partner injured, he charged at Luke, aiming a kick at Luke's groin, cursing, "You son of a b***h!"

Luke deftly stepped back half a body-length, effectively neutralizing the kick's force, grabbing the fat thug's right foot and pulling it forward.

The fat thug was already lunging forward; despite just a light pull, he lost his balance, unable to touch his right foot down and had to rely on his left foot for support. Under Luke's left-hand pull, he ended up doing a split on the ground.

"Ouch, mother!" The fat thug plopped down, clutching his crotch, crying out in pain.

Luke swung a kick with a sweeping leg, hitting him right in the chest.

The fat thug nearly fainted from lack of breath, collapsing backward, eyes rolling in agony.

Luke looked at the blue-haired guy standing nearby and called out, "Come on, boy!"

The guy with the blue hair gulped, stepping back half a step, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket, waving it in front, "Kid, you messed with the wrong people.

If you kneel and apologize now, there's still time."

Luke pulled out a gun, pointing at the blue-haired guy, "You piece of trash, where did you steal that toy from?"

No need for Luke to say more; the blue-haired guy immediately dropped the switchblade, "Don't shoot! We're leaving now."

Having a gun, it wasn't a shame to lose.

It also gave an explanation to his subordinates.

Luke didn't intend to let him go just like that; having already offended them, he decided to give him a lesson, teaching him to remember better.

These little punks don't learn from their mistakes unless they're taught a hard lesson, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong. If you actually beat him, he'd be more obedient.

Luke put away the gun and waved again, "Don't you want to avenge your little brothers? Come over, I'll give you a chance."

The guy with the blue hair felt cowardly, regretting not bringing a gun. He had one; before coming, the subordinates asked if they should bring a gun, and he had thought it over and decided not to.