CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42 HOW DO YOU WANT TO DIE?

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This gang of world-weary thugs finally figured it out. That pale, harmless-looking young man was a total monster! Going toe-to-toe with him was practically a death wish!

"Don’t come any closer, I surrender, big brother... Please, stop messing around..."

"It’s not my fault, okay? I just took a two-hundred-dollar labor fee to come and back him up."

"Boss... We give up. Let’s talk this through, no need to use force..."

The thugs huddled far away in a corner, packed so tightly together that the innermost layer looked like a human canvas. The scene was absurdly amusing.

Yan Xiaobao didn’t even bother trying to grab one of them to throw around. He simply lifted the heavy marble table in the KTV private room with one hand.

Few people could guess how heavy the marble table in a KTV room was, but anyone who’s been to a KTV knows—it’s tough even to shift it slightly, so you can imagine the weight...

"Big brother, please don’t throw it! People could die!"

"You can’t smash us! Have mercy, big brother... I’ll kneel down and sing ’Conquer’ for you!"

"Help! Someone save us! Ahhh..."

Amid their terrified screams, Yan Xiaobao unhesitatingly hurled the enormous, unbearably heavy marble table straight at them...

"Boom!"

One loud crash later, the room went dead silent...

All the thugs were sprawled out on the ground, not moving or making a sound. Of those knocked out for real, the rest pretended to be unconscious with unwavering commitment, each resolved not to get back up—no matter what!

Yan Xiaobao ignored whether these weaklings were genuinely fainted or faking, truly dead or playing possum. He turned around and looked at Luo Jianbi. "Now it’s your turn. So, how do you want to die?"

Luo Jianbi jolted awake, his terror-stricken eyes locking onto the monster-like young man. Trembling, he stammered to plead, "I... I... I’m sorry! Is it still not too late to beg for mercy?"

"What do you think?" Yan Xiaobao was never going to let Luo Jianbi off the hook. Anyone who dared to harm his wife was doomed—no negotiation.

Suddenly, Luo Jianbi steeled himself and pulled out a pistol, pressing it against Xia Rou’s head. His bluster weakly masked his panic as he yelled, "Stay back, or I’ll shoot her in the head!"

"Huh?" Yan Xiaobao asked curiously, "You’re not a cop, so where’d you get a gun?"

"Bet you didn’t see that coming!" Luo Jianbi assumed Yan Xiaobao was rattled and laughed smugly. "No matter how skilled someone’s Martial Arts are, they can’t beat a kitchen knife. Even the best fighter can be taken down with a bullet! You, this scrappy young man—you can’t beat my gun!"

For the first time in her life, Xia Rou had a gun aimed at her forehead. Her face turned paler than ever, but she instinctively yelled, "Run! Don’t worry about me!"

"You’re my wife—how could I not worry about you?" Yan Xiaobao replied casually. "Rourou, honey, don’t be afraid. This dimwit doesn’t even know how to use a gun. He hasn’t even turned off the safety; how’s he gonna shoot?"

"Uh..." Luo Jianbi hastily lifted the pistol to check.

In that instant, a blur of movement—Yan Xiaobao seemed to teleport, crossing four to five meters, appearing right in front of Luo Jianbi. Luo Jianbi felt his hand empty, only to find the gun now resting in Yan Xiaobao’s grip.

"So, you tell me—how do you want to die?" Yan Xiaobao pressed the muzzle against Luo Jianbi’s forehead.

Luo Jianbi’s legs buckled, and he crumpled to his knees, stammering incoherently. Having a gun pointed at your head wasn’t something just anyone could stomach.

"D-don’t kill me... Killing someone... It’s illegal..." Luo Jianbi’s survival instinct eked out words of desperation, his voice trembling.

"You? You don’t count as ’someone.’" Yan Xiaobao pulled the slide back with a resounding click, chambering a round.

"Don’t sh—"

"Bang!"

Before Xia Rou could finish her sentence, Yan Xiaobao fired.

"Aargh—" Luo Jianbi clutched his thigh, blood gushing as he shrieked like a wounded animal.

"Whoa! You’re bleeding a lot. You know, losing too much blood could be fatal," Yan Xiaobao commented, squatting down and lightly pressing a finger to Luo Jianbi’s thigh to help stop the bleeding, appearing almost concerned.

"Th-thanks... Ow! It hurts... It hurts so much!" Luo Jianbi’s scream grew even louder after the bleeding stopped.

"Hurts, does it? I only amplified your pain by a factor of two," Yan Xiaobao remarked nonchalantly, giving Luo Jianbi’s shoulder a reassuring pat. "Keep enduring it. This is just the beginning."

"Huh?" Luo Jianbi was so terrified now that cold sweat poured down, distracting him even from the pain.

But Yan Xiaobao wasted no time. "Bang!" Another shot blasted into his other leg, and Luo Jianbi let out a piercing howl, nearly passing out from the agony.

"Why are you so pathetic?" Yan Xiaobao seemed genuinely annoyed, chastising him. "A real man doesn’t flinch from a little bloodshed. This is minor stuff—grit your teeth and stop screaming. Otherwise, I’ll amplify your pain by another factor."

"Mm-mmph..." Luo Jianbi clamped his mouth shut instantly, desperately swallowing his cries.

At this moment, he’d completely forgotten his pain. Another amplification meant he’d be wishing for death...

"Xiao Bao, stop!" Xia Rou, standing off to the side, could hardly bear the gruesome scene anymore and pleaded softly, "You’ve shot him twice already. Isn’t that enough?"

"Enough? How’s it enough?" Yan Xiaobao retorted earnestly, his tone unwavering. "This scumbag dared to kidnap my Rourou and even tried to humiliate you right in front of me. I have to give him the worst death imaginable so that no one will ever dare to harm my Rourou again."

Yan Xiaobao’s words sent a surge of warmth through Xia Rou’s heart, leaving her feeling inexplicably tender and weightless. Even the bloody scene before her seemed less horrifying now.

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"Didn’t you want me to stand by and watch as you humiliated Rourou?"

"Bang!" The third shot.

"Aaargh!!"

"Shut up! No more screaming like a banshee!"

"Mm..." Luo Jianbi suppressed another howl.

"Didn’t you want Rourou to stand and watch as you put on a show with your men?"

"Bang!" The fourth shot.

"Mm... mm..." Luo Jianbi stifled his cries again.

"Didn’t you want tonight to become the most humiliating, unforgettable memory of mine and Rourou’s lives?"

"Bang!" The fifth shot.

Luo Jianbi shut his eyes in despair, utterly drained, too weak even to scream anymore.

"Xiao Bao, stop! If you keep this up, he’s going to die," Xia Rou urged once more. "Even though he’s the criminal here, killing him outright would still be illegal."

"Don’t worry—I won’t let him die so easily," Yan Xiaobao chuckled, baring his pearly white teeth. The sight alone made Luo Jianbi’s heart convulse with terror.

"Today, you won’t die. Tomorrow, you won’t die either. I’ll be sure to keep this going..." Yan Xiaobao tilted his head in thought. "Three days and nights? No! Seven days and nights. And then, then I’ll let you die."

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