Chapter 379 - A Ghost

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Sadly, it was a dysfunctional relationship, with only a marriage certificate binding two people who had no feelings for each other. Xiao Luo had no idea how Su Li felt about the marriage. Still, it was a strange union to him, and he only hoped that Su Li would meet someone that she fancied and end this relationship with him as soon as possible.

He had always believed that they would drift apart ultimately and become mere strangers with no strings attached, and therefore, he never took the trouble to tell Su Li more about himself.

He called Zhang Dashan after he got back to his apartment.

Zhang Dashan had not been very busy lately, so he frequently tried to get a date with Huang Ruoran. Unfortunately, Huang Ruoran showed no interest in him and even told him in his face that for them to date was simply out of the question.

“F*ck, I’ve sent her flowers a dozen times and even asked her out frequently, but she just won’t give me a chance. What should I do, bro?” Zhang Dashan lamented.

Xiao Luo shook his head and replied, “What’s the point of asking me? I thought you’re more experienced in dating girls.”

“F*ck, should I really do as what the Internet says? Rape her if you like her, and if that doesn’t work, then just drug her. What’s the worst scenario, end up in jail?” Zhang Dashan cried, feeling dejected and gloomy.

Xiao Luo raised his brows and joked, “Go to jail then, I’ll visit.”

“For f*ck’s sake, can we just chat in peace? I’m hurting here…”

Xiao Luo sighed, not sure what he could say to Zhang Dashan to lift him. Then, another call came in, and it was his cousin, Ding Zhenyun.

“Just move on, okay. Anyway, I’ve got another call coming in.”

“Fine.”

Zhang Dashan ended the call on his end.

Xiao Luo swiped right on the calling button and picked up Ding Zhenyun’s call.

“Cousin… help me, please… help me.” Ding Zhenyun’s anxious and frightened voice came through from the other end of the line.

Xiao Luo stood up immediately and asked, “Where are you?”

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A forlorn figure dashed out from a dark alley into the quiet street at a corner of the Dongcheng area. He wore a gray leather jacket with a pair of black pants, the shirt he was wearing was hanging out, and his buttons were misaligned, making him appear unkempt. His face was severely bruised, covered with blood, and his mouth was slightly swollen. It was evident that this man had taken a beating—he was none other than Ding Zhenyun.

“Ding, you better come back with us obediently, if not you’re going to get beaten up real bad!”

Behind him, there were four rascally-looking youths, and the one who had shouted at him was a well-built youngster with a knife scar across his face. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his firm and muscular arms, and there was a scorpion tattoo on the back of his left hand.

Ding Zhenyun was trembling and trying his best to get away from them, but, as often was the case, when a person panicked, they made mistakes. Unfortunately for Ding Zhenyun, this applied to him as well, as he tripped over a hump on the street and fell hard on the ground.

Before he knew it, the four youths were on him, and he found himself encircled with his adversaries looking down at him fiercely.

“Keep running then… why don’t you keep running, huh?”

The leader, a muscular youth thumped Ding Zhenyun in the stomach with a powerful kick, and Ding Zhenyun screamed in agony, his face twisted from the excruciating pain.

The muscular youth squatted down and grabbed Ding Zhenyun’s hair, pulling his head up roughly, as the remaining three youths stepped on Ding Zhenyun’s hands and leg. There was no way Ding Zhenyun could struggle free.

The muscular youth grinned and sneered, “I’ve said before, I will make sure that you become rich as long as you work for me obediently and without any question. You will become somebody in life, why did you run away from me?”

“You guys are…you guys are MLM…” Ding Zhenyun replied as he stared at the muscular youth in abject fear.

The muscular youth took out a cigarette and lighted it up, then he said, “So, what if we are part of the MLM scheme? It doesn’t matter as long as we get the money, what’s the problem? Look at you, previously you were so diligent in your work, simply by introducing a few friends to join, and you already earned five thousand bucks without investing a single cent. How great was that? If you can pull in a few more guys and work on them, get them to find even more people to join us, you can earn money without doing anything. Where else could you find an opportunity like this?”

“You guys are MLM, you guys are MLM…”

Ding Zhenyun kept repeating this line, and his eyes were glazed. He had never been so frightened in his life, and the only conscious thought he had in his mind was how he was going to get out of this alive.

“MLM, my *ss!”

The muscular youth scowled and removing his cigarette from his mouth, he cruelly pushed the smoldering tip into the sensitive part of Ding Zhenyun’s inner arm.

The cigarette singed Ding Zhenyun’s flesh, making him scream out horribly, and the pain caused him to bite through his tongue, staining his teeth red with blood.

The muscular youth pressed the cigarette against Ding Zhenyun’s arm until it had been stubbed out completely.

A patch of red appeared on Ding Zhenyun’s arm, around a blister that had form quickly from the searing cigarette burn.

“How’s that, exciting?”

The muscular youth laughed mirthlessly as he stared at Ding Zhenyun’s face, now distorted from the pain and in agony. “Rest assured, this is nothing but an appetizer. After we’re back, then we’ll have the main course. We haven’t been beating the dog before the lion for a while, so it’s great that you are sacrificing for the greater good.” He stood up and ordered his men, “Take him!”

The other three men pulled Ding Zhenyun up and started to drag him off.

“Let go, I don’t want to go back… let go, let me go!”

In Ding Zhenyun’s frightened eyes, there was nothing but unbridled fear as he knew better than anyone, what awaited him when they returned. It would be a nightmare of hell and horror, and he would be subjected to relentless torture, pain, and desperation. He would not survive it, and he struggled with every ounce of strength he had left.

“F*ck you!”

The muscular youth threw a punch right into at Ding Zhenyun’s face. His head was thrown to the side, and he was concussed. His head lolled, and he spat out mouthful blood and several teeth.

The muscular youth took out another cigarette, lit it up, took a deep puff, drew in the smoke into his lungs, and then exhaled. “In my eyes, you’re nothing but a big fat pig. It’s not up to you to decide your fate, and you better remember that,” he said to Ding Zhenyun.

As they moved out from the alley, a shadowy figure appeared at the far end, walking silently toward them like a ghost.

The four youths felt a chill and shivered…

The muscular youth had served in the army before and quickly sense that, whoever this person was, he had some extraordinary abilities. Still, he did not think that this person was Ding Zhenyun’s rescuer and only felt that he was merely passing by.

“Let’s go that way.”

He waved, and they moved in the opposite direction of the approaching figure. He did not wish to have any contact with this person, whoever he was.

The other three youths nodded and dragged Ding Zhenyun the other way.

However, just when they turned, the muscular youth felt a weight on his shoulder and noticed a large palm resting on it. He turned around and was stunned—in front of him stood the shadowy figure, which only moments ago, was more than a dozen meters away. He was met with a pair of cold, fearsome eyes…

“Huh?!”

The muscular youth gasped and broke into a cold sweat. How could this man suddenly appear before him within seconds when he had been a dozen meters away, had he just run into a ghost?