Chen Xiaomeng's face flushed with anger at these words. She gritted her teeth, finding Jiang Cheng's pitiful appearance even more hateful.

As if thinking of something, her expression improved. "Oh, right," she said with a smile, "look what presents I brought you this time."

She took the bag from the middle-aged man, opened it, and took out the contents one by one, placing them in front of Jiang Cheng.

A pair of pliers, just the right size.

Several non-low temperature red candles.

And a whip that looked very unfriendly...

The handle of the whip was worn smooth, gleaming with an oily sheen.

"Knowing that Mr. Hao likes these things, I was a bit rushed, so I didn't prepare much," she blinked her beautiful eyes and asked timidly, "Which one... should we start with?"

The middle-aged man standing beside her frowned slightly.

He had watched this girl grow up and knew her vengeful nature, but this level of madness... was a bit much.

The person Pi Ruan sent to monitor them had been discovered by his men. The guy clearly had no experience in reconnaissance or counter-reconnaissance; he was just a reckless fool who only knew how to use "brute force."

Before they could even do anything, the guy spilled everything.

Not only that, but he was also very cooperative.

According to him, the merchant named Pi Ruan was also acting on someone else's orders. Coincidentally, on the way here, the man received a call from Pi Ruan, giving him an address and telling him to come directly here.

Someone named Hao Shuai was waiting for him.

Upon hearing the name Hao Shuai, Chen Xiaomeng immediately ordered a change of direction. Instead of going to the company to find his superior Pi Ruan, they came directly here to find the man named Hao Shuai.

And in a rush, she stopped in front of a general store and bought some small toys.

A pair of pliers and a few candles.

It's worth mentioning that while passing a relatively secluded section of road, they encountered a donkey cart carrying melons and fruits. Chen Xiaomeng shouted to stop, and then forcibly bought the whip the old man used to drive the donkey from him at a high price.

Then, on the way here, Chen Xiaomeng clutched the handle of the whip, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes from time to time. She seemed to be imagining some exciting scenes.

In all fairness, he had a pretty good impression of the young man behind the desk. At least, he didn't look like some kind of heinous criminal. He shouldn't... be related to those people.

Moreover, if it were those people, their methods would never be so clumsy.

As if recalling some memory, a sharp look flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

The reason he had agreed to accompany this girl was because he was worried about running into those guys. The middle-aged man had experienced their terror firsthand and knew it to his core.

It seemed his preparations were unnecessary. The middle-aged man watched the young man in front of him without expression.

However, for this kind of guy who came looking for trouble himself, he still had to teach him a lesson, to let him know that some people he couldn't afford to offend.

"Miss Xia Meng," Jiang Cheng sat up straight, his face full of righteousness, and said, "I don't think this is necessary between us. Think about it carefully, our cooperation in the nightmare was very effective, and... I saved you many times." He straightened his neck and suddenly said in a dramatic tone, "I am your savior."

Chen Xiaomeng was too lazy to waste words with him and directly laid her cards on the table, "You took my things before and threatened me, so you have to compensate me."

"If you know what's good for you, hand over everything you've accumulated from the nightmares," Chen Xiaomeng said fiercely, "Let me beat you up, and I might consider letting you go."

Jiang Cheng spread his hands innocently, "I don't have any."

Chen Xiaomeng was stunned. According to her assumptions, this man named Hao Shuai was quite capable and ruthless enough, so he should have a lot of good stuff on hand.

"You don't have any?" Chen Xiaomeng stared at him, trying to find a flaw in his eyes.

"Not a single hair." Jiang Cheng added, "You can search me if you don't believe me. If you find anything, I'm all yours."

Just as he finished speaking, the young man who had gone out earlier pushed the door open and came back. He whispered something into the middle-aged man's ear.

After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man suddenly smiled, then looked at Jiang Cheng and said in a vicissitudinous voice filled with the weight of years, "We've invited your fat friend over too."

After saying that, he glanced at the young man beside him. The young man turned and left, then re-entered the room with a familiar vegetable basket in his hand.

The bamboo handle of the vegetable basket was broken. Judging by the marks on the break, it must have been snapped off with great force during a struggle.

The middle-aged man took the vegetable basket, then slowly walked to Jiang Cheng, gently placing the basket down in the center of the desk.

"Young man," his hawk-like, sharp eyes brought immense pressure, but his speech was very slow. "If you don't want anything to happen to your friend, I suggest you cooperate."

Raising his head, Jiang Cheng faced the mountain-like pressure and looked directly at the most troublesome person beside Chen Xiaomeng. After a long while, he suddenly said, "You don't need to bluff. Fatty isn't in your hands. He ran away."

The middle-aged man's eyes were as still as the sea. Jiang Cheng's probe did not cause the slightest ripple. Then, the middle-aged man suddenly smiled, "Want to make a bet?"

He was wearing a very orthodox lead-gray suit. He was about 180 centimeters tall, and there was a clear scar below the corner of his lips. Just standing there gave people a sense of unshakable oppression.

A corner of the suit rested on the side of the desk, and the gorgeous ukiyo-e on the lining of the suit was revealed in the folds.

Without waiting for Jiang Cheng to answer, the middle-aged man said lightly, "In one minute, I'll let you see his ears."

His casual posture, the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth, and his calm eyes without a trace of gloom... all indicated that the middle-aged man's state of mind was extremely strong.

Such a person... was unlikely to lie.

They either didn't lie, or if they did, they would do everything they could to make the lie a reality.

"There's half a minute left," Chen Xiaomeng's eyes narrowed into crescent moons, obviously in a good mood. She leaned over Jiang Cheng's desk, the curve of her body beneath her skirt creating a tempting arc.

"Uncle Gong rarely takes action, so that fatty is lucky this time," she said with a smile.

A few seconds later, Jiang Cheng nodded, "Okay."

The smile on Chen Xiaomeng's lips froze.

Even the usually calm middle-aged man's eyes showed a trace of waves, but after a brief fluctuation, the look he gave Jiang Cheng was tinged with ice.

"That fatty lives with you, and you even enter nightmares together to find a way out, so you must have a close relationship," the middle-aged man's tone was much colder than before. "You don't care about his life or death that much?"

"I can't even take care of myself, why would I care about him?" Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "I keep him to work for me, to scout the way for me in tasks." He grumbled, "If you like him, take him away. Just make sure he's fed and not starved to death."