Chapter 10: Crippled

"Get your ass down here! What the hell are you doing in there?" Another startled cry rang out. Juliana Letherdale grabbed Holden Duffus by the arm, her fingers digging in as panic flashed across her face. "No! Don't go down there. Let's call the police!" "Just look at them. They're not good people. If you go out there, it's too dangerous!" One of the men had already popped the trunk and hauled out a steel pipe. Holden shook his head. "Be good. Listen to me. Lock the doors, and don't come out." He peeled her hand off his sleeve. Ignoring her frantic protests, he yanked the door open and stepped out. He swept his gaze over the Benlor. A shallow dent ran from the front all the way to the rear, and the silver paint had been scraped into an ugly mess. The five young men with their rainbow-dyed hair had already closed in. Their leader, Noah Hauk, flicked a lighter, lit a cigarette, then blew smoke right into Holden's face with a swaggering smirk. "Kid, can your girl even drive? Look what she did to my car." He jutted his chin toward the damage. "So tell me. What are we doing about it?" Holden frowned at him for a beat, then his expression smoothed into calm. "What do you want to do?" Noah glanced back at his buddies and flashed a smug grin. He hooked a thumb at the car behind him. "Simple. You pay up. This is a Benlor T200, top trim. Eight million. Just the paint alone runs six figures. I won't even ask for much. One million. Pay it." Inside the car, Juliana had cracked the window and kept watching the situation. The moment she heard "one million," she went rigid. Fear or not, she shoved the door open and marched out. "Hey! You were the one who suddenly shot out. That's why we hit you. Why should we pay you anything?" Earlier, when she'd been startled in the car, she'd covered her face on instinct. Even when she spoke to Holden, she'd kept her head turned. Noah and the others hadn't gotten a clear look at her. But the instant she stepped out, they saw her properly. A rare, stunning beauty. Noah's eyes lit up. He stopped paying attention to Holden entirely and turned, motioning as his men shifted to surround her. "Well, well. A beauty, huh?" Noah looked her up and down, then lingered on her chest for a long five or six seconds before licking his lips. "But listen, sweetheart. You can eat whatever you want. You can't say whatever you want." "I was going straight. You pulled out. That means it's your fault. Got it? Don't believe me, call the cops and have them decide." This crew had scammed who knew how many women just like Juliana. They knew the script by heart, and they weren't worried in the slightest that she wouldn't fall for it. Backed against the car, Juliana's voice shook. "You… you did it on purpose!" Noah snorted, contempt written all over his face. "On purpose? You got proof?" "I…" Juliana froze. She did have a dashcam, but it only recorded the front. In that situation, it really would look exactly like Noah said, and if she pulled it up, it would only prove she was at fault. But he had been doing it on purpose. She had checked the mirror before moving. That car had clearly been parked behind her. And it had been deliberate. They targeted small, feminine-looking cars worth around twenty to fifty thousand dollars, waited right behind them, and the moment the driver started moving, they floored it and rammed in. Even if the victim braked in time, they could still swerve and create a scrape. People like that usually didn't have powerful connections, but they had a bit of money. With the victim "fully responsible," Noah, whose family ran a loan company, had cash, contacts, and muscle. He wasn't afraid of anyone refusing to pay. And with a luxury car like a Benlor, even a tiny scratch meant a full repaint if you didn't want it to look like trash. The cost really did run into six figures. Add bodywork on top, and most people would have to sell their house to afford it. That was in a normal situation. This wasn't normal. The car wasn't even Noah's. It had been collateral from someone who owed his family loan-shark money. Noah used it specifically for staged crashes. If it got scratched, he'd take it to some cheap shop for paint and bodywork. He never paid real money for any of it. Pull this scam seven or eight times, and a brand-new Benlor basically fell into his lap. And if the victim couldn't come up with that much cash? No problem. His family ran a loan company. Mortgage the car, mortgage the house. Once interest started compounding, the profit only grew. And since the drivers were usually women, they were already scared. If they couldn't pay on the spot, the outcome was almost always the same. Not only would they be bled dry, they'd be forced to "keep him and his brothers entertained" for free. Noah had slept with plenty of women, but a knockout like Juliana was a first. Excitement surged through him. He let out a greasy chuckle. "Well? Nothing to say, huh? Be smart and pay up. If you think it's too much…" His eyes dragged over her again. "Boss can cut you a deal. But…" He laughed under his breath, swallowed hard, and reached for her cheek. "You'll have to play with us for a while…" Juliana shrieked. "What are you doing? Don't touch me!" She slapped at his hand, but he dodged easily. "Come on, don't be shy." "Yeah, beautiful, make friends with us and you'll save tens of thousands. What, you can't even do that?" "Our Young Master Noah is famous for being a real man. You're yelling 'don't touch me' right now, but in a bit you'll be crying and begging us not to stop!" "Hahahaha!" They crowded closer and closer. It wasn't just Noah. The others all reached out too, hands grabbing for her. Juliana finally broke. Terror flooded her face as she screamed, "Get away from me! Don't come any closer! Holden! Brother-in-law, save me!" "You'd better not touch her." The hands hanging in midair paused. Noah looked at his brothers, then they all burst into laughter. He turned back with an exaggerated expression. "Oh? What the hell, a hero saving the beauty?" He sauntered up to Holden and lightly patted his cheek, disdain dripping from his smile. "Kid, you're not the first one to talk to me like that. But do you know what happens to people like you?" At his side, Ruben Balam tapped the steel pipe against the ground, lips curling as he let out two cold laughs. Holden met Noah's gaze, his tone flat. "I don't know what happened to them. But you should think about what's going to happen to you." "Oh, wow." Noah cocked his head, voice dripping with mockery. "You've got some backbone. Tell me." He lifted his hand again, aiming to slap Holden's cheek. "What's going to happen to me?" "Whoosh!" Noah's vision blurred. Before his hand could land, his neck tightened like a noose. His breath cut off instantly. Under the stunned stares of the others, Holden clamped one hand around Noah's throat, spun, and slammed him down hard onto the silver Benlor's trunk. Bang! The trunk caved in with a deep, ugly dent. Pfft! Noah spat a mouthful of blood. Every bone in his body felt shattered, pain ripping through him. He couldn't even scream. All he could do was stare in horror, a strangled "hk… hk…" rasp leaking out. Holden looked down at him, eyes cold. "Do you understand now?" Only then did Noah's brothers snap out of it. They glanced at their Boss, miserable and crumpled, and Ruben roared, "You little bastard, you're asking to die!" He swung the steel pipe straight for Holden's head. In Holden's eyes, everything slowed, as if time itself had dropped into slow motion. He didn't even bother dodging. He raised his hand and whipped a slap into Ruben's left cheek, sending him flying three or four meters. Ruben was still in midair when he vomited a huge mouthful of blood. Four or five teeth clattered out with it. The three men behind him didn't even get a chance to react. Holden dropped them one after another. Blood poured from their noses and mouths as they writhed on the ground, wailing. Juliana clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and vacant as she stared at the scene. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Holden walked up to her, expression unreadable, and slowly raised his hand. Juliana's eyes went even wider. She thought he'd gone too far and was about to hit her too. She couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her head and screamed, "No! Brother-in-law! Don't hit me!" His hand landed lightly on top of her head. He ruffled her hair into a mess, then deliberately put on a vicious tone. "Are you out of your mind? I told you to stay in the car. Why didn't you listen? You really aren't scared of anything, are you?" "Huh?" Her hair was so messed up she nearly stumbled. She looked up at him, dazed, and suddenly the words sounded weirdly familiar. Wait. Wasn't that what she always said to him? This… this jerk… Realizing he was messing with her, Juliana flushed with humiliation and anger. She kicked him and snapped, "You're the one with water in your brain! You jerk! Who told you to rub my head? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Seeing she'd calmed down and wasn't trembling anymore, Holden chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, let's go. If we stay, this is going to get messy." This time, he didn't let Juliana drive. Holden slid into the driver's seat and took them away. "Holden… you… when did you get this strong?" Ever since he'd learned the Supreme Mystery Scripture was real, Holden understood something. He probably wasn't in the category of "normal human" anymore. He knew what the four-character Rune could do. He didn't know its limit, but dealing with a few street punks was nothing. Of course, he couldn't tell her any of that. So he just smiled at her. "I learned mixed martial arts before. What, you didn't know?" "Did you?" Juliana looked uncertain. Was that really it? But a woman's thoughts could turn on a dime. One second she was still trying to figure out how he could fight like that. The next, her face crumpled as she wailed, "Holden, my car's wrecked too! One headlight's shattered, a huge patch of paint is gone, and it's dented all over. Wuwuwu… what do I do? It hurts just thinking about it!" Holden glanced at her and shook his head. "Alright, alright. I'll pay for the repairs. Happy? Are you still going to Midcoast Dining House or not? If not, we're going home." "Yes, yes, yes! Of course we're going!" Holden smiled. Let it soothe the shock she'd just taken. He stopped worrying about money and drove straight for Midcoast Dining House. At the same time… The two brothers from the Letherdale family finally escaped their father's furious outburst and slipped out of the house. They huddled together, faces dark. Randy Letherdale paced back and forth, agitation written into every step. "What do we do, Boss? If they really land the Showyer Group order, we won't have any room to maneuver. Then what about that batch of goods?" The moment he imagined what would happen if the truth came out, Amari Letherdale shivered. His eyes turned viciously cold. "Then we make sure she can't get to Showyer Group." Randy stared at his brother, stunned. "Boss… you… what are you going to do?" Amari shot him a frosty look instead of answering. He simply pulled out his phone and made a call.