Chapter 084: Death Threat, The Fish Takes the Bait

Hearing the sound of police sirens, Tang Fu, lying on the ground, suddenly perked up. He forced himself to endure the pain and pointed at Song Kai, swearing, “Idiot, you’re dead, you…”

“Damn it, you’re still acting tough?” Song Kai strode over and landed a kick right on Tang Fu’s jaw, dislocating it.

Several officers rushed forward and hauled everyone away.

Without any interrogation, Song Kai was thrown straight into the detention center—a place much like a temporary jail, where suspects and those serving sentences under three months were held. People came and went frequently, and supervision was lax, making it far more chaotic than a regular prison.

With a metallic clang, the door to the detention center swung open, and two police officers marched Song Kai inside. A policeman wearing a cap approached, glanced at Song Kai, and nodded. “Take this inmate to Room Five,” he ordered before leaving.

The two officers escorted Song Kai to Cell Five, shoved him inside, and locked the door with a resounding click.

Inside, Song Kai surveyed his surroundings. There were five people in the cell. Four of them sat chatting on their beds, while the fifth was on his knees, scrubbing the floor with a towel.

The man on the ground noticed Song Kai and scrambled up nervously. “Boss… Boss, we’ve got a new guy,” he stammered, clearly terrified of the cell’s ringleader.

The ringleader was a burly man, built like a Western bodybuilder, with a green dragon tattoo winding down his arm. He glanced at Song Kai, frowned, then barked at the man on the floor, “Cut the crap! I told you to keep scrubbing, so keep scrubbing!”

“But… but you said only the newbies have to clean the toilets and the floor,” Liu Qiang protested, on the verge of tears. He’d never suffered like this before; though his family wasn’t exactly wealthy, they were well-off, and he’d been spoiled since childhood, never lifting a finger.

“Damn it!” The boss jumped off his bed and glared at Liu Qiang. “So you’re growing a backbone now, Liu Qiang? Talking back to me? Are you? Are you?”

With that, he kicked Liu Qiang’s leg hard.

Liu Qiang rolled over several times before collapsing on the floor.

The boss went over and started kicking him repeatedly.

Liu Qiang begged loudly for mercy, but no officer came to intervene. Clearly, someone had given the boss special instructions to “take care” of Liu Qiang.

For Officer Wu Hongying and the captain, even if they couldn’t use rough tactics during interrogation, they could let Liu Qiang’s cellmates use harsher means inside the detention center—pressuring him to spill information about Cross-River Dragon and secure his release.

Song Kai stood up, his voice hoarse. “That’s enough.”

The boss froze, turning to face Song Kai.

His name was Yang Kai, a small-time thug known in Tengyun City. He’d been locked up for drunk driving—a minor offense, and since he was on familiar terms with some officers, he hadn’t taken it seriously.

But then the warden instructed him to “look after” Liu Qiang, promising to erase his drunk-driving record and let him keep his license as a reward.

Yang Kai was only too happy to oblige. Bullying petty criminals in the detention center was his specialty.

What he hadn’t expected was for this new guy, Song Kai, to stick his nose in his business.

“Heh!” Yang Kai turned to Song Kai. “Kid, you don’t look very old. First time in a place like this, right? What, trying to play hero for this scumbag?”

“A scumbag is still a person. If you keep beating him, you’ll cripple him,” Song Kai replied calmly.

Yang Kai laughed, wiping his nose with his hand. “Are you stupid? Do you know where you are? This is the detention center—anyone who comes in here has to crawl before me. I haven’t even started with you, and you’re already challenging me? Fine, I’ll show you what seniority means!”

He waved at the other three. “Take care of this troublemaker for me.”

The three men leaped down from their beds.

In a flash, Song Kai made his move. He swung his fist straight at Yang Kai’s face.

Yang Kai toppled over.

Song Kai immediately locked his arm around Yang Kai’s neck, squeezing with deadly force. In a real fight, this was a lethal move—the chokehold. Once caught like this, one could only submit.

Song Kai’s arm was like an iron vise around Yang Kai’s neck as he shouted, “Back off! Anyone touches me, I’ll kill them!”

He tightened his grip as he spoke.

Yang Kai’s face turned red from lack of air, his arms flailing to punch Song Kai’s ribs, but to no avail—Song Kai refused to let go.

He didn’t look like he knew any martial arts, just a brute using sheer strength to choke Yang Kai.

Yang Kai’s face shifted from red to blue, then to black. Suddenly, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

“You killed him!” one of the men shouted at Song Kai, backing away.

The other two stared at Song Kai in horror.

Song Kai gave a cold snort, dropped Yang Kai to the floor, and pressed hard on the philtrum beneath Yang Kai’s nose.

After a moment, Yang Kai gasped for air and jolted awake.

Song Kai stood nearby, looking down at him with a sneer.

Seeing Song Kai’s smile, Yang Kai scrambled away in terror, rolling and crawling on the floor. In that moment, he’d truly tasted the bitterness of death—he’d never been so close to it before.

Song Kai clapped his hands and said coldly, “Don’t mess with me. Either kill me outright, or be prepared for me to kill you.”

Yang Kai panted heavily, shrinking into a corner and nodding repeatedly.

Everyone in the cell stared fearfully at Song Kai, not daring to approach. As the saying goes, the weak fear the strong, the strong fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who have nothing to lose.

If Yang Kai was reckless, then Song Kai was the type who feared nothing—not even death.

No one dared provoke a man like that.

Song Kai lay down on his bed and closed his eyes to rest.

A heavy silence filled the cell.

After a while, Liu Qiang quietly edged toward Song Kai and whispered, “Thank you.”

Song Kai opened his eyes. He knew this was the man he was meant to get close to.

He studied Liu Qiang’s face—delicate, almost effeminate features, with a hint of pampered arrogance. This wasn’t the face of a hardened criminal—at most, a spoiled rich kid.

As a Taoist of the Complete Truth Sect, Song Kai’s ability to read faces and energy was basic training, and he was confident in his judgment.

“It’s nothing. Just a small matter,” Song Kai replied, lying back down.

Liu Qiang swallowed. He figured he ought to latch onto Song Kai and whispered with a nervous smile, “From now on, you’re my boss. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Song Kai glanced at him. “No need. I’m the youngest here, and I don’t like being the boss. I don’t bully people, but I won’t let anyone else bully me, either. Don’t worry—while I’m here, no one will dare touch you. As for cleaning, we’ll each take a turn every day. Hey, you with the green dragon tattoo—you have no objections, right?”

Yang Kai hastily nodded. “No objections, none at all! That’s how it should be!”

Song Kai closed his eyes again.

Liu Qiang’s admiration for Song Kai grew even stronger. He even gave him a thumbs-up.

That night, Liu Qiang slept beside Song Kai, experiencing his first restful, peaceful sleep.

The next day at noon, lunch was delivered, and afterward it was time for exercise.

A guard opened the cell door and barked, “Time for recreation—an hour and a half. Keep it orderly.”

Song Kai got up and headed outside.

This undercover life was truly hard to endure.

Liu Qiang seemed terrified, clinging close behind Song Kai, his face stricken.

Song Kai shot him a puzzled look. “It’s just exercise time. Why are you scurrying around like a mouse?”

Liu Qiang tried to smile and whispered, “Brother Kai, how did you end up here?”

Song Kai sat down beneath a basketball hoop. “I hit someone, that’s all.”

“Who’d you hit?” Liu Qiang sat down right next to him.

“Some guy named Tang Fu. He was bullying a girl at the gym, and I couldn’t stand it, so I broke his jaw. That’s how I landed here.” Song Kai explained the situation truthfully—after all, there was no point hiding it. The best lies are mostly true, with just a hint of falsehood.

Liu Qiang’s jaw dropped in shock. “Wait—was that Tang Fu from the Tang family?”

“I think so,” Song Kai replied.

Liu Qiang gave him a big thumbs-up. “You’re amazing… Uh, let me introduce myself—I’m Liu Qiang. My sister, Liu Qian, is a very famous lawyer, extremely capable. I got mixed up in something minor and won’t be here long—my sister will bail me out for sure. Brother Kai, if… if I can get you out too, could you do me a favor?”

Song Kai hadn’t expected Liu Qiang to take the bait so quickly and offer to get him out. That would make his mission all the easier.

He gave Liu Qiang a blank look. “Go on.”

Liu Qiang lowered his voice. “Help me out… protect me, will you? There’s a pervert in here who keeps trying to make me take off my pants. If you can keep him away from me, I’ll owe you.”

“Huh?” Song Kai stared at him.

Liu Qiang flushed in embarrassment and hurriedly continued, “Brother Kai, if you help me, I swear on my whole family that my sister will get you out, too. If I break my word, may my family perish!”

Anyone willing to swear such an oath must truly mean it.

Song Kai nodded. “Alright. I believe you. But who’s the pervert?”

Liu Qiang was about to answer when suddenly, a voice called out from behind them, “Hey, my little cutie, so this is where you’ve been hiding.”

At the sound of that voice, Liu Qiang ducked behind Song Kai in terror.

Song Kai turned and saw a shirtless, muscular man sauntering over with a leering grin…