In D City.

Xia Wenjie stood in the pitch-dark and filthy alleyway, eyes fixed on the glittering and splendorous Great Tang Dynasty Hotel across the street.

The Great Tang Dynasty Hotel is the second five-star hotel in D City and can be regarded as a well-established and reputable hotel. With a total of forty-two floors, the hotel facade is large and impressive. Predominantly gold in color, it embodies grandeur and power; truly, it is reminiscent of an ancient royal palace.

However, the prosperity of the Great Tang Dynasty Hotel evidently does not extend to the little alleyway across the street.

The alleyway is long, narrow, dark, and damp, with dirty water flowing on the ground and garbage scattered all around. The air is replete with an odorous, pungent smell that could make anyone nauseous.

Unaffected by his squalid surrounding, Xia Wenjie is solely focused on the hotel entrance across the street.

Now, it's past midnight, and he is waiting for someone here; a man known as 'Golden Two', who happens to be a notorious local ruffian in this area.

Xia Wenjie is merely a high school freshman, and 'Golden Two' is a local, infamous thug. Their worlds should have been entirely separate, yet now, hatred binds them together.

On remembering that his childhood friend and companion met death at the hands of 'Golden Two', a horrifying spark shines in Xia Wenjie's eyes, and subconsciously, his hand slips into his shoulder-hanging school bag.

Inside lies a knife he bought after school - a watermelon knife.

He knows that 'Golden Two' is inside the Great Tang Dynasty Hotel, and he doesn't have many of his henchmen around. This is his best chance for avenging his brother, perhaps his only one.

He's unsure if he will succeed, but he knows one thing for certain: the living must do something for those who have died.

He's been waiting here for over four hours already, but he doesn't feel tired - or perhaps, his nervy spirit and his intense focus are so great that they've drained any sense of exhaustion.

At half past midnight, the street has already become quiet, with very few cars or pedestrians, even the Great Tang Dynasty Hotel, once always bustling with activity, now appears silent and deserted.

Just then, a group of people emerges from the hotel's rotating glass doors - three men and a woman. The woman is glamorously dressed, wearing heavy makeup, a sequined black tank top, and an extremely short skirt that barely covers her up.

The three men were all burly. The man in the middle, who seemed to be in his early thirties, was not very tall, only about 1.6 meters. He was even half a head shorter compared to the enchanting lady standing next to him. Nevertheless, his build was robust and his exposed arms were thicker than the lady's legs. At first glance, it was his shiny bald head that stood out the most, followed by his short and thick eyebrows, which looked like two hairy caterpillars crawling across his face. Underneath were a pair of small eyes, a flattened nose and a lion-like mouth. His chubby cheeks jiggled as he walked.

Exiting the hotel, the group chatted and laughed as they walked to the curb. One of the burly men cheerfully said, "Bro, you two wait here while I get the car."

"Sure, sure." the bald man impatiently waved him off, his attention primarily focused on the lady by his side.

Upon seeing them, Xia Wenjie in the alleyway across perked up and clenched his fists, his breath becoming heavier. He squinted his eyes and stayed put, silently watching the man going to get the car until he was out of sight. Then, he left the alley.

Striding through the deserted streets, he made a beeline for the group - a man and a woman left behind, while his hand, stashed in his backpack, subconsciously tightened around the knife handle.

The duo across the street noticed him but merely glanced his way without further attention.

Xia Wenjie blended into the crowd - average height, skinny body, fair complexion, and young age clearly labeled him as a student. Why would anyone give an ordinary student an extra glance?

As he reached the middle of the street, he pulled his hand from his backpack, holding a tightly newspaper-wrapped watermelon knife.

At this moment, the bald man and the enchanting lady were indulged in carefree chit-chats, with the other burly man occasionally chiming in with a word or two.

None of them could anticipate that the unassuming student, getting closer, would, in a sudden motion, thrust a bundle of newspapers at the bald man's abdomen, all the while bellowing a battle cry.

Yet, to Xia Wenjie's surprise, despite his solid force, the watermelon knife wrapped inside didn't even penetrate the man, let alone burst through the newspaper protection.

The bald man slowly lowered his gaze to the stack of newspapers hitting his belly. Then, he looked up, his eyes on Xia Wenjie's face. Out of the blue, he raised his hand, slapping Xia Wenjie's face, swearing, "F*ck off!"

He used all his strength in that slap, knocking Xia Wenjie several steps back. Xia couldn't manage to stay on his feet and fell on his butt. The watermelon knife slipped from his hand and clattered onto the ground.

His ears rang. Half of his cheek lost sensation, his mind went blank, sitting on the ground motionless. He seemed stupefied. Blood trickled down from his nostrils and the corner of his mouth.

The other burly man, coming back to his senses, quickly stepped towards the dropped newspaper bundle and picked it up. He felt its unusual heaviness and ripped the papers apart, uncovering the hidden watermelon knife.

"Second Brother, look at this." The burly man hurriedly handed the watermelon knife over to the bald man. The bald man took the knife, looking it over a few times before he began to laugh. He tilted his head, opened his mouth, licked the corner of his mouth, and walked towards Xia Wenjie with the watermelon knife.

When he got close to Xia Wenjie, the bald man lifted the watermelon knife to knock on his head, sneering, "Fuck you, you little brat, dare to try to kill me, go take a look in the mirror first! I'm going to show you today, a watermelon knife isn't for stabbing people, it's for hacking people." While speaking, he turned to yell, "Da Wei, hold on to his hand for me, I want one of his hands today."

"Hehe." The man named Da Wei chuckled strangely. He rushed forward in a flash, kicked Xia Wenjie onto the ground without a word, put his knee on his back, and pressed his right hand firmly to the ground.

Only after all this did Xia Wenjie regain his senses. He struggled desperately, wanting to push off the burly man on top of him, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake him off.

The bald man looked at Xia Wenjie's hand, corners of his mouth curving into a cruel, cold smirk. He raised his watermelon knife high, took aim at Xia Wenjie's wrist, and was about to chop down with all his strength.

Just at this critical moment, two strong lights suddenly shot out from the street. The light was so bright that the bald man couldn't open his eyes. Before he could even react, he heard a whistling sound growing louder and faster.

"Second Brother, watch out!" The burly man who had been pressing on Xia Wenjie screamed, then lunged forward with all his might, knocking the bald man far away.

Both men tumbled to the roadside. Just as they were knocked away, a sedan car raced by where the bald man had just been standing with the wind whistling past it.

Looking at the suddenly-arrived sedan, the bald man and his men were somewhat stunned, as was Xia Wenjie, who had just sat up from the ground. Before he had time to think, the car door opened and a deep voice came from inside the car, "Get in."

Xia Wenjie looked into the car, froze for a moment, then scrambled into the car.

Once he got into the car, the person in the car stepped on the accelerator, and with a loud roar, the sedan quickly took off.

"Fuck." The bald man jumped up from the ground, looked at the sedan disappearing into the distance, stomped his feet, and cursed, "Fuck you, dare to run away."

Unfortunately, the sedan was already far away, and the people in the car could not hear his curses.

Inside the car.

Xia Wenjie sat in the passenger seat, his face pale and gasping for breath. It was too dangerous just now. If the car had arrived a second later, his hand would have been brutally chopped off by Jin Er.

Thinking about this, he quickly turned his head, looking at the person who was driving, and exclaimed in surprise, "How... How is it you?"

"Just happened to pass by."

The driver appeared to be in his thirties but looked older due to good maintenance. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt, without a tie, and the top button of his shirt was left unfastened. His attire was no different from that of a typical worker.

Xia Wenjie recognized him. More precisely, he had seen him but didn't know his name.

He was a regular at the bar run by Xia Wenjie's older brother, Xia Wenhao. Xia Wenjie often frequented his brother's bar and had seen this regular many times. The reason he noticed him was that the regular was rather peculiar. In the bar, he would always sit in the most secluded corner, which almost seemed like his designated spot. Furthermore, he was always alone, always drinking only one pint of beer.

Even though Xia Wenjie had seen him so many times, he never had a conversation with him nor seen him chatting with anyone. He was a very good-looking and friendly person, yet exuded a cold demeanor that was hard to approach.

He could not have imagined that at a moment of his critical danger, it was this person who unexpectedly showed up and saved him.

"Do you not believe it?" Seeing Xia Wenjie staring at him blankly, the man asked with a slight smile.

Despite that, even with a smile, Xia Wenjie felt a frigid feeling from him. His smile was insincere, more like a mask.

"Why?" The man suddenly asked, changing the topic.

Caught off guard by his question, Xia Wenjie returned with a perplexed question, "What do you mean 'why'?"

The man turned his head, his profound gaze falling on Xia Wenjie's face. After studying him for a moment, he turned his head back to focus on the road, and leisurely asked, "Why did those gangsters go so far to lay a hand on you?"

Xia Wenjie stayed silent, he then said quietly after some time, "Because I wanted to kill him."

"Why?"