"You..." Old Lee realizes he almost offends scary Brook Rain. After all, they are father and son—what is he in comparison? Yet, he can't swallow his pride. Just as he tries to speak up for Caelan Dwayne again, Caelan Dwayne holds him back from behind.
Caelan Dwayne, frowning and rubbing his forehead with a hint of annoyance, pulls Old Lee back and speaks calmly to Bruiser Rain, "You’re Bruiser Rain, right? I call you 'Bro Bruiser.' Let’s not make trouble for no reason; I dislike hassle. But I don't have the money today. Give me a few days, and I'll pay you. You should go back for now."
"Wow!" laughs one of the lackeys. "Big brother, this kid thinks he's the boss! Telling us to go back?"
The other hoodlums join in with arrogant laughter, even shouting, "Let’s teach this kid a lesson!"
Bruiser Rain, as if hearing the world's funniest joke yet angered by Caelan Dwayne's words, sneers, "Caelan Dwayne... say that again, and see if I don't cut your tongue out..." His voice grows increasingly menacing.
Suddenly, Caelan Dwayne's impatient expression turns cold, his gaze complex as he looks at Bruiser Rain and says, "Do you know what I hate the most?"
"What..."
Before Bruiser Rain can finish, he suddenly finds himself flying through the air! Following a sharp pain in his abdomen, he crashes into a roadside garbage pile—vegetable leaves, fish, and other refuse soak his clothes with sour water.
"The thing I hate most," Caelan Dwayne continues, "is being threatened..."
It seems like a casual shove, and Caelan Dwayne stands where Bruiser Rain has been, retracting his extended hand.
Bruiser Rain, disoriented from the push and impact, tastes blood in his mouth as the stench of the garbage pile invades his nostrils, making him retch immediately.
"Damn kid dares to hit our Big Brother, he's asking for it!"
"Beat him to death!"
The thugs, not fully grasping the situation and seeing their leader attacked, rush forward in a swarm, throwing punches and kicks without considering how Caelan Dwayne manages to counter.
Caelan Dwayne, without sparing them another glance, catches their blows with his palms and flings them aside to the roadside.
The thugs feel an immense force grip their arms or legs, then find themselves uncontrollably hurled through the air, crashing onto the hard concrete and crying out in pain.
Seeing that not even a single hair on Caelan Dwayne is harmed, everyone realizes they are no match for him. Even Bruiser Rain, who has just climbed out of the garbage pile, breaks out in a cold sweat. He has seen the techniques of some retired special forces under his father's command—men who are his father's aces, handling multiple opponents with ease. Yet even those men don't possess such tremendous strength or speed to casually toss five or six people around like rag dolls. These thugs, though untrained in martial arts, grow up fighting and aren't easy to beat.
"Let's go!" Bruiser Rain, furious yet unable to save face, sees Caelan Dwayne's calm expression and panics as if seeing a ghost, hastily signaling his lackeys to flee.
Old Lee and some onlookers are overjoyed by Caelan Dwayne's abilities. These little thugs are used to being domineering in their daily lives, and the vendors are afraid of them. Today, Caelan Dwayne's actions naturally make them very excited. However, these people dare not get too close to him. After all, Bruiser is not scary, but if his father Brook comes to target Caelan Dwayne, they all worry about being implicated.
Old Lee, thrilled, exclaims, "Caelan, I had no idea you were so skilled. Did you use to study martial arts?"
"Uh... a bit," Caelan Dwayne replies, reluctant to elaborate. If not for Bruiser Rain's excessive provocation, he would never have resorted to violence in such a public setting. But as he has told Bruiser Rain, he has his principles—he hates being threatened!
Perhaps, this quirk, even if he wants to live quietly, can never be erased, for he has the dignity of a powerful man.
Seeing Caelan Dwayne's reticence, Old Lee doesn't press further but starts worrying aloud, "Caelan, you've sent Bruiser Rain packing, but what if he brings his dad, Brook Rain? You know, Brook Rain is a key figure in the West Union, one of the two major gangs here. No one dares to mess with him!"
West Union, huh... Caelan Dwayne dismisses it with a smile, suddenly asking Old Lee, "Got a cigarette?"
Old Lee, seeing Caelan Dwayne's indifferent attitude, can only worry as he responds to the cigarette request with a wry smile, "I thought you were quitting?"
"Forget it, I'm not used to finishing a fight without a smoke," Caelan Dwayne sighs inwardly. He didn't expect Brook to be a member of the West Union, not intending to get involved with these organizations, so he had been unwilling to have more contact with Vivian Rose. Yet, unexpectedly, he finds himself on the front lines.
Old Lee pulls out a pack of cheap cigarettes, costing one dollar, and lights one for Caelan Dwayne. "When you're poor, you smoke the cheapest—this brand is strong, just make do with it."
"Hiss..." Caelan Dwayne takes a pleasurable drag, grinning, "Not bad, I like the strong ones."
"Caelan, you should smoke less, it's bad for your health," Old Lee advises kindly, smiling.
Caelan Dwayne just smiles slightly, thinking to himself: If smoking could harm my body, all my years of training would have been in vain.
After a brief rest, the two get busy with their business. Caelan Dwayne begins to heat the lamb skewers, putting the raw ones on the charcoal grill to cook, while even holding one skewer in his mouth, essentially treating it as his breakfast.
Despite the messy work, Dwayne thoroughly enjoys himself, occasionally flashing a grin at the nearby vendors.
But not long after, a police car approaches from a distance. Two officers and another in a white shirt alight, walking up to Caelan Dwayne with stern expressions.
The lead officer asks coldly, "Are you Caelan Dwayne?"
As the police appear, the crowd around quickly focuses their attention, whispering among themselves, wondering if Caelan Dwayne is about to face trouble.
"Um... yes, that's me." Caelan Dwayne lifts his head in confusion, not understanding why the police would be looking for him. Could it be that the domestic authorities have discovered his whereabouts? No, that couldn't be right—if that were the case, they would have sent a covert special forces team for a night-time raid, not three ordinary officers.
The officer shows his badge, speaking with a hint of arrogance, "I am Ethan Caldwell, the captain from the West District Police Station. Someone has accused you of engaging in a fight and attempting to murder a minor. We need to take you to the station immediately to assist with our investigation!"
So that was it... Caelan Dwayne realizes. It seems that Bruiser, the one who was chased away, is the one who had the crooked idea—the thug hired the police to handle matters!
Old Lee becomes anxious and quickly steps forward to explain, "Officer, you've got the wrong person! It was Bruiser Rain and a few thugs who came to extort protection money. Caelan Dwayne was merely defending himself!"
"Hmph, whether we've apprehended the wrong person will be clarified through our investigation! All I saw was the son of Boss Brook bleeding from being beaten, not this guy getting hurt!" Ethan Caldwell says, ignoring Old Lee and gesturing for the officers to step forward and handcuff Caelan Dwayne.
Caelan Dwayne doesn't resist. After being handcuffed, he simply sighs softly and says to Old Lee, "Don't worry, I haven't done anything wrong, it's not a big deal. Please look after my lamb skewer stalls for me. If I don't come back by evening, help push it back to my house."
"Enough talk, move it!" Ethan Caldwell commands sternly.
Old Lee wants to say more but realizes he can't help much. He can only sigh bitterly as he watches Caelan Dwayne being taken away by the police.
After Ethan Caldwell and the others leave with Caelan Dwayne, the surrounding citizens and vendors begin to curse openly, throwing around accusations like "the police are in cahoots with the gang leaders" and "officials and thieves are all the same." However, these are words they dare not speak in front of the police.
