Fanatic!

Chapter 2 I'll kill you next time

On the outskirts of the walled city, in the eastern village road, there are numerous dental clinics, with nearly 200 dental clinics, dozens of other clinics and pharmacies, as well as several restaurants.

The sign for Chen Hanliang Dental Clinic is squeezed among these rows of signs.

Few dental clinics and dentists here have operating licenses; they are all barefoot doctors. The advantage is that they are cheap, costing only half or even a third of the price outside.

Therefore, many people from other places also come here for dental treatment.

The dental clinic is on the second floor, occupying 31 square meters. Its only advantage is that it's their own shop, so they don't need to pay rent.

Not only is there no rent, but there are also no utility bills.

The village's water supply relied entirely on a single pipe, which ran from outside the village all the way to the center. Everyone had to queue up there to get water.

There was electricity, though, but the entire walled city had illegally connected circuits, and nobody paid for it.

Chen Wujun glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

Throughout the day, there were only three customers: one came for a tooth extraction, and the other two were regular customers who came for dental work.

"I'm going out for a walk!" Chen Wujun said, getting up.

"Go home early! Stay away from those scoundrels!" Chen Hanliang instructed.

In a place like the Walled City, where all sorts of people mingle, there are naturally many scoundrels. Chen Wuhong hung out with scoundrels and then developed a gambling addiction.

"Understood!" Chen Wujun waved his hand.

Chen Hanliang is quite satisfied with his second son. Although he is not good at studying, he is much less of a worry than his eldest son.

However, his favorite son was his youngest son. Firstly, the younger son was always more favored, and secondly, the youngest son was much better at studying, so he might be able to leave the city and make a living in the future.

You should know that the people of the walled city do the lowest-paying jobs and can only earn 1500 a month.
A white-collar worker outside can earn 4000 a month.
……

After leaving the dental clinic, Chen Wujun went directly into the city walled village, walking along unfamiliar roads and memorizing the routes.

The roads in the walled city were like a maze.

He was looking for ways to make money and, in the meantime, memorizing the roads in the area he wasn't familiar with.

He hadn't thought about these things before, but now that he wasn't going to go to high school and would be making a living in the Walled City, he felt he needed to memorize the roads.

"Hey kid, don't run!" A commotion suddenly erupted ahead as a young man in a floral shirt fled for his life, pursued by several people.

Chen Wujun stood against the wall, watching with great interest as the group ran off, then watched with regret as they disappeared into the alley.

Otherwise, at least we could watch the excitement.

The Walled City, a lawless and chaotic place, was naturally inseparable from gangs.

The main road of the walled city is called Longjin Road, which divides the walled city into north and south sections from east to west. The two largest gangs in the walled city, Hetu and Lidong, occupy the north and south sections respectively, with Longjin Road as the boundary.

Among them, He Tu is the oldest gang in the walled city. He Tu has been there since the walled city was founded. The big boss is named Lin Jianxin, who is also the owner of He Tu Martial Arts School.

Hetu's style is rather old-fashioned, mainly dealing with gray industries. They have a small workforce, only a few hundred people, almost all of whom come from martial arts schools.

Li Dong emerged in the last ten years or so, and its development momentum is very strong. It has a lot of people, but also a lot of bad guys, and they do things by any means necessary.

Li Dong also has a martial arts school called Dong Sheng Martial Arts School.

These two martial arts schools are the only two new martial arts schools in the walled city, and also the talent training bases for the two gangs.

Besides these two gangs, there are seven or eight smaller gangs, mostly outposts of gangs from outside the walled city. They keep a low profile and rarely clash with the two major gangs.

……

Chen Wujun helped out at the dental clinic during the day and wandered around the walled city at night, but he couldn't find a way to make money, which made him increasingly unhappy.

Three days later, when I got home in the evening, I saw Chen Wuhong sitting dejectedly on a stool next to the sofa, with a bandage wrapped around his head.

Seeing his expression, Chen Wujun knew he had lost again.

Upon seeing Chen Wujun enter, Chen Wuhong immediately jumped up from the sofa, pointing at Chen Wujun angrily and saying, "Dad, the second son pushed me down the stairs! He was trying to kill me!"

"I know I'm not good enough, but I'm still his older brother! I'm part of this family!"

"If you don't want me as your son, I'll just never come back!"

Chen Hanliang glanced at Chen Wujun, then frowned and looked at his boss.

That day, Chen Wujun mentioned that the eldest brother had fallen down the stairs, but his version of events was completely different from the eldest brother's, so he subconsciously suspected the eldest brother.

After all, no one in his family believed in this gambling addict anymore.

Chen Wujun narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them, then spoke with a hint of annoyance: "Lost the bet again? Got hit on the head, looking for a scapegoat?"

"How much do you owe this time? Are you back to ask for money again?"

“Dad, this guy… this guy really wanted to kill me. He pushed me, and this head injury is from when he pushed me down and I fell. He even stepped on my ankle to threaten me. I’ve been limping these past few days…” Chen Wuhong was even more furious, partly out of embarrassment at having his thoughts exposed.

"Enough!" Chen Hanliang slapped the armrest of the sofa, looking at Chen Wuhong's disappointed and exhausted face.

"Look at yourself now! Are you even human? You've even framed your own brother! How could I have raised such a wretch!"

"I... Dad, believe me, he pushed me down!" Chen Wuhong truly felt wronged this time.

"Believe you? Believe what? Believe that you don't gamble, or believe that you framed your brother? Is there still a single word of truth in your mouth? How can I believe you?" Chen Hanliang then gritted his teeth and said:
"You might as well be dead, then I'll pretend I never had this son! Even if it wasn't the second son who pushed you, you deserve it!"

Chen Wuhong stared at his father, speechless, then his face flushed red.

He said angrily, "Fine, fine, I knew you wanted to get rid of me! You can go live your own lives behind closed doors. Whether I starve to death or have my hands and feet chopped off and die in the street is none of your business!"

"And let me tell you, the second brother is no good!" Chen Wuhong said, then strode out.

She walked up to Chen Wujun, glared at him angrily, then shoved him aside with her shoulder and strode away.

However, once he stepped outside, he slowed down.

His last two sentences were meant to soften his parents' hearts and get them to let him go back.

……

Inside the room, Huang Meizhen, the mother, wiped away her tears as she tried to chase after him.

"Don't worry about him! He gambles every day and comes home to collect his debts. Even if you had a mountain of gold and silver, you couldn't fill his bottomless pit! Besides, you don't even have a mountain of gold and silver in your house."

"Let him die out there!" Chen Hanliang gasped for breath, clutching his chest.

He was angry.

He didn't know anything else, but judging from the eldest brother's expression, he knew the second brother was right; that guy had gone gambling again and was in debt again.

"I'll go take a look! I'll talk to him!" Chen Wujun said as he turned and opened the door.

"Second son, talk to your brother, we're all family! Your dad was just saying that in anger!" Mom said, wiping away her tears.

"Wait a minute!" Huang Meizhen said, turning back into the bedroom. A moment later, she came out with some money: "Give him this money so he can have a meal. Then, come back in a couple of days after your father has calmed down."

Chen Wujun glanced down and saw that it totaled 162 yuan.

"He shouldn't come back to this house until he quits gambling!" Chen Hanliang said angrily on the sofa.

"I'll go give it to him!" Chen Wujun closed the door after leaving the house and put the money in his pocket.

Then I glanced to the side and saw some neatly stacked waste paper piled up not far away, with two wooden blocks on top of it.

Chen Wujun pulled out a piece of wood, weighed it in his hand, and slowly walked towards the stairs.

The eldest brother had just come downstairs and hadn't gone far. His face showed nothing but grievance and confusion.

She felt wronged because her parents didn't believe her, that what she said this time was true, and that it really was her second son who pushed her down.

And his father even kicked him out.

My mother hasn't come after me all this time. Could she really be abandoning me?
If he's fixated on not getting his money back, the loan sharks won't let him off the hook.

After descending the stairs and arriving at the alleyway on the ground floor, the eldest brother's legs gave way, and he stood there, caught in a dilemma.

He wouldn't be able to bring himself to go back now.

If I don't go back, where am I going to get the money?
Just as he was in a dilemma, he heard footsteps. The eldest brother subconsciously looked over and saw a person gradually emerging from the darkness of the stairs.

Then I was somewhat disappointed.

It wasn't her own mother, but her second child.

The next second he saw the square wooden stick in the old man's hand.

"Second brother, what are you doing?" Chen Wuhong was startled.

"Didn't I tell you that day?" Chen Wujun grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his face showing a hint of ferocity.

Chen Wuhong was frightened and turned to run away.

Chen Wujun didn't rush to chase after her. Instead, he looked to the side and saw a doorway a meter away. A thin, small girl was doing her homework on a table and was looking up at him.

Chen Wujun put his finger to his lips, gesturing for him to be quiet.

He knew this family; the man was a gambling addict, and the woman, named Sister Hua, was a prostitute who entertained clients at home every day.

The girl's name was Shufen. She was in the first grade of elementary school. Her mother was working as a prostitute inside, and she was doing her homework outside.

Seeing that the girl also put her finger to her lips, indicating that she wouldn't say anything, he chased after Chen Wuhong.

It's good that he's far from home, so that the sound of him being beaten won't be heard by his family.

Chen Wuhong had long been ruined by drinking, gambling, and whoring, so he wasn't running fast. He had just turned into an alley when Chen Wujun caught up with him and swung a stick at his head.

Chen Wujun didn't stop at all; he figured it didn't matter if the gambler lived or died.

Chen Wuhong was swung down with a stick and fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented. He covered his head with his hands and shouted, "Second brother, are you going to kill me?"

Chen Wujun hit him on the arm with a stick.

Chen Wuhong screamed in agony, "My arm is broken! Broken!"

“That’s good. I told you, if you ever owe money again and have to go home to ask for it, you won’t have to wait for the loan sharks to chop off your hands and feet.” Chen Wujun sneered, and suddenly swung the stick at Chen Wuhong’s shin.

Chen Wuhong's screams were so terrible they sounded inhuman.

Chen Wujun casually tossed the stick aside, then grabbed Chen Wuhong's other leg and dragged him away.

"What are you doing? What are you trying to do? I'm your own brother! I watched you grow up!"

Chen Wuhong struggled, but although Chen Wujun was only 16 years old, he had been exercising for many years and was mostly responsible for fetching water from the street pipes. His body was much better than his older brother's, and he couldn't break free at all.

Seeing that Chen Wujun ignored him, Chen Wuhong begged for mercy again:

"I was wrong, I really won't gamble again, second brother, please let me go!"

“I’m not your mother, I’m not that soft-hearted,” Chen Wujun sneered, dragging the eldest brother a hundred meters away and throwing him into another alley.

Then he stomped on the boss's face and said coldly, "It doesn't matter if you live or die here, just don't go home!"

"Next time, I won't let you off so easily. I'll beat you to death!"

"What will Mom and Dad think if they find out about this? We're brothers, second brother!" the eldest brother pleaded, tears streaming down his face, his eyes filled with fear.

He was really scared.

The way Chen Wujun looked at him was not like looking at a relative, or even a person.

"My arms and legs are broken... second brother..."

Chen Wujun kicked him in the stomach, silencing his remaining words, and then sneered:

"I'll go back and say that loan sharks broke your arms and legs. Guess whether your parents will believe you or me?"

"Don't worry about your hands and feet. I know what I did. At most, the bones are fractured, but they will heal even without treatment."

As for whether it works well or not, and whether there are any side effects... as long as it heals well, that's fine.

After saying that, Chen Wujun strode away.

On his way back, he deliberately took Lung Chun Road, intending to buy a lollipop. When he got to the convenience store, he saw a child holding a lollipop in his hand, about to unwrap it.

He walked over and looked down at the child, who looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes.

Then he reached out and snatched the lollipop from the child's hand, turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

The child behind him was stunned at first, staring in disbelief at his empty hand, and then burst into tears.

Then came a woman's shrill shout: "Which heartless bastard is so shameless that he even steals a baby's lollipop? Why don't you just die?"

When they got downstairs, Chen Wujun saw Shufen still doing her homework at the door, so he threw her a lollipop.

The little girl was pleasantly surprised when she received the lollipop and realized it was for her. She held it tightly, reluctant to eat it.

Back home, his father, Chen Hanliang, glanced at him and then continued smoking in silence.

Seeing his mother's concerned look, Chen Wujun said honestly, "I gave the money to my older brother, and I also tried to persuade him."

"But when loan sharks came looking for him, he ran away. The loan sharks chased after him!"

Hearing this, Huang Meizhen, the mother, became even more worried, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked at Chen Hanliang and said, "What are we going to do!"

"Let him die outside!" Chen Hanliang said through gritted teeth.

(End of this chapter)