Fanatic!

Chapter 9: Hands are knives, fists are arrows, knees are hammers
The next afternoon, Chen Wujun took a walk in that alley and immediately noticed several shirtless men playing cards in one of the houses.

“One…two…” Chen Wujun only glanced at the doorway and recognized two of them.

“Only two of them are people I’ve seen before… There are more than the four people I saw that day…” Chen Wujun’s gaze sharpened slightly, and he lowered his head and walked away quickly.

"Even if we kill the ringleader, the others will come to collect the debts! Unless we burn all those IOUs!"

Chen Wujun himself knew that was impossible.

"It's all that gambler's fault!" Chen Wujun kicked the wall angrily after turning the corner of the alley.

I feel like I didn't hit him hard enough last time.

"Since we can't clear the accounts, let's find a way to make some money!" Chen Wujun remembered hearing a saying somewhere: increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

Besides cutting costs, there's also open source.

What is open source? It's making money from outside sources.

"If I could rob them out of some money... even if my family is struggling, at least I could afford to go to the martial arts school." Chen Wujun quickly came up with a plan.

"There's more than one solution to every problem. You can't be stuck in one approach in life or in your work!"

"The other day I was thinking about killing that person so I wouldn't have to pay back the money. It felt good, but I was too naive... I could have thought about it differently."

"After all, I've only just started practicing martial arts, and my skills are just average. Those loan sharks are numerous and powerful, and I only have one chance to make a move; it's impossible for me to kill them all."

As Chen Wujun walked, he reflected on his recent mindset and thoughts, realizing that his previous thinking had been too naive and immature.

Fortunately, I came to my senses.

He then turned his attention to those loan sharks who collected debts: "If they collect their debts, they can go and rob others, which will solve their current problems."

"If we're lucky, we might even make a profit."

After clarifying his thoughts, Chen Wujun gradually calmed down.

Although the purpose has changed, the goal remains the same.

The only difference is that the purpose changed from killing to settle accounts to killing for money.

Chen Wujun turned a corner, went to Longjin Road, bought a hat to wear, and also bought a baggy black T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

Wearing this makes me look completely different from my usual self, especially with the hat on; I can't be found in a crowd.

He then went to squat near the alley where those loan sharks lived, intending to first find out their travel habits.

Not long after, he saw two people come out of the casino.

One of them was pale, his eyes darting around, and he looked hesitant and lost.

Chen Wujun immediately recognized the man as a gambling addict, while the other man was pointing into the alley and talking about something.

The two then disappeared into the alley.

Chen Wujun glanced at the entrance of the alley and saw that the two had indeed entered the stronghold of the loan sharks.

A moment later, the two emerged from the alley again. The man who had looked hesitant and lost earlier put his hands in his pockets, walked quickly, and went back into the casino with excitement on his face.

Chen Wujun stared at his retreating figure and spat on the ground.

I guess my older brother was in the same situation when he borrowed money.

After waiting a while, Chen Wujun saw three people come out of the alley and walk in one direction.

Chen Wujun had an idea and mingled with the crowd to follow them.

"That chicken-footed Dong always runs away when he sees us. This time, if we catch him, we'll break his legs!"

"Is the information accurate? He's in..."

"The information can't be wrong..."

Chen Wujun followed behind the group, but after hearing only a few words, he stopped and decided that there was no point in following them, so he went back to the vicinity of the alley entrance to keep an eye on things.

This time, however, I found a fish ball stall and bought a serving of fish balls.

As darkness fell, the group returned to their hideout looking dejected. A moment later, they emerged carrying an iron rod and a bucket.

Chen Wujun followed quietly behind them. He saw them arrive at a seventh-floor apartment, first smashing the door, then pouring gasoline on the door and setting it on fire.

Chen Wujun peeked out, then pretended to be passing by and went up half a floor, hiding behind the corner of the stairs to watch.

From inside the house came a woman's screams, a child's cries, and a man's pleading for a few more days.

Chen Wujun watched all of this coldly from the shadows around the corner.

Those gambling addicts are like that; they're not only inhuman themselves, but they also drag their families down with them.

A moment later, the group gave them a final deadline, then left nonchalantly, kicking over a pile of clutter in the hallway.

Chen Wujun remembered that when they left his house, they also kicked over the clutter next to him, and he spent a long time cleaning it up.

"It looks like a way to show off military power and intimidate others!" Chen Wujun secretly noted this down.

"Although it's not mainstream, it can increase deterrence and pressure on debtors... especially ordinary debtors."

After the others left, he waited for a while before going downstairs to go home.

After finishing his meal, he went up to the rooftop again, leaned against the railing, and looked at the brightly lit skyscrapers in the distance, his eyes full of longing.

Then, he braced himself against the wall and quickly climbed up. As soon as he stood up, he lost his balance slightly and quickly spread his arms to maintain his balance. His heart was pounding.

Even if you come up here to practice standing meditation every day for the past few days, in this kind of life-or-death situation, the human body will instinctively feel fear.

Chen Wujun calmed himself down and glanced down.

The streets below the tall buildings are as narrow as a ruler.

Dots of lights adorned both sides.

The two groups were facing off in the street. If it were any other time, Chen Wujun would have already run down to watch the show.

However, Chen Wujun only glanced at it before turning his head back. He took a deep breath and began to stand in a stance. Everything around him began to disappear, but the sounds from afar remained exceptionally clear.

"Shark Nine, how dare you break my son's leg?"

"He caused trouble in my establishment, so breaking his leg is already a favor to you! If it happens again, no one can protect him!"

"Alright, alright, Hetu really has some talent. Breaking my son's leg is giving me face! Well then, cutting off your leg is also giving you face, boss..."

"No wonder your name is Hong Yong, you really are brave! How about we set up a duel and see if I can kill you?"

"Phew!" Chen Wujun returned to the rooftop, his hands resting on his knees, sweat pouring down his body.

But he couldn't suppress the smile on his face; he could feel his progress every time.

Her eyes sparkled.

Soon, Chen Wujun remembered the sounds he had heard from below while he was practicing his stance, and curiously leaned over the retaining wall to look down.

"Shark Nine...the Four Heavenly Kings of the combined image?"

"I don't know what it looks like."

"I heard it's a woman, and she's even more powerful than a man!"

"And who is this Hong Yong?"

Although those gangs do not harass ordinary people, the influence of the Hetu on the walled city is multifaceted, including the fact that the walled city's welfare association is controlled by the Hetu.

Therefore, even ordinary people can hear the names of those important figures.

Besides, he had heard people mention the name Shark Nine several times during his time at the casino these past few days.

However, by this time the people below had already begun to disperse.

The two sides remained in a standoff for a long time, with even Li Dong's men watching from a distance, but ultimately no fight broke out.

Lin Jianxin, the big boss of Hetu, sent someone out to deliver a message, giving Hong Yong a way out.

Hong Yong immediately backed down, uttered a few harsh words, and then led his men away.

Not seeing anyone left Chen Wujun with some regret. But even if the person were still there, he couldn't see them clearly from the 40-meter-high rooftop.

Soon, Chen Wujun put the matter aside and, after resting, climbed onto the retaining wall to stand on the stake.

For the next few days, Chen Wujun did the same thing: every afternoon he would go to Longjin Street to keep watch, and every evening he would go to the rooftop to stand guard.

However, he bought two more T-shirts and a hat, and would change into one each time he went to keep watch, in order to avoid being targeted.

This is what he learned from "Police Report".

There was a group of robbers who never changed their clothes and kept watch near the jewelry store. Eventually, the police noticed them and set up an ambush.

The robbers were cornered inside the jewelry store as soon as they made their move.

Therefore, Chen Wujun enjoys reading "Police News" and can always learn new knowledge from it.

Over the course of four days, Chen Wujun watched the loan sharks collect their debts and learned a great deal from them.

For example, how to put pressure on debtors and how to force them to repay their debts.

……

At the same time, his progress in standing meditation far exceeded that of ordinary students. Although his progress in the Golden Rooster Stance was not as fast as that in the Charging Stance, it still made Senior Brother Li nod in approval.

After all, he's just a teenager, so it's normal that he's developing his killing intent a little slowly.

"Come here! Starting today, you'll be just like them. When you're standing on the Golden Rooster Pole, use your knees to hit the wooden stake!"

After finishing standing on the Golden Rooster Stake that day, Senior Brother Li called Chen Wujun to the wooden stake wrapped with hemp rope.

Seeing Li Shixiong's posture, Chen Wujun knew that he was going to teach him something new, and his heart was filled with anticipation.

"Hands are knives, fists are arrows—fast, ruthless, and accurate—to stab eyes and throats. And knees are hammers—hard and heavy. A single knee strike should break the opponent's bones and shatter their internal organs!"

Brother Li didn't teach boxing; he went straight to teaching knee techniques.

Because the Golden Rooster Pole is originally designed to raise the knee to form a shield, which serves as both a block and a preparation for attack, turning the shield into a hammer.

"Do you know why I made you stand in the Golden Rooster Stance first? Because you can punch from a distance, but knees are deadly when you're close. And this city is small and chaotic. You can grab whatever you can and use it when you're three steps away, but within one step it's close-quarters tearing and biting. You have to use your hands to tear and pull, to create openings."

"At this point, the knee is the hidden killer move, and it's also your strongest and most destructive part!"

Chen Wujun thought about what Senior Brother Li said and immediately agreed.

For beginners, it's better to pick up a stick or grab a stool than to use your fists.

But the knees are different.

With just one strike, the opponent can be rendered incapable of fighting.

Brother Li turned sideways to face the stake, instantly raised his knee, the movement was as fast as lightning, the force rose from the ground, and was suddenly transmitted through the waist and hips to the tip of his knee.

Boom!
"Use this spot! The hardest bone on the front of your kneecap!" Senior Brother Li patted the area directly below his kneecap. "Don't use the side, you'll hurt yourself."

"Come and try!"

Chen Wujun walked up to the wooden stake, examined it carefully, and then imitated Senior Brother Li's action, suddenly raising his knee and slamming it into the stake.

"Remember, it's not about kicking, it's about ramming! Imagine your knee is a rock, put your whole body weight on it, and smash it down!" Senior Brother Li shouted from the side.

"Breathe! Inhale as you lift your knee, exhale the moment of impact! Shout out all the power in your body!"

"Ha!" Chen Wujun roared and slammed his knee into the ground again.

Boom!
"Alternately strike with both legs! Left knee, right knee, when you're fighting, the opponent won't just be on one side!" Senior Brother Li nodded secretly to the side. Chen Wujun had a strong learning ability; once he was taught the movements, he could master them in just a few tries.

However, Chen Wujun's movements slowed down after only a few moments.

"It hurts? That's good! Your bones are hardening, and your muscles are learning how to exert force. Keep going!"

"Don't treat it like a piece of wood; treat it like your enemy! Every strike must be carried with murderous intent!"

"Starting today, come two hours earlier every day and do 300 repetitions on each leg. If you can't do that, you don't need to train!"

Senior Brother Li stared intently at Chen Wujun and loudly instructed him.

Lin Zetao's disciples looked at each other, feeling much more relaxed since Chen Wujun arrived.

These past few days, Senior Brother Li has focused almost all his attention on Chen Wujun.

They were originally most afraid of being targeted by Senior Brother Li, but now they felt completely ignored, which made them feel a little uncomfortable.

It was filled with disappointment and resentment.

(End of this chapter)