American homeless people, surviving in the city

"Don't look back! Look down!"

The moment Raul realized Lynch's reaction was wrong, he quickly warned him, grabbed Lynch's hand, and tried to make him bend down and hide with him.

However, Raul's reaction was too late. Shortly after Lynch turned around, the burly men noticed his gaze.

The men already looked hostile, and when they saw someone staring directly at them, their expressions darkened even more. They swung their arms and walked towards Lin Qi.

At the same time, Lin Qi remained calm and did not even take a step back.

Raul, hiding behind the bushes, was dumbfounded. Those were members of the Razor Claw Gang!

He then realized that his new friend probably didn't know anyone from the Razor Gang.

He had only just learned the name "Razor Gang" from his own mouth...

Thinking of this, Raul felt a chill in his heart and hid under the bushes, not daring to move.

As Raul's thoughts raced and several burly men strode menacingly towards them, Lin Qi was also filled with trepidation.

He appeared completely calm, but he had actually been walking for a while.

How can these people not even stand being looked at by someone?!

Are you from Northeast China?

The first thing they say when they walk over is, "What are you looking at?"

Although he was filled with trepidation, Lin Qi dared not take a single step back. These people were all strong and burly, and with his current body possessing only 1 point of physique, he certainly couldn't outrun them.

Since that's the case, we can only take a gamble and put on a calm and composed attitude to see if we can scare them away with bluffing!

Soon, the burly men walked up to Lin Qi.

As the group approached, Lin Qi gradually got a clearer look at their faces.

Among the burly men were blacks, whites, and Indians whose faces were easily recognizable. They all wore earrings, had chains hanging from their clothes, and were covered in various tattoos. Clearly, they were thugs from some unknown gang.

The black man at the front looked to be over two meters tall, with a muscular physique that made him look like a gorilla. It was unclear whether his muscles were naturally developed or if he had adopted the style of Arnold from Changshu.

He stood imposingly in front of Lin Qi, his head bowed behind the bushes, staring intently at Lin Qi's face with a mixture of threat and scrutiny.

"A newcomer? Hmm? I've never seen you here before."

Why does that voice sound so familiar?

As he recalled, Lynch replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Yes, I just moved here."

"Is this your excuse for being impolite and disrespectful? Hmm?"

The burly black man glared at Lynch, bringing his face close and staring intently at him. At this distance, Lynch could smell the pungent stench of cumin emanating from the black man's armpits.

Even so, Lin Qi neither dodged nor evaded, but instead held his breath and slowly answered:

"If it's considered rude to just glance back unintentionally, then I certainly don't know any manners."

"Um?!"

A snarl of anger escaped the Black man's throat.

Several thugs nearby also started shouting and cursing: "Where did this Asian monkey come from, so arrogant, doesn't he take the Razor Gang seriously?!"

Are these the Razor Gang?

Learning this news at this moment did not help Lin Qi at all; he could only stand there motionless.

As the conflict seemed imminent, the thugs shouting behind the black man grew increasingly agitated, and a few drops of cold sweat trickled down Lynch's neck.

But at that moment, the leading black man waved his hand and gave a soft shout:

"Shut up, all of you!"

Then, he turned to Lynch, extended his large hand, and patted Lynch on the shoulder:

"Brother, I thought you were someone important, how come you've ended up in a place like this?"

The bluffing seems to have finally worked...

Lin Qi felt a little relieved, but he still forced himself to keep his back straight. To maintain his public image, he simply replied nonchalantly:

"Life has taken a turn for the worse, but I won't stay in a place like this for long."

The underlying implication is that he will soon shed his homeless status and return to normal society.

"Oh?"

The burly Black man gave a noncommittal snort, the tone ambiguous, neither confirming nor disapproving. He withdrew his hand, took two steps back, and his tone softened.

"Alright, since you're new here, I won't say anything more."

"However, I still have a question for you."

"What's the problem?"

The burly Black man squinted: "Have you seen a short-haired Asian woman walk past this area?"

The moment Lin Qi understood the other person's question, many of his doubts were answered.

No wonder that big, dark guy's voice sounded so familiar.

Just now, inside the tent, I heard them discussing how to capture Chen Yumo!

Their faces all looked so bad, and they came to cause trouble just because I glanced at them. It's probably because they were in a bad mood because they didn't catch Chen Yumo.

Lin Qi's mind raced, but his face remained impassive:

"I didn't see anyone. I just arrived here recently. After spending half a day setting up the tent, I've been resting inside and haven't noticed anyone passing by outside."

The burly Black man stared into Lynch's eyes, remaining silent for a few seconds, seemingly trying to determine if he was lying. But no matter how he looked at him, all he could see was Lynch's calm, composed, and confident expression.

In the end, he had no choice but to give up.

"Damn, where did that damn little wench go... Oh well, never mind, what a waste of time."

Although he said that, Lin Qi felt that his tone did not seem very frustrated. On the contrary, the group of thugs behind him were all genuinely lamenting.

Only the Indian man kept staring intently at Lynch, without saying a word.

After a string of profanities exchanged among the thugs, the burly black man turned his attention back to Lynch. A grotesque smile spread across his rough face, and his words became less casual:

"Brother, I think you're quite interesting. It's tough to live alone here, why don't you come join us? At least no one in this area will dare to cause you any trouble, and you'll have a hot meal every day."

If you knew that the girl you've been looking for was someone I let go, would you still say that?

Lin Qi found it somewhat amusing, but his expression remained unchanged:

"I'm sorry, as I said, I won't stay here for long. The streets are not my home. So, thank you for your kindness."

"The streets aren't your home, but since you're already here, don't even think about escaping!" a white thug shouted exaggeratedly behind the burly black man. "Don't let me see you die in a sewer! Asian kid, this is America!"

The burly Black man raised his hand, silencing his subordinates' incessant chatter. He seemed to have anticipated Lynch's refusal, so he didn't react much, merely nodding slightly.

"Alright, that's spirited. I, 'War Elephant' Sanjar, admire people with backbone like you. If you don't want to join, I won't force you, but..."

He changed the subject abruptly: "Since you're new here, I won't ask you for your management fee this month. But if you're still in this area next month, don't forget to pay your management fee, understand?"

This can be considered a compromise, leaving room for each other. Lin Qi could only nod silently in response.

"War Elephant" Sanjar patted Lynch on the shoulder again, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go, damn it! What a waste of time. That damn Guo kid, the woman he brought is really unreliable..."

The group of thugs cursed and swore, then turned and left with him, quickly disappearing into the distance.

Lin Qi silently watched the group's departing figures until they disappeared into the twilight, only then daring to exhale the breath he had been holding in.

"Why does this gorilla smell so strongly?"

His tense nerves finally relaxed, and he realized that his clothes were soaked with cold sweat, clinging wetly to his back.

Raul then dared to emerge from behind the bushes, his face pale but filled with respect:

"My God, Lynch, how did you do that?"

"This is the first time I've seen that big black pig be so polite to people. He doesn't care if you're a homeless person or not, he just asks for money and beats you up if you don't give it to him."

"He even wants you to join the Razor Claws! My God..."

Lin Qi ignored Raul's incessant chatter and simply adjusted his breathing.

He knew he had won this gamble by bluffing, but what about next time?

Gangs roaming the streets are like wild beasts in the wilderness.

Bluster can only help him escape from the beasts' jaws temporarily, but if he wants to be free from their threat, he still has to improve his strength!

Lin Qi made up his mind in his heart.

But what he didn't know was that his performance had put far more pressure on the group of thugs than he had imagined.