"It's him!"
"That's the celebrity boss from the Mainland!"
"Block him! Don't let him get away! Trade him for our brothers!"
"Move!"
Several Honghua men recognized Lu Chen immediately. It was as if they'd found a treasure. Shouting excitedly, they rushed toward him, each wearing a vicious expression.
Leading the charge was a tough-looking crew-cut youth with a dark blue tattoo on his neck. He gripped a wooden baseball bat and reached Lu Chen first.
As he ran, he cursed, "You little bastard! You dare grab my brothers? You got a death wish!"
At the same time, he raised the baseball bat high over his head. The polished wood gleamed in the morning sun, making it all the more intimidating.
Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Zhang Xiaofang immediately stepped forward to shield Lu Chen.
Lu Chen stopped him with an outstretched arm. "Protect Uncle Qiang. I'll handle him."
Without slowing down, Lu Chen strode straight toward the attacker.
The crew-cut youth was stunned. In his mind, a pampered celebrity like Lu Chen should have been terrified in the face of violence. He had been certain that simply putting on an aggressive front would scare Lu Chen out of his wits.
That alone would have accomplished his mission. What he never expected was that Lu Chen showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he took the initiative and came straight at him.
Something wasn't right.
The young thug had never intended to seriously injure Lu Chen. If he really hurt a famous actor from the Mainland, the consequences would be severe.
Even the boss behind him probably wouldn't be able to protect him. The Hong Kong government took violent crimes very seriously, especially when the victim was a public figure.
But backing down now wasn't an option either; too many of his brothers were watching. If word got out, he'd become a laughingstock in the underworld. For someone in the gangs, you could lose your head or shed your blood, but you couldn't lose face.
In the blink of an eye, several thoughts flashed through his mind. In the end, his violent instincts won out. Letting out a low roar, he swung the baseball bat at Lu Chen's left shoulder.
He was still holding back. If he'd aimed for Lu Chen's head instead, he could easily have killed him with a single blow.
He even kept some strength in reserve. As long as he frightened Lu Chen and made him suffer a little, that would be enough, that was exactly what his superiors had instructed. The crew-cut youth wasn't stupid.
Unfortunately for him, he was facing Lu Chen.
The instant the bat came up, Lu Chen suddenly exploded forward. He shot ahead like an arrow released from a bow, charging like a ferocious beast pouncing on its prey. In the blink of an eye, he slammed into the young thug. At the moment of impact, Lu Chen twisted sideways and drove his rear shoulder straight into the man's chest.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the crew-cut youth was hit as if by a charging bull. His feet left the ground as he was hurled backward, crashing into several of his companions. The whole group tumbled to the ground in a heap.
"Ahhh!"
Cries of shock, screams of pain, and the sounds of bodies colliding echoed together, leaving the rest of the Honghua men completely stunned.
What just happened? The outcome was so unexpected that it shattered everything they thought they knew.
Many of these street thugs admired movie stars, but they had never believed that the actors who looked so unstoppable on screen actually possessed real fighting skills.
As far as they were concerned, if they had a machete in hand, they could easily cut down eighteen or nineteen Heavenly Kings or Heavenly Queens without breaking a sweat.
The crew-cut youth was a minor leader within Honghua and one of its better fighters. Even though he wasn't carrying a machete, a baseball bat was still a dangerous weapon. Yet in just a single exchange, Lu Chen knocked him out of the fight, taking several others down with him.
That made no sense!
"Don't let a single one of them get away!"
While everyone was still frozen in shock, Wan Yong led a group of film crew members charging out from the entrance of the set.
There were only eight of them, including Wan Yong. But despite being outnumbered three or four to one, they charged into the crowd like a pack of tigers descending from the mountains and tearing into a pack of wolves.
The Lu family's security team that Lu Chen had stationed at the set the night before finally bared its fangs. Every member of the team was a military veteran.
They were skilled in grappling, hand-to-hand combat, and close-quarters fighting, and had all received rigorous training. Compared to them, Honghua's street thugs weren't even in the same league.
Their earlier restraint had only been because they were waiting for Lu Chen to arrive. Now that Lu Chen had personally made his move, Wan Yong naturally wasn't about to stand by any longer. He immediately ordered the team into action.
From the very beginning, the fight was completely one-sided. Although Honghua had the numbers, they couldn't compare in organization, discipline, or fighting ability.
In no time, they were completely routed. Every time a thug was subdued, a member of the Lu family team bound his hands behind his back with the plastic restraints they had prepared.
A few tried to fight back, but that only made things worse. They took heavy punches to the stomach or were thrown hard to the ground, suffering far more than those who surrendered.
Even then, the Lu family team was deliberately holding back. If they had been fighting without restraint, half of these thugs would have been permanently crippled within thirty seconds.
Once the few who resisted had all been beaten down, and everyone watched their companions being captured one after another, the rest completely lost their nerve. They threw away their bats and fled in panic, looking utterly pathetic.
Meanwhile, the paparazzi hiding nearby were thrilled. They raised their cameras and snapped away nonstop, afraid of missing even a single exciting moment.
Lu Chen noticed them but had no intention of stopping them. He had every justification for today's counterattack. Even if the matter ended up in court, he wasn't worried. In fact, he needed a decisive victory like this to establish his reputation and make people think twice before provoking him.
Otherwise, Honghua's endless dirty tricks would keep dragging him around and leave him permanently on the defensive. When it was time to strike, he struck. If he hesitated over every move and constantly worried about the consequences, he might as well pack up and go back to the Mainland.
Woo... Woo...
The piercing sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached, telling everyone that the police had arrived. Ironically, the thugs lying on the ground actually breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the police were here, they knew they weren't in any further danger.
The police weren't the only ones to arrive. Staff from the Film City Management Authority came as well. The abandoned Fa'en Temple in the remote corner of Lion Rock had never been so lively.
While Chen Wenqiang was dealing with the police and the Film City management, Lu Chen made a second call to Zhou Yi.
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(End of Chapter)
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