Chapter 57: Inspector Fei
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong started his day early in the morning. Well, since Grandpa Qian was very much old and he was no longer in good shape too, Ye Chong believed he should be working harder to keep the business running.
The sun gradually shone through the opened shutter of the noodle shop. Ye Chong peeked out of the entrance. The street at daybreak was still very much deserted. There were a few pedestrians at most. Ye Chong’s finger swiped the switch on the wall, turning on the air purifier which started rumbling a little upon activation. Clouds of ionized water droplets were then being ejected from the machine, creating refreshing air to breathe. A moment later, the interior of the shop became cozier. Such an efficient air purifier was not cheap to begin with, but it was purchased by Grandpa Qian using part of the year-end bonus he received from the government - just to improve the environment of his shop.
The floor of the shop might had been made out of nano materials and was indeed dust-proof, but daily cleaning was still required to provide customers an enjoyable environment while dining in.
The interior of the shop was furnished with 8 metallic buddings, which would bloom like an actual flower upon touching the tip of it. Inside, there would be 4 sets of table and chairs with 1 set at each petal. The chairs were connected beneath through the frames right to the center platform of the budding. The silvery glossy platform in the middle was size adjustable and there lay the cashier connected to the processor in the customer’s table. So they could proceed with the checkouts directly even when they are still seated after their meals.
At the corner of the shop there was also an automated noodle maker, which was seldom used considering how the shop’s reputation relied solely on hand-made noodles. There was simply something in hand-made noodles that machine-made noodles could never compete with!
Previously, Grandpa Qian actually wanted a more of an old-fashioned design for his shop, like a wooden construction for example, but woods were absurdly pricy, so he threw out that plan at last.
While Ye Chong was sweeping the floor, Grandpa Qian seemed to have woken up too, as he walked in and began some other cleaning tasks as well.
Soon after they had done their cleaning, a middle-aged man set foot into the shop with a cigar in his mouth. "Fe…" Grandpa Qian halted, "Fei my boy is that you? Why the early visit today eh?" The man addressed as Fei replied, "Good morning Uncle Qian! Well I have some things to do today, so I came early." Fei seemed to be a frequent visitor here, as he picked a seat by the wall, "I’ll take my usual place." Grandpa Qian was welcoming at first, till his sight fell upon the cigar in his mouth, "Fei! How many times have I told you! Do you know how harmful smoking these early in the morning is? Why won’t you stop doing this? When will you ever learn from my advice and not your fatal mistake?"
Fei was alerted. He hurriedly removed the cigar in his mouth and attempted to act funny to let it slide, "Eh! I forgot about it! Hahahahahahaha, I’m so forgetful, am I not?"
"So what would our boy want to have today?" Grandpa Qian asked.
"I’ll have some… plain noodles today, thanks Uncle Qian. Your noodles are sure something here you know? It’s been quite a while since I came and I was missing your delicious noodles so much that I drooled!" He answered laughingly.
Grandpa Qian tittered joyfully, "Though I’m getting old and I can’t knead the dough as good as before… But luckily I still have Ye to make the noodles for me and he is so much better." He said it proudly and ordered on top of his lungs, "Eh, Ye! Get a bowl of plain noodles for this boy here!"
"Okay." Ye Chong responded flatly.
"You have a new guy here, Uncle Qian?" Fei asked in bewilderment.
"Nah, he’s just a distant relative of mine. I was feeling a bit lonely, you know, old man problems. So I brought him here."
Out of curiosity Fei asked on, "Where does he come from then?"
"Uhh…" Grandpa Qian flinched, "Somewhere… somewhere far, far away!" Muttered he.
"Ahahaha…" Fei tried to lighten the atmosphere, "Sigh, the silly habit of my job again. Please don’t mind me, Uncle Qian."
"Grandpa!" Ye Chong’s voice rang from the inside, "We are out of corianders!" Grandpa Qian gasped and tapped his head, "How could I forget this! Sigh, we can’t be out of corianders! We need this!" Mumbled the elderly. He then shouted towards the kitchen again, "Ye, I’m heading out to get some corianders now! Don’t forget to serve our customer okay?" Ye Chong okayed and the elderly waddled out of the shop after that.
Ye Chong then served Fei a bowl of plain noodles a moment later. Placing it on the round table, he concisely greeted the customer, "Enjoy!"
As he turned and walked away, "Eh!" Fei called him, "Hey brother, your name, Ye, was it?"
Ye somehow felt discomfort seeing the man before him. There was not only discomfort but also a little bit of familiarity. He carried on with a concise response, "Yes." And he tried to walk away again.
"So, you are the one who killed those men that day…" Fei lighted his cigar again, he spoke on relaxingly, "Aren’t you?"
Ye Chong’s eyes rapidly turned cold. He could sense danger behind the line as he finally realized that the very man before him was one of the police officers he spotted that day. That’s why I’m feeling this much of hazard! Ye Chong didn’t know many ways to resolve a risky situation like this. Strangling was the only one he knew and used the most. Without much hesitation, his instinct ordered him to conduct the method immediately.
His body waved to the front and his right hand reached Fei’s throat with lightning speed. The airwaves created as he propelled broke through the veil of smoke surrounding Fei.
I was right after all! As he saw the changes in Ye Chong’s expression, Fei’s speculation was justified. He didn’t come unprepared of course, but Ye Chong’s speed was something not included in his plan, as a result he was barely able to block Ye Chong’s attack with his arm.
"Hmph!" Ye Chong clenched his right hand and launched it at Fei’s blocking arm.
A crippling blow, followed by the sounds of crushed bones and a groan after. Fei’s face turned pale as Ye Chong’s fist literally just smashed his arm. The broken bone pieces gashed out of his ruptured muscle. Fei had cold sweat over his trembling body while his right hand was permanently disabled. The attack wasn’t ending anytime soon as Ye Chong raised his fist again while Fei was frozen with helpless vulnerability. Fei’s soon-to-be last words were, "Uncle Qian! Hey there!"
It actually worked.
Ye Chong stumbled and held his punch. Right at that moment, Fei quickly backed away from Ye Chong and leaned against the wall, wheezing.
Ye Chong took a look to his rear - Grandpa Qian wasn’t there! He hadn’t returned! Liar! His sight lay on Fei once more, with a frigid glare.
"If… If you…" Fei, catching his breath, as he was trying to word something, "If you killed me… you are… not helping Uncle Qian!" A hint of hesitation flashed in Ye Chong’s eyes. "If you killed me, the police… they will be here anytime. You could run… you could hide, of course the police can’t get you, but they can get Uncle Qian, don’t forget that!"
The first time he discovered his signature skill did not work out the way he wanted, he was already enraged. The bloodthirsty soul burned up high yet the sane soul told him to not kill the man in front as the man was right in his words.
And Mu emerged in his thoughts from out of the blue, "Ye, this is blatant threatening but it works most of the time!"
Of course it worked! That’s why Ye Chong was very much angered. The person clearly was alarming to his sense of security, but he could not neutralize the threat at all! Cowardliness and helplessness were teasing him. His agitation built up over time.
"Ye…" Mu seemed to have sensed his emotion, "Don’t panic. There’s still a way."
"OF what kind?" Ye Chong spoke in his mind.
Mu sneered, "Hehehehe" and spoke on ominously, "In your language, that would be - smack the heck out of him, but don’t kill him just yet!"
The advice was joyful to hear. He knew Mu wouldn’t let him down as he pounced on Fei and literally smacked the heck out of Fei.
Wait, this shouldn’t be it! Fei wasn’t expecting resistance! Is Ye really a cold-blooded person? That he would not care about that old man at all? Did my info fail me?
The next scene was Ye Chong precisely landing a kick at Fei’s stomach, with the tip of his foot. Well Mu did mention about keeping him half-dead and not utterly-dead. So Ye Chong’s kick this time was only 30% of his usual force yet Fei was rolling on the floor in pain. Ye Chong did not concern what the person would become after the violence, as long as he would stay alive. He punched and kicked, as every blow counted, just to unleash the annoyance this punching bag gave him all this while.
Poor Fei was getting distorted being hit to the ground… He would rather die! Or faint on the spot! But Ye wasn’t aiming for the critical spot of his body to knock him out. Plus he was obviously holding back his strength at the perfect amount to make sure he stayed conscious while tasting every bit of the ache he received. His mentality warded himself from getting crazy over this everlasting torment, still, deep inside he regretted the presumptuous inspection this time so much. What a stupid mistake I made!
"Now… choke his neck, but don’t suffocate him to death!" Another happy-go-lucky suggestion from Mu, as his tone went like the little devil brandishing the fork by Ye Chong’s ears.
Ye Chong, without a doubt, did as he was told to.
"Okay, tell him that there’s 52 policemen at his station. Make sure it sounds like a threat. It’s a courtesy to return one’s greeting." His devil wings excitingly fluttered.
Threat? How should I word it like a threat? That was not an issue for Ye Chong as it was an inborn ability within himself. The lines did not need much polishing and they came out uttering from his lips like a cold winter storm. The atmosphere was feeling tense as Fei shivered to what he heard, which felt like a blade against his neck.
"So I heard… you have 52 men back at your office." He spoke bluntly, "Fifty-two, huh?"
And that was the last straw to Fei’s calmness.
"Oh and you do have a lovely wife and daughter, don’t you? Who happily stayed at Guang Hua garden N-14-328-24." He carried on his performance, "Your wife has such a good name, He Yan, named after the swallow; while your daughter is named after the tiny bloom of flower, Meng Rui Er, who happens to be 7 years old this year, am I right? Mr. Meng."
The rolling information that came struck like a thunder on Fei, shattering his last bit of sanity as he wriggled and screamed, "Who… Who are you! I warn, I warn you! Don’t you ever dare to lay a finger on them! Or else… else… I’ll… I’ll make sure I’ll destroy you!"
"Good. Kekeke, now he has learned his lesson. One last warning to make sure he does not simply threat an ordinary citizen like us, then you can let him go." The little devil signaled mercy on generosity.
"You better be not planning to do anything funny, or else… Hehehe I’ll be the one." Fei could only laugh along bitterly, knowing his doom was destined. However, Ye Chong gestured to let him free.
Upon knowing such good news, Fei did not want to wait any longer, he struggled his way out, "Hold it!" Fei flinched… "Money. Pay for your food first." Pointing at the cold noodles on the table, Ye Chong nonchalantly demanded.
Beep.
Thank you and come again.
Fei wobbled out of the shop.
"So where did you learn this trick?" Ye Chong asked Mu.
"Hehehehe…" Mu laughed, "I watched some movies recently. This happens to be the typical scene."
"Then how did you even know the number of policemen at his station? And his home, too?"
"That’s simple! Of course I sneaked into the station and hacked his profile out duh! Everything is written on it!"
"So this is what they called threatening? Why would it be more practical than killing him on spot? The Iron Lizard didn’t seem to have used this trick before…" Ye Chong collected his mind, yet he was still in much bewilderment.
"Well, he’s merely human, that’s why!" Mu reminded.