Chapter Twenty: Who Dares to Strike Him?

“Dare to hit me, you bastard!” Guan Dahai shouted, pointing accusingly at Lu Yang.

Lu Yang remained silent, his gaze icy as he strode up to Guan Dahai. He grabbed a brick and swung it forcefully at Guan Dahai’s head.

With a loud thud, Guan Dahai was caught off guard and fell hard to the ground. The sudden, fierce pain and Lu Yang’s unexpected aggression filled him with an inexplicable fear.

“What… what do you want to do?” Guan Dahai’s voice trembled as he turned his head. He was just a low-level thug, barely scraping by in the underworld. He was brave enough to bully ordinary people, but when faced with someone like Lu Yang, who seemed ready to risk his life, he cowered.

Lu Yang had encountered many such people during the last five years of his previous life. Once you struck them hard enough to hurt, they wouldn’t dare provoke you again for the rest of their lives. Stepping closer, Lu Yang grabbed Guan Dahai’s collar with one hand, lifting his limp body like a ragdoll. His eyes blazed with a murderous intensity from his past life as he asked, “You dared to hit my brother?”

Before Guan Dahai could answer, Lu Yang slammed the brick down again with a “thud!”

“You dared to hit my brother?”

“Thud!” Another blow from Lu Yang’s brick.

Terrified, Guan Dahai begged, “I won’t dare again.”

“Not dare?” Lu Yang raised the brick once more.

“Really, I won’t dare again!” Guan Dahai screamed.

Lu Yang sneered, turning to point at Xiao Liang, who was curled up on the ground, his eyes wide with confusion. “Go apologize to my brother. If he spares you, this ends here. Otherwise, I’ll beat you to death today.”

Panicked by Lu Yang’s fierce gaze, Guan Dahai scrambled to his feet and ran toward Xiao Liang. Though only a dozen meters away, he nearly tripped twice before collapsing near Xiao Liang. He didn’t get up, trembling in terror as he stammered, “Xiao… Xiao Liang, I was wrong.”

Xiao Liang sat on the ground, trembling and trying to shrink away. Lu Yang sat beside him, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulder and gripping tightly. “Brother, Guan Dahai is apologizing to you.”

“Ah… he’s apologizing?” Xiao Liang’s eyes revealed his terror. Memories of years of bullying flooded his mind, and he couldn’t face Guan Dahai.

Lu Yang noticed a fruit knife used for cutting watermelon lying behind Xiao Liang. He picked it up, twirled it expertly, then grasped the handle and pressed the blade’s tip within a centimeter of Guan Dahai’s eye.

“Ah?” Guan Dahai recoiled in horror but was held firmly by Lu Yang’s grip on his collar.

“What are you doing?” Guan Dahai asked, voice shaking.

“I don’t think your apology is sincere. Are you still planning revenge?” Lu Yang slowly pressed the knife’s tip closer to Guan Dahai’s eye.

At the moment of his apology, Guan Dahai recalled the times he had bullied Xiao Liang. His heart was full of resentment, and he had planned to settle scores with Lu Yang and Xiao Liang after this encounter. But now, with the knife inching closer to his eye, genuine fear gripped him.

“I was wrong! Truly wrong! I won’t dare again!” Guan Dahai howled like a slaughtered pig.

Xiao Liang watched dumbfounded; he had never seen Guan Dahai so terrified.

“This…”

Lu Yang switched the knife from his right to left hand, holding it pointed at Guan Dahai while still embracing Xiao Liang’s shoulder. “Brother, remember this: from now on, no one will dare bully you. If anyone does, I’ll kill them.”

The shining blade hovered before Guan Dahai’s face. His voice quivered, “I won’t dare. I absolutely won’t dare again.”

“Get lost,” Lu Yang said.

He realized that Xiao Liang wasn’t ready to accept Guan Dahai’s apology yet. Leaving Guan Dahai here risked him bleeding out or worse. Lu Yang had been given a second chance at life and didn’t want to be burdened with a manslaughter charge. It was best to send him away.

Xiao Liang glanced at the fleeing Guan Dahai, then at Lu Yang’s confident expression, and asked confusedly, “Boss, you seem like a different person today. You never used to get into conflicts with Guan Dahai.”

Lu Yang’s lips curved slightly. “Brother, remember this: no one can bully us anymore.”

“Oh.” Xiao Liang didn’t fully understand but nodded and asked, “Boss, why did you come to see me today?”

Lu Yang didn’t answer but asked in return, “What have you been up to lately?”

Xiao Liang’s smile faded instantly, his voice filled with uncertainty. “What else can I do? I didn’t get into college. My family’s poor, and my parents can’t afford for me to go to a technical school. They want me to sell vegetables at the market like them.”

“Sell vegetables?” Lu Yang asked. “Do you like it?”

“No,” Xiao Liang hugged his knees, burying his head in his arms. “But what choice do I have? I didn’t get into college. I have to listen to my parents and sell vegetables.”

Lu Yang patted Xiao Liang’s shoulder, recalling that when he found Xiao Liang in his past life, it was at the market.

“Brother, wait here a moment,” Lu Yang said.

He walked to the yard’s entrance, picked up a cardboard box from the ground, and returned to Xiao Liang, tapping the box’s surface. “Here, see what this is?”

Xiao Liang looked up and froze, eyes fixed on the box’s logo. Excited, he exclaimed, “Is this… a virtual reality headset?”

“Exactly.” Lu Yang tossed the VR headset into Xiao Liang’s hands. “It’s yours.”

Holding it as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, Xiao Liang embraced the box with both hands and looked at Lu Yang with joy. “Boss, you’re really giving this to me?”

Lu Yang nodded. “Of course.”

“Boss…” Xiao Liang didn’t know what to say. It was the first time anyone had ever given him something so valuable, or treated him so kindly. As if making a solemn decision, he bowed deeply to Lu Yang. “Boss, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re my brother,” Lu Yang replied.

In his heart, Lu Yang thought: Brother, I owe you my life. This time around, I’ll protect you and make sure you live a different kind of life.

“Brother…” Xiao Liang, though confused, took those words to heart.

“All right, don’t just stand there. Log in soon and get familiar with the environment. I’ll log in at home and help you level up,” Lu Yang said.

“Oh, okay. I’m logging in now,” Xiao Liang hurried back inside.

Lu Yang chuckled and shook his head. “This kid didn’t even tell me his name before running off.”

But it didn’t bother Lu Yang. Every VR headset had a unique ID number; as long as he knew that, he could find Xiao Liang online.

Back at his own home, Lu Yang stretched briefly, then put on his headset and entered the game once more.