C20 The Idea Was Not Good!

Yellow Hair was a seasoned veteran of the streets, accustomed to all manner of situations. The plea of a woman's voice to release someone was hardly going to faze him, especially with a gang of his cronies standing by. He didn't even bother to lift his head as he aimed a stomp at Zhao Zhe's foot. "Kid, I'm gonna teach you pain... Agh..."

But before Yellow Hair's foot could connect, a sudden, excruciating pain shot through it. Something had struck his leg as he moved to step on Zhao Zhe's calf, sending him tumbling to the ground in agony. Convinced his leg was broken, he even thought he heard the snap of his bones. Who dared to do this?

Zhao Zhe, amidst cries of pain, realized that Yellow Hair's foot never made it to his head. The situation was changing. He tried to look up, having thought he heard Xiaoxue's voice, but all he saw were blurry figures. Dazed from a blow to his head, his vision was unclear.

"Zhao Zhe, are you okay?" It was Sun Xiaoya, rushing to his aid.

"Go check on my grandma, I'm fine," Zhao Zhe urged her.

Sun Xiaoya hurried to assist Jiang Guihua, while Zhao Zhe, struggling with dizziness and instability, crawled over to them. Relief washed over him as he saw that his grandmother had only taken a fall and was otherwise unharmed.

The screams continued, but now that he knew his grandmother was safe, Zhao Zhe could take in the full scene. To his amazement, the dozen or so thugs brought by Yellow Hair were being tossed around in the air.

Indeed, they were airborne, as if a scene straight out of The Matrix—no special effects needed. Xiaoxue's slight frame darted among the gang, sending any thug she touched soaring through the air before crashing down in silence. The force of their falls left no doubt of severe internal injuries and concussions.

Chen Xiaomeng also approached. "Zhe, I—I called the cops... Ah, she's flying! She's really flying!" Chen Xiaomeng's voice trembled with fear as she witnessed the unbelievable spectacle.

Sun Xiaoya was equally stunned. That morning, she had taken the lovely and adorable Xiaoxue out shopping and dressing up. The delicate young girl evoked a sense of tenderness in everyone who saw her. Yet, no one could have imagined she would boldly take on a pack of wolves single-handedly!

Fighting over a dozen men was one thing, but sending them soaring through the air was quite another. Not to mention the explosive power required to launch them, Xiaoxue's ability to weave through a crowd of men with such ease showcased her remarkable agility and speed.

"Assistant, get out here!" Zhao Zhe was furious. His anger stemmed not from the fact that he and his grandmother had been harassed by thugs, but from the sheer injustice of the situation!

The assistant responded, "Master, I've been here all along."

Zhao Zhe demanded an explanation, "What's going on? I've fought side by side with Xiaoxue before. Her strength and speed are indeed superior to mine. But she wasn't nearly this fierce when we were killing snow rats at the shelter. I'm the protagonist; I should have the protagonist's halo, the Goldfinger. Did you make a mistake?"

The assistant replied innocently, "Master, I didn't activate the Goldfinger for her. I'm an extension of you. If I had the ability to grant a Goldfinger, why would I give it to her and not you? You are my master, after all, not her."

Xiaoxue wielded a wooden stick, a makeshift weapon she had picked up from the roadside. Yet, with it, she struck swiftly and ruthlessly. She dodged an incoming steel bar and, with a resounding smack, landed a blow on a thug's forehead, sending him flying with a thud.

Her nimbleness in avoiding the steel bar attack, coupled with the speed and power with which she wielded the stick, was a testament to Xiaoxue's combat prowess. She dodged each attack with precision, and despite being outnumbered by the gang of thugs, they couldn't lay a finger on her. One by one, they were rapidly diminishing, those struck by the stick falling to the ground, others sent flying or kicked, writhing in agony upon landing.

Though Xiaoxue was Zhao Zhe's subordinate, as the main character, he found it hard to come to terms with her ferocity. "This isn't right. This isn't right. I should be the fierce one."

The assistant tried to console him, "Master, once you complete the first mission, you'll be able to activate the Goldfinger. At that point, I'll make sure to request an even more powerful Goldfinger from the Nusbath Huge Dominate for you. You'll definitely be stronger than her."

Zhao Zhe's spirits lifted slightly upon hearing his assistant's reassurance. He realized that he hadn't even completed the test mission yet, so why worry about a bicycle? His current task was simply to travel five kilometers south in the world of ice and snow to rescue someone—a mission that wasn't too challenging. Yet, he had been in the shelter for so long without venturing more than three kilometers outside. It seemed rather embarrassing to ask for a bicycle now.

"Assistant, what I still can't wrap my head around is this: if Xiaoxue has such combat prowess in the world of ice and snow, we wouldn't need to fear those three snow rats, right? When we teamed up to take down that snow rat, she only seemed to be a bit stronger than me. But now, look at her throwing people through the air with such incredible strength!"

"Uh..." The assistant appeared to be deep in thought, and after a moment, he explained, "Master, I believe it's due to the differing gravities between the two dimensions. Earth's gravity is weaker than that of the world of ice and snow. Xiaoxue's strength, agility, and speed were constrained by the heavy gravity there. When the gravity suddenly lessened, her abilities surged. You, on the other hand, didn't experience any change when you arrived in the world of ice and snow because you were protected by the Dimension Hopping Express. Without that protection, you probably wouldn't be able to stand under the intense gravity there."

A lightbulb went off in Zhao Zhe's head, "Ah, it reminds me of a movie, 'Alien Battlefield,' which I think was adapted from a science fiction novel called 'Princess of Mars.' But the roles are reversed for me—the hero went to Mars and carved out an empire, while I went to the world of ice and snow and ended up being the underdog! Yet the humans from the world of ice and snow that I brought back have become unbeatable warriors on Earth! That's not how it should be. I'm the one who's supposed to be invincible."

Zhao Zhe's assistant, harboring deep resentment, chose to remain silent; otherwise, they would have faced yet another scolding.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen thugs were taken care of. Xiaoxue, with a look of concern, rushed over and knelt before Zhao Zhe. "Master, it's all my fault. I failed to take proper care of you. From now on, I won't dare to leave your side, not even for half a step. Master, please punish me..."

No one seemed to care that a young girl had just floored more than a dozen men. Xiaoxue's act of kneeling and readiness to accept punishment left everyone bewildered.

Grandma Jiang Guihua was the first to snap out of it. She helped Xiaoxue to her feet, exclaiming, "Oh my, who is this strong little girl? Get up, get up! You knocked them all down so well!"

Sun Xiaoya stood agape, saliva dripping from her mouth. "Xiaoxue, had I known you were this formidable, I wouldn't have even tried to show off when those kids teased you while we were shopping."

Chen Xiaomeng backed away repeatedly, his fear palpable. If before he might have dared to tease Xiaoxue, now all he felt was awe. He knew better than to provoke her; if a fight broke out, ten of him wouldn't stand a chance.

Xiaoxue, gently touching the bump on Zhao Zhe's head, began to cry. "Master, Master, are you alright?"

Jiang Guihua pulled Xiaoxue to her feet. "Child, stand up. This young man is resilient; he's fine and won't die from this. Come on, come home with Grandma. Let me take a good look at you. How on earth did your parents raise such a fine girl? I wish I had a granddaughter like you."

Jiang Guihua led her away, unconcerned with the scene they were leaving behind. She had always done as she pleased. Xiaoxue was reluctant to follow; she wanted to care for her master, but since Jiang Guihua was the grandmother of her master, she felt compelled to obey.

Yellow Hair and his gang were utterly stunned, unable to believe what had just unfolded before their eyes. They were well-known figures in their circle, seemingly unbeatable. Who would have dared to challenge their strength? They were so intimidating that normally, no one would dare to utter a word in their presence.

But now, they had been defeated. Not by the police, nor by a rival gang, but by a petite girl. It would be one thing if she were a tomboy, but this delicate-looking girl seemed no older than a high school student, weighing less than 90 pounds and barely reaching 5'3". Her muscles weren't pronounced, yet her strength, speed, and agility were astounding. She had to be a master of martial arts!

Realizing they were no match, "yellow hair" and his crew decided to beat a hasty retreat. They knew better than to linger and risk further humiliation. This was a strategic withdrawal, a case of "the green hills remaining unchanged, the green waters flowing forever." A gentleman can wait ten years to exact revenge. If the police arrived and saw them in this sorry state, it would make future endeavors in this territory difficult. Today's events had to be kept under wraps to avoid becoming the laughing stock among their peers.

Ironically, the person harboring the deepest grudge wasn't "yellow hair" or any of his beaten gang, but Zhao Zhe. Even the guy with the broken leg didn't feel as wronged as Zhao Zhe. He was supposed to be the invincible one. It should have been him.

"Yellow hair" was carried off, along with six or seven others who needed medical attention. They couldn't afford to waste time here. Zhao Zhe paid them no mind; after all, they were the ones who had taken the beating. If things escalated, he might be on the hook for their medical bills, which could be construed as excessive self-defense.

Zhao Zhe helped Zhang clean up the storefront and called someone to repair the shattered glass door. As Zhang recounted the incident in fits and starts, it became clear that the gang had come under the pretense of seeking acupuncture. Zhang had treated them without issue, casually inserting a couple of needles, but they complained that the treatment was too painful and ineffective, prompting them to vandalize the shop.

Zhao Zhe suspected there was more to the story than Zhang let on. These troublemakers had likely come with the intention of drawing him out for a confrontation, with Zhang's shop caught in the crossfire simply because it was the place of business. But to get to the bottom of it, Zhao Zhe knew he would have to confront "yellow hair" directly.