Chapter 20: My Captain

Each time Chen Erpao was injured, Wang Xuemei, on the second floor of the mall, felt as if her heart were bleeding. She herself could not understand how, in such a short time, this man had come to occupy such an important place in her heart.

Chen Erpao’s situation grew ever more perilous. Just then, a tall, broad-shouldered, crew-cut, square-faced, thick-lipped middle-aged man, wearing sunglasses and bearing a faint cold smile, slowly walked across the street opposite the mall.

“I never imagined that after so many years, I’d encounter this kid in Hong Kong, and his skills have become so formidable. I remember the year I left—he couldn’t withstand twenty moves from me. Now, he’s almost my equal. Truly worthy of being the special forces soldier I trained,” the man in sunglasses smiled with satisfaction, seeming utterly unconcerned by Chen Erpao’s increasingly dangerous predicament.

“Fearless, utterly loyal, indestructible, invincible!” Suddenly, a tremendous shout burst from the sunglasses-wearing man.

Chen Erpao’s heart involuntarily trembled. How familiar those words were—once spoken daily, always on his lips! The voice itself stirred a deep sense of recognition.

“Chen Erpao, have you forgotten what I once told you? Never shrink before the enemy. Be a qualified chopstick man!” the man shouted.

At that moment, Chen Erpao finally remembered whose familiar voice this was—it was Zeng Fan, his old captain from the special forces unit. Five years ago, he’d heard Zeng had been transferred to a secret department and had never seen him since. Who would have thought they’d meet again today?

“Yes, Captain! Before the enemy, be a qualified chopstick man!” Chen Erpao replied loudly. The fighting spirit that had been waning now surged anew, and the latent power within his body was awakened, flooding him with a torrent of strength.

Even Curly sensed things had taken a turn for the worse. Ignoring his gang of followers, he turned to flee, but Chen Erpao intercepted him with a few swift strides. Then, like a storm unleashed, a torrent of overwhelming attacks ensued.

A fierce wind of force swept through, tearing apart everything nearby. At that moment, Curly was like a lone skiff tossed in the vast sea—utterly helpless. His once-confident snake-blade technique now seemed useless, reduced to wriggling like an earthworm beneath Chen Erpao’s absolute speed, strength, and reflexes.

“The rest are mine—time to stretch a bit,” Zeng Fan said lightly. Like a phantom in the night, agile and swift, he pounced upon the remaining thugs.

His punches flashed like lightning, his legs struck with the rigidity of steel. None could withstand him; every blow felled an opponent instantly. He was a true battle machine—efficient, relentless, and swift.

In no time, except for Curly, all the others lay sprawled on the ground, some unconscious, others groaning in pain. Machetes and steel pipes littered the floor.

Now, not only had Curly’s knife been knocked away, but his face had been thoroughly rearranged—so expertly, it was doubtful even his mother would recognize him.

“Who are you, really? You definitely aren’t just some martial arts instructor,” Curly stammered, trembling, his earlier swagger utterly vanished.

“Martial arts instructor.” Chen Erpao chuckled. He hadn’t expected that after retirement, the army chief would assign him such an identity to protect him from drug traffickers’ revenge. Truth be told, it wasn’t a bad cover.

“I am just a martial arts instructor—only, the chief instructor. With skills like yours, I could gather a dozen like you in my old school. Yet you dare show your face here, calling yourself some gold-medal enforcer?” Chen Erpao wiped the blood from his face. After being surrounded and hacked at for so long, even the calmest person would be tempted to curse.

“Brother, Chief Instructor, it’s my fault—I failed to recognize greatness. However tough you were inland, this is Hong Kong, specifically Tuen Mun, and this is Hongxing territory. If we keep fighting, it benefits no one. I was wrong today, shouldn’t have listened to Ah Bao and targeted you. To show my sincerity, I’m willing to offer half a million as an apology, if you could let me go. I promise I’ll never bother you again,” Curly pleaded, anxiously invoking the mighty Hongxing and offering money as a shield, his eyes fixed on Chen Erpao, whose gaze was bloodshot.

“Half a million, not bad. Erpao, maybe you should consider it,” Zeng Fan said with a leisurely smile, as if taking down a dozen men had been trivial.

Chen Erpao laughed coolly, looking down on Curly. “Do you know how pathetic you look now? Damn, always so quick to hack and cripple people, so arrogant. It’s a world where strength reigns, and right now, I’m the strong one, you’re the weak. So I have the right to hack you, cripple you. Damn, that’s for your arrogance!” As he shouted, he swung a steel pipe, striking Curly’s joints with force. Even if he survived, he would likely spend the rest of his days in a wheelchair.

Zeng Fan watched this scene with surprise, muttering to himself, “I never expected that after a few years, this kid’s temperament would change so much—so violent, so ruthless.”

After the fierce beating, Curly’s body curled into a ball, blood covering him, his face pale. The look he gave Chen Erpao was as if staring at a demon god, filled with boundless fear and dread.

Suddenly, the crisp, melodious sound of police sirens filled the street, growing ever closer.

“Not good, Captain, we have to go,” Chen Erpao said urgently, preparing to head to the second floor to fetch Wang Xuemei. But Zeng Fan, calm and composed, stopped him.

“It’s fine. Trust me. Besides, with so many police arriving now, there’s no way we could escape.”

Chen Erpao had absolute trust in his old captain, both brother and mentor. He immediately halted, waiting for the police’s arrival.

Soon, a swarm of police surrounded them, guns trained on Chen Erpao and Zeng Fan. On the second floor, Wang Xuemei saw this scene and her heart leapt into her throat, sweat pouring down her face.

A middle-aged policeman, seemingly the leader, walked over to Curly, glanced at him, and said with a hint of sympathy, “Curly, you really are miserable, to have ended up like this.”

Curly seemed to want to say something, but after struggling for a long time, no words came out.