Lu Chen chuckled, narrowing his eyes slightly. His internal energy circulated, condensing into two beams of light that seemed materialized, sweeping towards the thugs.
Instantly, the thugs trembled.
They didn't know why, but they felt as if they'd been cut by a knife after being swept by Lu Chen's gaze.
As a martial arts practitioner, albeit a low-level one, Lu Chen still possessed this ability to intimidate. Martial arts novels often describe heroes as having eyes as sharp as knives, and there's some basis to this in reality—the concentration of true energy in the eyes causes them to emit a fierce light that wouldn't normally be seen, serving to intimidate opponents.
"I'll say it again, let her go! Otherwise, you'll all be crawling out, or being carried out! I'm not joking, I hope you believe me!"
Lu Chen's tone was sharp, yet tinged with a hint of earnest persuasion. He hoped to convince the thugs to stop the beating. After all, a fight would be noisy and detrimental to maintaining a harmonious society.
However, the thugs didn't appreciate the tact; they exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
The thug leader rudely shoved Lu Chen, arrogantly shouting, "Who do you think you are? Chen Zhen? Huang Feihong? Kid, I bet you've never been beaten before!"
Lu Chen suppressed his anger and said calmly, "I'm just a pastry chef, but I happen to know a little martial arts. I can handle a fight. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to play the hero, right?"
"I guarantee you with my fists, if you don't let her go, I'll definitely beat you down. You'll be badly injured then, so why bother? Why not give me some face now, so we can greet each other with a smile if we meet again?"
Despite Lu Chen's efforts to maintain harmony and his willingness to use his martial arts skills to intimidate the thugs, they remained oblivious, laughing even more arrogantly, the thug leader laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
He pointed at Lu Chen, looked around, and said, "Did you hear that? He said he knows martial arts, and even guaranteed with his fists that he could beat me! Haha, that's hilarious!"
"Please take this seriously. I really can beat you all, why don't you believe me? Why do you insist on getting punched? Sigh!" Lu Chen said, then suddenly remembered something: "Right, you know Huang Jin..."
Lu Chen wanted to say he'd even beaten Bald Qiang, but this bully at Yunzhou Station didn't give him the chance.
"Huang Jin my ass!" he roared. "Let me tell you, even if you really are Wong Fei-hung or Chen Zhen, I'm not afraid. I, Jackie Chan, have killed more veterans than you have hair on your head! What the hell do you think you are!"
Damn, he calls himself Jackie Chan? He plagiarizes big stars. I think he'd be more like a worm.
Lu Chen thought disdainfully.
At this moment, more and more people gathered around.
Lu Chen sighed. It seemed he really had no choice but to fight. In this world, can't there be a little more understanding and a little less fighting?
Just as he was about to clench his fist, suddenly, that subtle, warning energy deep within his body surged forth again!
Lu Chen's eyes narrowed; a sense of danger almost washed over him.
This danger was far stronger than that of Jackie Chan and his gang!
He quickly looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the danger.
At that moment, Jackie Chan noticed Lu Chen seemed distracted. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately threw a punch at Lu Chen's face.
This punch would be powerful for an ordinary person, but for Lu Chen, it was utterly ordinary.
He barely even looked; with a casual grab, he seized Jackie Chan's wrist.
His eyes continued to scan the crowd. Finally, he spotted a man standing in the crowd with an unusually ferocious face, his eyes gleaming with a malevolent light. His hands were tightly clasped across his chest, as if he were clutching something.
His waist was bulging, concealed by his military green shirt, making it impossible for the average person to discern what it was!
However, when Lu Chen's eyes swept over that area, a particularly dangerous feeling surged up. That hidden energy suddenly became clearer, and then a data point flashed into Lu Chen's mind:
Explosives!
Damn it, Lu Chen's entire heart instantly turned icy cold!
In a crowded train station, any explosive, once detonated, could cause countless deaths and injuries!
At that moment, Jackie Chan yelled, "Damn it, let me go!"
He desperately twisted his fists.
Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. He took a step closer, twisted Jackie Chan's arm, and whispered in his ear, "Aren't you afraid of Wong Fei-hung? Then aren't you afraid of someone strapped with a bomb?"
His voice was very low, so low that no one around could hear it.
"Damn it, let me go! If you hit me again, you're dead! I'm not afraid of anything, not even being tied up... Ouch!"
Jackie Chan yelled, but Lu Chen yanked his arm hard, turning all his fierce words into a shrill scream of pain.
"My hand... my hand is about to break! Let me go, or I'll get a hundred of my brothers to hack you to pieces!"
Jackie Chan shouted angrily, but Lu Chen shoved him violently.
Instantly, he stumbled into the crowd, colliding with the dangerous man Lu Chen had spotted. The dangerous man was knocked back four or five steps, his face contorted with rage.
Jackie Chan was even more enraged, roaring hysterically, "You dare push me! Beat him up!"
He lunged at Lu Chen, and the other thugs also charged at Lu Chen menacingly.
Lu Chen chuckled and shouted, "Well done!"
He charged at Jackie Chan, twisting his body and unleashing a double palm strike to Jackie Chan's chest.
Actually, this wasn't a real hit. Although it looked like he was about to break all of Jackie Chan's ribs, his hands paused slightly upon touching the clothes before exerting force.
This wasn't a hit anymore; it was a push.
Jackie Chan's rather burly body was sent flying backward through the air.
He yelled and flailed in mid-air, crashing into the dangerous man again. This sent him tumbling backward another four or five meters.
Jackie Chan landed on the ground, still riding the momentum, rolling right up to the dangerous man, almost colliding with him. At this point, the two were only three or four meters away from the restroom near the station entrance.
Jackie Chan, writhing in pain, gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet when he heard the man beside him roar, "Are you looking for death? Why do you keep bumping into me? You think I won't blow you up?"
Jackie Chan was already furious, and the dangerous man's words were like adding fuel to the fire. He immediately slapped the man hard, yelling, "Blow your sister! Do you know who I am…?"
Hiss!
Jackie Chan froze before he could finish his sentence. He saw the man suddenly rip open his shirt, revealing a row of detonators and explosive charges, along with a timer made from a modified electronic watch. These explosives were tightly bound to his body with rope; it looked like it would take considerable time to untie them.
Instantly, chaos erupted, and the onlookers scattered in panic.
"Bomb!"
"There's a bomb! It's going to explode!"
"You...you really have a bomb?"
Jackie Chan turned deathly pale with fright. He suddenly remembered Lu Chen's question earlier—whether he was afraid of people strapped with bombs! So, there really was a madman here, covered in bombs!
Even though Jackie Chan was a local bully at the station, even the most domineering person was afraid of a madman like this! He roared and turned to run away. But the madman grabbed him tightly from behind.
"You dared to bump into me, twice! You're the first one I'll blow up!"
The bomb-wielding man roared hoarsely.
"No! It wasn't me! I didn't bump into you!" Jackie Chan shouted in horror, pointing directly at Lu Chen not far away: "It was him! He pushed me! He knew you..."
At that moment, Lu Chen lunged forward and kicked Jackie Chan in the chest.
Ouch!
Jackie Chan stumbled backward, dragging the bomb-wielding man, until they crashed into the restroom wall.
At that moment, Lu Chen followed closely behind. He glanced left and right; people were constantly fleeing from both the men's and women's restrooms. Many people remained hidden inside the men's restroom, too afraid to come out. The women's restroom, however, seemed to have the advantage of being less crowded; they had all rushed out, leaving the restroom almost empty.
The bomb-wielding man roared hoarsely, "I'm a time bomb! It'll explode in a minute and a half! Haha! I can't stop myself anymore! Come on, let's die together!"
He grabbed Jackie Chan and lunged at Lu Chen.
Jackie Chan screamed desperately, "No! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Jackie Chan, who had previously boasted about not being afraid of Wong Fei-hung or Chen Zhen, or even of someone strapped with a bomb, was now terrified, his face turning pale. While Lu Chen was tense, his composure was relatively strong; Jackie Chan was much calmer.
At least, he knew what to do! Lu Chen darted forward, ignoring the bomb-wielding man, grabbing Jackie Chan's arm, yanking him sharply, and shoving him into the women's restroom.
Instantly, both men tumbled inside.
Lu Chen, looking at the terrified Jackie Chan, wore a mocking expression, waved slightly, and gestured to close the door.
Jackie Chan understood. Terrified, he screamed hysterically, "No! Help me... I don't want to be blown up!"
"Forty seconds left!" Lu Chen said calmly.
Just then, one of the doors in the women's restroom opened.
A girl stepped out. She wore a purple chiffon spaghetti strap dress, her two fair and alluring legs were very eye-catching, but even more eye-catching were her high, round, taut breasts, at least a D-cup size, enough to make any man swoon.
She was listening to music with headphones on, completely absorbed, but when she saw the scene outside, she froze, her cute cherry-like mouth agape.
Lu Chen was also stunned; there was someone else inside!
The bomb-wielding man immediately released Jackie Chan and went to grab the girl.
"Alright, let this beauty accompany me on my way!"
In a flash, Lu Chen lunged forward, extending a hand and forcefully striking Jackie Chan on the forehead with the heel of his hand. Jackie Chan's head snapped back, the hard back of his head slamming into the bomb-wielding man's already turned face.
Bang!
The blow was powerful enough that both Jackie Chan and the bomb-wielding man screamed in pain. The former fared slightly better, but the latter's nose immediately gushed blood. He was knocked to the ground, but immediately scrambled to his feet with incredible ferocity, lunging at Lu Chen with a ferocious expression.
"You bastard, you ruined my plans! I'll die with you!"
"Seventeen seconds left." Lu Chen calculated precisely, glancing at the timer beside the bomb-wielding man's waist. Sure enough, not a second off! The situation was becoming increasingly urgent.