Feng Quan was pressed down into the water, bubbles gurgling up as he tried to speak and ended up choking repeatedly.
It was not until he had nearly drunk all the water in the basin that Chen Nuo let him go.
Like a dead fish, Feng Quan wretched miserably, in an utter state of wretchedness.
Zhao Dahai was completely dumbfounded at that moment. Others might not know, but as veterans of the company, the two of them were well aware that offending Feng Quan meant you had basically one foot out the door, and resigning was just a matter of time.
Furthermore, Feng Quan was not without backing in the company. His brother-in-law, Wu Bing, was currently the manager of the security department, with absolute authority over the entire department.
Both of them knew that Chen Nuo's position as a security guard was as good as gone; having offended Feng Quan, no one could possibly survive in the security department.
After retching for a long time, Feng Quan finally managed to spit out all the foul water used for washing shoes.
"You! Do you have any fucking idea who I am?"
"No idea," Chen Nuo replied. "I just really didn't like the look of you."
Feng Quan rolled up his sleeves and stood up. "You little punk! I was caught off guard just now and you managed to pull a fast one on me. Let's see if I don't fucking finish you now!"
Zhao Dahai tried to persuade him, "Captain Feng, why don't you just let it go? Getting into a fight where people can see will hurt the company's image."
Feng Quan was in no state to care about such things. People had always bowed and scraped to him; never once had anyone dared to treat him like this. Since this punk had a death wish, he didn't mind teaching him a lesson and making this wet-behind-the-ears kid pay his tuition!
Zhao Dahai and Li Sheng closed their eyes. Aside from his familial ties to the security department manager, Feng Quan had secured the position of security captain because he used to be a sanda coach. Even though he no longer coached, the foundation was still there.
Once, a security guard had tried to spar with Feng Quan, and the result was three broken ribs.
رغم that Feng Quan was now as fat as a stout black bear, when it came down to a real fight, no one dared to face him one-on-one.
After all, that bulky physique alone was intimidating enough.
Chen Nuo casually crooked a finger at Feng Quan. At that moment, Feng Quan lunged forward like a rabid dog.
Yet waiting for him was a straightforward, unadorned punch.
The blow looked effortless, yet it carried immense force. Feng Quan's face—already comparable to a pig's head—caved in under the punch, and several blood-stained teeth went flying.
Lying on the ground, Feng Quan vomited mouthfuls of blood, his screams sounding like a stuck pig about to be slaughtered.
"You! My brother-in-law is the security manager! You hit me, and he won't let you off the hook!" Feng Quan glared at Chen Nuo with ferocious eyes.
Instead, Chen Nuo looked at Li Sheng. "Uncle Li, would you like to try giving him a couple of kicks to vent your anger?"
Li Sheng hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, I'll pass."
Feng Quan sneered. "That piece of shit dares to touch me, so his job is gone. And when that happens, his daughter will kick the bucket too. I'll give him a hundred guts, and he still wouldn't dare lay a finger on me."
Chen Nuo walked over to Li Sheng and handed him a bank card. "There are two hundred thousand in here. Take it to pay for your daughter's medical treatment. I imagine even if your daughter is unconscious, she wouldn't want to see her father being bullied."
Prompted by Chen Nuo's words, the grievance that had long been buried deep in his heart suddenly erupted.
Over the past few years, he had been treated like a servant by Feng Quan—summoned at a whim, dismissed at will, taking beatings and absorbing insults without ever daring to talk back. If not for the young man before him, he probably would have lost his dignity as a man for the rest of his life.
Gritting his teeth, Li Sheng made up his mind and stepped up to Feng Quan.
Feng Quan's expression shifted from disdain to terror. Li Sheng picked up a nearby leather shoe and lashed it fiercely across Feng Quan's fat face. The originally greasy and smooth face was beaten raw and red by the hard leather shoe, leaving a clear imprint on his cheek.
"Li Sheng! Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you believe me when I say I'll find people to finish off you and your daughter? I'll send the two of you to meet in hell!" Feng Quan threatened viciously.
Having awakened his manhood and dignity, Li Sheng picked up a brick from the side and smashed it directly onto Feng Quan's head.
"I am out of my mind! But this is all forced by you! I just wanted to do an honest day's work, but you insisted on bullying me!"
"We're all ordinary people! Why do you have to make things difficult for ordinary people?!"
"Do you think everyone makes money as easily as you?!"
Li Sheng delivered three sentences in succession, and three consecutive bricks shattered against Feng Quan's head.
Dizzy and disoriented from the blows, Feng Quan's tone instantly turned groveling and subservient.
"Stop hitting me... I was wrong... I was truly wrong, spare me."
Beaten dizzy and reeling, Feng Quan now realized that if this kept up, he really might die!
The wrath of an honest man was simply more than he could bear.
Scrambling and crawling in a panic, Feng Quan bolted into the building, blood spurting from all over his body. Even so, he managed to run, leaving Chen Nuo to admire the kid's impressive resilience to physical punishment.
An ordinary person would have been crippled or killed by a kick from him. Although Feng Quan hadn't taken the full force of that kick, the fact that he could still get up was quite something.
Chen Nuo helped Li Sheng up. "Your daughter will definitely be proud to have a father like you."
Tears streaming down his face, Li Sheng slowly took off his security uniform. "Kid, I've dragged you down and cost you your job."
Li Sheng knew very well that having offended Feng Quan and beaten him up as well, staying on at Cornucopia Company was completely out of the question.
Chen Nuo said softly, "I don't even take a Feng Quan seriously. Uncle Li, don't worry—as long as I'm here, no one can fire you."
Believing that Chen Nuo was just joking with him, Li Sheng only said, "My boy, stop making fun of your uncle. Feng Quan rules the security department with an iron fist. The two of us have crossed him now; if we don't run fast enough, we'll be carried out of here on stretchers today."
Zhao Dahai chimed in, "That's right. That punk Feng Quan can summon a whole crowd in the security department. If the two of you don't run now, you'll easily end up being beaten by a mob."
As an old hand within Cornucopia Group, Zhao Dahai had witnessed Feng Quan abuse his power more than once. Whenever things didn't go his way, he would string up and beat anyone who crossed him. Up to now, no one in the security department dared to show open defiance; even if they held grudges, none dared to voice them out loud.
Pulling at Chen Nuo, Li Sheng urged anxiously, "Child, let's hurry and go. If we don't leave now, it really will be too late."
"Go?! Want to run now? When I gave you the chance earlier, you were useless. Old man Li, I never expected you to have the guts to lead a riot. Looks like you're truly tired of living!"
A man dressed in a tailored suit walked straight toward them, a cigarette dangling from his lips, followed by the bruised and battered Feng Quan and nearly twenty others.
Zhao Dahai whispered, "This guy is Feng Quan's brother-in-law, Wu Bing, the manager of the security department."
Exhaling a thin puff of smoke, Wu Bing looked at Chen Nuo. "You're the new guy, right? Looks like you really don't know the rules. Fine then, let me teach you how the word 'rules' is written!"
"Stop right there! Let's see who dares to act wild!"