This man was named Zhao Jun, and he was the eldest son of the now-ruined Zhao Family.
For years, he had lived abroad, leading a fiercely formidable mercenary squad.
The squad was called the Desert Wolves, and they ranked in the top fifty globally among international mercenary groups!
The fifty men Zhao Jun brought with him hailed from all over the world.
Every single one of them was a ruthless killer who blinked at nothing.
On the battlefield, the enemies who had died beneath their guns were too numerous to count!
As for Zhao Jun himself, he was a moderately renowned King of Soldiers!
A few days ago, upon learning the news that his family had been wiped out, he was consumed by grief and rage!
Concluding an operation, he immediately brought his mercenary squad back to Long Country.
He intended to kill Ye Chen to avenge his entire family!
He wanted the whole of Jiangbei to feel his fury!
"Hehe, don't mind if I do!"
"Little girl, ugly as you are, you're all the same with a mask on. We aren't picky!"
A group of men immediately stepped forward, grinning malevolently at Lin Ruoyi, their mouths practically watering.
"You two big black fellows, hold her down for me!"
"Let me have my fun first, then you can have your turn!"
"Little girl, you can scream all you want now. I just love the sound!"
A burly, tiger-backed man sneered as he ripped the gag from Lin Ruoyi's mouth.
He reached for his belt, his lust burning hot!
The two chimpanzee-like thugs grinned stupidly and stepped forward to make their move.
"You bastards!"
"I'll die before I let you defile me!"
With her hands and feet bound, Lin Ruoyi wriggled with all her might.
Yet she had nowhere to run.
In her despair, she resolved to bite her tongue and end her life!
Right at that moment.
Swoosh!
A tiny pebble tore through the air.
It pierced straight through the center of the belt-releasing man's forehead!
The small pebble struck the brick wall behind him, leaving a neat hole in it!
Such force rivaled that of a bullet!
The man's pupils dilated instantly. Stunned for a second, he fell backward and collapsed.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Then came two more pebbles tearing through the air!
They pierced the temples of the two big thugs!
Before the two thugs could make any reaction, they died instantly!
"That brat is here!"
"Take defensive positions immediately!"
The man in the sunglasses shouted at the top of his lungs.
At that moment, a terrifying killing intent swept in, kicking up dust from the ground!
Amidst the haze of dust and smoke, a figure flashed past at lightning speed.
Ye Chen appeared in a flash, scooped up Lin Ruoyi from the ground, and vanished into the distance just as quickly.
So fast was his speed that the fifty top mercenaries present couldn't react at all!
Lin Ruoyi, who had been on the verge of seeking death, suddenly felt a familiar embrace and scent. She was both shocked and overjoyed!
It was Brother Ye Chen!
"Don't be afraid, Ruoyi, I'm here."
Ye Chen comforted her softly.
Flashing into the distance, he finally came to a halt.
The terrifyingly harrowing killing intent from a moment ago vanished completely the instant he faced this young woman.
Or rather, his killing intent was something only his enemies would ever feel!
"Brother Ye Chen, it's you!"
"How did you get here? Sob, sob..."
"Let's run quickly, they have guns!"
Tears of joy streamed down Lin Ruoyi's face as she wept!
Yet she knew clearly that this was no time for moving tears and emotional outbursts.
They had to get out of this dangerous place fast!
Because the enemy had guns!
In the mind of an ordinary person like her, a gun was a terrifyingly lethal weapon!
Little did she know that the man standing before her was completely immune to gunfire!
"It's fine, I'm not afraid."
"I'm going to make sure not a single one of these men leaves alive!"
A calm smile played at the corners of Ye Chen's lips.
The northern suburbs were vast, and it took him quite a while to track down this abandoned factory, which was why he had arrived a little late.
Seeing that Ruoyi was safe, the stone in his heart finally dropped.
Now, it was time to make the people behind him pay the price they deserved!
"Ye-surnamed brat, this young master thought you didn't have the guts to show up!"
"You slaughtered all of my Zhao Family, and I'm going to use your head as a sacrifice and hack you into a thousand pieces!"
"Everyone, open fire and blast him to death!"
Seeing Ye Chen, Zhao Jun's fury instantly flared to the heavens.
He gave a ferocious order on the spot.
Chapter 28: The Young Master of the Zhao Family and the Mercenaries
Zhao Jun raised his gun and aimed straight at Ye Chen's head.
The surrounding mercenaries also raised their weapons at that exact moment, training their sights on Ye Chen.
They pulled their triggers simultaneously!
Bang!
A synchronized volley of gunfire rang out.
"Brother Ye Chen, watch out!"
Lin Ruoyi's face drained of color in an instant as she let out a cry of alarm!
When the dozens of men opposite them raised their guns, she had felt certain she was already dead!
Yet in that very moment of life and death, the first thing on her mind was still Ye Chen!
She even wanted to throw herself forward, using her frail body to shield Ye Chen from harm.
"Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."
Ye Chen's expression remained completely unperturbed.
He held Ruoyi tightly, enveloping her tiny frame entirely within his embrace!
Leaving his own back exposed to the enemy!
A barrage of bullets rained down.
Zhao Jun and his squad of mercenaries wore expressions full of utter disdain and mockery.
No one could survive under their gunfire.
This brat was about to be riddled with holes!
He was a dead man!
Yet the moment all those bullets struck Ye Chen's back, it was as if they had hit a body of solid steel!
No, the bullets couldn't even touch Ye Chen's skin!
Because he was protected by his true qi.
The bullet heads impacted the invisible barrier of true qi.
Either they bounced off and ricocheted elsewhere,
or they crumpled like flattened flowers, dropping harmlessly to Ye Chen's feet.
Zhao Jun and his men were left absolutely dumbfounded!
Was this brat's body made of solid copper and iron?!
Why couldn't the bullets pierce through?!
This!
Was this damn thing even human?!
The most shocked of all, naturally, were the foreigners who knew nothing of mysterious Eastern arts.
In their minds, Ye Chen must possess some sort of superpower!
Paralyzed by sheer disbelief, Zhao Jun and his crew stood rooted to the spot like wooden chickens.
The scene before their eyes had shocked them for a lifetime, and they needed a moment to gather their wits.
They had to convince themselves that what their eyes were seeing was real!
Lin Ruoyi kept her eyes tightly shut, her body curled up inside Ye Chen's embrace.
She didn't dare open them, assuming she must already be dead.
"Ruoyi, open your eyes and look at me."
"It's alright, you're still alive."
Ye Chen said with a smile.
"Huh?"
Lin Ruoyi slowly opened her eyes.
She saw that familiar, handsome face.
Confusion washed over her. What was going on?
She was still alive?
The warmth of his embrace assured her that she was indeed still alive!
"Hide behind that pillar over there and don't poke your head out."
"Now, I'm going to go take care of some small fry."
Ye Chen said softly.
With that, he stood up.
In the distance, Zhao Jun and his men, who had just recovered from their daze, were startled all over again!
This guy actually stood back up!
Was he human or a ghost?!
Ye Chen placed Ruoyi behind a concrete pillar.
To prevent any stray bullets from hurting her later.
"No matter what sounds you hear, don't stick your head out."
Ye Chen instructed once more.
He didn't want Ruoyi to be in danger, nor did he want her to witness terrifying sights that might leave psychological scars.
Having said that, he turned and walked toward the group ahead.
"H-he's coming over!"
A mercenary said with a trembling voice.
"Damn your mother!"
"I refuse to believe you're truly invulnerable to blades and bullets!"
"Open fire on him! Shoot him dead!"
Zhao Jun roared furiously.
He raised the gun in his hand, took aim at Ye Chen, and squeezed the trigger without letting go.
Rat-tat-tat!
The other mercenary members raised their weapons and fired as well!
Some even swapped to heavier firepower, bringing out heavy sniper rifles and rocket launchers.
For a moment, the sounds of gunfire and explosions blended into one continuous roar.
The mercenaries concentrated their firepower on Ye Chen.
They simply refused to believe that brat could survive such intense firepower!
Unless that brat wasn't human!
However, Ye Chen's figure flickered and vanished right from the spot.
The next second, he appeared right beside a female sniper.
The foreign woman had blonde hair and blue eyes, wore ultra-short leather clothes and pants, and possessed an extremely provocative figure—the type that would make any man's heart race.
Yet Ye Chen didn't even blink as he delivered a palm strike to the top of her skull.
Before the woman could put up any resistance, she dropped dead on the spot.
Ye Chen plucked a dagger from the woman's thigh and vanished in a flash to attack the next target.
Amidst the gunfire, one could only see mercenaries collapsing one after another.
Yet Ye Chen's actual figure was too fast to track!
"Keep firing!"
"Shoot him to death!"
Zhao Jun screamed in terrified frenzy.
He raised his gun and fired wildly at any dark shadow that flickered past.
He didn't even care if he hit his own comrades.
The other mercenaries were thoroughly panicked too.
Raising their guns, they fired blindly in every direction.
The roar of gunfire echoed throughout the entire old factory!
In the distance, Lin Ruoyi covered her ears in terror behind her pillar.
She didn't dare peek out because bullets kept whistling past her side!
The gunfire filled her with fear and anxiety.
In her heart, she prayed that nothing bad would happen to Brother Ye Chen!
Yet all her worries were completely unnecessary.
The Desert Wolves, a mercenary squad with a minor international reputation, were utterly powerless before Ye Chen!
Ten seconds later, the gunfire began to taper off.
Thirty seconds later, the gunfire had dropped by more than half.
In under a minute, the gunfire became sparse.
Only a few remaining small fry had yet to be cleared out by Ye Chen.
"Damn it, I'll blast you to hell!"
"Come on, you reeking brat!"
Zhao Jun wielded two guns.
Acting completely like a madman.
Ye Chen ignored Zhao Jun, deliberately leaving him for last.
He would deal with the other small fry first, then slowly take his time killing him!
Less than ten seconds later, every single member of the Desert Wolves was wiped out!
This mercenary squad, with their illustrious record abroad and members who were all considered battlefield elites, had not an ounce of counter-attack capability.
They all died at Ye Chen's hands.
Their deaths were swift, each slain by a single fatal blow.
Only Zhao Jun remained, completely isolated and alone!
With a chilling gaze, Ye Chen walked slowly toward Zhao Jun.
"You reeking brat, I'll fight you to the death!"
Screaming with a distorted face, Zhao Jun raised his gun and fired frantically.
The gun barrel grew piping hot, and the magazine emptied completely.
Yet every single bullet landed right in front of Ye Chen.
They could never penetrate that invisible barrier of defense.
Terrified beyond measure, his entire body began to tremble.
The person walking toward him was none other than the God of Death himself!
"Want to take revenge on me?"
"Too bad you don't have what it takes!"
Ye Chen said indifferently.
He had already recognized that the man before him was Zhao Jun of the Zhao Family.
He had known there was a fish that slipped through the net from the Zhao Family, but since he didn't know the man's whereabouts, he hadn't bothered hunting him down.
Now, the escaped fish had voluntarily delivered itself to his doorstep to die, which suited his intentions perfectly!
"Ye-surnamed brat, you wiped out my whole family, and I'll make sure you die a horrific death!"
"Go to hell!"
Abruptly, Zhao Jun pulled a grenade from his waist.
He pulled the pin with his teeth and hurled it toward Ye Chen.
"Brother Ye Chen, look out!"
Hearing the gunfire stop, Lin Ruoyi had poked her head out just in time to see this scene, and she let out a startled cry.
Yet Ye Chen's expression didn't change in the slightest.
He merely raised his hand and gave a light swipe.
The grenade in mid-air was batted away, exploding off to the side.
In the distance, Lin Ruoyi was left dumbfounded at the sight.
Following that, Ye Chen flashed forward and grabbed Zhao Jun by the throat in one swift motion.
"I'll send you off now to reunite with your family!"
Ye Chen slowly increased the pressure in his grip.
He didn't want the man to die instantly; instead, he wanted him to fully experience the terror of approaching death!
"You reeking brat... let me go!"
"If I press this button, your woman will be blown to smithereens!"
Zhao Jun threatened, clutching a remote control in his right hand.
Chapter 29: Could It Be That You're Impotent?
At the sight of the remote control, Ye Chen froze slightly.
He turned his gaze toward Ruoyi in the distance.
Only then did he notice a flashing red light on Ruoyi's body.
It was a micro-bomb no larger than a matchbox!
Though small, its explosive power was more than enough to blow Ruoyi to dust!
"Ruoyi, don't move!"
Ye Chen shouted anxiously.
He feared the bomb might be triggered by accident.
Lin Ruoyi immediately froze in place, not daring to twitch.
Looking down, she finally noticed that the locking ring around her ankle was a micro-bomb.
"Cough, cough... You reeking brat, scared now, are you?!"
"If you don't want your woman to die, let me go this instant!"
"Kneel down before me and beg for your life!"
Zhao Jun laughed triumphantly and savagely.
He gripped the remote control tightly as a threat.
The moment his thumb pressed down, Lin Ruoyi would undoubtedly die!
"You're courting death!"
A cold sneer curved across Ye Chen's lips.
He struck abruptly.
Slash!
Turning his palm into a blade, he severed Zhao Jun's right arm in a fraction of a second.
The hand holding the remote control dropped straight to the ground.
Blood spurted wildly from the severed stump.
Ye Chen moved swiftly to catch the remote control as it fell.
Trying to threaten him with this kind of trick?
Not a chance!
His speed was enough to kill this Zhao fellow a hundred times over!
"Ah! Aah!!"
"My hand!!"
Staring at the severed hand on the ground, Zhao Jun clutched his spurting stump and shrieked in agony!
"Stop barking like a dog in front of me!"
With a solid front kick, Ye Chen sent Zhao Jun flying through the air.
Bang!
He smashed hard against a pillar.
Then Zhao Jun slumped to the ground like a pile of mud.
He was already at his last gasp.
Ye Chen flashed over to Ruoyi's side.
He disarmed the micro-bomb attached to her body.
"Brother Ye Chen... you are so amazing!"
"Sob, that's wonderful, we're both still alive!"
Lin Ruoyi was once again overwhelmed with shock by what she had just witnessed.
So her big hero, Brother Ye Chen, possessed a strength far beyond anything she could imagine!
At that moment, Ye Chen turned into a beam of light in her eyes!
Overwhelmed with emotion, she threw herself into Ye Chen's embrace.
Laughing and crying at the same time, she was like a rain-kissed spring blossom.
"It's all over now, no need to be scared."
"Don't cry, don't cry, or you'll turn into a little crying cat."
Ye Chen comforted her softly.
Holding the remote control in one hand and the bomb in the other, he embraced Ruoyi carefully.
"Mm, I won't cry."
"With Brother Ye Chen here, I'm not afraid of anything."
Lin Ruoyi tried hard to stop her tears, but due to her overwhelming emotions, she simply couldn't halt them.
Four or five minutes passed.
She finally managed to calm her emotions.
"Let's go."
"Close your eyes and hold my hand, don't look at those things on the ground."
Ye Chen said.
He didn't want Ruoyi to be traumatized by the gruesome sight of corpses scattered everywhere.
"Mm."
Lin Ruoyi nodded, clutching Ye Chen's arm tightly as she closed her eyes.
Down by the pillar, the dying Zhao Jun's body twitched incessantly.
He could only watch helplessly as his enemy walked away unscathed.
Ye Chen led Ruoyi to the entrance.
Abruptly, he tossed his hand backward, flinging the micro-bomb right in front of Zhao Jun.
Then he directly pressed the button on the remote control.
Looking at the bomb right before his eyes, Zhao Jun instinctively tried to get up and flee for his life.
Yet his severely injured body refused to budge at all!
Beep!
Beep-beep!
The bomb chimed three times.
With a deafening roar, it exploded.
Just before he was blown to pieces, Zhao Jun caught a fleeting glimpse of his entire family.
At the moment of the explosion, Ye Chen raised a hand to cover Ruoyi's ears, shielding her securely within his embrace.
He couldn't be bothered to look back as he led Ruoyi away.
Half an hour later.
The two returned home to their villa.
"Brother Ye Chen, I'm all sticky and dirty, I'll go take a shower first."
Lin Ruoyi said with a beaming smile.
All the terror she had suffered during the day had completely vanished into thin air.
It left no lasting trauma upon her mind.
Because by her side stood a man who gave her an endless sense of security!
"Go ahead, I'll make dinner."
Ye Chen smiled.
With that, he turned and headed for the kitchen.
He was hungry, and he knew Ruoyi was even hungrier.
Lin Ruoyi emerged after a comfortable shower, clad in a bathrobe.
An enticing aroma immediately greeted her senses.
Ye Chen had already finished making dinner, stir-frying two simple dishes.
"Done washing? Perfect, come eat."
He called out, untying the apron from his waist.
Then he brought the bowls and chopsticks to the dining table.
He played the role of a househusband quite capably and with practiced ease.
Taking this in, Lin Ruoyi felt a wave of deep emotion wash over her.
This man could deal with bad guys to protect her,
yet take such gentle care of her at the same time.
Where on earth could she ever find another good man like this?
The two sat down and finished dinner together.
Afterward, Ye Chen applied the scar-removal ointment for Ruoyi.
Visible to the eye, the scars on Ruoyi's face had faded significantly once more.
In just a few days, the scars would likely disappear almost entirely.
Once the ointment was applied, Ye Chen proceeded to treat Ruoyi's foot as usual.
One more acupuncture session tonight, and Ruoyi's foot would be completely fine.
With the acupuncture completed, he gave her a thorough and earnest massage.
A dozen minutes ticked by.
He really wasn't a foot fetishist; he was simply doing it for treatment!
"Brother Ye Chen, I want you to sleep with me tonight."
"You are not allowed to run off to another room like you did last night!"
Lin Ruoyi gripped Ye Chen's arm tightly, snuggling close into his embrace.
Her tone carried a hint of slight petulance.
"Uh..."
"We should still sleep separately, let's not share a bed."
Ye Chen refused helplessly.
Feeling the soft pressure against his arm, his body quickly began to heat up.
"Why?"
"Brother Ye Chen, are you disgusted with me?"
Lin Ruoyi asked, pouting her lips.
A young woman's thoughts were bound to be somewhat sensitive.
Especially when it came to the person she liked.
"No, how could I ever be disgusted with you."
"I have unspeakable difficulties; because my body is afflicted with the Dragon Blood Poison, I can't afford to have those kinds of thoughts..."
Ye Chen shook his head in immediate denial.
He explained with a helpless tone.
He worried that the Dragon Blood Poison would make him completely lose control and harm Ruoyi.
"Unspeakable difficulties?"
"Brother Ye Chen, could it be that you're impotent?"
Lin Ruoyi asked, knitting her delicate brows together.
Her gaze slowly drifted downward.
She had actually started suspecting that Ye Chen wasn't working properly down there!
"No, no!"
"Ruoyi, you can't just go saying things like that."