Chapter 604Misfire
Who would have thought that Chen Rong was not in favor of such a beneficial plan to her! Lei Zhen did not know if she was genuinely appalled at it or she was just putting on an act to seem innocent.
Not to mention that his trusty associates were wholly convinced that Lei Zhen’s plan was foolproof. It caught them off-guard when Chen Rong rejected the offer. In their eyes, Rose was just a respectable figure and nothing more. But Lei Zhen on the other hand, was the real reason they were in the positions they held now. If there was a change in the president’s occupancy, their roles would be reshuffled and they would be replaced by other people. There was a chance that they would obtain positions which were worse off than before. It was a devastating thought for most.
Unfortunately what Lei Zhen and his associates failed to comprehend was that Chen Rong, present at the West Union Society banquet dinner back then, did not fear the chairwoman Rose. Her real fears were directed at Yang Chen!
Yang Chen had been her brother Chen Bo’s friend, and subsequently Rose’s lover. It was not long before Chen Rong felt firsthand the domineering presence of Yang Chen before her!
She would never forget about that night at the banquet, when Yang Chen single-handedly spilt the blood of fourteen huge, armed men on his own!
It was obvious that an incident of that magnitude was not capable by any human being. It was then when Yang Chen really struck deep in Chen Rong’s mind. Even till this day she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night drenched in cold sweat, terrified of the things she saw. Needless to say, she was traumatized beyond repair.
The things Yang Chen did in the shadows of the Red Thorns Society was known only to a small handful of people. His unofficial participation in the society kept people like Lei Zhen in the dark about certain matters.
In Chen Rong’s eyes, Yang Chen was like a big brother to her, always calm and caring on the outside. But deep down inside her, she had an indescribable fear towards him.
Chen Rong was a young girl with a brilliant mind, which was expected of Rose’s successor. Chen Rong knew from the beginning that Rose only entrusted most of her powers to her because she had nothing to worry about when Yang Chen was there to back her up from the shadows.
At this moment, this foolish man Lei Zhen, with his bunch of poorly armed misfits actually wanted to threaten Rose to yield power to him. What’s worse, he thought he could actually use this opportunity to rise up in the ranks?!
The chain of events was driving Chen Rong crazy. However, she knew for a fact that it was impossible to explain to Lei Zhen in such a short time, so her last resort was to draw the line as quick as possible.
After all it was crystal clear to her that, if she put up an act of true and unwavering loyalty, she was and always would be the first in line to succeed Rose. And given how Rose rarely involved herself in internal affairs, it was her that was wielding much of the actual authority.
Even though it might be a little disappointing to not obtain the position of president anytime soon, she was not going to risk her life for a position!
Lei Zhen’s expression went dull. He cocked his head back and started to drawl. “Since Miss Chen has chosen to be so modest then let me be the one to fill in for her. For the prosperity and goodwill of Red Thorns Society’s future, it is high time for a change in management. President Situ, I appreciate your care and consideration after all these years. If you would allow me, I would like to bid you your final farewell.”
Whilst speaking, Lei Zhen cocked the gun and aimed the barrel right at Rose’s head, ready to fire.
At that moment, Old Li who was previously panicking went blank, unable to process what was going on. Chen Rong was as pale as a ghost while the guys backing Lei Zhen up, however, were excited about the future prospects of the society. As for Rose, she was completely indifferent as if it was just another day for her.
“Hey, Mr Lei, the weather has been quite dry for the past few days. A misfire from the gun happens quite often at a time like this one. If I were you, I wouldn’t pull the trigger.”
Yang Chen who was quietly observing on the sidelines finally decided to chip in. He grabbed some of the cheap serviettes from Old Li’s stall front and wiped the grease of his hands.
From the start, Yang Chen seemed as though he was just a random stranger. Lei Zhen was not bothered by his presence as a result.
While the elites around Rose would recognise Yang Chen, the management heads like Lei Zhen wouldn’t have a deep impression about him, even if they had seen him before.
Lei Zhen frowned. “Who are you again?”
In a high-intensity scenario like this, any random person would be quivering where they stood. But for this man to remain calm and collected would mean that he possessed abilities beyond that of Lei Zhen. But that was just Lei Zhen’s initial assumption.
“Don’t misunderstand my position here. I’m just Rose’s man. I’m not anyone of importance.” Yang Chen casually responded while smirking a little. “I’m just trying to help you by telling you that your gun is a little old. If it really did fire accidentally you might injure yourself in the process of firing it. Why don’t you put the gun down and we can go back to discussing this like civilized people.”
Lei Zhen couldn’t help but break into laughter as he scorned Yang Chen in his mind. “Oh I remember now, the president does have a guy named Yang. I heard you possessed some unique skills and that you were bold and brave. But it would seem like the rumors weren’t true in this case. You are nothing more than a coward and a fraud. Misfire? You kidding right? This pistol has been with me for more than ten years now. It has become part of my being. Are you mocking my intelligence?”
Yang Chen seemed frustrated as he frowned and replied, “Why won’t you believe me? From my years of experience, I can honestly tell you that your gun really has some problems.”
“You’re the one that has problems!” Lei Zhen swung his gun over to Yang Chen, and aimed right at his forehead. “Since you seem so sure about the accidental fire, I’ll show you how your brains get fired first!”
At this moment, Chen Rong who was shaking with anxiety gave up on trying to save Lei Zhen. She took one look at him and all she saw was a dead man walking.
Lei Zhen felt like he was being made fun of by Yang Chen. So he couldn’t care less but to pull the trigger!
Bang!!!
The sound of gunfire echoed through the entire street. Chaos and panic ensued.
In the meantime, Lei Zhen’s trusty associates behind him were left confused at the scene. They realized that their boss’ marksmanship was not as great as he played it up to be. Because the plodding kid Yang Chen, was still alive and standing right where he was.
What happened next left them all dumbfounded!
Lei Zhen who was standing with his back facing them suddenly went weak as the gun slipped through his fingers. His body soon followed as he crumpled onto the ground.
Thud!
Amidst the sand and dust, Lei Zhen’s body was found collapsed on the ground like a lifeless puppet!
“Boss!!!”
“Big Brother?!”
Lei Zhen’s associates yelled and screamed in panic, unable to comprehend what had happened in that split second.
Curious as to what had caused such an event, they knelt down to take a closer look at his body. They were horrified at what they saw. At the centre of his forehead, there was a crater the size of a bullet. Blood was streaming out from the hole like a broken faucet. It soon enveloped half his face as there was no one willing to touch or cover the hole.
Both of his eyes were wide open, seemingly staggered by his own premature death.
Unfazed, Yang Chen let out a yawn in front of the commotion. Uninterested with what had happened, he replied, “Didn’t I tell you that your gun was old and would lead to a misfire? See, now the bullet had backfired into your own head. I was only trying to be nice, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
Everyone present minus Rose who was mildly surprised, were staring at Yang Chen in shock. It was as if they were in the presence of the devil himself!
A misfire? Only an idiot would believe that.
When everyone finally got a grasp of the situation, they realized that in the split second the shot was fired, Yang Chen had pulled an unfathomable trick by repelling the bullet backwards. This caused the bullet to head straight for Lei Zhen’s brains!
It happened so quickly that the human eye was not able to capture it. In other words, this man Yang Chen was not human!
When mankind encounters a presence that they cannot comprehend, they become extremely prone to genuine, indescribable fear.
Everyone present was petrified by Yang Chen. A presence so terrifying that their legs went soft despite the constant pounding in their heads telling them to run. Avenging Lei Zhen was the last thing on any of their minds!
Rose at this point was rather accepting of Yang Chen’s capabilities. She was the first to recover from the shock. She then proceeded to taunt the other members of the gang. “Pull yourselves together. Your boss is now dead, which leaves the rest of you with two options: First, those still loyal to him can accompany him six feet under. Second, swear your loyalty to the Red Thorns Society, and I will assign a new head to all of you.”
There was really only one viable option for the lot of them. Only a madman would swear loyalty to the dead!
The entire gang of Lei Zhen’s trusty associates uniformly went down to the ground, kneeling and weeping while exposing Lei Zhen’s ‘heinous acts’. They started spewing nonsense about how they were all blackmailed by into doing his dirty work. How none of it was done on their own volition. How much they admired and respected Rose as their leader.
The previously jovial group of men all suddenly became emotional as they wailed and whimpered away.
Rose, annoyed by their pathetic acts, raised her hand to stop them. “Take Lei Zhen’s body away. He’s blocking my way.”
Upon hearing Rose’s pardon, the group of men let out a collective sigh of relief as if having been spared from death. They quickly dragged Lei Zhen’s corpse like it was a gunny sack and vanished into the horizon.
Before they scurried away they each gave a quick glance back at Yang Chen, wary of the possibility that they would be shot in the back.
The closest thing this little rebellion could be compared to was a soap opera. Yang Chen as the highlight of the event seemed to be rather unfazed by everything that had just happened before him.
Chen Rong stood not too far away from them, her frail body trembling from the more recent events. She didn’t dare to speak a single word nor look Rose in the eyes. After all, she knew for a fact that Rose had more than a piece of her mind to give to her.
As expected Rose remained silent for a little before she ordered. “Come over here.”
Chen Rong obediently moved behind Rose where she stood. How could she afford to disobey after witnessing such an act?
Slap!
A loud slap went straight to Chen Rong’s cheeks, to the extent that her entire torso swayed left to right losing all sense of balance. The burning after-sensation left her cheeks with a flaming red hand print!
A glow could be seen in Chen Rong’s eyes as an aftermath of the slap. It was from her reminiscing about her past with Rose. Ever since they met, Rose had always provided additional care and affection towards her much like an elder sibling would to their younger sibling. It was the first time Rose had slapped her without restraint.