Patton's provocation

Soon, a dozen armed thugs came looking for us.

"These two are dead. Take their bodies back to the supervisor for verification," Wrench ordered the thugs to remove the bodies, then glared at me angrily before walking away.

"Hey, wait for me, don't leave me behind! I'm scared," I shouted as I hurried to catch up with him, babbling nonstop.

He ignored me, just kept walking.

"Stop babbling, or I'll sew your mouth shut," Wrench finally snapped, turning to shout at me.

"Hehe, I just didn't want you to feel lonely," I said with a shameless grin.

"I…"

He was so angry he couldn't speak and just kept walking.

I followed behind him, constantly saying nice things, like a kid trying to make up for a mistake and seeking forgiveness from a parent.

It wasn't that he was cruel or petty. In the KK camp, one wrong move could lead to a gruesome death and even drag down those close to you.

I didn't know why Yan Yun posed as a member of the Peng family to attack Boss Cai, but letting him go was a grave mistake. If Liu Eleven found out, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Wrench decisively killed the local man and the third auction woman to make sure there were no witnesses. With Boss Cai alive, the incident could be framed as a personal matter between them, unrelated to the camp. This way, my action of letting Yan Yun go would go unnoticed and eventually be forgotten.

I followed the furious Wrench out of the forest to the mountain path, where Eight-One and Abu arrived in a car.

Wrench made Eight-One get out of the passenger seat and took his place. 

Eight-One, seeing Wrench's stern face, silently climbed into the back seat. I bet if he had been driving, I would've been left behind to run back to the camp. But then I dismissed the thought—Wrench could've just kicked Abu out instead. So I was judging him unfairly. I deserved a slap for that.

"What happened?" Abu asked, noticing Wrench's intense demeanor.

"I made him mad," I said with a sigh, closing the car door.

Abu, thinking he understood, said, "Oh… got it! No need to explain!"

"You understand nothing! Just drive. I'm starving," I snapped at him while glancing at Wrench's angry face in the rearview mirror. Truth be told, I was a bit scared of him. He was decisive, efficient, and never hesitated, unlike me, who sometimes acted impulsively.

"Bro, what's going on? I'm scared…" Eight-One whispered to me.

"Your big brother is mad at me. Don't ask, or you'll get hit. I'll handle it."

"Alright, then I won't get involved. If a fight breaks out, I'll just call Second Brother to watch."

"… You're adorable, Eight-One."

I was also worried. If Yan Yun was an imposter, I could've put Wrench in serious danger.

I sneaked a glance at Wrench, who was resting with his eyes closed, his face calm, showing no emotions. I closed my eyes too, lost in thought.

Half an hour later, the car drove into the KK camp.

"Boss, should we get out here?" Abu asked, stopping at the medium-level dining hall.

"I'm full, going back to the dorm. You two get out," Wrench said coldly, meaning me and Eight-One.

"Actually, I'm still hungry. I'm not getting out," I said shamelessly.

Eight-One chimed in, "Bro, you just said you were starving…"

"Eight-One! Get out!" I kicked him out of the car before he could finish.

"I'm suddenly hungry too," Wrench said, getting out of the car.

"Me too," I quickly jumped out.

Abu, left in the car, looked bewildered.

"Eight-One, keep quiet, or I'll smack you," I said, pulling him up and leading him to the dining hall.

"What's going on, bro?" he asked.

"Don't ask. This isn't the place to talk."

Inside, the mid-level managers were eating, and I saw a familiar arrogant figure—Paton.

He was hogging a table with ten dishes. Such wastefulness was infuriating.

With no other seats available, the three of us took our meals and walked to his table.

"Is this your seat?" Paton asked disdainfully.

"No seats left, we'll make do," Wrench said, placing his tray on the table.

Before he could sit down, Paton knocked the tray to the ground, spilling the food everywhere, and splashing soup all over Wrench.

"Oops, my hand slipped. Here, have some tonic soup. It'll make you strong," Paton said mockingly.

Seeing the commotion, others looked over and whispered among themselves. Everyone knew Liu Eleven had three tough guys: Mao Dinglun, Paton, and Wrench. Usually, people avoided them. Now, with Mao Dinglun in the hospital because of me, Paton was clearly looking for a fight.

Before Wrench could respond, I deliberately sneezed loudly, spraying the table with spit. "Sorry, I have a cold. I'll treat you to lunch as an apology."

I pretended to wipe my nose with my sleeve, ruining his dishes.

"Chinese, you're dead!" Paton shouted, throwing a bowl of soup at me.

The bowl flew past me and hit a woman behind me, shattering on the floor.

"Ah!" she screamed, scalded by the soup.

"Paton, gentlemen use words, not fists. How could you hit a woman?" I said calmly, standing next to him and wiping the splashed soup off my clothes.

Wrench stood up, looking serious. "Don't mess around, apologize to Paton. He lost his tonic soup and might have trouble performing tonight."

Eight-One, ever the joker, yelled, "Big guy not working? Just take Viagra!"