"He crushed the basketball?"
"Oh my goodness, how much strength does that take?"
"No, that's not strength, that's miraculous Chinese Kung Fu, this is Chinese Kung Fu."
"What? Chinese Kung Fu is that powerful?!"
"Beat them up, Chinese Kung Fu, use Chinese Kung Fu to beat them up."
"Oh my God, this is too crazy, Chinese Kung Fu will beat those ten people until their butts are blooming."
The crowd, who had been quietly watching and filming, were all shocked when they saw Lin Li crush the basketball. They were like people seeing a giant panda, and those filming with their phones became even more enthusiastic. In their minds, Chinese people were a mysterious nation and race, their mystery stemming from thousands of years of culture and the miraculous Chinese Kung Fu.
In their fantasies, Chinese Kung Fu was always mysterious, powerful, capable of fighting a hundred or even a thousand with ease. Didn't they just see that Chinese man casually crush a basketball? Which of the muscular men present could do that? None. So, Chinese Kung Fu was amazing.
Some onlookers even called the police in fear.
"Hello, police? There's about to be a Chinese Kung Fu beating of ten muscular men here, please come quickly, it's urgent, those ten muscular men will probably be beaten to death."
Lin Li's move not only shocked the onlookers but also Jetts and his team.
Their strength was greater than ordinary people's; all ten of them were burly, intimidating men. Even such strong men as themselves couldn't crush a basketball with just one hand. How much strength would that require? They didn't know, but they knew that no one here could do it, and Lin Li did it with such extreme ease, which was even more terrifying.
"What's going on?"
"Is this Chinese Kung Fu?"
"How is this possible? It's not like we haven't bullied Chinese people before."
"Did we just happen to run into someone who knows Chinese Kung Fu?"
"What? That's too unlucky. Chinese Kung Fu is rumored to be capable of one person fighting a hundred."
"Then… should we run?"
The nine burly men discussed and debated, gradually falling silent. They realized that they seemed to have truly kicked an iron plate. At the very least, this seemingly slender person, whose arm was half the size of theirs, dared to sternly confront them. Coupled with the display of crushing a basketball with his bare hand, no one would believe he didn't have some real skill.
"What do you want?"
Jetts looked at Lin Li with a solemn expression; that move of crushing the ball was too terrifying. He no longer dared to underestimate Lin Li.
Lin Li actually didn't want to gain their apology through a strength that exceeded ordinary people's. That would be more like a forced apology, not one born from respecting every individual's thoughts.
At this moment, perhaps Lin Li could subdue them with force, and they would apologize to him. But if they encountered other Chinese people, they would still insult and bully them, and those other Chinese people wouldn't have Lin Li's power. Thus, they would only be bullied, which was not what Lin Li wanted.
Lin Li, whose mindset had just become peaceful and was integrating into this world, wanted more to transform and influence them. Not in their hearts, as hearts are ever-changing and unpredictable, but at least in their words, respecting everyone would suffice.
Lin Li knew that this kind of thing couldn't be achieved and he wasn't going to try. So, let the bullies receive the punishment they deserved. If you bully others and make them feel humiliated, you also need to experience it.
"I'm not going to beat you up. Beating you up would only make you resentful. Let's have a competition, all ten of you against me. If I win, you bow to me for one minute and apologize."
Lin Li originally wanted to demand that they kneel and kowtow in apology, but for them, who had only committed verbal insults, the punishment would be too severe and might cause them to resent other Chinese people later. Finally, he thought, bowing for one minute, under the gaze of the surrounding crowd, and apologizing in that way—the feeling of shame and humiliation would be enough to offset their verbal insults to him. It wouldn't be too heavy or too light, it would hit their psychological sweet spot, making them feel the consequences of bullying, or perhaps it would provoke their introspection. The next time they wanted to bully someone, they would think twice, as no one likes to experience what others go through.
After all, there was no physical contact, and Lin Li didn't want to casually cause injury or disability.
Most importantly, he was restraining the demon within him, that stirring urge to dominate everything and everyone's life with his superhuman strength.
Respecting every person, every person's thoughts, and every person's life was what he needed to do. Ordinary people needed to do it, and he, with his superpowers, needed to do it even more.
Jetts's expression softened a little. He hadn't expected Lin Li not to fight. After all, in this kind of situation, which felt like fire and water, a decisive victory would usually be achieved through an overwhelming battle. Perhaps it would be their ten people ganging up on Lin Li, achieving an overwhelming victory, or even more likely, Lin Li would achieve an overwhelming victory by delivering a blow to each of them with the fist that crushed the basketball.
Even apologizing was acceptable. In America, an open country, if you make a mistake or say the wrong thing, a sincere apology proving you were wrong would make people think you are a good person, responsible, and capable of admitting fault.
However, bowing for one minute, and in front of so many onlookers, with all those phones recording—it would likely be posted online and commented on. And to apologize to Lin Li, who was much smaller than him, felt a bit humiliating and would leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
From beginning to end, Jetts had never doubted whether Lin Li was truly powerful, whether he could really defeat them, or whether Chinese Kung Fu was truly amazing. Perhaps their ten people could defeat Lin Li, but that was meaningless to him.
There weren't that many idiots in this world who would mindlessly yell a few words and then immediately fight. That was crazy, not normal. That kind of character only appeared as a villain in novels, a villain who gives the protagonist a sense of presence, a brainless villain.
Jetts was quite intelligent, otherwise he wouldn't have immediately stopped the two black men who wanted to beat Lin Li at the beginning. Aside from the initial verbal insults for fun, he remained very calm.
Jetts said, "Okay, I accept your proposal. If we win, I will also sincerely apologize to you, after all, I was the one who spoke disrespectfully first."
Deep down, Jetts was slightly impressed by Lin Li. A person with great power who doesn't abuse it is worthy of admiration. Why only slightly? Because he didn't have a clear understanding of Lin Li's actual power, only of his fearless and stern demand for an apology when facing ten strong men like oxen.
Jetts said, "So, what are we competing in?"
"Arm wrestling."
Lin Li thought for a moment, looking at their arms, each as thick as an ox's and as powerful as a tiger's.
He had to subdue them at their point of greatest pride. Big arms? OK, let's arm wrestle and see who's stronger!