At the curb, inside a red sedan, a wide-eyed beauty glared at Su Tianyu.
"What are you even saying? Are you out of your mind?"
"Check the mirror," Su said evenly.
She turned—and went white. Lu Feng and a pack of seven or eight men were sprinting toward them, each clutching a weapon improvised from pipes and scrap iron.
"Box them in!" one shouted.
The woman wasn't stupid. Bloodied shirts, iron rods—this was no bluff. She gripped the wheel, slammed the accelerator, and the tires screamed against the curb as the car shot forward.
Lu Feng's crew gave chase, howling like mad dogs. Before the sedan could pick up real speed, they were already swinging at the rear windshield.
"Stop!"
"Get out, you bastard—I'll kill you!"
The shouts blended with the thudding of metal. The glass cracked in a spiderweb, shards flying into the back seat. A brand-new Winnie-the-Pooh plush was pierced clean through the head by two trash forks, cotton bursting like snow.
"Faster—go!" Su urged, eyes darting to the side mirror.
Most people would have panicked. Not her. Her hands stayed firm on the wheel; she jerked into a sharp lane change, cut between two trucks, and gunned it.
A few turns later, she hissed, "They're gone."
Su checked again—no tail. He finally exhaled. "Pull over ahead."
"Pull over?!" she snapped. "I was just parked here, minding my business, and you jumped in—dragging a gang onto my car—"
"Less talk. Pull over. Now."
"You think you can order me around?" she shot back.
"You want me to get out while we're moving?" Su reached toward his waist as if for something.
She didn't know who he was—but the look in his eyes was enough. Jaw tight, she braked hard and coasted to the curb.
Su got out, pulled a few bills from his wallet, and tossed them onto the passenger seat. His voice was low, cold. "Name's Lu Feng, Zhanan District. You call the cops, I'll find you. And I'll carve you up."
She stared at him, furious but silent.
Su melted into the street's crowd and was gone. The woman stumbled out of the car, stared at the destroyed plush toy and smashed rear glass, hands trembling.
Her phone chimed.
"Qiqi, where are you? I'm out front but don't see you."
"Don't even ask," she growled. "Some psycho calling himself Lu Feng jumped in my car—used me as a getaway driver!"
Twenty minutes later, patrol units from the Police Directorate arrived. Sirens off, lights flashing, they pushed both sides apart and sealed the area.
A supervising officer took one look around and muttered to the depot manager, "You can expand your yard, but don't make it a circus. If this turns messy, I can't cover for you. Understand?"
"They stormed our site and smashed our property!" the manager shouted.
The officer gave him a dry look. "And since when is the Sanitation Office's feud just a brawl?"
The man had no answer.
"How many workers do the four sanitation companies employ?" the officer asked. "We'll investigate, but don't make this balloon into something bigger. If people stop collecting trash, the city chokes. Nobody upstairs wants that."
Message delivered: stability first.
Su caught a cab back to the Su compound. As he stepped through the gates, Tiannan, Tianbei, and his sister hurried over.
"Are you okay?" Tiannan asked.
"Lu Feng's insane. Chased me half a block," Su said lightly. "I ran long enough to shake them. Could've been worse."
"Good. You're safe," his sister breathed.
Tiannan's shoulders eased. "That 'self-defense' stunt—risky but necessary. After this, Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong are stuck together tighter than ever."
"Exactly," Su nodded. "Call them all. We need a plan."
"I'm on it." Tiannan was already dialing.
Still bandaged, Tianbei limped over and jabbed at Su's side with a grin. "Not bad, little bro. School makes you mean."
Su adjusted his glasses. "Anyone lays a hand on my second brother—I'll take their ear."
"Didn't spoil you for nothing," Tianbei laughed, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "When I'm healed, we'll test that out."
"Enough," their sister cut in. "Inside. Talk."
They filed into the living room as Tiannan began calling the other three families' heads.
Meanwhile, in a back-alley clinic, Bai Hongbo sat grimacing while a nurse disinfected his cuts. His cousins paced and cursed around him. A bookish man by temperament, Bai had regretted the fight the instant it ended. His father was still locked up—and Lu Feng's viciousness had left a mark he couldn't shake.
After a long silence, Bai snapped open his folding phone and called Lu Feng.
Lu answered.
"Mr. Lu, this is Bai Hongbo. About what happened today—I wanted to explain—"
"Fuck you, Bai," Lu said flatly.
"Hey—no need for that—"
"You four want to play alliance? Great. Pack your bags, pick a crematorium. I'll make sure you and your old man get in together before month's end."
Click.
Bai stared at the phone for a beat, then looked up at his cousins. "You heard him. No more talking. From this minute on, we stand with the other three—and we hit back. Self-defense all the way."
At Zhanan Hospital, Lu Feng dropped a torn ear onto a metal tray and told the surgeon coldly, "Sew it."
By dusk, Bai Hongbo, Liu Lao'er, and Kong Zhenghui gathered again at the Su residence.
"Our four companies are idle," Tiannan said. "The Management Council's losing its nerve."
"Then we stop waiting," Kong said. "We move. Tonight."