Chapter 3: Settled with a Single Slap

9:30 a.m.

Cao Kun, carrying a black backpack, boarded the high-speed train bound for Baihe City.

Perhaps because it was summer vacation and many students were traveling, the carriage was nearly full with hardly any empty seats.

Soon, Cao Kun found his seat.

It was a row of three seats, and his was the window seat at the far end.

However, a scruffy, somewhat fierce-looking middle-aged man was sitting in his spot.

The man was watching videos on his phone while casually cracking sunflower seeds, one foot resting on the adjacent seat.

He practically wore the word “rude” on his face.

At the outermost seat of the row sat a girl in a short skirt.

It was clear that she felt uneasy and timid, likely because of the uncouth passenger next to her.

Cao Kun approached the middle-aged man with a smile.

“Brother, I think you’re sitting in my seat.”

He felt he had been clear and polite.

But the man barely glanced at him before returning his attention to the phone, spitting out sunflower seed shells carelessly.

He ignored him completely.

Embarrassed, Cao Kun smiled awkwardly and repeated louder, “Brother, that’s my seat. Please move.”

His raised voice immediately drew the attention of nearby passengers, who sensed trouble and looked on expectantly.

The girl in the short skirt opened her mouth as if to intervene, but ultimately stayed silent.

The man, clearly annoyed, frowned and put down his phone.

“What are you yelling about? This is my seat now—you don’t see me sitting here? Are you blind?”

His words caused even more people to turn their heads.

The girl nervously tugged at Cao Kun’s sleeve, silently warning him not to pick a fight.

No matter how you looked at it, this man was not someone to provoke.

There was no need to escalate things.

But hearing this, Cao Kun suddenly laughed.

Damn!

It had been a long time since anyone dared speak to him like that.

If his old prison mates heard this, they’d laugh at him forever.

After all, the formidable Scar Brother being intimidated by some nobody was laughable.

Seeing Cao Kun’s smile deepen, the man thought he had backed down, rolling his eyes disdainfully before picking up his phone again.

Just as he was about to resume cracking seeds and watching videos, a powerful hand suddenly slapped him across the face.

Caught off guard, the man was sent sprawling backward, his head striking the train carriage with a heavy thud.

The slap left his face red and swollen, five clear finger marks raised with the prints almost etched into his skin.

His lip was split, blood dripping down.

He instinctively covered his face and looked at Cao Kun.

Their eyes met.

In that instant, the man felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss; his blood ran cold.

What kind of gaze was that?

It was filled with murderous intent, saturated with bloodlust and violence.

He couldn’t imagine what horrors someone with such eyes had endured.

In a split second, his mind made a decision.

He would submit.

He had to submit.

Because this man would truly kill him otherwise.

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