boyutpedia Chapter 631 Zhang Chuan listens to Zhao Ci's words
Chapter 631 Zhang Chuan listens to Zhao Ci's words
The guard on the left swung his fist at Zhang Chuan's face. Zhang Chuan neither dodged nor evaded, but instead grabbed the guard's wrist with his left hand and clenched his right fist, slamming it into the guard's chest with tremendous force. With a dull thud, the guard was struck as if by a heavy hammer; his face turned deathly pale, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest, unable to breathe for a long time.
Seeing this, the guard on the right grabbed a wooden stick from the corner of the wall and swung it at Zhang Chuan's back. Zhang Chuan swiftly caught the stick in the middle, pulled it towards his chest, and simultaneously kneed the guard in the abdomen. The guard couldn't withstand the force, the stick flew out of his hand, and he clutched his stomach, squatting on the ground, his eyes rolling back in pain.
Overcoming the obstruction at the door, Zhang Chuan strode into the house. Jiang Hu gritted his teeth, pushed aside the people around him, and rushed in. His gaze swept over the more than twenty men waiting in the room, and he said fiercely, "What are you all standing there for? Get him! I want to see just how capable this kid is!"
More than twenty people swarmed forward, throwing punches and sticks at Zhang Chuan. The two at the front swung their short sticks at the same time, and Zhang Chuan ducked down abruptly. The sticks flew past his head, and he followed up with a sweeping leg kick, hitting both of them in the back of the knees. They both fell to their knees with a thud.
Immediately afterward, three more men rushed in from different directions. Zhang Chuan parried with his left arm, deflecting the left fist, and then slammed his right fist like a hammer into the face of the man in the middle. With a crisp "crack," blood gushed from the man's nose, and he screamed as he flew backward. At the same time, he kicked the man on his right in the abdomen. The man crashed into the wall like a broken sack, sliding down the wall without a sound.
He was agile and strong; when his fists struck, a dull thud could always be heard, as if bones were dislocating. Someone tried to attack from behind, but as soon as they reached out, Zhang Chuan grabbed them by the back of their collar and swung them around like chickens, smashing them into the crowd with a loud bang, instantly knocking down a number of them.
In the blink of an eye, a large number of people had collapsed in the office, clutching their arms and covering their eyes, groaning and unable to get up. Finally, Zhang Chuan focused on the burly man who was charging at the front—the very same man who had been elbowed by Zhao Ci earlier. The burly man lunged forward with bloodshot eyes, but Zhang Chuan neither dodged nor avoided him, meeting his fist head-on and delivering a powerful kick to his chest.
"Agh—" The burly man let out a shrill scream, his whole body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the wall, shaking off several pieces of plaster. He slid down the wall, curled up on the ground, clutching his chest, unable to get up for a long time, his breath filled with blood and foam.
Zhang Chuan dusted off his hands and glared at Jiang Hu with eyes as sharp as knives: "What do you mean by this? We come to work, and you start hitting us?"
Jiang Hu looked at his groaning subordinates on the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Just as he was about to speak in his defense, Zhao Ci walked over, looking at him with a half-smile: "Director, shouldn't you say something now? Isn't this 'welcome ceremony' a bit too grand?"
Jiang Hu's face twitched, and he suppressed his anger, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! I just wanted to test your skills, nothing more, haha..."
Just as Zhang Chuan clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, and the veins on his arms bulging, and he took a step forward, ready to charge ahead, Zhao Ci suddenly spoke, his voice as calm as a deep pool, yet carrying an undeniable weight: "Zhang Chuan, that's enough, stop."
Zhang Chuan froze instantly, as if his entire body had been paused, his fist hovering in mid-air. Although he was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a powerful physique, and could easily take on four or five ordinary men, Zhao Ci's words had always been like military orders to him since childhood. Following Zhao Ci through thick and thin, obeying his orders without fail had become an ingrained habit. So he slowly released his fist, the cracking of his knuckles gradually subsiding, and silently retreated behind Zhao Ci. His eyes, however, remained sharp as a hawk's, fixed on Jiang Hu. He was prepared to pounce on him in the blink of an eye and pin him to the ground if the other made even the slightest move.
Zhao Ci then turned around, his gaze calmly landing on Jiang Hu. The men Jiang Hu had brought earlier were still lying sprawled on the ground, groaning. Some were curled up in a ball, clutching their stomachs, others were grimacing and clutching their arms, clearly having suffered quite a bit, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. Zhao Ci's face was expressionless, his tone so calm it betrayed no emotion: "I wonder why Director Jiang brought so many people here specifically to see me? Is there some problem with the equipment at the mine again, or do you think there was something wrong with my previous plan?"
Jiang Hu's face turned pale and then red. He had just been trying to put on airs as the director, but he hadn't expected to kick a hornet's nest. His men were beaten so badly they couldn't fight back. He rubbed his shoulder, which was sore from Zhang Chuan's push. The force still made his head spin when he thought about it. He could only try to remain calm and coughed twice: "Professor Zhao, you may not know, but things haven't been peaceful at our coal mine lately. There was a minor accident underground a while ago, and the higher-ups are cracking down hard, so we have to be careful. I brought a few extra people with me because I'm worried about unauthorized people causing trouble at the mine."
Zhao Ci's lips curled into a half-smile, a cold glint in his eyes: "Safety first? You brought people into my lab, started attacking without a word, and knocked all my equipment askew. Is this your mine's 'safety' rule?" He paused, his gaze sweeping over the groaning man on the ground, his tone growing colder. "I have a good temper and don't like to fuss over these little things, but remember, my friend here has a bad temper. If you really piss him off, even if you brought twice as many people, it wouldn't be enough for him—the consequences are something you can't afford."
Jiang Hu's heart skipped a beat, and his back tensed slightly. He truly hadn't expected that this seemingly unremarkable Zhang Chuan would be such a formidable fighter. The few veterans he'd brought, seasoned from years of unloading and fighting in the mine, had all been taken down in no time. If word got out, he, as the director, would be utterly humiliated. But right now, he needed manpower. He'd personally witnessed Zhao Ci's skill in adjusting the machines; the old, worn-out tunneling machine had improved in efficiency by nearly 30% after Zhao Ci's work, and the mine manager had praised him several times at meetings. He was counting on Zhao Ci to solve the problems with the new equipment, so he could only suppress his anger and force a smile: "Professor Zhao, you're too kind. My men were ignorant and acted rashly without informing you beforehand. I'll definitely teach them a lesson later."
He took a half step forward, softening his tone: "I've witnessed your abilities firsthand; you're absolutely the kind of talent the mine desperately needs. I've already reported to the higher-ups, and they've decided to formally hire you as a technical consultant. Your salary will be the highest level in the factory, plus a 20 yuan technical allowance every month, and you'll even have exclusive access to this laboratory—how does that sound?"