The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

"Is this Chen Fang?"

Chen Fang was just about to speak.

A man's voice from inside asked.

Chen Fang suppressed his wildly beating heart and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important, what's important is that Miss Zhao Xixi is now in my hands, if you don't want her to get hurt, right now open your front door and take a look at the ground."

Front door?

Chen Fang immediately walked to the door.

He first looked through the peephole to see, the corridor was empty, not a soul in sight, but there seemed to be an envelope on the ground.

He opened the door and brought the envelope in.

Then, the call on his phone was abruptly disconnected.

Following that, the ringtone of a phone sounded from within the envelope.

Chen Fang opened it to find a mobile phone inside the envelope.

He put it to his ear once more, hearing the same voice say, "Now, put your mobile phone on the dining table in the living room, but I'd advise you not to make any random calls, or else I can't guarantee Miss Zhao Xixi won't lose some organs."

Dining table?

Chen Fang subconsciously glanced out the window.

Could it be that someone from the other side was watching him through the window?

"You don't need to look, our people are always watching you, just do as we say,"

commanded the voice on the phone.

Helplessly,

Chen Fang could only place his own mobile phone on the dining table.

"What next?"

Chen Fang asked.

The voice on the phone paused briefly before responding, "Next, walk out of your residential area's gate, and you'll see a black sedan across the street, just get in the car."

Chen Fang didn't dare delay.

He quickly descended the stairs.

True enough, there was a car parked across the street.

He swiftly got in.

The driver was wearing a mask and a cap, his face unclear.

The car drove straight out of the county town and headed towards an increasingly remote suburban area.

Passing through patches of farmland,

Chen Fang had no idea where he was anymore.

Then, after a turn of the car, a dilapidated warehouse appeared before their eyes.

Judging from its structure, it appeared to be an abandoned grain silo, as the warehouse had no windows, only a few air vents high up.

"Get out,"

said the driver.

Chen Fang just opened the door to step out

when the sedan made a U-turn and drove off.

At that moment,

a large door of the warehouse creaked open.

Chen Fang walked up to the entrance and peered inside; it was pitch dark, and although there was faint moonlight seeping in, it was hard to make out clearly.

He had just entered the warehouse

when he heard a clang behind him.

The large door through which he'd entered was locked.

Perhaps due to becoming accustomed to the dark, his eyes slowly adjusted.

The warehouse was vast, virtually empty except for some pillars.

"Click-clack… click-clack… click-clack…"

A sequence of switch sounds started to echo.

Then,

lights began to glow in each corner of the warehouse.

The stark lighting briefly dazzled Chen Fang, and by the time his vision settled, he saw a chair about ten meters away from him.

Seated on the chair was a bald man.

He was leisurely smoking a cigarette with his leg crossed.

"Who are you?"

Chen Fang asked.

The Bald man shook his leg and said, "I've said it before, who I am is not important, what's important is who she is."

With that,

the Bald man snapped his fingers.

In the darkness,

two men brought out a woman who was tied up, her hands bound behind her back.

This person was the long unseen Zhao Xixi.

At this moment, Zhao Xixi's hair was messy, her cycling outfit covered in dust, and her mouth was taped, making her appear quite disheveled.

However, her eyes conveyed an unwavering resolve.

Not until she clearly saw Chen Fang before her did she let out a whimpering sound, her eyes filled with worry, and she kept shaking her head at Chen Fang, as if signaling him to run away quickly.

"Yo, this looks like quite the lovers' scene, quite convincing."

Bald stood up with a sleazy smile on his face.

He asked, "Chen Fang, do you want to save this woman?"

Chen Fang replied, "What's the condition? Let's hear it."

"There are no conditions. As long as you can walk to her side, I will let you go,"

Bald said.

Chen Fang was stunned and asked, "That simple?"

"Hahaha, of course, it's not that simple. I know you're quite capable, and three or five people are probably no match for you, so..."

Having said that...

Bald snapped his fingers.

Immediately, the sound of dense footsteps could be heard all around.

Chen Fang turned to look.

He saw seven or eight people, already blocking the door he intended to exit through, each of their faces masked in black and their features indiscernible.

Another ten people, in pairs, each holding a wooden stick, stood between Chen Fang and Zhao Xixi.

The ten people formed a corridor.

Obviously...

What Bald meant by walking over was to pass through the midst of these ten people.

"There's only one condition; there are five stages in total. You must pass each one, and while passing, you cannot fight back. If you strike back even once, all the consequences will be yours to bear."

"Furthermore, before you pass each stage, I will strip off one piece of clothing from her body. If you don't last until the final stage, or you can't stand up in the end, tonight, Miss Zhao Xixi will be enjoyed by all the brothers here. You should understand what I mean."

Bald said these words leisurely.

Zhao Xixi struggled.

She wailed at Chen Fang.

It seemed she was telling him not to come over.

But what could she, a frail woman, do when she was restrained, clearly no match for two burly men?

"What if I don't want to pass?"

Chen Fang asked.

Bald smirked coldly and turned around.

He walked over to Zhao Xixi, yanked at the zipper of her cycling suit with a ripping noise.

Beneath the cycling suit, she wore only a sports bra.

Bald smacked his lips and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, would you look at that, she's got quite a pair on her."

"Hahaha..."

The other masked individuals also started laughing along.

Bald then turned his fierce gaze on Chen Fang, eyes cold as he said, "It doesn't matter if you don't pass, because every three minutes, I will strip off one of her clothing items. By the time the last piece comes off, I won't be able to control my brothers here if they can't hold back any longer."

Chen Fang knew...

Whether he passed this ordeal today or not, the result would be the same.

But regardless, he decided to give it a try.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "All I have to do is endure it, and you will let us go, right?"

Bald snapped his fingers.

He replied, "Of course, man of my word, I, Leopard, always keep my promises."

Leopard?

Chen Fang had never heard this nickname before.

Nor had he ever seen this man.

From his accent, he didn't sound like a local either.

"Alright, may the promises of the Jianghu be kept, a spit and a nail, since Brother Leopard has said so, he will surely deliver, otherwise he won't be able to face his brothers."

After saying this...

Chen Fang stepped in front of the first two at the first checkpoint and said indifferently, "Come on."

The show had begun.

Bald, now known as Leopard, returned to his original chair and sat down.

He lit a cigarette.

Took a strong drag, then waved his hand, saying, "Begin."

No sooner had he said this...

...the first man with a stick swung it hard, aiming for Chen Fang's abdomen, and a thud resounded, muffled yet heavy.

Chen Fang's face twisted in an instant, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Despite the brutal hit, he remained on his feet, unflinching.

Seeing this, the other man took another swing, hitting the same spot again.

With this blow...

Chen Fang still didn't flinch.

But his body buckled.

Clearly, the pain was unbearable.

This scene caused Zhao Xixi to struggle anew, whimpering through her mouth...