165: Chapter 166 Three-year term complete, paying respects to the Dragon King!

Xiao Chen's gaze slowly swept across the banquet hall like a cold blade, scraping across everyone's cheeks.

Mother Qin cradled the unconscious Qin Yan, her body trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind. The pleas she had intended to make were swallowed back the moment she saw the unfamiliar ruthlessness in Xiao Chen's eyes. This son-in-law, whom she had lived with for three years, was now so unfamiliar that it terrified her.

Qin Fei crouched on the ground, desperately shielding Zhao Lei, whose finger was broken, her eyes filled with fear. Zhao Lei's screams still echoed in her ears, and the nonchalant way Xiao Chen had broken his finger was more terrifying to her than any threat.

The surrounding relatives also retreated one after another, and no one dared to meet Xiao Chen's gaze. The previously noisy banquet hall was now so quiet that only Zhao Lei's suppressed gasps and Qin Yan's weak breathing could be heard.

"A bunch of ants who only know how to judge people with prejudice." Xiao Chen sneered and took out a uniquely designed phone from the inner pocket of his hoodie—the body was made of dark black metal, with a coiled silver dragon engraved on the back. There were no common brand logos, and a few tiny LED lights were embedded around the edge of the screen; it was clearly not an ordinary civilian phone.

His long, slender fingers pressed a few special buttons, and the call was quickly connected. A deep male voice came through the receiver: "Hall Master, standing by at any time."

Xiao Chen had no extra nonsense and coldly spat out two words: "Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy solid wood door of the banquet hall was suddenly kicked open violently from the outside! With a loud "bang," the door panel slammed against the wall, shaking the crystal chandelier on the ceiling slightly.

Immediately after, four figures wearing long black trench coats filed in, the hems of their trench coats rising with their strides, bringing with them a sharp gust of wind.

These four people were all over 1.85 meters tall, their figures as straight as pines, and they wore identical black sunglasses that covered most of their faces, revealing only their sharp, cold jawlines.

Their trench coat collars were pinned with the same silver dragon badge as the one on Xiao Chen's phone. Their steps were uniform, each one landing like a beat on a drum, carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression as they instantly occupied the entrance of the banquet hall.

The guests were all stunned by this sudden commotion. Someone's wine glass fell to the ground with a "clang," spilling red wine everywhere; another person instinctively took out their phone to record, but after a cold glance from one of the men in trench coats, their hand trembled, and the phone slid directly under the table.

The four men in trench coats ignored the commotion, walked straight through the crowd, and stopped in front of Xiao Chen.

In the shocked gaze of everyone, they simultaneously knelt on one knee, pressed their clenched right fists against their left chests, and shouted in unison: "Pay respects to the Dragon King!"

The sound was as loud as thunder, making people's eardrums ache, as if even the night outside the window had been torn open by this shout.

The banquet hall fell completely silent, everyone frozen in place, their eyes filled with "disbelief."

Dragon King? Hall Master? Weren't these titles only found in martial arts novels or short dramas? How could they appear at a real birthday banquet?

Zhao Lei was still howling in pain from his broken finger, but upon hearing "Pay respects to the Dragon King," he instantly forgot the pain. He stared wide-eyed at Xiao Chen, muttering to himself: "Dragon... Dragon King? Is this filming a movie? Who... who exactly are you?"

Mother Qin, holding Qin Yan, trembled, her lips quivering, wanting to say something but unable to utter a single complete syllable.

Looking at Xiao Chen surrounded by the four men in trench coats, she suddenly felt that the Xiao Chen she had known for the past three years was not the real Xiao Chen at all—the young man who played games at home, didn't talk much, and looked gentle and harmless was merely a carefully crafted facade.

Qin Fei was so scared that her whole body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground. She remembered how she had just joined Zhao Lei in mocking Xiao Chen as a "useless person," and recalled her own contempt and disdain for him; a chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

If she had known earlier that Xiao Chen had such "power," she wouldn't have dared to offend him even if she had been given ten times the courage.

In the corner, Gu Jingshen's mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg. He rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then lowered his voice and said to Zhang Fan, "Damn! There really are 'Four Great Generals'? This level of edginess is off the charts! It's exactly the same as those son-in-law short dramas I've watched before, but this setup is much more professional than the extras in those dramas!"

The more he watched, the more panicked he became. He nudged Zhang Fan's arm with his elbow, his voice extremely low: "Do you think this Xiao Chen really has a background? Look at those four people, each one looking fierce and menacing, like professional bodyguards in movies! Should we retreat first? In case a fight breaks out later, the two of us will become cannon fodder!"

"Big brother, those aren't bodyguards—they are people from the foreign terrorist organization, Dragon King Hall!" Zhang Fan said in a hushed, urgent voice. While speaking, he had already taken out his phone, his fingertips tapping rapidly on the screen, editing a message to Qin Xue.

"Dragon King Hall?" Gu Jingshen's eyes widened, his imagination suddenly running wild, and he leaned in closer. "Following this trope, wouldn't there also be a War God Hall?"

Zhang Fan, who was typing rapidly, paused abruptly, his mind stuck due to his nonsensical, jumping train of thought. After choking for a long time, he managed to squeeze out an "Uh..."

"Maybe." Zhang Fan had no interest in debating these irrelevant things with him. As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed the send button—the message on the screen was clear: "The Four Great Generals have arrived, aren't you going to act yet?"

After sending the message, he put his phone back in his pocket and looked up at Xiao Chen in the center of the hall. At this moment, Xiao Chen was slowly raising his hand, signaling the four men in trench coats to stand up.

A look of smug satisfaction hung on the corners of his mouth, his eyes looking down at everyone, as if he were truly a "Dragon King" ruling over a region, and everyone present was just an ant under his feet.

"Now, you should understand who you have provoked." Xiao Chen's voice came out through the speaker function of the satellite phone he had just used, carrying a special electronic effect that added a few more points of intimidation. "Zhao Lei, you broke my phone just now and even dared to lay a hand on me. We need to settle this score properly."

His gaze landed on Zhao Lei's broken finger, his eyes devoid of any pity, instead carrying a hint of mockery: "But you could say you helped me—if it weren't for your 'provocation,' I wouldn't have wanted to unveil this 'useless son-in-law' facade so quickly."

Zhao Lei felt his whole body hair stand on end from his gaze and tried to scramble backward, but one of the men in trench coats reached out and blocked him. The man in the trench coat had immense strength; with just a light push, Zhao Lei fell heavily to the ground, his face contorted in pain, yet he didn't dare to let out a single scream.

Seeing this, Qin Fei quickly crawled over, hugged Zhao Lei's arm, and begged Xiao Chen, "Xiao Chen, I'm sorry! We were wrong! We shouldn't have mocked you, we shouldn't have looked down on you! Please let Zhao Lei go, I beg you!"

Xiao Chen looked at her humble appearance and sneered, "Know you're wrong now? What were you doing before? For three years, your cold mockery towards me and your harsh treatment of Qin Yan—did you think I had forgotten all of it?"