9: Battle in the alley

Qiao Yu purchased one hundred catties of one-horned wild boar meat at another vegetable market, spending nine thousand five hundred yuan.

The remaining thousand or so yuan couldn't buy much meat, so he decided to round it off.

Carrying one hundred catties of one-horned wild boar meat divided into several bags, Qiao Yu felt as if he were carrying nothing at all.

Meanwhile, the few people following Qiao Yu were communicating on their phones.

"Brother Wang, why do you think this kid bought so much meat?"

"What does him buying so much meat have to do with you? Just make sure this kid doesn't run away later, or Young Master Zhang will definitely make us pay."

"Hehe, I was just thinking, since this kid bought so much meat, after we finish dealing with him, we could take the meat to a shop for processing and treat ourselves."

"All you think about is eating! Talk about it after we finish the main business. He's about to enter the alley. Hurry up and take the brothers down the other route to block him!"

Right after sending the message, two of the men a few meters away quickened their pace, taking another route to flank Qiao Yu from both sides.

"Maybe tomorrow I should go to the Martial Arts Hall to ask if there are any profitable opportunities suitable for Advanced Trainees, and test my current strength while I'm at it."

Qiao Yu thought as he walked, noticing two figures slowly approaching the illuminated exit of the alley ahead.

At first, Qiao Yu didn't pay attention. The alley was neither wide nor narrow, wide enough for two or three people to walk side-by-side.

The two figures drew closer and closer until they stopped right in front of Qiao Yu.

"Guys, move aside!"

Seeing the two men blocking his path, Qiao Yu spoke, his tone slightly odd.

The two men did not respond to Qiao Yu; they just stood stiffly in front of him.

Only then did Qiao Yu look directly at the two men before him.

He saw that both men were dressed in black shirts and black pants, emanating a distinctly thuggish aura.

Hearing footsteps simultaneously coming from behind, Qiao Yu slightly tilted his head to glance back. Two more figures were blocking the way behind him. Now, he didn't need any explanation to know what was happening.

"What's the meaning of this, guys? Are you trying to rob me?"

Qiao Yu decided to probe them with words first.

"Kid, I don't need to explain what you did or whom you offended."

The voice of the man called Brother Wang gradually approached from behind Qiao Yu.

Although robbery and burglary are almost nonexistent these days, they aren't completely unheard of.

However, since everyone is within the Base City, as long as the authorities seriously investigate, catching criminals is like catching a turtle in a jar. No one is stupid enough to attempt this.

Therefore, it was highly likely that these people were acting out of personal grievance. For now, only Zhang Haobai, someone with too much time on his hands, would pull a stunt like this.

"What do you want?"

Qiao Yu put down the bags of meat he was holding, leaned his back against the wall, and adopted a combat stance facing both sides.

"Brothers, get him!"

Brother Wang wasted no words. Their mission was to corner Qiao Yu, beat him up, and wait for Zhang Haobai to arrive and finish the job.

The two men who had been standing in front of Qiao Yu immediately lunged at him, trying to restrain his arms.

Meanwhile, Brother Wang, who had just finished speaking from the other end, stealthily pulled out a key with a sharpened tip from behind him and stabbed it toward Qiao Yu.

This was a weapon these people had deliberately made to prevent the police from finding evidence.

As long as they blunted the key tip afterward, people generally wouldn't immediately recognize the key as a murder weapon.

Fortunately, Qiao Yu's nerves had been taut since adopting the combat stance, and he formulated a plan the moment he saw them make a move.

He immediately lashed out with a right whip kick toward the two thugs rushing him, but those two thugs had clearly trained; they were quite proficient with various moves.

The two men's goal was to restrain Qiao Yu's mobility, so they didn't foolishly try to block the attack. Instead, they followed the direction of Qiao Yu's kick, aiming to grab his right leg directly.

And in fact, they succeeded.

The two men grunted as they held Qiao Yu's right leg, neutralizing the force of the kick. However, the sheer immense power made them stagger back several steps, causing a sudden sense of dread.

Meanwhile, Brother Wang and the other man took advantage of Qiao Yu's kick, stabbing toward him with their makeshift weapons, hoping to draw some blood.

Although the light in the alley was poor, Qiao Yu quickly deduced from their attacking technique that they were likely using some kind of small weapon.

Qiao Yu did not dare to be careless. He had only been promoted to Advanced Trainee a few hours ago, and since the promotion was forced through Genetic Optimization rather than steady cultivation, his foundation was slightly unstable, and his strength was not at its peak.

Qiao Yu quickly used a left-hand chop aimed at the hand of the nearest man, Brother Wang. But because his right leg was restrained, his posture was stiff, and he only barely managed to knock the weapon out of Brother Wang's hand onto the ground.

But Qiao Yu felt a slight pain in his left arm; it seemed a sharp object had pierced his left forearm.

Qiao Yu had not used his full strength since the fight began, precisely because he didn't want to injure himself.

Warm blood trailed down his arm and dripped onto the ground. The pain caused Qiao Yu's adrenaline to surge, and the potential of every cell in his body was instantly unleashed.

"You're asking for death!"

Qiao Yu let out a fierce growl. His restrained right leg instantly surged with power, and using the strength of his hip rotation, he swept the leg mid-air again.

The two men holding Qiao Yu's right leg never imagined someone could exert force out of thin air.

With a loud bang, the alley wall dented slightly and cracked. The two men who were kicked into the wall simultaneously let out painful howls, and their four hands weakly let go of Qiao Yu's right leg.

Brother Wang and the other man realized the situation was bad. How could such powerful explosive force belong to a Junior Trainee? The intelligence was wrong!

Being able to kick two Intermediate Trainees flying with one leg proved beyond a doubt that he was an Advanced Trainee.

But when Brother Wang thought that Zhang Haobai was about to arrive, he felt they could hold on a little longer.

"Keep going! Don't let him escape! Young Master Zhang will be here soon!"

Hearing this, the other man did not retreat either. He pulled the weapon out of Qiao Yu's arm and prepared to launch another attack with Brother Wang.

Qiao Yu's eyes were bloodshot, and he slammed his fists hard onto the arms that the two men were using to stab him.

Following two muffled thuds, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones, Brother Wang and the other man, who had been fiercely planning to continue the attack, let out agonizing squeals like slaughtered pigs.

Heavy breathing accompanied the rising and falling of his chest. Qiao Yu looked like a dangerous wild beast.

Looking at the group of four kneeling on the ground, Qiao Yu was about to continue his attack when he saw the light at the alley entrance obscured by another figure.

Qiao Yu looked up. It was still that familiar figure dressed in white shirt and white pants.

"Zhang Haobai, I knew it was you."

Qiao Yu took a deep breath and spoke the person's name.

"Oh? You were attacked by four Intermediate Trainees and managed to fight back and defeat them. I didn't expect you to be so good at hiding your strength, kid."

Zhang Haobai slowly walked in, carrying a safe in his hand.

His gaze toward Qiao Yu was full of amusement.

The information he had others investigate showed that Qiao Yu's strength test at the Martial Arts Hall rated him as a Junior Trainee. Although he didn't know why Qiao Yu would hide his strength at the Martial Arts Hall, none of that mattered.

In any case, he believed that besides his nemesis Luo Feng, no other Advanced Trainee was a match for him.

He often gained the upper hand when sparring with his bodyguard, who was also an Advanced Trainee, and this was the source of his confidence.