57: Chapter 57 Gang Clash: Marcus Gets a Severe Beating

Los Gang members stormed into the casino and, without a word, surrounded Marcus, boxing him in.

The casino lobby was in chaos; overturned poker tables leaned crookedly against the walls, and plastic chips were scattered everywhere, crunching underfoot. A few ruined playing cards drifted across the floor, which was stained with beer spills.

The onlookers crowded around; some whistled and jeered, while others held up beer bottles to watch the show. The smell of smoke, alcohol, and sweat churned in the enclosed space, and the dim lightbulbs swung back and forth as the crowd bumped into them, casting distorted shadows on the walls.

Looking at the approaching Los Gang members, Marcus turned pale. He stepped back instinctively until his back slammed hard against a cold metal gambling table with a dull thud.

Ramos, the leader, stepped forward, his leather shoes crushing the chips on the floor. His eyes were cold as ice. He reached up to tug at the gang necklace around his neck and asked in a deep voice, "Marcus, are you going to pay back the one hundred thousand dollars you owe the gang today or not?"

"Ramos, it's not that I won't pay!" Marcus stiffened his neck in defense, his hands clenching involuntarily until his knuckles turned white. "I'm just temporarily short on cash. If I win some money today, I'll fill the hole immediately. Just give me a little more time!"

"Time? Has the gang not given you enough time?" Ramos sneered, then raised his hand and slapped Marcus across the face. The crisp sound of the slap was piercing in the noisy casino. "It's been a full month since you embezzled the funds. Besides gambling, what else do you even do? Do you really think the gang is your personal ATM?"

A stinging pain radiated from his cheek. Marcus was slapped to the side, a flash of viciousness in his eyes. He was, after all, a Boss Julio in the Slum District; being beaten in front of so many gamblers meant he had completely lost face.

He jerked his head up, reached out to push Ramos in the chest, and roared, "How dare you hit me? I'm a veteran of the Los Gang! You have no right to touch me!"

"Touch you? You aren't even worth it!" Ramos grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard. Marcus immediately let out a scream as his wrist bent at a grotesque angle.

Ramos signaled to his underlings behind him and said in a deep voice, "Beat him! Let him know the consequences of messing with the gang's money!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several Los Gang members swarmed forward. Some grabbed Marcus's arms, others pinned his shoulders, forcing him directly onto the cold floor.

Fists rained down on Marcus's back, waist, and abdomen, while kicks landed on his legs, creating a continuous series of dull thuds. Marcus curled up on the ground in pain, covering his head with his hands, begging incessantly: "Stop hitting me! I was wrong! I will pay the money back! Please, stop!"

He had previously thrown his weight around in the Slum District, beating and kicking Chinese people, but now, in front of the gang members, he didn't even have the strength to resist—a perfect picture of a bully who only picks on the weak.

The onlookers found it thrilling to watch; some shouted "Well hit!" and others clapped and jeered. No one was willing to step forward to help him, as Marcus's reputation in the casino had long since rotted. He owed gambling debts to many people, and everyone had disliked him for a long time.

At the alley entrance opposite the casino, Lin Chen and Li Wei huddled in the shadows, their eyes fixed intently on the commotion inside.

Li Wei clenched his fists, his face filled with satisfaction. He lowered his voice and said excitedly, "Satisfying! So satisfying! This scumbag finally got what was coming to him; getting beaten is getting off lightly!"

As he spoke, he started to lean forward, wanting to see more clearly, but Lin Chen grabbed his arm.

Lin Chen gripped firmly, cast a steady gaze at the casino entrance, and after confirming no gang members were paying attention to them, whispered, "Don't make a sound, and don't move closer. We leave once we've finished watching. Don't invite unnecessary trouble."

Lin Chen knew clearly that the Los Gang was currently furious. If they were discovered watching the spectacle, they would inevitably be implicated. After all, they had been secretly fueling the situation regarding Marcus. The best thing to do now was to avoid suspicion, watch the show quietly, and leave once it was over.

Upon hearing this, Li Wei immediately stopped in his tracks and nodded, shifting his gaze back to the casino. Watching Marcus being pinned to the ground and beaten, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. "Brother Chen, you're always so thoughtful. Let's just watch from afar and let this scumbag suffer a little; it counts as revenge for burning down the house!"

Lin Chen didn't speak, merely keeping his gaze locked on Marcus. Watching him roll on the ground begging for mercy, there wasn't a shred of pity in his eyes.

Marcus had brought this upon himself. Burning his house, oppressing the Chinese in the Slum District—this beating was well-deserved.

Just then, Marcus, curled up on the ground, suddenly lifted his head. His gaze pierced through the crowd of onlookers and locked onto the alley entrance opposite the casino.

His face was battered and bruised, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were filled with resentment, his gaze landing precisely on Li Wei. He gritted his teeth, etching that face into his memory.

He knew clearly that for the gang to suddenly hold him accountable, someone must have been pulling strings behind his back. The only people he had recently feuded with were Lin Chen and Li Wei. This small detail became the obsession driving his subsequent counterattack.

Seeing that Marcus had been beaten enough, Ramos raised a hand to signal his underlings to stop.

The underlings immediately stopped, gave Marcus one last kick, and cursed, "Get lost! You have three days to pay back the money. If you don't, wait to be purged by the gang!"

Marcus used the ground to slowly crawl up, his whole body trembling with pain. The clothes on his back were shredded, stained with dust and blood. He didn't even dare to look at Ramos; clutching his burning face, he limped toward the casino entrance.

As he passed the onlookers, someone threw an empty beer bottle at him, hitting him on the back, and cursed, "Coward, you deserve the beating!"

Marcus gritted his teeth, not daring to look back, and clumsily squeezed out of the crowd, stumbling his way out of the casino.

At the alley entrance, Lin Chen watched Marcus's figure disappear down the street before letting out a sigh of relief. He patted Li Wei on the shoulder and said, "Let's go. Don't linger here, lest we run into him and cause complications."

"Alright!" Li Wei nodded, glanced one last time in the direction Marcus had left, his heart filled with satisfaction. "With this scumbag beaten like that, he probably won't dare to come out and throw his weight around for several days."

The two turned and walked away slowly along the alley, stepping lightly to avoid drawing attention.

Lin Chen walked in front, a prompt from Doubao AI flashing in his mind. Confirming there were no Los Gang members following them, his concerns completely dissipated.

This strategy of using someone else's hands to strike had achieved its goal: it avenged the burning of the house without getting himself or Li Wei into trouble—two birds with one stone.

On the other side, Marcus leaned against the wall by the street, moving forward slowly. With every step, his wounds throbbed with excruciating pain.

He leaned against the mottled wall, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. The resentment in his eyes grew thicker, and he stared fixedly in the direction Lin Chen and Li Wei had left.

He knew clearly that if Lin Chen and Li Wei hadn't been pulling strings behind his back, the gang would never have suddenly come after him. This beating, this debt—he had to settle the score.

He took a while to recover before slowly straightening up, leaning against the wall, and heading toward the Slum District. As he walked, he spat out vicious threats, his voice hoarse but filled with bone-chilling hatred, ringing out clearly on the empty street: "Lin Chen! Li Wei! You just wait! I've marked this debt! Sooner or later, I'll make you pay with your lives!"

After being beaten and driven away, Marcus vowed to make Lin Chen pay with his life.