62: A new big tree (3.7K long chapter, please support!)

Seven or eight modified hover-motorcycles sped over, the thugs on them wearing their signature iron gloves.

Seeing that the Garol Gang had the numbers, they let out strange laughs, pulled out syringes, and jabbed them fiercely into their necks. In an instant, their eyes became bloodshot, their gazes turned manic, their muscles rapidly engorged, and they began screaming incessantly.

With a drift, they parked their motorcycles sideways in front of the Garol Gang. The leader spat and sneered.

"This district is ours, you low-caste scum, get lost! Go wipe your Brahmin grandpa's ass!"

"Hahaha..."

The members of the Iron Hand Gang laughed wildly.

The Garol Gang members were instantly enraged, and a torrent of vulgarities poured out. The two groups hurled insults at each other, covering caste, origins, and even their fathers and mothers, the atmosphere instantly becoming tense and ready to snap.

The residents had turned into cowards, huddled together like quails, not daring to make a peep!

Many shifty-looking characters had already begun to flee, dragging their friends and family away, and the crowd quickly became sparse.

Then, it was unclear who started it.

A brick was thrown, the Iron Hand Gang members suddenly pulled out clubs, and the Garol Gang's machetes were raised high and brought down.

"Run!"

Lin Zhenhua sensed trouble, brandished his baseball bat to protect his three daughters, and dragged them back toward the stairwell.

But it was too late.

The melee erupted instantly, with blades flashing and clubs swinging; screams, curses, and the sound of metal clashing blended into a chaotic cacophony.

Several residents were knocked down and couldn't get back up.

Someone was hit in the forehead by a brick and fell to the ground instantly, lifeless.

Iron Clad Gold did not rush out blindly but swept its iron tail, shattering the ankle of a thug lunging at Lin Xiaoyu. Taking advantage of the moment the opponent was off-balance, its sharp claws suddenly slit his throat.

The opponent's eyes widened, and just as he wanted to shout something, his machete clattered to the ground.

Lin Xiaoyu's heart was pounding wildly, her ears filled with chaotic noise. The pot lid in her hand had been knocked away by someone and was flattened in the blink of an eye.

But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Lin Xiaomeng looking excited, seemingly not afraid at all.

Lin Xiaoxue was also different from the others; even in the chaos, her eyes remained alert, her footsteps agile, and her movements skillful, not even getting a speck of dirt on her white sneakers.

'That's strange, where in our family did this lineage come from?'

As Lin Xiaoyu thought this, she saw her father beating back two thugs, roaring like an old lion.

Though the lion was old, its might remained.

'Oh, I get it.'

By the time the family retreated to the stairwell, the Iron Hand Gang members had been beaten back steadily. The Garol Gang thugs lunged forward like mad dogs, hacking with their machetes whenever they saw blood; people fell, but no one cared.

The melee lasted a very short time, until the last member of the Iron Hand Gang was pinned to the ground and decapitated.

The Garol Gang had won.

The gold-toothed thug leading them had a new wound on his face, the flesh rolled back, almost gouging out his eye.

He stepped on the back of the headless corpse, his exhausted arm hanging limply, and hooked his pinky finger at the property manager.

"Now," he grinned, "1,500 per household!"

This price was exactly the same as what the Iron Hand Gang had charged; with double the fees, the monthly protection money expenditure was approaching 3,000!

The property manager's face was ashen, but he could only bow and scrape, "Yes, I will definitely collect it!"

The gold-toothed thug patted his fat face with satisfaction and then spat a mouthful of phlegm onto his forehead.

"If you dare to delay payment next time, I'll burn down this shitty building of yours..."

"The chicken coop is really short on people."

The thug bared his teeth and swept his gaze over the residents, lingering for a moment on the many fair arms and legs.

There were over a thousand residents, and after this battle, only seven or eight of them were left, all of them injured; if they tried to snatch people now...

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to leave.

"Let's go!"

The gold-toothed thug secretly regretted the poor timing. He waved his hand, and together with his subordinates, they gathered their companions' corpses and left swaggeringly.

They left behind a scene of devastation and many injured people caught in the chaos, moaning in pain.

The residents were silent for a few seconds, and then, it was unclear who spoke first.

"It's all your fault!" a middle-aged woman pointed at Lin Zhenhua, her voice shrill.

"If you hadn't taken the lead in making trouble, why would the gang have increased the price?!"

"Exactly! We could have been safe by paying an extra thousand, now we have to pay an extra 1,500!"

"What kind of hero are you trying to be? You've made everyone suffer!"

The verbal abuse instantly engulfed the four of them, spreading like a Spark of Stars, like a prairie fire.

Lin Zhenhua's face was livid, the veins on his hand gripping the baseball bat bulging, but he didn't know where to point it.

Lin Xiaoyu held her two sisters' hands tightly, feeling a tightness in her chest, while Lin Xiaomeng was clamoring and yelling back at them. Lin Xiaoxue, beside them, was quick-witted and covered her reckless sister's mouth.

"If you don't want to get beaten to death, shut up!"

"Mmmph, let go, I..."

Lin Xiaomeng waved her fists, but after receiving a heavy glare from Lin Xiaoyu, she calmed down and looked at the crowd indignantly.

Iron Clad Gold let out a low growl, blocking in front of them. The huge sound startled people, but it couldn't stop those vengeful glares.

Lin Zhenhua's face turned from blue to white.

He didn't expect that by defending others' interests, he would end up being the villain criticized by everyone.

"Let's go home!"

In the end, he only spat out these two words and started walking toward the stairwell.

But the residents wouldn't let him, and the insults became even more intense.

"Jinx!"

"Stop sticking your nose in other people's business from now on!"

"You have to compensate us!"

"Right, compensate us!"

The four members of the Lin family looked at each other, their expressions growing increasingly grim.

The next second, the roar of an engine approached from afar, the low vibration causing the ground to shake slightly.

The residents surrounding the four members of the Lin family subconsciously turned their heads, only to see a rusted hover-pickup truck slowly approaching.

The truck's body lines were simple, and its chassis emitted a dim blue anti-gravity glow, looking no different from the junk commonly seen in the slums.

However, junk didn't have such a powerful engine.

The crowd suddenly went quiet.

Lin Xiaoyu was also stunned. Who was this sacred figure?

The pickup truck stopped steadily, the back door was pushed open, and two lean humanoid robots leapt out. Their rust-red paint made them look like old antiques that had crawled out of a scrapyard, but their movements were terrifyingly fluid!

Not only were their joints without a hint of stiffness, but their movements were silent, and on their metal shells, one couldn't even see any obvious seams.

A hover-motorcycle left behind by the Iron Hand Gang lay in their path.

One of the robots suddenly raised its foot, and without seemingly using any force, it lightly kicked the motorcycle frame.

"Bang! Rumble..."

The three-hundred-plus kilogram metal object flew off like a piece of dirty rag used for wiping tables, crashing heavily onto the curb several meters away. Concrete fragments splattered everywhere like small steel bullets, making a crackling sound.

The crowd collectively took a step back.

It was as if everyone had been struck dumb, and in their eyes, only a submissiveness that dared not resist remained.

Against the light of the headlights, no one could see who was in the vehicle, only two robots walking silently toward the crowd.

They advanced, the crowd retreated.

They continued to advance, and the crowd had nowhere left to retreat.

With a "whoosh," the crowd suddenly dispersed, like Moses parting the sea.

The robots walked silently toward Lin Xiaoyu. Lin Zhenhua didn't even frown, blocking in front of his daughter, pointing the baseball bat at the robots.

"Tch, this old Lin is clearly asking for death!"

"Damn, can you stop talking? What if they target us..."

"Shh, shh, shh!"

Iron Clad Gold's eyes turned blue, displaying as a thin slit, its tail wagging gently.

The robot stopped one meter away, until the baseball bat was pressed against its metal head.

One of the robots' electronic eyes flickered slightly, looking at Lin Xiaoyu, and it suddenly knelt on one knee.

It drew an electric thermal blade from its waist and offered it with both hands.

"I am Xiao Mei." Its voice was anthropomorphic, calm and clear: "From today on, I am responsible for your safety."

The electric thermal blade suddenly turned red-hot and pierced into the ground; the concrete was like chocolate, melting under the 1,500-degree Celsius high heat.

Everyone's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

Some of the residents who had been cursing the loudest were preparing to start a "second great victory escape," but the crowd spontaneously took a step forward, locking them all in the middle of the crowd. The people's sentiment was simple: "If we die, we die together!"

Lin Xiaoyu was completely bewildered, her fingers clutching the corner of her clothes.

Lin Zhenhua was also frozen on the spot, his gaze scanning back and forth between the robots and his daughter, completely unable to figure out the situation.

Instead, it was Lin Xiaomeng and Lin Xiaoxue who exchanged a glance and high-fived in celebration with tacit understanding!

"Clap!"

The crisp sound of the high-five made the residents' legs go weak for a moment, and they almost all knelt down in unison.

The few who had been arrogant just a moment ago now didn't even dare to breathe, cold sweat sliding down their necks.

This posture... could it be that the Lin family's daughter has hooked up with some big shot?

"I've always said, the Lin family's daughters are really pretty. If they hadn't married that first love, Jiang Feng, back then, they would have flown up to the branch and become phoenixes long ago!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Several middle-aged women wiped their sweat while trying to find a smooth transition to step down.

Just then, the driver's side door opened.

Jiang Feng stepped out of the car, wearing a white shirt and cargo pants, with world-weary eyes and skin that had become much paler.

He looked ordinary, but was sharp and intense.

Gold-Wrapped Silver leapt down, its metal claws tapping on the ground, making a crisp "da-da" sound.

As soon as Iron Clad Gold saw its companion, it immediately rushed over excitedly.

The two Robot Dogs banged their iron heads together, sparks flying, as if they were greeting each other.

The crowd: "..."

"Mom, you said the wrong thing again!"

"It's Jiang Feng..."

"Ah? I..."

The middle-aged woman heard her son's words from behind her, and sweat poured down like rain.

Lin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up instantly, and she almost lunged forward, throwing herself into Jiang Feng's arms.

"What are you doing!" She was both surprised and happy, her little fists pounding on his chest, soft and weak.

"This car... and these robots?"

Jiang Feng smiled, pecked her on the cheek, and enjoyed seeing her face suddenly turn red, satisfied with a laugh.

Casually putting his arm around Lin Xiaoyu's waist, he raised his eyes and scanned the people around them who were silent as cicadas in winter.

"Disperse." That was all he said.

The crowd scattered instantly like birds and beasts, running faster than frightened cockroaches. Within ten seconds, rolling and crawling, several single shoes were left on the ground.

Vaguely, one could hear the crowd whispering.

"Damn! Is that Jiang Feng? Didn't everyone say they were having marital problems and were unemployed?"

"That robot could probably kick a person in half, right?"

"Hurry, hurry, don't look back!"

Lin Xiaoyu looked up at Jiang Feng, her heartbeat still not calmed down: "You haven't answered me yet!"

Jiang Feng pinched her cheek, his tone relaxed: "I earned some money, I have to get you bodyguards as soon as possible, right?"

The next second, two slender figures rushed over.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Brother-in-law!"

Jiang Feng's expression turned joyful. Oh no, what is this feeling of excitement?

He looked at Lin Xiaomeng and Lin Xiaoxue who were rushing over, one with blue hair, one with long hair, but other than that...

'How can you tell twins apart?'

"Brother-in-law! That's a 'Peregrine' robot, right? Where did you find the parts!"

"Brother-in-law! Let's go eat ice cream together!"

Jiang Feng suddenly realized: 'I can tell them apart, I can tell them apart!'

The one who knows technology is Lin Xiaoxue, the one blinking and acting cute is Lin Xiaomeng; this way, I won't mistake them in the future.

Lin Zhenhua finally came back to his senses. He looked blankly at the baseball bat in his hand, then at his side, then at Jiang Feng's side, only to realize that the little birds under his wings were already circling around a new great tree.

He looked up and down at the robots, then at the hover-pickup truck, his eyes growing increasingly aged.

"You kid... what exactly are you doing?"

Jiang Feng just smiled and didn't explain much. He took Lin Xiaoyu's hand: "Let's talk when we get home."

On the way here, he had already seen everything that happened through the "Mainframe," but unfortunately, despite rushing, he hadn't made it in time.

Fortunately, the result was that the whole family was safe; nothing was more important than that.

At this moment, he naturally didn't need to ask again. Lin Xiaoyu beside him narrowed her eyes, also having a tacit understanding with him.

Jiang Feng secretly gave a thumbs up to Iron Clad Gold.

The afternoon sun shone on their backs. Two robots, one silently followed, one silently returned to the hover-pickup, and drove toward the parking lot. Iron Clad Gold and Gold-Wrapped Silver ran ahead, playing, clanking loudly.

And behind them, those gazes hiding in the shadows dared not act rashly again.

One of them looked at the new task sent to their wristband and curled the corner of their mouth.

"Hey, boss, I think I've found the person the young master is looking for!"