131: formidable enemy

As soon as the door was opened, the tempting aroma of home-cooked food wafted out to greet them.

"Chen Li, Uncle, Auntie, you're back." Liu Nansheng turned around, wearing an apron, her face beaming with a sweet smile.

Mother Chen walked quickly into the kitchen: "Nansheng, what delicious things did you make? It smells so good!"

"Auntie, I made braised beef brisket with potatoes, steamed crab, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, and I also simmered some corn and pork rib soup..."

Liu Nansheng recited the dishes as if listing family treasures, her spatula still moving in the pan.

"Let me help you with the prep work." Mother Chen said, preparing to wash her hands to assist.

"No, no need... You should go rest."

Liu Nansheng quickly declined, but unable to resist Mother Chen's enthusiasm, she had to let her help wash and cut the vegetables.

In the living room, Father Chen was carefully looking over every corner of the house.

From the spacious living room to the exquisite decor, his gaze held both gratification and a hint of bewilderment, as if he hadn't fully accepted the fact that his son had become so successful.

"Dad, are you satisfied?" Chen Li asked with a smile.

"Good, really good..." Father Chen nodded repeatedly.

Before long, a dinner table full of delicious, fragrant, and visually appealing dishes was ready.

"Uncle, Chen Li, dinner is ready!" Liu Nansheng's crisp voice called out.

The father and son responded in unison, exchanged a smile, and walked toward the dining room.

The four of them sat around the dining table, the warm light casting over everyone's faces.

Looking at this heartwarming scene, Liu Nansheng's eyes suddenly turned red—this was the warmth of a family she had always longed for.

Chen Li saw her expression and understood; he gently patted her leg under the table and gave her a reassuring look.

Liu Nansheng understood, quietly wiped the corner of her eye, and smiled again.

This meal was exceptionally heartwarming, and the table was filled with laughter.

After the meal, Father Chen and Mother Chen insisted on returning to their old house to stay.

"Mom, Dad, just stay here. I'll go back and get your clothes," Chen Li urged.

"We are used to living in the old house,"

Mother Chen patted his hand, "This house is so big, it actually feels uncomfortable. Let's talk about it after some time."

Seeing his parents' insistence, Chen Li knew he couldn't force them, so he and Liu Nansheng had to drive them back.

In the night, the car slowly drove toward the familiar old Residential Complex.

After safely dropping his parents off at home, Chen Li and Liu Nansheng turned the car around and drove toward the Villa.

The night deepened, and the vehicles on the street gradually became sparse.

Chen Li focused on the road ahead, completely failing to notice the black sedan in the rearview mirror that had been maintaining a fixed distance.

He would never have imagined that he had been followed the entire way.

When the car turned into a relatively quiet path, the black sedan that had been following suddenly accelerated, performed a sharp drift to overtake them, and stopped firmly in front of Chen Li's Audi, forcing him to slam on the brakes.

"Ah!" Liu Nansheng screamed in fright, her face instantly turning pale.

After experiencing the kidnapping incident last time, she was exceptionally sensitive to this kind of sudden danger.

Chen Li narrowed his eyes, his right hand already resting on the reverse gear.

With his current reaction speed, he had every opportunity to reverse and escape.

Chen Li's hand stopped as soon as it touched the reverse gear—with his current reaction speed, he could safely retreat before the other party made a move.

But the surge of power within him made him change his mind; as long as the other party didn't have a gun, he was fully confident he could control the situation.

Since they had delivered themselves to his doorstep, why would he hide? He wanted to see exactly who this person was.

"Don't be afraid,"

Chen Li gently reassured the extremely nervous Liu Nansheng in the passenger seat, "Stay in the car, lock the doors, and no matter what happens, do not get out."

After saying this, he took a deep breath, opened the car door, and stepped out.

Almost at the same time, the driver's side door of the black sedan opened, and a figure stepped out nimbly.

The man had a short crew cut, and under the dim streetlights, his skin appeared to be a bronze color formed by years of sun exposure.

His face was square, his jawline was rugged, and his eyes held a restrained glint in the night.

Although he was about the same height as Chen Li, his posture was upright, like a pine tree rooted in the ground.

The contours of his arm muscles were clearly visible under his clothes; they weren't the exaggerated bulk built in a gym, but rather a lean, hardened physique forged by real combat.

As he walked closer, one could feel a sense of power ready to be unleashed, as if he could explode with astonishing speed and strength at any second.

Chen Li closed the car door and stood there, quietly sizing up the other person.

His intuition told him that this person was on a completely different level from street thugs like Scar—he possessed a sharpness that came from professional training.

Just as Chen Li was observing the other party, this man named Lu Jun was also scrutinizing him.

As a former Special Forces member who had experienced countless life-and-death trials, Lu Jun's intuition had always been precise.

But the moment his gaze met Chen Li's, his heart inexplicably tightened.

This feeling was very wrong.

The Young Man before him appeared perfectly ordinary, wearing casual clothes, standing there looking almost casual.

Yet, every muscle in Lu Jun's body tensed involuntarily—that was an instinctive reaction he had developed over years in dangerous environments; his body had sensed the potential threat before his brain did.

This was too absurd—he was an ace who could easily take down several special forces soldiers; how could he have such a dangerous illusion about a mere kid?

Lu Jun frowned slightly, adjusted his stance calmly, and shifted his center of gravity to be more stable.

Shaking off distractions, Lu Jun decided to end the fight quickly.

He lunged forward, his right hand forming a claw to grab directly at Chen Li's shoulder joint, executing a classic Special Forces grappling technique.

Although startled, Chen Li was not flustered. In his eyes, although the other party's movements were much faster than an average person's, they were still not enough.

He dodged to the side to block, backhanded Lu Jun's wrist, and simultaneously threw a straight punch toward the man's chest.

Lu Jun's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly raised his arm to block.

The moment his fist and arm collided, an astonishing force surged through, shaking him back two steps before he could stabilize his stance.

In just a single exchange, both men had made a preliminary judgment of each other's strength.

Lu Jun was inwardly shocked—this Young Man's speed and strength were far above his own; it was just that his combat experience was clearly lacking.

Chen Li was similarly secretly shocked.

He had used sixty percent of his strength in that punch, expecting to easily subdue the enemy, but he hadn't expected the other party to be able to take it head-on.

If calculated according to the combat power value provided by the system, the opponent had at least a level of 600 points, making him the strongest opponent he had encountered so far.

Lu Jun's thoughts raced, and he instantly saw the situation clearly—there was absolutely no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

The only breakthrough was to exploit the weakness of the other party's shallow combat experience and use his own honed killing moves to attack when they were unprepared.

His eyes hardened, and his body moved suddenly.