novellhall 14. Taken to the police station.
14. Taken to the police station.
Li Jingcheng looked at the group of people surrounding him without a trace of fear on his face. Instead, he walked towards them with a nonchalant disdain. After taking the System's Marrow Cleansing Pill, his physique was already far beyond that of ordinary people. His physical strength was comparable to that of Da Fan from the Young and Dangerous comics, and his explosive power and endurance had reached inhuman levels. He didn't even dare to go all out, for fear that his acquired superhuman strength might actually kill someone.
Seeing his arrogance, the leader of the thugs was enraged and laughed, unable to contain himself any longer. He swung his fist at Li Jingcheng, yelling, "You little brat, you think you're so tough?"
The other four thugs followed closely behind, swarming forward.
Li Jingcheng sneered. Facing the lead thug's hurled punch, he neither dodged nor evaded, instead raising his own hand in a Bajiquan-style counter-punch, responding to violence with violence.
The two fists collided violently in mid-air.
There was no scream as expected, only a sickening cracking sound of bone breaking. The leader of the thugs felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if he had hit a steel crash beam. His entire right arm went numb instantly. If nothing unexpected happened, at least one of his radius and ulna bones was comminuted.
The other two reached out to grab Li Jingcheng's arms, one kicked him in the knee, and the last one circled around to the side, trying to lock his waist. The group was somewhat coordinated; once they had Li Jingcheng under control, no matter how strong he was, he would be a lamb to the slaughter.
But reality is cruel.
But reality is often much crueler than the script.
"Oh."
Li Jingcheng let out a very soft, cold laugh. Facing the heavy punch thrown by the leader of the thugs, he neither dodged nor avoided it, nor did he even use the palm force that was enough to split rocks. He simply raised his hand and assumed the most basic starting stance in Bajiquan—the striking punch.
"Bang!"
The two fists collided violently in mid-air.
There was no scream as expected, only a sickening cracking sound of bone breaking. The leader of the thugs felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if he had hit a steel crash beam traveling at 100 kilometers per hour. His entire right arm went numb instantly, and if nothing went wrong, at least one of his radius and ulna bones was comminuted.
"Ugh—!"
Before the screams could even finish, Li Jingcheng's counterattack had already begun.
He sidestepped a flying kick, his movements so fluid it was as if he knew Chinese martial arts. He then raised his hand and delivered a standard Bajiquan punch, striking another thug precisely in the shoulder joint.
The thug grimaced in pain, his arm feeling as if it had been ripped off. He staggered backward uncontrollably, falling heavily to the ground and howling in agony.
Almost simultaneously, another person attacked from the side, attempting to strangle Li Jingcheng. Without even turning around, Li Jingcheng skillfully delivered a backhand elbow strike, his elbow like an iron hammer, striking the opponent's chest at the Tanzhong acupoint with pinpoint accuracy.
"cough--!"
The thug instantly bent over, his face as pale as paper, clutching his chest and retching violently. He couldn't even scream and could only curl up on the ground like a shrimp.
There was no unnecessary entanglement throughout; every move was clean and swift, aimed straight for vital points. Moreover, Li Jingcheng clearly held back at least seven-tenths of his strength, fearing he might kill someone.
In just forty seconds.
Li Jingcheng patted non-existent dust off his hands, shook his head, and said with a hint of helplessness, "When I was in school, those racist guys didn't dare to yell at me. I thought I would be safer after returning to China, but I didn't expect that I still had to resort to violence to reason with them."
Bae Joo-hyun, standing to the side, held up her phone and recorded the entire process, the camera fixed on the scene before her. Her eyes were full of amazement, and she even checked the video time, saying, "Da ...
Lee Hyeri forgot her fear, her eyes fixed on Lee Kyung-sung, muttering repeatedly, "That's amazing, it feels like a movie."
Lee Hyeri was incredibly excited, completely immersing herself in Lee Kyung-sung's perspective. She waved her soft fists at the air, as if she herself had just defeated those villains. Coming to her senses, she abruptly turned her head, grabbed Bae Joo-hyun's shoulders, and shook her violently.
"And remember to send me a copy of the video too."
"Um..."
Bae Joo-hyun felt dizzy from the shaking. Although she was reluctant, she didn't show it on the surface and just nodded slightly. Not long after, the piercing sound of police sirens grew louder as two Seoul police cars screeched to a halt in front of the convenience store, their red and blue lights flashing alternately.
The car door opened, and four police officers quickly stepped out. Three of them were young officers carrying batons, stun guns, and pepper spray, while the middle-aged sergeant in the lead had a noticeable bulge in his left holster.
The thugs on the ground cried even louder when they saw the police. The leader, clutching his twisted and deformed right hand, rolled around on the ground, screaming in agony, "My hand is broken! The bones are shattered! Officer, take me to the hospital quickly, I need to get to the hospital first!"
Several others nearby also wailed, some clutching their stomachs, others rubbing their shoulders, all crying and lamenting.
"It hurts so much... I'm really going to die..."
"What's all the noise about! We'll assess the severity of the injuries at the scene. If there's a problem, we'll arrange for medical treatment at the police station. For now, cooperate with the investigation!"
He glanced at the five thugs groaning on the ground, then looked at Li Jingcheng and asked seriously, "Who called the police? What happened?"
Bae Joo-hyun stepped forward, holding up her phone, "I reported it. These five people surrounded and provoked us, and even hit us. This gentleman was acting in self-defense. We filmed the whole thing."
The sheriff nodded, his gaze lingering on Li Jingcheng's arm muscles for a few more seconds.
"Did you take down all five of them by yourself?"
"Yes, because the environment wasn't great when I was studying in the US, I learned some martial arts. I acted in self-defense. There are security cameras around here, and someone in the convenience store even filmed it," Li Jingcheng explained calmly.
Without wasting any words, the sheriff instructed the officers behind him, "Take photos of the scene, document the evidence, and bring all of them back; they are suspected of gang fighting and disturbing the peace."
"Officer! He broke my hand! I need to get to the hospital!" The leader of the thugs became even more anxious upon hearing this, lying on the ground and screaming.
The sheriff glanced at the other person, who seemed genuinely sincere. "Wenluo, confirm if anyone really needs to go to the hospital."
One of the young policemen following behind nodded, quickly stepped forward, and squatted down to examine the wrist of the leader of the thugs, as well as the wrists of the other two and four men. After a moment, he stood up and reported, "Chief, it is indeed a fracture, and there are some abrasions. The others just have some bruises, which will not affect their movement."
The sheriff glanced at Li Jingcheng again and continued, "Contact an ambulance to take him to the hospital. You go with him, make sure you register everything, and bring him back after everything is settled."
"Yes," the policeman known as Rowan said, taking out his walkie-talkie to contact the emergency center, reporting the address and the extent of the injuries.
Bae Joo-hyun and Lee Hyeri completed their statements on the spot, and one of the police officers also made a copy of the video footage for easy access, so there was nothing more for them to do.
Bae Joo-hyun clutched the hem of her clothes, her gaze fixed on Lee Kyung-sung, a hint of worry etched on her brow. She was so afraid he would get into trouble that she even held her breath.
"I hope Jingcheng will be alright."
Don't worry.
Lee Hyeri was holding her phone, staring intently at the screen, her fingertips replaying the clip of Lee Kyung-sung exchanging punches. She didn't even look up, her voice filled with the excited elation of a fangirl, "The convenience store's security camera captured it all clearly, and there's even a video you took! Oppa acted in perfect self-defense! He just needs to go to the police station to give a statement, he'll be back in no time."
.....
Bae Joo-hyun glanced speechlessly at Lee Hyeri, who was engrossed in the video. She wondered to herself that it was a miracle such a girl could debut as a second-generation member. Then, as her gaze shifted, she saw two police cars and an ambulance drive further and further away, eventually disappearing around the corner. Her heart clenched slightly; the worry hadn't completely dissipated.