death of hope

Chapter 1029 "Psionic Storm" (103) A Heated Brawl
"What the hell! Which idiot just smashed that bottle?!"

Before anyone was even seen, rude curses could already be heard.

Paul turned his head and saw a group of shirtless, tattooed thugs shoving aside customers who were blocking their way and crowding towards the private room. Their menacing appearance would surely scare an ordinary person to death.

The leader was a bald, burly man, holding a triangular shard of glass in his hand. The sharp edge of the glass had cut a shallow gash on the top of his bald head, just a thin red line, without drawing a drop of blood; it was at most a superficial scratch.

“I’m sorry…it was me…” Drizzt tried to get up to apologize, but Nikolai pressed down on his shoulder;

"It's alright, Lao Cui, leave it to me. I'm well-connected around here."

Nikolai clasped his hands in a gesture of respect commonly used by Asian gangsters: "Sorry, brother, my buddy didn't mean it, it was unintentional, please calm down."

The bald man spat on the table; "Nonsense! If it was intentional, I wouldn't even bother asking, I'd just grab a weapon and chop someone up!"

"I can tell, you're a tough one~" Nicolai pulled out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and handed it over.
The bald man snorted and took it, discovering a lighter and a folded stack of banknotes inside the cigarette case;
"Heh, you're quite the smooth talker. So, you're one of those gangsters too? Which street are you on? Which boss are you making your fortune with?"

"No, no, no, we're just a bunch of lowly laborers," Nikolai nodded and bowed, appearing indifferent to the world.

"Well, I worked hard all year, so I came to the nightclub to have some fun. I got a little drunk and accidentally broke a bottle. It was unintentional. Please, brother, be magnanimous and let me off the hook!"

·
Having worked in intelligence and spent a long time in the underworld of Shin-Sapporo, Nicolai was well-versed in the local underworld rules.
The bald man was only cut by flying shards of glass; he didn't bleed a drop. The matter was settled; face had been given, and money had been paid.

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face; most people would never hold a grudge for it, lest they appear petty.

However, this bald man was not some magnanimous leader; he was merely one of the local bullies, recently promoted to a minor gang leader. After a few drinks, he became increasingly smug, ready to tear apart anyone he could bully.

"Surround them! Don't let them escape!"

The bald man put away his cigarettes and money, but instead of leaving, he ordered his henchmen to surround the private room, wanting to take the opportunity to show off and establish his power.
"You think you can get rid of me with a pack of cheap cigarettes? You think you can fob me off like a beggar?!"

The worker suffered a concussion after being hit by the object. Forget about other compensation for now, just give us 100,000 yuan for medical expenses first!

"One hundred thousand?"

Nikolai's face darkened upon hearing this.
With 'Gruu's' skills, dealing with these gangsters would be effortless, but provoking trouble so close to the operation would be unwise; "Five thousand, is that alright?"

"Hey old man! Who do you think you are?! You dare to haggle with me?!"

·
The commotion in the private room caused Takiya Rimi, Ando Shuichi, Sergei, and Dmitri to instantly return to the dance floor to defend themselves.
"What's wrong?"

"Want to fight?" Sergei cracked his knuckles, clearly itching to get his hands dirty.

"This is none of your business. If you don't want to get beaten up, get the hell out of here!"

A thug wearing a striped vest and a dragon tattooed over his shoulder shoved Sergei hard across his beer belly, as if he had been pushed onto a stone block. Sergei stumbled and nearly fell on his butt.

"You little brat! How dare you push me?!" Sergei glared and slapped the man across the temple with his backhand. "Smack!" The man was sent flying like a child, seeing stars and fainting.

"You dare fight back?!" another thug roared. "Do you know who's protecting this street?!"

"I know, it's under the protection of the Turtle King!" Ando Shuichi mocked sarcastically, and immediately got punched. Because he was drunk and sluggish, he couldn't dodge, his glasses flew off, and his eye socket swelled up like a panda's eye.

"Ando!" Takiya Rimi roared in fury, sweeping her leg to knock the man down, then straddling him and unleashing a barrage of vicious punches that knocked out half his teeth.
"The fighting has begun! The fighting has begun!" Dmitri roared, charging forward like a raging bull, smashing through a group of enemies.
"Ura!" Donya spun around and elbowed the bald man, breaking his nose. Before the blood could even fall, she followed up with a low sweep to the inside of his knee, knocking him down.

·
These thugs are used to bullying honest people and are arrogant. They think they're very strong, but when they encounter a real expert, they reveal their true colors.
Faced with the elite GRU forces, they were as vulnerable as a group of toddlers learning to walk.

Those watching initially thought it was a brawl, but it turned out to be a one-sided thrashing, a literal 'thrashing'.
The thinnest of the operators, the bespectacled man Ando Shuichi, sobered up considerably after a few blows. He used a dive takedown to throw a man with an afro wearing a leather vest to the ground, then used a "Karelin" lift to pick him up by the waist and hang him on a fire hydrant, before whipping him hard with a belt.

These thugs were used to being arrogant and domineering in the store, always fighting and extorting money over trivial matters. This time, they ran into a tough nut and suffered a great loss. Many people clapped their hands, whistled, and cheered them on.

"Beat him up! Hit him hard! Kick his groin!"

Generally speaking, someone should break up the fight halfway through.

This nightclub has gang ties, or rather, the entertainment industry in Shin-Sapporo is somewhat tainted by organized crime. If one of their underlings gets beaten up, the street boss certainly won't let it go unpunished. But this time, nobody dared to intervene because the people in that private room were all incredibly fierce.

Such incredible fighting power is even more terrifying than that of professional fighters. The security guards were dumbfounded and quickly ran to the top floor of the nightclub to report to their boss.