Fanatic!

Chapter 1 The bad guy complains first

"Dad, just this once! The last time! I swear, if I ever touch Pai Gow again, may I be struck by lightning!"

Chen Wujun was awakened by the wailing sounds coming from the living room. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling that was so close to him, his eyes filled with anger.

The sounds from outside are a recurring theme in this household, playing out every few days.

There are three brothers. The eldest, Chen Wuhong, is 21 years old and a gambling addict.

The third child, Chen Wuqi, is only 10 years old and attends a boarding school.

As for him, he just graduated from middle school, didn't do well in his studies, and doesn't plan to continue to higher education.

Now I help out at my dad's dental clinic every day. Since my dad promised to help out at the dental clinic, he enrolled me in a martial arts school.

Chen Wujun, holding onto the bunk, jumped down from the upper bunk onto the cold floor tiles, put on slippers, glanced at a poster of a pure and innocent female star on the wall, and then reached out to pull the door open.

Meanwhile, the drama outside was still going on.

"Dad! They said if I can't pay back this time, it won't just be about interest... They want my hand! They really will cut it off!" Chen Wuhong's voice was sharp, trembling, and filled with fear, which made Chen Wujun feel disgusted.

Opening the door, you are greeted by a cramped living room, so cramped that a sofa takes up half of it, making it difficult to even turn around.

A middle-aged man with graying hair, wearing a faded yellow vest, sat on the sofa, looking exhausted and exasperated. His face was flushed, and he angrily rebuked:

"You good-for-nothing! You've squandered all the family's money. How are we going to pay off your debts?"

Chen Wujun's elder brother, Chen Wuhong, was kneeling in front of their father.

Chen Wuhong had greasy hair, dark circles under his eyes, and looked completely drained. His shirt was wrinkled and crumpled, and he was pleading with snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Dad, I'm not human, I know I was wrong!" Chen Wuhong said, slapping himself twice.

"Didn't you save up some money for the second son's martial arts school? Use it to tide me over. The martial arts school isn't going anywhere, it's okay to go a couple of months later..."

Chen Wujun stood at the door watching this scene, and found Chen Wuhong's voice increasingly grating.

It's no pity that such a gambling addict is dead.

He's had enough of this drama every now and then.

However, after only a brief moment of thought, he went to the bathroom with a blank expression.

Like the rest of the house, the bathroom was cramped, with a squat toilet and a sink. You would take a shower by rinsing your face with water from the squat toilet.

After relieving himself of the water, Chen Wujun came out of the bathroom. His father, Chen Hanliang, looked as if he had aged several years and was sighing.

Huang Meizhen, the old woman, stood not far away, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Chen Wuhong was still pleading.

Seeing this, Chen Wujun knew that he had no money left to go to the martial arts school.

Sure enough, at breakfast, the eldest son, Chen Wuhong, sat there with his head down and eyes downcast. After sighing, the father, Chen Hanliang, said to Chen Wujun, "Go to the martial arts school next month."

"Fine!" Chen Wujun said expressionlessly.

There are over 200 dental clinics in the entire Walled City. Business at my own dental clinic is so-so, but the good thing is that I own the shop and don't have to pay rent, so I can still save some money each month.

But with such a gambling addict, it probably won't be long before he comes asking for money again.

"You're such a sensible child!" said Huang Meizhen, the mother.

"Mom, I promise I'll be more sensible from now on! I definitely won't gamble anymore!" Chen Wuhong began to make a solemn vow again.

After finishing their meal, Chen Wuhong took the money and left excitedly.

Watching his excited back, Chen Wujun felt even more displeased. A surge of anger welled up inside him, so he followed him out.

"What are you following me for? Your martial arts school isn't going anywhere! It's fine to go back in a couple of months." Chen Wuhong thought Chen Wujun was concerned about the tuition fees for the martial arts school. He was in a hurry to make up for his losses and was walking very fast, not wanting to pay any attention to his younger brother.

Chen Wujun followed them out without saying a word.

As Chen Wuhong walked through a narrow passage and was about to go down the stairs, he suddenly felt a strong force coming from behind him.

When Chen Wuhong fell, he turned his head back in astonishment.

Chen Wujun looked at him coldly and withdrew his hand.

Chen Wuhong then rolled down the slope, breaking his head in the process. He lay there dazed for a long time before regaining his senses.

Chen Wujun had already come downstairs and was standing in front of him, looking down at him.

Chen Wuhong felt his chest fill with rage: "Second brother, are you going to kill me?"

"You're preventing me from going to the martial arts gym!" Chen Wujun looked down at him, his eyes filled with disgust.

It wouldn't matter if the gambling addict didn't affect him, but now this gambling addict is preventing him from going to the martial arts gym.

It is said that a master of the new technique cannot be approached by dozens of people.

He had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Chen Wuhong was stunned; he simply couldn't believe his younger brother had said those words.

Although the second child sometimes gets into fights with other children outside, it's always the other kids who provoke him first; he's always been quite well-behaved at home.

At this moment, the younger brother seemed to have suddenly shed the pretense he had always maintained at home.

"Next time, I won't need loan sharks to chop off your hands and feet!" Chen Wujun said, looking down at Chen Wuhong. His voice was calm, but the way he looked at him as if he were a complete stranger, along with what he had just done, sent a chill down Chen Wuhong's spine.

Then Chen Wujun's expression changed to its previous honest one: "Brother, are you alright?" He made a move to help Chen Wuhong up.

"I'll tell my parents what kind of person you are!" Chen Wuhong said through gritted teeth, pulling away Chen Wujun's hand that came to help him.

Chen Wujun stepped on his ankle.

Then, with a smile on his face, he said softly, "Do you think Mom and Dad believe you or me?"

At the same time, he added more force with his feet.

Chen Wuhong immediately clutched his ankle and cried out in pain. He felt as if his ankle was about to break and kept pushing Chen Wujun's calf.

"Lift your foot, lift your foot..."

However, Chen Wujun showed no intention of lifting his foot until he heard footsteps. Only then did he move his foot, his face showing concern, and went to help Chen Wuhong: "Brother, are you hurt? How could you be so careless?"

This time, Chen Wuhong didn't dare to slap Chen Wujun's hand away. The way he looked at the boy beside him was as if he were looking at a demon.

A woman with a child came down the stairs, glanced at the two of them, and continued downstairs.

After getting up, Chen Wuhong shook off Chen Wujun and walked away with a limp, without even going home.

He was also a little afraid of his younger brother.

He suddenly realized something: his younger brother used to always say that others bullied him first when he got into fights outside, but that was probably not the case at all.

This guy has probably always been the one to accuse others first, and then pretend to be innocent at home.

I've never really understood this younger brother.

Watching Chen Wuhong's limping figure disappear around the corner, Chen Wujun stood there for a moment before turning back.

If this can prevent this gambling addict from causing trouble, then that's a good thing.

But he also knew that this was impossible.

It was just to vent my anger.

He hates it most when someone takes his things.

As the middle child in his family, he especially hated being taken away from others.

Back home, Chen Wujun saw his parents and said without changing his expression, "I advised my older brother to stop gambling, but he scolded me and told me to mind my own business. Then he pushed me, but I lost my balance and fell down the stairs."

"How is he?" The parents were shocked.

"It's nothing serious, he probably just sprained his ankle. He got up and limped away," Chen Wujun said.

"It's good that you're alright!" The parents breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Chen Hanliang's father said sternly, "Don't be like your good-for-nothing brother!"

"Stay away from him from now on, and don't listen to anything he asks you to do."

"I know!" Chen Wujun nodded, then went back to his room to change his clothes and went to the dental clinic with his father.

Once outside, there was no sunlight at all. The two walked through alleys and staircases, sometimes going up and sometimes down, completely inside a huge building.

This is a walled city, where countless dilapidated buildings are piled up together, resembling a giant structure with internal passageways like a maze.

The entire fortress was permeated with a stench of decay, fishiness, and mold, making outsiders reluctant to enter.

In addition, the internal roads and environment are complex, so even the police don't come in, making it a no-man's-land.

But this land, which is only 0.082 square kilometers, is the home of 150,000 people.

The world is divided into twenty-two districts by the Federation, namely the East 11th District and the West 11th District.

The Walled City is located in the East Ninth District.

The East Ninth District is not the best core area, but it is not the worst either. The worst areas are those dozen or so mining areas, where people are said to rarely live to be forty.

Every year, many people risk dying at sea to smuggle themselves into the East Ninth District and then into the Walled City.

The entire walled city had a population of over 100,000, and it was unknown how many illegal immigrants and wanted criminals were hiding there.

Chen Wujun and his father were walking through the walled city when they came to a corner. They saw a sign on the wall that read, "Robbery is prohibited here. Violators will have their hands cut off." Chen Wujun stopped and looked at it for a few more seconds.

If we can't rob here, does that mean we can rob elsewhere?
He had seen this slogan before, but he hadn't paid it any mind.

With a gambling addict in the family, Chen Wujun felt that it would be a long time before his family would foot the bill for his martial arts school.

He believes that one should rely on oneself.

　I can always see 15 comments and 200 dental clinics in the background.

　　I'm truly helpless. There are always people who think it's unreasonable, even though I've already reduced the number.

　　At its peak, Kowloon Walled City had only over 5 residents and more than 100 dental clinics.

　　Dental clinics don't just cater to the neighborhoods.

　　Because it's cheap, only half to a third of the price elsewhere, many ordinary people come to see a dentist, and even sailors come to see a dentist.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)