Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

That door was clearly vulnerable.

The elephant took four steps back, then charged forward again. The door, hinges and all, was smashed open, splintering many pieces of wood. He burst into the room, his right shoulder thrust forward.

Then three things happened at the same time.

The first thing someone shouted was, "Watch out..."

The second thing was that the elephant noticed a figure at the doorway. They must have been hiding in the blind spot by the door.

The third thing is that the elephant's world exploded like a meteor shower, with its retinas covered in red spots.

Elephant recalled a martial arts instructor from his time in M ​​who loved boxing telling him something. If someone had received some boxing training, a hook punch thrown with their dominant hand was usually enough to knock out an average adult male. By shifting their hips, they could channel all the power of their upper body into the hook, unleashing a powerful blow that would instantly short-circuit the opponent's brain. A straight uppercut to the chin would undoubtedly knock you to the ground and send you to sleep.

Even an elephant, trained to withstand blows, would rarely be able to stand upright after taking a perfectly executed hook punch. Most importantly, if you don't see the incoming attack, your body won't react and avoid it. Otherwise, even a slight turn of the head can significantly reduce the impact. This is why you rarely see a boxer knocked down by a decisive attack.

The only explanation for the elephant not losing consciousness is that the man who attacked it was standing on its left, and being right-handed, he couldn't strike the elephant's temple from the side with his dominant right hand. Otherwise, according to the martial arts instructor, that punch would have been perfectly effective. However, the left hook still caused the elephant to stagger a few steps to the right, its back slamming into the wall.

Even so, when the elephant opened his eyes, the man was still standing. He saw his brothers rushing in and quickly subduing the people inside. Besides the shirtless man who had thrown the punch, there were three other young men and a middle-aged man in a bright red shirt.

As soon as Ma Yongxing stepped into the small, stuffy room, he tried to inhale more air. He saw red rust stains creeping down the walls, forming grid-like patterns. A clock hung on the wall, showing 12:30.

"Are you alright?" Ma Yongxing asked the elephant.

The elephant coughed a few times and nodded.

Ma Yongxing made several hand gestures to his men, instructing them to pull the man who threw the punch and the three young men to the wall, make them squat down, and then release the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man had a pair of rough eyes and a thick beard that reached the corners of his mouth. He snorted, didn't even glance at Ma Yongxing, and sat down in a chair at the table, closing his eyes slightly.

"Qian Youde?" Ma Yongxing asked.

"Qian Youde?" the middle-aged man repeated in a low voice, raising his eyes with an expression as if he had seen something he wanted to crush with his heel. "No, he slept with your mother in your house."

Ma Yongxing smiled slightly, waved to stop his men who were about to make a move, pulled over a chair, and sat down opposite Qian Youde.

"My name is Ma Yongxing," he said softly. "You may not have heard of me, but that's okay. I'm not here for myself, but on behalf of a young man, President Han of Qingniao Publishing House, to ask you something."

"Ma Yongxing?" Qian Youde said, his voice tinged with suspicion. He leaned forward, examining Ma Yongxing's face, then gave a timid smile. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ma, I didn't know Qingniao was one of your people. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to touch her even if you killed me."

"You mean you can bully people who aren't one of my people?"

Qian Youde's eyes darted around, then he leaned over the table and said quickly and softly, "Mr. Ma, you don't know, it was those people... those people from Eastern Culture who contacted me. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Maybe, and then what?"

"They said they'd give me five thousand dollars a month if I helped them get the magazine distributed. I... I'm short on money lately, I have elderly parents and young children to support, I really have no other choice..."

"Just because you're short on cash, you can smash someone's stall? Just because you're short on cash, you can bully honest people? Qian Youde, you've been in Songjiang for seven or eight years, and this is all you've accomplished?"

"Fuck you!" Qian Youde slammed his fist on the table, making the ashtray jump and cigarette butts fall like raindrops. "You don't know anything! They have all my secrets, all the things I did in my younger days... I collected protection money in Songjiang, beat people up, and... I even had an affair with a town official's wife... They know all of these things perfectly well. They said if I don't obey, they'll hand those materials over to the district and the city."

Qian Youde reached out and gripped the edge of the table, his eyes wide open, glaring angrily at Ma Yongxing. Then, as if a hole had been punched in a soccer ball, his face slumped down in dejection, and he buried his hands in his face.

"At that time, not only me, but even my cousin will have to go in. Do you understand?" Qian Youde sobbed bitterly.

Ma Yongxing carefully observed Qian Youde: "Now I'll give you a chance. Send those people in first."

Qian Youde peeked at Ma Yongxing through his fingers: "What?"

"Hurry up, you have one minute. Who are those people?"

"Oh, I... I don't know either. They only contact me by phone. They always call me first. They also send people to deliver the magazines, put them in sacks, and just leave them at my warehouse door."

Do you think I'd believe that?

"Mr. Ma, I'm telling the truth! I also want to know who they are. But... but I've checked, and I can't find anything. Mr. Ma, although I, Qian Youde, am a scoundrel, I know who I can mess with and who I can't. If Qingniao is one of your people, give me a straight answer, and tomorrow... no! today, I'll take back all the goods I've already sold and apologize to President Han. Those people... I don't dare touch those people again. I'd rather they expose all my dirty secrets and spend a few years in jail than offend you."

"You don't even know what they look like?"

"have no idea."

When did they send you the magazine?

"They always deliver it in the middle of the night, and I see it when I wake up the next morning."

"How long has it been delivered?"

"It's only been three days, with one delivery a day, a thousand copies each time. I've already distributed eight hundred copies, and the rest are still piled up in the warehouse."

Ma Yongxing nodded: "You have three things to do next. First, keep all the 'People's Stories' magazines you have as evidence. Second, collect all the magazines you've distributed. For every copy of the 'Bluebird' magazines you threw away, you'll lose money. Third, write a statement detailing how you contacted those people, how they threatened you, and what they made you do. Sign it and put your fingerprint on it. If needed later, you might be asked to be a witness."