Being carried onto an ambulance at the start? But this is America!

"I'm very irritable, help me relax."

His philosophy of life is simple: as long as he is comfortable.

I never put pressure on myself.

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Nova gave a perfunctory reply, barely warmed up, and felt embarrassed to even ask for money.

At the edge of the camp, Li Ping calmly watched as two vehicles swayed and approached.

Leading the way was that dark gray Chevrolet, followed by a decent-looking old Toyota.

"It's my car."

Roland gritted his teeth, pointed at the Chevrolet, and whispered.

The Chevrolet stopped, and the tall, thin man in the passenger seat quickly got out and respectfully opened the back door.

They have quite the air about them.

A tall, muscular bald man stepped out, and whether he stepped on a pebble or his legs went weak, he staggered.

The red-lipped woman who followed closely behind quickly helped him up.

Five young men, each holding a baseball bat, filed out of the Toyota and stood in a crooked row.

Nine people gathered together and walked toward the dimly lit camp.

"Roland, is the twenty thousand dollars ready?"

Nova's shrill voice pierced the silence of the night, brimming with arrogance.

"Didn't we agree on ten thousand?" Roland's voice trembled with anger.

"Your ID is only worth ten thousand?"

Nova stood with her hands on her hips, speaking with righteous indignation, "Stop talking nonsense, where's the money? I know you've hidden cash, deposited it in the bank to pay off your debts, right?"

She knew Roland too well; betrayal often comes from those closest to you.

Li Ping remained calm as he sized up Nova.

Her skin was fair, but she was too thin. The fine lines on her face couldn't be hidden, and even heavy makeup couldn't conceal the withered look that came from being eroded by drugs and indulgence.

"Bro,"

He turned his head and whispered to Roland, his tone slightly teasing, "Your taste in women is really terrible."

Nova, with her sharp ears, reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling and baring her teeth as she lunged forward.

"What did you say, pretty boy?!"

But she took two steps and then stopped. Dalton and his cronies stood still, none of them moving.

Dalton ignored Nova and scanned his surroundings warily.

Only a lone solar-powered lamp was lit outside the campsite; the area under the bridge was pitch black, with only the outlines of tents vaguely visible.

On the surface, only Li Ping and Roland were standing on the edge of the halo, but his intuition, honed from years of street life, sensed something was amiss.

It's too quiet.

"Don't you like women?"

Nova vented her anger on Roland, but her eyes lingered on Li Ping's handsome face and muscular physique. Her tone was sharp, "He's still keeping a gigolo!"

"He's my brother!" Roland exclaimed, his face turning pale with anger.

Nova dared to insult her sexual orientation!

"brother?"

Nova scoffed, "I make plenty of guys like that every day..."

Is there pure friendship between men and women?

"That's enough!"

Dalton gruffly interrupted the two women's argument. His gaze swept over Roland, who was indeed a rare beauty, and his henchmen stared at her intently.

But he himself remained completely unfazed.

Rape is illegal, robbery is illegal, and the other party is a lawyer; things can't be taken too far.

The best outcome would be for Roland to willingly hand over the money to Nova, and for them to be merely there to make an appearance.

Even if the matter is investigated afterward, the primary responsibility lies with Nova.

"Give me the money."

Dalton stared at Roland and said succinctly, "We just want money."

"The money is available."

Li Ping took a step forward, blocking Roland's path. His voice was low but clear, "But we need to see your identification first. If you don't produce the documents, you can turn the camp upside down and you won't find a single banknote."

He has remained inactive until now, wanting to confirm whether the item is in the other party's possession.

Otherwise, if you finish the test but lose your identification, it's all for nothing.

Dalton's gaze fell on Li Ping.

The guy was a little taller than me, wearing a dark green shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing his well-defined collarbone.

Although not as strong as me, that lean physique often means speed and toughness.

Li Ping was also sizing up Dalton. Although his underlings looked rather odd, his boss seemed like someone to be trifled with, with a pointed head.

I lingered for a moment, especially on the unnatural bulge at his waist, and thought that this guy seemed to be an expert in American Iaijutsu.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, with only the faint sound of traffic from the distant highway.

Dalton grinned, revealing a set of not-so-cropped teeth: "Kid, you think you're in charge?"

"Of course!" Li Ping nodded.

"Show me your identification."

Dalton tilted his head, his voice rough.

Nova's face showed a hint of reluctance. If she really had to give it all back, how would she control Roland in the future?

But seeing Dalton's expressionless face, she still hesitated before turning around, pulling a small canvas bag from the back seat of the Chevrolet, and reluctantly carrying it over.

Roland stepped forward, quickly rummaged through the items, and then gave Li Ping a barely perceptible nod.

Everything is ready.

"Kid,"

Dalton snatched the canvas bag back from Nova's hands, clutching it in his rough, calloused grip. "The goods are in order, but where's the money?"

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were trading something.

"Wait here, we'll go get it."

Li Ping remained calm, exchanged a glance with Roland, and the two slowly moved backward, retreating into the dark shadows of the bridge arch.

Dalton's brow furrowed instantly: "You want two people for the money? Leave one!"

He instinctively sensed something was wrong and took a step to chase after him.

Just then—

"Slap! Slap!"

Li Ping stopped and clapped his hands crisply twice.

As if receiving a signal, several high-powered LED lights powered by batteries and solar panels suddenly lit up in the bridge cave camp, which originally had only a single lamp. The white light was dazzling, illuminating the center of the camp as if it were daytime!

Dalton and the others all covered their eyes, and Li Ping also squinted slightly, as if he understood the significance of the sunglasses.

Immediately afterwards, the zippers of the seemingly quiet tents in the camp started zipping, and one after another, figures silently emerged.

They carried baseball bats, steel pipes, and even a few machetes whose cold glint flashed under the lights.

Figures kept rising from behind the tents and beside the piles of abandoned debris, silently gathering around.

It wasn't just a dozen or so, but a full twenty or thirty men, of varying heights and builds, but all with a menacing, newly gathered aura of hostility in their eyes.

The nine members of the Sea Whale Gang, who had been so arrogant, suddenly changed their expressions.

Dalton felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his calves, which had been stiff just moments before, felt a little weak.

He instinctively gripped the hard object at his waist to barely steady himself.

Nova felt as if she had been suddenly choked; her sharp aura vanished instantly, and she shrank back behind Dalton in terror.

At the very front, Devon and Li Fan, two towering figures, stood with their nearly two-meter height casting huge shadows under the lights, almost completely enveloping Dalton.

The sense of oppression was almost tangible.

Was it a setup?