Cao Cheng watched Xu Qingrou leave with Wang Long, a faint smile still on his face. Then the smile slowly faded.
He turned his gaze toward the chaotic scene not far away, and his expression grew cold.
After casually rolling his neck, he stepped forward and walked over.
…
At the scene, Sun Er was still lying on the ground, groaning and cursing in a hoarse voice.
The villagers around him seemed unable to endure it any longer. Perhaps they thought Wang Hu, who was in charge here, looked more honest and easier to talk to than Wang Long.
The beasts buried in their blood seemed to awaken.
One after another, they began shouting, demanding an explanation from Wang Hu, ready to act at the slightest disagreement.
Wang Hu, however, simply stood there with his hands folded over his abdomen, just like the other bodyguards. His expression looked somewhat dull.
Compared to Wang Long… he didn’t look like a bad person at all—more like a simple, honest man. No wonder the villagers all approached him for answers.
But… this “honest” man struck with ruthless force.
Cao Cheng thought this as he walked to his side.
When Wang Hu saw him, his blank face broke into a simple, honest smile. “Young Master, what should we do next?”
Cao Cheng nodded slightly but didn’t reply. Instead, he looked toward the villagers.
The villagers quieted down the moment they saw him. They glanced at each other, seemingly discussing something.
Seeing this, Sun Er realized things were going wrong and immediately began shouting again, “Someone’s been beaten! Someone’s been beaten to death! Is there no justice? No law?! Why isn’t anyone stopping this?!”
Sure enough, as his voice rose, the villagers once again became agitated, demanding an explanation.
“Young Master, be careful,” Wang Hu said, quickly stepping in front of Cao Cheng. The bodyguards also moved forward to block him.
If it had been before, the original Cao Cheng would have already ordered them to attack and then hidden somewhere to watch the show.
That was how he was—purely malicious, with no bottom line. A bully who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.
In truth, he didn’t even need to handle matters like this. The Cao Family never directly managed businesses—they simply invested and collected profits.
But he insisted on involving himself, deliberately stirring up conflicts just to watch people fight.
He didn’t dare fight himself, though.
His body had long been drained.
When Cao Cheng first arrived, he was so weak that he barely dared to do anything on his own, afraid he might suddenly drop dead and lose this luxurious life.
However, after the system’s reward earlier, everything had changed.
In that instant, he felt power surge through his body.
Facing a situation like this, he no longer felt the need to hide.
After all, strength was on his side now.
He had even asked the system—while dealing with the protagonist might still be difficult, handling these minor figures was more than easy.
With that thought, Cao Cheng directly pushed Wang Hu aside and walked past the bodyguards, stepping in front of the villagers.
Wang Hu, who had been easily pushed away, stood there stunned, his mind full of questions.
Was this still the same Young Master who needed help just to walk?
The villagers, seeing Cao Cheng step forward, immediately labeled him as a weak pretty boy. Seeing his slender arms and legs, they assumed he was easy to bully, so their shouting grew even louder.
Cao Cheng listened for a moment, then casually dug his ear before frowning. “Shut the hell up. What are you wailing for? Mourning a funeral?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
They looked at each other, confused, not even sure what had just happened.
Cao Cheng was quite satisfied. Though his voice was soft, it carried a trace of spiritual power.
“You have someone in your village named Xu Qingrou. She told me she came here to block the demolition because of her son. What about you? What special reason do you have? Did our company fail to pay you? Or was the compensation insufficient?”
He paused slightly, his tone turning colder. “If you have a valid reason like hers, speak now. I’ll solve it for you. But if you don’t… then you took the money and still came here to cause trouble, didn’t you?”
The last sentence sent a chill through the crowd.
The villagers exchanged glances again.
They had indeed come for money, but now that Cao Cheng had exposed it so directly…
No one wanted to be the first to speak.
Eventually, their gazes all shifted toward the instigator of this incident—
Sun Er.
Seeing this, Sun Er nearly lost his mind.
Damn it!
Weren’t they supposed to share fortune and hardship together?!
Now that something had happened, why was everyone staring at him?!
He cursed inwardly, but with everyone’s eyes on him, he had no choice but to speak.
“We… we were just passing by on our way to the fields, so we came to take a look.”
After saying it, he even felt proud of his quick thinking.
Unfortunately, Cao Cheng almost burst out laughing.
Passing by?
With kitchen knives in hand?
“Since you’re just passing by, then if there’s nothing else, leave. The workers are about to start construction.”
Hearing this, Sun Er’s “genius” brain started spinning again.
A few seconds later, he shouted, “No! Your people beat me and injured me like this. What are you going to do about it?!”
Cao Cheng smiled faintly. “What do you want?”
Sun Er straightened his neck and shouted, “Money!”
“How much?”
“1 million! If you don’t pay, I’ll report you!” Sun Er said through gritted teeth. Then he glanced at the villagers beside him. “And you have to give them hush money too, or they’ll report you as well!”
The villagers’ eyes lit up at once, and they quickly echoed him.
“Yeah! He’s right!”
“You have to pay us too!”
Cao Cheng felt his head buzzing from the noise. He turned around deliberately and said loudly to Wang Hu, “Xiao Hu, go get two boxes of cash from the car.”
Wang Hu was confused, but after a brief hesitation, he obeyed.
The villagers immediately quieted down.
Smiles spread across their faces as they began whispering among themselves, already discussing how much to demand.
Even Sun Er, though still lying there in pain, couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes.
He had never expected the notorious Cao Cheng to be this easy to deal with.
At the same time, a trace of worry surfaced—after taking the money, how would he continue leading the villagers to make trouble?
Soon, Wang Hu returned with the money.
The villagers stared greedily at the suitcases in his hands.
Wang Hu walked straight to Cao Cheng. “Young Master, the money is here. What now?”
Cao Cheng nodded and looked at the villagers again. “Distribute it.”
“Are we really giving it to them?” Wang Hu asked, puzzled, as he opened one of the suitcases.
Inside—
Neatly stacked cash totaling 2 million appeared before everyone.
The villagers’ breathing grew heavy.
This was exactly what they had come for!
Someone quickly helped Sun Er up and asked, “How much should we ask for?”
Sun Er’s greedy eyes locked onto the cash as his mind raced.
But just as he was about to speak, Cao Cheng suddenly shouted, “The money is right here! If you want it, then when you act later, be ruthless and decisive. Understood?!”
“Understood!”
Sun Er froze.
Wait… what?
Before he could react, the bodyguards and thugs had already charged forward.
He suddenly felt a heavy force, his vision blurred—
“Ah—!”
He fell face-first into the ground.
Before he could recover, fists and kicks rained down on him like a storm.
His curses turned into screams and pleas for mercy.
No one held back.
After all, Cao Cheng had said—be ruthless.
The villagers scattered in all directions.
Cao Cheng watched the scene with satisfaction.
However, seeing a few unlucky ones also being beaten, a trace of “kindness” surfaced in him.
After all, he had grown up under modern values.
“Xiao Hu, aside from Sun Er, just break the legs of the others.”
“Yes, Young Master. What about Sun Er?”
Cao Cheng thought for a moment. “Break his third leg. Then take him to a pig farm in the outskirts and wait for my instructions.”
“Understood, Young Master.”
Cao Cheng nodded. “I’ll leave things here to you. I’m going to check on Xiaolong.”
With that, he turned and left.
Watching his back disappear, Wang Hu began carrying out the orders.
He walked up to one of the unlucky men, who was curled up on the ground, and smiled simply.
Then, he raised his foot and stomped down.
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out, followed by a scream.
Wang Hu’s expression remained unchanged.
Soon, one by one, the unlucky men had their legs broken.
Beside each of them, a few stacks of cash were left behind.
As for Sun Er, Wang Hu frowned as he looked at him lying spread-eagle on the ground.
It wasn’t pity.
He simply didn’t understand what “third leg” meant.
Fortunately, someone reminded him.
Realization dawned.
He glanced at Sun Er’s lower body.
Even Wang Hu, ruthless as he was, felt a chill.
Young Master… really had no bottom line.
Still, he didn’t hesitate.
He lifted his foot—
And kicked down.
A horrifying crack echoed.
Everyone present instinctively sucked in a breath.
Sun Er’s eyes bulged, his face turning green and purple as he let out a scream louder than a slaughtered pig.
But within seconds, his mouth was stuffed, and he was dragged into a car.
The others lying on the ground were terrified out of their minds. Some even wet themselves. Ignoring the money, they dragged their broken legs and scrambled away.
Wang Hu didn’t stop them.
He distributed the money among the men present, then sent a message to Wang Long before taking Sun Er to the pig farm—
Where his fate would be decided.