Chapter 4 I Will Remember You

“My leg's broken! Do you even know how to drive? What are you going to do about this? I can't even stand up!” The man sprawled on the ground, wailing and making a scene. “Do you want to settle this privately or through the authorities?” The female driver wasn't entirely naive. She immediately realized that the man was deliberately staging an accident, and her delicate face flushed with anger. “Let's go through the authorities. I'll call the police first and then we'll head to the hospital. If it's my fault, I'll take responsibility.” The man was clearly a seasoned scammer. Unfazed, he retorted stubbornly, “Sure, call the police, go to the hospital. I'll need a thorough full-body examination and then I'll give my statement. This whole process won't be over in just one day.” The woman looked frustrated and helpless. She had a mountain of urgent matters to handle and no time to waste on this rascal. Even knowing that he was extorting her, she couldn't find a solution. “Fine! How about settling this privately?” she asked, stomping her foot in exasperation. This indignant motion no doubt caused some onlookers to stare in awe. “Simple. You hand over some money, and I'll go to the hospital myself. With my leg broken like this, I'd say it'll cost at least ten thousand,” the man demanded. The female driver gritted her teeth in frustration, but it was clear that she had some urgent matters to attend to and didn't want to waste any more time. She immediately pulled a stack of cash from her handbag and threw it at the man. However, she wasn't completely foolish and wasn't about to let the man take the money without some assurance. Her gaze swept around the crowd and landed, almost by fate, on Lucius, who was leisurely watching the drama unfold. “Excuse me, sir. I don't have time to handle this now. Can you help me take him to the hospital? Make sure he gets a full-body examination,” she asked. Lucius didn't expect to be dragged into the situation. Without hesitation, he shook his head. “Sorry, I'm busy. Can't you see my business is booming? Every minute is money.” This earned him countless disdainful looks from the crowd. Booming business? With that rickety tricycle collecting scraps? Give us a break! The woman clearly hadn't expected Lucius to be so indifferent to her plight. Her anger flared even further, and she glared at him with her bright, beautiful eyes. “I'll compensate you!” she snapped, pulling out several more bills. Lucius's expression shifted faster than flipping a page. He immediately grinned, parked his tricycle, and stepped forward. “Well, since you insist, helping others is a duty I can't refuse.” Pocketing the money without an ounce of shame and ignoring the disdainful glare from the woman, Lucius squatted in front of the scammer, smiling mischievously. “You've got the money now. Why are you still lying down? Pack it up and call it a day.” His words made the woman fume with rage. She glared at him and questioned, “You knew he was faking it, didn't you? Then why didn't you speak up for me earlier?” Lucius looked at her, feigning innocence. “I didn't know.” “You didn't know? Then what did you mean just now by 'now that you got the money, you can pack up'? What was that supposed to mean?” she demanded, staring him down with fiery eyes. “Are you two in this together?” Lucius was caught off guard. He hadn't expected her to catch on to his casual comment. “Ah, the pain! This is unbearable! Where's the justice? Where's the law? You hit me, and now you're accusing me of extortion? My leg is really broken!” the scammer's wails momentarily saved Lucius from the awkward situation. Lucius nodded and grabbed the man's seemingly swollen but actually unharmed right leg. With two fingers, he lightly pinched it. Crack! What followed was a bloodcurdling scream from the scammer as his body convulsed in pain. He rolled on the ground, cold sweat pouring from his forehead. Now, his leg was genuinely broken, not from the car accident, but from Lucius's handiwork. Lucius didn't usually intervene in such matters, but he despised people who stooped so low. If you were going to extort someone, you might as well pay a price. If you were going to act, do it professionally. “See? He wasn't lying to you. His leg really is broken,” Lucius told the woman casually. The woman didn't understand what had just happened, but the man's agonized expression was enough to send chills down her spine. She didn't want to stay any longer. She shot Lucius a fierce glare and, before getting into her car, glanced at his shabby tricycle. “I'll remember you. Just wait!” She then drove away. Regardless, she had labeled Lucius as a scoundrel inwardly. “Okay, she's gone. Stop wailing. Take this ten thousand and get yourself a cab to the hospital. Fix that leg of yours, and you might even have a few thousand left over for supplements,” Lucius said nonchalantly. The scammer was trembling with pain, his words barely coherent. He glared at Lucius with venom in his eyes. “Kid, which gang are you with? Do you believe I'll have you killed right now?”