Chapter Fifty-Four: Unforeseen Changes

"Watch out!!" Liang Lingzhi cried out in alarm. "He Wentian, someone behind you is trying to kill you!"

Before the prison guard standing in front of Ye Dong could react, the scar-faced man had already slammed into him, sending him flying several meters away.

"Die!" The scar-faced man thrust his sharpened stick directly at Ye Dong's throat.

Ye Dong sneered coldly, grabbed the man's wrist, and, using the momentum of the attack, spun around and executed a flawless back throw.

With a heavy thud, the scar-faced man crashed hard to the ground.

But his gang, all wielding sharpened bamboo skewers, surged forward to swarm Ye Dong. Ye Dong was no fool—since his opponents were armed, why would he stay and fight them head-on? Of course, he ran! The chase was on, the danger mounting with every second.

Alarms blared as prison guards drew their batons and chased after the attackers. "Stop! All of you, freeze!"

On the field, the inmates squatting nearby began to jeer and shout, "Kill him! Kill him!"

Liu Fei lowered his voice to ask Liang Lingzhi, "Brother Zhi, what should we do now?"

Liang Lingzhi gritted his teeth. "Our chance for riches is right in front of us. It's up to you whether you can seize it!"

A lackey poked his head out and asked, "Brother Zhi, do you mean we should take out He Wentian!?"

Liang Lingzhi slapped him hard. "Idiot! With a brain that dumb, you'd dare to commit a crime!?"

The commotion on the field grew louder and louder. Two rival gangs, already harboring grudges, somehow burst into insults.

"What are you looking at!?"

"I'm looking at you, what of it!?"

"You wanna fight, punk!?"

"Come hit me, if you don't, you're the coward!"

With just a few heated words, they really did rush at each other, and the field dissolved into chaos.

Liang Lingzhi was secretly delighted. "Now's the time! Go and get He Wentian out of there!"

Liu Fei, clearly desperate from years of poverty, charged ahead as soon as he got Liang Lingzhi's approval. "He Wentian, I'm here to help you!"

Liang Lingzhi shouted as well, "He Wentian, I'm with you too!"

Seven or eight of Liang Lingzhi's followers, including Xu Si, immediately followed.

The entire field was nothing but utter bedlam.

Ye Dong saw Liang Lingzhi leaping toward him and rejoiced inwardly. "This fool never sticks to the script!"

With the numbers on their side, Liu Fei and the others barreled into the pursuers, knocking many of them aside. Ye Dong grinned wickedly. "Why are you helping me!?"

Liu Fei laughed heartily. "Brother Zhi said if we save you, you can make us rich!"

Ye Dong burst into crazed laughter, pointing at a tall man. "Hold him down for me! I’ll bite him to death! I guarantee, you'll all be millionaires!"

Xu Si was stunned. "Did I hear that right? He said he's going to 'bite him to death'!?" Then, thinking it over, "Just like that, I become a millionaire!? My god! How many lifetimes would it take for me to earn a million!?"

Liang Lingzhi deftly sidestepped a thrust from the tall man's bamboo skewer, grabbed him, and swung him in front of Ye Dong. "He's all yours!"

Ye Dong kicked away the tall man's bamboo skewer, leaped up, and landed on his back, sinking his teeth into the man's neck.

"Ah!!!"

A scream of terror and agony ripped through the noisy field.

Liang Lingzhi felt a chill in his heart. "What is Ye Dong doing!? How can he actually bring himself to bite!?"

Blood seemed to spurt from the tall man's neck.

His companions were dumbfounded. "Madman! He Wentian is a madman!"

"Help me! Help me!" The tall man, paralyzed with fear at first, suddenly remembered to cry for help. "Bro, get this lunatic off me!"

Liang Lingzhi yanked Xu Si over. "Don't let them kill our golden goose! Get over there and protect him!"

Xu Si seemed mesmerized. "Oh! Oh!"

"What are you waiting for!" Liang Lingzhi, entangled with two others, could only kick Xu Si toward Ye Dong. "Our meals and money depend on him!"

Suddenly kicked from behind, Xu Si stumbled and lunged toward Ye Dong.

At that moment, a shout erupted behind him. "He Wentian, I'm going to kill you!"

The scar-faced man, somehow having shaken off the guards, charged at Ye Dong with a bamboo skewer.

Faced with this sudden crisis, Xu Si’s mind went blank. "What do I do! What do I do!"

The bamboo skewer was about to plunge into Ye Dong’s back as he still grappled with the tall man.

With a hysterical scream, Xu Si threw himself at the attacker, hugging the bamboo skewer tightly to stop the charge. But the scar-faced man was far stronger, and Xu Si was forced back as he shouted, "He Wentian, stop biting! There's an enemy behind you!"

Suddenly, Xu Si cried out in pain—a long, bloody gash had been carved into his chest.

Ye Dong shoved the tall man away, mouth dripping with blood, and bellowed, "That was satisfying!"

He yanked Xu Si behind him, then spun with a whirlwind kick that knocked the scar-faced man down again. "You really think you can kill me!?"

Grabbing a bamboo skewer from the ground, Ye Dong stabbed it into the scar-faced man's belly over and over. "Kill me!? Kill me!? Kill me!?"

Xu Si, gasping for breath, watched He Wentian, wild and frenzied, about to commit murder. "This lunatic! This lunatic!"

The scar-faced man seemed to have stopped breathing, but Ye Dong continued to stab him relentlessly. "Another one down! Feels great!"

Clutching the blood-soaked skewer, Ye Dong turned to Xu Si. "What's your name!"

Xu Si pointed to himself, trembling. "M-me?"

Ye Dong sneered. "That's right, you!"

"Xu... Xu Si!"

Powerful water cannons suddenly blasted across the field. "All inmates! All inmates, disperse immediately! This is your last warning!"

Ye Dong slapped Xu Si on the shoulder. "Well done. I don't have many friends, but you count as one!"

Still unsatisfied, he gripped the skewer and charged at another inmate. "You were chasing me too! Die!"

A muffled gunshot rang out. Ye Dong felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a small syringe embedded there. "Damn..."

Before he could finish, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Liang Lingzhi, seeing Ye Dong subdued, immediately went docile, squatting with his hands on his head. "Where did Ye Dong learn to act like that? It was almost too real!"

The riot, which had lasted less than two minutes, was quickly quelled. Punishment for the inmates involved was inevitable.

Ye Dong slowly regained consciousness, only to find Huiyan and Xiao Li standing before him, both glaring angrily.

"You've got a lot of free time to visit me, huh?" Ye Dong said coolly. "Isn’t this the outcome you wanted?"

Huiyan threw a stack of photos onto him. "Are you out of your mind? Do you not realize how fragile the human carotid artery is? Our officer-actor almost died at your hands!"

Ye Dong grinned. "Wasn't that just special effects blood?"

"It was! But didn’t you realize you actually bit into his flesh!?"

Ye Dong still looked nonchalant. "But he's fine, isn't he?"

Huiyan picked up a photo. "Look! Is that wound on his neck fake!? And look at this—if he hadn’t had a thick layer of fat on his belly, he’d be dead!"

Ye Dong knocked the photos from her hand. "You saw the situation yourselves. Life and death were on the line. How could I pretend? Was I supposed to say, 'Bro, brace yourself, I’m about to attack you!'—would that be convincing? Xu Si isn’t stupid; if I didn’t act real enough, he’d never have been awed!"

Huiyan was about to retort, but Ye Dong cut her off. "I know what I’m doing. I may look crazy, but my mind is clear! When I stabbed him, I was careful!"

Seeing the two about to argue, Xiao Li quickly pulled Huiyan aside. "Let it go. Everything's still under control, and the boss’s plan worked out."

Ye Dong said coldly, "I didn’t expect Officer Li to take a different approach—not letting us get close to Xu Si, but using threats and lures to draw him in. It’s bold, but it’s us undercover agents who suffer."

His last words were tinged with sarcasm and self-mockery, making Huiyan feel uneasy. "My master is experienced; he tailored the plan to Xu Si’s personality. What do you know?"

Ye Dong sneered. "I don’t know a thing!" He suddenly stood up. "I’m just stupid! I don’t know why I’m being used as a pawn!"

Huiyan was taken aback. "Ye Dong, you..."

Ye Dong pressed her, "Can you honestly say you asked me to go undercover with no personal motives?"

Huiyan lowered her head. "How did you know..."

Seeing her at a loss for words, Ye Dong glanced at the confused Xiao Li, then swallowed the words he was about to say. "Forget it. I promised Officer Li I’d do this, so I’ll handle it. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading back to my cell."

Huiyan watched Ye Dong’s disappointed figure walk away, a ripple of emotion lingering in her heart. "Who told him about me!? If my involvement causes him to slip up, then..."