Chapter 10: Sleeping Like a Baby (Please Follow)

Fang Cheng watched as those three guys asked the nurse for a name and then headed toward a certain hospital room.

Turning his head, he discovered that Li Dingjian had run back to the laundry area.

He was leaning against the window with his back turned, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, looking contemplative beneath a pair of red underwear.

"Uncle, why are you smoking again?"

"It's nothing. You go look after your grandfather first. My nicotine craving hit and I couldn't help it, heh..."

Li Dingjian gave a sheepish laugh, his eyes flickering with a crafty light as he quickly glanced back.

Fang Cheng gave him a suspicious look before walking alone toward his grandfather's room.

As a cancer ward, the atmosphere here was noticeably more oppressive and solemn than on other floors.

Everyone he encountered had their brows tightly furrowed, silently hurrying past while clutching water bottles, urinals, or medical reports.

When Fang Cheng passed the nurse's station, a sudden commotion broke out, shattering the heavy atmosphere.

It sounded like someone was shouting and fighting, mixed with the heartbreaking cries of a child.

"Please, I beg you, please stop hitting him!"

"Brother Ma, give me a little more time, I promise I'll pay you back with interest, I absolutely won't delay any longer!"

The noisy sounds were coming from Room 803.

It was very close to his grandfather's room, separated by only two other rooms.

Then, with a "clang," the door to that room was kicked open rudely.

Immediately after, a short, yellow-haired man grabbed a young woman by the hair and forcibly dragged her out of the room.

The young woman’s clothes were disheveled, her hair a mess, yet she still flailed her arms, trying to get up to protect the child being carried away by someone else.

It was those three guys suspected of being gang members, clashing with the patient's family.

The burly man in the black compression shirt walked out last, gripping a scrawny man’s throat with one hand.

The man’s face was flushed red, his hands weakly thumping against the burly man, looking as if he were merely tickling him.

This scene drew other visiting family members, who all came out and gathered in the hallway to watch.

Some nurses were at a loss, while others hurriedly dialed for security.

Fang Cheng also stood among the crowd, watching silently.

He had seen this couple a few times.

The husband was a truck driver, and the wife had quit her job to provide full-time care for their child, who suffered from leukemia.

Because they were close to his grandfather's room and had been hospitalized for a long time, they would occasionally visit each other, so he was somewhat familiar with them.

He heard from his mother that the chemotherapy alone had cost tens of thousands.

If they wanted to complete the entire course of treatment and surgery, they would need at least three hundred thousand more—a burden several times heavier than his own family's.

They must have been forced into a corner, borrowing money from a loan shark with gang ties to cover the medical expenses.

The wife suddenly broke free like a madwoman, lunging at the burly man in the compression shirt and clinging tightly to his leg.

"Big Brother, please have mercy, give us a little more time. My son is about to have a bone marrow transplant, he absolutely cannot have anything happen to him now!"

"Sigh—"

The burly man looked troubled and sighed.

"Sister, it's no use begging me. The boss gave a strict order. We're all just working for a paycheck; it's hard for us too."

He turned to look at the man whose throat he was holding, released his grip, and continued

"How about this: why don't you settle the interest first so I have something to report back?"

The husband coughed violently, gasping for air, and stammered

"But... the interest is so high, over forty thousand. We're still short so much for the surgery..."

"Yingjun, A-Dong!"

Hearing this, the burly man dissatisfiedly ordered the two punks to continue.

The husband hurriedly shielded his wife with his body, his knees buckling as he knelt on the ground.

"Brother Ma, take it out on me, just don't hurt my wife and child!"

"I... I really have contacted a boss, I can sell my kidney to him. As long as I can get the money and cure my child's illness, I'll transfer the rest to you all..."

At this moment, security guards had arrived upon hearing the news. They held riot batons and shouted, asking what was going on.

The yellow-haired man called "Yingjun" immediately jumped forward, brandishing a folding knife, and threatened them fiercely

"I'm warning you, don't stick your noses where they don't belong! If we don't get the money today, we're going to make it everyone's problem!"

The group of security guards looked fearful, only offering repeated pleas

"Everyone, stay calm, stay calm."

Beyond these words, they had no strategy to deal with the situation.

Fang Cheng stared intently at the three troublemakers.

Hearing a few weak coughs from the room behind him, his brows knit together even tighter.

That was his grandfather's voice; he must have been woken up as well.

"These idiots, they can't even handle a few thugs."

Behind the crowd, Li Dingjian poked his head out, muttering to himself.

He had even put on a medical mask, looking quite sneaky.

"Uncle, how much do they get paid a month? If it were you, would you dare to step up?"

A young nurse nearby couldn't help but retort.

A family member of another patient seemed to empathize, sighing heavily

"Sigh, they're all miserable people..."

Although the onlookers felt compassion, they only whispered among themselves; no one dared to stand up.

The burly man in the compression shirt surveyed the situation, frowned, and issued an ultimatum

"Fine, we'll take the kid back for a visit first. When you've scraped together the money, come pick them up."

"Don't do this, Brother Ma, please, have mercy!"

"Xiaobao, my Xiaobao—"

The young couple screamed at the top of their lungs, fighting desperately to get their child back.

"Let go, damn it, all of you get the hell out of my way!"

Brother Ma's two underlings were also annoyed, kicking and shoving the couple, threatening the security guards to clear a path.

The child, wearing a hospital gown, was somewhat naive and confused, but knew that his father and mother were being beaten.

So, in the stranger's arms, he wailed incessantly, his face covered in tear tracks.

Right in the middle of this chaos, suddenly—

A voice called out

"Hey, can you guys be a little quieter?!"

The voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through the layers of noise in the ward area like a sharp thorn, reaching everyone's ears.

"Who? Who dares to mess with us?"

The yellow-haired man immediately looked around, his emotions still somewhat agitated.

"I said—"

Fang Cheng stepped forward, revealing himself from the crowd.

"This isn't a vegetable market, it's a hospital. Please be mindful and don't disturb the other patients' rest."

The yellow-haired man’s brows shot up, his expression stunned.

He seemed to recognize Fang Cheng as the "pretty boy" he had met in the elevator earlier.

"You little prick, you like acting tough, huh? Grandpa is going to teach you a lesson first!"

As he walked toward Fang Cheng, he waved the folding knife in his hand, striking a reckless pose.

Fang Cheng’s expression was calm, showing no signs of fear.

On the contrary, deep within his eyes, a glimmer of anticipation and excitement flickered.

He immediately raised his arms, assuming a classic boxing guard.

Seeing this, the yellow-haired man couldn't help but sneer

"Oh, you've learned boxing? Want to try disarming me with your bare hands? Do you want me to carve a few lines on your face?"

Fang Cheng remained unmoved.

He simply mimicked a professional boxer, turning his body sideways, using his elbows to protect his vital ribs, his gaze fixed on the gleaming folding knife.

When the opponent was about an arm's length away, he shifted his shoulders slightly and suddenly lunged forward.

His right arm exerted force instantly, his fist as agile as a stinger, quickly piercing the air toward the opponent's face.

The yellow-haired man clearly hadn't expected him to be this bold.

Instinctively, he tilted his head back and raised the folding knife, intending to slash him.

However, it was a feint!

Fang Cheng’s left fist flickered and was immediately withdrawn.

At the same time, his right leg flew up, kicking straight toward the opponent's groin.

"Fuck!"

The yellow-haired man’s pupils shrank; experienced in fighting, he knew he had been tricked.

He hurriedly thrust his hips back, trying to avoid the vicious kick.

Fang Cheng, however, took advantage of his unstable center of gravity, his right hand snaking out to grab the hand holding the knife.

The yellow-haired man was a beat too slow. By the time he realized what happened, his wrist was already held fast.

He looked up into Fang Cheng’s eyes.

They seemed to say with a hint of mockery: Who told you boxers only use their fists?

"You motherf—"

He tried to resist and strike back.

But he found that Fang Cheng’s fingers were like iron pincers, clamping firmly onto his wrist.

The more he struggled, the deeper they dug into his flesh, squeezing his bones so tightly it felt like they were about to snap.

The rest of his curse was choked back in his throat.

In agonizing pain, cold sweat pouring down, he slapped his thigh with his other hand, crying out repeatedly

"Ah—quick, quick, quick... let go!"

*Clatter.*

The folding knife slipped from the yellow-haired man’s hand and fell to the ground.

Fang Cheng kicked the knife away with his toe before releasing his grip.

The "Iron Fist" effect greatly enhanced the toughness of the bones and muscles in his hands.

This didn't just make his fists harder; it naturally improved his grip and grabbing strength as well.

Twice the strength of 10 points of Constitution was the superhuman effect of 20 points.

Fang Cheng reckoned that even if he grabbed the blade directly, the damage would likely be very limited.

"Can you be quiet now?"

He looked down at the thug, who was kneeling before him, still crying out in pain.

"Quiet your ass!"

The yellow-haired man was stubborn. After cursing, he tremblingly reached out his right hand, which still bore bruised fingerprints.

He wanted to pick up the folding knife and take a few more swings, clearly believing his opponent had cheated and fought unfairly.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng’s eyes flashed, and his relaxed fingers clenched back into a fist.

*Bang!*

As his knuckles collided violently with the man's jaw, the yellow-haired man fell backward stiffly, as if struck by a pendulum.

He lay flat on the ground instantly, as if injected with a dose of surgical anesthetic, and made no more noise.

"Fuck you!"

Just then, a thermos bottle was suddenly hurled at him.

Seeing his companion defeated, the other punk, A-Dong, immediately dropped the child and launched a sneak attack.

Fang Cheng leaned back, twisted his hips, and switched his stance.

With a single change of direction, he slipped to the opponent's weak side and quickly threw two punches in a counter-stance.

*Bang! Bang!*

The thermos hit the ground, its glass liner shattering with a clatter.

A-Dong also clutched his abdomen and slumped to the floor.

His entire face wore a mask of agony, dry-heaving and crying uncontrollably.

Left hook, butterfly footwork, liver-shot combo.

In just a few seconds, he had easily taken down two men, leaving only the burly man in the compression shirt standing there, stunned.

Fang Cheng rubbed his wrist and asked once more

"Can you be quiet now?"

The entire scene was deathly silent; no one answered.

Including the nurses, security guards, and family members, everyone held their breath, staring at him in disbelief.

At the same time, a notification appeared before Fang Cheng’s eyes.

【You have defeated two nobodies, Boxing skill EXP +25】

【Boxing lv1 (25/250)】

In the frozen atmosphere, the burly man in the compression shirt suddenly moved.

Then, he took a step and walked toward Fang Cheng.

(End of chapter)