Chapter 0432: Beating the Reporter

In fact, even Zhao Fusheng had never expected things to turn out like this.

Seeing the arrogant Hua Zi about to charge over and start a fight, he was a bit stunned. Before Zhao Fusheng could react, Qiu Ming had already shouted, "Who are you people? What right do you have to come here and smash things up?"

There was no helping it—being a reporter, he habitually stepped forward.

"Where'd you come from? Get lost!" Huazi glared at Qiu Ming, revealing the tattoo on his arm. "What I do is none of your damn business. I'm telling you, this game hall is not allowed to open. If you open it again, I'll smash it every time, got it?"

"This is a crime! Is there no law anymore?" Qiu Ming shouted loudly.

"Law?" Huazi laughed. "I'm telling you, around here, I am the law!"

As he spoke, he threw a punch at Qiu Ming.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Fusheng had no time to react.

Bang!

Qiu Ming was immediately hit in the face by Hua Zi's fist, staggering backward. If Zhao Fusheng hadn't steadied him, he would have fallen straight to the ground.

After all, he was an intellectual, and compared to the thugs who hung around the streets all day, his combat ability was on a completely different level—he was defeated outright.

Everyone was stunned. The reporters who had just arrived were also stunned.

Even Zhao Fusheng himself stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

He had indeed imagined letting Qiu Ming and the others cover this incident, but he never expected these thugs would dare to hit a reporter.

Could this guy be surnamed Li, with a master surnamed Guo?

A reporter—this was a bona fide reporter—and he was knocked down with a single punch, and in full view of everyone. Zhao Fusheng was almost a hundred percent certain that Qiu Ming wouldn't let this go until Hua Zi and those behind him wished they were dead.

"Brother Qiu, Brother Qiu, are you okay?" Zhao Fusheng quickly helped Qiu Ming and asked.

"Qiu Ming, Qiu Ming." Jiang Xuerui hurried over and asked.

This was her own brother-in-law, so of course she had to care.

Blood was seeping from the corner of Qiu Ming's mouth. With Zhao Fusheng's support, he stood up, looked at Hua Zi, then turned to Zhao Fusheng and said, "Fusheng, didn't you say you had some veterans here? Why didn't they fight back?"

Zhao Fusheng gave a bitter smile. "Brother, we're businessmen. How could we fight them? If it really came to blows, they'd call it a brawl, and the Public Security Bureau..."

Before Qiu Ming could speak, Jiang Xuerui said in a low voice, "This isn't a brawl. It's protecting people's lives and property. Who would dare arrest you? We'll go in with you."

"That's right, we'll go with you," a group of reporters chimed in.

At this moment, they were certainly united against a common enemy. After all, these people were physically weak and couldn't beat the thugs in a fight. But sometimes, to deal with someone, you didn't have to do it yourself.

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Fusheng's eyes. He glanced at Hua Zi, who was a bit dazed by the crowd blocking the door, then waved at Qian Dongliu. "Brother Qian, hit them!"

Everyone was stunned. After all, Qian Dongliu was alone, and judging by the blood on his forehead, he had just been beaten. Now Zhao Fusheng was telling him to fight—shouldn't he be calling for backup?

Even Hua Zi was taken aback. He opened his mouth to mock Zhao Fusheng's overconfidence, but the next moment, he heard a crisp sound from his arm!

Crack!

"Ah!"

After a scream, Hua Zi's two arms hung at a grotesque angle, and he was kicked flying.

The three underlings behind him were startled, and then they saw Qian Dongliu charging at them.

That's right, Qian Dongliu, alone, attacked the remaining three thugs.

Moments later, all four thugs were incapacitated, lying on the ground wailing miserably.

"That's... it?" Everyone was stunned. The reporters exchanged glances, and Qiu Ming looked at Zhao Fusheng in confusion.

Zhao Fusheng smiled wryly and nodded. "Brother Qian and the others were scouts. They don't know their own strength. That's why I always told them, even if someone causes trouble, they mustn't fight back—what if an innocent person gets hurt?"

Qiu Ming couldn't help shaking his head helplessly. "Fusheng, Brother Qiu isn't criticizing you, but you're wrong to think that way."

He pointed at the men lying on the ground. "Look at these people. Are they worth your concern? To the kind, we should have a heart of love. But to scum and dregs of society like this, the more you give in, the more arrogant they become. Look at the shop—smashed to pieces. What a loss!"

Zhao Fusheng smiled bitterly. "Brother Qiu, I didn't expect this either. But don't worry, President Zheng has already instructed that if anyone causes trouble, we'll reinvest as soon as possible. It won't delay the welfare home's expenses."

Jiang Xuerui nodded. This was indeed in line with Zheng Yao's character; she had always been like that—if she wanted to do something, she would definitely see it through to the end.

"Call the police, have these guys arrested."

"Right, call the police quickly!"

Some people nearby said. They were all journalists, and though they might seem a bit frail, they still had enough sense for that.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, watching as the journalists around him took out their phones and dialed the police.

Seeing this, a cold smile curled at the corner of Hua Zi's mouth, but he didn't say a word.

He knew very well that Zhou Wei had already greased the palms of the local police station. When they arrived, they wouldn't do anything to him.

But unfortunately, he had no idea what the people in front of him did for a living; otherwise, he wouldn't have been smiling so happily.

Qiu Ming had taken a punch and was nursing a grudge. Seeing Hua Zi still smirking, he gritted his teeth and said to Jiang Xuerui, "Come on, let's record and take photos. I'm going to expose these thugs and give the children at the welfare home a clear and bright world!"

Holy shit!

Hearing this, even Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but narrow his eyes, casting a sympathetic glance at Hua Zi. In his mind, the danger level of this reporter Qiu Ming shot up several notches.

Truly worthy of being the uncrowned king.

With just a casual remark, he slapped a big label on Hua Zi.

Zhao Fusheng saw it clearly: these people were recording and taking photos with no intention of blurring the faces of the thugs. That meant once the news was reported, their reputation as an underworld gang would be sealed.

Even if pressure came from above, Ninghai would have to make the case ironclad, let alone dragging in the welfare home's name.

So even Zhao Fusheng silently shed a tear of sympathy for these thugs.

Of course, he had no intention of playing the merciful Mr. Dongguo who sets the tiger free. These guys had been doing evil every day, harming plenty of people. Getting taken down like this was actually a good thing.

Hua Zi and his crew had no idea disaster was looming. They looked on in bewilderment as the group rushed over, recording and photographing.

Soon, the police arrived, led by a deputy director.

He had already received a call from Zhou Wei. The son of an old leader asking for a favor was no big deal, especially since Zhou Wei had made it clear he wasn't targeting the Wanda Mall but the game arcade on the fifth floor.

But just as he arrived and was about to put on his official airs and take the people away, a crowd of men and women with cameras and video recorders suddenly surrounded him.

"Excuse me, has public security in Ninghai deteriorated to such a degree?"

"Are these thugs openly vandalizing because of your law enforcement's connivance?"

"Why is the police response so slow?"

A barrage of questions came like a string of firecrackers, overwhelming the deputy director.

Then, he saw a man with a bruised face and blood at the corner of his mouth walk up, pull out a work ID, and hand it to him. "Comrade police officer, I'm Qiu Ming, a reporter for the provincial newspaper. I was just beaten by these thugs here. I'd like to ask, is Ninghai still a place where the people are in charge? How can such thugs run rampant in broad daylight?"

The deputy director broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing the array of cameras and microphones around him, he knew this incident had blown up.

Not to mention anything else, a reporter from the provincial newspaper had been beaten, and with so many media outlets present, if he still followed Zhou Wei's instructions, his career as a police officer would be over.

With that in mind, he quickly cleared his throat and said with righteous indignation, "I don't know what happened, but rest assured, fellow journalists, we will enforce the law impartially and not let a single bad element who undermines social stability and unity go unpunished!"

With that, he waved his hand and ordered his men, "Take these guys into custody."

But as he approached, the deputy director noticed that the thugs were bruised and swollen, with their joints dislocated. He turned around in surprise, "What's this?"

Qian Dongliu was about to step forward when he saw Zhao Fusheng shake his head at him. Jiang Xuerui raised her microphone and moved close to the deputy director: "Comrade police officer, these thugs were subdued by the public. I'm a reporter from the provincial TV station. I'd like to ask, how does the Ninghai public security bureau plan to handle such behavior that disrupts social order and endangers public safety..."

The deputy director blinked, then realized they didn't intend to let him take the men away.

Thinking quickly, he said, "Our consistent principle for such behavior is to deal with it severely..."

After all, he was a deputy director. He rattled off a bunch of theoretical knowledge, instantly crafting the image of a good police officer dedicated to the people.

As for Zhou Wei's instructions? Ha, who was Zhou Wei?

Compared to these uncrowned kings with red eyes itching for a fight, the deputy director wasn't about to risk his own official hat to shield that idiot Zhou Wei.

Meanwhile, Qian Dongliu and Zhang Qian, who had come over, were completely dumbfounded, staring at Zhao Fusheng in shock.