Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Chapter 386

While Yan Rongrong was dealing with the three men, the rest of the crowd had already surrounded Chenyang.

One of the men at the very front shot him a vicious look and threatened, "I’ll give you one last chance. Let go of your boss, then get on your knees and wait for us to pass judgment. If you do as I say, we can avoid getting rough. But if you refuse to see reason, we’ll beat you half to death before the police get here!"

Chenyang scoffed. "Just because you work for Lin Jiji, you think you’re hot stuff? And you’re fucking telling me to kneel and await your judgment? What gives you the right to judge me?"

"I... I’m not working for Lin Jiji! I’m here for all the victims you’ve taken advantage of! We represent justice, and justice is the highest right we need to judge you!"

"Tsk, tsk. You’re sounding more high-and-mighty by the second. You’re clearly just one of Lin Jiji’s dogs sent here to bite me, yet you’re packaging yourself as some kind of savior. Doesn’t your conscience bother you when you say things like that?"

"You..."

Before the man could retort, Chenyang’s tone suddenly shifted. "No, wait. A guy like you, who’d confuse right and wrong and maliciously slander others for a bit of cash, wouldn’t have a conscience in the first place."

"How dare you!" The man’s face flushed red with anger. He glared at Chenyang and snarled, "Since you’ve chosen the hard way, don’t blame us for being merciless! Brothers and sisters, let’s get him! Beat this bastard!"

"Get him!"

After the man shouted, one of his companions echoed the call, inciting the crowd. They began cracking their knuckles, preparing to rush Chenyang.

But just as they raised their fists or prepared to kick, Chenyang suddenly shouted, "Everyone, I won’t stop you if you want to fight, but I have two pieces of advice I hope you’ll hear first. First: whether I’ve done wrong or not is for the law to decide. You have no right to judge me. Attacking me here is tantamount to deliberate public disturbance. If I fight back, it’s self-defense. Even if I kill one or two of you, the worst I’d get is excessive self-defense.

"I, Chenyang, have no family and nothing to lose. I don’t even care if I end up in prison. But you all should think carefully. If I kill or cripple you, you’ll be the ones who lose out, and you won’t get a single cent of compensation.

"Second: this guy in my hands was hired by someone to cause a scene, and he has accomplices in this crowd. To put it bluntly, aside from the few people here who genuinely want to teach me a lesson, the rest have ulterior motives.

"To those of you who sincerely want justice for the victims, I, Chenyang, admire you. After all, it’s rare these days to see people stand up against injustice. But I also want to advise you to use your heads while you’re playing hero. Don’t just rush in blindly. You won’t end up a hero; you’ll just be a pawn for those with malicious intentions!"

Upon hearing Chenyang’s first point, many in the crowd froze, their forward-surging bodies quietly pulling back.

They didn’t know the detailed articles of the law, but they all understood they had no right to enforce it. The moment they attacked first, they would be the ones in the wrong, no matter what Chenyang did.

And if Chenyang killed someone while defending himself, it wouldn’t be called intentional homicide, but excessive self-defense.

Sure, if they all attacked together, they could probably take Chenyang down.

But even a cornered rabbit will bite. If they pushed Chenyang too far, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t take one or two of them down with him.

And no one here wanted to be the one taken down.

This sliver of fear caused their initial aggressive bravado to dissipate by more than half.

Then, after hearing Chenyang’s second point, the crowd’s expressions changed dramatically again.

The people sent by Lin Jiji looked guilty, their eyes darting about evasively.

The rest, who were in the dark, looked confused and bewildered, clearly unaware that Lin Jiji had sent people here.

At the same time, they were a bit skeptical. ℴ

One of them couldn’t help but ask, "Is what you’re saying true?"

"I..."

Just as Chenyang was about to explain, one of the men sent by Lin Jiji suddenly shouted, "Of course it’s fake! He’s trying to undermine our unity and sow discord among us! There’s no one here sent by Lin Jiji! There are only two types of people here: victims who have been tricked or harmed by Chenyang, and kindhearted people who are standing up against injustice!

"He’s only saying this because he’s afraid of us beating him! He’s trying to turn us against each other and scare everyone to create a chance to escape! Don’t you dare believe him! Don’t let him drive a wedge between us!"

"Sow discord my ass. Who the hell do you think you are? As if Chenyang would waste his time trying to sow discord with you?"

Before the man could even finish his sentence, Yan Rongrong’s mocking voice cut in from the side.