Chapter 343
The pool hall was dimly lit and filled with a haze of smoke. As soon as Noah walked in, he was hit by the stench of cigarettes mixed with the stale odor of sweat and body odor, causing him to wrinkle his nose slightly.
Inside, there were four green pool tables, each with a single incandescent bulb hanging above it by a thin string. Around the tables, a group of seven or eight young punks loitered.
These punks had hair dyed in various colors, some wearing tight t-shirts and skinny jeans with moccasin-gommino shoes, looking like typical street youths. Others wore blue and white school uniforms, cigarettes dangling from their lips, clearly students from Silverlight City High School. Among them were a few girls, dressed to impress.
All of them were young, none older than twenty.
"Noah, when I was young and just starting out, I was like them," East said nostalgically, looking at the group. "Back then, I was nineteen, thinking that in this world, friends were everything. I'd do anything for a friend, even fight or take a bullet. But after a decade or so, I realized how naive I was."
"In the underworld, true friendship is rare. Especially when money's involved, friends mean nothing. There's only eternal profit, not eternal friends."
Noah chuckled. "They're young. It's normal to take a wrong turn. Once they face some real hardships, most of them will probably go back to school."
As Noah and his group entered, the young punks turned their attention to them, especially eyeing the four men in sunglasses behind Noah. They could sense these men were not to be trifled with.
"Parker! Parker!" Ivan called out.
"What are you yelling for?" A young man with dyed yellow hair, holding a pool cue, walked over. He had a cigarette in his mouth, tight pants, and an arrogant demeanor, exactly Parker.
"Ivan, did you find Genevieve for me?" Parker blew a smoke ring.
"Yeah, I found her." Ivan pointed to Genevieve, who was hiding behind Noah.
"Genevieve, you finally came!" Parker's eyes lit up with undisguised admiration. "Do you know how much effort I put into finding you?"
He reached out to grab Genevieve, trying to pull her over.
East stepped forward, blocking Parker.
"What do you think you're doing?" Parker frowned, looking up at East. "I warn you, this is my turf. You want to cause trouble here?"
As he spoke, the punks around the pool tables moved in, surrounding Noah and his group. Despite their fear of the men in sunglasses, they had numbers on their side—dozens of them against just four.
"What's the plan, Noah?" East asked, looking at Noah.
"Clear the place," Noah said calmly. He had no desire to negotiate with these self-important kids. Let the fists do the talking, and then they would listen to words.
"Noah's orders, clear the place!" East shouted, grabbing a nearby punk and tossing him to the ground.
South, West, and North sprang into action, moving like tigers among sheep, their attacks swift and fierce.
The punks, initially emboldened by their numbers, quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Within a few minutes, half of them were on the ground, incapacitated. The rest, seeing this, turned pale and fled.
"Noah, it's done," East said, dusting off his hands. The four of them were the elite of Respect Noah Pavilion, dealing with a bunch of kids was a piece of cake.
Parker was now held by South and West.
"Parker, can we talk?" Noah asked, stepping up to him. "I hope you'll cooperate. I don't like picking on kids."
Parker spat on Noah's shirt. "You bastard! How dare you hit my people!"
He struggled, glaring at Noah with bloodshot eyes. "You think you can bully me because I'm young?!"
With Genevieve—his crush—watching, Parker felt humiliated and grew angrier. "Damn it, you can only bully the weak! When I'm your age, I'll be better than you! Damn it!"
He cursed, "If you have the guts, kill me today! Otherwise, when I have power, I'll make you kneel before me! Bastard!"
A stream of profanities poured from Parker's mouth.
"Got a tough mouth, huh? Let's see how tough you can be," Noah said, taking off his spit-stained jacket.
"Got it, Noah," East replied, stepping forward. He grabbed Parker's jaw with his left hand and slapped him hard with his right.
The sharp sound of the slap echoed. Parker's face throbbed with pain, his head spinning. His cheek swelled visibly.
Parker, eyes red, continued to curse.
"You hit me, I'll pay you back tenfold someday..."
Eventually, Parker couldn't speak anymore as East's slaps rained down. Blood trickled from Parker's mouth, his face bruised and swollen, hair disheveled.
"Parker," Ivan and the other punks were stunned, not expecting the men in sunglasses to be so ruthless.
East raised his hand again.
"Stop, please stop, I beg you," Parker finally pleaded, his voice weak, blood dripping from his chin.
"Just a few slaps and you're already begging?" East sighed, lowering his hand. "Kids will be kids."
"You're right. I just wanted to show off in front of the girl I like," Parker said, trembling. "But I can't take it anymore. Please, stop hitting me."
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