Chapter 115: Kill Me If You Can

Everyone around was stunned.

No one had expected Lin Meng to curse Li Dahai so brazenly. No matter what, the man was the village chief of Taohua Village and held a certain amount of power. Even when he went too far, most people would simply swallow their anger.

Lin Meng’s actions were tantamount to completely dropping all pretenses with him.

The veins on Li Dahai’s forehead throbbed with anger. He felt his authority had been trampled upon. "Lin Meng, I am the village chief! Have you considered the consequences of insulting me like this?"

"You piece of shit, you’re exactly the one I’m cursing!"

Lin Meng had completely run out of patience. He roared, "As the village chief, what have you done these past few years other than oppress the villagers and embezzle public funds? Even a dog would do a better job than you!"

These words resonated deeply with the entire village. Although no one said it out loud, they were all crystal clear about what Li Dahai had done. For a moment, the gazes directed at him turned peculiar.

Li Dahai felt a twinge of guilt and panic. Furious, he whipped out his phone, ready to contact his acquaintances at the police station. "Lin Meng, you little bastard! If I don’t ruin you today, my surname isn’t Li!"

Lin Meng sneered. "Calling the cops on me, huh? You’d better lock me up for the rest of my life, because the moment I get out, I’m killing your whole family!"

Li Dahai’s movements instantly froze. Even with connections at the station, he could only have Lin Meng detained for a couple of weeks at most. And at Lin Meng’s age, he was hot-blooded and reckless enough to actually follow through with such a threat once he was released.

Li Dabiao noticed the situation was going south. He hastily stepped forward and shot a pointed look at his lackeys. "Lin Meng, who the fuck do you think you’re fooling!" he yelled. "Last time, I only backed off to give Zhao Lingshan face. Did you really think I was afraid of you? Today, I’ll show you what I’m made of.

"All of you, get him! Beat him senseless! If he dies, it’s on me!"

Instantly, seven or eight men stepped forward in unison, advancing toward Lin Meng.

"Liyang, stand behind me," Lin Meng said.

Entirely unafraid, he reached out to shield Ji Liyang behind him. Then, he took the initiative and charged at the men.

Lin Meng had already tested the limits of his own body back when he dealt with Guo Lin, so he was brimming with confidence. Plunging into the crowd, he was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, throwing punch after devastating punch.

"Ah! It hurts!"

"My... my bones are broken!"

Bloodcurdling screams quickly echoed through the air. In less than a minute, all of Li Dabiao’s subordinates had collapsed on the ground, wailing and writhing in agony.

"You... you..."

Panic gripped Li Dabiao. He had never expected Lin Meng to be such a capable fighter.

Having nothing to say to him, Lin Meng delivered a vicious slap across his face. The force sent Li Dabiao flying, and he crashed into the dirt like a lifeless ragdoll.

After dealing with them, Lin Meng helped Wang Wei to his feet. "Brother Wei, are you alright?"

Wang Wei lowered his head in self-reproach. "Mengzi, I’m sorry. I’m just too useless."

"Brother Wei, I’m the one who didn’t think this through. I should be the one apologizing," Lin Meng said with guilt. If he hadn’t asked Wang Wei to handle this task, why would he have been beaten so badly?

Looking at Wang Wei’s battered state, Lin Meng’s fury continued to mount. Since the majority of the villagers were present, he decided to speak up. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Neighbors, elders, you’ve all seen what happened today! Just because of the land contracting, Li Dahai, our so-called village chief, colluded with Li Dabiao to bully Brother Wei’s family to this extent!

"Since you’re all here, I’ll be blunt. I’m the one who actually wants to contract the land.

"Over the years, many of you couldn’t finish farming your land, so with Li Dahai acting as a guarantor, you contracted it out to Li Dabiao. In the beginning, it was five hundred yuan per acre. Then, when the harvest was bad one year, he slashed it down to two hundred.

"But even though the harvests have been bountiful every year since, he’s kept the price at two hundred yuan! Even so, whenever you ask him for the money, he claims he’s short on funds and keeps stringing you along. And if you go to the village chief, he always takes Li Dabiao’s side.

"However, if you contract your land to me from now on, I will pay you five hundred yuan more per acre on top of the original price you started with! Moreover, as soon as the contract is signed, I’ll pay you for the first year upfront. Then, at the beginning of next year, I’ll pay you for the following year in advance!

"Of course, if you’re not willing—if you’d rather let these two bully you for the rest of your lives, or if you want to end up trampled under their feet like Brother Wei here—then just pretend I never said anything."

This speech instantly caused a stir among the crowd. What Lin Meng said was the undeniable truth.

For years, almost everyone had harbored deep resentment over this matter. Yet, out of fear of offending Li Dabiao and his gang, they could only suffer in silence. But now, the terms Lin Meng was offering were far too tempting. Not only would they earn an extra five hundred per acre, but they would also receive the money in advance.

Most importantly, his final words made them realize a crucial truth. If Li Dahai and Li Dabiao could bully Wang Wei like this today, what would happen if one of the villagers accidentally offended the pair? Wouldn’t they be humiliated in the exact same way?

"Xiaomeng, are you serious?" someone finally mustered the courage to ask.

Immediately after, the others could no longer hold back.

"Yeah, do you really have that much money?"

"What if you’re scamming us? What then?"

As more and more voices joined in, all fear of Li Dahai and his men vanished from the crowd. They were now united as one.

A faint smile graced Lin Meng’s lips. "Don’t worry, everyone. I’ve made a fortune doing business recently, so I can definitely afford it. Besides, we all live in the same village. If I were to cheat you, how could I ever have the face to stay here?"

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. They sank into deep thought, clearly swayed by the prospect.

"Lin Meng, are you sure you want to go against us?" Li Dabiao snapped back to his senses, thoroughly panicking.

He indeed had power in the village, but if everyone banded together to resist him, there would be nothing he could do against them, no matter how many thugs he had. The law cannot punish the masses. This principle applied everywhere.

"That’s right! Kill me if you have the guts!" Looking ferocious, Lin Meng spat a thick glob of phlegm right at him.

"Good! Good! Just you wait!" Li Dabiao gritted his teeth, his chest practically bursting with rage. But frustratingly enough, there was absolutely nothing he could do to Lin Meng.

"Li Dahai, it’s so late! What on earth are you causing a scene for?"

"Dabiao, whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. Let’s just go home for now."

At that moment, Cheng Xiue and Sun Shumei, who had just heard the news, finally rushed over as they called out. When they saw the sheer size of the crowd, both women were startled. They hadn’t expected the situation to escalate to such an extent.

And when they noticed Lin Meng standing there, both of their hearts gave a violent shudder. It was terrifying. The Lin Meng of today was completely different from his usual self. The sheer ruthlessness radiating from him was like a man-eating tiger, chilling everyone who looked at him to the bone.

Not only that, but the way the surrounding villagers looked at the two women was also peculiar—filled with disgust and hatred.

"We’re leaving."

With a dark expression, Li Dahai knew he had no face left to stay. He shot Li Dabiao a look before turning on his heel and leading the way out.