Chapter 1477 - 442: Major Event in the South District

Chapter 1477: Chapter 442: Major Event in the South District

Chapter 442 [Major Event in the South District]

To be precise, it was about forty minutes ago that Chen Yan realized he was being watched.

When he bought a copper relief from a stall that sold small accessories — the vendor actually tried to scam Chen Yan by claiming it was an antique.

Chen Yan immediately saw the traces of modern stamping technology on it.

However, he thought it looked quite beautiful and decided to buy it anyway, but he only offered one-tenth of the asking price.

The vendor agreed without hesitation.

Damn, I overpaid!

His first reaction was that the hat-wearing vendor looked somewhat like the swindler he knew in Jinling Prefecture who sold him stone materials.

He pulled out cash to pay, then stuffed the copper relief into the backpack he carried with him.

It was probably while he was paying that his wad of US dollars was seen by someone.

Chen Yan noticed that the gaze came from a man pretending to smoke at the entrance of an alley across the street, who was secretly watching him.

After he left the stall, the smoking man signaled with a glance, and a little boy playing by the roadside quickly got up and followed Chen Yan.

Then, within forty minutes, as Chen Yan walked through three streets, he realized the child following him had changed twice.

About ten minutes ago, he further noticed that another group was now watching him, in addition to the first group.

This new group started tailing him fifteen minutes ago when he was noticed while paying for some kebabs at a street stall.

Two local gangs, presumably belonging to different thief groups, had both targeted Chen Yan, who had unwittingly exposed his wealth—when he paid, the thick wad of US dollars in his hand was several hundred, maybe even a thousand.

Their lack of action was due to Chen Yan continuing to walk on the main streets, with no apparent intention of cutting through alleys—otherwise, they would have acted long ago.

Furthermore, the second group seemed to have noticed the presence of the first group, and both sides were wary of each other.

Eventually, when Chen Yan stopped at a roadside cold drinks shop and bought a bottle of supposedly local dairy drink, standing on the roadside, drinking from a glass bottle with a straw, he noticed something.

The man who had been watching him while pretending to smoke was now behind a stall across the street, and a short, stout man walked over—the stout guy was the leader of the second group who had started watching him ten minutes ago.

The two men exchanged a few words in hushed tones behind the stall. Their conversation was intense, but after a brief exchange, they clearly reached a consensus.

Chen Yan watched it all, then finished his last sip of the drink.

Well, let’s treat this as some entertainment amidst boredom.

After speaking, he placed the glass bottle back on the counter and smiled at the shop owner.

The local, unnamed dairy drink tasted pretty good, with a strong milk flavor, resembling the taste of milk skin.

Chen Yan noticed that when he smiled at the shop owner, the owner’s gaze carried a hint of faint sympathy—obviously, the locals had realized that he was being targeted by these thieves.

After turning a corner on a street, the two groups that had been watching him acted swiftly.

The street was narrower, and the crowd denser.

A little boy who had been watching him suddenly sped up, overtaking Chen Yan from the side, running a few steps ahead before seemingly slipping and falling, crashing toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan took a step back, but soon, another person from the second group who had been watching him made a move.

A middle-aged woman with a headscarf, who had been walking hunched over, suddenly rushed at Chen Yan, thrusting her shoulder towards him.

Chen Yan’s expression remained unchanged, and he deliberately didn’t dodge. After the woman brushed against him, he pretended to stumble, stepping sideways.

Subsequently, the woman and the boy both fell to the ground, loudly shouting in succession.

A strong-bodied man immediately emerged from the crowd, heading toward Chen Yan with a fierce expression, shouting loudly.

Chen Yan quietly watched him, while feeling the crowd being pushed, as if someone was forcing their way towards him.

The man who was shouting at him helped the fallen middle-aged woman up from the ground, gesturing and loudly accusing Chen Yan.

Most of the onlookers were bystanders, but some were locals who recognized the gang and looked at Chen Yan with either pity or complex expressions—another unlucky soul targeted by this scum.

Sensing the crowd being consciously pushed forward, Chen Yan felt someone taking advantage of the chaos to approach him.

In the confusion, a hand reached out from the side, aiming for Chen Yan’s chest pocket...

Chen Yan remained calm, and amidst the shoving, he pretended to turn around, easily gripping the fingers of the hand reaching for his pocket.

Then, with force, he twisted!

With a crack, three fingers of the assailant were snapped by Chen Yan, and a painful scream erupted from a figure in the crowd!