From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

"It's okay, stay calm."

I reassured my cousin, then stood up and looked at the group of tattooed men who walked in.

"Gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?" I spoke first, my tone humble.

The burly man at the head of the group, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, sized me up and said in a cold voice:

"New boss, right? I heard you just took over this site?"

I didn't say anything, my eyes fixed on the burly man at the head, my mind racing.

I've only been in charge of the site for less than a day, and there's been no activity from the outside world. How could I have attracted such a group of fierce-looking people to come to my door so quickly?

Before I could finish thinking, the burly man at the head of the group took two steps forward and stared down at me.

His tone was arrogant and domineering, full of threats: "Kid, you've got some nerve! Daring to take over the courier business in this area without even asking?"

"You probably don't know, but the courier industry in the east of the city is already under someone's protection; it's not something you can just easily get involved in!"

Judging from his words, could it be that he's run into a local bully causing trouble?

But how did he know I had just taken over this courier station?

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, let alone someone who has nothing now.

I suppressed my displeasure and quickly picked up the cigarettes on the table, politely offering them to him.

"Gentlemen, we are unfamiliar with the rules and have offended you as newcomers. Please tell us what the rules are, and we will comply."

But just as I offered him the cigarette, the burly man at the head of the group suddenly glared at me and swung his hand sharply!

Snapped!

A crisp slapping sound rang out, and the cigarette in my hand was slapped away by him, falling onto the dusty ground.

The burly man said with a sneer, "These cheap cigarettes that cost ten or so yuan are hardly worthy of serving us? Kid, you're incredibly ignorant!"

Looking at the broken cigarette on the ground, anger surged up instantly, but I gritted my teeth and suppressed it.

What good is acting impulsively?

Not to mention that they outnumber me, even if I could handle them, they're obviously here to cause trouble on purpose. Once I make a move, they'll cling to me.

These kinds of scoundrels are the hardest to deal with, and the key is that I still don't know why they came here.

I swallowed my anger and, still with a forced smile, said, "Please forgive us, gentlemen. We're new here and don't know the rules. Could you please tell us what we need to do to ensure a smooth business operation?"

Seeing me yield and show weakness, the burly man at the head of the group became even more arrogant, raising his hand to display a number—a blatant act of extortion.

"Simple! If you want to open a shop and do business peacefully in this area, pay a protection fee of 10,000 yuan per month!"

"Once you pay, if anyone causes trouble or gets into any problems at the store, we guys will take care of it for you!"

"Either pay your monthly fees and run your business peacefully, or close down immediately and get out of this area!"

A surge of anger welled up inside me, and I cursed him under my breath for his greed and shamelessness!

This isn't collecting protection money; it's blatant robbery!

I just took over the loss-making website and was penniless. I relied entirely on my cousin's 20,000 yuan to get by.

They asked for 10,000 yuan a month right off the bat; they were practically pushing me to my death!

Seeing the group of menacing, tattooed men, my cousin standing behind me completely panicked.

He quickly stepped forward, his face plastered with a fawning smile, afraid that the other party would smash up the shop on the spot.

"Brothers, please have mercy and make an exception! We just took over this station, and it's drowning in debt. We really don't have a single spare penny and can't afford to pay the protection money. Could you please give us a few days' grace?"

"Make an exception?"

The burly man at the head of the group suddenly hardened his eyes, completely unmoved by his cousin's act.

He raised his hand and shoved his cousin hard on the shoulder.

My cousin was thin and staggered back two steps when he was pushed unexpectedly, his body trembling slightly.

"I don't have time to waste arguing with you!"

The burly man took a step forward, his voice fierce and domineering: "Either pay up and open the shop, or I'll smash this lousy place to pieces and get out!"

The atmosphere inside the store instantly became extremely tense, like a battle about to erupt.

I reached out to support my staggering cousin, shielding him behind me, and then took a step forward, standing directly in front of the group of burly men.

In terms of height and build, I can't compare to these strong and muscular men who have been in the underworld for years; I even look a bit thin.

But at this moment, the pent-up frustration and anger that had been building up inside me finally broke free.

From being humiliated after the breakup, to being fired from work, to being blacklisted by all the food delivery stations in the city, to being kicked out of the house.

Then, after taking over this terrible website, I'm now being extorted by thugs!

Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone me, Lin Ye, who has never been a pushover.

I stared intently at the burly man in the lead and gritted my teeth, saying, "I'll say it again, I'm operating legally. Not a single penny of protection money."

"If you want to smash up the store, go ahead. If you dare to do even one thing today, I'm ready to fight you to the death!"

The leading man paused for a moment, then chuckled, his face full of disdain, and said:

"Oh? Kid, you dare to act tough with us? You're tired of living?"

My expression was calm, but my tone was extremely firm:

"I'm not being aggressive. We're all just ordinary people struggling to make a living; nobody has it easy. If you insist on taking away my livelihood and cutting off my way out, then even if I have to fight to the death, I'll take a couple of people down with me. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try!"

After saying that, I turned sideways and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the corner of the wall, assuming a fighting stance.

When my cousin saw that I was serious, his eyes instantly reddened, and he was no longer timid.

He grabbed the U-shaped security lock by the door, held it tightly in his hand, and stood firmly beside me, looking ready to fight side by side at any moment.

This scene directly shocked the group of thugs on the other side.

The henchmen who were initially eager to try suddenly stopped in their tracks, none of them daring to take a single step forward.

They were just there to extort money from me, and nobody was willing to really fight. But when they ran into someone like me who wasn't afraid of death, they immediately chickened out.

The burly man at the head of the group turned completely pale, narrowed his eyes and stared intently at me, gritting his teeth as he said in a deep voice:

"Alright, kid, you've got guts!"

"You win today, we're leaving! But you just wait, this isn't over! I want to see how long your new, crappy website can hold out!"

He uttered a threatening remark and gave us a fierce look.

Finally, unwillingly, he waved goodbye, turned around, and got into the car with his gang.

The SUV roared to life, kicking up a cloud of dust, and sped away from the station entrance.

A terrifying crisis was temporarily averted, but I felt no relief; instead, my heart grew heavier.

I know very well that this is not the end.

Moreover, I seriously doubt whether this group's purpose is really to collect protection money.

I immediately took out my phone, dialed the number of my employee Yang Hao, and asked him directly:

"Yang Hao, I have a question for you. In this area of ​​the east of the city, are there always local bullies collecting protection money?"

Yang Hao, on the other end of the phone, was completely bewildered. He said blankly, "No, Brother Lin! I've been working here for two years. When Boss Liu Dong was running the business, there was never this rule, and I've never seen any local bullies collecting protection money. Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Okay, that's all, you can go ahead with your work."

After I hung up the phone, I immediately understood what was going on.