Chapter 26: A Fierce Beating

"Idiot!" Feng Xu spat out the word with ease, putting away his work tablet in that instant. "Before I lose my temper, at the very least, you should all get out together. When I’m working, no one disturbs me—I repeat, no one." His tone was deadly serious. When it came to his work, he demanded absolute silence. Even in Ye Gu's studio, no one dared to interrupt him lightly.

Yet now, simply for upgrading a car engine, he found himself surrounded by this mob in the technology lab.

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Terrell’s mouth as he rolled up his suit sleeves. "Did you all hear that? Who would have thought that such a petty traitor could be so cocky in our company." He raised his voice to the crowd, "Go after him! Whatever happens today, I’ll take full responsibility. Work hard and I’ll raise your salary, give you bonuses, maybe even get my uncle to promote you."

He grabbed a wooden stick from nearby, glaring at the others. "Terrell is generous—well, then we won’t be polite." "That’s right, this guy’s a traitor—he deserves a beating." "Finish him! Teach him a lesson, he’s never up to any good anyway!"

In the blink of an eye, the crowd surged toward Feng Xu.

Feng Xu’s eyes flashed coldly. If this were happening outside, the commotion would cause all sorts of trouble. But here, inside the company, his roommate Phil had his back. Since these people dared disturb his work, they would have to bear the consequences.

"Go to hell," Terrell sneered, hurling the stick at him as the rest charged. Feng Xu slammed his palm onto the wooden desk and, in the same breath, lashed out with a single kick.

With a series of heavy thuds, seven or eight of the attackers were sent flying, crashing into each other and collapsing in a heap. Before they could recover, Feng Xu moved like lightning, his fists crashing down with merciless precision.

Agonized screams echoed through the research lab.

"A traitor, you say? How refined you sound, spitting such words. Today, you’ll pay for your insolence," Feng Xu intoned, his eyes icy as his fists struck home. None could withstand him.

"Stop him!"

Terrell’s teeth were shattered, blood streaming down his chin as he clutched his chest and staggered toward the door. Feng Xu was far too formidable—he’d not only snapped their sticks but had laid out nearly everyone in the room.

"You won’t escape," Feng Xu said coldly, striding after him.

Terrell barely managed to squeak out a cry before someone from outside dragged him back into the room.

A sharp slap cracked through the air, echoing harshly in the room.

"Is this guy a devil? He’ll kill someone if he keeps this up!" "For heaven’s sake, we just wanted to scare you—why so brutal?" "Who called him a traitor? It wasn’t me—let us go!"

Now the crowd cowered in the corner, trembling. They might have possessed some fighting skill—after all, they’d been hired as bodyguards—but Feng Xu had demolished them, and not one had managed to touch his sleeve. The gap between their strength was painfully clear.

"Spare us," Terrell rasped, blood streaking his battered face as he curled up in the corner.

Feng Xu’s gaze was glacial. He’d warned Terrell already, told him not to give up, but the man had insisted on disturbing his work.

"Weren’t you acting high and mighty just now? Very well." He looked at the others, his grin chilling. "Now each of you come here and slap him ten times. Anyone who stops, I’ll deal with personally."

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Under Feng Xu’s menacing stare, they lunged at Terrell, slapping him one after another.

"You bastards, how dare you hit me—ow!" "Stop, stop, please!"

Terrell’s screams filled the room. The very bodyguards he’d summoned were now beating him mercilessly. Even if they lost their jobs, at least they’d vented their anger on him. Who would have imagined Terrell had provoked someone so ruthless? They’d thought Feng Xu was just a scholar, probably with no strength at all.

But now, he was a veritable whirlwind of violence.

A group hurried down the corridor outside the tech lab. Phil’s face was dark with rage.

"What on earth happened here? You idiot, how dare you offend Master Feng—" He pushed open the door, only to find Terrell, his own nephew, being pummeled by a pack of bodyguards.

"What is going on?" Phil demanded, confusion written across his face.

"It was just a misunderstanding, isn’t that right?" Feng Xu said coolly, glancing at the others.

A shiver ran through the group. Feng Xu’s smiling eyes looked devilish. His methods had thoroughly subdued them. They nodded furiously.

"Chairman, it’s a misunderstanding." "Yes, Chairman, truly a misunderstanding." "If you don’t believe us, ask Terrell." "He asked us to beat him, really."

Each one hurried to back Feng Xu’s story, casting nervous glances at Terrell.

Clutching his head, Terrell groaned, his body wracked with pain.

"What happened?" Phil shouted. He knew his nephew had been abusing his name to throw his weight around. Now, he’d finally hit a brick wall. Phil had hurried over to help Feng Xu, but seeing his nephew beaten so badly, he was bewildered.

"N-nothing, Uncle. I just realized I’m not good enough, so I asked them to beat some sense into me," Terrell stammered, knowing full well it was a feeble excuse, but angered and humiliated all the same.