Li Chuchu was walking on the road. Just as she was about to turn into an alley, she suddenly had a gut feeling that something was off.
She slowed down her steps, and the footsteps behind her also stopped.
The steps were heavy and thud - like, probably those of a middle - aged man.
Li Chuchu pretended to stop to adjust her shoes and the cuffs of her pants. Instead of turning back, she took a quick look through the reflection on the glass window of a roadside store.
The man following her seemed to be a bald middle - aged man holding a stick in his hand. His eyes were extremely fierce, looking like a convict just released from prison.
Li Chuchu's heart skipped a beat.
If she turned left up ahead, she would reach the alley leading to her home. There was still a certain distance from the alley entrance to her home, and this man might attack her on that stretch of the road.
Li Chuchu wasn't sure if there was anyone in the yard, and she didn't dare to bet her life on it.
She silently called out in her mind several times, "System, system, are you there? Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!"
【Beep! May I ask what help you need, host?】
Li Chuchu whispered, "There's a bad guy following me. Is there any way to help me get rid of him?"
【Beep! No functional items were found in the host's backpack.】
Are you kidding me?
Did it really need to tell her that?
"Then is there any way to give me some self - defense items? Otherwise, if I die, you'll have to find a new host!"
The small TV - like interface flashed twice and then refreshed:
【The system has detected that the host is in danger. Five puppy - love values can be exchanged for the item "stun gun". Does the host need it?】
Li Chuchu quickly replied, "Exchange! Exchange! Exchange!"
Having a stun gun was better than having nothing.
【Item exchange successful. Please check it, host.】
Li Chuchu reached into her cross - body bag and felt a stick - shaped object in her hand. A sense of security welled up in her heart.
She gritted her teeth and walked into the alley.
Sure enough, the alley was empty.
After entering the alley, Li Chuchu heard the footsteps of the man behind her speeding up significantly.
She quietly took out the stun gun.
The man had already reached behind her.
Just as his hand was about to touch her, Li Chuchu's adrenaline skyrocketed. She took out the stun gun and shocked the man.
"Ah—"
She turned around and saw the man staggering back a few steps, covering his chest.
Only then did Li Chuchu get a clear look at his face.
She was sure she had never seen this man before.
The bulging veins ran diagonally from the corner of his mouth to the end of his eye and twitched constantly, looking like a symptom of some mental illness.
These facial features were quite distinctive.
Li Chuchu suddenly thought of someone.
Wu Gui.
The younger brother of Wu Li.
It all made sense now.
"Damn it, you bitch! How dare you attack me!"
Wu Gui didn't know what had hit him. He only felt half of his body go numb. He stared at Li Chuchu, gnashing his teeth, wishing he could burn a hole through her.
Li Chuchu took a wary step back. "If you come any closer, I'll call the police station."
Being thwarted by a young girl like this, Wu Gui was extremely unwilling.
The fleshy parts of his face twitched, and his eyes turned menacing.
"I came here specifically to teach you a lesson today! How dare you steal my job? Li Chuchu, right? I'm putting it out there today. Either give my job back to me or give me a thousand yuan. Otherwise, this is not over!"
Li Chuchu more or less guessed this man's intention, but she never thought he would be so shameless as to try to extort a thousand yuan from her.
She wasn't sure how much longer the stun gun would last.
Li Chuchu didn't dare to confront him head - on.
"Go talk to Wu Li about this. If she promised you something, go ask her for it."
"I'm coming after you! It was you who stole my job!"
Wu Gui seemed a bit mentally unstable and looked like he was willing to fight to the death.
While stalling him, Li Chuchu was looking for an opportunity to run home. She even considered shouting for help if things got really bad.
It was just that her relationship with the neighbors in the compound wasn't very close, and she wasn't sure if anyone would come to help.
Li Chuchu carefully backed away. "Okay, giving you money is also an option. Let's have a good talk in front of Wu Li and discuss this matter then."
She suspected that Wu Li was shifting the blame onto her. But talking was just an excuse. She didn't want to get entangled with this family at all.
Wu Gui was so angry that he couldn't listen to anything. He was only after the money. He suddenly lunged at her. "Damn it, if you don't give me the money, I'll kill you today. My name isn't Wu if I don't!"
With a ferocious look on his face, he pounced on her. Li Chuchu didn't have time to dodge and quickly defended herself with the stun gun.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?"
Aunt Wang, who had just come back from grocery shopping, saw this scene and was so shocked that her vegetable basket fell to the ground.
Li Chuchu quickly shouted at her, "Aunt Wang, help me!"
Aunt Wang didn't even bother to pick up the vegetables on the ground. She rushed forward like a mother hen, pushing Wu Gui hard. "What are you doing? If you come any closer, I'll call the police!"
Li Chuchu never expected that it would be Aunt Wang, her neighbor, who would step up in this critical moment.
Aunt Wang shielded Li Chuchu behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks and scolded Wu Gui mercilessly. "You shameless and despicable thing! How dare you attack a young girl! I'll beat you to death!" As she said that, she took off her shoe and hit him on the back.
"Chuchu, go inside and find Uncle Wang. Ask him to call the police station!"
Li Chuchu quickly ran towards the house, shouting for Uncle Wang as she ran.
Uncle Wang was watching TV in the house. Suddenly hearing the noise outside, he immediately ran out with a handmade cigarette in his hand. Seeing Li Chuchu in such a hurry, he guessed that something must have happened. "What's going on, Mrs. Shen?"
"I met a bad guy in the alley. Aunt Wang told me to come back and ask you to call the police station."
This was serious!
Hearing this, Uncle Wang quickly put down his cigarette. He picked up a wooden stick and ran outside.
Although his wife was a bit talkative on a normal day, she was a kind - hearted person. She let Li Chuchu run back first and stayed there alone to deal with the thug.
My old woman, wait for me!
I'm coming right away!
The neighbors across the street also poked their heads out when they heard the noise.
Uncle Wang called out to his old friend. "Old Li, something's happened! Ask your daughter - in - law to call the police station!"
Hearing his old friend's call, Old Li didn't even ask what was going on. He immediately picked up the broom by the door and called his son to go and help. He turned back and told his daughter - in - law, "Xiufen, quickly call the police station."
When the other neighbors heard the commotion, they all went out to join in.
Some carried rakes, and some carried kitchen knives.
Everyone rushed over in a swarm. By the time they got there, Aunt Wang and the thug were in a heated fight.
Wu Gui was covered in eggs and vegetable leaves, and half of Aunt Wang's sleeve had been torn off.
Aunt Wang was desperately grabbing Wu Gui's hair. When she saw Uncle Wang coming, her eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Old man, you're finally here! Hurry up and give me a hand!"
Wu Gui was startled when so many people suddenly appeared.