Chapter 252: Chapter 172: Newcomer Treatment

The detonator I painstakingly made was just thrown away like that.

“Alright, it’s registered. You can go back now.”

The guard didn’t even look at Li Xiang. He just logged the information that Manager Wen returned on an entry-exit form, then crossed out a name of a person called Xiao Liu.

After Li Xiang got in the car, the iron gate of the compound slowly opened, revealing its mysterious veil inside.

Even though it’s night, the entire compound is brightly lit, like a city that never sleeps.

Everywhere you look, there are armed guards patrolling. Because it’s pouring rain, hardly anyone is moving around on the roads inside the compound.

The vehicle drove first to the logistics department’s equipment depot, where the gunmen stored all their weapons.

Obviously, this compound has some sort of weapon management.

“Have a good rest today; tomorrow I’ll take you to see the boss.”

Then the SUV drove directly to the dormitory, and Manager Wen arranged for a subordinate to take Li Xiang to the dorm.

The dormitory building is six floors high, with rooms symmetrically aligned on both sides and a corridor in the middle. Facilities like washrooms, boiling water rooms, restrooms, and laundry rooms are all complete.

The dorm is an eight-person room with four bunk beds. When Li Xiang was brought in, four people were already lying on the beds and they stood up when they saw him.

The gunman who brought Li Xiang in pointed to the lower bunk by the door and said to Li Xiang, “That bunk was empty before; now it’s yours.”

Even in this dorm, there is a strict hierarchy.

The farther inside and upper your bed is, the higher your status in the dormitory; the lower bunk by the door represents the lowest status.

As a newcomer, it’s only natural for Li Xiang to sleep in this position.

After Li Xiang came in, the person who brought him in locked the dormitory door behind him.

The people who were lying on the beds jumped down and walked over to Li Xiang, full of intimidation:

“New here? Do you know the rules of the dorm?”

Li Xiang frowned, “What rules?”

“When a newcomer arrives, he has to do things like fetch our foot-washing water, do laundry, clean, and other chores.”

They make it obvious they are bullying Li Xiang as a newcomer, just like prison bullying. Here too, newcomer bullying is severe, and the management doesn’t care at all.

Every newcomer has to do these chores until the next unlucky one arrives to take over his job.

“Don’t you all have hands of your own?”

Li Xiang would not put up with them; if you’re too kind, people will take advantage of you. If you give in right away, the future will be grim.

Before coming here, he had already made a plan: act high-key.

Only by acting openly and prominently can the higher-ups see his value and pay attention to him. That’s his chance to come in contact with the bosses, gain their trust, and gather more intel.

Starting from the bottom and being timid won’t bring any benefits, and you might never get to the core secrets.

So, when encountering troublemakers, he faces them head-on.

He did this with Manager Wen, Xiao Liu, and now here too.

“Damn, this cocky newcomer is too arrogant. Teach him a lesson, beat him up.”

With that, they rushed forward, and a punch was aimed right at Li Xiang’s head.

Li Xiang took a step back and pulled the person who had been hiding behind him, locking the door in front of him. The punch landed squarely on that person’s face.

“Brother Dao, it’s me! You hit the wrong person.”

Seeing that they were tricked by the rookie, Brother Dao was furious. It was the first time someone dared to challenge the rules here, which they could not tolerate, so a group of them started attacking.

Someone grabbed a chair, someone picked up a grip exerciser, someone used a baton. Whatever they could grab, they did, and then they swung it at Li Xiang.

The dorm room was too narrow, leaving little space for maneuvering. Even with Li Xiang’s Grandmaster Level combat skills, he couldn’t fully utilize them in this cramped space. Still, he was quick-eyed and swift. He saw an enamel basin with a mandarin duck pattern, common in rural 70s or 80s, under the bed near the entrance, so he quickly bent to pick it up and used it as a shield against the incoming attacks from all sides.

The basin was tapped “clink clank” loudly, and after fending off a wave of attacks, Li Xiang saw the people’s feet on the ground and started stepping on their toes like in a kung fu movie reminiscent of Stephen Chow’s moves.

“Ah!”

“My toes!”

In the summer heat inside the dorm, everyone was wearing slippers, unable to withstand Li Xiang’s shoe-covered steps!

One by one, they put down their weapons and bent over, immediately checking the damage to their toes.

Li Xiang saw their shiny bald heads, reminiscent of the whack-a-mole game from childhood, and without a word swung the enamel basin, now deformed, and knocked each one on the head.

Duang～Duang～Duang～

The crisp sound of heads being hit echoed throughout the dormitory!

Li Xiang’s series of humiliations infuriated the group, making them roar like beasts as they picked up weapons again, preparing a new round of attacks against him!

Faced with the crowd’s assault, Li Xiang always blocked all attacks with the basin and still had the spare capacity to target their lower bodies with his feet.

One person fighting many, he did so with ease and flair!

The dormitorý turned upside down long ago, a chaotic mess. Others in neighboring dorms, hearing the commotion, either came out to watch the spectacle, went to call the leaders, or tried to open the dormitory door to see what was going on inside.

Just as someone outside was about to approach the dorm door to see what the commotion was, the dorm door was suddenly kicked open, and a person followed, flying out and landing on the ground, groaning and unable to get up again!

“It’s Dao Zi! Isn’t he supposed to be the dorm leader? Why did he get beaten so badly today?”

“Maybe they’re electing a new dorm leader!”

Everyone craned their necks to look inside the dormitory, seeing Li Xiang still fighting the crowd, the enamel basin in his hands providing an impenetrable defense against their attacks and keeping them at bay while teasing them mercilessly.

Every now and then, a “Duang～” sound would echo, making it hard not to smile!

But the people involved couldn’t find it funny at all. Every gong-like sound struck their pride!

No matter how they fought for dignity, they just could not overcome Li Xiang.

“Manager Wen is here!”

At that moment, someone yelled in the corridor.

Everyone quickly stood on both sides of the corridor, clearing the path.

Manager Wen stepped forward to Brother Dao, who quickly grabbed his right foot, saying, “Manager Wen, the newbie doesn’t follow the rules, you have to back me up!”

Glancing at Brother Dao’s miserable state, Manager Wen pulled back his right foot and said coldly, “Useless!”

He then looked toward the ongoing fight in the dormitory. Li Xiang was holding his own against multiple opponents, barely breaking a sweat. The enamel basin in his hand functioned like a shield, impermeable and impenetrable, occasionally striking back and leaving them bruised and battered, resembling a dormitory war god.

Brother Dao visibly flinched upon hearing “useless.”

“Stop it!”

Hearing Manager Wen’s commanding yell, the fighters in the dormitory finally noticed that the place was surrounded by people, with the manager glaring at them with a dark expression. They immediately dropped their weapons and stood like chastised school children.

Everyone feared Manager Wen, who had already proven he wasn’t squeamish about executing Xiao Liu summarily, showing it was hardly his first time doing so.

Li Xiang tossed away the basin in his hands, turned around to look at Manager Wen, and said, “Manager Wen, your welcome ceremony here sure is special.”

Narrowing his eyes, Manager Wen glanced at the messy room, reassessing Li Xiang’s combat skills in his mind.

“What unit was Gangzi serving with earlier?”

“Spent five years in a recon company, another three in the special forces.”

His identity as a special forces soldier was part of his disguise; otherwise, there would be no other way to explain his gun skills and combat ability, which were how he had crafted his persona.

Special forces personnel definitely have an edge over ordinary people here.

“Why did you leave the military if you had a good post there?”

“My parents died in a car accident, and my sister became depressed, so I came back to take care of her.”

Manager Wen nodded; earlier, when asking Shao Han about anyone in their family who could pay ransom, Shao Han mentioned their parents had died in a car accident, leaving only a brother. It seemed Shao Gang’s identity was credible.

At that moment, a shout echoed up the hallway again: “The boss is coming!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep