The middle-aged woman glanced up at Leo, and her body shivered involuntarily. Fear was evident in her eyes. Leo crouched in front of her and said, “Just tell me you didn’t steal her money, and I can help you.”
Hearing Leo’s words, the wealthy woman’s smug expression turned cold. She retorted, “What are you implying? You’re probably in cahoots with this thief!”
Leo raised his head, his voice chilling as he replied, “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll shut your filthy mouth.”
The wealthy woman snorted, “Little brat, you don’t even know who I am, do you? With my influence, it’s a piece of cake to get rid of you.”
The middle-aged woman, aware of the wealthy woman’s identity, didn’t want Leo to get in trouble for helping her. She shook her head.
“You don’t have to fear her. If she’s falsely accused you, I’ll help you find justice,” Leo said earnestly.
Seeing that Leo was undeterred, the wealthy woman couldn’t resist and kicked him. Leo didn’t get up but retaliated by striking her leg with a punch, causing her to cry out in pain as she sat down abruptly.
This situation worried the middle-aged woman. She hurriedly urged Leo, “You shouldn’t mess with this woman. Please, leave. I don’t want to get you involved.”
From this statement, it was evident that the middle-aged woman had a good heart.
Leo shrugged indifferently. “I came here today to hire a cook. If you can prove you didn’t take her money and can cook, I’ll offer you a high-paying job.”
The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, hope in her eyes. However, she knew that the wealthy woman’s background and connections would likely make it impossible for her to stay in Langstel, even if this issue were resolved.
Nonetheless, Leo’s words gave her a glimmer of hope. Yet hope had to meet reality, and she didn’t believe Leo could stand up to the wealthy woman. She remained silent, fearing the consequences if she spoke up.
The wealthy woman, sitting on the ground, groaning in pain, had already taken out her phone and pointed it menacingly at Leo. She threatened, “You little punk, if you have the guts, wait for me! Today, I won’t let you get away without apologizing on your knees. I’ll show you who’s the boss!”
Leo scoffed and cast a disdainful glance at her.
The woman immediately dialed a number.
As time passed, more and more people gathered, many of them job seekers who had been struggling to find work. They watched the scene with increasing interest, finding it a welcome distraction from their own frustrations.
The wealthy woman hung up the phone, and within ten minutes, over a dozen people barged through the crowd. They had tattoos on their arms, and their menacing demeanor marked them as troublemakers.
The wealthy woman, upon seeing the burly middle-aged man in charge, got up unsteadily from the ground. She pointed at Leo and shouted, “Honey, this little punk just hit me!”
The middle-aged man was robust, his face oozing arrogance, the words “bulky” and “domineering” almost painted on his face with a brush.
The men behind him stared at Leo aggressively, each ready to pounce at the leader’s command.
“Kid, you must be itching for trouble, daring to lay a hand on my, Antony Bart’s woman!” The middle-aged man locked his gaze onto Leo and introduced himself.
“I knew this guy looked familiar! He’s actually Antony!”
“And this woman turns out to be Antony’s wife. No wonder she’s so arrogant.”
“This young man has stirred up trouble with Antony and his wife. He’s in for a bad day.”
The onlookers, upon learning the identity of the newcomer, Antony, couldn’t hide their fear and shock. Many of them were quite familiar with Antony. He was involved in the mining business and frequented this job market to hire laborers, making him a somewhat famous figure in the area.
When he hired people, he offered high nominal wages, but once they got to the mining site, they would only receive a fraction of that. Additionally, he frequently made workers put in overtime, and anyone who had objections or refused to comply might have their legs broken.
Once, a worker who had his leg broken by Antony reported him to the authorities, thinking it would put Antony behind bars. To their surprise, Antony faced no consequences, the mining operation continued as usual, and he kept recruiting workers from the job market.
This made many people understand that Antony had powerful connections and wasn’t someone ordinary people could afford to cross.
With the revelation that the wealthy woman was Antony’s wife, doubts began to form about her, and sympathy shifted towards the middle-aged woman.
However, despite their sympathy, nobody dared to speak up for the middle-aged woman. They knew that crossing Antony would only lead to misfortune.
Antony’s presence bolstered the wealthy woman’s confidence, and she pointed at Leo, commanding him, “Punk, here’s your chance. Get on your knees and kowtow three times in front of me, then lick my shoes. I might spare you.”
Leo’s gaze shifted from Antony to the middle-aged woman, and he said, “You’ve seen the situation. It’s time to tell the truth.”
“Sir, I know you’re trying to help me, but you can’t mess with them. You better run,” the middle-aged woman said, her fear increasing with Antony’s arrival.
“Run?” Antony sneered. “What a joke! Nobody escapes under my watch. Running isn’t an option.”
“Young man, we all know you’re a good person with a sense of justice, but you should measure your strength before standing up for others. A wise man doesn’t pick a fight he can’t win. You should apologize,” someone from the crowd chimed in.
Hearing the advice from the onlookers, Antony grew even more smug. “Kid, you heard them. You’d better be smart and kneel down to apologize to my wife, lick her shoes clean, and crawl under my pants like a dog. I’ll let you go then, or I can guarantee you’ll lose an arm or a leg!”
Leo’s expression darkened, ready to teach Antony a lesson, but the middle-aged woman suddenly stood up and grabbed Leo. She said, “This has nothing to do with you. If anyone is going to crawl, it’ll be me.”
“Damn, you, trying to crawl under my pants? Do you want to defile me? Go away!” Antony cursed, flustered.