Chapter 47

"Looks like your fans are pretty enthusiastic."

Jack spoke suddenly, his voice soft but carrying clearly into both their ears, lazy and indifferent.

Robbie's head snapped toward him, a flash of violence in his eyes. "You wanna get involved? If you know what's good for you, get out of the car and scram. Don't ruin my dinner with Vivian."

Jack slowly lifted his eyelids.

His eyes were deep and calm as they settled on Robbie with the detached focus of someone looking at something beneath notice.

For a split second, that indifferent stare sent a chill up Robbie's spine. Then the anger hit.

He was the leader of the Speeding Gang. In Viridis State, he was used to acting like he owned the place. Since when did some weak-looking guy get to ignore him?

"Fuck this. You're asking for it!"

Robbie roared. He yanked the car door open, raised his fist, and swung at Jack's face.

Robbie's fist stopped dead, an inch from Jack.

A slender hand that looked completely harmless had casually caught Robbie's wrist.

That hand was like an iron clamp, relaxed on the surface but crushing underneath.

Robbie felt the bones in his wrist protest under the pressure. The force ran up his arm and left half his body numb.

"You..." Robbie's eyes blew wide. His face flushed red, veins standing out on his forehead, but he still couldn't pry himself free even a fraction.

Jack stayed seated, not even shifting. He barely raised his eyelids, his expression flat, his eyes without a ripple, as if none of this mattered.

"Let go of me, you..." Robbie spat, humiliated and furious.

He didn't get to finish.

Jack gave a small twist of his wrist.

A crisp crack cut through the noise inside the vehicle.

"Ahhh!"

Robbie screamed. His body went limp, like the strength had been drained out of him, and he dropped hard to his knees at the open door, clutching his twisted wrist. Cold sweat poured down his face.

It happened so fast that the people around them didn't even see how Jack moved.

"Boss!"

The surrounding Speeding Gang members climbed off their motorcycles, yanked baseball bats from where they were strapped to their bikes, and surged forward to surround Vivian's car.

Robbie's face contorted. Pain had him drenched in sweat, but when he looked up at Jack, his eyes turned vicious.

"Kill him!" he screamed, clutching his bent wrist like he might pass out from it.

"Yes!"

At the order, the Speeding Gang members lifted their bats and rushed the car.

Jack didn't dodge.

He pushed the door open and stepped out.

"Jack..." Sophia said from inside, worry creeping into her voice.

Jack glanced back at her and gave a reassuring smile, then shut the car door behind him.

"Watch out!" Vivian cried out.

One of the Speeding Gang members had already slipped behind Jack, lifting his baseball bat high to smash it down on the back of Jack's head.

If that strike landed, Jack would be dead or crippled.

Vivian's heart lurched into her throat. For an instant, everything seemed to slow.

The rough bat whistled through the air, less than four inches from the back of Jack's head.

Jack didn't even turn around.

He shifted his body just slightly, and the bat cut through empty air.

Shock flickered in the man's eyes.

Then Jack moved.

He turned sharply and drove his shoulder into the man's arm. The Speeding Gang member cried out as the bat clattered to the ground.

Jack caught the man's wrist, pressed down smoothly, and stepped back with his left foot, dropping his weight.

With one clean motion, he threw him over his shoulder.

"Bang!"

The two-hundred-plus-pound tough guy hit the ground like a sack of bricks. The impact seemed to shake the pavement.

He didn't even make a sound. His eyes rolled back, and he didn't move.

Silence.

The Speeding Gang members who'd been about to rush in froze mid-step, bats raised, suddenly unsure whether to swing or back off.

Vivian stared too, mouth slightly open. Jack had saved her before, but this was the first time she'd seen him fight.

She hadn't expected him to be this strong.

That guy had been a full head taller than Jack, and Jack had dropped him like it was nothing.

The tightness in Vivian's chest finally eased.

"What are you standing around for?" Robbie roared, furious. "He's one guy. Get him! Kill him!"

But yelling sent another spike of pain through his wrist, and fresh sweat beaded on his forehead.

He was the leader of the Speeding Gang, and he'd been crippled by some ordinary guy. If he didn't beat Jack half to death, how was he supposed to show his face around here again?

"Ahhh!"

Driven by Robbie's roar, the hesitating Speeding Gang members charged again.

Jack stayed where he was, expression calm.

Another bat swung toward his shoulder.

Jack moved.

This time, he didn't hold back.

He was suddenly everywhere at once, his speed a blur as he cut through the crowd.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Dull impacts thudded through the air, mixed with the sickening crack of breaking bones and the riders' piercing screams, echoing across the street.

No one saw exactly how Jack struck. They only saw their vision smear, then felt their chests explode with pain before they were sent flying.

Each man who went down had a strange, sunken fist mark stamped into his chest.

In no time, the Speeding Gang members who'd been so aggressive moments ago were sprawled across the ground.

Every one of them clutched his chest, rolling and writhing in agony.

Jack simply brushed off his clothes. There wasn't even a wrinkle on him.

Silence.

The scene fell into a dead hush.

Robbie's eyes were wide. Staring at the hellish sight in front of him, his mind went blank.

This... how is this possible?

These were his handpicked men, every one of them able to fight. How could they all be dropped in seconds by some young man who looked so ordinary?

This wasn't something a human could do!