******“Nonsense!” Red snapped, the word bursting from her before she could stop it.Then her fists clenched again until the popping sound of her knuckles echoed like thunder in the tense silence, the air around her crackling as she finally lost it.“Who doesn’t know that you bastards work for them?! Who doesn’t know how much Maple Leaf has been using you wretched beings to pressurize us?!” Red’s voice cut through the room like a blade, sharp and brimming with venom.The hatred lacing her tone could have melted steel, sounding like someone who had been pushed far beyond her limit.Yet, the gangsters didn’t even flinch.Not a single one of them looked intimidated or furious. Instead, they grinned widely, smugly, and annoyingly pleased with themselves… appearing like a pack of mongrels who had just been praised for biting someone.And this lasted for a moment before, eventually, their leader, a burly man with a perpetual smirk and an irritating air of superiority, gave a slow yaw

******Red studied the arrogant, smirking gang leader for a moment as if trying to spot a crack, a hint that he might be joking. But there was none.The man looked deadly serious… too serious for someone spouting such madness.And the moment she realized this, the corner of her lips couldn’t help but twitch, heaving no idea whether to laugh at the absurdity or to let the fury boiling inside her erupt.And then, as if his words hadn’t been enough to make the world lose faith in humanity, the leader clapped his hands once with mock cheer.“Well,” he said, his grin now shark-like, “now that everyone understands our noble purpose… risking our lives to protect this fine community, how about we move to business?” He tilted his head toward Red. “Be a dear and bring your ledger book already. Let’s calculate how much you earned yesterday so we can collect our share.”But…The moment the gang leader finished speaking, however, Red… who had previously been caught between laughter and fury

******“Pft!!!”A sharp sound suddenly pierced the tense air like a pin popping a balloon, startling everyone.In the next instant, their heads turned toward the source, their hearts pounding in their chests.And to everyone’s greatest shock and disbelief... this sound came from the human chair beneath the gang leader, currently doing his best effort not to explode into a cacophony of laughter.But as soon as he realized that he had drawn all attention to himself… particularly from the thugs, his body couldn’t help but go white, his whole body tensing as though struck by lightning.In the following second, his eyes darted up, only to meet the murderous stare of the thug’s boss, who had terrorized him.Before he knew it, he swallowed hard, his throat clicking audibly.But before he could even attempt to stammer an excuse, thinking he was done for…“Pft…” Another person failed to hold it in.And then….“Hahahahahaha!”An unexpected burst of laughter exploded, and then, like

******“Stay down.” A sudden command sliced through the room like a blade, the voice not loud, but carried enough weight to make the air tremble.It was sharp, controlled, and soaked with authority.The thug froze mid-motion, his entire body locking up, while everyone else turned in unison, startled.The gang leader had spoken.His expression was grim, his jaw tight, and his eyes burning with suppressed rage.He looked like a man barely holding his composure together with strings of willpower.His tone might have sounded calm, but it was the kind of calm that hinted at violence waiting just beneath.The thug swallowed hard, his anger now tangled with confusion.“But… but boss, look at this stupid bitch!” he stammered, pointing a frantically shaking finger at Red like a child caught stealing.In response, however, the leader’s eyes only cut toward him... cold, precise, and final.It was the kind of look that didn’t need words to say shut up or die, and seeing this, the thug

******At this moment, the gang leader’s expression twitched, his eyes squinted, and his shoulders shook.His face looked bright red, appearing as though he was fighting an internal war between anger and amusement. And then… he lost.“Hahahahaha!” The man threw his head back and roared with laughter.It was so loud, so wild, and utterly unhinged to the extent that the composure and dominance he had been clinging to all this time shattered completely.His laughter rang through the restaurant... sounding harsh and mocking as he doubled over, slapping his knee like a drunken man at a comedy show. “She… she wouldn’t let us go scot-free! Hahaha!” he repeated between wheezes, his voice dripping with mockery. “Did you all hear that? This crazy woman thinks she’s the law now!”The customers and customers flinched at his words. But his men… they instantly caught on.At first, they hesitated… unsure if they were supposed to laugh too. But once their leader’s hysterics didn’t stop, they