She Married A Nobody, And Nobody Dared Touch Her Again

Chapter 005

Lein was still standing in the same spot.

His shirt collar was still in Arthur's grip. The middle-aged man's hand was still straining, his veins still bulging, every ounce of his strength still being poured into pulling a man who stood like a mountain.

But Lein didn't even turn his head.

His eyes dropped to Arthur's hand clutching his collar, then rose again to the man's face with an expression that couldn't be called angry. Couldn't even be called annoyed.

It was closer to: pity.

"Someone like you," Lein said quietly, "is trying to drag me out?"

He didn't brush Arthur's hand away. He didn't need to.

A faint smile appeared, one without any warmth in it.

"You'd need ten thousand years of hard training just to move me a single centimeter." His eyes didn't blink. "But honestly, that won't even be necessary. Because ten years from now, you'll already be dead."

Silence.

Arthur let go of the collar. Not because he wanted to, but because his hand suddenly didn't feel like his own anymore.

"Wh... what the fuck are you talking about, you bastard?!" The words came out, but his voice wasn't nearly as loud as before.

Lein glanced at him briefly. He looked at Arthur like a doctor reading an X-ray, not like someone in the middle of a fight.

"Your heart," he said. "There's enough plaque built up in your coronary arteries to start being a real concern. Your blood pressure's high, has been for a long time, but you've never had it checked because you feel fine." He paused for a moment. "Your liver's worse. It's already starting to harden in a few places. That's what you get from years of nonstop drinking, eating like garbage, never moving for more than ten minutes a day, and popping sedatives you clearly bought without a prescription."

No one spoke.

"You can't feel it right now. Maybe not yet. But your body's already starting to collect on all of it." Lein gave a light shrug. "Any doctor who actually gave you a thorough exam would tell you the same thing. Ten years is a generous estimate."

Arthur stepped back.

One step. Two steps.

His face was no longer red with anger. It was pale, and in his eyes was something Arthur Caldwell rarely ever had: doubt.

Wh... who the hell is this bastard?!

No one had ever told him this. No one could have said it in that much detail, because he'd never actually had a medical checkup.

But every word coming out of this man's mouth was something he'd known for a long time and refused to admit.

"Bullshit," he muttered. But his voice wasn't convincing, not even to himself.

On the other side of the room, Daniel couldn't hold back anymore.

His face was flushed, not from embarrassment, but from rage that had been boiling for far too long. His hands were clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms.

This son of a bitch... how dare he sentence my father to death?!

He says my dad's going to die in ten years?!

Bullshit!

Daniel ground his teeth.

You motherfucker... you're the one who's dying first tonight!

Daniel took long strides toward Lein, shoving aside a few people in his way without a word of apology. His eyes were locked on a single target.

One punch. Just one punch.

He'd shut that bastard's mouth for good, and drag his corpse out of this house with his own two hands.

His fist rose.

And flew toward Lein's face with every bit of strength he had.

But with perfect reflexes, Lein simply tilted his head.

That was it. One small movement, barely visible, and Daniel's fist sliced through empty air with full momentum. Daniel stumbled forward a step, the force of his punch carrying him too far.

And in that moment, while Daniel's body was still pitched forward, Lein's left hand moved.

One strike.

Light. Casual. Like someone patting an old friend on the shoulder. Like there was no force behind it at all.

PAK.

It landed on Daniel's right shoulder.

That was all.

But it was enough to drop him.

He didn't stagger, didn't stumble back. He fell straight down like a puppet with all its strings cut at once, hit the marble floor with a heavy thud, and didn't move again.

Out cold.

The room froze.

No one screamed. No one moved. A dozen pairs of eyes stared at Daniel sprawled on the floor, then at Lein, who was still standing in the same spot with his left hand already back at his side, as if nothing had happened.

Lein looked down at Daniel.

"Pathetic." His voice was flat, emotionless, like he was commenting on the weather. "Bad reflexes, zero technique, and you attack with your anger instead of your head." He let out a quiet snort. "You can't even throw a single punch right."

Then a mocking expression crossed his face, and he delivered his final line. "Honestly, if Sera had already given the order, your right arm wouldn't be attached to your body right now."