LIGHTNOVELSTORY c131 - Can You Fight?
Jinxi Entertainment City was located on 546th Street in the Second District.
The Federation’s main street numbering followed a specific naming convention.
The lower the number, the higher the level of civilization and urbanization. The higher the number, the more chaotic the order tended to be.
Some areas were too remote geographically, where local officials had far less influence than village elders.
In others, the regional economy was secretly controlled by financial groups, where even a strong dragon couldn’t overcome the local snake.
The 546th Street area Shen Han had arrived at fell into the second category.
This district was filled with entertainment venues of various sizes.
Jinxi Entertainment City was just one of the largest nightclubs, belonging to the Zhou K Group.
More precisely, it was under the business empire of Vice Chairman Zhou Boxin, who was involved in illegal activities.
Zhou Nuoman’s attempt to insert her own people into her rival’s entertainment center was naturally met with resistance.
But due to some internal family resolutions, the other side didn’t dare to directly kick them out, hence the job interview charade.
After arriving at Jinxi Entertainment City, Zhou Nuoman went directly to the general manager’s office, escorted by four bodyguards.
She left her assistant with Shen Han to accompany her to the interview location.
Shen Han followed the assistant named Chen Xiaojuan to a single-story house in a corner of the entertainment center.
Several youths with dyed hair in various colors were squatting by the door smoking.
As soon as they saw Chen Xiaojuan in her suit skirt, they began to whisper and leer at each other.
They didn’t dare cause trouble, but their eyes roamed over her curvaceous figure.
Occasionally, they let out some suggestive laughter that was better left unspoken.
Chen Xiaojuan showed no signs of timidity or fear at this.
She took out a pack of ladies’ cigarettes from her pocket, put one in her mouth, then offered the pack to Shen Han.
Shen Han shook her head in refusal: “Thank you, Sister Juan, but I don’t smoke.”
Chen Xiaojuan gave her a somewhat strange look but didn’t pay it much mind.
After lighting her own cigarette, she said: “The interview is inside. I won’t go in. Don’t feel any pressure, just do your best.”
Hearing her words, Shen Han had a general understanding of her character.
“This Sister Juan seems like a good person, mature and experienced. No wonder she can be Zhou Nuoman’s right-hand woman.”
Just as they were exchanging a few words, a lackey came out of the house.
“Are you the people Ms. Zhou brought? Which one is here for the interview? Follow me inside.”
Shen Han said goodbye to Chen Xiaojuan and followed the lackey into the house.
While observing the layout inside, she asked: “What’s the interview process like? Do I need to fill out a resume?”
Hearing this, the lackey laughed.
He turned his head to look at her somewhat thin frame: “Don’t you know what Jinxi Entertainment City does? Resume, hah.”
As he spoke, the lackey curiously asked: “Can you fight?”
Shen Han: “Just a little bit.”
The lackey clicked his tongue and shook his head. He wanted to advise her but then remembered he was just a “loose thug” who hadn’t even managed to join the boss’s inner circle, so he didn’t say anything more.
After walking about a dozen steps forward, they arrived at a courtyard.
The yard wasn’t large, with a cement floor and some junk piled up against the walls.
When Shen Han arrived, several people were already waiting in the yard.
A middle-aged man with a crew cut, wearing a leather jacket, clapped his hands and said: “Alright, everyone’s here. Now we’ll start the interview.”
“There’s only one manager position, but five candidates here today. You’ll compete right here. No tools or weapons allowed. Whoever can knock down the other competitors and remain standing will be our entertainment center’s third manager.”
After announcing the rules, the middle-aged man walked into the house, leaving the arena to the five competitors.
The lackey who had led Shen Han also went inside, very attentively offering the man a cigarette.
“Manager Zhang, who do you think is the toughest out there?”
As he spoke, the sounds of fighting and shouting had already begun outside.
The middle-aged man glanced at the cigarette the lackey offered, deemed it too low-grade, and disdainfully refused.
He took out his own cigarettes, lit one using the lackey’s lighter, took a couple of leisurely puffs, then said with a cold laugh: “Definitely not the one you brought in last.”
With that, he put on his earphones and started playing a mobile game.
The lackey stood there awkwardly, not daring to sit, and eventually slipped off to the bathroom.
In the courtyard.
The two Alphas who had rushed at Shen Han first were already on the ground, crying for their mothers.
The remaining two no longer pretended not to know each other. After exchanging a glance, they adopted a pincer attack.
If she wasn’t worried about raising suspicions, Shen Han could have incapacitated each of them with a simple joint lock.
But such clean and efficient moves were too professional to use casually, so she had to drag things out a bit.
Yesterday night when rescuing Zhou Nuoman, she had revealed her strength.
Now she couldn’t stray too far from that level.
The two Alphas surrounded Shen Han.
One threw a punch, while the other aimed a kick at her side.
Shen Han dodged, planted her feet firmly, and threw an uppercut, hitting one of them in the stomach.
That person’s face first turned from red to white, then flushed crimson again, before finally crouching down with a “wah” and vomiting.
In the blink of an eye, Shen Han had grabbed the ankle of the other person who was kicking at her again.
That person’s heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to reach out and grab her collar, before he could move, his entire body was lifted up.
Shen Han glanced at a corner of the courtyard wall and released her grip, throwing him in that direction.
The sound of pots and pans being knocked over echoed throughout the small courtyard.
Mixed with the man’s cries and the sound of vomiting, anyone unaware of the situation might have thought someone had food poisoning.
Shen Han dusted off her hands and walked into the house, panting as she spoke: “They can’t get up anymore. Do you want to go out and see for yourself?”
The cigarette in the middle-aged man’s mouth hadn’t burned to the end yet.
Hearing someone speaking to him, he suddenly looked up, moving his gaze from his phone screen. Seeing who had come in, he was speechless for a long moment.
At this time, the lackey who had led the way earlier came out of the bathroom, still fastening his pants.
Seeing Shen Han in the room, he first gaped for a few seconds, then quickly ran to the door and craned his neck to look into the courtyard.
He saw several burly Alphas lying pitifully on the ground, with one clutching his abdomen and vomiting.
There wasn’t much blood visible on the cement floor, but the four men looked as if they’d been stabbed a hundred times, their expressions filled with agony.
The lackey was completely baffled.
He turned his head to look at the tall and thin Shen Han, his eyes full of astonishment: Did you mean you knew “a little bit” of fighting or “a hell of a lot”?
The nightclub’s higher-ups couldn’t go back on the interview rules they had set themselves.
Shen Han, by virtue of her abilities, became the third floor manager of Jinxi Entertainment City.
After Shen Han and Chen Xiaojuan left.
The middle-aged man finally furrowed his brow and said: “Looks like we were too careless this time. Who knows where Zhou Nuoman dug up this person? Looks refined, but turns out to be a real tough customer!”
……
When Zhou Nuoman heard that Shen Han had single-handedly defeated four competitors to win the manager position, her surprise was no less than anyone else’s.
In fact, her invitation for the other to become the entertainment center’s floor manager was more of an impulsive decision.
After hearing that the entertainment center had suddenly added an interview process, Zhou Nuoman had basically given up hope.
Unexpectedly, the Alpha named Shen Nuan had once again brought her a pleasant surprise.
Zhou Nuoman sat on the sofa in the general manager’s office, gathered her thoughts, then sent a text message to her assistant.
[Check Shen Nuan’s background.]
[Prepare a new phone and SIM card, with plenty of credit. I’ll need it soon.]
In the afternoon, Zhou Nuoman left the entertainment center with her people.
In the car, she handed the new phone to Shen Han: “This is for you. My number and Xiaojuan’s are saved in it. You can contact us anytime if anything comes up.”
Shen Han’s face showed timely delight: “This is too much. Thank you, Ms. Zhou.”
Zhou Nuoman chose her words carefully: “Shen Nuan, when I said last night that I had a new project that needed a manager, the whole situation is actually quite complicated. Jinxi Entertainment City is not a good place, I’m sure you’ve realized that.”
“I can’t explain too much, but I hope you can stick it out for half a year. After that, the place might change hands, and then I can bring you to work directly for me.”
After a pause, she added: “We’ve just met, and I know it’s not appropriate to say all this, but my current situation is that I’m short on people, not money. If you have any requests, you can ask me directly.”
“If you want to look for better opportunities elsewhere, I won’t stop you. Just one thing – don’t stab me in the back.”
Shen Han put away her new phone and earnestly promised: “Don’t worry, Ms. Zhou. I absolutely won’t be bought off by your rivals, no matter how much money they offer.”
……
That night, Shen Han stayed at Qiren Apartments.
The next day she would move out and relocate near Jinxi Entertainment City.
Floor managers often had to handle urgent matters at the entertainment center even during off-hours.
The commute couldn’t be too long.
Moreover, Shen Han’s mission was to find a crack in the entertainment center, to discover evidence that could completely nail Zhou Boxin’s faction.
Living near the entertainment center would obviously make her actions more convenient.
……
With Gu Junwan’s intervention, Zhou Nuoman’s side naturally couldn’t find any issues with Shen Han’s background.
Not only that, but the personnel assigned to Shen Han had also been dispersed to move near the entertainment center, secretly protecting their special commander.
On Shen Han’s first day reporting to the entertainment center, all the management personnel deliberately ignored her.
Forget about a welcome ceremony, there wasn’t even a routine introduction.
Only the lackey who had shown her around yesterday stuck by her side.
Ostensibly assigned as her errand boy, he was actually there to monitor her every move.
Shen Han was well aware of this, but she didn’t mind.
It was approaching noon, and the entertainment center that had been bustling all night returned to quiet.
Shen Han took her lackey around to familiarize herself with the place: “What’s your name? How long have you been working here?”
The lackey smiled respectfully: “Manager Shen, my name is Mu Ze. You can call me Xiao Ze.”
“I’ve been here for over two years. I’m very familiar with this place. You can ask me anything.”
As the two were exchanging information, just as they turned a corner in a corridor, a man’s angry shouts rang out.
“Did you fucking take what I said as wind in your ears? I told you to go to Young Master Chen’s private room last night, and you dared to stand him up.”
“You came here to be a drinking companion, and you’re still pretending to be pure? I don’t believe you haven’t been fucked before!”
Shen Han’s steps faltered slightly as she looked towards the source of the sound.
She saw several women standing with lowered hands not far away in the dance floor area.
They wore rather sexy short dresses and still had their makeup on, the foundation a bit thick but unable to conceal the fear in their expressions.
Standing at the front was a slender Omega.
She had her hands folded in front of her, looking down as she apologized to the man before her: “I’m sorry, Manager Wei. I wasn’t feeling well last night and forgot your instructions.”
Manager Wei raised his hand and slapped her, the force knocking the woman to the ground with a thud.
He looked down at her contemptuously and spoke in a sarcastic tone: “Forgot? Well, I’ll give you something to remember now! Can’t have you embarrassing yourself in front of customers later, thinking our Jinxi Entertainment City girls don’t know the rules!”