What greeted them was a scene of utter devastation.
Tables and chairs were all smashed, and the interior walls were even splattered with some unknown liquid, emitting a foul stench that made the three doctors cover their noses and retreat a few steps.
"What happened? How did a perfectly good establishment end up like this?" Tian Mengyao's delicate brows furrowed in confusion.
Yang Lan's eyes were watering from the acrid smell, and she quickly retreated outside, gagging.
If she hadn't skipped lunch, she would have thrown up right then and there.
"Mengyao, are you sure this is a restaurant? It smells worse than a toilet," Yang Lan asked incredulously.
Chen Mo's expression also shifted slightly; he hadn't expected the place to be in such a state.
"Boss, are you there?" Chen Mo called out towards the entrance.
Hearing the commotion outside, a middle-aged man emerged from the kitchen and hurried to the doorway.
"Who is it?"
The middle-aged man asked, puzzled.
However, upon seeing the three people outside, his face instantly became tense.
"Dr. Chen, why, why have you come?" This middle-aged man was none other than the owner of the establishment.
"Boss, what's going on? How did your shop get like this?" Chen Mo couldn't help but ask.
The middle-aged man's face was grim as he sighed and explained, "Alas, it's those scoundrels. They failed to extort money that day and came back to cause trouble. I installed surveillance and called the police."
"Who knew that after they were arrested, their accomplices would come and trash our shop."
Hearing this, Tian Mengyao asked in shock, "Are they really that brazen? Is there no one who can control them?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. "When they first came, they demanded compensation, which I naturally refused. They started driving away customers from my shop, and when I argued with them, they would pay for a bowl of noodles and then a group of them would linger, refusing to leave."
"Later, they even threatened to cause trouble for you two. But after waiting for a few days and you didn't show up, and I still didn't give them compensation, they started smashing my shop."
"This is the second time. I'm also planning to close down. It's impossible to keep this business going anymore."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lan said indignantly, "These people are simply lawless and shameless."
"Who isn't saying that? But how can ordinary people like us fight against them?" The middle-aged man sighed, looking dejected.
His shop had been run by his father's generation and continued to this day, for decades. He never imagined it would be ruined in his hands.
However, the middle-aged man soon seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Right, Dr. Chen, you should leave quickly. Those people come to cause trouble every noon. If they see you, they won't let it go."
"Yo ho!"
Just as the middle-aged man finished speaking, a young man's surprised voice suddenly sounded behind them.
A dozen or so youths in peculiar attire were already standing behind them.
"Kid, I've been waiting here for so many days, and you finally showed up!" The leading youth glared fiercely at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo's expression darkened. "It seems you didn't get enough of the cockroaches last time."
He recognized the youth as the one he had force-fed cockroaches to last time.
Hearing Chen Mo mention cockroaches, the youth felt a churning in his stomach.
It was because of Chen Mo that he hadn't been able to eat properly for a long time, and even seeing stir-fried garlic sprouts made him want to vomit.
The youth pointed at Chen Mo in rage, "You brat, how dare you bring up last time? Today, I'll make you eat all the cockroaches in the entire sewer!"
Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly stepped in front of Chen Mo.
He looked at the youth and pleaded, "Young man, I'm not planning to run this shop anymore, just let them go. We admit defeat!"
The youth let out a cold laugh. "Heh, let them go? Fine. Make him kneel down, kowtow, call me grandpa a few times, and then bark like a dog."
Then, the youth cast a lewd gaze towards Tian Mengyao and Yang Lan beside Chen Mo.
"Oh, and let these two beauties accompany us for a meal and some drinks, and I might consider letting them go."
"You wish! You bunch of scumbags! Disgraceful!" Yang Lan, being rather straightforward, angrily pointed at the youth and cursed.
"Heh, this little lady is quite feisty. I like it."
One of the youths stared lewdly at Yang Lan's neckline, swallowing exaggeratedly.
"Pah! Scum!"
Yang Lan felt disgusted and spat at the youth.
"Damn it, little lady, you dare spit on me."
The youth's face instantly contorted with rage, and he walked towards Yang Lan.
"Young man, they have nothing to do with this, don't trouble them," the middle-aged man quickly stepped in to block him.
"Nothing to do with it? Are you blind? Didn't you see her spit on me just now?!"
"Get lost!"
*Slap!*
The youth cursed and slapped the middle-aged man directly across the face.
The middle-aged man stumbled, almost falling to the ground.
He then moved towards Yang Lan and reached out to grab her.
"Ah!"
Yang Lan screamed at the sight and scrambled to dodge.
But it was too late. The youth's hand was already about to grab Yang Lan's clothes.
In the next second, the youth suddenly found his arm being grabbed by a hand, unable to advance any further.
"Damn it, brat, you're looking for death!" The youth glared at Chen Mo.
Because that hand belonged to Chen Mo.
As he spoke, the youth's other hand shot towards Chen Mo's face with a punch.
*Crack!*
However, before the youth's fist could reach Chen Mo.
A bone-snapping sound suddenly rang out.
"Ouch!"
With a wail of agony, the youth hastily withdrew his fist, looking at his arm, which Chen Mo had grabbed, with terror.
To his shock, his wrist had been forcibly broken by Chen Mo.
"Brat, you, you dare break my hand!" The youth glared at Chen Mo in fury, wishing he could grind him into dust.
At this moment, the leading youth also stepped forward.
"Kid, you dare to fight back. It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Today, my dozen brothers will see just how capable you are!"
"All of you, attack!"
With that, the youth waved his hand and directly shouted at the people behind him.
Instantly, over a dozen youths charged towards Chen Mo.
"Take them behind me," Chen Mo instructed the middle-aged man, and then turned to face the charging youths.
"Chen Mo, be careful!" Tian Mengyao called out with concern.
The middle-aged man grabbed a chair and quickly positioned himself in front of Tian Mengyao and Yang Lan.