Rushing all the way to the construction site, the place was already bustling with activity. Brian Carter quickly ran into the site and arrived at a small, temporary white house set up on the grounds.

　　"Manager, yesterday I..."

　　"Who are you?" The old man who usually sat by the office desk had been replaced today by a middle-aged man with fair skin, a hooked nose, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

　　"I am..." Brian Carter hesitated for a moment. "I'm a part-time worker here."

　　"Is that so?" The middle-aged man leaned back in his chair, looking at Brian Carter with undisguised disdain. "How come I didn't see you yesterday? Oh~~ you must be the one who skipped work yesterday, right?"

　　"Yes." Brian Carter nodded seriously. "Manager, yesterday I..."

　　"There's no need to say anything." The middle-aged man sitting behind a shabby desk pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses with a gloomy expression and said coldly, "I don't want to hear your excuses for skipping work. No excuse can cover up the fact that you were absent yesterday. So, you're fired."

　　"Fired..." Brian Carter felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over him from head to toe. This kind of heavy labor at a construction site, which few people were willing to do, was one of the highest-paying jobs for part-timers. He had worked hard to get it, and he didn't want to lose it so easily.

　　"Manager, I won't take any pay today and will work for free to make up for it, is that okay?" Brian Carter looked earnestly at the manager with a slight beer belly. The income from this job was one of his main financial supports for college.

　　"No need." The manager picked up his already pale-looking tea and said slowly, "If you want to admit your mistake, you need to show the right attitude. If you are truly repentant, then kneel on the ground and beg for my forgiveness. Maybe then I'll be generous enough to let you keep this job."

　　The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point. Brian Carter stared coldly at the man sipping tea. He did need this job badly, but that didn't mean he was willing to throw away his dignity and grovel for it.

　　"What? Is this your sincerity?" The man didn't even have the energy to look at Brian Carter again, staring at his tea instead. "It's all that bastard Old Liu's fault, hiring trash like you and slowing down the project. That's why I got demoted to take over his job in a place like this! Still not leaving!? Born of a mother, but never taught by one..."

　　Crack, crack, crack... The bones in Brian Carter's hands popped like beans, and a murderous fighting spirit instantly filled the room. Being fired and insulted was one thing! But no one should insult another's mother!

　　The middle-aged man in the chair glanced at Brian Carter with contempt. "What? Want to fight? You think you can?"

　　"Manager Reed, sorry, the young man is just being impulsive, please forgive him, forgive him."

　　Two middle-aged men from the site rushed in from outside, grabbing Brian Carter's arms from behind and dragging him out of the room.

　　"Xiao Qin, what's wrong with you..." One of the men dragging Brian Carter out said kindly, "You can't beat him! He’s a retired soldier."

　　"He insulted my mother." Brian Carter stared coldly at the white house. "Insults should never involve family..."

　　"You can't beat him." The other man had a trace of sadness on his face. "He was wounded on the battlefield, so his strength dropped to only two stars. But after all, he came from the army and learned a lot of combat skills you can't pick up as a civilian. You can't beat him..."

　　"Why are you still here?" Manager Reed walked out of the room with his teacup, looking at Brian Carter with disdain. "So angry? Not satisfied with being fired?"

　　"Firing me is your right." Brian Carter tried hard to suppress his anger, but that strange excitement only turned into more rage and fighting spirit. "But insulting my mother—you should apologize to me."

　　Manager Reed's contemptuous face suddenly twisted with rage. He had already been frustrated by being demoted instead of promoted, and now he finally found someone to vent on. How dare this kid talk back after being scolded?

　　"Apologize? You think you deserve it?" Manager Reed took a sip of tea, his eyes suddenly turning sharp. "Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your mother!"

　　The army is a place that turns ordinary people into all kinds of fighting machines. Although Manager Reed's strength had declined, the combativeness forged by military training remained—fierce, aggressive, ruthless! This was a presence that ordinary civilians who practiced martial arts could never match in a fight.

　　His words were still echoing in everyone's ears when Manager Reed straightened his neck, suddenly raised his head, spread his hands slightly, lifted his right leg, took a quick step with his left, and leapt at Brian Carter. In the instant he pounced, his hands turned into tiger claws, his arms whipped up a spiraling gust, one hand hidden at his shoulder, the other clawing straight for Brian Carter's throat.

　　Shaolin Tiger Claw! A combat technique only three-star soldiers in the army are qualified to learn!

　　The veins on Manager Reed's neck bulged, his whole skeleton rattled, and his roar was like a tiger on the hunt.

　　Brian Carter stepped back, body leaning forward, his back cracking loudly, and his raised arm swung down like a giant axe, tracing a beautiful arc as it smashed right into Manager Reed's tiger claw.

　　Shaolin Arhat Fist—Tiger Stance!