Ryan Carter acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, striding up to the man with the gaunt face and calmly coming to a stop, positioning himself in front of Ethan Foster to shield her.

“Oh ho, a hero stepping up, huh? Not afraid to die?”

The gaunt-faced man grinned, sizing Ryan Carter up and down a few times before turning to the group of thugs behind him.

The thugs all burst out laughing.

Others might not know what Mr. Henry was capable of, but they were well aware.

“Henry Brooks, right?”

Ryan Carter’s face was expressionless as he asked in a flat tone.

“That’s right! It’s your Uncle Brooks!”

The gaunt-faced man looked Ryan Carter up and down again, his face full of contempt and disdain.

Of all people, Mr. Henry couldn’t stand these pretty-boy students the most—knowing nothing, yet acting like they ruled the world.

Guys like this deserved a good lesson to teach them some respect.

Ryan Carter’s lips curled slightly, a half-smile appearing on his face. He raised two fingers and said coolly, “Let me tell you two things. First, don’t hit women; second, don’t be too arrogant!”

“What?”

The gaunt-faced man was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

The thugs behind him roared with laughter, looking at Ryan Carter as if he were some kind of freak.

“Where did you crawl out from, kid?”

Finally, the gaunt-faced man managed to stop laughing, shaking his head.

“You’re killing me here…”

“Mr. Henry, don’t waste words with him, take him out!”

“Yeah, take him out!”

The gaunt-faced man waved his hand to quiet the thugs’ shouting, then looked at Ryan Carter and said, “Kid, I know you like this chick and want to play the hero in front of her, right? Fine, I’ll give you your chance!”

“Come on, I’ll give you one arm. I’ll only use this hand. If you can beat just this one hand of mine, I’ll turn around and leave right now, and never set foot in your school again. How about it?”

“But if you lose? What then?”

Ryan Carter looked at him coolly, saying nothing.

“Mr. Henry won’t make it hard for you. If you lose, just kneel down, kowtow three times to Mr. Henry, and call me ‘dad’ three times. Then we’re even!”

“So, do you dare?”

Ryan Carter’s eyes suddenly narrowed, shooting out a piercing, icy glare.

Then, Ryan Carter moved.

“Screech—”

The harsh sound was the metal table leg scraping against the cafeteria floor as Ryan Carter pushed off the table with his foot. The entire row of tables slid backward in unison, the screeching noise so sharp it made everyone’s teeth ache.

Ryan Carter’s tall figure shot forward like a cannonball.

In that instant, the gaunt-faced man, who had just been so smug and dismissive of the “pretty boy,” suddenly turned pale.

That speed, that power—there was no way he could stand against it. He couldn’t even think of fighting back or defending himself; for a split second, he couldn’t even breathe.

As everyone’s eyes blurred, the two figures collided in a flash, followed by a muffled grunt. All they saw was the gaunt-faced man’s thin, shriveled body suddenly flying through the air like a kite with a broken string, drifting seven or eight meters before crashing hard into the cafeteria wall. He landed on his backside, and with a retching sound, vomited all over the floor.

At that moment, the gaunt-faced man felt as if every bone in his body had been snapped into seventeen or eighteen pieces!

“Mr. Henry, Mr. Henry…”

Four-Eyed Strategist was shocked, rushing over in a panic.

“Bastard…”

The remaining thugs snapped out of their shock, cursing loudly as they drew short knives and iron rods from their waists, charging at Ryan Carter in a chaotic rush.

That’s how thugs are—there’s never any talk of honor.

“Bang—”

A dull thud.

The thug at the very front suddenly fell flat on his face, eating dirt and lying there motionless.

It was William Thompson, who had appeared out of nowhere, holding a stainless steel tray and grinning mischievously. These trays were light and didn’t weigh much, but in William Thompson’s hands, a casual swing was enough to knock the thug out cold—showing just how strong his grip was.

But at that moment, who among the thugs would have thought of this?

Seeing this unexpected turn, they immediately changed targets, howling as they charged at William Thompson.

“Bang!”

The stainless steel tray swung up, hitting a thug square in the face. In an instant, blood and teeth flew everywhere—at least half his teeth were knocked out. The thug collapsed with a thud, silent.

The third thug didn’t get hit by the tray, but took a kick to the shin, nearly falling flat. His short club flew far from his hand, clattering to the ground, knocking out several of his front teeth, and blood streamed from his nose.

Before a real fight had even started, four thugs were already down, each one seriously injured.

The remaining thugs, not being fools, saw the situation and didn’t dare move forward.

No one would willingly walk into certain death.