Chapter 64: The Beast

Los Angeles is large but also scattered, so it's not too difficult to find a secluded place.

When Arthur parked the car, he and John couldn't help but exchange a knowing smile.

"Hehe hehe..."

"Hmph, daring to get into my car."

The young black man in the backseat had gone from being wary to panicked because after realizing that his target was not a lamb but a wolf in sheep's clothing, he finally understood where the problem lay.

Arthur raised his gun and said in a low voice, "Get out of the car, slowly."

"I haven't harmed you, nor your interests, please let me go, these bags are yours, all yours! These bags are very valuable!"

The young black man began pleading. He picked up a bag and pointed to the logo, "These bags are really valuable."

John looked at Arthur with a puzzled expression and said, "If you're going to take him out, it's better to do it in the car, that way it's easier to explain to the police. If you let him get out and then shoot him, it'll be more troublesome."

"Are you kidding? Do you want my car to be covered in blood everywhere?"

Arthur opened the car door, quickly stepped out, and stood outside the car, pulling the door open and speaking to the burly man inside, "Get out, put your hands behind your back, and slowly move out Bottle Cap, watch him from behind, and if he dares to move, just shoot him."

John shook his head, left the car, and from the other side aimed his gun at the black man, sternly saying, "You'd better be careful, if I think you're trying any tricks, I'll blow your head off right away."

The black man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately put his hands behind his back and started moving out of the car.

Arthur backed up as he followed, not wanting to get too close to the black man, as he moved too quickly, and Arthur was worried his gun would be snatched if he got too close.

The black man got out of the car, and Arthur stood about three meters away, sternly saying, "Kneel, slowly!"

The black man stiffened, then glared and said, "What did you say?"

Arthur looked behind the black man, then around, making sure no one was there, and suddenly he pulled the trigger.

Aiming at the black man's head, Arthur kept pulling the trigger, the gunshots going "bang bang bang."

He fired three shots in a row. The black man clutched his head with both hands, one leg curled up, and the other leg standing by the car door, screaming shrilly.

The bullets whizzed by, and those who could still stand their ground were tough.

Though the black man was standing on one leg, he at least didn't collapse or wet himself, so he was half a hero.

Arthur looked grim as he said, "I told you to kneel! Hands behind your head!"

The black man plopped down to his knees, hands behind his head, trembling as he said, "Don't kill me."

"What's your name?"

"Mike Bohr."

"What do you do? Why were those people after you? Speak!"

Mike's eyes were darting around. Without hesitation, Arthur fired a shot that nearly grazed Mike's nose.

"I stole from them! They had just robbed an LV store of many bags, and I went to steal the bags from them!"

Mike shouted, then gritted his teeth and said, "Can you stop shooting at me? It's really scary!"

Though kneeling on the ground, Mike's physique was massive, with a neck almost as thick as his head, and his bare torso revealed highly developed muscles.

Arthur sighed and said, "Give me your ID."

"Don't have it."

Seeing Arthur about to shoot again, Mike quickly said, "Who would carry ID when robbing?"

Arthur was about to ask something else, but John spoke up, "Are you a gang member?"

"Me? No, I'm not a gang member, I would never join a gang!"

Mike had a few tattoos, but not too many. John looked closely at the tattoos and continued, "Why did you get into our car?"

"I...I was ambushed."

Arthur frowned and asked, "What do you mean by being ambushed?"

Mike shook his head and said, "They are specialized robbers, they'd rob the store and then run away. I've robbed them before. Today I found out they were going to make a move again, so I waited for them outside the store. I took them down one by one as they came out, and took the stuff back from them."

After saying that, Mike looked at Arthur's unfriendly gaze, so he quickly added, "But they were trying to lure me out today, they wanted to kill me. That's when you saw me knock one of them away and start running."

Arthur was very puzzled. He frowned and said, "Why didn't you just shoplift from the store instead of robbing these robbers?"

"Shoplift?" Mike paused for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly, "Hey man, that's a great way to put it! Shoplifting sounds a lot better than robbing!"

"Answer my question!"

Mike hesitated for a bit, then sighed and said, "Because I wanted to beat them up. If I went to the store to shoplift, no, to zero-cost purchase, then I'd be the robber, right? But if I rob from the robbers, and the police catch me, then I'd be helping the store employees get their stuff back. And if I'm not caught by the police... then the stuff would be mine."

Arthur and John looked at each other in amazement, and then John said, "So you're a professional vigilante?"

Mike seemed a bit conflicted. After thinking for a moment, he said, "No, I just wanted to beat them up. I'm sorry, I have a doctor's note, I have a mental illness, I can't control my emotions, I have serious violent tendencies, it's part of my mental illness, you know..."

Mike tried to stand up, but Arthur unhesitatingly fired another shot, startling Mike, who immediately knelt back down.

Arthur said sternly, "Did I tell you to stand up?"

Mike put his hands behind his head, looking dejected.

Arthur sighed and asked, "Why did you get into our car?"

"They pulled a gun, I couldn't run anymore. I thought getting into the car to escape would be safer."

"Why didn't you run at the beginning, and instead kept engaging with those people in front of my car?"

Mike shrugged and said, "I told you I wanted to beat them up, but then I realized... I didn't have the strength anymore."

Suddenly, John said, "Your footwork and movements look very professional. When you charged while holding the bag, it was like you were carrying a football. Are you an athlete?"

Mike's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned around while kneeling and said loudly, "Hey, you recognized me!"

John looked utterly bewildered. "What?"

"I'm Mike Bohr, I'm a football star! I made the All-American high school team, I was the best running back in 2015!"

Now both Arthur and John were confused. After a moment, John said in a puzzled tone, "I think I've heard that name before."

"Of course you have, I'm a star, a star!"

"Kneel and speak!"

Mike could only kneel. He looked back and forth between John and Arthur, desperately saying, "It's me, it's me!"

John seemed to have let his guard down a bit. He suddenly jerked and said, "You're that Mike, the one who got kicked out of the University of Southern California Trojans team - the wild beast Mike!"

"Yes, yes, that's me!"

Mike looked extremely excited. He urgently said, "Guys, you know who I am, right? Can you let me stand up and talk?"

Arthur was truly afraid he couldn't control this literal wild beast, so he waved the gun, ordering Mike to kneel back down obediently. Then he asked curiously, "He's a football star? Does a football star need to shoplift? What a joke!"

John's facial muscles started twitching. He sneered, "What a load of bullshit. He's a lunatic, didn't you hear what he just said? He has serious violent tendencies. He'd beat up opponents, teammates, coaches, classmates, and staff - the University of Southern California still wanted him, and he continued beating up teammates on the college team, got suspended, then beat up a coach, broke six of his ribs and gave him a severe concussion, and seriously injured a teammate, effectively ending his football career. Then he went to prison and completely ruined his professional future."

Mike urgently said, "The coach wasn't punched, it was a legal hit, no foul play... and the teammate, it was just an accident, I couldn't control myself."

"Ramming into a 60-year-old man, and you still dare to call it a legal hit!"

As John recounted the history, Mike bent over and said, "I couldn't control myself back then, but I'm taking medication now, I don't have violent tendencies anymore."

Arthur sternly said, "What's wrong with you today!"

Mike sighed lightly, with an innocent look on his face, "I was kicked out by my girlfriend, I have no place to stay, no money to buy medicine, no money to eat, I haven't eaten for two days believe me, I haven't had a meal since the day before yesterday, I'm in a bad mood, so I couldn't control myself."

Arthur and John didn't believe it, Mike charged up like a rhinoceros, he didn't look like someone who hadn't eaten for two days.

"Two days without eating? You're lying!" John said disdainfully, "Who would believe that you haven't eaten for two days with this look of yours? Well, even if you don't have money, can't you go to a food pantry to eat?"

Mike said disdainfully, "I'm a soccer star, buddy, how could I go to a food pantry to eat? I'm not a homeless person, I have hands and feet, I'm strong and fast, I can take whatever I want... free shopping, I won't go to a food pantry."

It felt like something was wrong, but after thinking about it, Arthur gave up on correcting the part after "I have hands and feet", where it should have been "I can work" instead of "I can take whatever I want".

Arthur began to move towards John, and John also seemed to have the same idea, moving towards Arthur, the two leaned against each other and started whispering.

Arthur whispered, "Do you think..."

"I know what you're thinking."

"Well, how about it?"

"No need to feel sorry."

"Will he agree?"

John unhesitatingly said, "Try with money, he has nowhere to go, but he still seems a bit proud, I think it should work, anyway, just try, it won't cost anything."

Mike wanted to turn back but didn't dare to. He straightened up and said, "Sirs, can you let me go? I promise I won't call the police, you can have the bag too, is that okay?"

Arthur whispered, "Doesn't seem like an idiot, still knows how to beg, well, let's try it first."