“Sita, take Andy and the kids inside the foundation.”
Fero remained where he was, his eyes fixed on Yoyo and his eight men. He raised one hand slightly, signaling Sita to get the children away from the area immediately.
Sita nodded. “Come on, everyone, go inside. Don’t be afraid. It’s safe in there.” Andy was still clutching the hem of Sita’s shirt, but when he saw her step toward the foundation’s gate, the other children began moving too. They no longer huddled together in fear.
Angelo instead stepped forward and stood beside Fero, both hands clenched tightly. “I’ll help you.”
“No need,” Fero replied curtly.
“Why? There are a lot of them.”
“That’s exactly why.”
“Fero, I’m serious.”
“So am I.” Fero let out a short breath. “Just go inside.”
Angelo was silent for a moment. “Are you underestimating me?”
“No.” Fero held back a faint smile. “I just know what you’re capable of.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Rather than having to save you after you hit the ground, you’re better off staying out of it.”
“Jerk.”
Fero finally smiled. “Go inside.” Angelo snorted irritably, but he knew his cousin wasn’t joking. After making sure Sita and the children had entered the foundation grounds, he backed away several steps, though he kept a wary eye on the crowd of thugs.
Yoyo, who had watched the exchange, burst out laughing, followed by the echoing laughter of his men along the rocky road. “Well, look at our hero, telling his friend to leave,” Yoyo taunted. “Now you’re all alone. Still planning to act tough?”
Fero didn’t answer. He simply stood with his hands at his sides, the night wind stirring the hair that had fallen over his forehead. His expression remained calm even with nine men surrounding him, and that composure gradually silenced Yoyo’s laughter.
There was something about Fero’s attitude that made Yoyo uncomfortable, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. “Why so quiet? Scared?”
“You want to fight, right?” Fero lifted his face.
“Obviously,” Yoyo replied with a grin.
“Then all of you come at me.”
Yoyo’s men immediately stopped laughing. One of them frowned. “What?”
“I don’t have much time,” Fero continued. “Come at me together so we can finish this quickly.”
Those words made Yoyo’s face flush. He felt humiliated in front of his own men. “You think we can’t beat you?”
Fero didn’t answer, and his silence only fueled Yoyo’s anger. The tattooed man strode forward, swinging his fist straight at Fero’s face with all his strength. “You little—!”
Fero moved just as the fist came within inches of his face. His hand shot up and caught Yoyo’s wrist with lightning speed—so fast that Yoyo didn’t have time to pull back.
“What...” Before Yoyo could finish, Fero twisted the wrist outward.
“Argh!” Yoyo’s body immediately bent over as pain shot from his wrist to his shoulder. Fero barely had to exert any force; one simple twist was enough to turn Yoyo pale.
“If this is all you’ve got, don’t waste my time,” Fero said, then shoved him away. Yoyo staggered several steps before landing in a sitting position on the dusty ground.
“Attack!” one of his men shouted, and the other eight moved at once from different directions—some throwing punches, some trying to kick Fero’s legs, while two others charged from behind.
Fero shifted his body. The first punch missed, and he immediately caught the attacker’s arm and yanked him off balance before a hard shove sent him sprawling.
The second man attacked from the side with a high kick. Fero lowered his body to avoid it, then his hand moved swiftly, striking the man in the stomach. The man staggered while clutching his gut, then collapsed to his knees, groaning in pain.
Two others tried to surround him from the left and right. Fero took half a step back, then surged forward again—a punch struck one of them in the shoulder, followed by a leg sweep that sent the other crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
The last man tried to punch Fero from behind, but Fero twisted aside, caught his arm, and wrenched it until the man screamed in pain. He then released him without a second thought, and the man collapsed beside his companions, who had already been taken down.
The fight lasted less than two minutes. The eight men who had been standing confidently moments ago now lay sprawled across the warung’s yard. Some clutched their stomachs, while others groaned and tried to get back up—but not one of them was capable of attacking again. Dust still hung faintly in the air around where they had fallen.
Fero was still standing among them. There wasn’t a scratch on his face, not a drop of blood, and even his breathing remained steady, as if he had just taken a leisurely walk instead of dropping eight men at once.
Angelo stood speechless near the foundation’s entrance as he watched. He had already known that Fero’s abilities were far beyond those of an ordinary person, but seeing it firsthand still left him struggling for words. “That’s insane...” he muttered.
Yoyo looked at his men one by one—all nine of them had lost, and he hadn’t even managed to land a proper hit on Fero. His confidence vanished in an instant, replaced by fear that began spreading all the way to his fingertips.
Fero slowly walked toward him. Each step made Yoyo retreat, both hands pressed against the ground as he tried to get away, even though there was nowhere left to run.
“Wait.” Fero stopped.
Yoyo swallowed. “I... I don’t want to fight anymore.”
“You’re the one who started this.”
“I was wrong.” Yoyo looked at Fero’s face, which showed no anger at all, and that calmness only frightened him more.
He finally crawled forward and stopped directly in front of Fero. Then his trembling hand grabbed the hem of Fero’s pants. “Boss.”
Fero frowned.
“From now on, you’re my Boss,” Yoyo said hurriedly, afraid Fero would attack him again. “I promise. My men and I won’t bother this foundation anymore.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely, Boss.”
“What about the kids?”
“We won’t touch them again.” Yoyo nodded repeatedly. “I swear.” Behind him, several of his men who were still lying on the ground weakly nodded as well, no longer having the courage to object.
Fero didn’t answer right away. He studied them one by one—there had been something different about this group from the beginning. They extorted people and used violence to make money, but Fero didn’t see them as truly cruel.
Yoyo had been more focused on showing off than hurting Andy earlier, and his men had only restrained the boy without injuring him. Fero exhaled softly. Maybe they had simply lost their way. He knew that when someone was desperate to find money, bad decisions could feel like the only option.
If left like this, they might sink even deeper into the same world. But perhaps there was still a chance to make them stop, as long as someone was willing to show them another path.
“Boss?” Yoyo called cautiously, breaking the silence.
Fero lowered his head slightly, then looked at Yoyo for a long moment before finally asking in a calm voice:
“If someone hired you, could you stop being thugs?”