Chapter 65: Taking Action
A light drizzle fell outside the gallery, dampening the streets of New York City.
The sky was beginning to clear.
Jake didn't wait around to see if Jimmy Tong's confession had been successful. He just found it amusing that he'd entered movie worlds featuring the same actor twice in a row. Besides, the Jimmy Tong in this universe wasn't nearly as successful as Jackie from Rumble in the Bronx, so he'd decided to lend him a hand.
Not long after Jake left the gallery, Jimmy Tong emerged, his face full of dejection—clearly indicating his failure.
The disappointed Jimmy sat in his taxi, but he wasn't giving up. Although not particularly handsome, his persistence was his greatest asset.
"I was definitely too nervous and overthought it this time," Jimmy said, slapping his forehead in frustration. "Next time I see Steena, I'll just walk right up and ask her out! That's it!" He smacked his fist into his palm. "A man can't hesitate!"
Raindrops, carried by the breeze, drifted through the taxi's open window and hit Jimmy's face, snapping him back to reality. Looking up, he saw Steena in her work clothes, carrying her purse, walking out of the gallery.
A few scattered raindrops still fell from the sky, only adding to the dampness of the afternoon but posing no real threat to pedestrians.
A cool breeze ruffled Steena's bangs, and her smile as she glanced back was absolutely captivating in Jimmy's eyes!
Suddenly, he remembered his earlier resolution: if he saw Steena again, he would rush right up to her and confess!
With that thought, Jimmy abruptly pushed open the car door. Perhaps Steena's appearance had completely captured his attention, because he hadn't noticed the large man on a bicycle approaching from behind.
Then the car door swung open, and the cyclist crashed into it, tumbling over his handlebars and hitting the pavement hard.
Hearing the cry of pain, Jimmy instinctively sensed something was wrong.
"I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" His head popped out of the car window, his face apologetic.
This white guy was clearly not someone to mess with. Even an average person would be furious after being hit like that.
Under the watchful eyes of passing pedestrians, the man stood up, towering over Jimmy like a brick wall. Jimmy, sensing danger, tried to retreat into the car, but the man smashed the window with a single punch and grabbed him by the throat from inside!
A common characteristic of Jackie Chan movies is that they portray heroes from an everyman's perspective.
This film was no exception.
However, in this movie, Jimmy's chance to transform into a fighting master only came when he wore that special tuxedo. Right now, as just an ordinary cab driver, how could Jimmy Tong possibly fight back?
As everyone expected, the shorter Jimmy was getting pummeled. Even using random items from the car couldn't help him escape those heavy punches.
"You're dead, little man!!" The burly white guy swung his fist, aiming for Jimmy's jaw. If it connected, he'd definitely lose a few teeth.
Just as bystanders covered their mouths in horror, unable to watch the violence unfold, something unexpected happened.
The man's fist, accompanied by a powerful whoosh of air, came down hard. Judging from the force that had shattered a car window, drawing blood wasn't out of the question.
At that moment, a hand reached out—not particularly fast, but steadily intercepting the fist inches from Jimmy's face.
SMACK!
The fist looked like a sledgehammer, while the hand that had intervened seemed so slender that everyone thought it might break. They could already picture the massive fist crushing through the hand and then slamming relentlessly into poor Jimmy the cab driver, knocking out his teeth.
That was how the scene should have played out.
But the outcome was completely different.
The slender hand firmly caught the burly man's fist, stopping it dead despite his continued efforts.
"Kung Fu!!" Someone in the crowd noticed the hand belonged to an Asian man. Immediately, they associated it with mysterious martial arts, and like a wave at a sports stadium, people began shouting,
"Kung Fu!"
"Kung Fu!!"
The Asian man in the navy blue blazer instantly became an object of admiration for all the men present and fascination for all the women.
This man was Jake.
He'd originally planned to locate the FBI director's mansion from the movie, steal the tuxedo, and disappear cleanly. But he hadn't expected to witness Jimmy getting beaten up right in front of him.
He might mess with his favorite movie stars himself, but he absolutely wouldn't let anyone else disrespect them, so he intervened!
In the white man's shocked eyes, Jake suddenly applied pressure.
He redirected the fist's momentum, sending the man stumbling backward.
Then he stepped forward, his left hand behind his back, his left foot advancing on the ball of his foot, and his right foot sweeping in a half-circle!
This wasn't traditional martial arts, but a close-quarters combat move from gun-kata.
At the same time, he extended his right index and middle fingers in a two-finger strike and jabbed the man hard in the left side of his abdomen!
"AHHH!!!" The man instantly howled in pain.
He clutched his stomach and collapsed to the ground.
No one knew how much force Jake had actually used. The onlookers only saw him lightly tap with his fingers, and the giant of a man went down, assuming it was some mystical Chinese Kung Fu technique. They didn't realize it was caused by Jake's forceful strike. If someone lifted the man's shirt, they'd see his left side was badly bruised and swollen!
The arrival of an NYPD officer ended the spectacle. The crowd parted, discussing only Jake's impressive pressure-point strike.
Jake bent down and helped Jimmy Tong to his feet. "You okay?"
"Thank you! I had no idea you were so skilled in martial arts."
"It's nothing," Jake shook his head. "You're a cab driver, right?"
"Yeah, do you need a ride somewhere?"
"Have you heard of a guy named Clark Devlin? He's kind of a playboy celebrity around the city..."
It turns out that no matter where you go, gossip travels fast and people love to talk.
After Jimmy thanked him profusely, Jake had him drive to Devlin's mansion.
He intended to pay with a hundred-dollar bill as thanks, but Jimmy refused to accept the money.
"Movie characters really are just inherently decent," Jake thought. He didn't force the money on him—it was a way of respecting the actor he admired, even though he'd previously stolen gold from one of his character's adventures and was now about to steal the high-tech tuxedo that this character would eventually use.
The characters in movies were straightforward—good was good, and bad was bad. This was why Jake trusted Matilda, Mia, and Katniss so completely.
Looking at the luxurious mansion before him, Jake showed absolutely no interest in admiring the architecture.
He pulled a small vial from his suit jacket pocket, securely protected by a leather case. Inside that vial was another smaller vial, nested like Russian dolls, up to three layers deep.
The innermost vial appeared to be empty.
He opened the cap, tilted his head back, and something invisible seemed to flow from the tiny bottle, sliding down his throat as he swallowed.
Two seconds later, he vanished into thin air...
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