Chapter 22: Chasing a Debt

With nimble steps, Zhou Qi hid behind a large black curtain. Then, he regulated his breath. He heard a laughing man, shouting in glee as he walked up to the second floor. A man wearing a black suit was assisting and guiding him.

"Damn! It's really great here! There's no place like this in the whole City of Cailon. Maybe, I should open a place like this. Hiccup."

"Yes, Mr. Dior. If you want to open a branch, we could help you. With my help, I could also help you get a discount."

"Really? Where the heck could I get all those ladies? You don't even care if they die. Those action pack arena games you showed also made my old blood boil! Where did you even get that zealot?!"

Hearing the word zealot, Zhou Qi's eyes constricted. The exchange between the two got his attention now.

"Calm down, Mr. Dior. Please go to your room first. If you want a zealot, we could discuss it later. Of course, the fees will also be bigger. But believe me, sir! Nothing is impossible with my boss! As long as you have money, we could provide the best!"

"Hiccup. Fine, just let me blow off some steam. Did you manage to get the beautiful young lady? You know, the one I chose a few hours ago?"

"She's already locked and chained, warming your bed." The man smiled, his eyes squinting like a snake.

Mr. Dior laughed with excitement. "Great! Great! I feel really young today. It is the best. This place really knows how to treat their guest! Hospitality at its finest!" After sending his spittles in the air, Mr. Dior took a deep breath before gasping.

"Anyway, I want some alone time with this miss." Mr. Dior winked.

"You could do whatever you want to the young girl, sir. After all, I think she will die in a few days or months." The man rattled his mouth, his words laced with poison and honey.

"Also if you want, you could let the girl watch his brother in the arena. I think he's one of the young men slated for the highlights tonight! I believe the girl will follow you willingly if you talk about her brother."

"The zealot survival game?!"

"Indeed, Mr. Dior."

"Okay. I'll watch it later. I could use that against this lass if she dares to fight. Anyway, thank you. What's your name again?"

The man smiled, he opened one of the rooms. "You can call me, Wuren, Wuren sir."

Before the drunk man entered the room, he pulled out his wallet. He threw a few stacked bills towards the man called Wuren.

Zhou Qi saw a stack of 1000-Zeal bills falling into the hands of Wuren.

"Thank your sir." Wuren's eyes squinted, the crisped sounds of the bills brought a small smile on his face.

"Haha, just served me better. I could give you even a mansion in the City of Cailon."

He bowed to the man, looking professional throughout. He swished his sleeves before gently closed the door. "Have a goodnight, Mr. Dior."

In a few seconds, Zhou Qi heard a light huff coming from Wuren, "Jackpot!"

Zhou Qi's eyes flashed.

"Yes, yes, jackpot indeed!" Zhou Qi pursed his lips, a mixture of wrath and joy flooded his heart. A creepy grin reached his face, stretching his face from ear to ear. A smile bloomed over the four corners of his face. "Hoho, I finally found you, Wuren! Time to chase an old debt!"

…

Wuren strolled straight, his steps a bit lippy. After all, his slick tongue earned him his 8th thousand-zeal bill. The best thing was, he earned it using only two hours of bootlicking! In the slums, he had to work hard to make such a sum.

"I wasn't wrong in choosing this place. The boss pays well as long as I do my job! It's even better during my stint with Stupid Bu. This place is great! I can also hide from that bratty loan shark. Hehe."

"Although this place is a bit inhuman… Well, I'm also a bit inhuman myself." Wuren chuckled out loud.

Wuren was the former right-hand man as well as the betrayer of the old boss of the slums. After getting threatened by Zhou Qi, he sold his former boss. He exchanged critical information to Zhou Qi in exchange for a big business loan and his life.

Of course, his business failed miserably. Then, he ran away! Snakes can change skins but a chicken can't.

Wuren pulled out his wallet. He looked at the stacked bills peeking through the tough leather. A greedy smile flourished on his face. "It's really good that I managed to earn a few bucks from selling those kids. I never thought that the unlucky kid would trust me so much!"

Wuren shook his head. He waltzed towards the bar. His thoughts were full of things about money. The man loved nothing but money. In his eyes, everything looked dashing as long as the money is involved.

The disco and party music sounded like 'chi-chings' in his ears. The moment he saw the breathtaking lights beaming through the side of the open door, he waltzed faster as if he was flying.

The lights and money were telling him to move faster.

Of course, not faster than the system-wielding Zhou Qi.

The black curtain flipped, dancing elegantly along with the party music. Wuren's head was still filled with his money. He never thought that the loan shark had already caught up to him. He got dogged by a persistent loan shark.

In a blink of an eye, he was gone from the hallway. Wuren felt his world blurring as if he was moving at an unbelievable speed. A powerful arm reached towards his shoulders. A forceful pull followed, making him feel that he was floating. He wasn’t even able to fight back.

Then, a lean hand grappled his mouth. Even though he tried to fight back, the loan shark's arms were like tempered steel! No matter how he fought back, he couldn't remove or fight against the grip.

Fear and anxiousness filled his heart. He felt lost. "What the heck is happening?! I was counting money a few seconds ago and now this!"

Wuren felt the grip tightening, his aged face crumpling in pain. He felt like he was a dough being massage by a baker. He was under Zhou Qi's mercy. With a few more strength, his head would definitely pop out.

He stopped his struggle after realizing what might accidentally happen. He hoped that he could still talk things through. He cursed his bad luck in his heart. Still, he believed that as long as he's still alive, everything was still on the table. He tried saying something.

"Hmmph…Hmph."

A light breath echoed in his ears. It was an extremely familiar voice. It was the man whom he tried to run away from. The loan shark of slums.

The new boss of the slums of Trent.

The killer of his former boss.

The hidden anti-zealot merc.

The Law Bar's big boss.

The loan shark.

There was a hint of wrath flowing in the man's tone. "Wuren…I miss you a lot. Did you miss me? I especially waltzed here to meet you! Why? Cause I miss you so-so much!"

Zhou Qi!

A cold shiver ran through Wuren's mind, his pupils constricting in fright. Like a blank paper, his brain short-circuited, all his thoughts gone. He even forgot everything about his money.

The loan shark was slowly moving his hands, playing around his throat. Wuren felt the Zhou Qi's hand touching a pulsating spot.

"Wuren, how I miss you! Repeating it, again and again, doesn’t do it justice. Anyway, I read a good anatomy book a few days ago. I love it since I learned so much. Wanna know how it went?" Zhou Qi's hand slid down towards the neck. He lightly poked a pulsating spot. "Did you know that once I pluck this thing, you'll surely die? Your blood will gush out like a raging fountain! Tsk, you'll bleed to death! It will be a great sight to behold."

Crocodile tears fell on the eyes of Wuren. Even now, he still dreamt of talking things through. This was his final struggle, his trump card.

"No, no, no. Don't cry. I might also accidentally plucked some wrong chords on your neck. Aigoo! I almost forgot there are only one or two cords in the neck! Do you know what they are called?"

The loan shark moved nearer to his ear. "Vocal cords? But I want to hear your voice. So, I will go for the spinal cord, right? No, was it the brain stem? Anyway, when I smashed your brains out, I don't think anything matters anymore. Not the chord thing or the brain thing. Do you agree with me, Wuren? Come on. I know you agree with me, right? Right?"

Wuren immediately stopped his act. His eyes vacant, losing all the hope he had. He was like a salted fish fighting against the sun. Even so, when he saw Zhou Qi pulling his wallet, he almost fought back. The loan shark picked up the few 1000-zeal bills he saved.

The sight broke his heart. The loan shark had stolen his lover.

"I would love to have a long talk with you. Of course, I'll make sure you'll love it too."

"Hmf…"

"Oh, I almost forgot we need a private space to talk! We can't talk decently here. After all, I may be a loan shark. But I'm still civilized! Perfectly civilized! So let's get a nice room, kay?"

"Only you and me. Wait, I almost forgot." Zhou Qi's voice sounded like a hell call. "I have two partners I got to introduce to you."

Zhou Qi allowed Wuren to see his so-called partners. Drawing nearer to Wuren's ear, the loan shark uttered. "Meet Mr. Pistol and Mr. Bloody Bat. So which one do you like? They’re cute right?"

Wuren felt like crying.

…