Chapter 1167: Chapter 8: Ceiling
Insular country, Kanto Region, inside an underground casino.
Suzuki Natsuya, holding a metal baseball bat, was sitting on the back of a large man, “Wouldn’t it have been better to pay back the money sooner? You forced me to act, you bastard, I’ll kill you!”
“Yes, yes… I’m sorry, big brother, I promise I won’t be late again, I guarantee it!”
“Get lost!”
Suzuki Natsuya stood up, tapped the metal baseball bat a few times, and a few men instantly ran out of the room in terror. After this, Suzuki Natsuya placed the bat aside, sat on the desk, and looked at a quietly seated ten-year-old child in the room.
“Little dog, did you see clearly? When someone owes you and doesn’t repay, you must beat them! Once you make them hurt and fear you, they’ll obediently pay back. These people don’t generally lack the money to repay; they just don’t want to repay it.”
“Why?” the child asked curiously.
“Anything goes when they eat it, but when it es time to spit it out, they’re unwilling. There’s only one word for it: greed!” Suzuki Natsuya dug his ear, “You’ve been following me for almost two months now to collect debts. Next time, you’re up; I’ll watch from the side. If you can’t collect the money, no food for you! Got it?”
“Oh.”
Looking at the child’s expression, Suzuki Natsuya rubbed his temples, unsure if the child understood. Suddenly, the room darkened as if there was a power outage.
Suzuki Natsuya wasn’t afraid of the sudden darkness, and neither was the child sitting in the corner. The child had always been told not to open his eyes casually — but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see.
This child had a visual ability like night vision goggles — even with closed eyes.
For some reason, Suzuki Natsuya looked up, as if trying to see the sky — even though they were underground.
His face was filled with terror, his eyes wide open, and he clutched his head in pain as he slowly fell to his knees… Until the brief blackout ended, and the room was illuminated again.
Instinctively, the child walked over to Suzuki Natsuya and touched his shoulder… noticing it was trembling slightly.
Suzuki Natsuya suddenly swung his hand away, “Don’t touch me!”
It was as if he was still scared of something.
…
Thailand, Menam Basin, Pathum Thani Province.
It felt like going back to the 1980s or 90s, with low buildings, dirty, chaotic, and crowded city streets.
In an ordinary motel in the town, a black man was performing a difficult Russian push-up. Judging by how sweaty he was, he had been at it for a while.
Abbas, a South African national, participated in seventeen small-scale wars. He excelled in using various explosive tools and had first-rate close bat skills. He could engage in intense underwater bat for up to five minutes. Now, he’s an explosives expert in the ‘EOK’ Mercenary Group…
Abbas’s personal information flashed through the mind of an Eastern-faced man sitting by the window.
The man didn’t look too old, with a buzz cut and sharp, chiseled features. His name was Wang Yuechuan — but for now, he went by the name Kai.
Kai was his alias to disguise his identity, as he had transformed into someone running from the law for murder, formerly part of a field bat unit.
About two months ago, following organization instructions, Kai arrived in Xiangjiang. After half a month of self-training, he used a fishing boat from Xiangjiang to smuggle into Thailand. He eventually met the ‘EOK’ Mercenary Group, passed their tests, officially joined them, and was paired with Abbas.
Wang Yuechuan’s current persona was a silent and reserved individual.
Gazing at the bustling street outside, Wang Yuechuan… Kai flicked his cigarette butt away. Even after successfully joining ‘EOK,’ he couldn’t gather more information nor investigate what went on within the mercenary group, having not yet participated in their operations.
Though officially part of them now, it seemed it would take several missions to truly bee one of them… Going undercover was a lengthy task, one that grew more dangerous over time.
Each ‘EOK’ mercenary possessed high-level bat capabilities, allowing the group of just ninety-nine to rank high among international mercenary groups. Among such elites, Kai estimated he only ranked above the sixtieth based on pure bat ability.
However, relying on abilities learned from The Book of the Dead was a different story… but he couldn’t easily display such abilities openly.
Even average skills were sufficient for recognition, without needing to display more. Additionally, he couldn’t hurry or show anxiety because the persona was meant to be silent and reserved.
“Huh…”
Abbas finished his training, stood up, and appeared more energized. “I’m hungry. Let’s get some food, yellow-skinned monkey!”
Abbas frequently called Easterners “yellow-skinned monkeys.” Besides Kai, a few other Asians from different Southeast Asian countries were also in ‘EOK.’ But to Abbas, they all were “yellow-skinned monkeys.”
It wasn’t meant as a provocation, just that just like Asians struggled to differentiate black ethnicities, black ethnicities similarly struggled with identifying Asians… probably.
Kai merely glanced at Abbas and continued watching out the window.
Having grown accustomed to Kai’s eccentricity, Abbas shrugged and exited the room.
Kai continued observing the outside. His new identity made every day filled with extreme tension, as if constantly being monitored… Was it ‘EOK’ that distrusted him? Or perhaps even his organization?
Kai lit another cigarette.
Despite never smoking before, in just over two months, it had bee a daily routine.
Suddenly, a motion arose from the street, and the entire street went dark in an instant… Only the night food stalls’ stoves remained lit.
Kai looked out into the distance, also plunged into darkness.
A power outage, he thought.
But instead of worrying, he found fort in the world suddenly going dark.
The ever-present sense of being watched disappeared… Kai smiled slightly, closing his eyes to relish this rare tranquility — yet at that moment, he felt an inexplicable fear.
Kai’s eyes shot open, feeling cold sweat on his forehead. He stared out the window again… perhaps.
Unbeknownst to him, the ever-present gaze hadn’t left… it merely shifted focus.
It turned to the night.
On a nearby rooftop, a shadowy figure lay prostrate, trembling in fear.
“My Lord, why are you so angry…”
…
In the pitch-black moonlit hemisphere, the sea had seemingly erupted into chaos… the Pacific Ocean became laden with countless colossal whirlpools.
Underwater currents surged to the surface, and the pitch-black sea resembled a giant devouring maw.
Torrents of sea tornadoes shot into the sky, one after another, appearing as numerous massive pillars connecting to the heavens.
Air seemed to solidify, turning heavy.
Unease and fear spread instantaneously, traveling at the speed of light beneath the moonlit hemisphere.
All those possessing power sensed death closing in.
They trembled.
Curling up.
The evils in the world tremble at this moment, and kindness seems to be despised by the world…
Until the light returned.
Everything went back to the ordinary night of ten seconds ago.
…
In the hall, Da Zhe, who was wiping the Zhan Lu Sword, frowned and after feeling a wave of dizziness, shook his head with force and instinctively looked at the Maid at the counter.
But at this moment, a figure rushed out from upstairs… Nero, with ink-stained face, shouted, “Ready for a fight, are we? I’m prepared!!”
Big eyes and great excitement.
“You Ye… Miss?” Da Zhe ignored Nero.
The Maid put down the cup she was wiping… At the moment the cup steadied, terrifying black flames from You Ye’s feet instantly engulfed the hall’s floor. The black flames on the ground started transforming, connecting into intricate symbols.
Suddenly, as if something was slowly rising from this massive black flame array… A spear!
Looking closely, it was a spear wrapped in flags.
A weapon!
Da Zhe and Nero’s expressions slightly changed: They had never seen this Maid with a weapon before… Or, never seen her take anything seriously.
In the first moment of the encounter, one could be killed… This was the only feeling Da Zhe had at the moment.
However, this terrifying atmosphere almost disappeared immediately… The black flames burning on the floor instantly vanished.
The Boss’s voice suddenly emerged, “I’m fine, you don’t need to e over… Just think of it as me rudely sneezing.”
The Boss did not return, it was merely his voice—yet none present doubted it was not the Boss’s voice.
The Maid holding the spear flag released her grip at this time, and the spear flag shimmered and vanished.
“You Ye… Miss?”
The club’s Maid picked up the cup again, slowly wiping it, and said indifferently, “We just need to follow the Master’s orders.”
…
…
Time is at a standstill… At least in this area, within this brief time, everything is frozen, as if pletely entering another space.
Under the night sky before the balcony, a few blue light dots gathered… Before long, the blue-haired, blue-eyed manager Araiye of the Temporal World appeared.
Her slowly opened eyes seemed as if she was waking from a slumber… Araiye appeared at a location slightly lower than the Boss at the balcony spot.
[Fragmentation degree of Sub-world Space 003 is 21.35%… Inquiry, is the world destruction program needed to be executed?]
Emotionless Araiye, gaze unflickeringly fixed on the Boss at the balcony… Even in darkness, it did not obstruct her sight. Yet she can’t clearly see the image of the origin-holder at this moment.
Chaos.
It was a face like chaos, only having two rounds of light resembling eyes.
As if a long time had passed, as if just a fleeting instant… Only a face describable as chaos gradually became clear.
“The proposal I made last time, I don’t intend to change… Sorry for the fragmentation of the sub-world space.” Luo Qiu faintly sighed, “If you can’t pletely restore it, I’ll take action.”
[Maximum allowable repair range for fragmentation is 32.16%, confirmed fully restorable]
Boss Luo nodded slightly, indifferently said, “If there’s a next time, I’ll be more careful… Try to keep it within this range. You… Go back, I want some peace; the stillness here, according to normal time flow, will resume activation in ten minutes.”
[Understood…]
…
…
“Power outage, blackout?”
It felt like at least ten minutes had passed, yet it seemed like only a few breaths, the world abruptly darkened, but soon regained light.
“Might be the peak electricity usage period, alternating current, brief power outages are mon.” Luo Qiu remarked indifferently.
The southern cold weather hasn’t passed, not even summer nights, claiming peak electricity is deceiving, right? Song Ying opened her mouth, but eventually didn’t speak these words.
There were simple rattan chairs and tables on the balcony, a place used for tea and reading usually. Luo Qiu sat down, indicating Song Ying to sit down too, here it was just enough to have the curtains block the living room’s view.
Just then, an ear quietly pressed against the glass inside.
Luo Qiu knocked casually on the sliding glass door, and the owner of the ear grumbled unhappily, mumbling and hid back.
“Your mom… Um, Ms. Ren seems quite afraid of you.” Song Ying laughed awkwardly, somehow restored… back to her former self.
“Tell me…” Luo Qiu looked at Song Ying, “About these events. You just said it wasn’t an accident, but intentional…”
This was the Luo Qiu Song Ying knew, not the fearful Luo Qiu from some moments ago, but the Luo Qiu who wouldn’t get angry when pulled out at midnight and would thoughtfully make breakfast. Song Ying subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, interrupting Luo Qiu’s words, “That… Are you really not angry anymore?”
Luo Qiu looked at Song Ying without blinking.
Song Ying shivered, ultimately feared again… She whispered, “Wrong… Continue speaking, I won’t interrupt anymore…”
Luo Qiu sighed, “The problem is like this, since you came, you must have found something, go ahead and say it.”
Song Ying sneaked a glance inside the living room, sure enough, saw Ren Ziling widening her eyes still staring—though sitting far away on the sofa, hugging a pillow, her expression knotted like an aunt watching the final episode of a drama.
“There’s a report here, take a look first.” Song Ying opened her phone and showed it to Luo Qiu.
Luo Qiu looked at it.
Song Ying said, “Even though our family doesn’t have much business in the country, the connections are somewhat there. The information here was given by my grandfather’s friend for investigation recently. The data mentions Professor Ouyang, who was the forensic doctor on the plex case of your father back then. According to his statement, the bullet giving your father a fatal blow actually came from within the police department. But later, someone secretly paid him to change the report to use the bullet as being from a criminal and also swapped the evidence bullet…”
Seeing the expressionless Luo Qiu, Song Ying took a deep breath and continued, “This time I came, it was instructed by grandfather, just wanting to clear this matter. Grandfather said, we Song Family members shouldn’t die unclear like this.”
“I understand.” Luo Qiu returned the phone to Song Ying’s hand, “Now, think about how to properly deal with your prank, okay.”
“Okay…”
So scary…
User Comments
0 comments from readers