Chapter 304: Chapter 301: 【Suppression】(Long Chapter)
Chapter 301: Suppression
"Cheers!!"
Hands rose, each holding a wine glass.
In a famous bar in the center of Jinling City.
Dim lighting filled the room, and Western rock music played from the sound system.
Chen Nuo sat at the bar, picked up a glass of strong liquor, and swallowed it in one gulp.
With a gulp, the fiery liquor traveled down his esophagus into his stomach. The physiological stimulus made Chen Nuo let out a small sigh of relief.
He sat by the bar, surrounded by several young men and women chatting and laughing.
Behind the bar, a bartender was gently wiping a glass with a cloth. Seeing Chen Nuo’s glass was empty, he signaled with his eyes. After Chen Nuo nodded, the bartender refilled his glass.
Chen Nuo didn’t actually know the young men and women around him.
They were other patrons who had walked into the bar earlier and sat at the counter, only then becoming acquainted.
These people were clearly regulars and knew each other.
"Hey, handsome, have another!" a girl sitting beside Chen Nuo said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
Chen Nuo turned to glance at her.
The girl was very young, but her makeup was heavy. She was clearly quite drunk, her eyes hazy.
It was already October, yet the girl wore a miniskirt—a single glance revealed it wasn’t cheap: Burberry’s check pattern.
"What, can’t drink anymore?" The girl squinted, a hint of deliberate provocation in her eyes.
Chen Nuo pursed his lips with a smile, raised his glass in a toast to her, and drained it.
"Yay!"
The girl laughed happily and downed her glass as well—but the hand on Chen Nuo’s shoulder didn’t move.
Uh... was he being hit on? Chen Nuo smiled bitterly to himself.
As for drinking... he was definitely going to drink.
Let it be a celebration. A celebration that he had met the world’s most powerful BOSS and even escaped from his clutches? Yes, something like that.
As for the Seed... no, it should be the words the newborn Mother said to him before he left: "You will die..." Anyway, it wasn’t about dying right now. And it wasn’t about dying today.
Chen Nuo’s thoughts reached this point, and he once again suppressed the heavy feeling in his heart.
"Fill it up again," Chen Nuo said with a smile to the bartender.
As a first-time visitor sitting at the bar, Chen Nuo, with his handsome face, quickly attracted attention, especially from the drunken girl beside him.
After two drinks, the girl seemed a bit hot. She took off her small jacket, revealing a black camisole underneath.
Under Chen Nuo’s gaze, she seemed to deliberately puff out her chest.
What a pity... A bit thin.
Chen Nuo only glanced at her before looking away.
"Handsome, what’s your name?"
"Is this your first time here? I haven’t seen you before."
"How old are you? You’re not still in school, are you?"
"You..."
The girl beside him chattered on, asking questions. Her two or three companions nearby whispered among themselves, already casting annoyed glances at Chen Nuo.
"None of your business," Chen Nuo said coolly, glancing at her.
"..." The girl glared, picked up her glass, drained it, and then slammed it down. "Fill it up!"
Chen Nuo remained unfazed. The girl, however, now had a glazed look in her eyes. She slowly slumped onto the table, apparently having finally succumbed to the alcohol.
The hand that had been on her shoulder now brazenly wrapped around Chen Nuo’s neck, and her body leaned towards him, as if wanting to cuddle.
Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow and discreetly shifted aside a little.
At this moment, the two or three young people sitting nearby exchanged glances. One of them deliberately coughed, frowned, and leaned over. He grabbed the girl’s arm, moved it away, and then patted her back. "Alright, drink less."
Turning to Chen Nuo, he said casually, "Sorry, my friend drank too much."
"No problem."
"Don’t get the wrong idea..." The man frowned, thought for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of warning. "She’s our friend. Don’t get any ideas you shouldn’t have."
Chen Nuo smiled, looked at the young man before him, and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with me."
As the young man spoke, he reached out to pull the girl, seemingly intending to take her away.
Clearly, the drunken girl knew this young man and the others with him.
But whether they were close or if their relationship was intimate, that was unknown...
Most likely, they were just familiar faces from the bar.
But whatever the case... Chen Nuo couldn’t be bothered to care.
To put it bluntly, if a young girl dares to get herself dead drunk alone in a place like a bar or nightclub, and if she accidentally gets taken advantage of... there’s nothing to sympathize with. She was out looking for indulgence; if she suffers for it, it’s her own doing. Chen Nuo didn’t approve of such behavior, but he wouldn’t sympathize either. In a word, paying for one’s own stupid actions is the greatest fairness in this world. If you’re a girl who likes to frequent nightclubs and drink yourself into oblivion, that’s your freedom. But if, because of that, you get taken advantage of... Chen Nuo didn’t know what others thought, but he wouldn’t have an ounce of sympathy for such a person.
The man bent down and whispered something in the girl’s ear, but she shook her head. "Get away from me! Stop bothering me!"
As she spoke, she also shook off his hand.
Instead, she reached out, grabbed Chen Nuo’s clothes again, and leaned her body against him.
The man’s face instantly showed some embarrassment; he froze, seemingly at a loss.
Just then, the bar door pushed open, and a young man and woman quickly walked in, heading straight for the bar with clear intent.
The young girl among them called out as she approached, "Lin..."
She had barely uttered the word when she suddenly saw Chen Nuo’s face. She froze, subconsciously closing her mouth.
The boy following her muttered impatiently, "Have you found her yet... FUCK!"
This last curse clearly slipped out after he, too, recognized Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo recognized the two, especially the boy, and suddenly smiled.
"Zhou Kai?"
Chen Nuo turned around, a smile in his eyes.
"Chen... Boss Chen." Zhou Kai shivered.
During his half-semester in the Ba International Division, this Boss Chen had given him a hard time. It had gotten to the point where even appealing to his parents at home was useless. After his father made inquiries at the school, he had even told Zhou Kai to get along with Chen Nuo. Coupled with the ordeal of memorizing the English-Chinese dictionary, Zhou Kai’s legs couldn’t help but go weak whenever he saw Chen Nuo. It had almost become a conditioned reflex.
The girl with Zhou Kai was also from the Ba International Division, though from a different class, so Chen Nuo hadn’t bothered to remember her name.
He rarely went to school anyway and didn’t recognize all the students in the Ba International Division.
Chen Nuo looked at these two schoolmates. Both were dressed casually, not in school uniforms, and were clearly trying to look more mature. The girl, especially, wore makeup, earrings, and a shiny bracelet on her wrist. Moreover, both of them clearly reeked of alcohol.
Chen Nuo smiled, his gaze bypassing the female student and landing on Zhou Kai. "Looking for someone?"
"Uh... yes." Zhou Kai looked at Chen Nuo, then at the girl leaning against the bar beside him. "Boss Chen... do you two... know each other?"
"No." Chen Nuo said, slowly moving aside. The girl was actually slumped over the bar, not really leaning on him.
"...Uh."
Zhou Kai was about to say something when he noticed the girl’s hand still clutching Chen Nuo’s clothes.
Don’t know each other? Who are you kidding! You think I’d believe that? A few more thoughts immediately sprang into his mind. This Chen Nuo... he has Sun Keke from the main campus, and that transfer student from Neon Country in the international program. Now he comes to a bar, and there’s another one?
"Really, I don’t know her." Chen Nuo frowned, gently prying the drunk girl’s hand from his clothes. He shook his head. "I came alone; she’s drunk."
Then, tilting his chin, he asked, "Your friend?"
"Uh, yeah." Zhou Kai scratched his head. Pointing to the Ba International Division girl who had come with him, he said, "Me, her, and a few friends were clubbing. Linlin sent us a message saying she was looking for someone to drink with. We called earlier, and her voice sounded off, so we came to check."
Linlin was probably the drunk girl’s name.
Chen Nuo considered it. Since it had nothing to do with him, he didn’t bother asking further. He stood up and nodded at Zhou Kai. "You guys carry on; I’m going to the restroom."
He went to the restroom and washed his face at the sink by the entrance.
What a shame. His mood today really was a roller coaster, and he’d wanted to use alcohol to feel better, to alleviate some of the pressure in his heart. But the current Chen Nuo found it hard to be numbed by alcohol.
He gave a bitter smile, looking at himself in the mirror.
"Will I die? Heh..."
Baring his teeth at his reflection, Chen Nuo turned and left.
Returning to the bar’s main hall, he saw from a distance that a dispute had broken out at the counter.
"What right do you have to stop us from taking her? Who the fuck are you!!"
It was unmistakably Zhou Kai’s voice.
Indeed, Zhou Kai stood with his head held high, an annoyed expression on his face, glaring at the three young men beside the drunken girl.
After a few more heated exchanges, Zhou Kai’s temper flared—he had always been a spoiled brat, only appearing docile like a sheep in front of Chen Nuo after being thoroughly subdued by him.
Zhou Kai cursed something and then forcefully shoved the young man in front of him in the chest.
He ended up embarrassing himself.
That shove was anticipated. The guy, ready for it, grabbed Zhou Kai’s arms and pulled. This caused Zhou Kai to stagger and nearly fall; he only managed to steady himself by holding onto a nearby table.
Just as he was about to jump up, the other two young men came over grinning, saying, "Hey, no need for violence... Whoa there, don’t be violent..."
Though their hands were feigning to break up the fight, they were actually pinning Zhou Kai against the table.
"What are you doing!" the Ba International Division girl glared and shouted.
"Nothing at all!" The young man looked nervously around, but no one was paying attention to them. The bar was too noisy and chaotic, and even the bartender had cunningly walked away.
"She’s our friend, and she’s drunk. We can’t just let anyone take her away," the young man said with a sneer.
The Ba International Division girl angrily retorted, "I’m her friend!"
"Who knows that," the young man continued to play dumb. "She’s too drunk to speak or prove it. What if some bad person took her and something happened?"
"I think you’re the bad guys!" the Ba International Division girl shouted back. "I’m her friend!"
"We’re her friends too."
"Then do you know her name! Where she lives! Where she goes to school! Do you know who her parents are!"
"Do you know?" The young man mocked with unrestrained laughter. He wasn’t really that audacious; he was probably drunk, heated with liquor, and frustrated that his plans were foiled, unwilling to back down without saving face.
"Of course, I know!" The Ba International Division girl was clearly not thinking straight—perhaps she wasn’t usually this foolish, but now, provoked by the other party, her IQ had plummeted. "Her name is..."
A hand landed on her shoulder.
"Hmm?" The Ba International Division girl turned around.
Chen Nuo looked at her and shook his head. "Don’t say it."
Then, pointing to the girl lying motionless on the bar, he said, "Take her and go."
"Alright!"
The Ba International Division girl knew of Chen Nuo’s "fierce reputation" at school.
With this feared school tyrant from the Ba International Division standing behind her, she inexplicably felt a surge of courage and reached out to pull the drunken girl from the table.
"Hey!" The young man lost his nerve and reached out to stop her.
Chen Nuo walked straight over and shouldered his arm aside. The man stumbled back a couple of steps, wincing.
Chen Nuo went over, pulled Zhou Kai up from where he was being held against the table, and casually pushed aside the two young men’s companions.
The two wouldn’t stand for it and grabbed bottles from the table.
"Boss Chen!" Zhou Kai glared, also grabbing a bottle.
Chen Nuo looked at the three young men opposite him and smiled. "Why don’t we take this outside? If we break things here, it’ll make trouble for the owner."
"I’m telling you guys, don’t cause trouble. If you have a problem, take it outside," the bartender reappeared at just the right moment, glaring and shouting.
The three young men paused, exchanging glances.
Chen Nuo, however, ignored them. He turned, pulled up the drunken girl from the table, then called over Zhou Kai and the Ba International Division girl, handing the drunken girl to them to support as they left.
"So, what’s it going to be?" Chen Nuo, bringing up the rear, turned to look at the trio. "If there’s nothing else, we’re leaving."
"Let’s take this outside!"
The three young men were probably all fired up. Accustomed to hanging out in bars, they were the type to stir up trouble. They knew the drunken girl from her time at the bar, at least as an acquaintance, and had shared a couple of drinks with her.
Tonight, they were hoping to take advantage of the situation.
Now, with alcohol fueling their desires, their egos bruised, they had lost all reason.
"Outside! Damn it, how can we let a duck that’s already in hand fly away? FUCK!"
The leader of the young men put on a fierce expression and led the way, following Chen Nuo out.
「A few minutes later.」
In the alley beside the bar’s entrance.
Zhou Kai was furiously stomping on the three guys on the ground.
The three were lying there, no longer resisting, hands covering their heads, their bodies twitching uncontrollably.
Zhou Kai’s face was flushed with excitement. After stomping seven or eight times with loud shouts, he was already panting from exertion.
Nearby, Chen Nuo had finished his cigarette. He glanced over, shook his head, and said, "Your physical fitness is lacking. It seems that besides memorizing the dictionary, I need to make you guys run more."
Zhou Kai shivered and fawningly approached Chen Nuo. "Boss Chen..."
"Hasn’t the cab arrived yet?" Chen Nuo turned to look at the street.
The Ba International Division girl was at the roadside trying to hail a taxi. Beside her, the drunken girl sat on the curb, her head buried in her knees.
Taxis passed by one after another, but none stopped.
Chen Nuo sighed, walked over, and pulled the Ba International Division girl to the side. "Hailing a cab like that, you’ll only get one when hell freezes over."
Night-shift taxi drivers were all sharp. When they saw someone flagging them down, if there was a drunk person at the roadside, they wouldn’t stop to pick up passengers, even if it meant losing a fare. What if they encountered someone uncontrollably drunk who threw up in the car? What a hassle! Even if a reasonable person offered extra money for cleaning, it still wasn’t worth it. How much business would be lost while cleaning up the mess? Besides, many drunk people were completely unreasonable and might vomit all over your car without even paying a cleaning fee.
Chen Nuo directly pulled out two hundred-yuan bills from his wallet, pinched them between his fingers, then stood by the roadside and waved them gently a couple of times...
Before long, with a SCREECH, a taxi pulled up to the curb.
"Damn, that method works well," Zhou Kai shouted happily from behind.
Chen Nuo glared. "Help get her in the car."
He proactively opened the car door, then watched as Zhou Kai and the Ba International Division girl helped the drunken girl into the vehicle.
"Boss Chen, you..." Zhou Kai started to say, but Chen Nuo shook his head. "You guys go on. Take her home like you should."
"Aren’t you getting in?"
"Of course, I’m going back to my own home." Chen Nuo waved his hand. "She’s your friend, not mine. Why would I take her?"
With that, he walked to the front passenger window and handed the two hundred-yuan bills to the driver.
"Driver, please take them. Don’t use the meter. Keep the change."
The driver was overjoyed. He took the two hundred yuan and said with a smile, "Don’t worry! I’ll get them there safely!"
"I’ve memorized your license plate," Chen Nuo added with a smile.
The driver didn’t say much more, just smiled cheerfully as he started the car and drove off.
In 2001, Jinling City’s urban area wasn’t as large as it would be twenty years later. A taxi ride from the south of the city to the north cost thirty to forty yuan at most. Chen Nuo giving two hundred was more than enough to make the driver beam.
The driver, pleased with the excessive fare and knowing his passengers were drunk, drove very smoothly, afraid that sharp jolts might make them throw up.
Inside the car, the Ba International Division girl turned to look back at the receding roadside.
Chen Nuo, hands in his pockets, walked leisurely along the street, his figure growing smaller in the distance...
"Phew..." The Ba International Division girl let out a breath and looked at Zhou Kai, who was fumbling in his pockets for his phone. "If it weren’t for Chen Nuo just now, we would’ve been in trouble! You’re really useless!"
"How am I useless?" Zhou Kai retorted, annoyed. "Aren’t I loyal? We were having a good time! You said you were going out to meet a friend, and I came along to help! Just now, beating up those three little punks, I kicked them so hard my leg started cramping!"
The Ba International Division girl scoffed, "It’s not like you knocked them down! Chen Nuo just lifted his hand, and the three of them were on the ground. You just followed and stepped on them a few times. If it weren’t for Chen Nuo, if a real fight had broken out, you would have been no use at all."
Zhou Kai seemed to want to argue but ultimately kept his mouth shut.
"His name is Chen Nuo?"
A soft voice suddenly sounded beside them.
"Holy shit!" The Ba International Division girl jumped in fright. She turned to look and saw that the drunken girl had, at some point, sat up straight.
"...Holy shit! Linlin, you weren’t asleep? I thought you’d passed out..." the Ba International Division girl exclaimed.
The supposedly drunk girl took a few deep breaths. "I wasn’t drunk at all."
"Then you?"
"I was bored alone in the bar earlier, so I called you to come pick me up... Then those guys started pestering me. I wanted to leave, but they grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. Those guys are no good, just a bunch of punks..." the girl said with a look of disdain.
"Then why didn’t you call someone? You could’ve called home..."
"My phone was dead." The girl pulled a Motorola flip phone from her bag.
The Ba International Division girl looked; indeed, the screen was black.
"So I had to pretend to be drunk... I knew what those troublemakers were up to. I had to think of a way... When I saw that handsome guy at the bar, I deliberately pretended to be drunk and leaned on him. If I could attract his attention and get him to fight with those guys, I could use the chaos to escape," the girl said with a smug smile.
The Ba International Division girl was stunned. Beside her, Zhou Kai finally understood. "Holy shit! You were faking it the whole time!"
"I had no choice. Those guys had their eyes on me and wanted to stick to me all night. I’m just a girl, and my phone was dead. This was the only way I could think of to get away."
Zhou Kai rolled his eyes.
"Then... we were already out of the bar. Why did you keep pretending to be drunk?" the Ba International Division girl asked, dissatisfied.
"Of course, I had to keep pretending," the girl laughed. "Your classmate is totally my type. I definitely had to keep it up! Otherwise, if I suddenly became sober the moment we stepped out... he would think I’m a schemer!"
The Ba International Division girl fell silent.
Beside her, Zhou Kai rolled his eyes again. Aren’t you a schemer already?
"This handsome guy, it’s the first time I’ve seen him," the girl said to Zhou Kai with a smile. "Do me a favor. Don’t tell your classmate, Chen Nuo, about what happened tonight, okay?"
"What are you planning?" Zhou Kai frowned.
"Of course, I want to reel him in!!" A hint of excitement flashed in the girl’s eyes. "Your classmate is so manly, so assertive! He’s drop-dead gorgeous!"
Then she rummaged through her bag, pulled out a bunch of small items, opened a small mirror, and began humming a song as she touched up her makeup.
Zhou Kai scoffed.
Tch! Dream on!
Just as he was about to make a snide remark, the girl put down her mirror. "Handsome, do me a favor, please keep it a secret! I’ll treat you to a meal, a Pizza Hut feast."
"I’m not interested."
"Then this weekend, at Gone with the Wind, I’ll treat you to drinks!" The girl unhesitatingly named a famous nightclub in Jinling City. A night out drinking there wasn’t cheap.
Zhou Kai’s eyes darted around...
Suddenly, he remembered the Japanese girl at school—seemingly gentle but actually sly and vicious. He also recalled the previous head of the Ba International Division, who had been cornered and beaten up by Xicheng Xun in the men’s restroom...
He shuddered.
But a smile spread across his face. "Deal! It’s a promise! I guarantee I won’t say a word! Feel free to go look for him at our school!"
Chen Nuo actually felt quite conflicted.
Today’s meeting with the Mother had completely exceeded his expectations. The information he received left him even more unsure of how to proceed.
According to what the Mother said... it seemed he was inherently part of a camp that was naturally hostile to him.
It was just like in Japan. When he first learned of the Mother’s existence, he chose without hesitation to be its enemy, risking danger to destroy the Mother. Of course, back then it was more about self-preservation and escape.
But the Brazil incident was different. That time, Chen Nuo had actively sought him out. He even disguised himself as Bigfoot Harvey, blending into the Octopus Monster’s mission to hide his identity. He was naturally going after the Mother.
It was like the organization Davarishi Vanel belonged to, called Noah’s Ark or something similar. Their philosophy was: as humans, defend your own civilization.
Chen Nuo would never claim to be a person of great moral standing. But this was something he had learned about, encountered, stumbled upon. He faced an alien Mother that might resurrect on Earth, aiming to take over human civilization to revive its own. Was there any other option than to destroy it utterly? If it didn’t die, human civilization would be doomed, and he’d be doomed along with it. There was no other choice.
So, for the Brazilian Rainforest incident, Chen Nuo had gone there deliberately. Since he wasn’t an ordinary person but one of the world’s top powerhouses, he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know after discovering such a thing. With great power comes great responsibility, so to speak.
Similarly, the founder of the Qingyun Sect must have held the same belief back then to cooperate with the people from Noah’s Ark.
But...
Now it seemed...
Apparently, they failed! The original Mother was not resurrected. But a Seed grew to become a new Mother? And... he seems to be even harder to kill than the dormant Mother!
The dormant Mother, as long as one used the "Tree of Misfortune" as a weapon, there was a chance to kill it during interaction. But this new Mother that grew from a Seed... It’s not so easy to kill him.
In Brazil, there was me, the Star Sky Empress, and the Son of the Sun. Three top-level Controllers—a golden lineup—yet we were all crippled by our opponent. And we couldn’t kill him at all! He fights when he wants, and when he doesn’t, he fakes his death and leaves whenever he pleases. Three Controllers weren’t enough to handle him...
So, how many experts would it take to kill him?
Five Controllers? That doesn’t seem safe either! Ten? Don’t joke around!
Whether ten Controllers could even be gathered in the world today was one thing. But even if they could, to get these top-tier figures, who dominated their respective territories, to unite and cooperate fully? That’s nearly impossible!
The relationships between these powerful individuals were very delicate, often entangled with incessant feuds.
For instance, could I cooperate with the Wizard? During a battle, could I confidently entrust my back to him, treating him as a reliable comrade? Impossible!
Most importantly...
Chen Nuo had no idea how to kill this Seed!! This guy clearly died completely last time, shattered without a trace left! How could he resurrect?
Think of a way to stuff the "Tree of Misfortune" into his brain? How? For an existence that even three great Controllers combined couldn’t defeat, how could one subdue him and insert something into his Consciousness Space? Wouldn’t he resist? Even if he couldn’t win, wouldn’t he run? If he faked his death again, where would one find him?
In two lifetimes, this guy was an opponent Chen Nuo had never anticipated, never encountered! And, it seemed, an unbeatable opponent!
Putting all that aside...
"You will die?"
The more Chen Nuo pondered that sentence, the more something felt off.
How... did he know?!
His death in his previous life had indeed been frustrating! During those eight years at sea, his strength had grown continuously. But his physical body had inexplicably contracted a terminal illness! The kind that was incurable. Moreover, it had appeared suddenly, without any warning. Tumors began to develop in his central nervous system, crazily spreading and devouring his life force...
He had been on the verge of reaching the pinnacle of the Controller Realm. In those last two years, Chen Nuo had faintly sensed he was about to break through. It felt as if he could almost reach out and touch the ceiling of the Controller Realm, to break through into the Lord Realm.
The Lord Realm... a realm that only existed in legends in the underground world. To date, no verifiable records could prove that any master in human history had ever truly reached that level. There were only legends from ancient times, suggesting that certain mythical masters might have been Lords... but those were just legends. None could be proven true.
There was even a saying in the underground world: The Controller Realm is the highest attainable level for humans. The so-called "Lord" level was merely a higher realm fantasized out of despair by those who had reached the end of their path.
In his previous life, he had already touched the ceiling of the Controller Realm. It seemed like hope was in sight to prove whether the Lord Realm existed or not... But then, he suddenly contracted a terminal illness. After struggling against the tumor for several years, he died...
So... was the Mother telling the truth? If his strength grew too quickly, he would die... The question was, how did he know about his experiences from his previous life?
If the Seed could peer into his memories and know about his previous life... That thought alone was terrifying! Chen Nuo believed it was impossible! If that were the case, the Seed, or the Mother for that matter, would be far too invincible. The mere thought was despairing.
Too complicated, too complicated! Too oppressive! Too much of a headache! Too... despairing!
"Luckily, he doesn’t seem to have plans to make a move yet... It’s not time for the harvest yet."
Standing on the midnight street, Chen Nuo looked at the surrounding skyscrapers flashing with neon lights, suddenly feeling his mind in turmoil. The bustling human civilization before him seemed as fragile as paper, ready to shatter at the slightest poke.
"He is still trying to make up for ’the missing one’. Before he finds ’the missing one’, he won’t start evolving! And he won’t start the harvest either."
Chen Nuo sighed. He could comfort himself with these thoughts for now; indeed, he was temporarily safe.
But... what if?
And once the Mother began to evolve... once he began to interact... he would become infinitely stronger!
This newborn Mother is already so powerful he’s almost impossible to fight. Once he begins interactive evolution...
Chen Nuo took a deep breath.
He fumbled in his pocket for his cigarette pack, took out the last one, and lit it.
Chen Nuo’s fingers were trembling slightly.
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Chen Nuo gave a wry smile.
Who would believe it? An eighteen-year-old high school student, standing on a street corner at midnight, pondering whether the world was about to end... It’s really quite... FUCK!
The cellphone in his pocket vibrated a few times.
Chen Nuo took it out and was surprised to see a familiar name.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Chen Nuo, we tried calling Brother Haonan but couldn’t get through, so we had no choice but to call you directly."
On the other end was the voice of a middle-aged man. Chen Nuo remembered the voice and recognized it as Lao Qi, a middle-aged man under Li Qingshan.
He glanced at the time; it was already midnight.
Probably at this hour, Zhang Linsheng was already asleep in bed with Xia Xia.
Chen Nuo thought for a moment. "Is there a problem?"
"Uh, Hall Master Li would like to meet with you. There’s a rather urgent and troublesome matter. We were wondering if you’re available now and would like to ask you..."
Chen Nuo smiled faintly. Li Qingshan had helped him out with many things, big and small. It was time to repay some of that. As long as it didn’t violate his own principles, helping him solve some problems was fine.
"I’m at the intersection of XXX Street, next to an XX Bookstore. Send a car to pick me up."
「In the room, Li Qingshan’s face was gloomy.」
Lao Qi put down the phone and slowly exhaled. "Hall Master, Brother Haonan is unreachable, but young Mr. Chen Nuo has agreed to come now. I’ll send someone to pick him up right away."
"Hah..." Li Qingshan let out a long breath, a bit of life returning to his expression.
"Don’t send someone else. You drive there personally." Li Qingshan picked up a tissue from the desk and wiped his forehead. "Go immediately, don’t delay."
"Okay."
After speaking, Lao Qi turned and left the room.
Li Qingshan sat in his chair, his breathing gradually quickening, his eyes becoming bloodshot, his chest heaving.
WHOOSH!
The old man stood up and paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast.
Finally, he stood by the window, looking at his reflection in the glass.
"Want to kill me... Well, let’s see who kills whom! FUCK!"