Inside a private room at a bar.
Melodious music echoed.
The brilliant lights overhead wove together into a dreamlike scene.
Golden wallpaper reflected a soft glow, and a prismatic crystal chandelier cast fragmented, hazy shadows.
In the very center of the sofa sat a lithe, well-dressed, and languid Young Man.
The Young Man's looks were average, and he was already over thirty, but he was exceptionally well-maintained, with smooth and delicate skin.
He looked no different from someone in their early twenties.
On his wrist was a famous designer watch worth millions, its diamond-encrusted face emitting a faint gleam under the refracted light.
On the coffee table before him sat several bottles of top-shelf champagne, each worth hundreds of thousands.
This lent his otherwise ordinary face a unique sort of charm in the eyes of the opposite sex.
This was evident from the fiery gazes of the four or five fair, beautiful young women sitting on either side of him. They were all smiles, frequently shooting him looks that screamed their desire to throw themselves at him.
"Young Master Lu, who were you on the phone with? Here, let me toast you!"
Just then, seeing the Young Man put down his phone, a woman beside him spoke with a charming smile. She picked up a bottle of champagne from the table, poured a glass, and offered it to him.
The woman wore a long red dress, its perfectly tailored pleats like a blooming rose.
As she leaned forward slightly, she revealed her delicate collarbones and a long, graceful neck.
Her crescent-shaped eyes watched the man before her, brimming with a smile.
That look, combined with her lovely face, was something few men could resist.
"Heh, you really want to know? It's about that little simp of yours!"
Lu Shi chuckled softly.
He took the glass with one hand while his other arm wrapped directly around the red-dressed woman's shoulders, his palm beginning to rove restlessly.
Hearing this,
a shy blush crossed Jiang Yuyan's face.
She took the opportunity to nestle against Lu Shi's shoulder.
She spoke in a coquettish tone.
"Young Master Lu, you're teasing again. You're the only one who's ever been in my heart."
"Oh, is that so? Let me see if that's true."
Lu Shi reached out, lifted the woman's chin, and lowered his head to kiss her directly.
...
A cold wind howled, carrying an icy rain with it.
The streets were nearly empty of pedestrians. Occasionally, a car or two would drive past with its headlights on, its wheels rolling through puddles and sending up a spray of water.
The two men could only follow Hu Qi from a distance, careful not to be noticed while they waited for word from their boss, Wu Shan.
Suddenly,
they saw Hu Qi turn into an alley up ahead.
"Don't tell me the kid spotted us!"
The two men exchanged a look.
They quickened their pace and walked forward.
When they reached the mouth of the alley, they peered inside.
The alley wasn't deep, but it had other branching paths.
Hu Qi's figure had vanished. Only the corner of an umbrella flashed past a turn up ahead.
At the same time,
one of their phones vibrated softly.
He opened it to see.
It was a message from Wu Shan.
"Hurry, don't let him get away!"
After reading the message, a vicious look flashed across their faces.
They immediately broke into a run, chasing into the alley.
Inside the dim alley.
Their footsteps were rapid, like a dense drumbeat. The echo of their steps mixed with the falling rain, reverberating through the narrow space.
However, as the two reached the corner,
a long, black object suddenly appeared before their eyes.
It then lunged toward them at extreme speed.
It was too fast. They had no time to dodge.
They didn't even have time to scream.
A paralyzing sensation shot through their bodies, and they collapsed, falling heavily to the ground.
One of them, due to his forward momentum, even landed face-first, his head splitting open in a bloody mess.
Looking at the two unconscious men,
Hu Qi, still not entirely reassured, prodded them again with the stun baton.
As blue-white arcs of electricity leaped across it,
the men's bodies were zapped by the current, their limbs convulsing violently as they began foaming at the mouth.
Seeing this,
Hu Qi was finally able to relax.
'This stun baton is pretty good quality.'
'I'll have to give the seller a good review when I get back.'
He scanned his surroundings.
This alley was extremely secluded; few people passed through even during the day.
The only reason Hu Qi knew about it was that the original owner had become familiar with the route while making deliveries and liked to use it as a shortcut.
He then looked down and picked up a phone that had fallen on the ground.
The phone's screen was glowing. It was smeared with muddy water, and its corners were slightly cracked from the fall.
The screen wasn't locked, and he could still see the chat window.
The most recent message had been sent a minute ago.
It was from someone saved as "Brother Shan," telling these two to grab him and that he himself was on his way.
'Interesting! Are these the guys who beat the original owner and put him in the hospital?'
Hu Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Although the message was brief,
it wasn't hard to guess what was going on.
After all, according to the original owner's memories, his former self was just an honest, ordinary person.
He couldn't possibly have offended anyone.
Besides, his loan wasn't due yet, and it was from an official Federation platform.
Even if he didn't pay, they would have called to demand repayment first.
So,
there was only one possibility.
To be honest,
he hadn't planned on seeking revenge against these people.
After all, the original owner was the one who got beaten, not him. In other words, if these people hadn't killed the original owner, it was uncertain whether his possession would have even succeeded.
But things were different now.
He, Hu Qi, was the one using this body now.
And they had come looking for him.
It looked like they were trying to pull the same old trick.
'Do these bastards really think I'm as easy to bully as my predecessor?'
A surge of vicious anger rose in Hu Qi.
At this thought, his gaze fell on the last message on the screen in his hand. A cold expression appeared on his face.
...
Xiaofeng: Brother Shan, hurry! We've got the kid cornered! We're in the alley across from the Night Language Internet Cafe on Dongting Road.
Wu Shan looked at the message on his phone.
A look of joy flashed across his face.
"Good, good. Wait for me, I'm on my way!"
He was familiar with all the streets and alleys in this area, so he found the place quickly.
"Xiaofeng! Ah Zai!"
Wu Shan arrived in the alley but saw no one. He turned his head and called out twice.
But he didn't get the response he expected.
The rain was falling harder now. All around was the PITTER-PATTER of raindrops hitting the ground. Otherwise, it was completely silent.
Seeing this,
a trace of vigilance rose in Wu Shan. He pulled a silver object from his pocket and flicked his wrist.
It extended into a half-meter-long collapsible baton.
His eyes scanned left and right as he reached the fork in the alley.
He walked forward slowly.
At the same time, he took out his phone and started dialing their number.
Suddenly,
a clear ringtone sounded from up ahead to his right.
Hearing this, he quickened his pace.
Just then,
a searing Thunder Serpent of lightning flashed across the sky.
It momentarily illuminated the entire alley, revealing two motionless figures lying by a grayish-white utility pole around the corner to his right.