Time passed, second by second.
Xu Xiaoyou stared intently at the silhouette reflected in the car window, her breathing slowing.
The deer-man's fingertips tapped against the sofa like a wooden clapper—one strike after another, indifferent and steady.
Xu Xiaoyou clenched her hands. Faced with actual death, no matter how much she feigned composure, the subtle, instinctive movements of her body betrayed her.
The deer-man took it all in and calmly turned his head.
"Invest in me."
Xu Xiaoyou practically bit her bloodless, pale lip as she squeezed those words out from between her teeth.
The deer-man did not show any displeasure at being interrupted; instead, a hint of appreciation flickered in his gaze.
"Don't you underworld types love trading favors and making investments?"
"Maybe some seemingly insignificant small-fry today will become someone formidable in a few years, right?"
"Think of it as investing in me," Xu Xiaoyou repeated.
The girl's eyes did not waver in the slightest. She raised her head and met the deer-man's scrutiny head-on.
She made an incredibly bold move—she took a step forward and slammed her palm against the car window. It didn't look like a plea; it looked like a threat.
"I guarantee this will be the most correct investment you've ever made in your life."
"You will receive a return on value dozens of times greater than this investment."
Mr. Hao: "..."
The setting sun cast a vast glow across the city.
The black car gradually drove away.
Before leaving, the deer-man gave the girl a long look. "I hope this investment doesn't disappoint me in the end."
"And that peace bracelet—remember to keep it safe."
"It saved your life more than once."
As the black car vanished at the end of the street, all the invisible pressure around them receded like a falling tide.
Xu Xiaoyou let out a sharp breath. Her thin frame swayed, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Anya hurried forward and hugged her tightly, her small face still wearing a look of lingering fear.
Though she was young, she realized how close they had just come to a deadly crisis.
Just now, she had brushed shoulders with death.
"Anya, let's go home," Xu Xiaoyou said, gently rubbing the girl's head.
...
Nighttime.
"You're incredible, Xu Nian!"
Inside a loud, crowded bar, people were dancing wildly.
Someone threw an arm around Xu Xiaoyou's shoulder, bringing a boozy, stinking face close to hers.
"That was Mr. Hao! An underworld leader! You actually managed to get the money back from a cold-blooded killer like that?"
"Hundreds of thousands of credit points! Just from the commission alone, how much did you make on this job?"
Xu Xiaoyou wasn't particularly fond of the smell of alcohol and silently turned her face away.
"It was alright. The company paid a reward of thirteen thousand credit points," she said.
"Thirteen thousand credit points!" the girl exclaimed in surprise. "Does that mean you don't have to worry about money for the next few months?"
"Thirteen thousand credit points is enough for a normal family to live on for years."
"If you live a little wild, you could be living the high life for a long time. Right, little Nian-Nian?"
As she spoke, the girl pressed closer, her face flushed with drink. She reached out a finger and lightly stroked Xu Xiaoyou's smooth neck.
"Hehehe, your skin is so good. Eh? For a boy, why don't you have an Adam's apple?"
"Glos, if you lean in that close, aren't you afraid of annoying him?"
The voice of a burly bald man came from the side.
"Mind your own business!" Glos shouted back.
Seeing that the other woman was completely drunk, Xu Xiaoyou smiled helplessly.
She silently unwrapped Glos's arms, which were clinging to her like a water sprite, then laid her down on the bar's sofa and covered her with a small blanket.
"Nian, do you know how long it's been since our security department made a sale!" Tailu raised his glass. "As expected of an A-rank employee. You're just different. You've only been here a week and you already settled such a difficult, major case."
"That Mr. Hao, let me tell you—we didn't have any hope of getting that money back. If those lions under him all geared up with guns, they could hold their own against the armed forces of a company branch."
"We were actually prepared to write it off as bad debt this year. You're practically our savior!"
"I don't know how you did it, but that doesn't matter!"
Tailu chuckled and clinked glasses with the other burly members of the security department.
Clink. The liquid in the glasses sloshed, reflecting the dim red lights.
"Tonight is a celebration specifically for you! Drink as much as you want; Glos is picking up the tab tonight!"
Xu Xiaoyou took a few small sips.
Listening to the loud cheers of the people around her, she only felt that it was a bit noisy.
She wasn't very good at drinking. After just a few sips, her face took on a slight, tipsy flush.
Xu Xiaoyou lowered her head and sat on the sofa, her nerves finally relaxing completely. Gazing at the swaying liquid in her glass, she fell into a brief moment of reflection.
Things hadn't gone exactly as she had anticipated.
Originally, during those two minutes, the members of the Lion Group should have been completely trapped in the alley by those thugs.
It should have been enough time for her to get the money back from Mr. Hao.
Something must have happened in the middle to cause things to veer off the original track, allowing them to break free from the entanglement and call for reinforcements from other groups.
From the moment that sniper rifle from afar pinned her down, the situation had flipped. She had completely lost the initiative.
If it hadn't been for those words she spoke at the end—almost out of survival instinct—perhaps the deer-man wouldn't have changed his mind.
Fortunately, it ended without further incident.
Lady Luck had been watching over her.
After pressing a coin onto the table, Xu Xiaoyou stood up.
The members of the security department were mostly passed out by now—some drunk, others mumbling nonsense.
Looking at the people waving their fists and bragging about unrealistic nonsense in their sleep, she shook her head.
She walked over to the balcony. As the cold wind blew, her alcohol-numbed nerves felt much more comfortable.
The nauseous feeling subsided a bit. She leaned against the railing, her gaze looking out over the city at night.
Under the cold moonlight, even this city had its rare moments of silence.
A moment later, she turned on her phone screen and tapped on the Universal Heavy Industries corporate page.
As soon as she entered, an employee incentive activity popped up.
'Do the Stars of the Universe Dream of a Journey Through Time and Space?'
This year, we will select one outstanding company employee to be gifted a ticket for Skywing Spacetime. We will cover all travel expenses for the following month and specially dispatch a company special protection group to ensure the employee's safety throughout the trip, safeguarding your dream journey!
"A ticket for Skywing Spacetime..."
Xu Xiaoyou's gaze was completely captivated by the golden, winged ticket on the page.
Skywing Spacetime was a mega-corporation that, like Universal Heavy Industries, possessed core technology.
True to their name, they mastered powerful spacetime technology, capable of point-to-point jumps, spatial environment modification, time dilation, and even reversing spacetime.
This ticket was something countless people dreamed of. As long as you had it, you could board the 'Heart's Desire' train of Skywing Spacetime.
That was the train rumored to be able to travel to anywhere in the world!
As long as you stepped onto a carriage of the Heart's Desire, closed your eyes, and thought of a destination, five seconds later, the train would miraculously arrive at that destination.
Rate on N.U.
