Gu He stared blankly at that face. It was unmistakably Wine Flower and her surgically enhanced, internet-celebrity features!
"I— He-san, I..." Wine Flower waved her hands in a panic. "It wasn't me! I wasn't there! It wasn't me!"
Still caught between horror and utter confusion, Gu He watched the metal door in the small corridor swing open. Fan Debao's short, stout figure hurried out. With a sharp snap of his fingers, the man barked, "Sleep!"
An overwhelming wave of drowsiness crashed over him on command. Exhausted to begin with, he couldn't hold out for even a second before plunging into a deep sleep.
'This is a fucking shady joint, a shady joint... Old Fan, no...'
"Wine Flower Three-Sentences, you just ruined the entire training session," Fan Debao grumbled.
"Uncle Fan, it's not that. That tongue twister is just really hard to say..." Wine Flower's face flushed red, torn between shame and grievance.
"The cowherd loves Lady Liu, Lady Liu misses the cowherd..." Fan Debao recited the entire tongue twister flawlessly in a single breath. "Is it hard? I don't think so. I'm just a chef and I can say it, but you, an Actor, cannot."
"I'm just not as fluent in Eastern tongues as you are..." Wine Flower muttered, still trying to defend herself.
Fan Debao immediately recited it again in several other mainstream languages used in Liuguang City. "My tongue is plenty nimble."
"Uncle Fan, you must have eaten some special chef-crafted food, right?" Wine Flower muttered, before her eyes suddenly lit up. "Could you give me some too? My line-reading skills would improve so much!"
"There's no such thing." Fan Debao was nearly infuriated by her. Pointing at Gu He, who was slumped asleep on the couch, he scolded, "Miss Wine Flower, this kid is still just an ordinary person! An ordinary person who barely reaches fourth gear! He's not some mind reader. I genuinely don't understand how you let him push you to that point. You are a transcendent, a transcendent Actor!"
Thoroughly reprimanded, Wine Flower didn't dare argue back. The sliver of confidence Gu He had managed to coax out of her over the past few days shattered into pieces...
"I'm sorry..." She bowed deeply, her voice choked with sobs. "I didn't do a good job. I'm a terrible transcendent Actor."
"What's going on?" Hearing the commotion from the corridor, Ayane Kumiko walked over from the salon. Pulling the metal door shut behind her, she listened in confusion to Fan Debao's irritated explanation, then turned and began comforting Wine Flower instead.
"You really can't be blamed for this, Miss Wine Flower. Honestly, I could tell from the second night that Little He wasn't afraid anymore. He was just messing with you on purpose tonight. I bet by tomorrow evening, he'll be dragging you out to sing karaoke."
Ayane Kumiko leaned over the couch and gently stroked Gu He's sleeping face. Her intimate movements mirrored someone petting a beloved animal.
"Old Fan, Little He has passed this training, hasn't he? His psychological tolerance is excellent; his mind won't break easily.
"Little He is quite a talented and gutsy guy. Even though he's a wild dog, his observation skills are sharp, and he trusts his own judgment. He can quickly process and adapt to any situation. Getting played by him really isn't a fault on your part, Miss Wine Flower."
"So that's how it is." Regaining a bit of her confidence, Wine Flower sighed in awe. "He-san is so amazing."
"Sharp observation skills?" Fan Debao scoffed in disagreement. "I certainly haven't seen it. All I've seen over the last few days is a slacker who's completely shameless, totally glib, wildly erratic, and yet utterly spineless."
"What you're saying doesn't contradict what I'm saying. Little He is a newcomer who knows nothing about the transcendent world. Over the past few days, you haven't taught him anything other than bar culture. It's entirely normal for him to have a few misunderstandings—otherwise, what would be the difference between a wild dog and a local dog?"
Ayane Kumiko stood her ground. "But the fact that he can comfortably slack off in such a strange environment shows a real knack for keeping his cool."
Wine Flower nodded repeatedly, looking every bit the devoted fan. "He-san might not know a lot of things, but he understands the human heart."
"Exactly. It makes him perfectly suited to be a host."
"Heh." Fan Debao gave up arguing with them. He retreated to the bar and poured himself a drink to cool off.
"Now that his tests and training are complete, is it time for He-san to become a transcendent DOLL?"
Wine Flower bounced on her toes eagerly. "Mom, I want to be the first one to ride him. Can I?"
On the couch beside them, Gu He was sound asleep. He smacked his lips sweetly, his snoring growing even louder.
"Soon enough," Ayane Kumiko answered with a smile. "Miss Wine Flower, you'll have plenty of chances to ride him in the future."
"No, absolutely not!"
Hearing this, Fan Debao immediately shut the idea down, even though he was technically Gu He's teacher. "It's only been a few days. We don't know him well enough yet. Let me observe him a little longer. My gut tells me there's something off about this kid, but I just can't put my finger on it."
"Old Fan, is that just prejudice?" Ayane Kumiko countered. "You always think there's something wrong with handsome men."
"No, this time is different..."
...
Early the next morning, Gu He stirred awake on the couch.
He must have been exhausted last night. He had fallen asleep the moment he sat down on the couch, entirely avoiding any ghostly encounters as a result.
But he had a very strange dream. He dreamed that Miss Wine Flower's plastic surgery had been botched and a dick had been grafted onto her nose. Heartbroken and furious, she had chased after him, screaming that it was all his fault—that he was the one who had convinced her to go under the knife again...
After that, Fan Debao and Miss Ayane accused him of offending a customer and chopped him to pieces.
From the early hours of the morning right up until the bar opened for business, Gu He kept analyzing the dream. The more he chewed on it, the more wrong it felt. It was like he had forgotten something, much like the time he'd blacked out from drinking... He couldn't shake the feeling that Old Fan was acting suspicious...
"What are you staring at?" Fan Debao glared back at him from behind the bar. "Old Dog Jackson is here. Get over there and serve him!"
Gu He's head throbbed. It felt as if a memory was right on the verge of breaking through.
But for now, he had to go greet Old Dog Jackson, who had come in for breakfast again. "Old Dog, right this way."
"Old Fan! Daddy! Did you hear?" Old Dog Jackson called out. "Lorna, Muscle Zhuang, and the others got busted!"
Old Dog Jackson had come alone today, decked out once again in a sleeveless tee and women's hot pants. Still insisting on calling Gu He 'Daddy,' he excitedly spilled the latest gossip before he even took a seat at the bar:
"It happened just yesterday. Lorna's crew and the Game Gang were moving some wild dogs over by the Muddy Pond when they got into a shootout with the Sludge Gang. Dozens of guys were flatlined right on the spot. Ah, talk about thrilling! In the end, the cops swooped in and hauled them all away."
Startled, Gu He couldn't help but feel a spike of anxiety. "That really happened?"
"Heard about it," Fan Debao chimed in. "Found out last night."
"Haha! The Game Gang took a massive hit this time. Muscle Zhuang had a whole truckload of wild dogs confiscated."
Gu He figured 'Muscle Zhuang' referred to Brother Zhuang. If that guy had died, he would have clapped, but Boss Lorna was a different story.
She had been his very first client here. He actually cared about what happened to her.
Besides, she was an elite mob. He had worked his ass off over the past few days, yet his system progress bar had only ticked up to Tier 3 at 2%. Lorna was the only elite mob he'd encountered so far, though Miss Wine Flower had admittedly contributed a fair bit of host points too.
"What about Boss Lorna and her crew? Are they going to prison?" he asked.
"They'll sit in a cell for a few days," Old Dog Jackson said, taking a sip of sake. "Or maybe not even that long. You might even see her tonight."
Dozens of people dead, and that was it? Gu He hadn't expected that. Was this just the reality of Liuguang City...?
"They just had bad luck bumping into the cops this time. Otherwise, it wouldn't even take a few days," Old Dog Jackson added with a chuckle.
Remembering something, Gu He steered the conversation. "Boss Lorna hasn't had much luck since she was a kid, has she?"
He was still largely in the dark about what exactly Lorna had gone through growing up.
Without free access to the internet, he couldn't just look it up. He wasn't even allowed to touch Old Fan's precious computer, and the TV obviously wasn't going to broadcast an exposé on decades-old local drama by coincidence. He had tried asking Old Fan a few times, but the man always brushed him off.
"How many of us are lucky?" Old Dog Jackson laughed, shaking his head. His purple and green twin-tails swayed back and forth. "It took me nearly forty years just to finally reunite with you, Daddy. At least Lorna had a few years with her mom and dad."
"Why do you say that?" Gu He asked. This was the perfect opportunity to pry. "From what I've heard her say, it sounds like her parents were pretty awful."
"Awful? Of course they were awful!" Old Dog suddenly slammed a hand against the bar. "Her old man, Roden Ludd, was absolute scum. And her mother didn't just stand by; she actively pitched in. They used their own daughter for profit, treated her like a tool, and completely robbed her of her childhood. What kind of heartless parents would subject their kid to such cruel abuse? At least, that's what the judge said."
Listening to Old Dog's grim words, Gu He frowned. A wave of unease rippled through his chest.
He tried to process the information. Old Dog's words didn't just confirm his previous theories; the reality was far worse than he had imagined.
"Treated like a tool?" He felt sick even saying the words out loud. Her parents must have horribly abused and exploited her.
"Yep. Worse than the child laborers in the Muddy Pond. I honestly don't know how that kid managed to survive until now."
Old Dog Jackson chugged his drink, his twin-tails swinging. "Let's drop it. Let's not talk about this bullshit anymore before it brings us bad luck. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, but we just have to swallow it. Fuck this shithole world."
Gu He pondered this in silence. If it went beyond ordinary abuse, it was no wonder no one wanted to talk about it, shutting the conversation down the moment it was brought up.
The wounds Boss Lorna's parents had inflicted upon her hadn't healed even after all these years. Picking at the scabs would only bring agonizing pain.
"Heh." Fan Debao let out a derisive snort from the side.
"What's wrong?" Gu He asked in confusion, wondering if Old Fan had choked on his drink.
"Old Dog is a seasoned veteran around here. You'd do well to listen to him," Fan Debao simply replied.
"That's right, that's right!" Old Dog Jackson immediately cheered.
...
Old Dog Jackson truly was a veteran of the streets. What he had predicted that morning turned out to be spot on.
Later that evening, as a light rain began to fall and the neon signs flickered to life, the Fishpond welcomed another customer: Boss Lorna.
Several groups of customers were already seated at the bar and the dining tables. Gu He was bustling back and forth, serving them.
Lorna strolled into the lively izakaya completely alone. The moment she stepped inside, she called out to Fan Debao behind the bar:
"Old Fan! I'm buying out Gu He the host for the rest of the night."