On this day, Chen Mo received a call from his high school class monitor, Lin Jun. Lin Jun asked him, “Do you still remember Wang Chaoyang?”
Chen Mo naturally remembered. During their last class reunion, the man had been suddenly attacked and strangled by that severed hand—the “Hand of Traitoris.” The man had been so panicked he was drenched in sweat, and it had taken quite an effort to calm the hand down; Chen Mo had even had to trouble Zhang Tao and his team to come and clean up the aftermath.
However, why would Lin Jun suddenly mention this person? Had something gone wrong when Zhang Tao was erasing his memories that day?
Various thoughts flashed through Chen Mo’s mind, but he remained calm on the surface, replying in a casual tone, “I remember. What’s up with him?”
Lin Jun said on the other end of the line, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him either. He’s told me several times now that he wants me to ask you out to get together.”
Chen Mo: “?”
Were they even close?
Moreover, from the time they were in high school, Wang Chaoyang seemed to have always disliked him, though he didn’t know why. For that matter, Chen Mo didn’t particularly like the guy either. This mutual, unspoken dislike wasn’t something new, so why would Wang Chaoyang suddenly want to meet up?
Could he still remember what happened that night?
Chen Mo asked, “If he wants to see me, why didn’t he tell me directly? Why go through you?”
Lin Jun was clearly a bit troubled as well. “I find it strange too. But besides you, he also wants to invite Li Hang, saying we should all go together as a group. I remember Li Hang didn’t seem to get along with him much either. What is he trying to do?”
Lin Jun actually didn’t like Wang Chaoyang much himself because the man was far too tactless in his speech and actions. He often launched indiscriminate attacks on anyone regardless of the time or place, always making the atmosphere incredibly tense.
However, Lin Jun was the class monitor, and since Wang Chaoyang had brought it up so many times, he couldn’t very well reject him on Chen Mo’s behalf. He could only call to ask.
Li Hang was also their classmate, and Chen Mo was actually on good terms with him.
So he asked, “Is Li Hang coming? Who else?”
Lin Jun said, “Li Hang said if you’re going, he’s going. No one else, just the four of us.”
Chen Mo thought that among the four of them, he was happy to chat with Lin Jun and Li Hang. Having one extra Wang Chaoyang wouldn’t hurt, so he agreed.
“Alright, let’s meet up then.” He wanted to see what exactly this Wang Chaoyang was planning.
The meeting was finally set for the following evening at around 8:00 PM at an obscure bar downtown.
Chen Mo wasn’t particularly interested in drinking, but he didn’t object. He figured he would just drink less when the time came.
When he arrived at the venue, Lin Jun was already there.
The two chatted for a while until Li Hang arrived.
Li Hang hadn’t attended the last reunion, so Chen Mo hadn’t seen him in quite a while. They were both very happy to see each other and talked about their recent lives.
Li Hang’s grades hadn’t been particularly great back then, and he had later enrolled in an ordinary second-tier university. During college, he had been constantly preparing for the postgraduate entrance exams. The preliminary results had come out last week, and they were very good; currently, he was waiting for the cut-off scores and actively preparing for the re-examination interview.
“Which school did you apply to?”
“Shen City University.”
Shen City University was a top-tier institution in the country, second only to Tsinghua and Peking University. It was located right in the city, so he wouldn’t have to be far from home. Its status in the hearts of Shen City students was quite sacred. Chen Mo was actually a bit envious; he had wanted to get into Shen City University himself, if not for the accident during the Gaokao…
Although he no longer had the heart for studying now, he still held a yearning for Shen City University. He asked Li Hang, “Are you confident?”
Li Hang gave a shy smile, pursed his lips, and said, “I’ll do my best.”
Li Hang had an introverted personality and wasn’t one for exaggeration. Although he only said he would do his best, Chen Mo could see that his confidence was quite high.
“You’ll definitely make it!” Chen Mo said.
“This score is solid,” Lin Jun added.
“Hehe.” Li Hang rubbed his head, his face filled with uncontainable joy.
The three of them laughed and talked, but as they watched the time pass thirty minutes beyond the appointment, Wang Chaoyang still hadn’t arrived.
Even though they didn’t particularly want to see him, he was the one who organized the gathering—what was the meaning of not showing up?
Just as the three were discussing this and feeling puzzled, the door to the private booth was pushed open.
It was Wang Chaoyang. He glanced at the three of them, gave a casual greeting, and strode inside, followed by a waiter carrying drinks.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had them send up a few bottles of wine,” Wang Chaoyang said as he sat down in the empty seat next to Li Hang.
Lin Jun was a bit surprised, as the man usually wasn’t this generous.
He said, “There’s no need to be so formal. We already ordered drinks and snacks.”
Class Six reunions were usually split the bill (AA). Lin Jun took a rough glance and saw that the drinks on the tray didn’t look cheap; they were still students, and excessive spending was unnecessary.
Wang Chaoyang let out a sneer and said, “They’re already ordered, let’s just drink.”
He gestured for the waiter to set the drinks down. Whether intentionally or not, as the waiter placed the tray on the coffee table in front of them, Wang Chaoyang suddenly jerked his arm upward.
Chen Mo happened to be looking over. His eyebrows twitched as he reached out to steady the edge of the tray Wang Chaoyang had bumped.
If he hadn’t moved quickly, the entire tray of bottles would have toppled over.
The waiter didn’t notice this small episode and continued to arrange the drinks on the coffee table.
Wang Chaoyang glanced at the meddling Chen Mo, their eyes meeting.
Chen Mo frowned, not understanding what this man was trying to do.
The waiter was half-squatting by the coffee table setting out the bottles. Once the bottles and glasses were in place, he stood up to leave. Unexpectedly, he was tripped by something and, unable to regain his balance, he fell sideways toward the coffee table.
Chen Mo had seen Wang Chaoyang nudge him with his elbow, but because he was sitting in the middle, separated by two people, it was inconvenient to move, and he couldn’t catch the man in time.
With a loud crash, the bottles all toppled, and alcohol spilled all over the table.
“What is wrong with you? So clumsy!” Wang Chaoyang struck first, immediately losing his temper.
The waiter was already stunned by the sudden accident, and after being yelled at, his face turned pale. He stammered, unable to speak.
Chen Mo frowned and said, “Wang Chaoyang, what is wrong with you? I saw you hit him.”
Wang Chaoyang glanced at him and sneered, “You sure know how to play the ‘good person.’ He clearly stepped on my foot first. I was trying to pull my foot out when I accidentally bumped into him.”
The waiter couldn’t help but protest, “I didn’t step on you…”
But whether he stepped on a foot was something happening under the table—how could it be proven? He lacked confidence, so his voice was weak and barely audible.
Wang Chaoyang, however, was relentless, his voice loud: “Let’s not even mention that. Who’s paying for this table of spilled drinks?”
He looked at the waiter. “This isn’t over. Call your manager over here right now.”
Chen Mo: “…”
Chen Mo truly understood this man less and less. What was he trying to achieve?
To the side, Lin Jun and Li Hang were dumbfounded.
They hadn’t noticed Wang Chaoyang’s subtle movements and had no idea why the situation had suddenly turned into this.
The bar manager arrived quickly. Amidst Wang Chaoyang’s loud demands, they eventually agreed to move them to the adjacent luxury booth. In addition to waiving the costs of the broken bottles, they upgraded the booth service and provided two extra bottles of imported liquor for free.
Only then did Wang Chaoyang stop. A hint of smugness appeared on his face as he said to his three classmates, “Come on, let’s go next door.”
Chen Mo: “…”
Li Hang: “…”
Lin Jun: “…”
The three were silent for a long time. Lin Jun sighed inwardly and spoke up to ease the tension, “Let’s not bother. I think it’s getting late, why don’t we just head back and meet up another time?”
Wang Chaoyang’s face changed instantly. “What do you mean ‘late’? I just got here. Are you guys trying to disrespect me?”
To be honest, Chen Mo really didn’t want to show this man any respect.
However, Lin Jun and Li Hang were not the type to be confrontational. Under Wang Chaoyang’s aggressive stare, the two could only agree to go next door. Even if Chen Mo had thoughts on the matter, for the sake of his two friends, he suppressed them for now and slowly followed along.
He wanted to see what exactly this man was up to.
Surely he didn’t throw such a tantrum just to scam two bottles of imported liquor?
The booth next door was clearly more luxurious, featuring booths, a bar, karaoke, and even board games.
Because of the service upgrade, a dedicated mixologist came over to prepare drinks.
The mixologist was refined and handsome, of medium height, with slightly long hair covering half his face. His voice was very pleasant.
He greeted the four of them and asked what they would like to drink before heading to the bar to start mixing. No one noticed the exchange of looks between him and the cryptically-expressioned Wang Chaoyang when he turned around.
Under the dim lights, the mixologist’s movements were skillful and elegant.
He first scooped a ball of ice about the size of a baby’s fist from the ice bucket and placed it into an exquisitely styled glass. Then, he poured several liquids of different colors in succession—amber, light blue, pink, transparent…
The various liquids slid down the high-handled spoon into the glass, flowing slowly around the ice ball, forming a dreamlike gradient of colors. Chen Mo hadn’t originally intended to drink here, but seeing the exquisite cocktail, he finally felt like trying a taste.
He planned to leave a larger tip when the bill came. Wang Chaoyang was likely targeting him, and he didn’t want these people to suffer collateral damage.
The mixologist smiled at Chen Mo and handed him the prepared drink.
Chen Mo was talking with Lin Jun and took it casually. Just as he was about to take a sip, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
He looked down. The originally colorful liquid had somehow turned a faint red. The spherical ice in the center was also undergoing a change; its color shifted from transparent to a pale, ghostly white, and then fine red lines began to appear. The center grew darker and darker. In a short moment, that ice ball had turned into a massive, bloodshot eyeball, floating quietly in the alcohol, staring back at him wordlessly.
Chen Mo looked at the mixologist and saw a malicious smirk playing on his lips. He slammed the glass down and reached into his pocket for his communicator. He had just pulled up Shen Junyao’s number, but before his finger could press down, a flash of red light filled the room, and the communicator fell onto the bar counter with a clack.
Inside the dimly lit booth, the four guests vanished into thin air.
The mixologist behind the bar acted as if he hadn’t seen a thing, continuing to mix drinks with his head down.
The surroundings fell silent, save for the slight clinking of ice against the inner walls of the glasses.
The mixologist picked up the crimson liquid he had prepared for himself and took a half-sip, the smile on his lips deepening. “Enjoy your beautiful dream, boys!”
Dozens of kilometers away from the bar, in a certain villa district.
Shen Junyao, dressed in pajamas, was in his study reviewing documents. He had been busy with the Hunting Group’s work recently, and a backlog of company matters had piled up; there were many documents requiring his signature.
In contrast to the serious nature of the documents in his hands, his expression was somewhat distracted.
If one looked closely, they would notice that Shen Junyao hadn’t flipped a page in a long time. He looked more like he was using the documents as a cover to think about something else.
At a certain moment, he felt a sensation and set the documents down.
The Hand of Traitoris perched on his shoulder also suddenly moved, abruptly clutching his clothes tightly.
“Has something happened to him?” Shen Junyao looked at the Hand of Traitoris, then immediately took his communicator out of the drawer to check it.
No phone call didn’t necessarily mean safety.
He clicked on a hidden app, entered the other party’s device ID, and searched for the location.