The guard waited for Lukas to start walking before he followed behind.
Lukas could only tap the handle of his umbrella as he moved.
The doors to the warehouse rolled up as they approached.
Like a wave, the thick, suffocating smell of blood hit Lukas.
He covered his mouth, forcing himself not to vomit at that moment.
There was no way any normal person would survive such a stench of blood.
But the reality proved otherwise.
From the person who had opened the gate, to the man who walked around carrying a large dagger, to Tencent himself, who sat in the center, munching chicken wings.
Everyone was too casual about it.
"Come in, face changer," Tencent said, signalling for Lukas to enter with his oily hand.
Those words snapped Lukas out of his daze and he answered with a nod. And a step further.
The floor he stood on was damp.
Lukas was forced to look down after a while.
What he saw made his entire being tremble. A puddle of crimson blood fresh enough to reflect light.
Lukas coughed in disgust, but no one cared. He lifted his eyes to see the bodies hung on sharp hooks.
Some of them were still alive, the pain eating at them even as they winced.
’System, I hope you have a self-destruct program,’ Lukas thought.
A few seconds passed, and he stopped expecting a response.
The system seemed to appear only of its own accord.
Lukas stopped in front of Tencent’s desk.
"Good evening, Mr Tencent," he said with a bow.
Tencent raised a brow at the greeting.
"Scorpion, come here for a minute," he said.
The person he had called wasted no time. He was already in front of Tencent within moments.
Lukas raised a brow.
"Take this boy to the guardroom. Beat him till he loses a tooth."
The order sparked something Lukas never knew was in him.
"No," he said with a calm tone that only made Tencent frown.
But it soon eased into a smile. One that seemed more threatening than anything Lukas had previously experienced.
"Then sit down. You had better prepare a good story since this would be a really long talk."
As he spoke, he pushed the other chair opposite him with his leg.
Lukas was sure he heard a cracking sound as the chair was pushed.
’No doubt about it, his patron god is strength-based.’
Lukas sat in the chair and rested his umbrella by his side.
His mind was beating fast. Faster than usual. Ironically, his face was calmer than usual.
"What do you have to say, shapeshifter?"
Lukas paused for a while.
"How do you know all of this?" he asked.
He was not expecting Tencent to give an answer, he only wanted to know if the information was gotten by Tencent’s organization or by an outsider.
"This is none of your business, boy. Stop wasting your chance at life asking about how I got my intel."
’Outsider then,’ Lukas thought.
No one came to mind, but he left it at that.
"I will get your money back soon, I am working on a few businesses. That’s the reason I collected the money."
Bang!
The sound of something being smashed echoed through the room.
All the boys gathered did but hesitate, they all ran towards Tencent’s position, armed with their various weapons.
’They are well prepared,’ Lukas thought. ’Hopefully they are ready for what is about to come.’
Even as the table they sat on was smashed into smithereens by Tencent, Lukas remained calm.
Tencent sighed then waved the boys off.
"Do I look like a fool to you?" he asked, voice raised slightly above his normal pitch. "I find it hard to understand how I believed you in the first place."
Lukas shook his head. ’Silver tongue.’
"Maybe it is because I am being honest with you," Lukas said calmly. "I stand by my words, I would not borrow your money to surprise Billie."
Tencent was about to cut Lukas mid-speech. But Lukas continued louder.
"That was why I invested the money you gave me into something else. Then after paying your debt, I will use the income to surprise Billie."
For a moment, silence stretched between both parties.
They stared straight into each other’s eyes. As if finding meaning within them.
Finally, Tencent erupted into laughter.
"I now know what you take me for. A large, muscle-brained idiot," he said, his tone shifting into a cold one. "You think I would ever be able to rise to this position by being stupid?" he pressed further, leaning forward.
Lukas could feel his breath against his skin directly.
"This is no fantasy face-slapping novel, son, wake up to reality."
Lukas sighed.
"I knew you wouldn’t believe me," he said, dipping his hand into his pocket.
He pulled a paper out.
Then he handed it to Tencent.
"I choose honesty over all," Lukas said with a wink.
Tencent collected the paper, his gaze drifting from top to bottom.
Then again.
He lifted his eyes from the paper and stared directly at Lukas.
He squinted.
"I still wouldn’t believe you."
Lukas collected the paper back and folded it into his chest pocket.
"How about this?" he said while placing the paper in. "I will text you the location of the place in three days and you can come if you want."
Tencent blinked as he contemplated. He did not think for long before he got his answer though.
"Alright."
As for Lukas escaping, that was not possible. After all, they were able to find him in the first place. At least, that was what he thought.
Lukas smiled at the approval. "I have such an understanding father-in-law," he said with a smile.
But Tencent was not smiling. "That does not affect the fact that you joined the Association and even became a probationary police officer," he said. "And the biggest of all, how are you changing into me?"
Although he spoke angrily, his anger was much reduced. It even felt like teasing at this point.