Translator: AnubisTL
Soon, a team of attendants filed in and began systematically evacuating the guests from the other booths to prevent the situation from escalating further.
It had to be said that the young man in the white suit, though appearing young, seemed to have experienced a great deal. Upon encountering the crisis, his first instinct was to minimize the damage.
It was clear that the three factions who had opened fire were not working together, and their targets weren't everyone in the hall. Evacuating the unrelated guests would significantly reduce potential casualties.
Unfortunately, they overlooked one crucial possibility: could there be another faction present?
Before long, the attendants began approaching the guests in the booths one by one, urging them to put on their coats and temporarily leave the premises.
Since Chen Jiang and his group were seated closest to the hall's entrance, the attendants approached their booth first.
"Good evening, sir."
A man in a white shirt and red bow tie strode purposefully to Chen Jiang's table, his gaze fixed straight ahead as if he didn't notice the three pets kneeling beneath it. He spoke apologetically.
"I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate incident that has disrupted the experience of our six members."
"If it's convenient, could you please step away temporarily? Once the Rose Club has resolved the situation, you can resume enjoying tonight's Eden Soiree."
Yes, six members.
The attendant had specifically mentioned disrupting the experience of six members, not just Chen Jiang and his companions.
"This is such a letdown," a pet wearing a pink mask grumbled as it crawled out from under the table. It grabbed a napkin from the table to wipe the liquid from the corner of its mouth and added, "Has the Rose Club stopped screening its members?"
By now, the other members were already preparing to stand up and temporarily leave the venue.
"Tsk," Scar Dog clicked his tongue, shaking his head with lingering dissatisfaction. "Gentlemen, I don't think you'll be able to leave."
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
The attendant spoke, his voice tinged with confusion.
"The meaning is simple," Chen Jiang said, slowly rising to his feet. He retrieved his stiff-brimmed felt hat from his chest pocket, placed it back on his head, and surveyed the assembled guests with a soft chuckle. "Their appetites are small, but mine is vast. None of you will be leaving today."
As his words faded, a thunderous thud echoed through the hall.
A massive turret crashed down from the ceiling, completely blocking the entrance. The colossal structure loomed over the entire venue, its thirty-meter-long barrel dominating nearly a quarter of the hall's space.
Chen Jiang leaped onto the barrel's peak, standing high above the crowd. He gazed down at the men and women below. "As you can see, this is a kidnapping."
"Everyone, raise your hands and remain standing where you are."
"I know some of you possess rule items or even rule talents."
"Those who feel confident may test the consequences of resistance."
For a moment, the entire hall froze in stunned silence. The Eden Soiree tonight was clearly unlike any other.
Wang Jili, holding two pistols crackling with electricity, glanced first at the exaggerated cannon muzzle, then down at his own small handguns. For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do.
Logically, he should be kidnapping the four men beside him.
But the situation had been turned on its head: the man with the cane had kidnapped them all?
Even the young man in the white suit, who had been standing on the stage, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth behind his mask.
"Kidnap all of us?"
A pet, masked and emerging from under Chen Jiang's table, spoke with barely suppressed fury. "Are you insane? Do you even know who I am?"
"If I take off my mask and stand before you, would you dare pull the trigger?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Scar Dog pulled a shotgun from his coat, aimed at the pet's abdomen, shrugged casually, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed again.
The masked pet's abdomen was blasted into a bloody mess. The body flew five meters through the air, landed heavily, twitched a few times, and lay still.
"What a waste."
Scar Dog shook his head regretfully. "I actually quite liked you. You were pretty good in bed, after all."
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and stuck it in his mouth. Twirling his shotgun on his finger, he strode over to the pet he had blasted away and removed its mask.
"As compensation, I can give you a romantic final kiss."
"..."
But when the mask came off, Scar Dog stared expressionlessly at the grotesquely ugly face. After a moment of silence, he aimed the shotgun at the corpse's head and pulled the trigger again.
Bang.
"Fucking bad luck," he muttered, spitting a thick wad of phlegm to the side in irritation. The sheer ugliness of the face had left him with a lingering psychological shadow.
As soon as the pet's mask was removed, those nearby who saw the face paled visibly, a flicker of terror in their eyes.
This ugly woman was the daughter of the Orange Red Star Federation Government's commander-in-chief of ground forces. Her disheveled corpse lying here meant disaster for Orange Red Star if word got out!
Have these people gone mad? Killing someone of this status?
Are they truly not afraid of death?
"Gentlemen," Chen Jiang said, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure as he stood atop the cannon barrel, white silk gloves gleaming. "Please keep your attention focused on me. I find it most irritating when you look away while I'm speaking."
"Since none of you seem inclined to test the items in your possession, I assume your survival instincts remain intact."
"As you all know, I am a gentleman."
"Therefore, even though I've resorted to kidnapping—a seemingly reckless act—I intend to conduct this entire process with utmost decorum."
"From this moment onward, form a line. I will contact your families one by one, and your task is to provide me with a valuation."
"Yes, give me a price that reflects what you believe your life is worth."
"I will use these valuations as a reference when demanding ransoms from your families."
"Now, let's begin with you."
He turned his gaze to one of the four men in the adjacent booth. "Do you understand?"
The four men exchanged glances, then fell silent for a moment before one spoke. "If our identities are exposed, you'll gain nothing from this. My advice is to accept a sum of star coins from us four."
"This way, you can get a substantial reward without knowing our identities."
"No, no, no."
Chen Jiang shook his head, his hand resting on his cane. His expression turned serious as he said, "The rules I've set are immutable. So, are you going to call your families now?"
"..."
"Very well."
After a moment of silence, a young man stepped forward, removed his mask, and activated his wrist-mounted communicator to call his father.
The next second, a ringtone sounded nearby. A middle-aged man, his face slightly grim, removed his mask and looked in the young man's direction.
"Dad?! What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same question."
"Uh... well," the young man stammered, caught off guard. "I... I was kidnapped. He wants me to get money from our family."
"I'm not blind."
"Phew!"
The middle-aged man took a deep breath before turning to Chen Jiang with a serious expression. "We're all straightforward people here. Let's just make a deal and be done with it. My son and I run the Nordic Company. We're just small-time businessmen, not big shots. How about ten million star coins? Does that sound fair?"
"..."
Chen Jiang glanced down at the two men who had removed their masks, a peculiar expression on his face. After a moment's pause, he said, "Naturally, that's acceptable. Scar Dog, go collect the payment and don't forget to register them as members."
"Right away!" Scar Dog scurried over with his tablet. "Come on, sign up here with your names to become members. Our organization is called the Jiang Cheng Plunder System Company. Who knows, we might meet again in the future."
"Our group's policy is simple: if we kidnap someone twice, they get a 20% discount on the second ransom!"
"That means next time you're captured, you'll only need to pay eight million star coins to be released."
"And the more times you're kidnapped, the higher the discount gets. It's a win-win situation!"
"..."
The middle-aged man was momentarily speechless, frozen in place. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Kidnappers have membership programs now?"
"Of course," Scar Dog replied with a serious nod. "Lifetime membership costs just one million star coins per person—a bargain! Think of it as lifetime insurance. If you encounter us even once more, the discount will more than cover the membership fee, right?"
"Plus, we have a members' group chat. You can chat with other members whenever you're bored."
"A group chat too?"
"Naturally. It's part of our Private Domain Operations. We also handle other services, like sending your business rivals' entire families into space. We'll execute any task you assign with precision and perfection, boss."
"..."
The middle-aged man stared blankly at the membership registration interface on the tablet. "I understand, but it's my first time seeing this kind of business model. I'm still processing it."
"What's there to process?" Scar Dog snapped impatiently. "We kidnapped you, which proves you already recognize our capabilities, right? This way, you'll feel more confident hiring us again, won't you?"
"Are you joining the membership or not? Why all the chatter?"
"I'll join," the middle-aged man said, nodding solemnly. "The total is 12 million star coins, correct? The transfer is complete. Please verify."
"Perfect! No problem. Come on, join the membership group. You can post future job requests there."
"Is the group just for me and my son?"
"Yes, this is our first job since launching, but don't worry, the membership will grow soon."
The middle-aged man glanced around at the masked figures, his lips twitching slightly as he struggled to find a counterargument. Then, a sudden realization struck him, and he blurted out, "What if the target of my mission is also in this group?"
"What's the conflict? Even if they know in advance, we can still complete your mission."
"No, I mean if both I and the target post missions in the group simultaneously, who do you help?"
"Naturally, we help whoever pays more."
"Alright, enough stalling. Next!"
The middle-aged man, pushed aside, stared at the new group that had appeared in his chat window:
[Jiang Cheng Company Member Group #001.]
He exchanged a complicated look with his son, unsure of what to say.
Meanwhile, Wang Jili had recognized Chen Jiang's group—or rather, he'd recognized that massive barrel!
The barrel that had destroyed the field army he'd hired was exactly like this one!
Now he finally understood where Wu Jinshen had found such a capable accomplice—they were mercenaries.
But how had they escaped from No. 088 Myriad Races Arena, when his item had clearly confirmed their location there?
Soon, the masked man approached him. "Come, take off your mask, state your identity, and contact your family for money."
Wang Jili remained silent for a moment before removing his mask. "Wang Jili, chairman of Shark Company. I have no family. I'll pay 5 million star coins for my life."
"Shark Company?" Scar Dog raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, glancing at the man before him. "Isn't that the company that recently blocked Black Europe Company?"
"Playing quite the game."
"You lost a lot last time, so you probably don't have much left. 4 million star coins will do—consider it a discount."
"Really?" Wang Jili blinked, momentarily stunned. Were kidnappers really this humane? Kidnapping with discounts?
"Of course."
"Just transfer 9 million star coins in total."
"Wasn't it 4 million? How did it become 9 million?"
"Didn't you kill the woman on the ground? You're paying her 4 million ransom along with the 1 million membership fee. What's the problem with 9 million?"
The woman on the ground?
Wang Jili instinctively glanced at the woman's corpse and asked, "She's already dead. Why would she need ransom?"
"Duh!" Scar Dog snarled, grabbing Wang Jili by the collar. "If you hadn't killed her, I wouldn't have to cut my profits! And why did you kill her so early? I hadn't even had my fun yet!"
"Damn it, keep whining and you won't need to pay at all. I'll just send you to the afterlife right now."
"I'll pay, I'll pay."
Wang Jili swallowed his pride and transferred the 9 million star coins, joining the membership group in the process.
"Hey."
At that moment, the man wearing the lion mask recognized Chen Jiang and his companions. Raising his hand, he called out, "Sir, is that you?"
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner:
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🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE