Chapter 295: The Reason

Yang Bo returned to his booth, where only the old man and two attractive women were left. Their eyes lit up when they saw Yang Bo return.

The old man looked at the two bottles of wine on the table with slight disappointment. To him, these bottles were just ordinary.

But for the two women who lived in an apartment, these bottles were luxury goods.

“Mr. John, I didn’t expect you to enjoy life so much.” The two attractive women wore slip dresses, one with black hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and the other with blonde hair, black eyes, and fair skin.

John was the name Yang Bo was using for now.

Both were wearing silk-like slip dresses, one in white, the other black.

If it weren’t for the lack of sleazy vibes, Yang Bo might have thought they were engaged in improper business.

Such improper business existed in the Alliance, and a lot of it, though it was done behind closed doors.

The woman in the pink and white slip dress was named Xia, while the blonde woman was Annie, who had black eyes.

“Honestly, I’m not too particular about clothes, but I never skimp on food.” Yang Bo looked at the wine on the table.

The old man glanced at Yang Bo, assuming he was showing off, and smiled somewhat kindly. “Mr. John, are you going to open the wine?”

Yang Bo waved a hand, and a waiter came over. He took a small gold token, about the size of a coin, from his pocket and tossed it to the waiter. “Please open it for us.”

The coin-sized token was used in the bar to exchange credits, mainly given out as tips for the staff.

Of course, there were also tipping opportunities for performers later.

“Thank you, sir.” The waiter accepted the gold token, one of the highest-valued tips.

The old man smiled, but his eyes were filled with anger. Yang Bo felt pleased inside.

Looking at the two attractive women beside him, whether they were genuine didn’t matter—at least they were pleasant to the eyes.

Yang Bo had gone to bars often in his past life. Late in life, he figured why save money? He’d spend it on having fun instead since he had no mortgage to pay.

This bar wasn’t a high-end place. So, these few bottles of wine were considered premium here.

But to the old man, these weren’t impressive, and he mocked Yang Bo and the women in his mind for their lack of sophistication.

He downed his drink in one gulp, pretending to enjoy it as he said, “Great wine!”

The two attractive women, sitting on either side of Yang Bo, saw the old man down his drink and exchanged glances before finishing their own drinks.

Then, they smiled at Yang Bo, with Anne cooing, “John, it’s your turn.”

Yang Bo chuckled, lifted his glass, swirled it a bit, and took a sip. “It makes me happy to buy drinks for two beautiful women, but watching you drink makes me even happier.”

“Waiter, bring me your best wine. I want to buy enough for these beauties.” Yang Bo said this as he shot a mocking glance at the old man.

The old man’s smile immediately disappeared at Yang Bo’s look.

Just then, one of the old man’s companions came over and patted him. With a smile, the old man stood up. “Mr. John, thank you for your hospitality. I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

Yang Bo wrapped his arms around the two women. “Sir, I’m eagerly waiting.”

The old man nodded at the three of them, all the while thinking grimly that when the storm hit, he’d crush every bone in their bodies.

The two women, after seeing the old man leave in displeasure, gently pushed Yang Bo’s hand away. “John, that old man doesn’t seem ordinary.”

“With good wine in front of us, how can we talk about unpleasant things?” Yang Bo quickly poured more drinks for them.

Yang Bo rarely drank in this life. Perhaps he had drunk enough in his past life, or maybe the memories of painful experiences made him unwilling to drink anymore.

“Stay calm!” The old man moved to another booth, where his captain glanced at him and calmly said, “Keep your composure!”

Hearing that, the old man nodded immediately. “I will!”

“I hope so.” The captain’s words had deeper meaning.

In the assassin business, letting personal feelings interfere with the mission meant paying damages, not to mention facing the client’s wrath.

The captain’s team was here to scout for colleagues. Bars were full of shady characters and good for exchanging information. These places had no surveillance. Why? Because the local lords relied on these bars to hide their dirty deeds.

They always needed businesses—even if it meant bars that catered to black market activity. Certain big shots didn’t care about cracking down unless it directly threatened their own positions.

After pouring drinks for the two women, Yang Bo ordered a fruit platter. It included Stardrop Fruit, which Annie had claimed was her favorite.

The women now sipped their drinks slowly. Yang Bo didn’t have any ulterior motives. They talked, drank, and played some gambling games.

He paid attention to the old man’s group, noting suspicious behavior. No need to watch who they interacted with since this bar was a known Bounty Hunter Guild base. He’d find out everything tomorrow.

“Oh my, Mr. John, you’re so naughty.” Annie laughed sweetly but not too coyly as she looked at Yang Bo.

The more coy Annie’s tone was, the more alert Yang Bo became. He wasn’t John. He was Yang Bo.

Zhou Rui, seeing Yang Bo leaving the bar with the two women, sighed in relief, worried that this time he wouldn’t just kill everyone in the bar.

They left the wine they hadn’t finished at the bar. Yang Bo and the two women didn’t part ways until they returned to the apartment. Clearly, these two weren’t as simple as they appeared.

Once home, Yang Bo took a shower, then threw his clothes into the washer.

“The Lure ability is definitely effective on women.” Yang Bo concluded after today.

“I wonder if it works on men… or… other beings. I’ll test it tomorrow at the park.” Yang Bo activated his Invisibility and waited in the hallway for the small group he had seen earlier from the balcony.

The balcony had two modes for the glass: one transparent, the other one-way.

Five people walked together, whispering amongst themselves.

They returned, and the old man, glancing at the opposite room, thought about Yang Bo and the two women with him. He became furious again.

One of the five unlocked the door while another checked the stairs. The staircase was fitted with reinforced fireproof warship armor, designed to withstand battle.

Yang Bo waited for the others to enter before sneaking in, confirming they were up to no good when a man began checking the place thoroughly.

Another person went out to the balcony. Once the others came inside, the old man took drinks from the fridge and handed them around. “Captain, on the night of the storm, give me one hour. I’ll make sure that fool next door experiences hell.”

“No problem,” one of the four, a young man, nodded.

Among the four, two were young, and two were middle-aged. The one who had spoken was a young man.

“Haha, Whitehead, having a rough time, huh? Didn’t expect a local idiot to steal your women.”

“There are plenty of women at the bar,” the other two said as they opened their drinks.

The old man scowled. “You think I’d waste money on them? Didn’t you see the tattoos and rings on those two women’s wrists? They’re from the same-sex association.”

“And you still went after them?” one of them asked.

“I suspect they’re only registered for subsidies. They live off those subsidies. Besides, you never know until you try. Much more exciting than married women. With my skill, I’d have them calling me daddy.” The more he spoke, the angrier the old man became.

“Can’t believe some idiot ruined it. When the time comes, I’ll show him what hell truly is.” The old man fumed.

One of the middle-aged men chuckled. “Just a little pressure, they won’t even remember what happened when it’s over.”

“Lack of taste. I tell you, those two are premium quality, no genetic modifications.”

“Ha! Whitehead’s letting his imagination run wild!”

“Remember ten years ago, Whitehead went on a date with a beautiful woman and woke up next to a man? He almost got… you know. We arrived just in time or else…”

“Shut up!” Whitehead yelled. He recalled being one of the Brotherhood’s top assassins when some pervert almost had his way with him.

For years after, he couldn’t shake the thought of what had happened… or rather, the thought of who it happened with.

Yang Bo shuddered when he overheard this. No wonder Whitehead is such a mess now. Who could’ve guessed he almost ended up in bed with a man?

“Captain, here’s the layout of the evidence center. The mechas and large equipment are on the second underground level, the rest on the third floor. There are three rings we need, but who knows if the matching ring is among them.” One of them began to sketch a diagram and explain it.

“I’m more worried about someone with sticky fingers taking the rings. With so many cops on March Planet, who knows who might have taken it.”

The captain shook his head. “It’s unlikely. But Silver Butterfly’s death was strange. The police footage and autopsy showed she, an A-Class killer, was attacked from behind, and aside from her head, the rest of her body was intact.”

“This proves Silver Butterfly was ambushed from behind, not even using an ounce of energy. If she had, her body would’ve shown signs of energy backlash.”

“So, the evidence room may not have what we’re after.”

“What’s frustrating is that Silver Butterfly faked her subordinates’ records, making it impossible to track her crew. Let’s grab some biological samples while we’re at the evidence room.”

Yang Bo overheard everything. Brotherhood’s top killers recruited their own subordinates for missions, much like how Fat Boss opened a business here to prevent the main company from poaching his men. They used fake information to throw off the headquarters.

“Hopefully, the evidence center has something good,” Yang Bo mused. Evidence items may be listed in the books, but might not be in the room.

“My real goal is the energy suit of the assassin who used the Frenzy Energy skill. Can’t run around like a giant naked.” That was Yang Bo’s main target this time.

The group discussed things further and decided to move during the storm when another group would also cause trouble.

“Another group?” Yang Bo wondered.

A couple of hours later, they ordered some takeout. Yang Bo used the moment to slip away.

He returned home through the stairwell and looked up information about Whitehead’s claims. The same-sex marriage league did give subsidies, equal to minimum wage in each city. But the Alliance monitored it, and the moment same-sex couples were found to have relations with others, they lost their subsidies.

“Whoa.” Yang Bo hadn’t expected such strange laws. Same-sex couples didn’t even need to worry about childbirth. They could use their combined genes to form an embryo, raised by the Baby Factory. Female couples could use their own bodies too.

And with a child, they’d get three subsidies.

These couples received subsidies because of their voting power. In politics, strange policies emerged all the time to win votes.

“I’ll head out early tomorrow and get back home to play the game.” Yang Bo wasn’t giving up on the game, and he needed to test whether his Lure ability worked on other creatures. There were some small animals at home.

The next morning, Yang Bo took the elevator downstairs and ran into Annie. She was dressed more conservatively today, in a white tracksuit, holding a basket. She was surprised to see him.

“John, are you going to the supermarket too?”

“Yes, Annie.”

“We need to hurry. Once the sale starts, the best stuff will be gone quickly. Are you going to the bar again tonight?”

“I might.” Yang Bo planned to observe the second group from last night to see what they were up to.

Originally, he intended to just go to the supermarket with Annie and head back, but when they were downstairs, he felt someone watching him. He turned and saw the old man glaring at them from the fully-enclosed balcony.

Yang Bo waved smugly, while Annie remained oblivious, appearing to be an ordinary person.

“Damn bastard.” Whitehead ground his teeth, thinking about the obscene things that must have happened between Yang Bo and Annie.

“Let Whitehead come after me. I’ll Camouflage myself as him, then create some chaos.” Yang Bo laughed to himself.