Chapter 677
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Chapter 677: Old Tricks!
“Two more idiots delivered to the door, business is really good at Qinglan Society.” Under a street lamp, a young man smoking a cigarette glanced at Fang Yu and Bai Ran as they walked into the tavern.
“Since Qinglan Society gained power, who on the entire street dares to compete with them for business? We can only watch and drool,” another young man said, shaking his head.
“There’s really nothing we can do. I heard the boss of Qinglan Society was invited to attend a banquet at Sand God Temple recently…” said the smoking young man.
…
Compared to the bustling street crowded with pedestrians, the tavern seemed very quiet.
The lighting was dim, the atmosphere silent.
Fang Yu scanned the room and saw only four customers. Two sat in the corner, drinking silently. The other two sat at the bar, but with several empty seats between them, suggesting they didn’t know each other.
Though called a tavern, it lacked any tavern atmosphere.
When Fang Yu and Bai Ran entered, all four customers turned to look at them with varying expressions.
Fang Yu noticed all their reactions.
“Why are there so few people in this tavern?” Bai Ran asked quietly.
The seductive woman walking ahead turned around and smiled, “Handsome, it’s only just past four in the afternoon. Come back at ten tonight and you’ll see it’s even more lively than you can imagine!”
Bai Ran glanced at Fang Yu, and seeing no reaction from him, said nothing more.
The seductive woman led Fang Yu and Bai Ran to the bar and winked at the muscular man in a tank top behind it.
“Brother Niu Er, I’m looking for A’le. Where did he go?” the seductive woman asked the muscular man as she inserted her half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray on the bar.
The muscular man glanced at Fang Yu and Bai Ran, a barely perceptible viciousness flashing in his eyes, and asked in a deep, rich voice, “I sent A’le out on an errand. Why are you looking for him?”
“These two handsome visitors from out of town want to ask him something,” the seductive woman said.
“Whatever you need to ask, you can ask me,” the muscular man said, looking at Fang Yu and Bai Ran.
Bai Ran looked at Fang Yu again.
Fang Yu nodded, indicating he could speak.
“We’re looking for a little girl who was kidnapped by an old man. They were supposedly on this street yesterday. Do you remember seeing them?” Bai Ran asked.
“Niu Er is the tavern owner. He rarely wanders outside, so he definitely didn’t see them… better wait until A’le returns,” the seductive woman said.
“Yes, A’le will definitely be back within half an hour. Have some drinks while you wait,” the muscular man said as he turned to mix drinks.
At this moment, Fang Yu noticed a tattoo on the back of the muscular man’s neck.
The tattoo was mostly hidden by his collar, with only part of it visible.
But from what was visible, it didn’t appear to be a large design, but rather some kind of totem or rune.
Fang Yu had noticed similar tattoos when he was observing the other four customers in the tavern earlier.
Clearly, the four people in the tavern weren’t customers at all, but were associated with the tavern, or more specifically, with the muscular man.
The woman who had led them here, however, didn’t have this tattoo on her neck.
“Come, sit down and have a drink,” the woman said, turning around. “The drinks Niu Er makes are the best on this street… no, in all of West City! You’re lucky to have the chance to try them.”
The woman led Fang Yu and Bai Ran to a table in the back and sat down.
Soon after, the tavern owner called Niu Er came over with two stemmed glasses and placed them in front of Fang Yu and Bai Ran.
“Special cocktails, my best sellers,” Niu Er said.
After speaking, he exchanged a glance with the woman and returned to the bar.
“Don’t taverns like this usually serve beer? Why are we drinking cocktails?” Fang Yu asked.
The woman chuckled and said, “This is a West City specialty. Try it and you’ll understand.”
Fang Yu smiled and picked up the stemmed glass in front of him.
In the glass was a light blue liquid.
Even a fool could guess that something had been added to this drink.
The woman before them was clearly a decoy, even a procurer.
The tavern owner and the other four people were part of an organized group.
The woman had brought Fang Yu and Bai Ran here, probably taking them for naive out-of-towners, hoping to pull off a big scam.
Fang Yu was very familiar with this routine.
He had guessed most of it when they were standing on the street and the woman approached them to strike up a conversation.
The reason he hadn’t exposed them yet was that he still held a glimmer of hope.
After all, this tavern was right across from the garbage bin.
What if they really did have information about Ling’er?
So, Fang Yu decided to play along, drink the alcohol, and wait for A’le’s return.
Of course, Fang Yu knew that A’le probably didn’t exist. His purpose was merely to buy time, waiting for the drugs in the drink to take effect.
Seeing Fang Yu throw back the drink in one gulp, the woman’s face revealed a triumphant smile.
One drink wasn’t enough for Fang Yu; he also grabbed Bai Ran’s glass and drank it down.
He did this because he wasn’t sure if Bai Ran could resist the effects of the drug.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to drink both.
Seeing Fang Yu drink Bai Ran’s as well, the woman complained, “How could you drink your companion’s too? I’ll have Niu Er make another one.”
“No need, he doesn’t drink alcohol,” Fang Yu said.
The woman’s expression changed slightly as she turned to look at the bar, exchanging a glance with Niu Er.
Niu Er nodded.
“I see. Then have some juice. Our West City sea buckthorn juice is also famous. You must try it,” the woman said as she stood up and walked toward the bar.
“Mr. Fang, I can resist the drug’s effects. You don’t need to worry,” Bai Ran transmitted to Fang Yu at this moment.
Fang Yu glanced at Bai Ran but said nothing.
A moment later, the woman returned with a glass of orange juice and placed it in front of Bai Ran.
Bai Ran picked it up and drank.
Then came a period of waiting.
The woman chatted intermittently, constantly checking the time on her phone.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Fang Yu and Bai Ran still appeared normal.
But this situation was abnormal!
Those drinks contained powerful drugs! Theoretically, they should have taken effect in about five minutes!
Another ten minutes passed.
The woman became increasingly agitated, turning to exchange glances with Niu Er several times.
But Niu Er also looked confused.
How was this possible?
His drugs had never failed before. Why were they ineffective today?
Soon, half an hour had passed.
“Why hasn’t A’le returned yet?” Fang Yu asked.
“He’s probably stuck in traffic. Have a few more drinks. He’ll definitely be back,” Niu Er said as he approached with two more drinks.
“It seems this person doesn’t exist?” Fang Yu looked up at Niu Er.
Niu Er’s expression froze, then he frowned and said, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, A’le doesn’t actually exist, right? And these two drinks in your hand probably contain a much higher dose of drugs than before, don’t they?” Fang Yu smiled.
“You!”
Seeing his scheme exposed, Niu Er dropped his pretense. His face turned vicious as he pulled a sharp dagger from behind his back and stabbed toward Fang Yu’s chest.
Fang Yu frowned slightly but didn’t dodge.
“Crack!”
Niu Er’s dagger stabbed directly into Fang Yu’s chest.
The seductive woman sitting nearby screamed in terror and backed away repeatedly.
But Niu Er was stunned.
Stabbing Fang Yu’s chest felt like stabbing a rock. The dagger broke!
“This…” Niu Er’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Fang Yu sitting before him.
“Bang!”
At this moment, Fang Yu suddenly reached out, grabbed Niu Er’s left arm, pulled him forward, then grabbed his head with one hand and slammed it violently onto the table, shattering it!
Niu Er cried out in pain.
The other four accomplices in the tavern changed expression and immediately surrounded them.
“If you don’t want to die, release our boss immediately!” the four accomplices surrounded them, glaring fiercely.
“Release him? You wasted half an hour of my precious time. I should collect some interest,” Fang Yu smiled, stepping on Niu Er’s head, pinning it to the floor.
“Ahhh…”
Niu Er let out a painful wail, his body convulsing, blood flowing from his head.
“Do you know who we are? You’ve hurt Niu Er. Don’t think you can leave West City alive!” shouted a small, thin man.
