Chapter 22: Spider Silk Hanging from the Ceiling (2)

Belmont frowned, staring at the figure in the image transmitted by the surveillance system.

The picture wasn’t very clear, but he could make out a small frame and strange outfit.

Who would come to a bar dressed like that?

He’d never heard of such a trend lately.

“Does anyone here recognize this person?”

Belmont looked up at his subordinates.

They simply shook their heads, giving a negative answer.

Belmont narrowed his eyes.

A figure hiding their shape under bulky clothes, poking around his turf—extremely suspicious.

A spy from a rival gang or the police?

Some clueless drug dealer?

“Have someone feel them out. Search them if necessary.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate who received the order left.

Belmont set down the tablet.

This kind of thing wasn’t worth his personal attention.

Besides—

Belmont struck the ground heavily with his cane.

The high hump on his back seemed to come alive, writhing under his clothes as if something was about to burst through.

Even if the other party came looking for trouble, he was confident he could take them down easily now.

Qiao Anni stood at the edge of the noisy dance floor.

After entering the bar, Bres had only handed her an earpiece, casually tossed out “Use this to contact me,” then merged into the frantic crowd and disappeared, leaving Qiao Anni alone.

“At least tell me what I’m supposed to do…”

She tried placing her hand on the earpiece, only to hear a static crackle.

What the hell, this guy.

Now she had to improvise.

Qiao Anni stopped at the bar and found a seat.

The bartender greeted her warmly.

“What’ll it be?”

She just waved her hand.

Not for any other reason—she was completely broke.

Bres hadn’t given her any “operating funds.”

Qiao Anni rested her cheek on one hand and tapped the table lightly with the other, observing her surroundings.

Her outfit did stand out among the bizarrely dressed, scantily clad men and women.

She’d drawn plenty of eyes on the way in, but she’d also felt a certain “targeted” gaze from the start.

Not an illusion.

The “eyes” were multiplying.

The server behind the bar, the woman on the dance floor pretending to dance but only swaying to the beat, the guard at the door wearing sunglasses, and—the blurry figure behind the huge glass window on the second floor.

More and more of these stares were landing on her.

“Hello there, sir. Care for a chat?”

A gentle voice sounded beside her.

Qiao Anni turned and made out the speaker’s features.

A gray-haired man, handsome enough, dressed fashionably and standing out conspicuously in this chaotic place.

When Qiao Anni turned, surprise flickered in the man’s eyes.

Probably because the bar’s blinding lights and her odd clothing had prevented him from seeing her gender and face clearly.

“Ah, a beautiful lady. Please forgive my rudeness.”

As if genuinely apologetic, the man bowed deeply.

“It’s fine.”

Qiao Anni shook her head.

She didn’t mind being addressed that way.

“Then, beautiful lady, may I have the honor of sitting beside you?”

Without waiting for her answer, the man sat down next to her and started a conversation.

“New face, are you? Are you from the Third District?”

“I live in the Fifth District.”

Qiao Anni made up information on the spot.

“Oh, that explains it. Otherwise, I’d remember a lady as lovely as you.”

The man naturally leaned toward her.

…A bit creepy.

He kept finding topics to chat about.

“How do you like this bar?”

“A little stuffy.”

“Haha, lively places tend to be… Are you here alone?”

“…”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“How unusual. A lady like you without company?”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

The earpiece still only gave static.

“Seems rather rude, leaving you hanging for so long.”

For the next five minutes, the man pestered Qiao Anni with all sorts of questions—from her favorite color to what she’d seen yesterday.

At first, she gave perfunctory answers, but eventually she stopped talking altogether, just lowering her head to study the table’s grain.

Seeing this, the man made his next move.

“Bartender,” he raised his hand, and the bartender came over at the right moment.

“One for me and one for this lady.”

Qiao Anni opened her mouth, but the man cut in first:

“This round’s on me.”

He even winked at her.

Soon, two glasses were pushed in front of them.

The man made a “please” gesture.

Qiao Anni looked at the swaying amber liquid, sighed, then picked up her glass.

Wa Lunding of the Illusion Bar was a master at prying information.

He could always confuse his opponent over drinks, paralyze their mind with alcohol and words, and finally extract what he wanted.

Under his gentle guidance, countless people had let slip secrets while drunk, and countless women had lost themselves to flattery, draining their wallets.

And he had absolute faith in his ability.

But that confidence only lasted until today.

His boss, Belmont, had given him a new task: to get the red-clad woman to talk.

And he’d done as told.

As expected, she was tight-lipped.

No matter how he chatted, she wouldn’t reveal much, but that was within his expectations.

All he needed was a little help from alcohol.

Within half an hour, he’d pry her mouth open.

That was what he thought.

Until Qiao Anni downed her tenth drink without changing expression.

His confidence wavered.

“A bit spicy.”

Setting down the empty glass, Qiao Anni was still perfectly composed.

What was up with this woman?

That was high-proof liquor.

Even he could barely hold on.

Why wasn’t her face even flushed?

His head was getting fuzzy.

Wa Lunding pinched his thigh hard, using the pain to wake his alcohol-numbed nerves.

“You have quite a tolerance,” he forced a smile.

“Haha, it’s just my constitution, my constitution.”

Qiao Anni laughed it off.

Her gaze wandered, but her rationality never left.

Wa Lunding’s confidence completely crumbled.

In years of drinking battles, this was the first time he’d met such a tough opponent.

He looked toward the glass window.

His boss’s figure watched him like a silent reaper.

Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

Now he had no choice but to throw caution to the wind.

The moment Qiao Anni looked away, he stealthily covered his hand over the glass the bartender handed him.

An incredibly fine powder silently fell into the drink, dissolving into the amber liquid.

What was Bres doing?

Why wasn’t he back yet?

The prying eyes and Bres’s prolonged absence made Qiao Anni increasingly restless.

Because she was distracted by these external factors, she didn’t notice the barely visible cloudiness in the glass Wa Lunding offered.

Wa Lunding suppressed his inner excitement as he watched Qiao Anni raise the glass.

She frowned slightly—a subtle change hardly perceptible to him.

Just as her lips seemed about to touch the rim of the glass,

Woo—

The ear-splitting alarm blared without any warning.