NOVEL WEB chapter 156
81. Confrontation
Lorenzo’s footsteps suddenly halted.
That whistle was all too familiar, and his face turned as grim as if he had stepped on something unsanitary on the road.
Only those guys known as hyenas would use such a harsh, shrill whistle to convey information.
In other words…
From the dark alley, steady footsteps suddenly approached.
Like someone attending an elegant banquet, a man in an exquisite suit slowly emerged from the shadows.
“Mr. Lorenzo, on this long night, why the rush? Why not sit down and have a chat?”
The man wore a top hat, held a gold-inlaid cane, and was impeccably dressed; his voice carried an elegant tone, sounding like some noble aristocrat.
However, the golden front teeth that occasionally flashed as he spoke instantly shattered that elegance, revealing a gaunt face under the moonlight, which showed a hyena-like greed and madness.
Behind him, burly men silently stepped out from the darkness, wielding bloodied knives, guns, and clubs, their eyes fierce and vicious, wearing mocking smiles as they stared at Lorenzo, as if he were a clown.
This was a group of thugs.
And in the entire lower town, only a group of thugs would dare to bare their teeth at Lorenzo.
“Hyena Gang? Shuzi?”
Staring at these thugs who usually burned countless shops and buried countless people in the riverbank for protection money, Lorenzo’s forehead suddenly throbbed with bulging veins.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, Mr. Lorenzo, that’s a curious thing to say. Is there really a street in the entire lower district that has a name, belonging to some private individual?”
Shurzi gripped his cane tightly, his expression exaggeratedly cheerful:
“The long night drags on, and with no heart for sleep, one must come out for a stroll, to get some exercise, right?”
“A stroll? What a coincidence.”
A cold glint flashed in Lorenzo’s eyes. As one of the major gangs in the lower district, these people were far more troublesome than the wild dogs still trailing behind him!
But at this point, he found himself calming down:
“What do you want? The Red Fire Gang and your Hyena Gang have always kept to our own territories.”
“Of course, I’ve always believed that hyenas and Red Fire are good friends. But since we are friends…”
Shurzi’s gaze fixated on the metal container in Lorenzo’s hand, its surface etched with runes, his eyes gleaming with greed:
“When there are good things, one must know how to share, right?”
So it really is for the Dragon’s Heartblood?
But how did he know?
Lorenzo’s expression darkened further as he discreetly hid the metal container behind him.
Items like the Dragon’s Heartblood, which contained violent energy, required extremely high-level spatial tools to contain.
And such high-level spatial tools were far more precious than mere ten drops of Dragon’s Heartblood; only a few noble aristocrats could afford them.
So he could only hold it in his hand.
But holding it meant he had to confront this blatant greed.
“Shurzi, you need to think carefully. My Red Fire Gang is not some soft persimmon for you to squeeze!”
With a sharp sound, Lorenzo’s subordinates drew their weapons, the cold light glinting menacingly. Though outnumbered by the hyenas, these men were carefully selected elites, unafraid of those thugs who were nothing but fierce and reckless.
“Or are you looking to fight me to the death?”
Lorenzo glared fiercely at Shurzi, like a beast baring its fangs.
He knew that compared to those brutal thugs, the leader of the hyenas, Shurzi, was a man exuding treachery and malice.
And such a person, though greedy, cherished his own life immensely.
So he would never act without certainty.
“It seems Mr. Lorenzo has misunderstood me.”
As expected, faced with Lorenzo’s desperate ferocity, Shurzi’s overt greed quickly receded, and he smiled once more.
“Actually, I’m not one to advocate violence. I prefer to do business with people.”
“Business?”
“Five drops. I will buy five drops of Dragon’s Heartblood from Mr. Lorenzo.”
Shurzi held up one hand, squinting as he spoke:
“According to the normal market price, one drop is five million, five drops is twenty-five million, how about that?”
Behind him, a burly man emerged, carrying several burlap sacks. He opened the sack’s mouth, revealing stacks of dark green banknotes inside.
Schurzi was already prepared, or rather, he had never intended to go down with Lorenzo in a fight to the death; instead, he offered a price that Lorenzo could barely accept.
He wanted to force Lorenzo to accept this price, after all, he also needed the essence of Gulong, spending a bit of money was really nothing to him.
“Twenty-five million?”
However, Lorenzo did not start to consider it as Schurzi had anticipated. Instead, his expression grew even darker as he gritted his teeth and said:
“Are you trying to buy five drops from me for just twenty-five million? Do you think I’m a kid?”
“Uh? Isn’t this the normal market price?”
Although the essence of Gulong, something valuable yet rare, would definitely come with a premium, it shouldn’t be so high that Lorenzo couldn’t accept it.
While Schurzi was puzzled, suddenly one of his subordinates whispered something in his ear.
His expression turned strange all at once, one hand clenched into a fist placed against his mouth, as if he was trying hard to stifle a laugh.
“Well… Mr. Lorenzo, you got duped out of fifty million, but that’s none of my business!”
“Cut the crap! If you really want to buy, then bring me fifty million, and maybe I’ll consider it!”
Lorenzo’s face turned crimson, his gaze still fierce.
Five drops could barely complete the master’s task, so he wasn’t entirely unwilling to part with them.
But this price was non-negotiable.
He didn’t want people to mention him with the added remark that this Lorenzo was one of the biggest fools in the lower city!
A fool couldn’t just be him alone!
“No way, I can’t accept this price either!”
Schurzi’s smile gradually froze, his gaze turning icy as he looked at Lorenzo.
“I only brought twenty-five million.”
“Then there’s nothing to discuss!”
The two faced off, and the atmosphere in the narrow alley suddenly turned as cold as ice.
The grinning thug and the elite of the Chihuo Gang both tightened their grips on their weapons, and a bloody shootout could erupt at any moment.
“Caw caw, if that’s the case, it seems ten drops wouldn’t be enough to go around.”
But just then, a third voice suddenly appeared, breaking the icy tension.
However, no one felt any warmth; instead, the coldness deepened.
For in that sharp, duck-like voice, they also heard the sound of a bowstring being drawn tight, like a monster tearing through steel, sending shivers down their spines.
Thus, everyone’s bodies instinctively tensed up, and Lorenzo and Schurzi’s faces changed dramatically as they turned to look in the direction of the voice.
On the rooftops on either side of the alley, a small figure, resembling a dwarf, slowly emerged from the darkness.