Chapter 27: Shaft The Painter

"Our dear VVIPs! Place your bets! The rewards are great! Come on, my lovely guests! Shake your wallets and win big! Today's top prize will be a zealot corpse for those who will bet 20000 Zeals above!"

The enticement worked like a drug.

It's easier to speak money when people are drunk, happy, or on high.

The people went wild after hearing the prize. After all, a zealot's corpse is something that you couldn't even buy with only money. The guests' cash flowed like a tide in the full moon. The 'chi-chings' rushing towards the shores of the betting booths.

"I'll bet 3000 Zeals for 3 minutes!"

"Peh! You poor bastard. I'll down 20000 Zeals for 7 minutes."

"Bastard! I bet it all 30000 Zeals for 5 minutes!"

Zhou Qi remembered the stacked bills from Wuren's wallet. With a broad smile, he placed his bet. "I bet 8000 Zeals. The brats would last 10 minutes!"

Unlike the unreasonable risk-takers, Zhou Qi's bet didn't garner much attention.

Even so, his cash gave the bet collector another reason to smile wider. The stack of zeals passing through his hand lifted the sides of his mouth. His fats were stretching like an infallible rubber balloon.

In the loan shark's eyes, the man was shining like a Buddha. The bet collector's double chin rose up and down, jiggling due to sheer happiness.

"Come on! Ladies and gentlemen, bet more and earn more. Ohhh! What luck! The boss just added another prize." The bet collector announced, his voice drowned by the bets. He reached out towards his ears as if he was listening to something through a device. "The Boss wants me to tell you that he would give the winner a gift! I bet it would either be a zealot part or an extremely rare good."

The words of the bet collector washed away the doubts of the hesitating ones. The fools ran towards the betting booth to pour their money out. It was a promo! It sounded like a Black Friday sale! Buy one take one. Whatever was the other special prize? The winner definitely wouldn't lose!

"Brother! Give a ticket for 15000 Zeals. May the lucky goddesses shine on my bet."

"Fine! Here's 40000 Zeal. I'll go all out. Since I already brought my lucky coin with me. Hell, it's do or die!"

Zhou Qi watched the guest getting fired up and smiled. He turned around and took another fruit wine. "Tsk, hook, line, and sinker."

Zhou Qi already caught a few suspicious individuals racketing up the tension. Some even instigating the others to bet with everything they had. "A well thought money scheme, poor guys. The winner is probably already decided. What a waste of money and energy."

Losing his interest, he turned his head and looked at the kidnapped victims. The poor guys were about to face death. They stood on the stage like goods for display. Each of them waiting for their slaughterer to come.

Zhou Qi's eyes narrowed, he focused his gaze towards Zhai Baiwu. He could see the kid's wet blindfold. From the looks of it, he is already near breakdown. It's good that he regrets trusting someone without verifying anything about him.

Consider this a lesson.

"This kid is definitely cursing himself. He even pulled his sister down with him." Zhou Qi sipped his fruit juice, before turning his head around. He found an empty seat and took it for himself.

His eyes roamed, searching for someone.

Hmnn, where is that wielder? Looking for a twisted guy, a twisted guy.

A psycho.

Hmnn. Nope, not that sissy.

Not that frowning old man. Anyway, what are you frownin' for an old man?

Oh, wait. Definitely not that cute waitress!

Where are you? Show yourself.

Zhou Qi thought as his eyes roamed around the whole bar.

Zhou Qi examined the people one by one, looking for the wielder from the large hall. Soon, a light tap fell on his shoulder. "How are you, Mr. Loan shark?"

Turning his head, he saw a kind-looking man smiling towards him. Zhou Qi's eyes constricted and almost crushed the hands of the man. It was fortunate that he was able to control his instincts.

He felt disgusted upon seeing this man.

"Who are you?" A light simper burst out from the loan shark's lips. "Do I know you?"

"Come on, don't be so cold. I am the one who you were looking for." He raised his hand, and a waiter came. He took a beer drink from the hands of the waiter.

The man reached out for a cigarette. "Anyway, I'm the one running this place. You also want to join our venture, right?"

Hearing the words of the man, Zhou Qi's smile turned deeper. So, this dud was delivering himself on a silver platter. "Hmnn, I think I like your place."

A blistering ember blaze through the tobacco rod as the man puffed out some smoke. An excited laugh burst out of his face. "I know, right. This place is paradise. I heard you also have a bar, right?"

"Yeah, I also have one." Zhou Qi replied, catching a whiff of smoke, a frown drowned his face. He saw a lot of red notifications popping out in front of his face.

[System Notes: Health Warning! Damn, I'm working hard for your health! Kill the guy! Slay! This stupid sh*t-stirrer is the mortal enemy of the ozone layer. You better set things straight with this guy, punk! Hey! Don't ignore me!]

A series of emoticons continuously blocked Zhou Qi's eyes sight. The loan shark's straight brows flinched.

Every time he closes the popping system message, another one would soon jump out. He felt like he was fighting against an invincible ad army. The system was trolling him non-stop. He gritted his teeth, huffing in annoyance.

Fine, fine. No need to flood me. Zhou Qi roared in his mind. After a short bout against the system, Zhou Qi sighed in relief. His frowning face made him appear as if he was in deep thought.

Not realizing that he was being ignored, the man's smile turned deeper. "We could become good business partners…or even friends."

"I heard quite a lot from my friends that you like money. You even came here just to catch that guy called Wuren."

Zhou Qi turned to the man. Recovering his composure, he flashed a grin. So the friggin boss of this place thought he was only aiming for Wuren. "It seems like you know me for quite a long time. And yeah, I like money. You really did your assignment about me."

"Of course, I need to understand my competitors. You know… whether they would become a friend or foe." The man took a sit in front of Zhou Qi, raising the cocktail wineglass towards Zhou Qi He crossed his legs, throwing away the cigarette butt to the floor.

"Okay, let's get to the serious talk. Why are you here? For business or for-..." A sharp glint of caution appeared from the man's face.

"For the business, of course!"

"I see. I see, sorry for the misunderstanding." The smile returned to the man's face. Exhilaration filled his voice. He opened up his arms wide open, showing the magnificence of his so-called paradise. "So, let's shift the topic. Do you also want to create a paradise-like this?"

Zhou Qi stood up and looked at the arena. His eyes were roaming and checking every nook and cranny. "As per the standard of the bar, I think my place is still better. However, I like that big arena. I could do a lot of events if I also have this kind of space."

"Hahaha." The man's eyes turned into slits. "You really know your stuff. I guess you've caught interest in the betting right. That's my biggest moneybag. The real source of money for my business. How about I rig it a little for you. Of course, for a certain price."

"Oh, interesting. Can you also spare me some fighters? I want to have death matches for my bar." Zhou Qi faked a grin. He felt like he was talking to a snake rather than a human. "Anyway, I don't take money from someone who doesn't owe me."

"I see."

Zhou Qi lifted his fingers, pointing at the main event of tonight. "Even so, I find your bar interesting and heart-thumping, especially that Arena. The bloody fig--"

"Bloody? Bloody, right! You too! Ah, this is destiny!" The man jumped up from his chair, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The man was starting to get unpredictable. It seemed like this guy took some injections. "I really love to see blood splashing over the stage! It's pure art!"

"You see. Before I became the boss of this place. I was actually a painter." The man stomped his feet on the floor, his mood changing with every minute. "But everyone said that I had no talent in it. They hated my art. Even so, I continued and strived for perfection!"

Zhou Qi nodded at him with a big smile. The words of the man entered his left ear and passed through the other ear. He dare not process gibberish. It was a waste of brain cells. He wondered how their talk shifted to this guy's life story.

The best thing Zhou Qi could do now was to nod and nod, till the man's saliva runs dry. "Yeah! Yeah! I think we met each other for a reason! Anyway, what kind of paintings are you doing?"

"I like painting blood on a large canvas! The man puffed in excitement, madness swirling on his bloodshot eyes. "The sight from above really makes my heart flutter. It's inspiring and wonderful! That's why I also used my parent's corpses to make art. I painted a big masterpiece on the floor of our old house. It was very red! Believe me, their blood was the perfect dye!"

Zhou Qi's eyes squinted, his pupils narrowing. This freak was very dangerous. A sicko. He could feel the hairs on his arms tingling. His senses were clearly warning him about the twistedness of the man.

Upon finishing his monologue, the man flapped back to his seat. The craziness he just showed gone after his short outburst.

He raised his hand again. A waiter immediately ran and brought plain water. Swishing his hands, the man chugged the glass of water. "Ahh! That's quite refreshing. Anyway, where are we? Call me Shaft, that's what my friends like to call me.

"Oh, about the arena, right? I could give you some fighters, but…what do I get in exchange." The man named Shaft put his hands on his chin. A lazy expression made him looked harmless and pure—his scary nature hidden in those slothful fluttering windows.

Zhou Qi felt he had found why his fist was created. His fingers were getting itchy, and he nearly punched the man to oblivion. Still, he gritted his teeth. Calm down.

Smile. Smile!

He must maintain the most professional smile anyone could expect from a gangster.