Content locked, enable JavaScript and subscribe to access the content.
Lorenzo’s footsteps suddenly halted.
This whistle was incredibly familiar to him, which is why his face looked as unpleasant as if he had just stepped on something dirty.
Only those guys called Hyenas would use such a harsh, shrill whistle to convey a message.
In other words…
Suddenly, steady footsteps echoed in the dark alley.
Just like someone heading to an elegant banquet, a man dressed in an exquisite suit slowly emerged from the shadows.
“Mr. Lorenzo, on such a long night, why rush? Let’s sit down and have a chat instead?”
The man wore a top hat, held a gold-embellished 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 ruined that air of elegance, and the old face illuminated by the moonlight revealed a greedy and mad demeanor akin to a Hyena’s.
Behind him, burly men emerged silently from the darkness, wielding bloodied knives, guns, and clubs. Their fierce and sinister gazes, accompanied by mocking smiles, fixed on Lorenzo as if he were a clown.
This was a group of thugs.
And in the entire lower city, only a group of thugs would dare to snarl at Lorenzo.
“Hyena Gang? Schurz?”
Staring at these thugs who usually burned countless stores and buried countless people in the riverbed to collect protection fees, veins suddenly bulged on Lorenzo’s forehead.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, it’s odd for Mr. Lorenzo to ask such a question. Is there any street in the entire lower city that is named and belongs to someone privately?”
Schurz tightly gripped his cane, laughing exaggeratedly:
“It’s a long night, and since I can’t sleep, I ought to come out for a stroll and get some exercise.”
“A stroll? What a coincidence.”
A cold glint flashed in Lorenzo’s eyes. As one of the major gangs in the lower city, these people were much more troublesome than the wild dogs that were still trailing behind him!
However, at this point, he calmed down:
“What do you want? Our Scarlet Fire Gang and your Hyena Gang have always kept to ourselves.”
“Of course, I have always believed that Hyenas and Scarlet Fire are good friends, but since we are friends…”
Schurz fixed his gaze on the rune-covered metal container in Lorenzo’s hand, eyes alight with greed:
“When you have something good, you should understand that sharing is important, right?”
As expected, it was for the Dragon’s Blood?
But how did he know?
Lorenzo’s expression darkened further as he secretly hid the metal container behind him.
To contain Dragon’s Blood, an item imbued with violent energy, required a spatial artifact of extremely high grade.
And such spatial artifacts were much more precious than mere ten drops of Dragon’s Blood; aside from some noble aristocrats, no one could afford to use them.
So he could only hold it in his hands.
Yet in doing so, he had to confront this overt greed.
“Schurz, you need to think clearly. My Scarlet Fire Gang is not some soft persimmon for you to squeeze!”
With a sharp sound, Lorenzo’s subordinates drew their weapons; the cold light from the blades was piercing. Although they were outnumbered by the Hyenas, these men were elite candidates he had carefully selected and were certainly not afraid of those thugs who were only fearsome but lacked substance.
“Or do you want to fight me to the death?”
Lorenzo glared viciously at Schurz, like a beast sharpening its teeth for blood.
He knew that compared to those brutal thugs, the leader of the Hyenas, Schurz, was a man filled with insidiousness and treachery.
Such a person, while greedy, cherished his life greatly.
So he would never resort to reckless actions.
“It seems Mr. Lorenzo has misunderstood me.”
As expected, faced with Lorenzo’s fierce determination, Schurz’s blatant greed was quickly suppressed, and he smiled again.
“Actually, I’m not a proponent of violence; I prefer to do business with people.”
“Business?”
“Five drops; I will buy five drops of Dragon’s Blood from Mr. Lorenzo.”
Schurz held up a hand and squinted as he spoke:
“At normal market price, five million a drop, five drops for twenty-five million. How about it?”
Behind him, a burly man stepped forward, carrying several burlap sacks. He opened one, revealing stacks of dark green bills.
Schurz had obviously come prepared or perhaps had not intended to force a deadly conflict with Lorenzo from the very beginning, but instead offered a price that Lorenzo could barely accept.
He aimed to pressure Lorenzo into accepting this price; after all, he also desperately needed Dragon’s Blood, and spending a little money was not much of a concern for him.
“Twenty-five million?”
However, Lorenzo didn’t start to contemplate it as Schurz expected. Instead, his expression darkened further, and he gritted his teeth:
“You think you can buy five drops from me for a mere twenty-five million? Do I look like a naive child?”
“Hmm? Isn’t that the normal market price?”
While Dragon’s Blood, an item with a price yet no market, would certainly have a premium, it shouldn’t be so high that Lorenzo couldn’t accept it.
Puzzled, Schurz suddenly had one of his subordinates whisper a few words in his ear.
His expression turned odd, and he clenched a fist against his mouth as if struggling to hold back laughter.
“This… Mr. Lorenzo, your being cheated for fifty million has nothing to do with me!”
“Less talk. If you really want to buy it, bring out fifty million, and I might still consider!”
Lorenzo’s face turned crimson, but his gaze remained fierce.
Five drops could barely fulfill the Lord’s task, so he could indeed let go of it.
However, this price was non-negotiable.
He didn’t want to be known as the biggest fool in the lower city!
One fool is enough; he didn’t want to be the only one!
“No, I can’t accept this price!”
Schurz’s smile gradually stiffened, and he looked coldly at Lorenzo.
“I only brought twenty-five million.”
“Then there’s nothing to discuss!”
The two men faced off. In this not-so-wide alley, the atmosphere instantly turned as cold as ice.
The grinning thugs and the elite of the Scarlet Fire Gang tightened their grips on their weapons, and a bloody clash could erupt at any moment.
“Caw! If that’s the case, it seems ten drops won’t be enough to share.”
But just then, a third voice suddenly emerged, shattering the frozen atmosphere.
However, no one felt any warmth; instead, the chill deepened.
For in that sharp, duck-like voice, they also heard the tightening of a bowstring, as if a monster were tearing through steel, sending shivers down their spines.
Thus, everyone instinctively tensed up, and both Lorenzo and Schurz’s expressions changed dramatically as they looked toward the source of the sound.
On the roofs on either side of the alley, a small figure, resembling a dwarf, slowly emerged from the darkness.
