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Chapter 33: Ultimatum

"You are tricking me," Xu Yue replied with a frown as she took her feet away. "You wouldn't agree to such a bet if you weren't sure that you could win."

She had her reasons to be suspicious. Just like her, Liu Ye was skilled in deception and manipulation. One could even say he was more dangerous since his tactics were never too obvious, tricking his opponent to fall into his trap.

"Actually, I'm not fully sure if I can win," Liu Ye replied with a shrug. "I only know my skills and I'm confident I have what it takes to solo the Bandit Leader. The only thing I'm concerned about is the overall skill of your group."

He smiled and added, "Knowing the overall skills of the players though, I'm 90% sure I can win."

"Damn, the disrespect," Xu Yue cursed softly as he splashed water on his face. "You are trying to make me agree by using my ego."

"Wait, I don't understand," Zhenzhen finally reacted as she awakened from confusion. "What is that thing you discussed earlier?"

"We were talking in the office earlier and there is something your Big Sis really wants. I'm simply taking advantage of it," Liu Ye explained simply. "With a lady like Xu Yue, she wouldn't be satisfied with just anything."

"It's still not nice," Zhenzhen disagreed as she pinched his cheek. "You can't do that to someone close to you."

"Well, I don't really have a choice," Liu Ye replied as he held Zhenzhen's hands. "I wanted to tell you about it sooner but we are heavy in debt right now. I owe 1 million and it will take me a long time while working for Xu Yue to pay it back. I will still work for her but I would prefer if we had financial freedom in case of emergency."

Zhenzhen's eyes widened as she questioned, "How did we possibly get 1 Million in deb—"

She didn't finish when she suddenly realized the answer. Her expression sank but he didn't hesitate and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault," Liu Ye cheered her up. "No amount of money can compare to losing you."

"Big Bro…" Zhenzhen whispered with a sniff as her tears threatened to spill. "Thank you…"

"It's only natural. You would do the same if I was in your situation," Liu Ye muttered as he caressed her back. "We are family."

"Mhmm, I would do anything…" Zhenzhen nodded and hugged him tightly.

"Anyway." Liu Ye returned his gaze to Xu Yue. "You saw that I hit level 10 just a few minutes before the servers closed. You have my word that I didn't even reach the Newbie Village Lord to receive my Dungeon Key. I am yet to start my official Dungeon Run."

"And you want to tell me you can complete the Dungeon before us?" Xu Yue asked while scanning Liu Ye's expression for any clues but found nothing.

"I'm confident my tactic is better and faster, so yes."

He didn't lie to her once but instead just avoided revealing all the details.

"I still don't like it…" Xu Yue muttered helplessly. "The conversation we had earlier, no matter how much I want it, I don't want to achieve it through a bet. I would feel like I'm forcing you and I don't want that."

"It's not like you are forcing me. The reason I'm opposed to the idea is that it's too risky, not because I don't want it. But, if I were to have a chance to clear my debt and eliminate some pressure from my back, I would do my best to make it work," Liu Ye explained before shaking his head. "Well, I guess it's really not fair for you. We shouldn't gamble—"

Liu Ye was about to call it quits when Xu Yue stopped him at the last minute.

"Let's do it then."

"Huh? Are you sure?" Liu Ye questioned just in case. "Are you willing to bet and potentially lose your leverage?"

"That would happen only if I lose," Xu Yue replied with her own confidence. "Also, It's just one million. I have more than enough money. Even if I don't win, you will stay with us anyway, so it's not like I'm losing big time."

She paused and added, "I have one condition though. No matter who wins, you will help me with my Guild. I need strong players to set the fundamentals and having you will make us stand out."

"Sure," Liu Ye agreed and reached out his hand to seal the agreement. "Let the better player win."

"I will be impressed if you actually manage to pull it off," Xu Yue replied as she shook his hand. "If you can reach the fastest time as well, I will go out of my way to give you a bonus wish."

She stood up and displayed her sexy bottom while leaving the jacuzzi before adding with a side glance, "With no limits."

Liu Ye couldn't help but remember the times they used to play the wish game a lot. This game was still her favorite even though Liu Ye was the one abusing her wishes. She never asked for anything big, already satisfied with her win.

On the other hand, Liu Ye didn't hesitate to use his own wishes for matters like the cost of Zhenzhen's treatment or investigating his parent's mysterious death. For the latter, he still didn't receive any answer, even with Xu Yue's extensive help.

Liu Ye still promised Zhenzhen he would find out what happened so it was not over.

———

"So you are saying that man is not after my daughter but Liu Ye instead?"

Leader Xu had to ask again to confirm as he still couldn't believe it. He just spent 2 hours trying to find out who was behind the shooting only to find out his daughter wasn't even in danger.

"That's right. I don't know all the details but that man is quite famous in our circle." A soft female voice confirmed in Leader Xu's call. "He is one of the biggest clients we have, ordering many assassinations over the years. I also had an opportunity to be contracted and I assure you, that was my most paid job ever."

"Why does he want to kill some no name?" Leader Xu questioned confused, knowing there was nothing special about Liu Ye. "He is one of my best killers but I only used him for my personal matters and local jobs."

"Well, as I told you, I have no details about this job but one thing for sure, if he survived this time, it will be coming back to us. Now that everyone knows about Liu Ye from the news, there will be many who will try to hunt him down," the woman explained further. "I wouldn't be surprised if the job hits the open market by tomorrow and will get 'first-come, first-served' status. If you are sheltering him, you will also be in danger."

Leader Xu frowned deeply. "Tell your colleges they are welcome to come but whoever comes to my territory will be hunted down by the Red Dragon Triad."

"Haha, don't worry," the woman assured. "I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to step into your residence, but if that Liu Ye decided to leave, he is for sure a dead man. I can't promise that won't change if you decide to hide him like a rat. People are desperate for money these days. Even I'm booking my plane ticket to see him through my scope."

"Damn," Leader Xu cursed as he banged on his desk. "Who the fuck is this guy? I don't know anyone named Master Yang in the scene."

"No one knows but if you want, I can pass him your contact. Maybe you two can reach some kind of agreement before the official signal," the woman suggested.

"Do it," Leader Xu replied as he canceled the call. He waited while trying to contain his anger but curiosity was eating him alive.

Who was that man? Why did he target Liu Ye? What did Liu Ye have for him to want his body? Are there any secrets inside his body? There were so many questions in his mind that he almost went out of his office to drag Liu Ye for interrogation.

Thankfully, his thoughts ended when he suddenly received a call. The number displayed was private so he simply picked it up.

"Hello?"

…

There was a five-second pause where no one replied. He was about to check if the call was still connected when a synthetic voice spoke up.

"You have my target…"

"Is that Master Yang on the phone?" Leader Xu asked just to be sure only to go through another pause. Master Yang didn't call for chit-chat as he presented an ultimatum.

"I will send a man over tomorrow morning to collect the boy. You have 24 hours to decide what you want to do. Give him to me and I will pay you 10 Million. If you decide to keep him, I will hire endless assassins until the boy is in my hands. The choice is yours."