"Wait, this doesn't look like the way back to the club."
Old Zhao frowned.
His luck had been terrible. Before he had even begun to work his way out of bankruptcy, he had returned to Huoyun only to run straight into a massive aberrant invasion.
"Miss, more than half the club was wrecked in the last attack. It hasn't been rebuilt yet—we have no money," Pei Yulou said quickly. "We'll return the car to the rental agency first, then head to a nearby shelter... Otherwise, if it gets damaged during the rental period, we'll have to pay its full value. They don't care whether an aberrant attack caused the damage."
"Are you an idiot? You actually signed a rental agreement like that?" Old Zhao felt a terrible headache coming on.
"It was cheap, and they didn't need collateral or a deposit... Where else could we get a flying car that looks this impressive?"
Zhao Wumian smiled bitterly. "Why do I get the feeling this rental agency is run by a bunch of gangsters?"
"It actually is..." Pei Yulou gave a wry laugh. "In fact, the car itself is illegal too."
When had Old Zhao ever been reduced to such dire straits?
Still, he wasn't all that worried. If worse came to worst, he could dip into his private treasury... His twenty-four Sea Calming Pearls held vast quantities of treasures. Taking out just a few would solve his immediate problems—even selling some of that stock of Dao Rhyme would give him enough working capital.
He wondered whether, with Dao Rhyme and his master's reputation as backing, he could get a bridge loan from the Alliance's head bank... It seemed he needed to make a trip back to Kunlun as soon as possible.
As he pondered this, the flying car suddenly lurched.