Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 70, inside a somewhat run-down hotel.
Loud arguments came from inside the hotel. A group of pirates surrounded a bald, middle-aged man, who was speaking animatedly about something, spraying saliva everywhere. The pirates around him burst into laughter from time to time.
In a place like the Sabaody Archipelago, pirates were the most common guests. The bald, middle-aged man was the hotel owner, and he was quite good at dealing with these rough-mannered but generous pirates.
Before long, the pirates around the bald man dispersed. The enthusiastic smile on his face vanished. After letting out a disdainful snort, he turned and walked toward the bar.
Compared with these foul-smelling pirates, the hotel owner was more concerned about the guest who had come earlier. It was perfectly normal for the man to bring a woman to the hotel, but the bloodstains on him had caught the owner's attention.
Inside a room on the third floor of the hotel, Su Xiao sat against the headboard, his bare upper body almost entirely wrapped in bandages.
"You still haven't told me how you managed to evade the attacks of those Contractors."
Little Mantou held a Chinese checker piece in her hand and stared at Su Xiao in amazement. Just an hour ago, she had thought Su Xiao was as good as dead.
"..."
Su Xiao let out a long breath. He temporarily had no desire to deal with Little Mantou. This scatterbrained chatterbox was the kind of person where, if you answered her once, she would have ten more things to say.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked. What he meant was: What the hell are you thinking? Hurry up and make your move. One game costs 200 Paradise Coins, and you're about to lose everything.
Although Little Mantou didn't understand what Bubu