Monster One (Please Keep Reading)

In a private room at a bar.

Mellow music echoed through the room.

Dazzling lights overhead intertwined into a dreamlike spectacle.

Golden wallpaper reflected a soft glow, while diamond-shaped crystal chandeliers cast fragmented, hazy shadows.

At the very center of the sofa sat a languid young man with a tall, slender build and impeccable attire.

His features were ordinary. Though he was already over thirty, he had maintained himself remarkably well, his skin fine and smooth.

He looked no different from a man in his twenties.

A million-worth luxury watch hung around his wrist, its diamond-studded face giving off a faint gleam beneath the refracted light.

Several bottles of top-tier champagne worth hundreds of thousands sat on the coffee table before him.

It gave his otherwise ordinary appearance an entirely different kind of appeal in the eyes of certain women.

That much was evident from the scorching gazes cast again and again by the four or five beautiful young women seated on either side of him, all fair-skinned and smiling sweetly, as though they wished they could plaster themselves against him.

"Young Master Lu, who were you talking to on the phone? Come, let me toast you!"

Just then, seeing the young man put down his phone, one of the women spoke with a charming smile. She picked up a bottle of champagne from the table, poured him a glass, and offered it to him.

She wore a long red dress, its perfectly arranged folds resembling a blooming rose.

As she leaned forward slightly, she revealed delicate collarbones and a slender, jade-like neck.

Her crescent-shaped eyes looked at the man before her, overflowing with laughter.

Combined with that lovely face, such a gaze was almost impossible for any man to resist.

"Heh, you really want to know? It's about that little simp of yours!"

Lu Shi chuckled.

He accepted the glass with one hand while wrapping the other around the Red-dressed Woman's shoulders, his palm wandering restlessly.

At those words.

A bashful blush flashed across Jiang Yu Yan's face.

She took the opportunity to nestle against Lu Shi's shoulder.

In a coquettish tone, she said.

"Young Master Lu, you're joking again. From beginning to end, there has only ever been you in my heart."

"Oh? Is that so? Let me see whether it's true."

Lu Shi raised the Red-dressed Woman's chin, lowered his head, and kissed her directly.

Cold wind swept past, carrying icy rain with it.

There were few pedestrians on the streets. Every now and then, one or two cars passed with their headlights on, their wheels rolling through puddles and splashing up sheets of water.

The two men could only trail far behind Hu Qi, lest he notice anything unusual, while waiting for news from their boss, Wu Shan.

Suddenly.

They saw Hu Qi turn into an alley ahead.

"That kid couldn't have spotted us, could he?"

The two exchanged a glance.

Then hurried forward.

When they reached the entrance of the alley, they looked inside.

The alley was not particularly deep, but it branched off into several other paths.

Hu Qi had vanished from sight. Only the corner of an umbrella flashed past the bend.

At the same time.

One of their phones vibrated faintly.

He took it out and looked.

It was a message from Wu Shan.

"Quick, don't let him get away!"

After reading the message, savage expressions flashed across their faces.

They immediately took off running toward the alley ahead.

Inside the dim alley.

Their footsteps came in a rush, like dense drumbeats. The echoes of their steps intertwined with the falling rain, reverberating through the narrow passage.

However, when the two reached the corner.

They suddenly saw a long black object appear before them.

Then it jabbed toward them at tremendous speed.

It was too fast for them to dodge.

They did not even have time to scream.

Their bodies went numb, and they collapsed straight to the ground, hitting it heavily.

One of them had been moving too quickly and landed face-first, smashing his head open and leaving blood streaming down his face.

Looking at the two unconscious men.

Hu Qi was still uneasy, so he poked them again with the electric baton.

Blue-white arcs of electricity leaped.

As the current touched them, their limbs convulsed violently without consciousness, foam spilling from their mouths.

Only then.

Did Hu Qi finally relax.

This electric baton really was good quality.

He would leave the seller a good review when he got back.

He swept his gaze around.

This alley was extremely secluded. Even in broad daylight, few people ever passed through here.

Hu Qi knew of it only because the original owner had become familiar with the roads here while delivering food and often liked to cut through this place as a shortcut.

Then he lowered his head and picked up a phone that had fallen to the ground.

The screen glowed faintly, smeared with murky mudwater, while the corners had cracked slightly from the fall.

The phone was unlocked, and the chat window remained visible on the screen.

The latest message had been sent a minute ago.

It roughly said that someone marked Brother Shan had told the two men to catch him, and that he would arrive shortly afterward.

"Interesting! Are these the people who beat the original owner into the hospital?"

Hu Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.

There was not much information in the messages.

But it was not difficult to guess.

After all, according to the original owner's memories, he had been an honest, ordinary man.

There was no way he could have offended anyone.

Besides, his loan had not even reached its repayment date yet, and it had been taken through an official federal platform.

Even if he failed to repay it, they should have called to demand payment first.

Then.

There was only one answer.

As for these people, honestly.

For the time being, he had not intended to seek revenge on them.

After all, it had been the original owner who got beaten, not him. Put another way, if those people had not beaten the original owner to death, whether he could have successfully taken over this body was uncertain.

But now things were different.

He, Hu Qi, was the one using this body now.

And they had come looking for him.

From the looks of it, they wanted to pull the same trick again.

"These dog bastards really think I'm as easy to bully as the original owner?"

A vicious rage rose in Hu Qi's heart.

With that thought, his gaze fell upon the final chat message on the screen in his hand.

A cold smile appeared on his face.

Xiao Feng: Brother Shan, hurry over! We've got that kid cornered! We're in the alley across from Night Whisper Internet Cafe on Dongting Road.

Wu Shan looked at the message on his phone.

Joy flashed across his face.

"Alright, alright, wait for me. I'll be right there!"

He was familiar with every street and alley in this area, so he found the place quickly.

"Xiao Feng, Ah Zai!"

Wu Shan entered the alley and, seeing no one, turned his head and called out twice.

But he received none of the response he had expected.

The rain was falling harder now. All around him, there was only the patter of rain striking the ground. Other than that, silence reigned.

At this sight.

A trace of vigilance rose in Wu Shan's heart. He pulled a silver object from his trouser pocket and flicked it forcefully.

It extended into a half-meter telescopic baton.

His eyes scanned left and right as he reached the fork in the alley.

He slowly walked forward.

At the same time, he took out his phone and began calling them.

Suddenly.

A crisp ringtone sounded from the front right.

Seeing this, he quickly stepped forward.

Just then.

A blazing lightning serpent flashed across the heavens.

For that instant, it illuminated the entire alley. Beside the gray-white utility pole at the corner to his right lay two motionless figures.