Forty Million in Cash

Ding!

Just then, the elevator arrived at the third floor.

The doors opened, and Qin Shang silently followed the two big shots out.

"There. Room 3102 up ahead. Chen Muzi is locked in there."

The Gambler spun the room card in his hand, toyed with it twice, then pointed toward the room not far away.

The Red-robed Cult Master nodded.

"Open the door!"

The Gambler did not waste words. He obediently took two steps forward and opened the door.

Creak—

Qin Shang immediately smelled a strong reek of alcohol, along with the stench of food that had gone moldy.

A foul odor rushed at them. The smells of hot-and-sour noodles, vegetables, and lunch boxes all mixed together and poured out of the room. The moment the door opened, Qin Shang knew without looking what the place was like.

It was definitely a room that looked just like a garbage dump.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and his expression stiffened despite himself.

"Chen Muzi is inside!"

The Red-robed Cult Master pursed her lips for a long while.

Seeing the takeout boxes piled all the way to the doorway, she still could not bring herself to take that step. She turned to Qin Shang instead and said with an odd expression,

"How about you go in and deliver the message..."

Qin Shang avoided the Red-robed Cult Master's gaze and pretended not to hear her.

Who the hell would want to enter such a slob's room for no reason?

A trace of irritation spread across the Red-robed Cult Master's brows and eyes.

"You!"

She had probably intended to use the tone of a superior ordering a subordinate, saying something like, I order you to go in.

But the moment she got the first word out, the Red-robed Cult Master froze.

She did not even know the man in front of her!

Today was the first time the two of them had met. He had only mentioned his God's Path ID once.

To the Red-robed Cult Master, a newbie player was like a three-year-old child who had only just gained awareness, viewed from above by an adult.

Qin Shang's ID was not worth her deliberately remembering. But she had just told the Gambler that he was a member of the Ten Thousand Treasures House. If she turned around and asked him in front of the Gambler, "What's your name?"

Wouldn't that be a little awkward?

After all, the Red-robed Cult Master had only a limited number of Ten Thousand Treasures House members.

According to rumors outside, every Ten Thousand Treasures House member was a player personally selected by the Red-robed Cult Master after layer upon layer of screening.

They were absolutely her trusted aides...

This had left her in an awkward position. If she asked Qin Shang for his ID on the spot, wouldn't she just be humiliating herself?

The Red-robed Cult Master drew a deep breath, shot the young man a resentful glance, then shouted into the room,

"Chen Muzi!"

It was not hard to tell that she herself was extremely unwilling to enter the room.

After a fierce internal struggle, she had chosen to shout the man out instead.

That shout seemed to carry something special. Qin Shang clearly felt that the woman had not strained her voice or screamed herself hoarse, yet it sounded as though something had exploded beside his ear.

The Red-robed Cult Master's voice rang out clearly, buzzing and booming so loudly that it made his head ache.

The next moment, faint movements came from inside the room.

They were mixed with groans from someone getting out of bed and the sound of feet stepping on plastic takeout bags.

After a while, a deep thump rang out, as if something had crashed onto the floor.

Then it triggered a chain reaction. Clattering and banging rang out throughout the entire room.

During the process, the Red-robed Cult Master's expression gradually darkened.

The Gambler, on the other hand, looked like an uninvolved spectator. He leaned silently against the wall with his arms crossed.

Only after a long while did a disheveled, dispirited young man appear before them.

The man was not very old, around twenty-five or twenty-six. His entire body radiated a listless air. He had an unshaven face, and although his hair was not as messy as the Gambler's, that was entirely because he wore a rather feminine, medium-length ponytail tied at the back of his head. Only a few unruly strands mischievously danced across his forehead.

Besides his dejection, he also carried a certain disordered helplessness and the bewilderment of someone who had just woken up...

"Hm? Who's looking for me? Is it time? Are they serving food again?"

He walked over while holding onto the doorframe, rubbing his bleary eyes. After firing off his four questions, he looked at Qin Shang first.

Perhaps because the young man was facing the entrance, Chen Muzi's gaze naturally fell on Qin Shang first.

This was obviously probably Grandpa Niu's older brother in the real world...

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Isn't it usually that greasy-faced doorman who delivers my food? Did the Gambler fire him..."

Only after saying this did he yawn and glance at the scene outside the door.

The instant he saw the Gambler, Chen Muzi's expression stiffened.

Then he instinctively retreated a step. Even when the slipper fell from his foot, he did not notice. He said in panic,

"Gambler, you... why are you here?"

"I told you, my little sister has money. Once she comes out of God's Path, she'll pay back everything I owe you."

"And doesn't the deadline we agreed on still have three days left? Why did you come looking for me today?"

Panic was plainly visible on Chen Muzi's face, as though the Gambler were some terrifying flood beast.

God's Path?

This guy knew about God's Path?

Qin Shang furrowed his brows.

He had thought Grandpa Niu's older brother was merely an ordinary person who did not know that God's Path players existed.

He had not expected this man to seem fairly knowledgeable about the God's Path player community.

The next moment, the Gambler said flatly,

"Tsk! If I hadn't believed that promise of yours, do you think I would have let you live until now?"

"I'm giving you three final days. If your sister still doesn't come back to pay your debt, you'd better get ready to be chopped up and fed to the dogs."

After saying that, the Gambler pointed at Qin Shang and the Red-robed Cult Master.

"I'm not the one who came to see you today. Those two are!"

"You?"

The confusion slowly faded from Chen Muzi's eyes. Then he slapped his thigh in delight.

"I get it. You're my sister's friends?"

"Did my sister find it inconvenient to show herself, give you the money, and send you to take me away?"

The Red-robed Cult Master gave a cold laugh.

"Stop dreaming."

"We're only here to deliver a message."

"Chen Muxin committed a crime and then fled the country. The two of you probably won't ever see each other again. Forget her. That's what she asked us to tell you!"

The Red-robed Cult Master's icy voice fell, devoid of even the slightest emotion.

Qin Shang's mouth twitched faintly at her words.

She had asked you to deliver a message, but she probably had not asked you to say it with such hostility, right?

Would Grandpa Niu's older brother believe you if you put it that way?

It was obvious that Grandpa Niu's older brother was a mad gambler, and he also seemed to have gotten mixed up with the God's Path player community.

The Gambler was a Level Five Swindler. He likely had plenty of ways to make someone lose everything at the gambling table.

As everyone knew, nine out of ten gamblers lost.

Qin Shang did not want to comment on matters like this, but he still could not help feeling indignant on Grandpa Niu's behalf.

The older brother she had thought about constantly even as she lay dying was actually this kind of person in the real world.

It was clearly far beyond what Qin Shang had expected.

Based on Chen Muzi's enormous gambling debt and the Gambler's words, it was not hard to judge.

Chen Muzi probably did not have many days left to live...

As for his fate, gambling addicts never died well.

Qin Shang did not even need to guess. Chen Muzi owed the Gambler more than forty million and had no way to repay it. His end would definitely be violent!

"What!?"

At the same time, Chen Muzi was also shocked.

"What nonsense are you spouting, woman? How could Chen Muxin abandon me?"

"She's my little sister, my own flesh-and-blood sister! I'm her only relative in this world. How could she refuse to help me?"

"She's a God's Path player. Don't God's Path players make money quickly?"

"Points can be exchanged for huge amounts of RMB with ease. You make money faster than a printing press. Why would she commit a crime?"

"I—I don't believe it. I don't believe Chen Muxin would commit a crime..."

"Are you trying to trick me so you can keep the money Chen Muxin left for me?"

"I'm barefoot, and if you push me too far, I'll do anything. Hand over the money, or contact Chen Muxin right in front of me."

"Unless I hear it from her own mouth, I won't believe that she's really abandoned me..."

Contact Grandpa Niu in person...

She had already returned to God's Path, where she had died and vanished completely. How could they contact her?

Qin Shang sighed. The disgust in his gaze toward Chen Muzi deepened.

This man was worlds apart from the image of the gentle older brother next door that Qin Shang had imagined. He had thought that the reason Chen Muzi had remained constantly in Grandpa Niu's thoughts before her death was perhaps because he was an overprotective little brother.

Now that he had seen this gambler's true colors, Qin Shang could only describe himself as utterly disappointed.

Just then, the Red-robed Cult Master turned her head without changing expression and said flatly to Qin Shang,

"We've delivered the message. We can leave."

Qin Shang froze.

They were leaving just like that?

Just then, Chen Muzi suddenly grabbed the Red-robed Cult Master's sleeve, viciousness gleaming in his eyes.

"You're not leaving! You damn woman, explain yourself. Are you planning to keep the money my sister left for me?"

"Even if my sister fled abroad to escape, she couldn't possibly abandon me..."

"Don't touch me!"

Bang!

The next moment, the Red-robed Cult Master swung her hand and slapped Chen Muzi across the face, sending the one-meter-seventy-five man flying.

Qin Shang's eyelids twitched violently as he watched from the side. This woman is so violent.

Damn, she's that strong? And they still say God's Path players don't receive much of a boost to their physical abilities?

At the same time, the Gambler rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment. He finally understood why the two had come, and his expression darkened.

"So, Red-robed Cult Master, you know his sister?"

"And his sister has already abandoned him and fled abroad. In other words, this guy has lost the ability to repay his debt?"

At that, the Red-robed Cult Master raised her chin almost imperceptibly.

"That's right!"