Preparing to Leave

Calling me a vampire—was this kid saying I wasn't human? Forget it. This wasn't the time to argue about that.

Meng Zu explained his background to Sam and said, "It isn't safe here. We're leaving now."

"Wait, I'll wake Brian, Anna, and Amy. We'll leave together." Sam shook the two girls and one young man.

Meng Zu said bluntly, "No need. My mission is only to take you back. The three of them aren't part of it."

"But they'll be in danger if we leave them behind."

"If you know it's dangerous, then you should understand that every extra person increases the difficulty. That will make us more likely to run into danger." Meng Zu grabbed Sam by the arm and tried to drag him away.

Sam shook off Meng Zu's hand and shouted emotionally, "I'm not leaving! If we leave, Anna and the others have to come too! Can't you show some kindness and take them with us?"

Damn, what a temper. Should I call this kid naïve or a saint? The mission was already at the final stage; all that remained was the last little push. If it came down to it, I could just knock Sam out, throw him over my shoulder, and leave.

However, Meng Zu did not do that. After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "It's not impossible to take them with us."

"What way?"

"Pay more!" Meng Zu said.

"I'm taking you back because I accepted a mission. Completing the mission is my priority. If they're willing to hire me, then I can take them with us too." Meng Zu spread his hands.

Sam hurriedly said, "All right, they'll definitely hire you."

"Move aside. You won't wake them up like that." Meng Zu pulled Sam away, then slapped each of the three people across the face.

Seeing Meng Zu's method of waking people, Sam immediately understood why his own face hurt so much. He quickly rubbed his face hard.

"Ah!!!"

Meng Zu's method was rough, but it worked well. Brian, Anna, and Amy immediately woke up from the pain.

"Vampire!!!"

Seeing that the three of them reacted exactly like Sam had when he first woke up, Meng Zu was speechless. He said to Sam, "You explain it to them."

While Sam explained what had happened to the three of them, Meng Zu examined the other two women and one man lying unconscious on the ground. Unlike Sam and the other four, who were seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds, these three were adults. One woman was in her forties, while the other man and woman looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

As Meng Zu studied them carefully, his brow slowly furrowed. Something about these three felt wrong, but he could not put his finger on what it was.

By then, Sam and the other three had finished talking. The burly Brian stepped forward and said to Meng Zu, "The three of us don't need your protection. We can leave on our own."

Meng Zu stared at him coldly.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" Meng Zu sneered. Even though the four of them had spoken quietly in such a small space, he had heard every word clearly.

Even if he had not heard their conversation, Meng Zu could see through Brian's plan at a glance. "You can follow me when I take Sam out if you want, but if danger comes, I won't care about any of you. If Sam makes a fuss, I'll knock him out and carry him back. I'll still complete the mission."

Glancing at Sam, who was too embarrassed to meet his eyes, Meng Zu continued to Brian and the other two, "Believe me, the road back definitely won't be peaceful. But you can gamble on your luck and see whether the goddess of fortune is watching over you today."

Hearing that, the three of them looked somewhat panicked. Anna spoke up directly. "Mr. Meng Zu, I want to hire you to take me out of here. How much will it cost?"

Anna. Nice name. She sounded like a rich girl. "The same as Sam. Fifty thousand dollars."

"Fine. As long as you get me home safely, my parents will pay you fifty thousand dollars."

At that moment, Anna's hiring mission appeared in the system. However, its Contract Points value was eighty, a full thirty points higher than Sam's mission.

Meng Zu understood that the extra thirty points were because of Mary Shaw. Still, it did not matter. It was only five o'clock, and there was still an hour before dark—more than enough time to leave Ravensfair.

After Anna made her decision, Amy followed suit. "I-I want to hire you too. Once I get home, my parents will also pay you fifty thousand dollars."

Meng Zu nodded in agreement. Although no contract had been signed, he was not worried about whether they could pay fifty thousand dollars. Sam and his friends were high school students who would not graduate until next year. The fact that they could travel during their vacation already showed that their families were well-off. High school students from ordinary families usually chose to work during breaks to earn spending money.

As for them refusing to pay after the mission was complete, Meng Zu could only wish them luck. He had met several employers like that before. Other than two who later paid him what they owed, the rest were still sleeping at the bottom of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Now only Brian remained. Meng Zu stared directly at him. So, kid, what's your decision?

Seeing Anna and Amy switch sides so quickly, Brian felt isolated and helpless. He said quietly, "Then I'll hire you too. My parents will pay you fifty thousand dollars once I get home."

Meng Zu nodded and agreed. Refuse? What a joke. These were Contract Points. Each of the three was worth eighty Contract Points—every one of them was worth an Exploding Wolf Gang.

He had never expected that a fifty-Contract-Point missing-person mission would turn into a mission worth an additional two hundred and ninety Contract Points. That was nearly as much as he had earned from two months of missions before.

"All right, let's go now." Meng Zu was about to lead the four of them away.

"Wait, what about these three?" Sam asked, pointing at the three unconscious people on the ground.

"What do they have to do with us? Let's go. It's already five o'clock. There's only an hour before dark, and we need to leave before then."

Those three gave Meng Zu an unsettling feeling. With two hundred and ninety Contract Points waiting for him, it was safer not to get involved with them.

"Shouldn't we wake them up? It isn't safe here."

"Yeah."

The four of them chimed in one after another, leaving Meng Zu helpless. They made it look like they were the good people while he was the bad guy.

"Fine, but let's be clear first. If they want to follow us, they can. But if we encounter danger, I'll only protect you four. I won't lift a finger for those three."

Anna was about to step forward to wake them when Sam beat her to it and volunteered, "I'll wake them."

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Sam looked excited as he delivered three hard slaps to their faces. Then he stood up, baring his teeth as he vigorously rubbed his right hand. It hurt!

"Who are you people?" The three woke from the pain and asked anxiously when they saw Meng Zu and the other four.

"They were brought here by someone, just like you. I was hired to rescue them. Who are you, and how did you get here?" Meng Zu said, pointing at Sam and the others.

"My name is Jamie. This is my wife, Lisa, and this is my stepmother, Ella." Jamie rubbed his face as he introduced the three of them to Meng Zu. "The three of us were ice fishing on a river when four men suddenly appeared and knocked us unconscious. We only just woke up."

"Where are you from?"

"We live in Sault Ste. Marie."

"We're leaving here. Do you want to come with us?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, right. When we leave, all of you need to cover your mouths. No matter what strange things you see, you absolutely cannot scream." After thinking it over, Meng Zu warned them. Even though it was not dark yet, this was still Mary Shaw's territory.

"Why?" Sam asked curiously.

"Don't ask. It's for your own good. Remember what I said—if you scream, you could be in serious trouble." Meng Zu did not mention Mary Shaw, lest he make them even more afraid.

"Here. You two put these on. If anything gets close to you, hit it as hard as you can." Meng Zu removed the Tiger Knuckles from his left hand along with another set and handed them to the burly Brian and Sam. With these, at least the two of them had a way to fight back.