Emily knew perfectly well that her gun was loaded. If she fired now, she could put a bullet straight through him.
But, but she didn't dare take the gamble. Before she came, the gang's higher-ups had warned her that this shop's owner was no ordinary man.
Now, seeing how utterly confident Zuo Ci looked, Emily was genuinely a little scared. Could he have already tampered with her gun?
Surely not...
Her nerves made Emily freeze for an instant, and that tiny hesitation gave Zuo Ci his opening.
With a thump, Zuo Ci punched Emily straight to the floor and snatched the gun from her hand.
"Idiot. Don't you know whether your own gun is loaded? You just believe whatever I say? Seriously."
As he spoke, Zuo Ci deftly removed the pistol's magazine. It was packed full of bullets.
Come on, he wasn't Yan Shuangying. How could saying there were no bullets actually make them disappear?
"You..."
Realizing she'd been fooled again, Emily was furious, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she was done for if she kept this up, so she abandoned any thought of fighting and turned to run out of the shop.
As long as she got outside, he wouldn't shoot if he wanted to keep his shop in business. Then she'd be safe.
As long as, as long as I can get there...
Bang!
Another dull impact rang out. At some point, the glass front door had been completely encased in sheet metal, and Emily ran headfirst into it without the slightest warning.
"Nice sound, huh? Must be a good head."
Watching a large bump rapidly swell on the dazed Emily's forehead, Zuo Ci grabbed her by the hair, dragged her over to his seat, and splashed a glass of ice water in her face.
"Talk. Who sent you here, and what did they send you to do? Surely you weren't actually here for a job."
"Cough, cough. Fuck you! I'm not telling you anything!"
Knowing she couldn't escape, Emily steeled herself and glared viciously at Zuo Ci, looking ready to face death-as though he were the bad guy here.
"No, there's no need for that. I'm not some freak who enjoys torturing people."
Her line gave Zuo Ci a strange sense of déjà vu, but he wasn't actually going to put her on a tiger bench or anything. He wasn't that merciful-no, that evil.
"You... what are you planning?"
The moment she heard that, Emily's defiance crumbled. Her eyes filled with terror, and even her voice trembled.
If Zuo Ci had named some gruesome torture he intended to use on her, Emily wouldn't have been quite so scared. If he could say it out loud, there was a good chance it was just a verbal threat.
But when Zuo Ci said something like that, the best outcome in gang circles was being chopped up and fed to the fish. How could Emily not be scared?
"Why are you so scared? I'm not actually going to kill you."
Oh no! He's going to make me wish I were dead!
Emily grew even more terrified, every hair on her body standing on end.
"I told you, I'm not into BDSM, okay? I'm not going to..."
Perhaps because all his attention was on Emily, Zuo Ci absentmindedly reached into his pocket without noticing what he was doing. He accidentally pulled out his modified Electric Rat, dropped it on the floor, and inadvertently triggered its switch.
Crackle, crackle.
Watching the electrical arcs repeatedly erupt from it on the floor, Emily and Zuo Ci fell silent.
"Uh, well, I'm actually a good person. Really."
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Please don't hurt me!"
A few minutes later, Emily had told Zuo Ci everything she knew, holding nothing back.
It was actually pretty simple. Ever since Zuo Ci had put all of Falcone's higher-ups through hell, their territory and operations had noticeably contracted. Their sworn rival, Maroni, noticed and launched an investigation.
Although they hadn't uncovered the details, they discovered that the whole affair was connected to Zuo Ci's shop. That was why they had sent Emily.
If Zuo Ci proved valuable, Emily was to do everything she could to talk him into joining their organization. She absolutely couldn't let him slip away.
If he refused to cooperate, there was no need for a direct confrontation. Instead, Emily was to tamper with Zuo Ci's merchandise when he wasn't looking.
Afterward, they would send people over to buy the tampered merchandise and use it to cause a few accidents.
Finally, they would arrange for the victims to jointly sue Zuo Ci, using the law to drive him into bankruptcy, fair and square.
Then Maroni would very kindly extend a helping hand to get him through his difficulties, and everything would work out smoothly.
Of course, all of this depended on Zuo Ci being useful. If he wasn't, Emily could deal with him however she pleased.
After hearing the entire plan, Zuo Ci had only one question: what genius had cooked up this brilliant scheme? A brainless troll?
No wonder they were eternally stuck in second place. With all these absurd plans, it'd be a miracle if they ever came out on top.
"So they never even considered that I might find out and retaliate? Or that they might push me too far and the whole world would blow up? Heh. This world really is one giant amateur operation."
Zuo Ci was utterly speechless. He didn't know whether throwing their weight around had made these gangsters' brains degenerate or what, but this plan was unbelievably idiotic.
Still, it didn't matter. Since they dared come after him, they'd better be ready for him to kill them.
"Um... well, I've told you everything I know. Could you please let me go now?"
Slumped on the floor, Emily wore an utterly fawning expression. She was genuinely terrified that Zuo Ci would dispose of her now that she'd served her purpose, killing her while no one was around.
"Oh, sure. Once we settle the bill, you can leave."
Hearing Zuo Ci say he'd let her go, Emily instantly breathed a sigh of relief. But what did he mean by settling the bill? Had she bought anything here?
"Given your misconduct, you need to compensate me for medical expenses, emotional distress, property damage, cleaning, lost working time, and various other costs, totaling ten thousand dollars."
Zuo Ci rattled off a long list of charges as smoothly as someone reciting a menu, leaving Emily dumbfounded.
"Wait, why don't I remember doing any of that?"
"Now, now, now. You can't go dodging your debts. Think about it. I was supposed to be hiring a cashier today, and you came here to cause trouble. Didn't that hold up my work and cause me emotional distress? Shouldn't you compensate me for emotional distress and lost working time?"
"But I came during your break."
"See? That's even worse. You even stole my break time. Are you even human?"
Emily's eyes widened. Wait, that counts too?
"Also, you made a mess here after I worked so hard to clean the place. Now I have to clean it all over again. Shouldn't you cover the cleaning costs? And you damaged my fixtures. Asking for a little compensation for property damage isn't unreasonable, right?"
As he spoke, Zuo Ci pointed to a teeny, tiny, practically invisible scratch on the counter.
Emily was even more dumbfounded. Wait, even that counts? And if I remember correctly, weren't you the one who accidentally scratched it?
"B-but the medical expenses..."
As Emily spoke, she pointed at the enormous bump on her head, which made her look like the God of Longevity. Her meaning was clear: Why don't you open your damn eyes and see which of us should be paying the other's medical bills?
"Trying to weasel out of it again? Who told you I wasn't hurt? Look, the wound is right... ah, give me a moment."
After looking himself up and down and finding that he really didn't seem to have any wounds, Zuo Ci simply took a red pen from the counter and drew a line on his index finger.
"There, see? That's a wound. Look how bloody it is. Terrifying, isn't it?"
Emily's eyes were red now. You need a conscience! A conscience! How can you do this and live with yourself?
"All this talking has dried my mouth out, so I'll need to add a throat-moistening fee. Nothing much, just two thousand.
"All right, pay up. Cash or card?"
Before you continue