A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 268 Jiahao in Another World

Back in the casino lobby, after asking a waiter, Quinn went to find Chaldale. She was in the Holy Spirit Prayer Room prepared for White Cult followers. Quinn initially thought his girlfriend had come to the casino to repent for skipping class, but as he entered the wooden door of the prayer room, he realized something was amiss.

Shelby doesn't hold a formal position within Golden Wind, but Ike's bodyguards and other gang members who have met Quinn know that this seemingly ordinary guy is a rising star in the gang, highly trusted by the boss. There are many like him who receive a salary without a formal position; some are arcanists, while others are hired as spies—essentially superhumans—all considered powerful figures by ordinary members and not to be trifled with.

Quinn ordered his men to protect his girlfriend, and they obeyed. Inside the prayer room, two burly, heavily tattooed thugs from the Western Continent stood guard at the door, while Chaldale sat in the front row, directly below the oil painting of the goddess.

However, sitting abruptly next to the girl was a fat man who kept talking.

“Oh, Miss Branson, you are even more beautiful than you appear in the newspapers. Those damned photographers can't even capture a fraction of your beauty in their pictures, yet they still haunt my dreams like a drunkard, or a drowning man, the more I struggle, the deeper I go—”

Quinn chuckled. What was this guy talking about?

His accent was peculiar, possessing a kind of unsophisticated, forced imitation of a Beijing accent—a style so pretentious that, aside from affected nobles, no one else would incorporate poetry into their everyday speech. The problem was, he was clearly not a nobleman; Southern Continent nobles weren't that dark-skinned, yet he seemed too pale for the Western Continent, reminding Quinn of Indian Brahmins with their fairer, browner skin.
This skin color is not the mainstream in Temuran; some nobles in the Western Continent have this appearance.

Xia Dai'er ignored him, closed her eyes and prayed, her prayers mostly for the fat man to get lost.

It was really unlucky for her to be recognized. Although the air conditioning in the casino was strong, Quinn had dressed her up in a really thick outfit. She wanted to find a secluded place to take off her hat and get some fresh air, so she chose the prayer room, only to run into this guy.

Quinn glanced at the two Golden Wind henchmen at the door and asked curiously, "Who are these?"

Logically speaking, since he had given prior instructions, these two people would not have allowed anyone to come in, much less allow Xia Dai'er to be harassed.

Unless they know each other, and the fat man inside is no ordinary person.

The two thugs exchanged a glance, unsure how to respond.

They didn't know the fat man's identity, but they often saw him around the boss. Despite his young age, he was extremely generous and often treated his brothers to lavish parties. Although he was a newcomer who had only appeared in the last few months, he was quite popular.

“...Arom.” He had no choice but to tell Quinn the fat man's name, adding, “He seems to be the boss's underling. He didn't do anything out of line, so…”

So I didn't stop them.

Although they hadn't expected that the short, silent woman in a suit and hat in the sweltering summer heat would turn out to be a beauty, it wasn't a big deal to the two thugs.

The oil painting of the goddess, like her statue, is faceless, its face radiating holy light. This painting, like the original statue in the monastery, exudes a supreme beauty, clearly an authentic piece from the White Church. Two windows open on either side, letting in light, should have created a harmonious scene of believers praying, but this pretentious fat man has largely ruined it.

Seeing that Chaldale was ignoring him, Arom got a little annoyed. He dropped his well-mannered act and raised his voice considerably: "Miss Branson, why did you come alone? How about I take you to play a couple of games?"

Xia Dai'er finally opened her eyes, lowered her clasped hands, and said irritably, "You've made a mistake. I'm not going."

"Hey, what you're saying—it's just for fun."

"I don't gamble."

"No gambling?"

Arom's gaze fell on the doll in the girl's arms, a fluffy pink pig. Quinn had tried to catch it for her, spending a full 100 silver coins without success, and finally, in a fit of anger, had someone open the cabinet and take it out.

This pink pig isn't the most valuable plush toy in the claw machine, but it's something both of them like, and it was a gift from Quinn. Xia Dai'er is planning to give the pig a pillow, making it the centerpiece of the bedside doll collection.

Unexpectedly, the fat man suddenly reached out rudely, trying to snatch the pig away.

Xia Dai'er quickly stepped aside, glaring at him with displeasure.

"Still not gambling? Didn't you win this from the claw machine? Hey!" Arom imitated Ike crossing his legs, but unfortunately, he only had the form, not the spirit. He didn't have any of the boss's nonchalant air. Instead, his posture made him look rather sleazy.

"I'll take you to catch one! See that biggest red dragon plushie? It's worth 100 gold pounds! If I catch one within ten tries, I'll give it to you—and how about we have dinner together tonight?"

Xia Dai'er wondered if this pig-headed man had something wrong with his head.

The young lady's good temper was only for Quinn's benefit. When faced with such a rude guy, her spoiled and willful personality would be revealed without a doubt. She raised her eyebrows and said coldly, "What kind of logic is that? Why should I have to eat with you just because you grabbed a doll?"

Arom smiled confidently.

“I—oh no, for now I should use ‘I’—I won’t tell you my true identity right now!” he said, his voice punctuated by pauses and agitations, as if he had no reason to be excited. “But you! Branson’s daughter, you should be grateful to the reporters and newspapers for letting me know you.”

The fat man suddenly stood up, a resolute determination in his eyes, and gazed affectionately at Xia Dai'er—

"In the year 1429 of the Divine Calendar, the most beautiful woman in the Southern Continent rejected the love of a boy who was then a prince, waiting for him to become king! Will Yu Gongxi slump into her chair, weeping uncontrollably? At this moment, you should think: if you can be loved by the future king, you must win everything. Now the boy is right before you; you must consider whether this is your only chance in this lifetime—"

Xia Dai'er was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

After a long while, she rolled her eyes.

"This stinking country bumpkin has come to Ishvale to beg for food, and he calls himself the King?"

Arom's face instantly turned bright red.

His adolescence was spent in the dark, gloomy sewers. Although he had tasted women, they were all carefully selected playthings by the cabinet ministers of the exiled government to amuse the young prince. He considered his superior womanizing skills to be like flirting before visiting a prostitute; he believed he could succeed no matter how he tried.

After being brought to the city by Ike, he was still able to act arrogantly under the protection of the Golden Wind. However, the poor women and prostitutes in Seville were ultimately uninteresting, so he couldn't help but fantasize about the glamorous women in Eastville, feeling that they were the playthings worthy of his status.

Among them, the one who pleased him the most was Cheryl, the daughter of the richest man in Eswell, who was known as the Pearl of Eswell. He met her through a report on a jewelry store robbery and was immediately captivated by her beauty. He often had some lewd fantasies, so much so that the gap between his fantasies and reality brought about by the mockery at this moment was no less than falling from heaven to hell.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "You mere commoner, don't push your luck—"

"A commoner? What is your status?" Xia Dai'er asked with amusement.

"Me!! Me!!"

Arrom forced himself to suppress the thought of saying "I am Prince Yangen," which would be tantamount to publicly declaring to everyone in the street that he was an idiot. This feeling of being able to be arrogant but not being able to show it made him want to vomit blood.

“I am Arom.” He could only finish the sentence in this sullen tone.

"Oh, I've never heard of you. I'm very unhappy to meet you." Xia Dai'er got up and left.

"Hey, stop!"

Xia Dai'er's dismissive attitude stung his fragile pride, and he suddenly reached out to grab the girl's shoulder.

In truth, Arom hadn't figured out what he was planning to do, but with the protection of his gang friends, he secretly stole a woman once, without Ike even knowing. He instinctively succumbed to his terrible temper—

Suddenly, a hand darted in, clamping down on Chaldale's hand like an iron clamp, rendering Arom unable to move.

He was startled and then noticed a guy who looked to be in his thirties or forties standing behind him, seemingly invisible like a ghost!
"The boss's underling?" the man asked expressionlessly.

"What are you doing?"

Arom withdrew his hand, startled, and took a step back.

"Don't cause trouble for your eldest son," he said, as if scolding a child.

Seeing Quinn return, Chaldie's icy expression melted, but she still huffed, "Why are you so late? I was harassed, it's all your fault!" "Who told you to take your hat off?"

Although both were spoken in an angry tone, the contrast with before was so obvious that it couldn't be more obvious. Before, it was disdain, but now it's flirting.

Quinn stood behind her, rolled up her long pink hair again and hid it in her hat, then put on large sunglasses, making it impossible to tell who she was.

But there are still some things that can be discerned.

For example, when this guy was styling Xia Dai'er's hair, the girl unconsciously leaned back, displaying an incredibly intimate and submissive gesture. Her hand even licked his palm with her little tongue as it passed in front of her, before immediately pulling it back – pure and innocent bliss at the top of the charts.
Arom was stunned. Who turned my goddess into this?
After putting on their hats, the two left hand in hand, never uttering another word to Arom.

"Hey"

"Hey--"

He roared and took a step forward. Ike was one thing, but since you call him 'boss,' you must be a gangster, right? What's with your arrogance?
His mind went blank with rage, and when he came to his senses, he had already pulled out the dagger hidden behind his clothes and stabbed it hard into Quinn's back!

The two thugs outside the door saw this scene and were about to shout for the fat man to stop when their vision blurred and the fat man screamed and fell to the ground. The dagger was stuck in his thigh, and blood was flowing freely!

"Kids shouldn't play with knives." Quinn sighed without turning his head, "How did Golden Wind end up with such an idiot?"

The two thugs watched Quinn leave, not daring to stop him.

Stop him? He didn't even see the knife-grabbing maneuver clearly. Do you want to die?
"Even my father has never hit me!!"

In the dark underground level of the casino, looking at the boy with a white bandage wrapped around his thigh, cursing and howling, even Ike, who remained unmoved when Starlight was stolen, had a slight twitch on his cheek.

After hearing his subordinates' report, he didn't immediately inquire about Arom's injuries, but instead asked, "You didn't even see how he disarmed him?"

Both of them shook their heads.

Ike fell into deep thought.

Those who can operate within the casino are among the best in Golden Wind. While not as powerful as superhumans, they might not lose even to soldiers in a one-on-one fight. Yet, the two couldn't even see each other's movements as they tried to disarm each other.
"Did Shelby say anything?" Ike asked.

"No."

"What about others?"

"He's still gambling at the casino." The person who answered paused and said hesitantly, "He got 1000 gold pounds in chips from the accountant, saying he'd put them with you and probably wouldn't spend them all soon. I think he gambles without any strategy, just trying to make that woman happy."

Ike closed his eyes wearily.

"Damn, he's so vengeful. He's like a dog, can't stand the slightest threat. It was just a mention of his woman, he didn't really intend to do anything."

The subordinates didn't hear what their boss was muttering.

"Boss, what should we do now?"

"What do you mean, what to do? Let him play. If it's not enough, add another 500. If it's still not enough, close the casino and tell the customers that there's a typhoon and they have to close."

The men understood; Shelby held a higher position than the chubby guy among the boss's men.

"Get out, everyone, and close the door."

After everyone left, only Ike and Arom remained in the huge casino.

He was still wailing, but after wailing for a long time, Ike paid no attention to him, and his voice gradually weakened.

Ike sat down across from Arom, lit a cigar, and exhaled smoke into Arom's face, a decadent smell.

"Do you know who that woman is?" he asked.

".Chadel Branson".

"So you know she's the eldest daughter of the Branson family, the daughter of the city's richest man, and the sister of Congressman Elon?"

"...Um." Arom's voice trailed off, betraying his guilt. He tried to cover it up, saying, "I wasn't thinking that much about it...uh, I didn't intend to..."

"No plans?" Ike's eyes spun around him. "Then why did you provoke Shelby?"

“He’s so rude!” Arom muttered. “How dare a gangster’s lackey be so intimate with Miss Branson?”

"'A henchman of the mob?'"

"Uh, that's not what I meant. Ah—!!!!"

Arom's screams echoed throughout the boxing ring.

Ekko's expensive white leather shoes stepped on his stomach, and the red-hot end of his cigar was pressed directly against the dagger wound on Arom's thigh. Ekko's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion: "Even the dumbest old Thrall in Golden Wind could figure this out. Someone who can date a girl like this is no ordinary person."

He slowly twirled his cigar, the butt piercing Arom's wound inch by inch, sizzling like meat juice being fried on a hot plate. Arom's face had lost all trace of smugness; he had long been terrified by Ike and could only beg for mercy.

"I was wrong!! Godfather, I was wrong—"

"Wrong? If it weren't for his consideration for me, that knife would have pierced your leg artery, and you would be dead by now."

He released his grip, lifted his foot, and left the obese boy writhing in agony like a maggot.

"To save your life, you idiot, half of your cabinet will have to turn themselves in to the Academy and pay for the jewelry store and artificial arcane circuits you caused. And you almost lost the other half just now."

Ike sat down again and picked up another cigar. Arom shakily got up and lit the cigar for him with a lighter.

“You can’t be king like this, Arom.”

"Godfather... I, I..."

Ike did not offer any answers to the frustrated teenager.

He looked towards the doorway, where his men, who had gone out earlier, rushed back in.

"Boss, boss—"

"What is it now?" Ike frowned unhappily.

“Mr. Shelby, he, he…”

"His girlfriend got hit on again?"

"No, he killed someone in the hall!"

(End of this chapter)