Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

the next day.

Old Sailors Bar

Fourth floor.

Cyril sat in his leather swivel chair with a gloomy expression.

He interlaced his fingers, propped his chin up, and stared fiercely at the people kneeling in front of him.

The atmosphere in the room was so oppressive.

The kneeling men felt weak under Cyril's gaze, their heads bowed, not daring to breathe.

"So you still haven't found Bob."

Cyril spoke slowly, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger.

Faced with Cyril's questioning, the group could only hang their heads and stare at the wool carpet spread on the floor.

Their backs were soaked with cold sweat from fright.

My jaw was chattering incessantly.

Cyril snapped his fingers, and Walter, who was standing to the side, stepped forward and respectfully lit a cigar for him.

As the smoke, mingled with the aroma of nuts, filled the room, Cyril walked up to one of the men and looked down at him.

The man was trembling all over, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Cyril nudged the man's arm with the tip of his shoe, then said with considerable dissatisfaction, "What else can I say? You can't even keep an eye on an old geezer, what use are you to me?"

Cyril didn't want to say anything more. He sat back down, turned his chair around, and turned his back to the group, no longer looking at them.

He waved his hand and casually said, "Take care of it all."

These words immediately turned the people kneeling on the ground pale with fright.

They kept begging Cyril for mercy, hoping he would let them go.

"Boss, I have a wife and children, I have a family! Please, boss, have mercy on me!"

"We really have no idea where Mr. Bob went!"

"Boss, please give us another chance! Just one more time! We will definitely find that old bastard."

No matter how much those people shouted, all they got in return was a black cloth bag and a rope as thick as a finger.

In the blink of an eye, the group was bound hand and foot.

The thugs dragged the men out like dead pigs, closed the door, and the sounds of their cries still echoed in the room.

boom!boom!boom……

With several gunshots, those people died unwillingly in the store.

Looking at everything before him, Walter remained expressionless, but in his heart he felt as if he were walking a tightrope high in the sky, as if he would fall into an abyss at any moment.

He knew that the people who had died these days were actually dying because of him.

After all, if he hadn't deliberately revealed Arthur's whereabouts, Arthur might not have died, and Cyril might not be in the state he is now.

Walter had actually considered telling Cyril the truth.

Cyril was in a fit of anger at the time, so he didn't dare to say it directly.

He wanted to wait until Cyril calmed down before saying anything.

But he never expected that Cyril would ruthlessly kill his former subordinates overnight.

Looking at the corpses lying in front of him, Walter felt as if he were seeing his own future.

So he dared not say it.

Because he was afraid of dying.

People can be so selfish sometimes. Even if it's a mistake they made, they'd rather let others suffer undeservedly than stand up for themselves.

Walter was such a contradictory man.

On the one hand, he was brave in public battles, and in the fight for territory, he often did not hesitate to risk his life.

He often won battle after battle by relying on this fearless courage.

On the other hand, he was also like a coward, afraid that Cyril would take his anger out on him, and would rather watch his innocent subordinates die tragically under Cyril's suspicion than tell the truth.

"Walter."

Just as Walter was suffering from inner turmoil, Cyril suddenly called out to him.

"exist."

Walter regained his composure and stood up straight, though his eyes showed a hint of insecurity.

"Do you think I went too far?" Cyril suddenly asked a strange question.

Walter pondered for a moment, then spoke cautiously, "I thought... the boss had his own reasons."

"Considerations?" Cyril smiled.

Walter stared at Cyril's smile, stunned.

In a daze, he seemed to see a trace of pity in Cyril's smile.

"I don't want to kill anyone."

Cyril said.

"I'm killing people now, but it's actually to save you, to save those of you who are truly loyal to me."

"You know, I want to go higher, I want to give you a better life. So I have to take a risky step, I have to gamble all the chips I've earned in the first half of my life."

"If Arthur had actually handed me the complete ledger, I would have been the Brotherhood's greatest contributor, but he's dead!"

Every time Arthur's death was mentioned, Cyril would grit his teeth and emphasize the last part of his sentence, as if he were squeezing the words out from between his teeth with his tongue.

"Now that Arthur is dead, the remaining ledgers are nowhere to be found. The Black Sails are not to be trifled with; they will likely find out everything soon. At that time, the Brotherhood will use me as a pawn and throw me out to appease the Black Sails' anger."

As he spoke, Cyril patted Walter's broad shoulder heavily.

His eyes held a complex mix of emotions at that moment.

"Listen, we've known each other since we were kids. You followed me to fight for my territory. You're the person I trust the most."

The person I trust most...

Upon hearing this, Walter's heart skipped a beat.

He looked down at Cyril's arm around his shoulder.

An inexplicable feeling welled up in Walter's heart, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But then Cyril walked away, his back to him.

"So, as the person I trust most, I want you to keep an eye on Tommy and Violet for me."

Upon hearing Tommy's name, Walter suddenly shut his mouth.

His gaze toward Cyril was full of incomprehension.

"Boss, Tommy has been with you for many years," Walter reminded him.

Cyril, however, didn't care at all.

He turned his head and explained to Walter with feigned profundity, "Sometimes, you just can't trust those so-called old friends. Old friends are often the ones who hurt you the most."

Walter remained silent.

"Alright, you can leave now."

Cyril, with his back to Walter, gave him the order to leave.

Walter had no choice but to turn and leave.

He went down the stairs and, as he passed the third floor, heard a crying sound.

The crying sounded extremely pitiful.

He looked in the direction from which the crying was coming.

Then I saw Ms. Violet standing in the corridor, tugging at the sleeve of one of the thugs, and acting like a shrew, saying that she had done nothing wrong. She demanded to see Cyril, and even the higher-ups of the Brotherhood.

But the thugs ignored Violet expressionlessly, remaining unmoved no matter how much she threw a tantrum.

Walter shook his head upon seeing this and went straight down to the first floor.

The bar's main hall was deserted because old Bob was gone, the waiters were unattended, and now even the cleaning staff had disappeared.

He walked to the bar, took a bottle of rum, unscrewed the cap, and drank it straight from the bottle.

The strong liquor went down his throat, and Walter felt dizzy; he finally didn't have to think about anything anymore.

While Walter was drowning his sorrows in alcohol, Gisele was washing dishes in the kitchen.

The bar was in chaos, and many places were short-staffed, so Giselle was released.

Fortunately, thanks to Lucy's help, Giselle, though locked in a dark room, came out with a bit more color in her face.

"I don't think Lucy will agree."

Giselle was washing the dishes, and a young man was standing next to her.

Lyndon neatly stacked the washed dishes.

He wiped the water off his hands with a dry cloth.

Lyndon looked tenderly at Giselle beside him and said softly, "I just hope you'll give it a try."

"But……"

Giselle still had some hesitation in her heart.

Lyndon patiently explained to Giselle, "Your sister Lucy isn't a bad person, and you have a good relationship with her. I believe she will listen to your advice seriously."

"Besides, you've seen the state of the bar right now; people are dying every day. This bar won't last much longer. What will happen to your sister Lucy then?"

"So you're not hurting your sister Lucy, you're helping her, helping her get off this sinking ship, aren't you?"

Lyndon spoke so eloquently that Giselle was easily convinced.

Lucy had taken good care of her before, so she didn't want anything to happen to Lucy.

Furthermore, she believed that Lyndon was a good person, and a good person wouldn't harm her or Lucy.

"Okay! I'll give it a try!"

Giselle agreed to Lyndon's request.

Upon hearing this, Lyndon patted Giselle's head with satisfaction.

"As long as your sister Lucy says she's willing to help, I'll talk to her about the rest."

"However, you must be careful not to let others overhear."

Lyndon gave Gisele a serious reminder.

"I will."

……

That evening, Lucy got dressed and came out of Cyril's room.

Her face was covered in wounds, her fair skin was bruised and swollen, and there was a tooth mark on her shoulder.

The teeth marks were very deep, and even bled.

Lucy glared at the house with a look of disdain.

She couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath.

"dog!"

Cyril enjoyed torturing women in bed, deriving a sense of conquest from it.

Lucy returned to her own room.

Lucy has her own private shower room here.

Exhausted, Lucy turned on the tap and let the cold water pour over her from head to toe.

After washing herself clean, Lucy put on a bathrobe, sat on the bed, and used a clean towel to dry her long golden hair little by little.

The room smelled of Lucy's favorite perfume.

After drying her hair, Lucy threw the towel on the ground, rolled up the sleeves of her bathrobe, and revealed the injury on her hand.

Suddenly, Lucy felt a sense of disgust towards her current life.

dong dong dong.

Just then, there was a knock on Lucy's door.

"Who?"

Lucy fastened the belt of her bathrobe, slipped on her slippers, and walked to the door.

When I opened the door, I saw Gisele standing there, holding a plate of fruit.

Giselle smiled and held up the fruit in front of Lucy: "Sister Lucy, I washed some fruit and brought it to you today."

Lucy looked at the fresh cherries on the plate, her red lips slightly upturned.

"Thank you, please don't stand outside, come in."

Lucy spoke in a sweet, coquettish tone, and she stepped aside to invite Giselle into the house.

Giselle came in carrying fruit.

She placed the fruit plate on the table, and looking at the clean decor of the room, she hesitated to sit down.

So Gisele just stood there.

"Sit down, what are you afraid of?"

Lucy smiled slightly, placed her slender fingers on Giselle's shoulder, and pressed her down on the bed.

"I... I'm afraid of getting your bed dirty."

Giselle pressed the soft mattress beneath her and said timidly.

Lucy tossed her still-damp hair, picked up a cherry with her fingertips, and put it in her mouth.

With her silver teeth biting into the cherry, Lucy applied a little force, and the tender, juicy flesh burst open, filling her lips and teeth with red juice.

Lucy spat out the fruit pit from her mouth and looked at Giselle, asking, "You never used to bring me fruit like this. So, is something wrong?"

Giselle waved her hand: "No, Lucy. I just wanted to thank you for helping me before, I simply wanted to be kind to you!"

Giselle spoke with heartfelt sincerity, her eyes sparkling with genuine honesty.

Lucy covered her mouth and chuckled. She tapped Giselle's nose with her fingertip and said with a smile, "Such a sweet talker, and you still say it's nothing! Tell me, if there's anything I can do to help, I'll try my best."

As she spoke, Lucy sat down next to Giselle and took her hand.

Because Giselle always did manual labor, her hands had many cracks.

Suddenly, Giselle lowered her head.

She sobbed a few times, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Sister Lucy!"

Giselle's scream was heart-wrenching.

Even Lucy, who was most adept at putting on airs in front of guests, was taken aback by Giselle's appearance and didn't know what to do.

Before Lucy could react, Giselle suddenly threw herself into her arms, her tears soaking her chest.

Lucy was at a loss; all she could do was pat Giselle on the back and gently comfort her.

"Sister Lucy, I'm so scared! The boss has been killing people, a lot of people. Now, every time I close my eyes, all I see are corpses."

Giselle nestled in Lucy's ample bosom, pouring out her anxieties.

"It's okay, it's okay, things will get better."

"No!"

Giselle suddenly sat up straight and said to Lucy with a serious expression, "Lucy, now that Kyle is dead, Bob has run away, the bar is practically empty, and the owner is only focused on killing people, do you think things will get better?"

Faced with Giselle's question, Lucy didn't know how to answer.

She could only throw the question back at Giselle.

"If you don't believe in the future, what can you believe in?"

"Trust in yourself!" Giselle said.

She grabbed Lucy's hand suddenly and said to her with utmost seriousness, "Let's run!"

run?

Lucy gave a bitter laugh: "How can we run? Cyril treats us like his own property. We're both trapped here, where can we go?"

"If I could run, I'd probably be the first person to run away from this store."

Lucy shook her head, almost in despair, and said, "There's no way to escape."

"No! We can escape!"

Seeing that Lucy was indeed considering leaving, Giselle pressed her advantage, saying, "If old Bob can run away at his age, so can we! Besides, I have a way!"

Lucy became interested upon hearing this.

"What method?"

Giselle deliberately kept Lucy in suspense, which made Lucy impatient. She quickly shook Giselle's hand and asked, "Tell me! You're making me so anxious!"

Seeing that Lucy's appetite had been completely whetted, Giselle then told Lucy the solution.

"It's Lynn! Lynn says he has a way to help us get out of here!"

"Lynn?" Lucy asked in surprise, the image of that young man immediately flashing into her mind. "Can he really do it?"

Lucy couldn't help but express her doubts.

"He said he had a way, and he even promised to take me home. Lucy, Lynn said if you're willing to trust him, go find him. You can just listen to what he has to say; there's no harm in it. But Lucy, if you don't go, do you really want to stay in this bar forever? Don't you want to see the outside world?"

The outside world...

Lucy gazed out the window at the foggy city in the night.

The hazy streets stretched all the way to the darkness on the horizon.

Since coming to this bar, Lucy has almost forgotten what the outside world looks like.

So many years have passed, she has almost forgotten how she came to this bar in the first place.

All she remembers is spending day and night in that bar.

At the beginning, she was just like Gisele is now; she refused to back down, had her own dignity, and was unwilling to humiliate herself.

After being beaten so many times, she gradually began to give up her so-called dignity.

At that time, dignity was less important to her than a hot loaf of bread.

At least she can fill her stomach.

People always have an inexplicable obsession with what they have lost.

Lucy previously sacrificed her dignity and freedom to choose to survive, but now she has a chance to regain what she lost.

The appeal is enormous.

Lucy thought about it for a long time.

Finally, she made a decision.

"Could you introduce me to Lynn?"