CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 48: DEBTS MUST BE REPAID — THAT’S ONLY RIGHT

The setting sun casts a red shadow.

For the children on campus, today is a special day. To commemorate the children who suffered in that war, the government has designated this day every year as Seedling Day.

On this day every year, the teachers at school take them to participate in fun fairs, talent shows, and various parent-child interactive games, allowing these children to freely show their innocent side today.

As school lets out, the school gate is already surrounded by all sorts of vendors, the sound of hawking incessantly heard. Children come out running, eager to share the joys of their day with the parents who have been waiting at the gate for a long time.

"Mom, how did my cutting turn out? The teacher and classmates all praised me."

"You did a great job..."

In a small noodle shop by the street, a little girl quietly watched this scene, saw the woman at the school gate pick up her daughter, spin her around in the air, and let out a bell-like laugh.

It’s an ordinary sight, yet the little girl watched very intently and carefully.

Not until the mother and daughter walked away did the little girl lower her head, sitting on the steps with legs hugged, swaying as she held a small twig, drawing white marks on the ground.

The white marks slowly outlined, interconnected, gradually taking shape and form against the shadow of the greenleaf.

A child’s drawing, with simple, naive lines.

In the drawing, a girl carrying a little girl with ears walks slowly, slowly...

"Anya, if you don’t eat now, it’ll get cold," Xu Xiaoyou said.

Anya’s ears moved, she got up, reluctantly put down the twig in her hand, and returned to the girl’s side.

The girl and the little girl drawn on the ground were also blown into the air by the rising wind, as if they were finally heading into the distance.

Slurp slurp.

Anya held the bowl, her whole small face buried behind the big bowl, drinking the soup after finishing the noodles.

Xu Xiaoyou noticed that Anya had been somewhat downcast, although she didn’t show it on her face. In recent days of getting along, she could judge Anya’s mood by the arc of her ears’ movement and the angle they drooped.

Since being hit by Bai Youyou three days ago, Anya’s mood had been downcast, lingering till today.

Like a language button knocked out, during the day she silently followed behind her, at night followed the substitute to enhance attributes.

After a few days, Anya’s power and agility attribute increased to 30 and 45, mastering three skills, two active skills [Rapid Pounce][Bite], and a passive skill [Danger Perception].

Even though Anya was very diligent, training nearly every night until dawn, often ending up bruised and battered, Xu Xiaoyou still noticed that the speed at which her attributes increased seemed to slow down.

Anya’s talent in this aspect wasn’t very good; in those games with severely inflated values, some characters’ basic attributes were just a notch behind, which was unavoidable.

After all, it’s a crooked character card, Xu Xiaoyou didn’t have high expectations for Anya.

As long as she could help her through the difficult early stages, it would be enough.

As if hearing the bubbling thoughts in her mind, Anya suddenly tugged at her clothes.

"What’s wrong?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.

Anya didn’t speak, pointing towards a large tree in the distance.

A black car pulled up under the tree’s shadow, and a few lion silhouettes stepped out, heading toward the school gate.

"Finally here."

"It wasn’t a waste of time to wait in this place for three days."

"Time to go, Anya, it’s been so many days."

"The timing is right, the conditions are met."

Xu Xiaoyou stood up, took out her phone, and dialed a number.

"It’s time to claim this debt back."

...

In a long commercial vehicle, Deerman was dressed as usual, wearing a well-fitted brown suit and an exquisite, expensive wristwatch.

Only his face seemed much more haggard than before.

"BOSS, should we send someone to take care of Chen Yifeng?"

The scar-faced man at the driver’s seat gripped the steering wheel, observing Deerman’s direction through the rearview mirror.

"He knows a lot about us. In the security department, he’s like a ticking time bomb. If we leave him be..."

Mr. Hao said nothing, only leaning back in his seat. The comfortable, soft touch of the leather seat didn’t lessen the haggardness on his face one bit.

He looked at himself in the car window, then looked at a silhouette not far outside the car, his gaze subtly moved.

It was a boy, he also had a pair of deer antlers, happily skipping with classmates in front of a pond, looking carefree, like a small deer in the forest.

With a few more robust lion silhouettes appearing beside him, the boy’s classmates all fled frightened.

Only the boy raised his head, facing those fierce-looking lions, not only was he not scared, but he said innocently:

"Uncle Salo, and Uncle Qiao Si, why are you here today? I’m waiting for my mom."

The two lions exchanged a glance, a complex look in their eyes, scratching their heads not knowing how to begin with the boy.

After a long time, an old lion finally said:

"Your mom... won’t be coming anymore."

"Come with us."

Seeing the lions’ heavy expressions around him, even as naive as the boy was, he realized something.

He seemed to suddenly lose control, tears breaking forth, rushing out from the middle of the lions, towards the big road.

Rushing towards the slums, towards the place he called home.

The lions saw this and were thrown into chaos, quickly chasing after him.

"BOSS!" The scar-faced man inside the car looked anxious.

"Go ahead, don’t hurt him," said Mr. Hao. "And regarding Chen Yifeng, handle it properly."

"After all, he was an old friend of mine..."

"Remember to give proper compensation to his wife and children, handle things swiftly, don’t leave any evidence."

The scar-faced man nodded silently after a pause, then opened the door and left.

The car door closed, leaving him alone.

The setting sun cast his oblique shadow, emphasizing his loneliness.

He had done countless wrong things in his life, stepping onto this dark path meant walking over countless bones.

He’d done too many backstabbing things.

Those friends he once promised to explore the world with were either betrayed by him or became stepping stones on his path.

Just like that moment, with a single sentence, he had decided the fate of his last old friend in this world.

Who can really tell whether making an old fox turn himself in was a debt of human feelings or a threat?

He was no longer the spirited young man who had just walked out of the slums, time had left too many marks on him.

Counting the sins he had committed was something only a loser would do.

He never examined himself, everything in his eyes was merely a necessary means to reach the top.

That woman indeed shattered his pride and confidence, but he asked himself, after so many years, how much remorse did he truly have left for her?

He also couldn’t tell whether bringing back the woman’s son was compensation for her, or just his plan to groom a successor in advance.

Even though he made those lions submit through various ruthless means, he was keenly aware of how many eyed his current position covetously.

A phone call pulled him back from his thoughts.

Answering the call, a flippant, playful voice came through: "Mr. Hao, do you remember? You owe us a loan from Cosmic Heavy Industries."

"That loan is near its repayment deadline."

"I can’t churn up the funds, let’s talk next month," he said.

Mr. Hao hung up the phone.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again, it was the same number from before.

"I said! Can’t churn up the funds, next month then..."

Just as he answered, with some impatience in his voice, someone gently knocked on the car window.

A blonde girl was suddenly standing before the window, draped in a suit, holding her position of receiving the call. Like a checkmate on a chessboard, she smiled faintly.

This time, that flippant, playful voice echoed just by his ear.

"Mr. Hao, you should know this principle."

Xu Xiaoyou’s fingertip lightly tapped on the car window, and a coin reflecting the sunlight was tossed up, reflecting the utterly astonished expression on the face of Deerman inside the car.

"Paying debts is only right and proper."