CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 51: DO THE STARS OF THE COSMOS DREAM OF JOURNEYS THROUGH TIME AND SPACE?

Time ticked by, second by second.

Xu Xiaoyou stared intently at the figure in the car window, her breathing slowing.

Deerman’s fingertips tapped on the sofa, like a gong, one sound after another, unperturbed.

Clenching her fists tightly, Xu Xiaoyou’s body’s subtle reactions betrayed her, despite her best efforts to appear calm in the face of true death.

Deerman took all this in, then calmly turned his head.

"Invest in me."

Xu Xiaoyou almost bit her lips white from lack of blood, forcing the words through gritted teeth.

Deerman didn’t seem displeased at the interruption, his gaze showing a hint of appreciation.

"Isn’t your underworld fond of trading favors, making investments?"

"Who knows, maybe a seemingly insignificant person today will become someone incredible in a few years, right?"

"Just consider it as investing in me," Xu Xiaoyou repeated.

The girl’s eyes showed no retreat, she raised her head to meet Deerman’s scrutiny straight on.

She made an extremely bold move, stepping up and slapping her hand on the car window, the gesture more akin to coercion than a request.

"I promise, this will be the most correct investment you’ll ever make in your life."

"You’ll gain returns worth tens of times this investment."

Mr. Hao: "..."

The setting sun cast a large swath of light.

The black car gradually drove away.

Before leaving, Deerman gave the girl a profound look: "I hope this investment won’t disappoint me in the end."

"And remember to take good care of that Peace Bracelet."

"It’s saved your life more than once."

The black car disappeared at the end of the street, and all the invisible pressure around them receded like the tide going out.

Only then did Xu Xiaoyou take a deep breath, her frail body wavering as if she might collapse.

Anya hurried forward to hold her tightly, her small face still showing a frightened expression.

Although she was still young, she realized how perilous the crisis they had just gone through was.

Just moments ago, she had brushed shoulders with death.

"Anya, let’s go home."

Xu Xiaoyou said, gently stroking the girl’s head.

...

Nighttime.

"Awesome, Xu Nian!"

In the bustling bar, people danced wildly.

Someone draped an arm over Xu Xiaoyou’s shoulder, bringing their boozy, sharp-smelling face close to hers.

"That was Mr. Hao, the leader of the underworld! You actually got the money back from someone as ruthless as him?"

"Tens of thousands of credits! How much commission did you earn on this job?"

Xu Xiaoyou didn’t much like the smell of alcohol and quietly turned her face away.

"It was alright, the company gave me a reward of thirteen thousand credits," she said.

"Thirteen thousand credits!!" The girl exclaimed, "Does that mean you won’t have to worry about money for the next few months?"

"Thirteen thousand credits, enough for a normal family to live for years."

"Even if you lived extravagantly, you could live comfortably for quite a while, don’t you think, Xiaonan~"

As she spoke, the girl leaned closer, her face slightly flushed from the alcohol, lightly tracing her fingertips over Xu Xiaoyou’s smooth neck.

"Heh heh heh, your skin is so nice. Hey? How does a boy not have an Adam’s apple?"

"Gloss, aren’t you afraid of annoying people getting so close?"

A voice came from a bald strong man nearby.

"Mind your own business!!"

Gloss shouted back.

Seeing the other person completely drunk, Xu Xiaoyou chuckled helplessly.

Silently, she unwrapped Gloss and another person who clung to her like a Water Demon, then laid them back on the bar sofa, covering them with a small blanket.

"Nian, do you know how long it’s been since our security department opened?" Theroux raised a glass, "No wonder you’re an A-level employee; you were only here for a week and already tackled such a tricky order."

"I’m telling you, we didn’t hold any hope of retrieving the money from Mr. Hao; the Lions under him are so armed they could rival the armed forces of the company’s branch."

"We were actually ready to write it off as bad debt this year, you’re practically our savior!"

"I don’t know how you did it, but that’s not important!"

Theroux chuckled, clinking glasses with the strong members of the security department.

Clang, the liquid in the glasses swirled, reflecting the dark red lights,

"Tonight’s party is all for your celebration, drink freely, it’s all on Gloss tonight!"

Xu Xiaoyou sipped a few times.

Listening to the loud cheers around her, she only felt it was a bit noisy.

She wasn’t very adept at drinking, and after just a few sips, her face turned a slight rosy hue.

Xu Xiaoyou quietly lowered her head, sitting on the sofa, her nerves completely relaxed, watching the swirling liquid in the glass, she fell into a brief contemplation.

Things hadn’t entirely gone according to her expectations.

Originally, in those two minutes, the Lion Group members should have been entirely trapped in the alley by those small-time punks.

It should have been enough time for her to get Mr. Hao’s money back.

Something must have happened in between, causing the situation to deviate from its original course, enabling them to break free from the entanglement and call for external support.

When the distant sniper rifle targeted her, the situation had already turned against her, and she lost all initiative.

If not for her final words, almost driven by survival instinct, perhaps Deerman wouldn’t have changed his mind.

Fortunately, it ended without a hitch.

The Goddess of Fortune watched over her.

Xu Xiaoyou pressed a coin onto the table, then stood up.

By then, most of the security department members were passed out, either drunk or muttering nonsense.

Watching those waving their fists, bragging exaggeratedly in their sleep, she shook her head.

She took a few steps to the balcony, and the cold wind blew, easing the alcohol-numbed nerves considerably.

The nausea receded somewhat, and she leaned on the railing, gazing out over the nighttime city.

Under the cool moonlight, this city did have its rare moments of tranquility.

Not long after, she lit up her phone screen and opened the Cosmos Enterprises page.

As soon as she clicked in, an employee motivation activity pop-up appeared.

’Will Cosmos’s stars dream of a time-traveling journey?’

This year, we will select one employee with outstanding performance to be awarded a ticket to Celestial Wings Space-Time, covering all travel expenses for the next month, and specially dispatching the company’s special security team to ensure the employee’s safety for their dream journey!

"The ticket to Celestial Wings Space-Time..."

Xu Xiaoyou’s gaze was completely captivated by the page’s golden, winged ticket.

Celestial Wings Space-Time, much like Cosmic Heavy Industries, held mastery over core technology.

As the name suggests, they possessed powerful space-time technology, capable of pinpoint teleportation, spatial environment modification, time stasis, and even reversing space-time.

This ticket was something many dreamed of, and with it, one could board the Celestial Wings Space-Time’s ’Heart’s Desire’ train.

It was a train said to be capable of traveling anywhere in the world!

Once aboard the Heart’s Desire train car, one could close their eyes, think of a destination, and in five seconds, the train would magically arrive there.