Two days later.

Sakura Country, Tokyo City.

The city of steel was shrouded in the morning mist.

The air was filled with the smell of engine oil, dust, and a faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood, mixing into a unique, nauseating odor.

“Creak—!”

The exaggeratedly thick alloy gate at the city entrance emitted a grating sound as it slowly rose.

It revealed the desolate, bumpy wilderness outside the gate.

A dilapidated military truck slowly drove out of the city, soon disappearing on the distant horizon.

The front of the truck was painted with three overlapping, ferocious Ghost Face (ghost faces).

That was the symbol of the Tri-Mouth Gang.

Five or six young men sat casually inside, cheap cigarettes dangling from their mouths as they puffed out smoke.

Sitting in the very middle was a burly man with a bare upper body.

A lifelike giant beast was tattooed on his chest, its maw wide open as if ready to devour someone.

The man was named Takeda, and he was the leader of this small team.

He opened his mouth wide, let out a long yawn, and even squeezed out a few physiological tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Damn, I’m so f*cking sleepy.”

His voice was slurred, with a heavy nasal tone.

A subordinate, thin as a monkey, immediately leaned over, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

“Boss, did you not sleep well last night?”

At Takeda’s words, the tired, unslept expression on his face instantly vanished.

It was replaced by a lewd smile.

He winked at the subordinate, giving him a look that all men understood.

“Last night, Young Miss Huaxizi was really too much to handle.”

“My old bones almost gave out there.”

“I barely closed my eyes.”

“Oh—!”

The others in the truck bed immediately burst into knowing laughter, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

Another young man with freckles on his face had eyes full of undisguised envy.

“Boss, that must have been great, right?”

“I heard Young Miss Huaxizi is the top courtesan in Kabukicho; it’s hard for ordinary people to even meet her.”

Takeda smacked his lips, a look of endless relish on his face.

“It was great.”

“Too bad it was just too damn expensive.”

“Just for one night, she charged me ten thousand Sakura coins.”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, spitting on the ground.

“Damn it, if only I could have gotten it for free.”

The monkey-like subordinate’s eyes darted around, and he leaned in again, lowering his voice.

“Boss, I heard that there have been mermaid sightings along the Hokkaido coastline recently.”

“Although they are Mythical Beasts (Beast - exotic beasts), their upper bodies look exactly like human women.”

“And each of them is as beautiful as a fairy, so vibrant.”

As he spoke, he gestured, a lewd smile identical to Takeda’s appearing on his face.

“How about a few of us brothers team up one day and try our luck there?”

“If we catch them, we can do whatever we want with them, and it won’t cost a thing.”

Takeda’s eyes immediately lit up at the words.

But soon, that flicker of excitement died out.

He waved his hand indifferently.

“Forget it.”

“Mermaids are beautiful, but their teeth are sharper than knives.”

“I heard that last year, a thoughtless professional wanted to try something new, and as a result, he could only be a eunuch for the rest of his life.”

“Even if we’re not afraid, if we get bitten, we wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

“Hahahahaha!”

The truck bed once again erupted in boisterous laughter.

The laughter was crude and unrestrained, echoing over the bumpy wilderness.

Only in the very corner of the truck bed.

A slightly plump young man with poorly dyed yellow hair kept his head down, silently.

Takeda turned his head, his gaze falling on the yellow-haired youth, and suddenly spoke.

“Natsume.”

Natsume Masahiro shivered, only then snapping out of his thoughts.

He forced a smile that was uglier than crying, his body subconsciously shrinking. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Boss, wha... what’s wrong?”

Takeda’s large, fan-like hand rose without warning and slapped him hard on the back of his head.

“Slap!”

The sound was crisp and loud.

“You still have the nerve to ask me what’s wrong?”

Natsume Masahiro stumbled from the blow, almost falling off the truck seat.

He clutched the stinging back of his head, looking at Takeda with a bewildered expression.

“It’s been so many days, when are you going to pay back the fifty thousand Sakura coins you owe me?”

Takeda’s voice carried a hint of impatience.

“Fi... fifty thousand?”

Natsume Masahiro’s eyes instantly widened, his face full of disbelief.

“Boss, I... didn’t I only borrow ten thousand from you?”

“How did it become fifty thousand?”

Takeda bared his teeth, revealing a vicious smile, his yellow teeth looking particularly eerie in the dim truck compartment.

“You think money is that easy to borrow?”

“Don’t I charge interest?”

He extended a thick finger and poked Natsume Masahiro’s chest.

“This is still because we’re all part of the Tri-Mouth Gang; otherwise, it wouldn’t be just fifty thousand.”

Natsume Masahiro’s face instantly fell, that meager bit of rebellious courage vanishing instantly under Takeda’s fierce gaze.

He put on a mournful face, clasped his hands together, and pleaded.

“Boss, can you give me a few more days?”

“I... my luck has been bad recently. Once I win some money, I’ll pay you back immediately, immediately!”

Takeda pouted, a look of disdain on his face.

“Wait for you to win money?”

“When would that be?”

He looked Natsume Masahiro up and down, his eyes like someone evaluating livestock to be slaughtered.

“I do have a way for you to make money quickly.”

“Do you want to hear it?”

At Takeda’s words, a spark of hope immediately ignited in Natsume Masahiro’s eyes.

He nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice.

“Yes! Yes! Boss, tell me quickly!”

“What way?”

A malicious smile appeared on Takeda’s face.

That smile made Natsume Masahiro’s heart inexplicably skip a beat.

“I remember, you ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ have a younger sister, don’t you?”

“She seems to be called... Natsume Rinko.”

Takeda licked his chapped lips, his eyes glinting with greed.

“Although she’s only twelve, she’s quite pretty.”

“How about... you sell your sister to me?”

The air in the truck compartment seemed to freeze at that moment.

Natsume Masahiro’s expression froze.

However, after only two seconds.

That stiff expression melted like ice and snow, replaced by an undisguised look of joy!

His eyes gleamed frighteningly, as if he had heard the greatest news.

“Boss, are... are you serious?”