Nightmare’s Call

Hongxia Guildhall, Eastern District of Huaisha.

The eastern district was the most prosperous area in the whole city, and Hongxia Guildhall was one of the most magnificent landmark buildings there.

The eighteen-story retro garden-style guildhall was painted dark red and decorated with luxurious as well as exquisite decoration. Beautiful ushers in uniform welcomed the guests with a smile, allowing them to enjoy the best of Huaisha.

Chen Tan sat alone in front of a pond in the guildhall’s back garden, gazing at the lotuses that were floating in the water.

His father, Chen Hang, was the eldest of the Chen brothers who controlled all of the casinos in Huaisha, and he was also the owner of the guildhall. Chen Tan was only twenty-one years old, but he had taken over half of his father’s business. Though he looked nerdy, he was, in fact, famous throughout Huaisha.

“Boss, we’ve found out his background.” Behind him came the sliding sound of the balcony door. A calm, strong, and tall man, wearing a black T-shirt and long pants, came in. He bowed his head while he reported to Chen Tan.

“What is it?” Chen Tan turned and looked at the man.

“His father owns a store, a grocery store. No other significant background information,” the man quickly replied.

Chen Tan gently drew a circle on the arm of the chair with his index finger, looking calm.

“Chen Huan’s my lady, and I don’t want her to be sad. So, you know what to do.”

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.” The man nodded.

“Be careful. The situation’s getting tense these days.” Chen Tan frowned.

“Don’t worry.” The man laughed.

“Those from Steelscale Club have some good family backgrounds so we better not get them involved, but this man… It’ll be easy if we want to bring some trouble to his father. In business, there’s always some kind of clash with others. It’s normal to have a bit of an accident if you have a grumpy customer.”

Chen Tan nodded slightly. If anything happened to Lin Sheng’s father, he was sure Lin Sheng would know what to do.

“I’ll arrange it in the afternoon, don’t worry.” The man bowed his head, turned, and left quickly.

…

On the bus.

There were only a few empty seats in the front, middle, and back of the bus.

Lin Sheng nodded at Shayeen, and they immediately looked for a place to sit down.

This time, they were going out into the field for actual combat.

Actual combat could not be practiced indoors, hence Lin Sheng arranged some field training.

The three of them had never practiced outside the club. This was their first time, and it seemed interesting.

Shayeen and Madillan sat together and chatted while Russell sat behind Lin Sheng with a sleepy face.

Lin Sheng sat alone in the middle of the bus.

They were headed for the city’s infamous decadent neighborhood, Blackwater District. You could find prostitutes, gangs, bars, and even guns there.

Blackwater District was the most chaotic neighborhood in Huaisha. Those who could not make it in the city would look for cheap rent there because the average rent was the lowest in the whole of Huaisha.

About twenty minutes into their bus ride, Shayeen suddenly took out her cell phone and answered a call. At first, she looked relaxed, but after a few minutes, her expression changed.

“Master.” Shayeen quickly stood up from her seat and walked toward Lin Sheng. Madillan followed her with a grim expression.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Sheng looked puzzled.

“I just received a message. Someone wants to attack your family!” Shayeen whispered, suppressing her anger.

“Huh?! Who? What time?! What place?!”

Shayeen shook her head. “Today, but I don’t know where. I heard that some people were secretly plotting against participants before the tournament, so I arranged for someone to watch them in advance, just in case. I thought it was just a rumor, but…”

“Who are they?” Madillan was furious.

“Are they targeting my father or my mother?” Lin Sheng quickly calmed down. He had to find out the plan quickly and go to the rescue.

“It’s Uncle Lin!” Shayeen answered quickly. “Let’s get out of the bus right now and hail a taxi. We should make it in time!”

Lin Sheng immediately stood up. They all got off the bus in a hurry, dragging a half-asleep Russell along. Their plan to go to Blackwater District was completely disrupted.

Lin Sheng stood by the roadside in silence, looking angry and worried.

Madillan quickly flagged down a taxi, and the four got in. They headed back toward the location of Uncle Lin’s store.

…

The zone between the Eastern District of Huaisha and the port area.

Lin Zhounian was busy moving boxes of goods from his tricycle, and a porter was also helping him. It was not hot, but he kept sweating.

The store, called Lin’s Store, was the size of a bedroom. It was no more than eight meters long and wide.

Business had been good recently. Lin Zhounian had received a new batch of goods and sold most of them quickly, so he received a new batch of goods today.

“Hey boss, business is good, huh?” The owner of the nearby clothing store chatted with him.

“Small business, small profits.” Lin Zhounian laughed.

“Whether it’s a small profit or not, it’s a prosperous business,” the owner of the clothing store replied.

Lin Zhounian gave him a bitter smile and began to complain about how hard the business was. Some of the goods had to be sold at a loss, and he had to work long hours every day…

On a roadside stall not far away, several strong men with light blond hair and faint blue tattoos on the back of their hands were sitting around. They exchanged glances, slowly stood up, and walked in Lin Zhounian’s direction.

Out of nowhere, a tall and dark-haired boy stopped in front of them, blocking them.

It was Lin Sheng with his sword case on his back. He stood in front of them without a word.

“Get out of my way!” The man in the lead appeared impatient and reached out to push Lin Sheng aside. He did not know Lin Sheng at all. His job was to complete the task given to him. His gang did not care about the rest.

“Did you just push me?” Lin Sheng glared at the man. “You wanted to hit me?!! You wanted to hurt me?! I was only trying to ask for directions, and you were trying to hit me. I’m sure you were trying to kill me!”

The strong men were stunned and did not know what to do.

Before they could react, Lin Sheng grasped the hilt of his sword, which was behind him, and he narrowed his eyes, staring at them like a snake staring at a frog

“You’re finished…” he said with a wicked smiled.