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Chapter 51
Eastern Mysticism
The beach bar was filled with laughter and chatter, the aroma of barbecue wafting through the air as tourists frolicked and swayed to the melody while the sea waves crashed against the fine, snow-like sand.
Having finished his barbecue, Shen Zhuo stood by the shore, gazing out at the sea and enjoying the breeze. Some jovial locals approached him, offering him a bottle of beer. He thanked them in Spanish and reciprocated with half a pack of cigarettes, politely declining their suggestion to go for a drive together.
“I recall there’s a rule for the Human Chief Supervisor about not eating outside, isn’t there?” A teasing voice came from behind.
“Unless it’s ensured that the surroundings are absolutely safe,” Shen Zhuo took a sip from the bottle and nodded in acknowledgment. “Chief Supervisor Amatullah.”
Amatullah wore a layer of vibrant chiffon over her black swimsuit. In her forties, she maintained a rigorous exercise routine and possessed remarkable energy, exuding an air of stern perceptiveness, though she appeared relaxed at the moment. “—Ensuring the surroundings are absolutely safe?”
She glanced around the bustling bar and asked with a teasing tone. “Is it because of your S-class boyfriend?”
“Our relationship is not that formal,” Shen Zhuo replied calmly. “He has his own matters to attend to.”
Among adults, there was intimate contact, but it was “not that formal of a relationship.” Amatullah nodded knowingly, raising an eyebrow. “Actually, I’ve always had a question.”
Shen Zhuo responded straightforwardly, “I have no relationship with the Director-General.”
“Oh, I know. Dealing with the big boss at work is enough; facing the big boss again at night would make you want to throw up,” Amatullah said, glancing at the waiter nearby with an affectionate expression, signaling with a gesture that she would come find him later. She smiled, “I just want to ask, if your political alliance with Nielsen is about to collapse, how can I secure your vote in the upcoming elections?”
Shen Zhuo chuckled.
“It would be difficult for you to secure it, ma’am,” he said, turning to look at Amatullah, seeming genuinely regretful. “You’re astute, rational, and wise, destined to be an excellent leader, so you’re not easily fooled. There are no fish in clear water, and it’s hard for this fish to survive in such clear waters.”
Amatullah hinted, “Perhaps if a fish’s appetite isn’t that big, it can survive longer and more stably in a new pond…”
Shen Zhuo smiled as he turned to her, “Maybe I’m a piranha.”
Amatullah raised her eyebrows high, but before she could say anything, the sound of an engine roaring from a distance grew closer and closer.
Immediately, several modified off-road vehicles stopped on the beach, and about a dozen rough-looking local men got out and entered the bar, each carrying a dagger at their waist, swaggering with impunity.
Leading the group was a young man with a Latin appearance and tattooed arms. Despite his youth, his menacing demeanor was evident as he shoved aside the host at the entrance. The previously cheerful bar patrons quickly scattered as they sensed trouble.
Amatullah exclaimed, “What’s this about now?”
Shen Zhuo grabbed the bartender who was fleeing in panic, and after listening to his rapid Spanish explanation, he waved his hand and succinctly clarified, “Local smugglers are here to collect protection money.”
The bar owner, perhaps accustomed to the arrogance of these individuals, hurriedly rushes out to offer cash, only to be forcefully knocked to the ground by the tattooed Latin man at the front. Perhaps unsatisfied with the amount of money or simply in a foul mood, several gangsters follow suit, kicking over tables, chairs, and the bar counter, sending the waitstaff and their drinks crashing to the ground.
“?” Amatullah, seeing that not only was the demand for money insufficient but also that people were getting hurt, especially the attractive and innocent bystander who got knocked over, becomes visibly displeased. “Why is it that every time I have a moment of leisure, I encounter such trouble? Is the local supervisor dead?”
“%*$#@&!” The gangsters immediately catch the sound and start moving toward the two, cursing under their breath and reaching out to Amatullah in a less than polite manner.
But they couldn’t even touch Amatullah; it was as if they were blocked by an invisible barrier in mid-air. The female supervisor smirked slightly and replied with a straightforward and clear tone: “Fuck U.”
Shen Zhuo took a sip of his beer, not wanting to be dragged into the terrifying vortex of the S-class ability, the Wheel of the Almighty. He calmly took several steps back, only to be intercepted from behind the next moment.
The tattooed Latin man leading the group approached him with a lewd grin, saying something in a heavy accent. Though the accent was too thick to understand clearly, it was certainly not anything clean.
“…”
Shen Zhuo looked at him with an expression of no meaning, then smiled faintly and raised his head to take one last sip of beer.
His slender, fair neck was exposed as he tilted his head back, and the Latin man clearly felt greatly encouraged by this smile. He became instantly excited, reaching his hand towards the back of Shen Zhuo’s neck, intending to force his head towards his own.
The next moment, he felt a cold wind in front of him—
Crash!
Shen Zhuo smashed a beer bottle forcefully against the man’s face, shattering it, with precise, swift, and ruthless accuracy. The Latin man with blood streaming from his head collapsed to the ground. Immediately after, Shen Zhuo drew a gun from his waist, his eyes still carrying that intriguing smile. He aimed the gun at the Latin man’s left knee:
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A single bullet was enough to shatter the limbs of an ordinary human being, yet Shen Zhuo stepped on the flesh beneath him, firing one shot after another until the magazine was empty. The Latin man’s left leg was turned into a bloody mess resembling smashed tomatoes!
The hysterical screams of everyone echoed across the beach. All the gang members roared in outrage, simultaneously aiming their microguns at Shen Zhuo.
The next moment, bullets poured down from above —da-da-da-da!
Tongues of fire spewed like a raging storm, and when the gunfire ceased, Shen Zhuo stood unscathed in his original position, while the gang members all writhed in agony, their limbs scattered across the ground.
Above the heads of the crowd, on the second floor of the hotel, four snipers from the supervision office simultaneously closed their guns indifferently.
The local Snakehead Gang, who had just been arrogant and domineering moments ago, now lay in a pool of blood, with their leader, the Latin man, barely recognizable in his state of lifelessness.
There was a moment of silence all around, followed by:
“Ahhh—-!!”
Shen Zhuo calmly changed his magazine, politely smiling at Amatullah before replying, “So, I made sure the surroundings are absolutely secure.”
“…” Amatullah looked at this refined and handsome Eastern man, her brows furrowing slightly.
As an S-class evolutionist, she wasn’t too startled by guns and bullets, but Shen Zhuo’s shooting technique just now was clearly different from that of ordinary people. It was blatant and excessive slaughter.
And he didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his bloodthirsty tendencies.
A person who was excessively beautiful and somewhat delicate yet managed to rise to the top ten of the Supervisor Council alongside fierce and dominant alpha individuals. He was indeed a piranha that drank blood and ate flesh.
At that moment, the sound of engines roaring from a distance grew closer, and a dozen or so jeeps stopped abruptly at the entrance of the bar. Even before the frontmost vehicle had fully stopped, a furious tirade erupted from inside: “%@#￥*—!”
Shen Zhuo couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “No wonder the local supervisors dare not intervene.”
Amatullah focused her gaze.
The car door opened, and a very robust-looking Latino man rushed out of the vehicle. His usually familiar face was now contorted with anger. With a swift stride, he charged forward and delivered a fierce kick without a word, almost sending the tattooed man with the severed leg straight to the afterlife.
“I told you not to embarrass me like this, you worthless piece of #%&￥*!!…”
He cursed vehemently for several minutes, venting his anger at the gang members writhing on the ground. After releasing his fury, he straightened his sleeves and revealed a bright red ‘S’ on the back of his hand.
Then he turned to Shen Zhuo and Amatullah, forcing a grim smile.
“My dear colleagues, may I be so bold as to ask, what heinous crime did my incompetent brother commit to deserve being beaten like this?”
“Oh—” Shen Zhuo covered his mouth in surprise but remained polite. “Long time no see, isn’t this Supervisor Antonio?”
Amatullah glanced at him, thinking his acting skills were a bit too perfunctory. Just last week, Antonio had voted against Shen Zhuo’s financial budget proposal, and the two had engaged in a heated debate in the Council for nearly half an hour. If it weren’t for the virtual projection, they might have come to blows right then and there.
—Antonio, ranked fourth among the top ten supervisors globally, was most criticized for being born into a local mafia family.
News about his background was indeed not uncommon, but Antonio himself didn’t have much of a gangster vibe. Perhaps because people tend to emphasize what they lack, Antonio was very particular about his demeanor, exuding a somewhat debonair and cultured aura. He liked to boast about his pursuit of literature, etiquette, and drama… Of course, excluding the current situation where his dignity was shattered, he had no time for literature or etiquette now.
“Oh—I’m actually not very clear about it.” Amatullah also covered her mouth, looking around regretfully. “It’s a shocking tragedy. I only know that there was a minor altercation involving these people at the bar, and then your brother had some kind of misunderstanding with Supervisor Shen Zhuo, it seems.”
“…”
Antonio took a deep breath and turned to Shen Zhuo. “May I ask what kind of misunderstanding led to this tragedy?”
Shen Zhuo replied earnestly, “Since it was a misunderstanding, there’s no need to dwell on it. Let’s just let it go.”
Let it go? Antonio almost lost control and burst out with profanity on the spot. Each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. “Even if it was a misunderstanding, it can’t just be brushed aside like this. Please allow me to invite Supervisor Shen Zhuo to visit my home so that my family can personally resolve this misunderstanding with you. Can we?”
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have exploded like this. After all, Shen Zhuo was a senior supervisor at his level. But the key issue was that Shen Zhuo was just a human.
A human who publicly broke his brother’s leg in such a brutal and bloody manner. Antonio’s first reaction was that he must immediately regain his dignity. If he backed down even slightly, this public humiliation would never be forgotten. Not only would his reputation as an S-class evolutionist be tarnished, but he would also be unable to lift his head high in his hometown for years to come.
“Oh, really?” Shen Zhuo seemed a bit innocent and puzzled. “Why?”
Antonio gritted his teeth audibly, each word coming out with force: “—Because he’s my brother! We have the same father! My biological brother!!”
“Oh,” Shen Zhuo finally realized what was going on, and then his lips curled into a smile as he patted Antonio’s shoulder. “Just a younger brother; ask your dad to have another one.”
“You…”
Shen Zhuo tilted his head slightly, his lips now close to Antonio’s ear, an intimate distance that might seem a bit excessive to onlookers, with laughter in his voice. “If your dad can’t do it, you can always try yourself.”
It was a cutting provocation, but delivered with a soft demeanor that would make anyone’s heart skip a beat.
The proximity made Antonio instinctively hold his breath, silently reciting Eastern mysticism in his mind three times, then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and chuckled awkwardly:
“Don’t think you can fool me like this, you…”
Just then, a sudden force came from behind Shen Zhuo, gripping his shoulder tightly and causing him to stagger backward half a step, only to fall into a familiar embrace.
“Well, well, what’s going on here?”
Bai Sheng’s arm was tightly wrapped around Shen Zhuo’s shoulder, and his muscles tensed to a rather alarming degree, with all five fingers digging into the skin of Shen Zhuo’s shoulder. However, his lazy tone still carried a hint of amusement as he playfully looked Antonio up and down.
“Colleagues gathering for a party, huh? How come I wasn’t invited?”
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