Although it's still in the morning, there are quite a few people here for entertainment.
Some have been drinking from night till morning, still reveling wildly.
Some came in the morning, dragged here for pleasure and joy.
Sage's voice even drowned out the music performance on stage, making everyone fall silent, but soon most people showed anger.
Only a few, upon seeing Sage's grinning face, turned pale.
"Bastard!"
A man, visibly drunk, with his tie tied around his forehead, stood up drunkenly and yelled, "What are you shouting about, even stopped the music, get out of here!"
Splat!
Just as he finished speaking, a bottle flew over, exploding on the man's face, mixing liquor with the blood on his face, crashing against the sofa behind him.
"You're right, the music can't stop!"
Sage retracted his hand, walked towards the largest stage in the hall, snapped his fingers at the stunned performer, "Get ready..."
"The troublemaker's over there!"
The disturbance at the nightclub naturally drew the attention of the guards there.
In businesses with gang ties like this, they either hire some people themselves or pay protection fees to the local gang to maintain order.
After all, there are always troublemakers.
Usually, in such cases, just dragging the person outside and discussing compensation works.
But this time is obviously different.
Whoosh!
Hawkins stood up, walked out of the booth, drew his long sword, and slashed through the body of the first one to rush over.
With one sword, he cut him in half at the waist.
A large amount of blood flowed from the slashed body onto the ground, and before the other gang members could react, the long sword was covered with straw, turning into several whip-like things, sweeping over them one by one, slicing them all open.
Everyone around stared wide-eyed, and the barmaids were just about to scream, but the ceiling suddenly emitted a strange vibration at this moment.
Boom!
At the center, the ceiling burst open with a large hole, and Bellamy stomped a man in expensive clothes into the ground, placing one foot on the blood-covered face, glaring at the people in the hall with a bloodthirsty grin.
Above the hole, faint flames could still be seen.
Upstairs, how long will it take?
A bounty of fifty-five million, compared to ordinary people, is not much different from a disaster.
"Music, start!"
The sound of the ceiling breaking was like the prelude to a symphony, and whether out of fear or Sage's natural charisma, the performer on stage, after a moment of daze, actually started playing again.
Of course, the nightclub had music, after all, music and alcohol can both accommodate the surging desires of humans.
Sage stood in front of the stage, facing the fearful crowd, like a music conductor, tapping his index finger downward, conducting rhythmically with the music.
Meanwhile, on a street outside.
Lily, carrying some subordinates and bags of perfume, walked out under the obsequious smiles of the shop assistants.
This street is a commercial street, quite bustling, filled with many tourists.
Lily looked up at the sky and asked her subordinates behind her, "Any signal?"
The subordinates shook their heads in unison.
"It seems intel hasn't been gathered yet. You're free to move around now. Once the signal is out, commence action centered around this commercial street." Lily said.
"Yes, Lady Lily!" the subordinates agreed and were about to disperse when a muffled sound suddenly attracted their attention.
It came from a nearby store; its glass door had been smashed open, and a woman was being dragged out by her hair.
"This store has expired!"
The man's hands gripping the woman's hair were burly, clad scantily, with tattoos on his arms, like a local gangster, menacingly said:
"We've notified you long ago to vacate the store, but you've remained silent. Are you ignoring us? Smash it!"
"This is my store!"
The woman, in pain, shed tears but still shouted: "The debt has long been repaid, the store is rightfully mine, you cannot do this!"
"Repaid? Impossible..."
The man sneered, "Let me tally it up for you, the store was previously repaid, but with the recent increase in customer flow, more money is earned. Hence, the initial selling price undersold, and the price difference needs to be compensated. Our boss said as much last month; you owe at least five million Belly, and being overdue after the time limit, with a daily interest of 30%, you must repay ten million Belly including principal and interest."
"Our boss knows you don't have that much money, so this store can repay the debt. A notification has been sent, but you still refuse to leave. Do you look down on us?"
He gripped the woman's hair, almost face-to-face, and viciously said, "We've been lenient enough these days. If you don't leave, we'll smash your store, throw everything out, and then..."
"And then you should resist."
A cool voice inexplicably sounded behind the gangster, who turned instinctively, eyes lighting up, "Oh! It's a pretty lady!"
Releasing the woman's hair, standing straight, he eyed Lily up and down, saying: "Interested in working at our place? It's lucrative. With your looks, you'll earn a big..."
Slash!
A gleam of light flashed through the man's neck, stopping his words in his throat, his smile not having time to retract, as a fine line appeared on his neck, and the head lopsidedly slid down to the ground.
Lily flicked White Thunder to the side, letting the blood on the blade drip down, but before a drop fell, a subordinate knelt on one knee, wiping the blood off the sword with a white cloth.
She glanced at the woman's store behind her, a flower shop with beautifully arranged flowers, and the woman herself was well-dressed.
"You..." The florist owner stared dumbfounded at the head on the ground, then at Lily, showing no fear at first, but rather a stupor.
"Why don't you resist?" Lily asked.
"Their boss is a wealthy man who controls this street..." The woman reflexively responded: "I can't possibly win."
"Not fighting leads to the same outcome. Since you're oppressed anyway, why not find a way to fight back?"
Lily extended another hand, as a subordinate respectfully handed her a Flintlock Gun, which she tossed in front of the woman, then glanced at the nearby people from other shops, their faces also clouded with worry, and said:
"Whether you can win isn't determined by imagination, but by the weapons in your hands, so..."
"Pick up your weapons."
...
In a slum.
Marika looked at the children gathered around the dining table, drooling at the abundant food but daring not touch it, and smiled:
"Fill your stomachs."
...
Amusement park.
Renedia, holding a deployed Mechanical Hammer, stood on the back of a person lying on the ground, shouting:
"Do your jobs."
...
Hawkins, grasping the straw sword, stood among the corpses and calmly said to the fearful crowd:
"Hand over your money."
Whoosh!
Bang!!
In the city's sky, Gin pulled out a Mechanical Cylinder, ignited it, and released brilliant fireworks to add more splendor to the nightclub's symphony.
Sage's hands moved unceasingly, as if immersed in the music. He closed his eyes slightly, hearing the fireworks outside, conducting the music into its main piece, and smiled:
"The seventh chapter of the heist, the carnival tune, begins."