Chapter 148 – Lip Thinks He's "Back in Business"
In truth, William had just removed the [Erectile Dysfunction] affliction from Lip and replaced it with [Infertility].
The reason was simple.
If you want to torment someone like Lip, there are countless ways to do it.
For example—letting him unknowingly raise someone else's child.
After Lip fell silent, William motioned to Svetlana.
Seeing the signal, she immediately walked over, obedient as ever.
William pulled her aside and spoke quietly.
"Svetlana, go next door and bring me a black girl. Average-looking face, but have decent body."
Svetlana didn't understand why he wanted that specifically, but that didn't matter.
She nodded and went off to find one of Sasha's girls.
As for William's reasoning—
He intended to adjust Lip's tastes.
So that later, Lip wouldn't fixate on women he had no business obsessing over.
With [Disease Transfer] used properly, William figured it wouldn't be difficult to permanently rewire Lip's preferences.
Not long after, Svetlana returned with a woman sporting an afro—dark-skinned, well-built, but with a fairly rough face.
"This one's named Sniqua," Svetlana said with her arms crossed. "Satisfied, boss?"
William gave Sniqua a once-over, then nodded.
"Your job's simple," he said calmly.
"Take him to shower, then take good care of him. Got it?"
This was standard work for a prostitute.
And after Sniqua glanced at Lip—who, objectively, was handsome—she had even fewer complaints.
"No problem, boss," she said with a grin. "For this one, I'll even give you a discount."
With that, she grabbed Lip by the arm and led him toward the inner room.
At first, Lip resisted.
But halfway through the shower, something felt… off.
He stared at Sniqua.
Then he looked down at himself.
A moment later, strange noises began echoing from the bathroom.
"Holy shit," Mandy muttered, gossip-hungry. "I thought Lip was completely useless yesterday. Turns out he just doesn't like white girls."
Svetlana shook her head, utterly speechless.
This Irish boy was honestly beyond help.
Only William looked unsurprised—because this was exactly how he'd designed it.
Lounging on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, he had Svetlana bring him an ice-cold cola and sipped it leisurely.
Lip didn't bother anyone.
It was over in barely ten minutes.
Soon after, he walked out with wet hair, his face flushed with excitement.
He looked elated—clearly thrilled by his sudden "revival."
"All right," William said as he stood up and patted Lip on the shoulder.
"Go home. Don't make Fiona worry."
As he did, William quietly returned [Erectile Dysfunction] to Lip's body.
At this point, Lip barely cared about his hatred for William anymore. After tasting "success" again, all he wanted was to find another girl and confirm whether he was truly cured—or if that had just been a fluke.
So he nodded absentmindedly and left the base without another word.
Only after Lip was gone did Sniqua finish dressing and come out, clearly waiting to be paid.
William glanced at Svetlana. She immediately took out her wallet and handed Sniqua fifty dollars.
"Thanks, bosses," Sniqua said happily.
"Wait—Sniqua," William called.
She turned back. "Yeah, boss? You got something else for me?"
William leaned back, crossing his legs again.
"I've got a big job. Interested?"
"A big job?" she asked, curious. "What kind?"
"The kind that involves people dying."
---
Meanwhile, Lip hurried straight home.
He ran into Fiona just as she was heading out.
"Lip! Where the hell were you last night? You didn't come home at all!"
She immediately started lecturing him.
Lip ignored her completely and went straight to his room.
"Hey—I'm talking to you!"
Fiona followed, irritation flashing across her face. Lip had never treated her like this before.
"I've got something urgent," he snapped. "We'll talk later."
Fiona sighed helplessly as he shut the door.
Inside his room, Lip quickly stripped off his grimy clothes, threw on something clean, and headed back out.
Fiona was still standing there.
"You can't just stay out all night without telling me anything," she said.
"Like you actually care," Lip muttered.
"Of course I care! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
She stared at him, shocked by her own words.
"Oh yeah?" Lip shot back. "If you were that worried, why didn't you come looking for me?"
"I—" Fiona froze.
The truth was, she hadn't even realized he hadn't come home. She'd returned late, drunk on hope and exhaustion, and passed out immediately.
"Move," Lip said flatly. "I'm going out."
Right now, nothing mattered more to him than testing whether he was truly "back."
"At least eat breakfast," Fiona sighed.
Something in her tone made Lip soften—just a little.
"Fine."
---
Kitchen
Lip sat at the table, staring blankly at a basic breakfast of cereal, fried eggs, and milk.
He ate without focus.
Fiona, meanwhile, realized she'd been so consumed by work these past months that she'd neglected her siblings more than she wanted to admit.
"Hey, Lip," she said gently. "How've you been? We haven't really talked in a long time."
"Morning," Ian said as he jogged downstairs.
"Morning, Ian," Fiona replied. "Still working at the convenience store today?"
"Yep. Heading out after breakfast."
Ian sat down, then glanced at Lip.
"So… where were you last night? You didn't come home."
"Had some stuff to deal with," Lip replied vaguely.
And that was all he gave them.
---