Decstemic

3

Since this is the Miracle System, should there be some sort of introduction?

But when Liam tried to search through his mind, there was no such thing. He could not even recall the strange voice that had just spoken to him.

He angrily slapped his head over and over, but there was no change.

“What the hell is this!”

Just now the voice spoke too quickly. He did not even hear it completely, only remembering a few words related to the lottery. He could not help but think, could it be that the so-called Miracle System was just some lottery system?

If so, did I win the jackpot, or the complete opposite?

Hmmm…

Liam could not help but feel a little disappointed. Even if he had won some sort of system, it was probably the easiest one to win in history.

He tried to smoke a few more puffs, but realized that after his violent cough session just now, the cigarette was already extinguished.

He sighed heavily. He returned to searching through his memory, and realized the Liam of this world was in a terrible financial situation–living in the work dorms, eating in the Police Station cafeteria, and he did not even have a thousand dollars worth of savings.

Looking at the situation, it seemed like his only source of income was the salary from the police station.

How sad!

Back when he was a thug, every day was a feast. Even though he did not live in any fancy houses, there were hot girls here and there and every night was always a party. His life could have been compared to that of a king’s.

Compared to now, it seemed like his old life was much better. But back then, every day was death match after death match; the danger level was much higher than just being a policeman. Also, there were too many scums; it was easy to just die because of some hidden agenda–he was a living example of such!

Liam quickly scanned through his memories, and realized the current world and his old one were not very different except for a few details. Although they lived in the same city, there were not any familiar faces or places from his previous life, none of the old gangs existed, and of course, none of his old friends or underlings.

But even if they did, none of them would recognize Liam now, because the current Zhao Yu was a policeman!

He sighed again. “Let’s not think about this anymore!”

Liam turned his eyes to the front. The car was not far from the most infamous red-light district within the city. He figured he would first play around for a bit and have some fun before he would worry about anything else!

After the car stopped, Liam put the cab driver’s pack of cigarettes and lighter in his own pocket. When the man saw twenty-nine displayed on the fare meter, he quickly pulled out his police badge.

“Key Case Investigation Unit on the job! Thank you for your cooperation!” Liam spoke with a stern expression, “I’ve already memorized your plate number, just wait for your Exemplary Citizen Certificate!” Ignoring the driver’s confused expression, he opened the car door and disappeared.

In his memory, the old Liam was a goody two shoes–he never would have come to this sort of dubious place. But the current Liam was experienced, and he knew all the fun places could not be found by walking through the front door.

So, the man turned into a hidden alley. It did not take long for him to find a small iron door with a few youngsters standing in-line outside.

Even though the small iron door looked rather dingy, what was behind it was without a doubt a luxurious location.

Liam had no patience to wait in line, and walked straight towards the entrance.

The door was guarded by a muscular staff member with a nose ring who blocked his path, “Sir, our bar is members only. Are you a member?”

“F*ck off!” Liam simply cursed him out, nearly spitting on the man’s face. He pushed the man aside, then pulled the iron door open and strutted in without a care.

In Liam’s perspective, some rules simply did not apply to him. Despite the burly build of the staff member with the nose ring, he was not sure what to make of Liam, so he could only watch as the fearless man disappeared out of sight.

Inside was indeed a luxurious private bar. Many colored lights reflected on the wine glasses, magnificent decorations all around, emotions ran high, and scantily clad youngsters were enjoying themselves on the dance floor, shouting non-stop.

Liam knew these sorts of bars usually were not run by upstanding businesses, but by some powerful mafia groups. From property rights to management, everything was within their control. Back when he was on the streets, Liam commanded many of these kinds of places just by himself–he could be considered a pro at this!

Of course, he also knew that within some of these darkened, private rooms, there were always many illegal activities occurring. If you wanted to catch criminals, it was like a dime a dozen in these places.

But today, Liam was only here to enjoy himself. He only wanted to satisfy his manly urges. After making a few rounds around the bar, he quickly found his target.

Sitting in front of the bar was a slim, dainty female. The woman wore a black-and-white striped, business casual outfit. She was slightly plump, elegantly postured, with a face to match her beautiful figure.

Her cheeks were reddened, with many wine glasses laid before her; it was clear she had been drinking more than a little.

Girls like these were easy targets. Liam was celebrating inside–he should be able to take care of this fast and easy.

“Hey beautiful, are you by yourself?” The man barely took a seat before he started his classic pick-up lines, “How about a drink or two with me? I know some amazing cocktail recipes. Are you interested in trying some?”

The woman had a spacey look on her face as she looked at Liam contemplatively, smiled, and hiccuped, “Sorry handsome, your pick-up line was wasted! Haha, I’m not just some pure and pretty face. I’m not here for a date!”

Oh…

As soon as the woman opened her mouth, Liam understood. This woman was not some innocent drunk girl–she was here for business.

Originally, Liam was just here to pick up a pretty girl, and he had no intention to pay for it.

He thought about changing his target, but was somewhat bitter. Firstly, the woman simply stood out too much, there were no other girls there that could match her looks. Secondly, everyone else was already paired up. So it would be hard to engage other girls in any conversation.

Ah!

Liam made his decision–as long as it felt good, what’s some money! He would consider it a celebration for himself for successfully crossing over!

And so, he sat right beside the woman, continuing the conversation. “Hey beautiful, so those feelings of yours, how much are they?”

“Ha!” The beauty laughed coldly, readily putting up three fingers, “True love? Priceless. one night? Three thousand! Also, I won’t go home with you, or to some cheap motel. Four-stars and up or bust!”

“Holy sh*t!” Liam slammed the table, “Is this a robbery? Three thousand? Four-star hotel? My God! Say, do you do discounts?”

“Handsome, I can tell you’re in this business!” The woman did not even bat an eyelash. “You should know, with this price, there’s no discount! If you have the guts and the money, we leave now, and I guarantee you will be satisfied. If not, move out of the way and don’t waste my time!”

“My God.” Liam searched through his memory, and realized that even if he put his entire savings together, it was not even enough for a motel. So, he could only angrily yell at the woman, “Okay, I’ve decided to leave!”

Little did he know, it seemed as if someone had overheard their conversation. Liam had only just moved aside when a man clad in a brand name suit came with a wad of cash and sat in Liam’s seat.

“Let’s go, girly!” The man chewed his gum and slapped down the cash, “There’s no money concern with me. Tonight in Illium, we go round after round, how about it?”

.

When the woman saw the money, her spacey expression vanished, instantly replaced by liveliness. She pretended to nod her head coyly, and left with the rich man without any hesitation.

The woman didn’t even look at Liam as she left. Liam’s frustration was insane. He clenched his fist and angrily stared as the foxy pair left and told himself, “Gold diggers! The less I see them, the better!” But as he stared, he saw a man sitting at the bar.

The man was wearing a black windbreaker and a baseball cap. His head was down, and the collar of the windbreaker was propped up, covering most of his face, only revealing two gloomy eyes.

The man’s eyes never left the gold digger who was just drinking, now that the beauty was leaving, his eyes followed the woman into the distance, as if deeply entranced.

Because the beauty was leaving from Liam’s side, as the strange man’s eyes followed the woman, he and Liam’s gazes suddenly met.

“What the hell are you looking at?!” Liam had thought the man was mocking him, and immediately flipped him off.

The man in the wind breaker shook a little as if surprised, then immediately stood up and left, disappearing within moments.

Liam ordered one of the cheapest cocktails, wanting to quench his own thirst, but his mind immediately jumped to a very important issue.

‘Holy Sh*t! That guy in the windbreaker; could it be that guy?’