QT: Against My Will-Chapter 548 - 8.65 - Nuts - Monster Heist
The father who had just been approached by his son felt a sudden chill run down his spine. His breath caught in his throat as he turned around, realizing the significance of this encounter.
"State your name and rank," Bing Shi whispered to his ears, "And I’ll show you what dirty tricks and connections are truly capable of."
Ru Quan decided to add a final touch to their encounter. He leaned slightly towards the father, raising an eyebrow inquisitively, "If you dare question the legitimacy of our practices, I assume you are ready to defend your opinion with every ounce of your being."
The father’s face paled, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His voice trembled as he stammered, "I... I apologize! I have the utmost respect for the LADs and all that you represent!"
He made a ninety-degree bow, his own military training kicking in, "I am Robert Johnson, an off-duty soldier, 12th Infantry Division. Please forgive my ignorance!"
Bing Shi’s tone turned icy as she patted the father’s shoulder, "Fortunes can change, and fathers can be lost just as easily as they are taken for granted. You don’t want your son to experience the hardships he so casually mocks, do you?"
Lowering his head in humility, the father apologized profusely before leaving together with his son. What was Shina Night doing in this school?!
Once he found out that Shan’s family daughter he so casually mocked a while ago was a part of Shina’s private team, he prayed to the heavens that he wouldn’t end up at the end of her wrath.
When the father and son disappeared into the distance, Bing Shi sighed, her stern voice softening, "Are you Laura’s siblings?"
Emma nodded, wiping away her tears. "Yes, we are," she replied, her voice filled with a mix of relief.
"Speak of the devil," Ru Quan said, his gaze shifting towards Laura who was marching towards them, dragging her younger brother by the ear. The younger brother carried a scowl on his face and seemed visibly irritated by the situation.
"Sorry for the wait," Laura said, her tone tinged with a mix of frustration, "Jake here decided to pick a fight with some high schoolers again."
Jake crossed his arms, his expression defiant. "It’s not my fault," he snapped. "If we had a proper father figure in our lives, I wouldn’t have to deal with this crap."
Laura’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of hurt crossing her face. "Don’t you dare blame me or Mom for that. We’ve done our best to provide and protect you!"
The tense atmosphere was momentarily interrupted by the arrival of a group of LADs. With their confident strides and commanding presence, they caused a bit of a commotion as they joined Shina Night.
Juliet carried a cold expression on her face as she observed the children hanging off Douglas’s bulky biceps, "We got two."
Victor was carrying a little boy in his strong arms, while Liam had a little girl resting on his shoulder. Aria held her sister’s hand as they walked over leisurely. Henry and Alain, however, returned empty-handed.
Laura frowned as she spotted the rest of her siblings, "Your classes are not over yet. What are you doing here?"
Her younger sister, still hanging off Douglas’s biceps, piped up, "These guys are amazing! They saved us from the mean teacher! They’re so cool!"
Liam and Victor placed the kids they found on Douglas, causing Ethan and Emma to watch in envy and awe as their siblings hung off Douglas’s arm.
"You two," Douglas said, scooping them up in one swift move. "You want to join in on the fun too, don’t you?"
With Douglas leading the way, the group continued their journey with the sound of children’s laughter echoing through the air.
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The bus hummed to a halt, its massive tires letting out a relieved sigh as it parked beside the vibrant toy store.
With a collective gasp of excitement, Laura’s and Aria’s siblings bounded off the bus, their eyes wide with anticipation.
As the ten or so kids with worn-out clothes marched into the store, there was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere.
"Wow, look at all these toys! It’s like a dream come true!" exclaimed Timmy, his eyes widening as he surveyed the shelves filled with action figures and remote-controlled cars.
"Hey, Emma, come check out these dolls! They’re so pretty!" Lily called out, tugging her sister’s sleeve and pointing to a display of intricately dressed dolls.
The clerks, initially caught off guard by their arrival, exchanged glances of disapproval. Their instinctual reaction was to chase away these seemingly "unwanted" visitors, believing that they couldn’t afford the store’s offerings.
However, before the clerks could act upon their misguided assumptions, they caught sight of an unexpected entourage of around six LADs following closely behind the group of kids.
Both Laura and Aira had saved up diligently. They paid off some of their debts and were determined to bring a bit of joy to their siblings by purchasing new toys, clothes, and school supplies for them. But as they perused the aisles, their initial excitement quickly turned into shock, ’What the fuck?!’
The prices displayed on the tags seemed to defy all logic and reason!
They immediately rushed to pick up their scattered siblings to warn them just to pick one toy each. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
"Guys, do you think we can find something for our big sister Laura?" whispered Emma.
Lily nodded enthusiastically and whispered back, "Definitely! She’s always taking care of us. Let’s find something special just for her with this credit card from the monkey lady."
Laura immediately snatched the card from Jessica’s hand and returned it to Bing Shi, "I’m sorry," she said, her face flushing with embarrassment, thinking her siblings found the card somewhere, "Here."
"Oh, thank you," Bing Shi accepted the card and continued to look through the exhibition of mini cars. Should she get some for Stinky Bun?
When Laura went to remind the rest of her siblings, she spotted a few other cards again, "..." One time might be an accident, but a card with Victor’s name on it? There was no way it could be an accident.
"What’s going on, guys?" Laura asked, her voice filled with a mixture of confusion.
Timmy hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "We...we didn’t want to spend your hard-earned money. We just wanted to see the toys and go back home, but the monkey lady gave us all these cards to buy what we like."
Laura slapped their shoulders slightly, "Stupids. How many times do I have to tell you not to accept things from strangers, especially from Shina Night?!"
"Your sister is right," said Bing Shi, ordering Douglas to drag Laura outside, "If you don’t buy something you like, I’m going to cut your sister’s pinky."
"Don’t listen to her and don’t buy anything!" Laura screamed out as she tried to fight off Douglas, "She is doing it to drown me in debt!"
"Don’t listen to whom? Me? You dare?" Bing Shi waved her hand, "Do it, Alain."
Alain taped Laura’s mouth and covered her head with a black cloth.
"Laura!!!" her siblings cried out in protest.
Aria quickly rushed her siblings to buy what they liked with her card, hiding the one she found inside her pockets, "Go. Don’t worry, I can afford yours and Laura’s too."
Aria thought that going zero was probably better than going into new debt by using those rich bastard’s unlimited cards.
Bing Shi picked up her basket and resumed her shopping, feeling a strong gaze on her back, "What’s the matter?"
Victor held up his phone. "Well, would you believe it? I just received a call asking if it was me who wanted to purchase the entire toy store."
"Oh really?" Bing Shi finally turned around, "And what was your response?"
Victor chuckled, "Well, I do have the means to afford it. But I thought I’d keep the toy store on their toes, and make them wait for a little longer."
"Alright," Bing Shi leaned to the side to make a path for herself. "Just make sure they don’t sell out before you make your grand purchase."
"..." Victor looked at his pending phone call. Would he risk it and buy everything to find out that she just bluffed? Why not?
Victor accepted it only to find out that it was already sold out. He thought it was Leon, and immediately asked Nora to find out.
{It wasn’t him. The accounts belong to the top clans.} Nora exclaimed in surprise. {She must have pulled a few strings.}
Victor, {Find out who was the last to accept.}
Nora’s laughter echoed in Victor’s ears after a bit of investigation. {You were the slowest. Leon was the first one, followed by Douglas, then Juliet, Liam, Alain, and Henry who accepted it around the same time. My dear brother, did she just hit your ego again?}
Victor glanced at his competitors if they could be called ones. He thought she was targeting him specifically, but it didn’t seem like the case, "..."
Douglas let out a sigh of relief, wiping off the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead. "Phew, that was a close call."
Liam let out a haunting laugh that sent shivers down the spines of the nearby kids. "Hahaha! I went bankrupt once before, so a second time wouldn’t matter."
Juliet was well off enough to afford it.
Alain had his parents to cover the cost.
Henry, though lacking the same financial resources, didn’t let that dampen his spirit and was ready to get himself into debt, already calculating how much time he would need to pay it off as a LAD.
"..." At first, Victor thought Shina was a bit nuts, but her team... well, let’s just say those oddballs didn’t roll too far from the tree either.
