Chapter 61: The bid (II)
"Stop her!" The old man yelled, pointing towards me.
Large groups of men in black suits flocked in the rooms for both sides. Each one of them had guns or swords in their hand. The first group of men shot continuous fire of bullets.
Even if the bullets did not penetrate my skin, I did not enjoy the light ticklish feeling that the bullet was giving.
Bursting out laughing, I couldn't contain it anymore. The bullets were tickling my body, making me convulsed into a fit. Everyone stopped to stare flabbergasted in what they saw as they drew down their weapons.
"What's going on?"
"Is this even possible?"
"How is she still alive?"
"What are you doing, you fools? Stop her, not kill her!" The old man jolted me out of my laughter. At that moment, I ran towards the closest person and punched him hard. Blood erupted out of his mouth, and he was sent flying backward into others.
I stared at my fist, surprised that I was able to put in so much strength. Was I this powerful in the past? I know I fought head-to-head with the Black Gryphon, but that almost killed me. Not only that, I was not able to even subdue the Black Gryphon at all, but instead trapped him in a crystal. This was all done in my dragon form, not in my human form.
This whole time, I thought my strength did not come even close to Phil's. Maybe I was overthinking this, and I was actually more durable than Phil. A crack of a devious smile spread all over my face. I couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline that washed over me thoroughly.
They all charged towards me in the hopes of overwhelming me. To me, everything felt as if it was in slow motion. All these attacks were easily avoided without a single hit on my body. Instead, I took their attacks and reverted it all back to them in multiple punches that sent them collapsing onto the ground, unmoving.
"Wow," Rei whistled cheerfully. "I never expected someone so small to be able to bring out so much power. It makes me wonder how you were so easily knocked out."
I couldn't help but feel stupid in what he said. It was true, somehow whoever knocked me out was able to transfer me all the way here. At the rate my skin was defending me unconsciously, I shouldn't be even able to be harmed.
Then it suddenly struck me. There really was no one here except the old man and Rei. So that meant that Rei was strong enough to knock me out temporarily. "So it was you." I carefully watched every movement.
Rei shrugged his shoulders as if he did not understand. "Little miss, I think you got the wrong impression."
"What is she talking about?" The old man asked. Then a couple seconds later, he finally caught onto our conversation. "Rei, I'll pay two times more if you can subdue her and bring her under control!"
"No."
"What did you just say?"
"No." Rei walked forward and sighed. "I thought I would choose a good client, but you can't even pay up, can you?" He looked over his shoulder towards the old man and shook his head in disdain.
"What are you talking about? I can!" The old man shouted, angry that he was being denied.
"No, what you are saying is just a bluff. I have already done a thorough search of your background and your bank amount. What you just paid me was literally everything that you have."
Alarmed, the old man turned quiet.
"You really think that the future prospect of support will give you the money to see you have the dragon? Hardly."
"You don't know that."
"No. I know it for sure. You see, I already made a deal with them."
"Traitor! You dare rat me out! I'll get you for this."
"You get me?" Rei sighed and pulled back his hair. "This is why I hate low life clients. They think that they have the power to overthrow me."
Out of nowhere, the old man's head went flying. With a thud, the body fell forward, and the head landed a few feet away from me.
I was utterly shocked. What the heck just happened? Everything was moving too fast for me to comprehend. Did Rei just turn Traitor, or did he save me? Wait, the question is, how the heck did this guy die?
Looking up, I saw blood dripping from midair and saw a thin, bright wire hanging where the old man stood. All of a sudden, I felt my guts feel queasy from the horrendous sight. I ran over to a corner and hurled. All the food that I ate, except for the gold coin, came out of my stomach.
I didn't understand how I was affected by this. When I have seen so many monsters and people die in the skirmish with the goblin. But then again, seeing them being beheaded so close up was a completely different story. The blood, the gore, and the beheading were vividly stuck in my head that I couldn't help but throw up once again.
"You seriously don't act like a dragon at all." Rei was behind me, rubbing my back.
I turned towards him and pushed him back. "Get away from me." I hissed.
"Little princess." Rei chuckled. "You're quite innocent, aren't you. I thought you would have ravaged villages, destroyed or killed people by now, but it seems you are nothing near that."
"I'm not a monster." I vehemently replied.
"Really? But that's not how the world sees you."
"Shut up."
"What? I was telling you what the world thinks of you now."
"Shut up."
"Princess, it's not bad, you know."
"I said, shut up!" A massive burst of fire shot towards him.
Rei barely dodged the attack, and the fire dissipated into smoke.
"I was right. You are a dragon. That old geezer just couldn't see it until it was too late."
"What do you want with me?"
"What do I want? Hmmm.….Gold and maybe a couple other things."
"Well, we are somewhat similar to that level."
"Really? You have a stash of gold?"
"That wouldn't be your concern."
"But you see, you have eaten my favorite gold coin. If that's not called stealing, what is?"
"Look, that was by complete accident. I was hungry, and I warned you countless times to take it, but nooooooo you didn't listen! Then look at what happened, and it was swallowed up in one gulp." I started to chatter.
"Apparently so." Rei shrugged it off. Not really caring about what I had said.
"You probably don't understand this, but that was one of the best meals that I had for a week. A Week!" I stressed the last words.
"A week, huh. That could be a problem."
"So with that being said, that was not my fault. So if you understand that, I would like you to let me go."
"You really think I'll say yes?"
"Yes." I stubbornly stated. Who am I fooling? Seriously, no bad guy would just let anyone go just because they asked. Right?
"Your right. You can go."
I stare flabbergasted. Did I just hear, right? I cleaned out my ears to make sure that I heard correctly. "Come again?"
"You can go."
I squinted towards him, not entirely believing in his words.
"Go on. I don't have all day."
I slowly walked towards the exit, where he was blocking the way. "You're not fibbing me, are you?"
"Why would I?" Rei held up his hands, showing me that he was defenseless.
I carefully walked around him, watching for any sudden movements. Then I picked up my pace and walked towards the door. All of a sudden, I felt an unexpected danger lurking in front of me.
Barely dodging hair breathe away, I felt something fly by my face. "What?"
"Rei, you really shouldn't let the Emperor's Dragon go so easily." A young Asian lady with red clothes walked out of the exit that I was heading for. Behind her, ten guards in traditional Chinese clothing came with her.
"Xing Ming. What a surprise that you are here. I didn't expect the Chinese Mafia would move in so fast." Rei spoke. He raised his hand and placed it on his hips.
"Are you out of your mind?" A young male's voice came out from the other door. All-clad is a rich black with a hint of blue, a handsome Italian man stepped forward. A group of well-outfitted men came in behind him. "You should've killed it!"
"Why if it isn't Stefano Accardi of the Italian Mafia. What are two powerful forces doing here of all times, especially in the middle of the night, to be exact?"
"Don't give me crap," Stefano spoke with disgust towards Rei. "You know as well as I do that wherever you go, you can not hide from my family."
"I would never," Rei said, he gave them a distraught look. His hand grabbed his chest.
"We knew your scamming still persisted until this day. Do you think we wouldn't move when we heard that a so-called Dragon wouldn't appear before us? I came to kill it to bring honor to my family."
"Kill it?" Xing hissed with anger. "You dare kill the Emperor's Dragon that will protect my family? My family has descended from the great Dragon Emperor of ancient times. My brother will be the next in line for such a title. We will never allow such barbaric acts befall upon us in front of us. She will marry into my family and bring honor to our family name."
"Marry a monster? Are you guys nuts? Do you not understand the evil that is standing in front of us?" Stefano pointed towards me. "It has been known throughout countless centuries that dragons are considered the devil's pet or the harbinger of the end. The end of the world is starting, and you want your family to marry the devil?"
"What preposterous lies are you spouting? You do not understand the power, wealth, and good luck a dragon brings. Instead, your religion clouds your judgment in thinking everything is a devil."
"I'm telling facts, you vile witch." Stefano waved a cross in front of him as if he was trying to repel a demon.
"Witch?" Xing spat at Stefano's feet. "The devil I see is already standing in front of me."
Tension was high in the air. Already, the two were pulling out guns ready to shoot each other if necessary. Even I could feel that the spike in danger was out of the ordinary. Every single one of these people was truly crazy. I couldn't help but wonder what the heck did I just got myself into.
"Guys. Guys. Guys. Let's not scare our little princess here. You all came here for business, have you not?" Rei called out, trying to quench the thirst of blood in the room.
Both Stefano and Xing toward Rei and the tension in the air simmered but still was present.
"Tch. You should've brought the monster to us, Rei. Have you forgotten your favor to me?"Xing replied with annoyance.
"No, absolutely not," Rei replied.
"Favor to you? I will buy off that favor, and instead, Rei, you should work under us. I always found you pleasing to the eye and charming in your own little way." Stefano replied, tapping the cross in his hand.
"I am glad that I am popular, but you see right now, I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why?" Stefano crossed his arms.
"Well, you see..." Rei strolled around and walked next to me. I scooted backward, trying not to be near him. "She is the merchandise, but you forgot." With a snap of his fingers, the light in the room became bright. They were twenty large monitors present in the room.
Every single one of them clicked on, and twenty hidden faces were present on the screen.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone