By Zephyria The surroundings were silent. Koi remained frozen, staring at Nelson. He suddenly felt like he had regressed to that time when he was utterly pathetic. The young Koi, who reflexively cowered and was terrified at the sight of him, had suddenly been resurrected. He thought he had forgotten everything, but he hadn’t. His mouth was parched, and his throat was so dry he couldn’t make a sound.
It felt like he was having an impossible nightmare. Koi couldn’t move and just stood there. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Nelson was the first to break the silence. Even though it was already late in the evening, he yawned widely, looking as if he had just woken up, his face puffy, and stepped aside.
“Come on in.”
Hearing his casual tone, Koi belatedly snapped out of it. He hurriedly entered, and the luxurious interior immediately came into view. He had already seen the size of the mansion from the outside, but he was still taken aback by the incredibly spacious interior. Koi quickly composed himself and opened his mouth.
“Where is the problem?”
Afraid that his voice might tremble, he asked in as low a voice as possible. Nelson, without any particular reaction, shuffled and walked to one side. The stairs, divided on both sides, merged into one in the center and then split again into two. Koi silently followed Nelson, trying to calm his mind.
He had never imagined he would see Nelson again. He had caused trouble and left school shortly before graduation, and no one had seen him since. But here he was in the East Coast. And he seemed to have become incredibly wealthy. The enormous mansion was covered in marble and gilded in gold, as if to flaunt his success. But Koi had a more pressing issue.
He doesn’t seem to recognize me.
Nelson’s reaction was too ordinary. He was just a homeowner greeting a repairman, nothing more, nothing less.
Al did say I’ve changed a lot.
More than anything, Koi was surprised that his gaze reached Nelson’s head. He had thought Nelson was incredibly big when he was young, but now he was smaller than Koi. In fact, he was probably average height or a little shorter. Koi had just been smaller and much weaker. Thinking that made him feel strange.
He’s starting to lose his hair.
When he noticed that the top of his head was already thinning, Nelson opened the door to a room.
“It’s here.”
Nelson stopped at the second-floor lounge. It was a mess, with empty bottles and trash scattered everywhere, as if there had been a party the night before. Several men and women were sprawled around, either drinking or passed out. They must have been exhausted from partying all night and hadn’t woken up yet. Koi pretended not to see them and hurried into the kitchen on one side of the lounge. The small kitchen, equipped for preparing simple meals and drinks, contained the sink he was supposed to fix. Of course, it was also a mess.
He was cleaning up the trash that had been carelessly left out before starting the repair when he heard a commotion behind him.
“What, did someone else come?”
To the question, slurred from being drunk, Nelson replied in a similar tone.
“Someone to fix the plumbing. Just ignore him.”
“I thought someone had come to our paradise.”
Another voice chimed in with a giggle. Koi, who was gathering the trash to one side, inadvertently saw them snorting white powder from a pile on the table. Koi froze, the boss’s warning flashing through his mind, and he realized how Nelson had acquired this wealth.
“Cough, your stuff is the best. Where do you get such high-quality stuff?”
Hearing the admiring words, accompanied by sniffling, Koi was certain that his guess was correct. There was no time to waste. He began to move faster than before. He just wanted to finish the job and get out of there as quickly as possible. Behind him, Nelson chuckled and said,
“I told you, only I can get this. Don’t even think about messing with me, or you’ll all be in trouble.”
Despite the slurred pronunciation, it was a rather chilling warning. Of course, Koi had no desire to be involved with people dealing with these kinds of drugs, so he hurriedly turned on the water to check the problem. Another man said from behind,
“Haaa… lucky Alphas. They can do this stuff all their lives and be fine, right? They don’t get drunk or addicted. And they have tons of money.”
Soon, acrid smoke filled the air. Koi thought it was a cigarette, but what he glimpsed looked different. Another guy lit it and asked,
“You went there, right? The Pheromone party. Most of the drug use is there, isn’t it?”
“I’m curious. What’s it like? They say there are tons of True Alphas there? Do they really all have purple eyes?”
“They say there’s tons of expensive booze and drugs, and they just have sex with anyone they grab.”
“It’s heaven.”
“It’s heaven.”
Laughter followed. Koi silently separated the drainpipe and checked for blockages. As expected, there were clumps of food scraps and other unpleasant debris. As he scraped them out, he heard Nelson’s voice.
“No matter how great they think they are, they can’t even remember anything when their Pheromones build up. The party wouldn’t even happen without my stuff…”
Another woman, who had been listening to his self-praise, asked,
“So, do you deal with those True Alphas even outside of the party? Do you have their contact information?”
“Of course, who do you think I am? Who else in this city can supply such high-quality drugs on a regular basis?”
He then proudly began to rattle off the names of famous True Alphas. From politicians to celebrities, company chairmen, and prominent professors, everyone listened with admiration as the names flowed out.
“Then you have nothing to worry about, no matter what happens.”
Nelson nodded arrogantly at someone’s words.
“Of course. Who do you think my lawyer is?”
At the name that followed, Koi involuntarily stopped his busy hands.
“It’s Ashley Miller. You know him, right? That guy from Miller Law Firm.”
“What?”
“Miller? Really?”
As if echoing Koi’s shocked feelings, the guys around him shouted from here and there.
“That place is super expensive! And Ashley Miller is your lawyer?”
“No way, you’re lying, right?”
“Yeah, that’s too much.”
Boos followed, and Nelson immediately became angry and shouted in a rough voice.
“You bastards, you don’t believe me? Ashley Miller was my subordinate in high school.”
Ugh.
Koi almost let out an involuntary gasp of horror. He barely managed to suppress it, but everyone else’s reaction was no different.
“That’s too much, really.”
“You need to do drugs in moderation.”
“Yeah, you’ll get holes in your head. Like that guy.”
Laughter erupted. Everyone was laughing loudly. The only two who weren’t laughing were Koi and Nelson. Nelson, his face red with anger, suddenly stood up and ran somewhere. He soon returned with a gun in his hand.
“Shut up, you fucking bastards!”
Nelson screamed. Koi hurriedly looked around, but the guys who had been laughing and talking were now laughing at him again. They were all out of their minds, probably from the drugs. Nelson, his face pale, saw Nelson pulling the trigger, and then a loud gunshot rang out.
The police, alerted by a neighbor’s report, arrested them all less than ten minutes later.
Unfortunately, Koi was among them.
* * *
Shouts, cries, and snores echoed from all directions. Koi, huddled in the cramped detention cell, was still dazed. He couldn’t believe he was in jail. He had only gone there to do a repair, so why was he here?
From the moment he was arrested, he had insisted on his innocence, but the police brushed it off and shoved them all into one space. As a result, Koi was left in a cramped detention cell with drug addicts he had never met before, including Nelson.
What should I do?
His mind was filled with images of them doing drugs. He felt a headache coming on at the thought of getting a criminal record. Haaa, he sighed involuntarily.
“Nelson, do something!”
Someone shouted. The attention of the guys who were even slightly sober focused on one place. Koi also inadvertently looked at him, and Nelson snapped irritably.
“What do you want me to do, you fucking bastards? It’s all your fault.”
The guy who had shouted first didn’t back down at the immediate backlash.
“Get us out of here. You said you know a lot of people, right? Call them and tell them to get us out of here quickly.”
“Who am I supposed to call?”
Nelson sneered as if he couldn’t believe it, and another guy suddenly shouted.
“Ashley Miller! Your lawyer!”
At the unexpected name, Nelson froze.(140)============================================================