Chapter 95
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“On the rocks! Four glasses, please!”
Bailey, who had just ordered the cheapest whiskey, slid the menu to the server with a boisterous flourish. After making it sound like he’d be treating everyone, he promptly clammed up about spending more, earning a quiet pout from Brenda.
“Looks like we’re just going to be drinking bitter liquor without any snacks tonight.”
“Brenda, how old are you and you still don’t get alcohol?”
“Of course it’s bitter. What do you expect? Places like this only serve the cheapest stuff.”
“Oh come on, you never know! Sometimes the most ordinary places turn out to be hidden gems!”
“He’s right.”
Samuel suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention.
With his elbows propped on the table, Samuel laced his fingers in front of his mouth, slightly hiding his face. Even so, everyone at the table could see his lips move.
He mouthed:
‘There are way too many Espers among the customers.’
Everyone’s face tightened at once.
‘All the people who came in headed straight for that area.’
His eyes darted toward the one and only private room, reserved for VIPs.
Suddenly, Bailey made a loud fuss, standing up with a bang. All eyes turned their way at the noise.
“Jeez! What’s taking so long with those drinks?”
Staggering as if drunk, Bailey bumped into a passerby.
“Ow! What the hell?”
“What’s your problem?”
“Oh, look at that attitude. Are you picking a fight with me? Is that it?”
A minor collision quickly escalated. The other guy, also quite drunk, grabbed Bailey by the collar, and Bailey grabbed his hair in return.
“You wanna have a go?!”
In no time, the bar erupted in chaos, with people gathering to watch the scuffle.
But amidst the commotion, the other team members at the table had already disappeared. Brenda and Samuel exchanged a glance before slipping off in different directions—the signal was Bailey banging on the table and standing up.
Another teammate from a nearby table joined Bailey to keep up the distraction, while the rest used the opportunity to investigate the suspicious area.
“Private room for reservations.”
Samuel murmured, barely louder than a breath, as he brushed past a disguised comrade, who gave a slight nod and disappeared.
Pretending to be annoyed by the crowd, Samuel staggered away as if he were drunk. He noticed one Esper from the Security Guard arguing with a staff member, trying to get into the private room. Seizing the moment, Samuel slipped inside unnoticed.
“…What the—?”
What he thought was a private room turned out to be a long corridor. He glanced back, but nobody followed—he was alone.
Guides were never supposed to infiltrate enemy territory on their own, but there was no sign of his teammates coming in after him.
After wetting his lips nervously, Samuel started down the corridor. The walls, the same dull blue-gray as the bar outside, stretched on and on. From the outside, this just looked like an ordinary bar—where did this hallway lead?
After a few turns, he suddenly found a staircase leading down. Without hesitation, Samuel descended, tightly gathering his guiding energy just in case.
A few steps down, an acrid, heavy smoke suddenly stung his nose. He quickly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve.
‘Hallucinogens.’
Just breathing it in for a split second made his vision float and blur. Shaking his head, Samuel looked around.
People were sprawled across the cold stone floor, not a sofa in sight. All of them lay there with vacant, blissed-out smiles, staring off into space, as if seeing something only they could perceive.
Samuel stepped back at a glance. He pulled back on his guiding.
‘They’re all Espers.’
He could feel it the moment he entered, their Esper bodies were pulling on his tightly-guarded guiding energy like magnets.
He was grateful none of them were awake. Cold sweat trickled down his back. If he let his guard down for even a moment, every Esper in the room would be on him like a pack of wolves, draining him dry. That was the one thing he had to avoid at all costs.
Keeping as quiet as possible, Samuel made his way to the door at the far end of the stairs.
Luckily, it wasn’t locked. He carefully opened it—and was startled to find someone standing right there.
“Samuel Norah?”
“…Ricola.”
Ricola stared at him, eyes wide, then quickly glanced over his shoulder, as if checking to see if anyone else was with him.
“You made it this far alone?”
“Yeah.”
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