A cold wind was howling in the winter night. A silver Volkswagen Santana was speeding along the snow-laden asphalt road.
In the car, Joy Mu, a sixteen-year-old girl, looked nervously at the man next to her. She had called him father for more than ten years.
The man was gripping the steering wheel so excitedly that his knuckles had turned pale.
"Dad,"
said Joy Mu cautiously as she reached out and tugged on his sleeve.
He shook off her hand and yelled with a twisted expression, "Don't call me Dad! I'm not your father."
"Waa, waa!"
Police sirens wailed in the distance behind them.
"Attention, car number 6758! Please pull over."
The man was not affected by the warning. He stepped on the gas and sped ahead. Then he fished out his phone from his pocket and tossed it to her. "Call up your mother and ask her to save you. Hurry up!"
The phone rang and her mother answered the call.
"Hello? Do you want money again? I have already told you... You cannot call me on this number,"
a woman said irritably in a hushed tone.
"Mom? It's me."
It felt so strange to say that word. Joy Mu had thought she was different from others as she was born without a mother.
The woman on the phone paused for a while. She never expected the person on the other line to be her daughter.
"Marry, listen! You have lied to me for so many years. I'm going to die with this bastard child. I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life!"
roared the man, who had grabbed the phone. He threw it out of the window after he was done.
"Watch out!"
The surge of adrenaline coursing through him distracted him from the road and he failed to notice the road ahead. A large truck of containers suddenly appeared on the highway. The man swerved sharply to avoid a collision but it was too late.
"Bang!" The car rammed into the truck. In a moment of desperation, Joy Mu raised her arm to protect the man's head.
The Imperial City, an entertainment club, was located in the center of A City.
It was known for being the favorite haunt of the rich and famous who spent more money here in one night than three years' salary of ordinary people.
Joy Mu secretly followed a man with a big waist and a gold necklace. He looked nouveau riche. Behind him was a large group of strong bodyguards.
The interior decoration in the Imperial City was particularly magnificent. The man with the golden necklace seemed to be a regular guest there. The manager immediately stepped forward and bowed to greet him.
The manager led them to room 414, where another group of people was already waiting.
The man with the gold necklace was the biggest drug dealer in A City!
Joy Mu sneaked into the bathroom, took out the uniform she had carried in advance and changed into it. Amy Shen waited at the door with a room service cart. As soon as Joy Mu stepped out of the bathroom, Amy Shen handed her the cart and made a gesture discreetly, indicating that she and the editor would be waiting for her outside.
Joy pushed the cart forward and secretly signaled OK!
The cart stopped at the gate of room 414. Joy was about to walk in when she was stopped by two bodyguards dressed in black.
"What are you doing?"
"Here's the lobster!"
Joy was so nervous that her palms were sweating, but she pretended to be unaffected.
The two bodyguards were wary. They immediately opened the lid to double-check.
After confirming there was nothing unusual inside, they allowed her in.
She took a bracing breath and pushed the cart into the room.
Inside, the man in the gold necklace was talking to an American man with a dragon tattoo on his arm. When he heard the door open, he frowned slightly.
Joy immediately indicated that she was there to deliver the food. She put the lobster on the table and quickly placed the micro bug in her hand under the table.
When she was done, she turned to leave.
"Stop!" said the drug lord suddenly.
Joy's heart lurched but she turned around with a bright smile.
"Do you need anything else, Sir?"
"Why is there no number on your uniform?"
he asked gruffly and went close to her for a better look. All the waiters in the Imperial City had their badge numbers pinned onto their uniforms.
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