Chapter 593 - 589: The Trio

"Tch!" Jameson Stone scoffed. "Antisocial personality? What a nice way to put it. The way I see it, the guy’s just born rotten. A complete fucking idiot."

In all his life, he’d never seen someone so disgusting.

Seeing Jameson’s indignant expression, Ethan Sterling smiled again and placated him, going along with his words. "Yeah. So why should we get angry over a fucking idiot?"

"You’re the only one with a good enough temper to not throw a punch," Jameson muttered with a cold snort. "I just don’t get it. How does a guy like that grow up without any trouble? Hasn’t anyone ever put him in his place?"

Ethan Sterling pursed his lips in silence.

’It was precisely because Owen Griffin had never really suffered any consequences growing up that he’d had such an extreme reaction to being outplayed by him.’

But Ethan himself clearly had no intention of getting any more tangled up with Owen Griffin. He knew from experience that getting involved with people like that only ends up making you feel disgusted with yourself.

But while he was able to let it go, there were others who, like Jameson, felt indignant on his behalf.

「Nightfall. The Tangerine Bar in the Midpoint District.」

At the intersection, Golden Blade and his two companions stood smoking, chatting idly while their eyes remained fixed on the entrance of the bar not far away.

"Blade, are we really doing this tonight?"

The intersection was windy. Caelum tightened his jacket as he spoke, a hint of anticipation on his face.

Golden Blade took a sharp drag from his cigarette. "We have to. All this staking out has slowed us down. I’ve been holding this in for Ethan for too long. I have to let it out for him."

Monkey, sitting on the curb, chimed in, "Blade, if you ask me, we should just slash the bastard’s tires. It’d be so much easier. The second he hits the road, karma will come for him."

Monkey had barely finished speaking when Caelum kicked him. "Are you an idiot? The area around Lorcain U is covered in cameras, aren’t you scared? Besides, look at the cars that guy drives. Which one could we afford to pay for? If we get caught, we’re going straight to jail. And if he gets in a wreck on the road and someone dies, we’re done for. All you think about is taking the easy way out, huh?"

Monkey scratched his head, too scared to say another word.

Golden Blade said with a deadpan expression, "Caelum’s right. That’s why we spent more time staking the place out. We have to be smart this time. We can’t let him call the cops, and more importantly, we can’t cause any trouble for Ethan."

The group had been planning for nearly a month to get even for Ethan. At first, they staked out the area near the university, planning to just beat Owen Griffin up, but they later realized it wouldn’t work. There were cameras everywhere.

Also, that guy Owen Griffin rarely showed up alone. He was either with a group of friends or his girlfriend.

And they didn’t want to involve any innocent people.

So, after tailing him for a while, they discovered that Owen Griffin came to this bar to hang out every Saturday night. That’s when Golden Blade decided to make their move at the bar.

The bar was full of all sorts of people, crowded and dimly lit—the most convenient place to do something.

"Bro, he’s here!"

A moment later, Owen Griffin’s eye-catching car did indeed pull up slowly to the bar’s entrance. Seeing this, the three of them quickly pressed themselves against the wall to be less conspicuous.

They had been tailing Owen Griffin for so long that they had memorized the license plate numbers of the two cars he usually drove.

After the car came to a stop, several young men got out one after another, with Owen Griffin being the last to emerge from the driver’s seat.

The arrival of the luxury car naturally drew curious and envious gazes from the young men and women at the bar’s entrance. Owen Griffin savored moments like these. Even a car he drove casually was something these people could never afford in their entire lives.

Surrounded by his friends like the moon by stars, he walked through the main entrance. Golden Blade poked Caelum, who was still staring blankly. "Give me another cigarette."

Caelum handed him a cigarette and lit it, asking curiously, "Bro, when are we going in?"

"No rush." Golden Blade already had a plan in mind and continued to smoke, his expression calm.

Monkey couldn’t help but speak up again. "Bro, you know Ethan’s sister is so badass. Why doesn’t Ethan just tell her about this stuff? If his sister wanted to deal with this guy, it wouldn’t be our turn to step in. Wouldn’t it be Kai and Duane? They’d straighten that bastard out for good."

"Ethan’s not the type to go looking for fights," Golden Blade said, his tone soft and reminiscent. "Remember what happened with us? He didn’t even tell his sister when his expensive bike got stolen. He didn’t think to tell her even when I was threatening him to his face in the pool hall. It was Kai who recognized him in the end."

"I can actually understand him. A guy running to his big sister for every little thing... he’d definitely feel conflicted about it."

Hearing this, Caelum and Monkey nodded in agreement, thinking Golden Blade had a point.

Golden Blade added, "But we’re different. Ethan considers us his friends. So as friends, it’s only right that we help our brother get even. Ethan is loyal, and after all our years on the streets, we can’t just hear about something like this and pretend we didn’t."

"Blade’s right," Caelum agreed.

But then Golden Blade stomped his foot in frustration. "Fucking picked the wrong day. The damn temperature suddenly dropped. I’m freezing my ass off."

Caelum and Monkey were cold too. They exchanged a look, and Caelum suggested, "Bro, why don’t we move closer to the bar entrance? It’s windy at this intersection, and it should be warmer where there are more people."

Golden Blade nodded and was the first to walk toward the bar’s entrance.

Time passed slowly. It was almost eleven o’clock, and the bar hit its peak hours. People were constantly going in and out, but Golden Blade’s group still didn’t move. Huddled together, they neither went in nor left.

They were still waiting.

After waiting for nearly two more hours, it was almost one in the morning. The wind had turned Caelum’s face red. Monkey had it even worse; his thin frame was frozen through. He would probably catch a cold after tonight.

"It’s about time."

When Golden Blade spoke, the other two jolted and straightened up. "Bro, are we going in?"

Golden Blade looked at them and said, "I’ll go in by myself. You two wait for me out here."

"Huh?" Caelum was shocked. "By yourself? Isn’t that too dangerous? You should at least take me with you as backup."

"No need. The fucking cover charge here is ridiculously expensive. One ticket is enough." Golden Blade held out his hand. "Give me the stuff."

At the mention of money, Caelum and Monkey couldn’t help but hesitate.

Money was the one thing the brothers were shortest on lately. A bar frequented by a rich kid like Owen Griffin was bound to have a steep cover charge.

Caelum pulled a small paper packet from his pocket and handed it to Golden Blade. "Be careful, then."

Golden Blade asked uncertainly, "Will this stuff work?"

"Bro, don’t you worry. The effect is absolutely instantaneous!" Caelum promised, patting his chest.

Golden Blade, having no reason to doubt him, took the packet and turned toward the bar.

Caelum’s and Monkey’s hearts immediately tensed up. Although they always trusted Blade to get things done, their target had at least five or six people with him. If Blade was discovered, they wouldn’t be able to get inside, and he would likely be at a disadvantage.