Chapter 1670: Chapter 20: What Makes a Home

In the innermost room of this strange place, Lei Yaz finally met the person in charge of this club called “Happy Domain”… “Happy Domain” is a place Mr. Wolf later told Lei Yaz about, saying it’s a place that specializes in selling [happiness].

Lei Yaz had never known that happiness could be sold.

But on the way, seeing those masked guests… Although they wore masks, the smiles revealed on their lips were undeniable.

That kind of smile should be happiness, right… Their gaze was also different from the gaze of the residents of Undersea City that Lei Yaz saw on the street.

He couldn’t quite figure out what this feeling was; in his memory, there was only one place where Undersea City residents would have similar gazes.

That was at the [Fietuo] competition venue.

People were celebrating, cheering hoarsely for the contestants they supported, and yelling insults at opponents.

He came back to his senses… Lei Yaz’s gaze returned to the owner of this “Happy Domain” club.

He was a man who appeared somewhat effeminate, wearing a deep red shirt with an open chest, his face made up like the bright makeup of the dancers who come out mid-[Fietuo] competition.

Additionally, there were two cute but scantily-dressed girls.

One girl was holding the club owner’s hand, carefully manicuring his nails; the other was kneeling on the carpet, gently rubbing the club owner’s legs.

“Wolf, is this the young man you’ve introduced this time?” The club owner slowly started talking after studying Lei Yaz for a few moments.

Mr. Wolf’s face was full of smiles, even more exaggerated than when receiving customers at the [Fietuo] shop, “Yes, honorable Mr. Levi’s, his name is Lei Yaz, and he is three years away from adulthood. His mother is a regular soldier from Undersea City, and his father is even a researcher from the Sixth Researcher… His background is quite clean.”

The club owner named Lewis nodded and smiled indifferently, then left his seat to walk in front of Lei Yaz.

His nails were particularly long, like the claws of the Sea Demon Clan… Lei Yaz felt his breathing start to become rapid.

Lewis directly grabbed Lei Yaz’s chin, circled him twice, and finally casually grabbed his rear, which startled Lei Yaz greatly, causing him to chuckle.

“What a fresh little guy, I think you’ll be very popular.” Lewis flicked his hair in front of his chest, then sat directly on the desk.

“As long as you’re satisfied, Mr. Levi’s!” Mr. Wolf’s smile became even brighter, “So, about the price?”

“Let me see, no hurry.” Lewis extended his hand, and a girl immediately understood, bringing Lewis a palm-sized box.

The box was somewhat like a cellphone, but more like a palm computer from the past… a flip cover without buttons.

Projections of light and shadow quickly displayed some detailed content, which Lewis squinted to examine… Mr. Wolf’s smile gradually became somewhat stiff.

Lei Yaz felt something was amiss but could only remember Mr. Wolf’s rule not to ask or speak too much… The atmosphere was peculiar, he suddenly had an urge to leave—especially after Lewis’s sudden grab, which caused mental rejection.

“Wolf, you didn’t really deceive me about this child’s information.” Mr. Levi’s suddenly glanced at Mr. Wolf.

“Of course! How dare I deceive you, Mr. Levi’s!” Mr. Wolf waved his hands quickly: “Even with a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare!”

“You didn’t deceive me, but it seems you also concealed some information…” Mr. Levi’s shook his head, “This child’s father is no longer a researcher at the Sixth Research Institute. His father is now a criminal of the empire, and a felon serving a life sentence for treason.”

“What?!”

“How could it be?!”

The former was Lei Yaz’s voice of surprise, the latter, Mr. Wolf’s gasp.

Seeing the almost simultaneous dumbfounded expressions of these two, Mr. Levi’s laughed a cackling laugh, “Interesting, interesting. As a son not knowing his father’s crime, and the introducer not checking thoroughly before sending him here, it’s truly amusing. Do they all see my place as a welfare institution?”

Crack—!

The sound came from the arm of the former Magic Energy Warrior 39.0 with a terrifying scar over his left eye… a mechanical clamping sound.

Mr. Wolf reflexively looked over and saw 39.0 raising his left arm… The left arm was covered with a thick, gray-white hand armor, with a hole in the palm sparking a faint glow.

Mr. Wolf’s legs started to shake, fearfully saying, “Mr. Levi’s, believe me! I really didn’t know about it! Treason? How is that possible! I was following the news, and Lei Yaz’s father was officially convicted of ‘major mistakes’ that caused massive casualties, how could it be treason? There must be some misunderstanding!”

“Yes, indeed it was misunderstood.” Lewis said calmly, “But it was only your misunderstanding… or rather, you were misled. Well, Wolf, because of your carelessness this time, I’ve decided to terminate all future cooperation with you. 39.0, escort Mr. Wolf out… Oh, and don’t forget to give Mr. Wolf a [Bliss Needle], consider it a fee for your services during this period.”

“[Bliss Needle]… I don’t want it! I don’t want it!!” Mr. Wolf suddenly shouted in fear, even reaching for a white knife from his close-fitting clothes, “I don’t want it… I won’t say anything, let me leave here! I promise… as long as I can—Ah—!”

39.0 suddenly struck, punching Mr. Wolf’s abdomen—just one punch, and Mr. Wolf collapsed without any movement.

39.0 silently carried Mr. Wolf out of the room.

Lei Yaz was already pale with fright… Now only he, Mr. Levi’s, and the two girls remained in the room.

“You can leave now, youngster. You’re not welcome here.” Lewis suddenly shook his head and said.

“What?” Lei Yaz was somewhat puzzled.

“Oh, youngster.” Lewis looked at Lei Yaz with some annoyance, “Do you know that because of Wolf, I’m very likely already being watched by the Gendarme Team from Undersea City? My God, I just moved to a new place!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Lei Yaz shook his head but frowned, “What did you say about my father’s crime earlier, what’s going on?”

“Youngster, I’m not interested in being your life mentor.” Lewis waved his hand, “Nor do I have any interest in answering your questions! Forget what happened tonight—the most important thing, forget about me! Oh my, why am I wasting time here with you? Where is 39.0? Why hasn’t 39.0 returned yet? Get this youngster out! And prepare a ship! Ship! I need to leave immediately!”

“You…” Lei Yaz tried to say something.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt his consciousness fade… The back of his neck seemed to suffer a violent blow—it was 39.0 who had returned, right behind him.

Lei Yaz collapsed to the ground.

The stern-faced 39.0 glanced at him, then frowned and said, “Is this Joash’s child?”

“Throw him out.” Lewis shook his head, “And don’t forget to get the ship ready… I definitely don’t want to go back to Undersea City’s prison again—you don’t know, that place will only deprive me of my source of happiness; I’d rather attack the Sea Demon Clan’s Hive than go in again! Damn, the Gendarme Team must already be blocking the door outside… If not, they’re blocking the path to the door! Ah ah ah, why am I so unlucky?”

39.0 looked expressionlessly at Mr. Levi’s, then silently picked up Rei Yaz and carried him out.

…

…

Rei Yaz heard some sounds… sounds akin to alarms.

He came back to his senses, only to find himself discarded in a garbage station… Rei Yaz used quite a bit of effort to crawl out of the garbage station.

He didn’t know why he was there, he only remembered going to the “Bliss Club” and then… Rei Yaz walked out of the alley in confusion.

In the distance, he saw flames… those flames illuminated a small part of East Thirteenth Street!

Rei Yaz was startled, swiftly rushing towards the fire. By now, many residents nearby had come out — and the Undersea City had already dispatched the fire-fighting disaster management team.

Rei Yaz stood there, staring blankly at the burning spot; it was the residence leading to the “Happy Domain” club!

“How did this suddenly catch on fire?”

“It seems no one has come out… could they have burned to death?”

The residents were whispering about something.

At the fire scene, besides the disaster management team members, there were two other men in black robes wearing half masks… the emblem on their chests was the Gendarme Team’s emblem!

Rei Yaz kept his head down among the crowd, quietly worried, afraid to draw the attention of the two Gendarme Team members — he remembered Mr. Levi’s also mentioning the Gendarme Team.

— Your father has committed treason!

— Do you know that because of you, I might already be under the Gendarme Team’s surveillance?

All the way, Mr. Levi’s words kept echoing in Rei Yaz’s mind… could the house fire be related to the Gendarme Team?

That Mr. Levi’s, that fierce-looking 39.0, and those people in the club, are they… in this fire?

Rei Yaz had never felt so afraid.

He kept his head down, running desperately… running and suddenly bumping into something, falling to the ground.

“Kid, are you okay? How come you’re running around alone so late?”

It was a worker doing nighttime street cleaning… seeing Rei Yaz’s panicked appearance, he reached out a hand to help.

Rei Yaz was frightened, recalling the terrifying gaze of those two Gendarme Team members even in the dark, he cried out, lowered his head, bumped into the cleaner, and ran off again, ignoring the calls behind him.

He kept running with his head down, unconsciously arriving at home—not the place he moved into alone, but the house where he lived with his parents since birth.

Rei Yaz quickly opened the door, ran inside, closed the door, and sat at the entrance, panting heavily, trying to calm his racing heart.

After a while, Rei Yaz calmed down… listening outside the street, but it was quiet, and Rei Yaz gradually relaxed.

At this moment, there was no one else at home but him.

Since his father’s incident and imprisonment, and after he moved out, only his mother lived here alone… but in fact, being a soldier in the Undersea City’s military, his mother spent most of her time in the barracks, rarely coming home.

Rei Yaz turned on the light, walked to the living room, and looked around… his mother probably hadn’t come home for at least a week.

He activated the image bottle in the living room.

His mother had indeed left him a message.

The small bottle began to emit a conical beam, and his mother’s figure appeared in the light.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Rei Yaz. Are you doing well? Things have been strict at the camp lately, and it’s inconvenient for Mom to leave. Don’t worry about your father’s situation, Mom will find a way, you just need to take care of yourself.”

It stopped there.

His mother still wore a smiling face.

Watching it, Rei Yaz’s nose turned sour involuntarily.

After staying at home for a while, he remembered the Flywheel for the competition still wasn’t assembled, so he locked the door and returned to his independent housing.

This time, Rei Yaz didn’t walk close to the street where Mr. Wolf took him to that residence, but made a long detour to return to his apartment.

This had been the most thrilling yet terrifying night Rei Yaz had ever experienced—even sneaking out of the Undersea City to collect minerals among the Sea Demon Clan didn’t leave him as shaken as tonight.

The apartment lights were still on.

Standing in front of his apartment door, Rei Yaz looked at the light, feeling dazed.

After a while, he gently pushed the door open, walked into his apartment—wasn’t this his apartment?

The big brother and sister must have gone to sleep by now, since it’s so late.

Rei Yaz shook his head, didn’t walk into the living room, but instead headed directly to the workshop… still determined to join the All-Star competition.

He turned on the workshop lights.

Rei Yaz saw the food stored on the table with a thermal device… freshly cooked, he suddenly felt like crying.

He plopped down onto the floor.

Only now did the young boy recognize his fear, or perhaps fear had truly arrived.