*****
"These demons are here again! Why?" Laura became terrified, hearing the playful and condescending roar.
Trembling, she forced herself to her feet and rushed out with a panicky countenance.
"Ma—master Frosh Junior, I—I had no idea you were coming today," she stuttered nervously.
Currently standing outside the dilapidated and partially collapsed house was a 17-year-old young man with a small build. He wore a brightly colored outfit consisting of baggy trousers hanging halfway down his butt, an oversized shirt three times his size, and a bandana tied around his head, exuding an air of arrogance.
Standing proudly behind the boy was a group of gangsters, all presently glaring at Laura in disdain a disgust.
"You old hag, why did you intentionally make elder brother waste his strength calling you? Weren't you supposed to have been out waiting for him?" one of the gangsters behind Frosh Junior abruptly asked as soon as Laura appeared, causing her to shiver from apprehension.
"I—I dear not. I—I immediately ran out the moment I heard Master Frosh Junior's call and I had no idea he was coming," she stuttered.
"So, you're calling me what? A liar?" The gangster who had just interrogated Laura pressed further, causing Laura's heart to sink.
"I—I dear not! I dear not!" She panicked even more.
"What do you mean, then, you stupid old hag?" Another gangster inquired angrily and the following second, he stepped arrogantly toward Laura, his eyes flashing with fierceness.
"Also, how many times do we have to tell you to always be on your knees when meeting the elder brother? Do you enjoy getting beaten up that much?"
"I—I… please forgive me!" Laura cried out and hurriedly fell to her knees, her heart sinking more from fear of getting beaten up.
Right now, she just wanted the gangsters to leave, cause which mother would want their child to see them being oppressed like this? None.
"Ma—master Frosh Junior, I—I thought you—you already came yesterday for this week's protection fee, why—why are you here again today?" she inquired, but as soon as she was done asking, she realized she had made a grave mistake.
As she had expected, all the gangsters went silent upon hearing her, staring at her as though she had turned into an alien.
Well, since the gangsters weren't a major threat unless their leader gave them the go-ahead, Laura quickly glanced at the face of the devil, and the look she saw there sent her heart straight to hell.
It was a look of rage.
"So, you think that because I haven't let my boys touch you recently, you have the right to question when I can or cannot come?" Frosh Junior asked with a menacing tone.
"I—I dare not!"
"Master, just give us the go-ahead to teach this old hag a lesson!"
"How dare she speak to you in such a manner!"
"We've told you that not letting us deal with these old fools will only make them more arrogant!"
The gangsters, as if they were the ones Laura had just addressed or insulted, snapped back to their senses and went into a frenzy.
Their eyes turned vicious as they yelled, causing Laura to shiver uncontrollably and turn ashen with trepidation.
"Silence!" Frosh Junior suddenly barked, causing the gangsters and Laura to tremble hard.
"Elder—"
"I say silence!" Frosh Junior barked again, shooting a death glare at the unwilling gangster.
After that, he glanced back at Laura, causing her heart to start banging in her chest.
She thought she was done for already, but then contrary to her thought, Frosh Junior abruptly smirked.
"Well, can you blame me for coming back today after I just collected your protection fee yesterday for this week?" He inquired playfully.
The faces of Laura and the gangsters went blank and they stared at Frosh Junior in a daze as though he were an alien after hearing him.
Frosh Junior smirked even more before continuing, "After getting home yesterday and counting all the protection money I received, I realized that your house, being in such poor condition, requires more protection than usual, meaning that the protection fee you will pay from now on will naturally double that of the past."
"This…" Laura's soul dropped.
"You—you are doubling our house's protection fee?" She enquired with disbelief, her entire body trembling as though she had just heard a piece of really bad news.
"Ma—master, have—have you forgotten that my husband and I struggle to save every single penny we earn just to pay the previous protection fee? How—how are we supposed to come up with twice the amount when it usually takes us forever to earn just one payment in the past?" she cried with rapidly redden eyes.
"Hahahaha," Frosh Junior laughed as if he had just heard a funny joke, then abruptly smirked wickedly. "How does it concern me even if you two starve and work yourself to death to come up with the money?"
"All I'm telling you is that starting from now, you will pay two times the protection fee you paid in the past."
"You—you…" Laura trembled harder, but then she sighed heavily, recalling that her son was around and she did not want him to see her in her current situation.
She stared unwillingly at Frosh Junior, who only smirked playfully at her in return before she picked up the helm of her long skirt, where there was a small knot.
"I told you the old hag will definitely have some money on her," One of the gangsters spat playfully, not minding that Laura would hear.
Laura, pained to the core loosened the knot, and then with a trembling hand, she took the entire life savings of herself and her husband out.
"This is all the money my family has in heaven and on earth, please accept it," she respectfully presented it over to Frosh Junior.
"Hahahaha, now we are talking," Frosh Junior laughed excitedly and sauntered arrogantly over to receive the money.
The instant he saw the amount in Laura's outstretched hand, however, he was left dumbstruck and it wasn't only himself, but all his men included.
"Big brother, looks like this old hag has seen us as a group of beggars," one of the gangsters abruptly stated while Frosh Junior;
His eyes rapidly turned aggressive. "Did you just hand this to me?" He inquired with a furious tremble.
"That's all the money my family has in savings and it was meant to prepare a meal for us today as we hadn't eaten anything in days due to saving your money," Laura weakly responded with blurry and pained eyes.
"Five cents?" Frosh Junior inquired with disbelief and in the next second, he laughed with rage.
"Beat this old bitch up right now until she brings out all the money she has, and if she still fails, destroy this run-down house." He ordered
"Yes, big brother," the gangsters behind Frosh Junior eagerly responded before rushing forward, happily flexing their arms.
"I've even dying to beat you up since," one of them said excitedly before raising his hand to slap Laura in the face.
Just as the hand was on the verge of hitting Laura, however, a sudden strong coldness descended almost freezing the soul of everyone present.
"I swear on my life that I will destroy you down to your last lineage if that hand dares to touch her," a voice so terrifying that it seemed to come from the deepest layer of hell echoed, striking fear into the soul of everyone who heard it.