"You heard him. Hand over the damn money! Oh wait, where are you going to get $50,000? I totally forgot, you're poor! Hahah!"
The one standing close to the curtains laughed, prompting the others to join in his mockery.
'Shit! I can't make any sudden moves, or they'll kill her...'
Alaric raised both his hands.
"Uhn?! You think we'll let you go just because you give up? What? You're going to beg for your life now?" The one with the gun aimed at Alaric spoke, a disgusted expression on his face.
Alaric remained calm.
"There is no reason for me to resort to violence. Since you're here for the money, you can take it. Just let us go."
The room fell silent.
"You shithead!" The gang member pressed the gun's tip against Alaric's forehead. "The fuck you think this is? Are you mocking us right now? I'll blow your damn head off."
Fortunately for Alaric, he had his phone in his hand the whole time. If it had been in his pocket, reaching for it would have caused another issue.
Turning the screen of the phone towards the man, he spoke:
"See? I have the money right now in my bank account. Just tell me where to send it."
Everyone was surprised, including his sister.
Where could he have found such a huge sum of money?
"The hell? Did you take another loan to pay us back? You must be really stupid."
"If it means you'll leave us alone, I don't mind it," Alaric responded calmly.
"..."
"Let me see that..."
The gang member snatched the phone from Alaric's grasp, still aiming the gun at him, a smile on his face.
"Hey now, guys, check this out, it's valid."
"For real? Sick! We can keep the money for ourselves. It's been a while since I've spent lavishly."
"Uhn?" Alaric's face was suddenly etched with worry.
"I second that! Kill the brat, and we'll just tell the boss he didn't pay up. He'd believe us anyway."
"Hey! What the hel—"
Before he could complete his sentence, the gang member smacked Alaric on the head with his gun, causing him to fall to the ground, blood dripping from the side of his head.
"Hmmmmmmm!!!" Alaric's sister panicked, desperately trying to free herself, but the man holding her was stronger.
"Sorry, kid. The world is a dangerous place. Tough luck next time."
The man said, aiming the gun at Alaric.
At that moment, Alaric felt nothing but rage.
Was he seriously going to die to these scumbags?
Even after gathering the money they needed?
'I refuse!'
Alaric gritted his teeth, angry.
Yet he knew there was nothing he could do. He wasn't faster than a bullet, nor was he strong enough to take on five fully armed gang members.
His anger subsided, and he fell into a peaceful abyss.
The only regret he had was not being able to do anything to help his sister.
"See you in hell, kid." The man was ready to shoot.
"Uhm, Master, do you want me to take care of these guys?"
The man froze, immediately turning his eyes towards the entrance of the room.
There, he could see a strange-looking woman, dressed in red and with mysterious glowing eyes.
It was Stella.
"Stella..." Alaric blurted out.
"Oh shit, another woman? Damn, kid, didn't know you were such a womanizer!" One of them spoke, licking his lips as he observed Stella's sexy and attractive thighs.
"Guess we have another woman to present to the boss," another spoke.
[Stella is ready to fight for you.]
'Uhn? She can fight?'
Alaric took a second to look at Stella again. Other than her beauty, she didn't seem like the type who could harm a bug.
[Your avatar awaits your orders.]
But this was the system telling him this.
And so far, nothing the system had told him had turned out wrong.
Doubting now would only be stupid. It was now or nothing.
"Stella! Help me!" Alaric yelled the first thing that came to his mind.
"As you wish, Master." She bowed her head.
"You are really pathetic, aren't you? You really want this pretty girl to help you? Miss, come here, let me he—"
It happened so fast.
The huge red blade Stella had constructed sliced the head of the gang member clean off, his head rolling on the floor as blood spewed from the neck.
Baam!
His headless body fell to the ground.
Shock now filled the air in the room.
"You bitch!"
Another gang member yelled, aiming his gun at Stella and firing.
She deflected the bullet with her blade before charging forward in a flash.
A single slash was all it took for her to chop the gang member's body in half.
The rest tried to fight back but met the same fate.
Blood and body parts scattered across the hospital room.
Once she had successfully cleared the room of every Red Axe member, she dispelled her blade and looked at her shock-ridden master.
"Should I also get rid of the girl?" Stella asked.
"No!" Alaric immediately responded, his hand stretched forward.
'No way, this lady... did all this?' He looked around, still unable to believe it even though he had witnessed it.
[Notice!]
[You have unlocked the Avatar affection feature.]
[Your Avatar wants a reward.]
[A pat on the head.]
[Reward: $5000]
Alaric shifted his gaze from the screen that had appeared before him to Stella, watching as she kept her hands behind her back while swaying slightly.
He stood up and walked toward her.
"Thank you for helping me." He patted her on the head.
Stella melted with joy.
[Notice! Your Avatar's interest has increased.]
[You have gained +17 points toward the 500 points needed to unlock the 100% Cashback feature.]
'I would never have believed this could happen if I wasn't the one living it. I won't question it, not now. As long as I keep gaining money, I won't question what doesn't matter.'
"A..laric?"
His sister, Anna, called out to him, her voice still trembling.
....
[A\N: Please vote for this book.]