A large high-rise hotel in the centre of Underdog City.
On the 69th and 70th floors, a large club is located.
âBurning suspensionâ
An exclusive social club where the best and brightest of Underdog City gather.
Itâs where the rich and powerful gather to burn off their youth.
Champagnes costing as much as 100 million gold a bottle were being flown in, and fast-paced, upbeat music was blaring.
Hookahs of an unknown variety send up clouds of smoke and colourful lights bathe them in colour.
The atmosphere was so lavish and extravagant that it could have been an imperial court ball.
âHere, pile it up!â
âBring it all in!â
âLetâs build a tower today!â
A room tucked away in the deepest recesses of the club.
Seven young apprentices were hanging out in this room, which costs 10 million gold for six hours and is only accessible to VVIPs.
Champagne, costing more than 100 million gold a bottle, is being brought in on ice.
In the centre of a large table, champagne glasses were stacked high in a pyramid.
At the bottom, 100 glasses are arranged in the shape of a 10*10 square.
On top are 81 champagne glasses in a 9*9 shape.
On top of that, 64 champagne glasses in the shape of 8*8.
49 on top of that, 36 on top of that, 25 on top of that, 16 on top of that, 9 on top of that, 4 on top of thatâŚâŚ
One last glass of champagne was placed on top, completing the pyramid-shaped champagne tower.
The seven assembled masters chuckle and pour the 100 million gold champagne, Don Quixote Perignon 666, from the bottle into the top champagne glass.
And then.
cackle cackleâŚâŚ
After filling the top glass, the champagne begins to drip into the lower glasses, gradually filling them up.
When the bottle of champagne was halfway empty, the masters ruthlessly threw it away and ordered a new one.
And so on.
The champagne that filled the glasses at the top would trickle down and fill the glasses below.
Thus the 385 glasses that made up the tower of champagne were all full.
The master laughed and said
âHey, drink what you spill on the table.â
Just then, the waiters standing at the entrance to the room rushed over.
âThank you, brothers.â
âThanks to you, Iâve tasted such precious liquor, and Iâm properly pampered.â
âWe will serve you with all our souls today.â
The waiters smile and lick the drops of champagne that have spilled onto the table.
The masters chuckle and sprinkle gold coins on their faces.
âThis is the trickle-down effect.â
Champagne dripping from the top, filling the glasses below, soaking the table, and seven men laughing at the sight of it.
These men were the core members of the local governmentâs Youth Autonomy Committee.
Itâs just a civilian organisation made up of second- and third-generation local tohu, yujiu, and sedo, but their influence in the community cannot be ignored.
They had enough money and power to hold some low-level government positions, but they were still aristocrats, lording it over the common people.
They had lived in the region for a long time, so they were aware of the situation around them.
As such, the Baskervilles also gave them some power and allowed them to handle troublesome matters on their own.
In exchange for a small amount of tribute and taxes, they were granted some autonomy by the Baskervilles.
âŚâŚIn fact, historically speaking, all of the masters here are descendants of families that were defeated and relegated to the margins of the Empireâs central power struggles.
With the exception of the Baskervilles, who have been sent by the Emperor to expand the borders of the Empire, all of them are nothing special.
But the young people gathered here donât seem to think so.
âItâs better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon.â
âItâs better to play here, away from the prying eyes of the imperial family?â
âYes. I went to a club in the imperial capital the other day, and it was much more luxurious here.â
âBesides, weâre guarded by those Baskervilles. How safe are we?â
âGiggle giggle â arenât the Baskervilles our hounds at this point?â
The masters were not without their faults.
While the Baskervilles were preoccupied with expanding their borders, they were rotting away inside.
So where did the money come from to pay for all this luxury and debauchery?
The main source of income for local tax collectors is actually quite modest.
At best, the water taxes from the reservoirs that water the fields, road use taxes, tolls, and the proceeds from the sale of livestockâŚâŚ are just a small amount of money to pay the butlers and serfs.
Both the money going out and the money coming in are small, butâŚâŚ in fact they had a hidden source of income.
Illegal slave auctions.
This is the kidnapping, imprisonment, and sale of unauthorised persons into slavery.
In recent years, the Baskervillesâ aggressive territorial expansion has displaced an increasing number of barbarian peoples, so theyâve been sneaking around the world, luring them in with tricks or kidnapping them by force to sell them.
In other words, they would work for free for the Baskervilles and pick up the crumbs.
With no taxes and a steady flow of business, money naturally accumulates.
With the black money they earned, the masters were able to spend their youth on fire.
They canât put it in the bank because itâs illegally earned, so they burn it all in cash machines.
âThe champagne tower is full! Go let the kids in! Bring in the good ones.â
They sent the waiters away for a while.
Then we started chattering amongst ourselves.
âBy the way,â I said, âitâs so nice to have an uptight family like the Messinadnaros gone. We can have fun without all the prying eyes.â
âActually, thatâs the way it should be. Weâre playing with our own money.â
âGood thing we framed them and sent them packing, huh?â
âLetâs not let them be members in the future.â
They smoked bubbling hookahs and looked languid.
One of them suddenly looked up.
âBy the way. By the way, have you guys heard about the new deputy?â
âUh, yeah, I put in a request for an interview. Heâs got the Barnes surname.â
âHmm. Well, if heâs a half-breed, he must be a bastard.â
âYou should feel honoured to be called by us.â
âCackle, cackle, heâs going to come running.â
They always did something called âtaming the junior bureaucratsâ when new deputy commissioners came in.
Itâs not a big deal, itâs just a little bit of an extravagant party to dazzle them.
It was like putting a leash on a dog, saying, âIf youâre going to follow us, youâre going to listen to us.â The masters would chuckle.
The masters chuckled.
âHis name is Vikir. Have you ever heard of him?â
âI donât know, Iâve never heard of him.â
âSheâs 15. They say this is her first time out of the family.â
âWhat? Isnât she a total brat?â
âYeah, heâs a brat. Heâs got a huge drinking problem the first time he came to city hall. He must be a bit of a wreck.â
âCâmon, if you think heâll fit in with us.â
Then one of the masters had a brilliant idea.
âWhy donât we tease him a little bit, while weâre at it?â
He extended his index finger and explained his plan.
âLater, weâll have a big party and invite him over. Weâll get the best liquor, weâll get all the girls, and weâll have a good, old-fashioned fuck.â
âAnd?â
âAnd then later, after the party, weâll make him pay for the drinks.â
The masters burst out laughing.
âOkay, okay, that sounds like fun.â
âDonât you think his eyes will pop out when he sees you begging?â
âYou need to realise that your eldest son is spending this much money to entertain you. If you take it for granted, youâll go away.â
âI donât think a 15-year-old civil servant would have the money, and he wouldnât be able to find a place to get it because heâd be reprimanded if he reported it to his family.â
âThen you can say it was a joke and pay him back later.â
The masters had a plan for the new deputy bureaucrat, and how to roast him.
Just then.
âGentlemen, the girls are here-!â
A waiter burst through the door with a huge grin on his face.
Soon, numerous women peeked into the club room, amazed at the luxury.
Some of them were familiar faces, and the masters waved at them.
âHey, youâre back again?â
âAfter all that?â
âSend him away. Weâre happy for you, ugh.â
âWhy? I thought she was pretty.â
âHey, come over here and sit down this time!â
One by one, the women entered the room.
âŚâŚSee?
At the end of the line of girls, there was a strange one.
A boy, maybe in his early teens? A very young looking boy.
He followed the women into the room from the back of the queue, and it was so natural that the waiters didnât even bother to stop him.
The seven masters scanned the women, cracking crude jokes, and finally spotted the boy.
âBut whatâs with him? Did you bring a male waiter? Well, he looks cute.â
âOh, donât you know him?â
âNo, I donât.â
The teachers, the waiters, and the women all look puzzled.
What is this kid doing here?
One of the waiters raises his eyebrows.
âHe walked in so boldly that no one thought anything of it. How dare you, you little shack, tell me whereâŚâŚ!â
But he couldnât quite reach out to grab the boy by the hair.
Oops.
The sound of something thick and hard breaking.
The waiter suddenly realised that his wrist had been turned in a strange direction.
âUgh!â
The boy had just broken a grown manâs thick forearm with sheer brute force.
âWhat, what, you!â
Three or four waiters pounced at once, but it took less than a second before they were all on the floor.
The mastersâ faces hardened slightly.
âWhatâs with you, kid? What are you doing here? Do you know who your brothers are?â
âI know.â
The boyâs voice was devoid of any emotion.
âTheyâre the idiots from Xiangcheng.â
No respect, no fear, no cowering, not even a hint of contempt.
The masters were stunned for a moment.
Then, with a single, hearty laugh.
âThatâs right. Weâre the idiots from Xiangcheng.â
âHe must know who we are.â
âThen we only need to know who he is.â
âKid, who are you?â
The masters were debating whether this was funny or not.
But it was.
The boyâs next words wiped the smiles off their faces.
âVikir.â
The new Deputy Magistrate.
Vikir van Baskerville is here.
The apprentices slid their feet off the table.
Then he rose to his feet and asked.
âVice⌠Exarch? What brings you hereâŚâŚ.?â
âYou called for me.â
At Vikirâs words, the masters exchanged another blank look.
Then.
âWahahahahaha- this is hot, Deputy! I didnât think youâd come so soon!â
The mood is not good.
Moreover, the masters had just been insulted, and their pride had been bruised.
âShall we start taming the new recruits right away?â
âSure. Letâs buy some liquor.â
âWhat if we roast them, boil them, sit them down, and then ask them to pay for their drinks later at the end of the partyâŚâŚ?â
But⌠their cute little plan didnât quite work out.
âŚThud!
Vikir slammed his hand on the table.
And.
Tsk, tsk, tskâŚâŚ
The black aura of the Baskervilles emanated from him.
The mana in Vikirâs body radiated through his hand and into the table.
A ferocious resonance, a violent vibration.
Boom, boom, boom, boomâŚâŚ
On the table, in the glasses, the champagne suddenly began to boil.
And then.
The great tower of champagne in the centre of the room changed.
âŚPow!
A single glass at the top of the champagne tower suddenly exploded.
Numerous glass shards and champagne drops sparkled and scattered below.