Chapter 68: Passport

"Lei Yin, why did you bring us to a place like this?" Ailin asked in confusion.

After dinner, Masashi had brought them to a poor area.

"Miss, you haven't forgotten, have you? Your passport was taken by those guys. If you don't make a new one, how are you going to board the plane?"

"But is there enough time?" The mixed-race beauty only now remembered this issue.

"As long as you have money, there's enough time. When we go inside, don't say anything—leave it all to me," Masashi said, leading them to a bar.

Inside, the music was deafening. Under dim laser lights, a large group of young people was enthusiastically dancing.

Ailin was used to this kind of atmosphere since she often went to bars, but Amy was so frightened by the loud noise that her face turned pale.

"Don't be scared, kid. Cover your ears," Masashi comforted her, hugging her close.

Amy immediately shrank into Masashi's arms like a little rabbit, covering her ears tightly.

"Let's go." Masashi gestured for them to follow since it was too loud to talk.

Ailin nodded and followed him.

The two entered a private room, and once the door was closed, the noise lessened considerably.

"What can I get you?" The waitress, noting that they didn't look Nepali, seemed quite nervous and only spoke a few words of English.

"Call your manager over," Masashi said in Nepali, slipping her fifty rupees.

"Thank you, I'll call the manager right away. Please wait a moment." The waitress bowed and left.

After a short while, a young man in his thirties entered the room.

Like most young men, his first reaction was to look at the beautiful mixed-race woman, then at the plain-looking Masashi.

"Hello, I'm the manager here. Did you ask for me?"

"We lost our passports by accident. You know it takes a long time to replace them, and we urgently need to return home. So I'm asking if you know anyone who can get us passports quickly," Masashi said bluntly.

"Well…" The manager looked at him hesitantly.

"Money isn't an issue, as long as it's fast," Masashi said, placing a hundred-dollar bill on the table.

"Are you really looking for passports?" The manager looked at the bill, then back at Masashi.

"I said money isn't an issue," Masashi added another bill.

"In that case…" The manager looked like he was hesitating.

Masashi silently added another bill.

"But…"

"That's the last one. If this isn't enough, we'll find someone else," Masashi said, unwilling to waste more money.

"Follow me," the manager finally said, realizing he couldn't get more.

The young manager led them out of the bar and into a dark, dirty alley. After several twists and turns, he stopped in front of a run-down house.

The manager knocked on the door for quite a while before an outburst of swearing and footsteps came from inside.

"Who the hell is banging on the door at this hour?" A bald man in his forties or fifties opened the door.

"What are you cursing for, old man? I brought you some customers."

"Customers?" The old man warily looked at Masashi and Ailin.

"Let's go inside first," the manager suggested.

After thinking for a moment, the old man finally let them in.

Seeing the pitch-dark interior, Ailin looked at Masashi with some concern.

Masashi shook his head at her, then carried Amy inside. Ailin hesitated but followed.

Once the old man turned on the light, Ailin noticed the room was much larger than it looked from outside. It was messy, with white papers and transparent plastic scattered everywhere.

The man looked at Masashi and Ailin. "What do you need? Passports?"

Masashi nodded. "Can I see a sample?"

"Sure." The old man went into another room and came back with several passports.

"Not to brag, but my passports have never had any issues," the old man said, handing the stack to Masashi.

Masashi examined a few, then pointed to one. "I want this type."

The old man said, "Good choice. This one is made from a genuine blank passport. There's not much of it left on the market, so it's more expensive. How many do you want?"

"Three. When can they be ready?"

"The day after tomorrow," the old man thought for a moment.

"No, by noon tomorrow at the latest."

"Alright."

After finalizing the price, they each took turns getting their photos taken in another room. Afterward, they followed the manager out of the old man's house.

When they reached the end of the alley, they suddenly saw four young men smoking and chatting. As soon as they saw Masashi and the others, they turned to face them.

It seemed trouble was coming. With Ailin's beauty, walking around in such a chaotic place at night was dangerous, especially as foreigners—it was only natural to attract unwanted attention.

Both Ailin and the manager were anxious in the face of these men.

The bar manager lowered his head, pretending not to notice anything, and tried to walk past.

However, he didn't get far before the four young men blocked their way.

"Can I help you?" the manager asked, trying to play dumb.

"Nothing, just looking to borrow some money," said a long-haired young man, pulling out a small knife.

"I...I don't have any money," the manager took two steps back.

"Maybe you don't, but they do." Another youth with a cigarette looked at Masashi and the others.

"Sorry, I can't help you with this," the manager said to Masashi before stepping aside.

"Lei Yin, what should we do?" Ailin asked quietly.

"I'm usually the one taking from others, never the other way around. I'd like to see if they can actually pull it off." Masashi smirked coldly and walked forward, holding the sleeping Amy.

"Hey, foreigner, stop right there," said the long-haired man, waving the knife in front of him.

Masashi didn't even look at him, calmly stepping around him.

"I said, stop!" The young man grew angry and reached for his neck.

Just as his hand was about to grab him, Masashi's hand shot out and locked onto the man's wrist.

With a loud snap, the sound of breaking bones echoed, followed by excruciating pain radiating from his wrist.

As the man opened his mouth to scream, Masashi kicked him under the chin, sending him flying two meters before landing motionless on the ground.

The entire process took less than two seconds. Everyone stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

After a moment, the remaining three young men finally reacted and charged forward, one pulling out a knife.

Watching them, Masashi smiled—as bright as the cold moon.

While the bar manager looked on in disbelief, Ailin was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. This young man had shocked her yet again.

When he had saved her and Amy yesterday, she assumed he'd succeeded by surprise alone. But thinking back on his actions, like posing as a driver, shooting the tires, evading Kiro's pursuit, dealing with Nico, and even getting fake passports, his methods were so sophisticated she wondered if he was a professional agent.

And now, facing three armed youths, it took him less than three seconds...

Ailin couldn't even see how the young man moved—just a blur and some snapping sounds, and the three Nepali youths lay motionless on the ground, even more dramatically than in Hollywood action movies.

"Hey, let's go," the young man called to the two who stood frozen in place.

"You…you…" The bar manager stared at him as if he were a monster.

"Shut up," Masashi said, glancing down at the sleeping little girl in his arms.

Feeling intimidated, the manager fell silent.

"Let's go; it's late, and we have a flight tomorrow," Masashi said to the mixed-race beauty, walking ahead.

With complex emotions, Ailin watched his back before slowly following him.

The bar manager glanced at the youths on the ground, shivered, and hurried after them.