Chapter 32: The Twelve Zodiac

Gao Yang walked over to Niu Xuan's side: "What's up?"

"Come play dice! Do you dare?"

Niu Xuan was sitting on the sofa by the coffee table, looking very confident, as if determined to win back the game. After he finished speaking, someone next to him had already pressed the service call button at the edge of the table.

In a while, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a young female server walked in: "How may I assist you?"

The server was wearing a black and red servant uniform, which would have looked a bit tacky on most people, but on her, it gave off a tailored, high-class vibe, as if she were a personal servant from a noble estate—professional, elegant, and humble.

She was wearing a cute little white rabbit mask, which created a striking contrast with her professional demeanor, adding an air of mystery.

Seeing the confused expressions, the server politely explained: "Today, our shop's supreme VIP customer, Mr. Qin, is celebrating his birthday. He's a rabbit, so all staff are required to..."

"Alright, alright!" Niu Xuan interrupted impatiently, "It's someone's birthday, so what? Just bring me that special drink... what was it... bring it here."

"The Space Illusion Special Drink, how many servings would you like?"

"Five servings for now."

"This... the Space Illusion drink has quite a high alcohol content," the server glanced around. "For your table, I think two servings will be enough..."

"What do you mean? You think I can't afford it?!" Niu Xuan, already angry, snapped at the server.

"No, I'm sorry," the server said, bowing slightly. "Five servings of the Space Illusion drink, I'll prepare them right away, please wait a moment."

Although Niu Xuan yelled at the server, his behavior was quite unrefined. Wan Sisi and the other girls felt a little embarrassed, trying to pretend they didn't hear it while they continued singing karaoke.

Before long, the server came back, pushing a small cart with five servings of the special drink, placing them on the coffee table. The glasses were small, long and narrow, resembling bottles of biochemical serum. They were neatly arranged in a white metal honeycomb container. Under the dazzling lights, they shimmered with a cyberpunk-like sci-fi feel.

Niu Xuan picked up the dice, full of momentum: "Guess the size! Loser drinks, if you're a man, don't back down!"

Gao Yang thought to himself, if you're saying it like that, how could I refuse?

Today, Niu Xuan was determined to get Gao Yang drunk, to make him fall into a stupor and embarrass himself in front of everyone. Gao Yang was the obedient type, probably didn't drink much, at most three glasses, while Niu Xuan was different—battle-hardened, capable of handling ten or more drinks without issue.

Anyway, guessing size had no skill, it was all luck!

"Bang!" Niu Xuan shook the dice cup violently, slamming it down on the table: "Big or small."

"You go first," Gao Yang said.

"Big!" Niu Xuan revealed the dice cup—three 1s.

Niu Xuan froze for two seconds. He picked up a glass of wine and drank it down in one go.

"Clink, clink, clink—Bang!" Niu Xuan stared at Gao Yang angrily: "Again! Big or small!"

"You go first." Gao Yang gestured humbly.

"You go first!" Niu Xuan had learned from his previous mistake.

"Then I'll choose big."

Niu Xuan revealed the dice cup—three 6s.

Niu Xuan was dumbfounded. A coincidence, definitely just a coincidence! He drank his second glass, then, thinking for a moment, pushed the dice cup towards Gao Yang: "You shake."

"Okay." Gao Yang shook it a few times, then set it down: "Big or small."

"Big," Niu Xuan said.

Just as Gao Yang was about to reveal, Niu Xuan suddenly grabbed his hand: "Wait! Small!"

"Okay."

"Wait..." Gao Yang asked, "So, big or small?"

"Big! No change." Niu Xuan was resolute.

Gao Yang revealed the dice cup: three 1s.

Niu Xuan was stunned. This was truly unbelievable! Could this kid be cheating?

Immediately, Niu Xuan switched to another dice cup, checking it carefully before shaking it. Still not satisfied, he checked under the coffee table to make sure there were no hidden mechanisms, then began shaking the dice.

This time, he shook for a full minute, his hands aching, before finally setting it down.

"You choose first!"

"Big..."

"I choose big!" Niu Xuan immediately interrupted.

"Then I'll choose small."

Niu Xuan revealed the dice cup—three 1s.

Niu Xuan's temper snapped. The boys watching the game also shouted: "Damn! Gao Yang, what kind of luck do you have? This is insane!"

Niu Xuan, humiliated and furious, grabbed a glass of wine, drank it in one go, then slammed it onto the ground, glass shattering everywhere. "Again!"

The girls, who had been singing karaoke, were suddenly startled by the sharp crash of glass. Their faces turned pale with fright. One shard even hit Wan Sisi on the calf, leaving a bloodstain.

The girl with glasses, named Luo Xiaodan, Wan Sisi's best friend, quickly crouched down to check her injury. Anger surged in her chest. Usually, she wouldn't dare to provoke someone like Niu Xuan, but this time, she just couldn't stand it.

"Forget it, I'm fine..." Wan Sisi tried to stop her.

Luo Xiaodan shook off Wan Sisi's hand, walked up to Niu Xuan: "Niu Xuan! Gao Yang! If you want to drink, go somewhere else! Today is Wan Sisi's birthday, not your playground. Stop making trouble here!"

"Okay, okay," Gao Yang said, ready to end it. He was about to stand up when Niu Xuan grabbed him: "Don't leave! Again!"

Luo Xiaodan, trembling with anger, shouted, "Niu Xuan, can you act normal?!"

"Shut up, you bitch! I'm drinking here today, what can you do about it?!" Niu Xuan, drunk, showed his true colors.

"You... you..."

Gao Yang stood up, his face cold. "I'm done playing. You can find someone else."

"You dare stop playing?!" Niu Xuan suddenly stood up, kicked the coffee table over. "Crash!" The table shattered, the room in chaos. Everyone in the room froze, with only the karaoke music playing in the background, the atmosphere tense.

Luo Xiaodan, a girl, had never been treated this way. She immediately started crying, covering her face as she ran out. The other girls, wanting to leave, quickly followed her out.

Wan Sisi glanced at Gao Yang, hesitated, and then chased after them.

The few boys didn't expect things to escalate like this. They only tried to say a few words of persuasion—they knew Niu Xuan, and once he got worked up, no one could stop him.

As expected, Niu Xuan didn't listen. The boys exchanged looks, then made up an excuse to go to the restroom and quickly left.

Soon, only three people remained in the private room.

Gao Yang and Niu Xuan stood amid the broken glass and spilled liquor, staring each other down. Qing Ling was sitting with her legs crossed, arms folded, watching the scene from the corner of the sofa.

Niu Xuan gritted his teeth, "Gao Yang! You're something now! Playing the hero saving the beauty, using me as the bad guy!"

"I'm just done playing," Gao Yang's face remained cold, no longer having patience. If it came to a fight, he wasn't afraid—his stats had grown, and while he might not be able to take on a beast, taking care of a "human" was easy.

"You're done playing? I think you've got plenty of motives!" Niu Xuan stepped forward, grabbing Gao Yang by the collar. Spit flew onto his face. "Gao Yang, I get it if you want to replace Li Weiwei, but didn't you already get with Qing Ling? What are you doing here at Wan Sisi's birthday party?"

"She invited me."

"Then why didn't you refuse?" Niu Xuan grew angrier. "I see you're trying to hit on Wan Sisi too! You've got some appetite, huh? Can you handle it?"

"Compared to you, I'm nowhere near as bad." Gao Yang retorted.

"You're looking for trouble!" Niu Xuan didn't waste words, pushing Gao Yang hard and kicking at him. He expected the kick to send Gao Yang into the wall.

But Gao Yang swiftly dodged to the side, lightly sweeping Niu Xuan's leg. Niu Xuan slipped, landing in a split right in front of Gao Yang.

"Ah..." Niu Xuan screamed in pain as his ligament was pulled.

Gao Yang reached out: "You're too polite, Master Xuan. It's not even New Year, and you've already been introduced. Let me help you up."

"I'll help your mother..." Niu Xuan cursed, forcing himself to stand, clutching his crotch in pain. But before he could steady himself, he grabbed a microphone and hurled it at Gao Yang.

The female server, wearing the rabbit mask, had entered without them noticing. She raised her hand lightly, catching the microphone in midair, and spoke politely: "Sir, please calm down. If you have something to say, we can sit down and discuss it..."

"Get lost! This is none of your business!" Niu Xuan shouted.

"I'm sorry, sir, but your actions are violating our shop's rules. If you continue trying to harm this gentleman, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Who are you?!" Niu Xuan waved his fist, limping toward the server. "Get away from me..."

"Bang—"

Things happened so quickly that Gao Yang didn't even see it clearly. Niu Xuan was sent flying across the room, crashing into the wall, then bouncing onto the sofa and rolling down onto the floor, unconscious from the impact.

Gao Yang immediately became alert, and Qing Ling jumped up from the sofa.

The server, with the white rabbit mask, slightly tilted her head and looked at Gao Yang and Qing Ling, her mask almost seeming alive as it smiled at them: "Hello, Zodiac Twelve, White Rabbit."

"Zodiac Twelve?"

"You must have heard of Electric Rat," the server, now identified as White Rabbit, took a step forward. "The idiot who's obsessed with arcade games and women's chests."

"Wu Dahai! You're from the organization?" Gao Yang's excitement surged as he finally recognized the organization—Zodiac Twelve.

"Yes." White Rabbit glanced at Qing Ling. "You have a weapon, don't you?"

Qing Ling didn't respond, tacitly agreeing.

"Test 2."

White Rabbit looked down at Niu Xuan: "Kill this lost one."