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Goldtooth’s eyes bulged in shock when Shawn Young uttered Howard Kay’s name. He stared, utterly stunned, and asked, “Ah! H-how do you know about Howard Kay?!”
"Heh heh—not only do I know Howard Kay is the police chief of Clearview City back home, I also know he’s your old war buddy. You two are so close, you probably share the same pair of underwear! You’ve worked together on plenty of shady deals over the years. I bet you and Howard have made a killing!" Shawn Young sneered at Goldtooth.
“Uh—who, who are you really? How do you know all this?!” Goldtooth’s face went pale. Hearing Shawn spill these secrets was like being struck by lightning—after all, only he and Howard Kay knew about these things.
Shawn Young stared at the panicked Goldtooth but didn’t answer. Instead, he chuckled coldly, “Heh, you and Howard sure know how to enjoy the good times together! I wonder if you’ll get to share the bad times too?”
“H-Howard Kay... what’s happened to him?” Goldtooth finally realized something was wrong.
"Haha—right now? He’s probably causing a total mess with his wife! See, I made Chief Kay confess all his little secret affairs to her. Word is, Mrs. Kay can tolerate his bribery, but she’ll never put up with his womanizing! If she finds out about all the mistresses he’s kept, things are about to get really interesting! Heh heh—" Shawn grinned wickedly. He’d used the Soul Seizure Curse to hypnotize Howard Kay, and the grand finale was making Howard confess his "dirty deeds" to his wife himself!
“Y-you’re lying! That’s—that’s impossible!” Goldtooth shrieked. He refused to believe Shawn’s story, knowing Howard would never confess such things to his wife. He had no idea Shawn had hit Howard with the Soul Seizure Curse.
"Heh, whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter. You’d better clean your ass and get ready for prison! And soon, you and Chief Kay might even get a taste of hot lead!" Shawn sneered at Goldtooth.
“Ah! Waaah—how, how can this be?! Somebody, help—!” Just then, a woman’s shrill scream echoed from outside the casino, but the sound was oddly seductive and foxy.
Shawn Young froze at the sound, then knocked Goldtooth out with a punch. He grabbed Goldtooth by the collar and dragged him over to the unconscious Nika, freed up one hand to grab Nika’s leg, and hauled both men out of the casino like a pair of dead dogs.
As he passed the VIP gambling room, two shrill screams rang out. Two bodies flew out, tumbling across the floor. Shawn stopped and saw that they were two of Nika’s armed goons—both already dead, their necks brutally twisted.
Just as Shawn tensed up, David Yu suddenly strode out, holding a black cane snapped in two. Shawn instantly realized David was the killer—after all, with the power of six ghosts inside him, he could easily take out those thugs. Shawn asked, “Oh! I heard Grandmaster Draco say he trapped you and Zach Chow. Are you okay now?”
David Yu shook his head. “I’m fine now. That old warlock trapped me with his magic, but all of a sudden, the spell vanished. I broke free! Did you bust his curse, little bro?”
“I’m not exactly an expert on Thai curses, but the old man’s dead! I bet his magic died with him,” Shawn guessed.
Just then, the woman’s terrified voice echoed from outside the casino: “Ah!? Dodge, what’s wrong with you?! Don’t—don’t do this—I’ll do whatever you want—just stop!”
David Yu’s face twisted when he heard that voice—he gritted his teeth, “Damn it, I’ve finally got those cheating bastards right where I want them!”
Snarling, David Yu charged out of the casino, and Shawn, startled, dragged Goldtooth and Nika after him.
But just as they reached the casino hall doors, two more screams rang out inside. Shawn dropped the unconscious Goldtooth and Nika on the floor and rushed in. He saw two armed men lying dead in a pool of blood, their skulls smashed and necks twisted—clearly David Yu’s handiwork.
Shawn couldn’t figure out why David Yu was suddenly so out of control, but then spotted a man covered in blood lying in a corner, barely alive. Looking closer, Shawn realized it was Zach Chow, the Ghost-Hand Gambling Sage! Most shocking of all—Zach’s face was an odd purplish-gold, limbs flailing, belly swollen like a woman about to give birth, his clothes splitting open. It was a terrifying sight.
Ignoring David Yu, who had already run outside, Shawn rushed to Zach Chow’s side, knelt down, lifted Zach’s head, and checked his breathing. Zach’s breath was weak and reeked of a strange, fishy odor. Shawn peeled back Zach’s eyelid and saw his pupils shimmering with that bizarre purplish-gold hue.
Suddenly, Zach Chow’s body convulsed violently, his arms flailing in the air. One hand clutched his throat, the other gripped his belly, scratching desperately in agony. Shawn, alarmed, called out, “Mr. Chow, Mr. Chow, what’s wrong?!”
Zach was already unconscious and didn’t hear Shawn’s cries. He kept clawing at his neck and belly, tearing his own skin until his hands were slick with blood, but he felt no pain—just a mad urge to rip something out of his own body. His blood-soaked form looked even more gruesome and pitiful.