Chapter 32: What Do You Want to Buy?

While Luke and Wanda were still hunched over the counter, eyes glued to their phones and stock charts, the bell above the grocery store door jingled again. Another customer had entered. Actually, several of them. Wanda looked up and instantly recognized the first few. At the front was a guy with a shiny red braid coiled tightly on top of his head. Behind him were two others, one round with electric blue hair, the other thin and twitchy with bright yellow spikes. It was the same trio of goofy, gangster-lite men who'd been there a few days ago. Loud, flashy, and oddly polite. But today... they hadn't come alone. Behind them came a dozen more men, all of them rough-looking and grim. Faces like stone. Muscles bulging under coats. Scars and tattoos crawling up their necks. They weren't here for snacks. Especially the one in front. He was bald as a cue ball, and even from across the store, Luke could see tattoos spilling across his face and throat. His coat stretched tight over muscles like coiled steel, and he moved with the heavy certainty of someone used to hurting people. Without a word, the bald man stomped into the store and kicked the red-braided guy in the backside so hard he nearly faceplanted into the floor. "This is the store?" Baldy growled. "the one that didn't pay protection, and even scammed a hundred bucks out of you?" Ah. Luke instantly understood what was going on. This wasn't a friendly visit. It was a forceful collection of protection money. But before anyone else could speak, the red-haired man picked himself up and said, almost sheepishly, "Boss Joe, it's true they didn't pay the fee... but they didn't scam me. What I bought was really worth the hundred bucks." Even now, after being humiliated in front of everyone, he was still defending them. Luke blinked in surprise. And Wanda looked equally confused. They both knew the guy had gotten completely ripped off. It was the Lucky Cat statue again, it seemed to have this weird aura of fortune around it. It sat perched on the counter, right where it had been last time, paw slowly bobbing up and down. Luke glanced at it and gave it a subtle thumbs-up. Miracle cat, doing miracles again. Joe, on the other hand, did not seem impressed. He glared at his subordinate. "Is that right?" Then he turned to the other two, the fat one and the string bean, and barked, "You two. Same question. Was it really worth it?" They hesitated. The fat one looked at the thin one. The thin one looked at the floor. Clearly, they were torn between their fear of Joe and whatever mysterious influence had convinced them that overpriced trinkets and snacks had genuine value. Then Luke noticed it. The Lucky Cat's eyes... they shimmered for a moment. Almost like they lit up. Just a trick of the light? Maybe. But the timing was too perfect. The two men suddenly squared their shoulders, took a deep breath, and answered in unison: "Not expensive at all!" Luke raised an eyebrow. Wow. This cat is probably more persuasive than half the lawyers in New York. Joe looked like his head was about to explode. "Of course you'd say that. Cuz it wasn't your money!" Furious, he yanked a baseball bat from under his coat and swung it savagely. The fat one barely had time to duck. The yellow-haired guy caught a glancing blow. Red Braid didn't even try to run. In seconds, all three were sprawled across the floor, groaning in pain and bleeding from all over the place. Joe didn't stop until the bat was dripping red and the room reeked of blood and fear. Then he let the bat clatter to the ground. Luke and Wanda stood frozen behind the counter. This was no cartoonish gang shake-up. This was violence. Ugly, real violence. Luke stared at the bloodied bat. This guy isn't just some thug. He's a psycho. Wanda, meanwhile, was trying to make sense of it all. She'd seen gang members before, she'd grown up in a place where street crime was a way of life. But this was something else. Where she came from, even the roughest gangsters respected boundaries. They donated to the orphanage. Gave kids a safe path into the underworld if they wanted it. Most of them wouldn't lay a finger on someone unless provoked. But this? This was savagery. But more importantly, they weren't here to buy anything! Joe stepped forward slowly, his boots crunching on scattered candy wrappers. His expression twisted into something between amusement and cruelty. Behind him, his men grinned and jeered. The room was heavy with the stink of sweat, blood, and fear. Wanda felt Luke gently tap her arm. She turned to him. "Ask them what they want to buy," he whispered. She stared at him like he'd gone insane. "What?" "These guys..." she muttered, "they're not here to shop." But then again, Luke had never steered her wrong. Even when his ideas seemed crazy, they always seemed to work for some mysterious reason. Wanda took a deep breath, straightened her back, and stepped out from behind the counter. She lifted her chin and, voice clear, asked, "You guys, what do you want to buy?" The entire room went dead silent. The gangsters at the door stopped laughing. Even Joe paused mid-step, blinking. "...Buy?" "This chick's nuts." "Does she not realize we're robbing them?" One of the men laughed. Another snorted. The laughter spread like a ripple through the gang. "Man, she's really asking what we wanna buy? That's rich!" "Who pays for anything once they collect the protection fee?" "She thinks we came here for snacks?" But Joe didn't laugh. He stepped closer until he was standing right at the counter, leering down at Wanda with his tattooed face twisted into a cruel smile. "Little girl," he said, voice low and sharp, "I've never needed to pay for anything I wanted." His hand rested on the counter. Wanda almost flinched. Luke's fingers twitched slightly under the counter. ... (Support with power stones or comments. You can subscribe to my Patreon /mysterion901 to read over 40 advanced chapters ???????????? your support means a lot!)