Mondstadt City, Dandelion Street.

A lantern hanging on a pillar emitted a dim yellow light, dispelling the nearby night's darkness. Nolan hid himself using the cover of alley buildings.

Just earlier, when he wanted to directly visit Lucas's house at 86 Dandelion Street, he saw a middle-aged man, slightly younger than Old Man Sanborn, walk out full of worry.

It was no surprise that he was Lucas. Where could he be going so late at night?

Sensing something amiss, Nolan tailed him from afar.

Although Nolan wasn't very adept at tailing, under the cover of night and the relatively complex layout of nearby residences, as long as he controlled himself to not make any sound, following a regular person would not get him discovered.

Without going too far, Nolan now saw Lucas enter a dead-end alley.

Could he be going to meet someone?

The light from the street lamps didn't reach too deep inside. Nolan could only slowly and silently approach, then climb onto the roof from the other side of the building, still without making any noise.

This was thanks to his control over his physical strength.

Lying prone on the tiled roof, Nolan was a little nervous, afraid of accidentally dislodging the tiles and getting discovered by Lucas down below.

Luckily no such thing occurred.

Nolan carefully poked his head out to peek at the alley. The scene before him made him slightly shocked.

In the deepest part of the alley where street lights couldn't reach, surrounded by a layer of gloom, even with his amazing vision from his sturdy physique, he could only vaguely make out Lucas standing before a hooded, mask-wearing figure.

That getup was all too familiar - it was a Fatui Debt Agent!

Their duties seemed to encompass more than just helping the Fatui collect debts, including assassination, intelligence gathering, and such.

Also, they wielded ritual blades infused with Pyro, and were highly proficient in a certain short-term invisibility assassination technique, making them very dangerous Fatui agents.

How did Lucas get involved with them?

Nolan did not brazenly stare down below. After all, these specially trained agents might notice if someone was observing them.

Luckily he could still hear their conversation from the roof.

"Mr. Christie, please grant me some more time, I will definitely gather the money to repay you all."

Lucas spoke in an ugly tone, lowering his head deferentially to the masked, hooded man before him.

In response to Lucas's plea, Christie spread his hands helplessly:

"By not going to your home directly, I'm already giving you a lot of face. You wouldn't want your wife and kids to know about the massive debt you've accrued behind their backs right? I already said, if you can get us the new trapping nets Than Factory is developing, we'll help you pay off the loan you took from Northland Bank."

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Lucas ground his teeth resentfully in the alley's shadows:

"Impossible! That's Than's hope to rise in Mondstadt and even internationally. As long as we succeed in mass production..."

"You have no choice!" He was forcibly interrupted.

The debt agent Christie, wearing a hooded cloak and mask, spoke through the black mask over his face:

"Your loan contract with Northland Bank clearly states a fixed term for repayment. Getting you an extension of three months is already our limit."

"If you still can't pay it back, Northland Bank will have the right to send the Knights of Favonius to transfer ownership of your house and your Than Factory shares into the bank's name. For any remaining shortfall, you'll face imprisonment."

"By that time, you'll be left with nothing, disgraced and ruined!"

Lucas was left pale-faced by his words, because what he said was right, but how could he possibly gather so much Mora in a short period of time.

"It's all because you were too greedy, taking out personal loans to invest in your company's projects for dividend payouts. Although it was a good idea, and development of the new fishing gear went smoothly, looks like you won't live to see it hit the market."

The debt agent Christie mocked and ridiculed from beneath his mask.

"You bastard, you're just trying to steal our achievements!" Lucas shouted furiously.

"Hey hey, keep it down. If you attract patrolling Knights of Favonius over, I'll sell you out directly."

Christie spoke playfully.

"..Phew."

Lucas was silent for a while, his tone much calmer as he said:

"You're only in it for the money in the end. I can provide the trapping nets, but dividend rights must remain with me, or I definitely won't hand it over no matter what."

"Even if you lose your reputation and your wife, you'll be locked up for a few years in prison?" Christie thought, where's your confidence in making demands like this coming from?

"Yes!"

"..." Christie tapped his ear, wondering if he had misheard. After a period of silence, he said, "Fine, I agree to your terms."

To realize the Tsaritsa's plans, the Fatui indeed required massive sums of funds, which was why they went through such efforts using all means to make money.

This time, through Than Fishing Tackle Factory's loan from Northland Bank, they caught wind that Than Factory had developed some unique fishing nets, able to actively lure fish.

Northland Bank's leadership judged this fishing gear had high potential, but as a legitimate foreign bank, they couldn't openly make shady moves. So it fell to them, the debt agents, to step in.

Christie just didn't expect this old fool to suddenly become so stubborn.

But what does agreeing with you matter? When the time comes you'll be dead, go find your Lord Barbatos in the afterlife for dividends!

A sinister smile emerged from beneath Christie's black mask.

"Really?" Lucas's expression was somewhat surprised that this devil had actually agreed.

"Of course." Christie walked up two steps and patted his shoulder, finally glancing at him sideways, "But you need to hurry up, we don't want to wait any longer... humph."

Christie paid Lucas no more heed, and walked out of the alley without looking back.

Just then, a flash of light assaulted from the left. Christie's eyes narrowed, his right hand swiftly grabbing the attacker's wrist. In his hand was a sharp dagger, emanating a biting chill in the lightless night.

"Naive!"

Christie twisted his hand to disarm the dagger, flinging the sneak attacker Lucas behind him into the wall.

"Sitting in the sales manager position, how many years has it been since you trained your body? Even a Slime is stronger than you, too slow." Christie's words were icy cold, "Some things are best left unsaid and not overreaching yourself!"

He took out a ritual blade with a strange design from behind. Christie continued:

"You should understand, although important, that you are not indispensable!"

"Cough... cough..."

The heavy impact on his back caused Lucas to cough incessantly, his covering hand stained by the blood he coughed out.

Looking at the alloy edge on the approaching ritual blade, Lucas seemed to reflect back images of his wife and children, his old swindled friend, and his difficult earlier half of life.

In the end, it was all just a pipe dream.

From the start, his plan was that if negotiations fell through, they would go down together. He didn't expect himself to be so pathetic.

On the roof above the alley, Nolan watched as things inexplicably escalated to the current situation. He felt this had become a huge mess, he couldn't let him take a life.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...