4: Chapter 4 The beautiful landlady knocks on the door late at night: I heard you have a miracle cure?

"Knock, knock, knock!"

That already flimsy mahogany door was suffering a beating it didn't deserve at its age.

Chen Yuan helplessly stood up from his boss chair and rubbed his throbbing temples.

He had just finished packaging a batch of "Dali" and put it in the safe; he hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath before his creditor showed up.

"I'm coming, stop knocking! If you break the door, you'll have to pay for it."

He slid back the bolt.

Standing outside the door, as expected, was Sophia.

This beautiful landlady with one-quarter Latin heritage was currently wearing a pale pink silk camisole nightdress, with fluffy slippers on her feet.

Her chestnut-colored wavy hair was casually piled behind her head, with a few stray locks hanging over her collarbone; her fair skin glowed with a porcelain-like luster under the dim light of the corridor.

She crossed her arms, causing the already skimpy fabric to look even more precarious, her face clearly saying, "I'm very pissed off."

"Chen, if I recall correctly, you've been behind on your rent for two months now."

Sophia didn't treat herself as an outsider at all; she pushed past Chen Yuan, strode in with her long legs, and plopped down onto the leather sofa.

As she moved, the hem of her nightdress rode up slightly, revealing two long, straight calves.

"This floor plus the workshop downstairs comes to a total of two thousand dollars."

She held out a hand, palm open, staring straight at Chen Yuan. "Don't tell me you don't have money. I heard that Jack and his gang of bloodsuckers came by this afternoon and were carried out horizontally. If you can handle the Black Gold Gang, surely you can handle this bit of rent?"

Chen Yuan leaned against the doorframe, watching this fiery woman, and smiled.

Although Sophia had a sharp tongue and a fiery temper, she was actually a classic case of having a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Back when the previous owner was a good-for-nothing who gambled away all his assets, if she hadn't turned a blind eye, Chen Yuan would have long been homeless, fighting stray dogs for food.

"The money will be here in a few days."

Chen Yuan walked over to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of whiskey, and handed her one. "What's wrong? Don't you need to hold down the fort at 'Night City' tonight?"

Sophia was the head waitress at "Night City," the largest nightclub in the next block. At this time of day, she should normally be busy directing the bunny girls to pop champagne for the guests.

At the mention of this, Sophia deflated like a punctured ball. She took the glass, downed half of it in one gulp, and slumped into the sofa.

"Don't even get me started. Business is so dismal it makes me want to curse."

She ran her hands through her hair irritably, her eyes full of exhaustion. "The economy has been bad lately. Those Wall Street assholes who usually throw money around aren't coming anymore, and all we get are poor losers who just hog the booths. They start dozing off before they've even had two drinks, or they just sit there complaining about their lives."

"Don't you think these men are useless?"

Sophia swirled her glass, the amber liquid rotating against the glass walls. "What time is it? Not even midnight, and the dance floor is already empty. No passion, no spending. If I don't meet my targets this week, the boss will definitely fire me."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow.

This was exactly what he needed.

He set down his glass, turned to his desk, opened the drawer, and took out that bottle of freshly packaged purple liquid.

It had no label, just an ordinary glass bottle containing a bubbling purple potion that looked exceptionally bewitching under the light.

"Since you're so worried, why not try this?"

Chen Yuan placed the bottle on the coffee table, making a crisp "clack" sound.

Sophia narrowed her beautiful peach-blossom eyes and suspiciously sized up the bottle. "What is this? A new type of poison? Or some dish soap you stole from a chemistry lab?"

"Don't be so shallow."

Chen Yuan sat opposite her, leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "This is an ancient secret recipe from the East. I call it 'Dali'."

"Dali?"

Sophia almost burst out laughing, nearly spitting the whiskey in her mouth onto Chen Yuan's face. "That name is so tacky! Are you trying to say drinking it makes me Popeye?"

"The name is just a code; the effect is what matters."

Chen Yuan wasn't angered by her mockery; instead, he gently shook the bottle, watching the fine bubbles rise and burst. "It's not a drug, nor is it a banned substance. It's a... highly potent functional beverage. Even a donkey that's tired to the point of death could run around a millstone for three days and three nights after drinking this."

"It's specifically for fatigue, listlessness, and..."

Chen Yuan gave Sophia a meaningful look. "A lack of passion."

Sophia froze for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly.

She had spent many years in such establishments; what hadn't she seen? But the determined and slightly aggressive look in Chen Yuan's eyes actually made her heart skip a beat.

"Stop trying to scam me."

Sophia reached out a finger and tapped the bottle lightly. "I sell alcohol, not fake medicine. What if it kills someone?"

"Old John drank a bottle just a while ago."

Chen Yuan pointed downstairs. "He's currently in the workshop doing squats while carrying a generator. If you don't believe me, you can go check."

Hearing Old John's name, Sophia's expression finally changed.

That old man with the limp? Carrying a generator? Doing squats?

If it's true, then this thing...

She bit her lower lip, her gaze shifting back and forth between Chen Yuan and the bottle of purple liquid. Business at the bar had indeed been giving her a headache lately. If this stuff was really that miraculous, even if it only had half the effect, as long as it could get those lifeless customers hyped up again...

"It's really not a drug?" she confirmed again.

"I am a legitimate businessman." Chen Yuan spread his hands. "It's just high-concentration taurine and vitamins, plus a little... exclusive formula."

"Fine."

Sophia grabbed the bottle as if she had made a major decision. "Then I'll take it and try it out. If it really works, I'll waive one month's rent for you. If something goes wrong..."

She stood up and looked down at Chen Yuan, making a throat-slitting gesture. The shoulder strap of her nightdress slipped halfway off, revealing a patch of snowy, smooth skin.

"I'll castrate you."

With that, she grabbed the bottle and stomped off in her slippers, wind-swept and hurried.

Chen Yuan watched her swaying silhouette, a smile curling the corner of his lips like a hunter seeing his prey fall into a trap.

He didn't need to do any hard selling.

In this city filled with desire and exhaustion, no one could resist the temptation of being "tireless."

That night, Chen Yuan slept very soundly.

Until the next morning, when a pounding on the door, even more violent than the night before, jolted him awake from his dream.

"Chen! Chen Yuan! Open the door!"

"Hurry up! I know you're inside!"

Chen Yuan groggily glanced at his watch—it was only six in the morning. He wrapped his bathrobe around himself in annoyance and went to open the door, calculating in his mind that if it wasn't something important, he would definitely have Alice throw this person who disturbed his sleep out.

The door had just opened a crack.

A gust of fragrance rushed towards his face.

Sophia slammed directly into his arms; the huge impact almost knocked Chen Yuan to the floor.

She looked absolutely disheveled.

Her hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and her eyes were dark—signs of serious sleep deprivation. She had changed out of her nightdress into a bar uniform, which was stained with quite a bit of alcohol and sequins.

But her eyes.

Those eyes were terrifyingly bright, burning with a kind of near-manic excitement and greed.

"Do you have any more?"

Sophia gripped Chen Yuan's collar tightly, practically hanging off him, her voice hoarse with excitement. "That stuff from last night... do you have any more?!"

Chen Yuan was being strangled to the point where he could barely breathe. He looked down at this woman who seemed to have gone mad and asked, feigning ignorance, "What's wrong? Did it cause problems?"

"It did cause a problem! A big problem!"

Sophia didn't let go; instead, she gripped him even tighter, her exquisite face almost touching the tip of Chen Yuan's nose. "The fat guy who took the medicine last night danced on the dance floor for four whole hours! Four hours! In the end, he had to be carried out because he wanted to pick me up and do squats too!"

"Do you know how the others reacted when they saw it? They went crazy! They were throwing cash at my face, asking me where that miracle water came from!"

Sophia was panting heavily, her chest heaving violently; the scent of money had made her lose her reason.

"Chen, don't give me any nonsense."

She stared at Chen Yuan as if she were staring at a mountain of gold. "I want the goods. Whatever you have, I want it all!"