Suddenly, his foot kicked an empty wine bottle, the sound of it rolling was particularly jarring in the silent bar.
Toto's body froze as if it had been turned to stone, standing still, even his breathing became cautious. His ears perked up, carefully listening for every sound around him.
In the darkness, only the sound of his own heartbeat roared in his ears, like a drum, pounding on his nerves.
A few seconds later, after confirming there was no abnormality, he slowly exhaled, and his tense muscles relaxed a bit.
He continued to walk forward, his steps as light as a cat, afraid of startling anything. His target was a small crevice under the wooden bar counter.
The crevice looked ordinary, just a crack in the wooden furniture caused by years of wear and tear.
He crouched down, his fingers feeling for the edge of the crack. The beam of the emergency light shone inside, a lottery ticket was quietly tucked inside.
Toto's heart began to race again, almost bursting out of his chest.
He used a knife to pry open the crevice, took out the lottery ticket, examined it carefully for a few seconds, after confirming it was correct, he took out a waterproof bag from his pocket, sealed the ticket inside, and hid it close to his body.
"Finally...finally got it." He muttered in his heart, a wide grin spreading across his face uncontrollably, "This is a lottery ticket worth over twenty-two billion US dollars."
However, before the smile could fully unfold, a piercing voice sounded behind him, "Wow, Toto, so it was you who hid the lottery ticket in the dark."
Toto shuddered all over, as if doused with ice water from head to toe.
"Who?" He turned abruptly, the beam of the emergency light pointing towards the source of the voice, shouting angrily, "Who's there?"
In the light, a dark figure slowly emerged from the direction of the kitchen, holding a cold, gleaming sharp kitchen knife.
Toto's pupils contracted sharply, before he could react, the sharp blade already pierced through the air, stabbing precisely into his chest, penetrating seven or eight centimeters deep.
"Ah—!" Toto let out a painful scream, thick fat and muscle blocked the blade from going further, but the intense pain made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
His muscles tensed up, eyes widened, anger and fear intertwined, without having the time to identify the attacker, he charged forward like a wounded bear, attempting to escape.
It was Zhou Qingfeng in the darkness, he moved like a ghost, sidestepping Toto's charge, with just a light hook of his foot, tripping the over 150-kilogram heavy opponent to the ground.
"Bang!" Toto fell heavily to the ground, the knife in his chest hit the floor, driving it deeper.
The intense pain robbed him of the ability to continue fighting for his life, like a stranded fish, he could only struggle a few times crawling on the ground, letting out unwilling low growls:
"No, it shouldn't be like this. No one knew I hid the lottery ticket...absolutely no one saw. Who are you? Why are you after me?"
Zhou Qingfeng stood by, coldly watching his target. He was wearing tight-fitting clothes, gloves, and Julia's stockings over his head, looking absurdly funny.
But this outfit would not leave fingerprints or hair.
He did not immediately approach the dying Toto, instead, he turned and grabbed several high-capacity power bank linked wireless cameras from the corner, and from the kitchen, he pulled out another sharp kitchen knife.
The blade gleamed coldly under the emergency light, silently announcing the upcoming bloodshed.
Toto lay on the ground, groaning in pain, his hands trembling as they reached toward his pocket. His eyes filled with hatred, struggling to make the final decision...
He would rather destroy the lottery ticket than let it fall into someone else's hands. However, his movements were already sluggish and weak, the loss of life draining any control he had left.
Zhou Qingfeng coldly watched him, lightly twirling the knife, then suddenly flung it out. The blade sliced through the air, striking precisely into Toto's neck, severing his carotid artery and trachea.
Blood spurted out instantly, Toto's body convulsed violently, his hands instinctively covered his throat, letting out harsh coughing sounds.
Blood sprayed from between his fingers, staining the ground and his clothes red.
His breathing became rapid and strained, each cough accompanied by more blood gushing out, his life fading rapidly.
Zhou Qingfeng still did not approach, instead, he took a few steps back to ensure he wouldn't be splattered with blood.
There was no pity in his eyes, nor did he speak, only calmness and calculation.
In his mind, he was recalling the process of tracking down Toto, confirming there were no mistakes.
During the day at school, Toto's remorseful look was indeed deceptive, but his sudden friendliness towards Zhou Qingfeng, his sudden exceptional kindness.
It was too out of place.
Toto said he didn't want to fight, but this guy, standing at almost two meters tall, weighing over 150 kilograms, didn't need to fight to be the school bully.
When Zhou Qingfeng fist-bumped him, it was just posturing. Normally, this guy should have left arrogantly with a few grunts, but he surprisingly softened the relationship easily.
It was too strange unless Toto really didn't want to cause trouble, didn't want to be bothered by school police, didn't want to be locked up, didn't want to be grounded.
Just because his brother got caught, would a punk like Toto change his ways? Impossible. Because it wasn't the first time his brother got caught.
There must be something more important to deal with behind this, something that couldn't be delayed. What could make Toto defy his nature and act so restrained?
Could it be that super jackpot lottery ticket?