My Harem Will Help Me Get My Revenge-Chapter 69: [ - - 61] - Even insects... can carry poison

Chapter - 61

Lucius sprawled across the oversized velvet sofa in his room, freshly bathed and dressed in a loose black t-shirt and sweatpants. His damp hair clung messily to his forehead, droplets of water tracing and glistening along his neck.

The crisp scent of lemon soap lingered faintly around him, blending with the quiet musk of aged leather-bound books stacked along the shelves nearby.

Dinner had been served earlier— grilled chicken, fragrant rice, and a delicate lemon tart that vanished in minutes. He’d eaten it all with the hunger of a man who had dodged death twice in a single day. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Now, the tray had been pushed aside, and the lights had dimmed to a cozy warmth.

He leaned back, one leg propped lazily over the armrest, the other resting on the carpeted floor, when a faint blue flicker lit the space before him.

A familiar hum echoed in his mind, followed by the flirtatiously creepy tone of the system’s voice.

[Mmm... finally. Peace. Quiet. Privacy. And not a single blood-crazed lunatic in sight. I could almost moan in relief.]

Lucius chuckled, "You are weird."

[And you spent dinner smacking your lips like a wild boar. Let’s not throw stones.]

He smirked, eyes lazily skimming across the translucent panels floating in front of him.

But then the system spoke out of nowhere.

[By the way... that old woman downstairs?]

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

[Keep. Your. Distance. Something is very wrong with her. I don’t know what it is yet, but my sensors don’t like her. She’s wrapped in something old... something not entirely human.]

Lucius sat up slightly, frowning. "You mean she is dangerous?"

[Let me put it this way: I would rather let a pack of rabid monkeys braid my circuits than stay in the same room as her for longer than five minutes.]

He scoffed. "You don’t even have a body."

[Exactly. And yet she made my code feel itchy.]

Lucius shook his head with a grin. "Duly noted, drama queen."

He waved the warning off for now and refocused on the interface.

A red icon blinked softly in the top corner— [QUEST COMPLETED!]

His eyes lit up.

[Oh-ho~ Someone’s about to unwrap their loot like it’s Christmas.]

[QUEST: Ice and Fire] - Completed.

Primary Objective: Charm Officer Elena Frost.

Rewards:

+750 System Points

Special Mystery Skill Scroll.

Bonus Objective: Get Rid of the Predator and his men

Rewards Unlocked:

Mystery Equipment Crate (Rare) ×1

+500 System Points

Title Unlocked: "Masked Executioner"

Lucius grinned. "Masked Executioner? Has a nice ring to it."

[Very sexy. Very serial killer chic. I approve.]

He opened the Inventory, curious about the crate. A swirling, ornate chest appeared virtually on screen. He tapped it, and it burst open with a gust of golden wind.

[’Shadow Mantle’ (Rare Cloak)]

Effect: Enhances stealth abilities. Grants a 10% boost to agility when hidden. Slightly dampens heartbeat, footstep, and breath noise.

Activation Duration: 5 Minutes

[Oooooh, baby. I will get to see a lot more blood now]

Lucius whistled. "Now that is a win."

Finally, he opened the Stats tab.

---> Core Attributes

Strength: 29 (Mortal Avg: 15)

Stamina: 30 (Mortal Avg: 16)

Agility: 33 (Mortal Avg: 16)

Charm: 17 (Mortal Avg: 11)

Intelligence 22 (Mortal Avg: 12)

Instinct: 25 (Mortal Avg: 14)

Vitality: 26 (Mortal Avg: 15)

Focus: 20 (Mortal Avg: 9)

Titles:

--> Masked Executioner

--> Drowned Survivor

Lucius stretched, his bones popping slightly. He felt different now. His body was stronger. His strikes were sharper. And his instincts—those quiet whispers inside—were louder, clearer.

[Well, well, well... Look at you. Stats increasing, a cloak that would make Batman jealous, and a woman who tried to stop you from murdering someone. Isn’t that love?]

Lucius chuckled, "I am getting stronger."

[Damn right, you are. You keep growing like this, and soon you’ll be the nightmare people whisper about to their children.]

Lucius leaned back on the sofa again, hands folded behind his head, eyes staring at the ceiling.

He wasn’t just surviving anymore. He was evolving. Now the only thing that remained was the missing pieces of memory he had forgotten. If he could get that sorted, he won’t be a pawn anymore.

A small, satisfied smile crept across his face.

[Sleep well, Master. You have earned it.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The heavy wooden door slammed open with a violent slam that echoed through the candle-lit room. The slam was so hard that the dust rained down from the high ceiling as Master Lei stormed in, his boots pounding the marble like gunshots.

His long coat dragged wet mud across the floor, soaked and tattered at the hem. Fury carved deep lines into his face. His jaws were clenched, eyes bloodshot, neck veins pulsing like cords ready to snap.

Without a word, he marched to the corner cabinet, yanked open its ornate glass door, and pulled out a bottle of vintage bourbon which was yet untouched, probably older than him.

He popped the cork with his teeth, spat it aside, and began chugging directly from the bottle.

Across the room, lounging comfortably on a crimson leather armchair, sat a man dressed in a pinstripe suit. Legs crossed and a half-lit cigar smoldering between his fingers. A crystal tumbler of whiskey glistened on the table beside him.

It was none other than Cockroach.

He raised an eyebrow as he watched Master Lei drink like a beast possessed. He felt hurt. It was his prized possession that was being ravaged by a brute.

"Not so classy," he muttered dryly, puffing his cigar, "It must not have gone well."

Master Lei ignored him and downed the last mouthful. With a guttural growl, he smashed the bottle on the floor. Glass sprayed like shrapnel across the rug. His hands were trembling. It was not fearr, but from a rage that was burried deep down in his skin. He wanted to tear his own skin and wash off the shame.

The Cockroach exhaled a curl of smoke.

"I got a call from Marcus Dorne," he said, casually reaching for his whiskey, "He wasn’t very happy about your trip... Seems like you weren’t of much help."

The moment the words left his mouth, Master Lei erupted.

"DORNE CAN GO TO HELL!" Lei roared, his voice shaking the walls, "That bastard has no idea what I was up against! If he thinks he can sit on his fat ass and bark orders at me like I am one of his dogs."

"I would havel carved out his liver and made him eat it!"

He threw a chair aside, and the crash echoed.

"I don’t take orders from little shits like him! I agreed to the job as a favor to you, and what do I get? Bullshit!"

"That bastard made me loose face in front of that old bastard. Damn! I told him to stop"

"Instead of whining, he should thank his stars. I would have killed him, if not for you."

The Cockroach didn’t flinch. He merely took a sip and said nothing until Lei’s breathing had calmed slightly, the echo of destruction fading into a tense silence.

Then, with a lazy turn of his head, he asked, "So what happened exactly?"

Lei wiped sweat off his brow and ran a hand through his wet hair.

"Nothing happened. I did my part. He wanted me to beat someone, I did. He wanted me to stand guard, I did..."

Master Lei spat at the next word like venom, "Until that old butler showed up. That old fossil."

The Cockroach’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the butler.

"If not for him, I would have had put everyone in the body bags," Lei snarled, "But that Levain bitch was a step ahead. She knew. The Old Witch had eyes on everything. Like she read the script before I walked onstage. The butler even brought backup..."

His voice trailed into clenched teeth.

Cockroach leaned back, tapping the cigar ash gently, "So the Old Witch knew," he repeated softly, "She always was two moves ahead."

His voice was calm. But behind those glasses, calculations were already unfolding.

"I suppose that’s not a surprise. She always was two moves ahead. This job was small anyway. Nothing game-changing. I only accepted it because I was only asked to stir the waters."

He then flicked his gaze toward Lei again.

"But Marcus mentioned a boy...?"

Lei blinked. "What?"

"He said something about a boy who survived. What about him?"

Lei waved it off, "I barely noticed him. Some punk. That Marcus bastard asked me to beat him up and not kill him."

"Well, I did beat him up pretty bad. But somehow he survived I guess. It is nothing big."

"What was his name?"

Lei thought for a moment, "Lucius... That’s all I caught."

Cockroach stared at the burning cigar between his fingers for a while. Silent. Still.

"Lucius... Lucius..." he muttered under his breath, as if testing the taste of the name.

There was a flicker of intrigue in his eye.

"A boy who survives you, Lei... that’s not normal."

Lei scoffed, cracking his knuckles, "It’s only because I was not serious. If he’s still breathing, it’s only because no one finished the job. He is nothing. Just a lucky insect."

The Cockroach gave a noncommittal grunt and crushed his cigar into the ashtray. But his eyes lingered.

Not on the broken glass. Not on Lei.

On the name.

Lucius.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin.

Then, without looking up, he murmured, "Even insects... can carry poison."