CHAPTER 105: BAR

As Shaan walked behind Dr. Marshal toward the bar he mentioned, he noticed countless posters displaying the faces of criminals who had escaped and prisoners from Twilight Sanctum. Each one of them had clearly committed a serious crime, enough to draw the attention of Twilight Sanctum’s security guards.

Shaan stopped abruptly in front of one of the posters in front of him. Honestly, his thoughts began to wander. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he failed to prove his innocence. Damn. His face would probably end up on one of these posters.

"Hey, Shaan." Chelsie gently tapped Shaan’s shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, no, it’s nothing."

"Uhmm... we need to hurry and catch up with Dr. Marshall and the others. They’re already ahead of us."

"Al-Alright."

Shaan quickly followed Dr. Marshal until they finally arrived at their destination. At first glance, the building looked almost identical to the others surrounding it. However, one thing made it stand out — a large sign that read "CHALICE WHISKEY BAR" in bold capital letters. Above the sign, a giant beer glass logo sat proudly, surrounded by bright yellow hanging lights. The bar’s management clearly designed it that way so anyone could spot the place from a distance.

"We’re here." Dr. Marshal stopped right in front of the bar’s entrance. "Welcome to Chalice Whiskey Bar. The only bar in this area."

" Alright, so what are we waiting for?" Nalira said slowly as she walked toward the bar’s entrance. "We should go now and see your acquaintance, Dr. Marshal."

"Wait, a moment." Dr. Marshal immediately stopped Nalira from entering. "Before we go in, there are a few things I want to tell you."

"Things?" Chelsie furrowed her brow. "What do you mean, Dr. Marshal?"

"The atmosphere inside the bar might be a little... or maybe very chaotic. This is because some/almost all of the visitors here are quite aggressive due to being under the influence of alcohol," explained Dr. Marshal. "So, my advice is that women should stay outside the bar."

"Calm down, we’re not the weak women you think we are, Dr. Shaan," said Nalira confidently. "We can take care of ourselves."

"That’s not the only thing I’m considering," Dr. Marshal shook his head. "This bar is only for men, and no female visitors have ever dared to enter this place. I’m afraid that if the two of you suddenly enter the bar, you’ll become the center of attention and cause a stir among the patrons with your presence."

"Yes, what Dr. Marshal said makes sense." Shaan nodded. "Of course, we’re not here to cause trouble."

"So, are you two okay with that?"

Nalira paused for a moment, trying to process Dr. Marshal’s words first. "Alright, we have no objection to that."

"Uhm... Me too."

"Alright, then we should go in—"

"Sir. Marshal, can I stay here with them?" said Mr. Courier. "I was just thinking that if I’m with them, I might be able to help them."

"Hmm... that might be a pretty good idea, and I have no objection to it at all," Dr. Marshal stroked his chin. "Okay, then, Shaan and I will go in," said Dr. Marshal, looking to the side. "Shaan, what do you think? Do you have any objections to this idea?"

"No, I have no objections at all."

"Alright, then it’s time to move."

They decided to enter the bar and began searching for the person Dr. Marshal knew. But just a few steps past the entrance, something suddenly flew straight toward them..

"Dr. Marshal. Watch out!" Shaan immediately grabbed Dr. Marshal’s hand, successfully avoiding the glass that was heading toward him.

"Crash!"

The glass smashed against the wall and broke into pieces on the floor. Oh my God, this is crazy. It’s so crazy. Luckily, Shaan noticed the thrown object just in time; Otherwise, it would’ve hit Dr. Marshal directly.

"Dr. Marshal. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, Shaan," Dr. Marshal said, exhaling deeply. "Damn it... Drunker idiots must’ve thrown that. Come on, we need to find the owner of this place before things get even worse."

"I understand."

Looking at the atmosphere inside the bar, Shaan could only shake his head. Honestly, he never expected that there would be so many people inside this bar, and as Dr. Marshal had said earlier, the visitors were all big, bulky men. Much bigger and more muscular than the two of them.

"Shaan, the bar owner’s room is over there," Dr. Marshal said, pointing to a brown door in front of them. "But first, we have to get through the crowd here."

"You’re right, Dr. Marshal."

"Shaan, stay calm and follow my lead. I’m sure we’ll be able to get through this crowd and definitely reach the room."

"Yes, I understand."

Without wasting time, they moved forward and began weaving through the dense crowd in front of them. At first, things went smoothly. They still had enough space to maneuver between the groups of people. But as they continued, the crowd thickened, and Shaan started struggling to keep up with Dr. Marshal’s pace.

’Damn it, I need to catch up with Dr. Marshal before—’

"Bump!"

"Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to..."

Shaan swallowed hard the moment he realized who he had bumped into — a muscular man with a skull tattoo on his right arm. The man’s face looked as red as a tomato, clearly a result of all the alcohol he had consumed.

"Damn it, there’s no point in arguing further with someone like this," Shaan quickly stood up and began chasing after Dr. Shaan. "I have to catch up—"

"Hey... you!" the man suddenly shouted, freezing Shaan in his tracks. "You cost me, damn it! You spilled my whole drink!" He staggered forward, eyes bloodshot, voice slurred with drunken rage. "You... you did that on purpose, didn’t you?!"

"No, no, Sir. It’s a misunderstanding." Shaan shook his head immediately. "I-I didn’t mean to bump into you. I just wanted to try to walk through—"

"Argh, enough with the talking!" the man snarled. He tightened his grip around a glass bottle in his hand, his face twisted with anger. "Now... I’m going to pay you back for what you did."