Magic: Reincarnate from high-voltage electricity at the start, level up independently.

Hearing the noise outside the door, Aigu frowned instantly: "Why are they here again... This is never going to end."

The banging on the door continued, each bang more ferocious and forceful than the last.

Even from a distance of tens of meters, the loud thuds of the impacts were still clear and piercing, echoing throughout the entire street.

Other shop owners on the street had already figured out the situation.

Without a word, everyone quickly packed up their stalls at the entrance, rushed into their own shops, slammed the doors shut, and didn't even dare to look out the windows.

Nobody dared to get involved in this matter; anyone who did would be unlucky, and everyone was afraid of being implicated and getting into trouble for no reason.

Aigu turned to look at Chu Ge beside her, a hint of apology on her face, her tone gentle:

"Young lady, go hide in the storeroom for a while. I'll handle things here; it'll be quick and won't take long."

"it is good."

Chu Ge didn't ask any more questions, simply nodded in agreement, and turned to walk into the warehouse on the side of the shop.

This warehouse is usually used to store the recovered monster corpses. It's a secluded space, so it's absolutely safe to hide here.

Seeing that Chu Ge was settled, Ai Gu took a deep breath, suppressed the gentleness on his face, and his expression turned serious as he walked towards the shop's door.

"Coming, coming! Stop smashing!"

He walked quickly while calling out to others.

A few seconds later, Aigu walked to the door and reached out to pull open the roller shutter door that had been smashed and deformed.

The moment the door opened, a burly and domineering figure suddenly blocked the entrance.

"You old fool! You actually know how to open the door?!"

The moment the door opened a crack, the middle-aged man outside launched into a tirade of insults, his tone arrogant and sarcastic.

The man had a fierce appearance, dark skin, and a long scar across his face.

He roared loudly, the scars on his face twitching with his flesh, making him look particularly ferocious and frightening, exuding the tyrannical aura of a thug.

"Open the door earlier next time! All that dawdling makes people think you're dead in there!"

After saying that, the man, with a look of disgust, spat hard at Aigu's feet, and swore:

"Grass!"

The foul-smelling saliva splattered onto Aigu's face, sticky and disgusting.

But Aigu seemed to be used to this humiliation, showing no anger on his face and not even frowning.

He suppressed all his emotions, immediately put on a fawning smile, lowered his posture, and spoke in an extremely humble tone:

"It's Brother Long! What a rare guest! What brings you here? Please come in and have a seat!"

"Don't give me that nonsense!"

The burly man, known as Brother Long, didn't buy into his act at all and shoved Aigu away forcefully.

The force was so great that it pushed Aigu back two steps, causing him to stagger.

Brother Long strode into the store as if he knew the place well, clearly not a first-timer looking for trouble.

He casually pulled over a chair, sat down with a nonchalant air, crossed his legs, glanced contemptuously at Aigu who was still standing in the doorway, and sneered:

"I heard you made a big deal yesterday, acquiring dozens of complete demonic beasts. You must have made a fortune, right?"

Aigu stood up straight, his expression calm, without hiding anything.

Yesterday, Chu Ge came to his shop to sell a large quantity of monster corpses. The transaction amount was huge, and all the merchants on the street saw it and heard about it.

This kind of thing can't be hidden at all. The more you try to cover it up, the more guilty you seem, and the more trouble you'll attract.

"That's true." Aigu nodded frankly.

"Heh, good that you admit it." Brother Long's lips curled into a greedy sneer. "Since you've made a lot of money, you'd better be sensible and hand over the protection fee for this job."

Upon hearing this, Aigu's brows furrowed instantly.

He looked at Brother Long, suppressing his dissatisfaction, and asked seriously, "Brother Long, we agreed on a monthly payment for protection money. I just paid this month's a few days ago, why are you asking for it again now?"

"Hmph, I set the rules, and I can change them whenever I want!"

Brother Long, with his nose in the air and an extremely domineering attitude, declared, "It used to be once a month, but starting today, the rules are changed! Every time you close a big deal, I'll come to collect protection money!"

It's blatant robber logic, utterly unreasonable and domineering.

Aigu's anger surged instantly, but he gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed it.

He knew that arguing with such an unreasonable person was a waste of energy and would only cause more trouble.

He paused for two seconds, then suppressed his emotions and asked, "So, Brother Long, how much are you going to charge this time?"

Seeing that Aigu obediently gave in and showed no sign of resistance, Brother Long's face instantly showed a smug look, certain that this old man wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with him.

He slowly raised his right hand and held up five fingers towards Aigu.

Seeing this, Aigu breathed a slight sigh of relief and tentatively asked, "Five hundred thousand?"

In his memory, Brother Long collected a fixed protection fee of one million every month.

If it's changed to 500,000 per transaction, and I have about five or six transactions a month, that adds up to 3 million.

Although the expenses were two million more than before, and the pressure was much greater, he could grit his teeth and accept it as long as spending money could avert disaster, ensure the stability of the shop, and keep himself and his daughter safe.

He just wanted to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible and didn't want to get entangled with him any longer.

"Okay, I'll transfer the money to you right now."

Aigu immediately took out his phone, ready to scan the code to transfer the money.

Just as he looked down to operate his phone, Brother Long suddenly sprang up from his chair with incredible speed.

A thick tail suddenly lashed out and slammed hard onto Aigu's wrist!

"Snapped!"

A crisp crack, the force of which was incredibly fierce.

The phone in Aigu's hand flew out instantly, smashed hard against the wall next to him, and then fell heavily to the ground.

Brother Long swayed slightly, then sat back down in his chair, staring coldly at Aigu, his tone full of mockery and hostility:

"Five hundred thousand? You think you can give five hundred thousand to a beggar?"

"I said 50%! 50% of the net profit from your deal yesterday!"

Aigu didn't say anything, silently walked over, bent down and picked up the phone from the ground.

The phone screen was completely shattered, with dense cracks covering the entire screen. The phone body was also deformed from the fall. After pressing the buttons several times, the screen remained completely black and the phone could not be turned on.

This wasn't some expensive, top-of-the-line phone, but it was the most precious thing he had in his life.

This was a birthday gift that Arya bought for him with the money she saved from her part-time job.

The back of the phone was also carefully decorated with tiny star patterns drawn by my daughter, a touch of childlike innocence and warmth.

But now, the screen is broken, the device is damaged, and the star pattern that my daughter drew by hand is also shattered beyond recognition.

Aigu stood there, clutching the broken phone, motionless for a long time.

There was no anger, no outburst, only a deathly silence.

His eyes welled up with an indescribable bitterness and heartache, the frustration of having his bottom line completely trampled on.

"Are you deaf?!"

Seeing Aigu's back turned and motionless, Brother Long became even more arrogant, pushing his luck and shouting loudly.

"I said 50%! 50% profit! Can't you understand human language?!"

The moment the roar subsided, a violent pressure suddenly erupted from Brother Long's body!

The aura of a peak B-level cultivator swept through the entire shop without restraint!

boom--

An invisible shockwave exploded instantly, causing the entire house to shake violently.

The tables, chairs, ornaments, and shelves in the store all shook violently, making a chaotic clanging sound.

The next second, a series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

The exquisite vase on the counter was the first to be knocked off by the blast wave and shattered.

Immediately afterwards, glasses, porcelain plates, decorative items, and all the fragile items in the store fell to the ground one after another.

In just over ten seconds, the once clean, tidy, and orderly shop was transformed into a complete mess, with debris scattered all over the floor.

Looking at the devastated shop, Aigu, who had been silent for a long time, finally turned around slowly.

His face showed no anger or hostility; his eyes were eerily calm, like a still, stagnant pool, revealing no emotional fluctuations.

"it is good."

He uttered a single word softly, his tone flat and emotionless.

"Fifty percent, I'll give it to you."

After saying that, he walked towards Brother Long, took out a clear accounting slip from his pocket, and handed it to him:

"The total value of yesterday's batch of monster goods was thirty million. After deducting the cost of goods, labor and miscellaneous expenses, the net profit was six million."

Then he took out a bank card and handed it over.

"You have three million in your account, which is exactly half of the net profit. Keep it safe."

Brother Long snatched the bank card and receipt, and quickly checked the numbers on them.

Only after confirming that there was no exaggeration and that Aigu had not lied did the fierceness on his face subside slightly.

He wasn't worried at all about not having money in his account.

In his eyes, Aigu was a pushover who dared not resist. Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to give him a penny less.

"You're smart to know what's good for you."

Brother Long casually stuffed the card into his pocket, gave a disdainful snort, and slowly stood up from his chair.

He swaggered out of the store, his manner extremely arrogant.

As he reached the door, he turned back and spat a thick wad of phlegm at the messy shop, his tone arrogant and domineering:

"Be more sensible next time and bring the money over voluntarily. Don't force me to bother you every day!"

After saying that, Brother Long flicked his tail and strode away, his arrogant figure disappearing completely at the end of the street.

The shop finally returned to quiet, leaving only a mess and scattered fragments.

Without a single complaint, Aigu silently picked up the broom from the corner and bent down to clean up the mess on the floor bit by bit.

Just then, the warehouse door opened gently, and Chu Ge walked out slowly.

Looking down, one could see Aigu, his back hunched, squatting on the ground, carefully lifting the only potted plant in the shop that hadn't been shattered.

The middle-aged man's back was thin and weathered; his temples, which were already slightly gray, now looked even grayer.

Despite his formidable strength, he lives a life of such frustration and exhaustion.

Chu Ge looked at him quietly, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke, her voice light yet clear:

"You clearly have the ability, why didn't you just kill him?"

From the first time Chu Ge met Aigu, he saw through his true nature.

This seemingly ordinary shop owner, who appears to be easily manipulated, possesses extremely profound magical power and is a genuine peak A-level expert.

Such strength would definitely qualify someone as a powerful figure in any cultivation world.

Even in this mermaid kingdom, among all the people she has met so far, only William and Amber, both S-class powerhouses, are stronger than him.

Killing a mere B-rank peak thug is nothing more than a matter of lifting a finger for Aigu; it's an easy task.

Aigu straightened the potted plant, and his hand holding the broom paused slightly.

He slowly straightened up, turned to look at Chu Ge, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips, full of helplessness and vicissitudes:

"Killing him would be too easy; I could do it with a flick of my wrist. But I simply can't bear the consequences of killing him."

He sighed softly and patiently explained, "The laws of the Mermaid Kingdom are extremely strict. It is clearly stipulated that members of the same race are strictly prohibited from killing each other. Those who violate this rule will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public without any leniency."

"I used to be a member of the Imperial Guard, and I know better than anyone how cruel and inhumane the laws here are."

"Moreover, this Brother Long is no ordinary thug."

Aigu's eyes darkened, and his tone became even more bitter: "He is from the Tang family, an old noble family in the kingdom. The Tang family may not rank among the top noble families, but there are many experts within the family, at least three of whom are stronger than me."

"If I were to kill him in a moment of impulse today, the Tang family, for the sake of their noble reputation, would definitely fight me to the death."

Chu Ge picked up another broom from the corner, silently walked over, and helped sweep up the broken pieces on the ground, speaking softly as she swept:

"I understand your concerns. But if you keep giving in and voluntarily paying money to compromise today, you won't get any peace of mind."

"He is insatiable. Once he gets a taste of success, he will only become more greedy and come back again in a few days. It's endless."

"I understand."

Aigu nodded gently, his expression remarkably calm, his eyes concealing a past and weariness that no outsider could comprehend.

"I know better than anyone that constantly backing down will only feed the greedy and allow them to take advantage of us."

"But the adult world is never about acting on impulse. Acting recklessly and impulsively is never a wise choice."

At this point, the sharpness in his eyes completely disappeared, his gaze softened, and the image of his daughter Arya unconsciously surfaced in his mind.

"The year I retired from the Imperial Guard, I had a huge sum of money that I had never seen before in my life. I was young and impetuous, and for a time I lost my mind and spent my days indulging in debauchery and squandering it recklessly."

"It was during those absurd days that I met Arya's mother."

Aigu spoke slowly, as if recounting long-forgotten events, his tone filled with guilt and self-reproach.

"She was just an ordinary waitress in a bar, plain-looking, introverted, and quiet. I only met her a few times, we got along in a daze, and eventually we got married in a daze."

"After getting married, I finally settled down completely. I got rid of all my bad habits, focused on doing business steadily, lived a stable life, and our family's financial situation gradually improved."

"But when I was young, I had a bad temper; I was hot-tempered and arrogant."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, his eyes filled with regret: "Disputes and friction are inevitable in business. If someone provokes me even slightly, I can't control my temper. I don't know my own strength, and in one conflict, I beat the other person so badly that he was paralyzed from the waist down."

"In the end, I lost the lawsuit, and the huge compensation wiped out all my savings. I also spent several years in prison for intentional assault."

"At that time, Arya had just turned one year old."

When talking about her daughter, Aigu's voice trembled slightly, her heart overflowing with guilt:

"I wasn't there for her during the years when she needed her father's company and her family's love the most. All the burdens of the family fell on her mother's shoulders alone."

"I went to jail and had to pay compensation. My family became penniless overnight and was burdened with a lot of debt. We were struggling to make ends meet and suffered to the extreme."

"To prevent Arya, who had just turned one year old, from going hungry and cold, her mother worked herself to the bone to earn money."

Aigu's eyes gradually reddened. The painful memories of the past, even after so many years, still pierced his heart with pain.

"She was a frail woman who carried young Arya on her back to deliver food during the day, enduring wind and sun; she stayed up late at night doing odd jobs to supplement the family income; and when everyone else was asleep in the early morning, she still had to sweep the streets to earn the hardest money."

"Even if she tries her best, this meager income is just a drop in the ocean compared to the huge debt, and it's simply not enough to support a family."

"Debt collectors come to cause trouble every few days, banging on the door day and night."

"On a stormy night, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring outside, a group of debt collectors blocked the doorway, hurling insults and banging on it."

"She was too scared to open the door, so she could only hold the wailing Arya and hide in the small bathroom, covering the child's mouth tightly to prevent the crying from getting out."

"The child was hungry and scared; his little body trembled and he cried incessantly in my arms."

Aigu took a deep breath, his throat bobbing, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion:

"That night, looking at her daughter in her arms, crying from hunger and trembling from fear, she had no other choice but to make the most humble and desperate decision."

"She sold herself to support Arya."

The air fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

Aigu's eyes were red, filled with heartache, guilt, and regret, a mixture of emotions.

"She suffered from malnutrition for many years, was thin and frail, and had an ordinary appearance. Even the club was unwilling to accept her."

"There was no other way but for her to wear heavy makeup and revealing clothes, squatting in the dark and cold alley late at night, humbly waiting for passersby."

"Only fifty yuan per time, incredibly cheap."

"Even so, some people still bully her. Many people renege on their debts afterward, insult her, beat her, kick her to the ground, wantonly trample on her dignity, and call her despicable."

"I found out about these things little by little after I was released from prison."

Aigu closed his eyes, suppressing the stinging in his eyes, and continued to speak slowly.

"The day I was released from prison was the day before she passed away."

"When I pushed open the door to my long-lost home, the house was destitute and empty. She was lying in bed, so ill that she was barely breathing and couldn't even swallow food."

"Seven-year-old Arya is clumsily starting a fire and cooking in the cramped kitchen. Her small figure is especially heartbreaking to see."

"At that time, she had no idea that her mother wouldn't last much longer."

"I hadn't been home for many years, and I looked haggard, dressed in simple, worn-out clothes. The first thing she thought of me was a villain who had come to collect a debt."

Aigu felt another pang of pain in her heart when she recalled the scene of her first meeting with her daughter.

"A little girl of only seven years old mustered all her courage, grabbed a kitchen knife, rushed up with red eyes, and desperately tried to drive me out and protect her mother on the bed."

"The misunderstanding was cleared up later, but Arya was afraid of me for several years."

"She was afraid to come near me, afraid to talk to me, and no matter how gentle I was, she never called me 'Dad'."

"Her mother left the next day."

"Before she died, she gripped my hand tightly, crying and pleading with me over and over again."

"She said she had no other wish in this life, only that I take good care of Arya, protect her as she grows up safely, and not let her suffer the same hardships she had suffered."

"I agreed to her through tears."

"After hearing this, she closed her eyes completely and passed away."

"At that moment, seven-year-old Arya cried her heart out, her whole body trembling, and she almost suffocated from crying."

"By the end, her voice was hoarse, her tears had dried, and she was exhausted from crying."

She silently crawled under the dark bed and laboriously pulled out a tin can that was half her height.

"The little girl, with red and swollen eyes, whispered to me that this was the money her mother had secretly saved, the last hope for her father and the family."

I opened the tin can with trembling hands.

"It was completely full, stuffed with loose change."

With a splash, I dumped all the money on the ground, covering it completely.

"One-yuan, two-yuan, ten-yuan, one-hundred-yuan coins, and even small coins of one-cent and one-cent."

"That was the money she saved up, penny by penny, to survive, after she had given up all her dignity and endured all the humiliation."

"I counted them one by one."

"A total of thirty-four thousand eighty-two and a half dollars."

This small sum of money was the last bit of tenderness and support that suffering woman left for her child.

Aigu tilted her head back, suppressing the tears welling in her eyes, her voice hoarse yet relieved:

"With this 30,000 yuan, I was able to do business steadily while also focusing on my cultivation."

"Perhaps it's divine intervention, or perhaps it's the end of my hardship that has brought me happiness. Over the years, my business has grown bigger and bigger, and I've become quite wealthy. In the entire Mermaid Kingdom, I'm considered one of the richest people."

"My cultivation has also steadily improved, and I have cultivated all the way to the peak of A-level, making me far stronger than ordinary people."

"Arya also successfully entered the best aristocratic music school, where she lived a life of comfort and security."

"Everything I risked my life for was so that she could grow up safely and happily, and never have to experience the suffering her mother went through."

He turned to look at Chu Ge, his eyes filled with a world-weary wisdom:

"So you ask me, why did you endure it?"

"Enduring it for a while will only result in a loss of a few million, a few insults, and a little loss of face."

"But if I can't bear it and kill someone in a moment of impulse, what awaits me is the destruction of my family and the loss of everything."

"I've experienced the taste of having nothing and being filled with regret, and I never want to experience it again in my life."

"If I were your age, unburdened and alone, with no weaknesses or attachments, let alone a mere Brother Long, even if he had a powerful background, I would not hesitate to take action, seeking vengeance and never swallowing my anger."

"But now I'm old, I have worries, and I have vulnerabilities."

"I've long lost the youthful courage I once had; all that's left is a heavy burden of responsibility."

Aigu smiled gently at Chu Ge, a hint of embarrassment in her eyes:

"I'm sorry, young lady. I got carried away and started rambling on about so many old stories. I'm sure you're getting impatient with listening to me."

"That's how it is when people get old; they lose their sharpness and become more sentimental."

He raised his hand to brush the dust off his clothes, forcibly suppressing the bitterness surging in his heart, composing himself with all his heavy emotions, and turned to speak to Chu Ge.

"It's getting late. I'll take you to your place and prepare a clean room for you. Get a good rest tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aigu turned around and strode out of the messy shop.

Just then, Chu Ge's calm voice came from behind.

"Aigu".

She suddenly spoke, calling out to the figure in front of her.

Aigu stopped in his tracks and stood still.

Watching his forlorn figure, Chu Ge bluntly asked the question that had been nagging at her: "Did you ever love Arya's mother?"

The air fell silent for a moment.

Aigu didn't turn his head, his voice steady, yet with a hint of barely concealed hoarseness:

"Love. I've always loved."

The answer was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Chu Ge frowned slightly and continued to press, "But you just finished recounting the whole past, from beginning to end, you never called her 'wife' or mentioned her name."

She has experienced complete and warm family affection, and seen what true love looks like.

In Chu Ge's mind, truly loving someone would never be expressed with a cold "Arya's mother."

If it's true love, how could you remain silent about even your name and status?

After the question was asked, the street fell completely silent.

The wind blew across the street corner, ruffling the white hair at Aigu's temples.

A few seconds later, he uttered five words softly.

"Because I don't deserve it."

As he finished speaking, he straightened his hunched back slightly, and his figure in the afterglow of the setting sun seemed to have gained a touch of loneliness and desolation.

He didn't linger, but instead walked deeper into the sunlit street.

There was no defense, no explanation.

Chu Ge looked at that weathered and lonely figure and didn't ask any more questions or offer any more advice.

She quietly followed, silently trailing behind Aigu, walking forward step by step.