As Adrian watched, a rough-looking man from Obscura City swaggered past him and entered the restaurant. Behind him, a dozen others followed suit.

As the man passed Adrian, he barked, "What are you looking at?"

The restaurant owner halted his movements, and the waitress ceased pouring coffee and water for the patrons.

Adrian grasped the situation quickly. It appeared these thugs were there to extort money from them.

"Billy! Is the protection fee for this month ready?"

Some patrons immediately put down their utensils and hastily left the restaurant. In the end, Adrian was the only one remaining as he calmly enjoyed his food.

Fortunately, his actions were not conspicuous enough to draw attention from others.

"Didn't we just pay it last week?" Billy asked.

This marked the third occurrence this month. On each occasion, they asserted it was for protection, yet in truth, only these thugs loitered around, showing any interest in their restaurant.

"Did we? How could I forget?" said the