<Janus is not messing with the host,> Janus said without being considerate towards Ryder's feelings.

"Ah man, whatever. I'm too tired to even argue with you. Do whatever you want to do with that useless box," 

Ryder gave up on arguing as he realized that it wasn't good for him to argue over something that he didn't even know about.

As he walked on 67th street, he kept scrutinizing his surroundings to look out for police or the goons.

He was trying to get out of here as fast as he could, but before he could walk far, a voice came from behind that made him stop.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

Ryder tried to act ignorant as he turned back. His heartbeat was getting slightly faster as he wondered who called him.

' I can't let anyone suspect me.' He thought as he turned back with an innocent smile on his face.

"I was right. It's you! Ryder... Ryder Flynn, right?" That person said.

Ryder was stunned to see the person.

It was a man who looked like he was in his early twenties. His flaming red hair looked kind of unique but did not look bad. He was wearing black sunglasses on his face and wore luxurious clothes.

His hands were resting on the shoulders of the girls that stood on his right and left.

The girls were wearing short dresses that barely covered their fair knees. 

"Bastion? Is that you?" Ryder let out with a stunned look on his face.

He recognized that boy. That boy was one of his best friends at the college. Unfortunately, they had lost contact after college ended.

'I never thought I would meet this guy again. What's he doing in a place like this?' Ryder wondered.

The boy's name was Bastian Barrel. He and Ryder studied the same course in college. He was also known as the playboy of that place.

Bastian could be seen with a different girl every month, but it wasn't strange. He had money, after all. The money, along with the good looks that he had, made him the ideal boyfriend for most of the girls.

Even though Bastian was his best friend, Ryder never knew what his parents did. All he knew was that his parents had a lot of money.

After they graduated, he never heard from Bastian again. He was told that Bastian had left the country.

"It's me! I finally get to see you after so long," Bastian said as a bright smile appeared on his face.

"You too, dude. You left without even telling me. Anyway, when did you return?" Ryder smiled. He walked closer to Bastian.

"Yeah, there was some stuff, and I had to leave the country, but I'm back now. I just landed today," Bastian replied.

Bastian removed his hands from the girl's shoulders and walked towards Ryder, and hugged him.

"That's awesome. Anyway, what are you doing here? This place is not safe, you know," Ryder said.

He tried to warn him as he separated from Bastian. The 67th street was known for its dangers after all, and he didn't wish for Bastian to be hurt.

"I'm going to a club nearby. There's a birthday celebration for me," Bastian said as he began laughing.

"Birthday? Oh, right! It's 29th March, isn't it?" Ryder was surprised as he remembered.

"Nice, so you remember the date. Anyway, I tried calling you, but your old number wasn't working. I thought that I'd never get to see you again," Bastian said.

"Yeah. I lost my phone and lost all my contacts. I couldn't even get the same number from the phone company. Things were quite hectic," Ryder answered with a wry smile on his face.

"Whatever, It's good that I found you. Come with me. Let's celebrate my birthday, bro!" Bastian said with a grin on his face.

He grabbed Ryder's hand and pulled him.

"Alright,"

Ryder couldn't deny him, and he wanted to take care of him as well. He felt like Bastian didn't understand how dangerous this place could be.

The girls who were with Bastian looked somewhat unhappy, but they didn't complain and simply followed them.

They walked towards the club. Just like before, two bulky guys were standing at the doors.

The surprising thing was that the guards didn't stop them. In fact, they looked quite respectful.

They gained entry into the club.

It was the first time Ryder had been to a club like this. He was somewhat surprised as he entered and saw the club from inside. The building looked even bigger from the inside. 

The left half of the building was like a bar. There was a bar counter and around 20 tables placed there. The other half of the building was much more interesting. While the left half was a bar, the right half was a strip club for entertainment.

There were four doors in the building. One was on the left half of the building that looked like it was the door to the kitchen. There was no security in front of that door.

The second door was the one that was used for entry and exit into the building. There were two guards standing outside the door.

The third and fourth doors were on the right side of the building. Both these doors were heavily guarded.

"Little boss! You're here!"

A man came towards them. Three guys followed him.

"Mark, Where's Aunt Esmi?" Bastian asked the man in a casual tone.

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