Shadows of Destiny: A Tale of Liberation

Chapter 564

Renee found it weird, but because she still had an important business to attend to, she had to leave the matter

there.

With Chase leading her, she passed through the whole of Water Dock unimpeded and finally arrived at the center of

the downstream zone, where Carmine Pawnshop proudly stood.

"So this is the legendary Carmine Pawnshop?" asked Renee as she stood at the door. She looked up at the gilt

letters proclaiming its name on the door plaque and very bluntly commented, "It looks so... ordinary!"

From the outside, the pawnshop looked like any other mansion. It just looked too "normal" and not at all befitting

the "lawless land of heinous crimes' reputation that Water Dock had garnered over time. In fact, it looked too

simple and clean if anything.

Renee found it hard to believe that such a mundane building had been hiding priceless treasures from all over the

world that inspired great fear and trepidation in the hearts of many!

"What did you expect?" Chase turned around and smiled gently. "Carmine Pawnshop has always been an ordinary

place. It was you people who have elevated it into a powerful, godlike establishment... or should I say, twisted it into

an evil lair of demons. The truth is, this place is not at all as terrifying as it's rumored. At the end of the day, we're

just another pawn shop like any other."

"You say that," argued Renee, "but you still accept everything under the sun, whether legal or not. You'd accept it as

long as it's worth good money, wouldn’t you? I hear that you'd even let people pawn their own lives-a deed sinister

enough that befits your reputation."

What was truly frightening about Carmine Pawnshop was that no legal rules applied there. If anyone wanted to

pawn something valuable in exchange for the life of an enemy, as long as Carmine Pawnshop deemed their offering

worthy enough, they wouldn't hesitate to kill to get it, which was a horrifying thing!

"The way you put it," said Chase, 'it's as though Carmine Pawnshop is some purgatory. In truth, as our boss has

mentioned before, this place is more like a charity hall than hell."

"What?"

"Think about it. In your most desperate times when you have nowhere else to turn to, you bring the most valuable

thing in your life here to solve the most pressing problem in your life. As long as you gain enough strength to pay

the agreed price later, you can always get that most valuable thing in your life back. If you can’t get it back, then it

means that thing that you pawned wasn't really the most valuable thing in your life, since you didn't strive enough

to earn back what you lost. You can’t blame Carmine Pawnshop for being cruel or unfair, don't you think that makes

sense?"

"Well..."

Renee stroked her chin, thinking that what the man just said did make some sense. After all, it was precisely for this

reason that she decided to make this deal with Carmine Pawnshop, confident that she'd one day gain enough

strength to get back the most valuable thing in her life!

"You're back, Mr. Cheever!"

A beautiful female employee in a traditional dress was standing at the door, politely greeting Chase.

"Mm-hmm," Chase nodded, then led Renee into the interior section of Carmine Pawnshop.

Renee was instantly mesmerized by the sights around her when she finally got inside. She was now in the courtyard

of Carmine Pawnshop, which had traditional architecture, making it look like a museum where every little room was

a small exhibition for countless rare items.

But she was in no mood to admire these items right now. She followed Chase closely behind and asked, "Can you

take me to your boss now?’

"Not yet," replied Chase plainly. Then, in a voice filled with pride, he added," Right now I'm bringing you on a tour

around the place. Witness the true scale of our business and see how remarkable and wealthy we are."

He had acquired all these treasures himself by traveling to famous corners of the world, sometimes even crossing

oceans, to take them back here. He'd proudly show these trophies that spoke of his achievements to anyone he

met.

This rendered Renee speechless for a while, until she told him through gritted teeth, "Can't you show me around

some other time? Please just take me to your boss first. I'm in a bit of a hurry.”

"I can't even if you're in a hurry," Chase explained with his hands stretched out helplessly. 'Because our boss is

really busy right now. He's got a million things to do every day. I don't even know where he is, when he'd come

back, or when he'd leave..."

When he noticed that Renee was so angry he could tear him into pieces at any moment, he added, "But you can

take a chance and wait for him here in the internal section. He often comes back here lately, so you might really

get the chance to see him after all."

"Is that so?' Renee's fists were tightly clenched. She really wanted to punch Chase right now. "Well, I must really

thank you for your help then!"

After all she'd been through, she might not even get to meet that legendary boss everyone was talking about

tonight! So why the hell did Chase have to take her here in such a hurry? Was it all simply to show off his precious

treasures to her?