The young woman knew these four men; they were notorious thugs in the area, rumored to have ties with the local major gang. She disliked them but didn’t dare offend them. Taking a deep breath, she said in a delicate voice, “What exactly do you want?”

The bald man grinned and said, “Nothing much, just want to buy you a drink.” As he spoke, he turned sideways and nodded to his companion. One of the bald men understood, pulled a bottle of red wine from his pocket, poured a full glass, and pushed it in front of the young woman.

Her expression changed slightly as she shook her head and said, “I can’t drink…”

Before she could finish, the bald man interrupted, “I’m offering you a drink—even just a sip counts. Otherwise, you’re not giving me any respect!”

The young woman knew that for these thugs, saving face was everything. If she didn’t drink this glass today, they definitely wouldn’t let her off easily. To get rid of them, she had no choice but to steel herself and say, “Then… then I’ll just take one sip.”

“Good, good, good! Haha—” The bald man laughed triumphantly, nodding repeatedly.

Picking up the glass, the young woman summoned her courage and took a big gulp.

As the wine went down, a spicy heat surged from her stomach all the way to her scalp. She felt as if she would breathe fire, and her fair face instantly turned red, making her look even more alluring. The bald man stared at her, almost entranced, and only after a while did he snap out of it, clapping his hands and laughing, exclaiming, “Great tolerance, great tolerance! Haha, have another sip, come on, have another!”

“I…” The young woman tried to refuse, but the bald man grabbed the glass and forced it to her lips. In an instant, most of the remaining wine was forced down her throat, and her face grew even redder. She wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth, gasping, and said, “Can I leave now?”

The bald man and his companions exchanged glances, all grinning wickedly, and nodded, “Alright! Go ahead and get back to work!”

Hearing this, the young woman felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders and hurriedly stood up, but as soon as she did, the world spun around her, as if everything was about to fly away.

She couldn’t stand steady, swayed, and finally sat back down in the chair. Her head was heavy and aching, and only then did she realize something was wrong. No matter how poor her tolerance, it shouldn’t be this bad—there must have been some kind of hallucinogen in the wine. But it was too late to realize this now; her consciousness was fading bit by bit, and she sat in the chair, swaying, her expression vacant, occasionally grinning foolishly at the people around her.

Seeing that they had succeeded, the four bald men grinned even more wickedly, exchanged looks, and hurried to help the young woman up, saying, “Had too much to drink, huh! If you can’t drink, you shouldn’t have. We’ll take you to rest!”

The four bald men, supporting the barely conscious young woman, made their way across the dance floor toward the back door of the ballroom.

Everything happening over there was clearly seen by William Carter from not far away. He felt an urge to rush over and stop them, but quickly suppressed it. He wasn’t a good guy—there was no need to save anyone, and getting involved would only bring trouble for himself.

Although reason prevailed, the image of the young woman kept flashing through his mind, making him restless and uneasy.

Damn it! William Carter cursed inwardly. He hated this feeling of uncontrollable impulse. He tipped his head back and drained the wine in his glass, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply.

A female server nearby walked over, smiling, and asked, “Sir, what can I get for you?”

“Liquor!” William Carter said bluntly.

“What kind of liquor?” The server was amused; nine out of ten people who came to the ballroom ordered drinks.

“Strong liquor!”

“Volga?”

“That’s fine!”

“One glass?”

“One bottle!”

The server was momentarily stunned, glanced suspiciously at William Carter, then smiled and said, “Alright, sir, please wait a moment!”

Chapter 0002: Transmigrating to Another World

Not long after, the server returned with a tray, placed a bottle of Volga in front of William Carter, then gave him a deep look before slowly walking away.

Opening the bottle, William Carter filled his glass, and with a single tilt of his head, downed it all.

The high-proof alcohol felt like countless knives slicing through his insides. He closed his eyes, his fingers drumming rapidly on the table. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, and for a brief moment, it seemed as if two sharp beams of light shot from them—gone in a flash.

William Carter exhaled deeply, pushed the bottle and glass forward, then took out his wallet, pulled out a few crisp hundred-yuan bills, neatly placed them on the table, stood up, and walked toward the back door of the ballroom.

He knew full well he shouldn’t be heading that way, but his legs wouldn’t obey him.

The ballroom was glamorous and splendidly decorated, but the alley behind it was a different world—dark, damp, filthy, and chaotic. Just a wall apart, yet it was heaven on one side, hell on the other.

Stepping out the back door, a stench of rotting garbage hit him in the face, and William Carter couldn’t help but frown.