"......" James Carter stood up, rubbed his nose, and said, "Bro, I'm going to bed."

"Wait a minute, I've saved some food for you. Eat before you go to sleep."

"I'm not eating, I'm not hungry." As he spoke, James Carter, still drowsy, walked toward his own room.

Chapter 3 Uncle

The next day. After school, James Carter didn't go home but went straight to his brother's bar. The bar was called Longhu Bar, located on Huanghe Road in city d, which was the most prosperous new business district in city d.

Speaking of which, William Carter was quite lucky. When he chose to buy a shop on Huanghe Road to open a bar, it wasn't because he had any far-sighted strategic vision, but simply because it wasn't a business district yet and the property was relatively cheap.

However, in just the past few years, the city developed rapidly and kept expanding outward. The old business districts became saturated and urgently needed new ones to fill the gap. The area around Huanghe Road gradually rose up, with several large shopping malls newly built, and it quickly became the new major business district of city d, even overshadowing the old ones.

The Longhu Bar's signboard had a black background with red characters, big and imposing, and also quite beautiful. Inside, it was divided into two floors: the first floor was the public area, and the second floor had private rooms, offices, storage, and so on.

It was evening now, and there were already quite a few customers in the bar, with waiters weaving in and out.

Of course, all the bar staff knew James Carter. As the boss's younger brother, he was considered half a boss himself.

When they saw him, the passing waiters all greeted him. He walked to the bar counter and put his backpack on it. The bartender inside tacitly took it and placed it behind the bar, then smiled and said, "James, here to see your brother?"

James Carter looked around and asked, "Where's my brother?"

"Upstairs," the bartender said with a grin. "Seems like he's discussing a contract with Helen."

"Oh." James Carter nodded.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the Helen the bartender mentioned. She was the resident singer at the bar, not very old, just in her early twenties, only a few years older than James. She was very beautiful, dressed fashionably, and naturally had a great singing voice. When James Carter first met her, he was really infatuated for a while. Of course, that was just a young boy's innocent crush, and it eventually faded away.

He turned his head, and his gaze naturally drifted to the most secluded corner of the bar. After looking, his eyes lit up and he thought to himself: He's really here!

Still sitting in that old spot, still only ordering a pitcher of beer, still in a crisp black suit with a white shirt underneath, and still completely absorbed in fiddling with his computer.

It was as if there was an invisible wall around him, isolating him from the outside world.

James Carter stared for a while before snapping out of it and said to the bartender, "My brother's busy with business, so I won't go upstairs. I'll sit down here for a bit."

The bartender nodded in response, but just as he was about to speak, another customer sat down to order a drink, so the bartender immediately went over.

James Carter left the bar counter and walked toward that corner seat. When he got close, he plopped down across from the man, smiled, and said, "Uncle."

The man didn't look up, his eyes still fixed on the laptop screen, never glancing at him even once. But he said, "Looks like the wounds on your face have healed. Young people really do recover fast."

Thinking of how embarrassed he was last night, James Carter felt both scared and awkward. He said seriously, "I... I'm here to thank you, Uncle..."

"Haven't you already thanked me..." The man still didn't look up, absentmindedly asking, "Is there something else?"

His intentions were seen through in one sentence. James Carter's face turned red, and after a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said, word by word, "I want to become your apprentice."

"Ahem..." The man seemed to choke on his own saliva, coughed, and finally looked up at James Carter sitting across from him. After a while, he couldn't help but burst out laughing and shook his head, saying, "An apprentice? What era do you think this is? Should I set up an incense table or something?"

James Carter's face turned even redder with embarrassment. If there were a crack in the ground right now, he would have crawled in without hesitation.

"I... I just want to get revenge for my friend."

The man chuckled and said, "You can't even handle a few taunts from others, and you talk about revenge."

James Carter was moved by this, and the embarrassment on his face disappeared. He asked seriously, "I hope you can teach me what to do, Uncle."

The man stared at him for a long time, then blinked, picked up a cigarette, lit it, took a couple of slow drags, and finally said, "There are three ways to destroy a person."

"What are the three ways?" James Carter stared wide-eyed at the man, not blinking, his body leaning forward.

"The first way is the one you tried—going straight at them, risking your life. That's the stupidest way. Even if you succeed, you can't escape the consequences. At best, it's jail time; at worst—bang." He raised his hand in a gun gesture, then continued, "If you fail, you already know the consequences. So, whether you succeed or not, it never ends well."

"Then... what's the second way?"