Gantz stood by the side of the bar waiting for Vincente; his hands were sweating, and he looked around anxiously.
The woman at the bar smiled at him. — "My love, are you looking for a friend to play with?"
Gantz looked at her and, quite naturally, ended up staring at her breasts, which were nearly exposed due to her deep neckline.
— "Sorry, darling, but I'm not on the menu. You'll have to settle for the others."
— "No... I mean, I'm the new security guard here."
— "You? Seriously?" — She looked him up and down: curly hair, green eyes, long legs, a body a bit more muscular than the average man, and bronzed skin. — "I'd believe you more if you said you were an escort."
— "No, Zebel, despite his looks, he's stronger than you can imagine," Vincente uttered, arriving with his characteristic smile.
— "If you say so." Zebel shrugged and left to attend to a customer.
— "Don't mind her. Everyone here is like that—they speak first and think later. Actually, I think she wanted to eat you up. Hahaha! Come on, I'll show you around." Vincente grabbed him by the shoulders and led him away.
— "The place is simple to manage. One entrance, one exit, right next to where you were at the bar. As you can see, the rest has round tables for drinking and gambling. On the balcony upstairs that runs around the bar, you'll find the men who like to project that dark and distant aura; they generally don't cause trouble. The hallway is in the middle of that balcony and leads to nineteen rooms where our stars stay. Each room has a bathroom, and there's one downstairs too. You must not enter a room unless asked. You cannot be with the ladies during work hours, nor can you drink or use drugs—that'll be easy for you. Watch out for the windows; some try to sneak out through them. If you catch someone, you don't need to kill them—give them a beating, break a few fingers, and make them pay. That's it in a nutshell."
— "Seems easy. Alright, I can handle it."
— "I know you can. Good work, I'm heading out." Vincente patted Gantz's shoulder and left.
Gantz made rounds through the bar, the hall, and the second floor, but Zebel asked him to stop because he was scaring the customers. He stayed on the second floor near the hallway of the rooms. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy watching beautiful women drag men into the rooms. It was in one of those moments, while he followed the curves of a woman passing by, that a scream rang out from the center room. He ran and kicked open the door. A naked man was on the windowsill about to jump; the woman was on the floor with a black eye, and several drawers had been ransacked.
Gantz practically flew from the door to the window. He grabbed the man by the hair—short as it was, he managed to hurl him backward. The man spun around and tried to find his balance to run, but he was kicked right between the legs and began to squeal like a stuck pig. The woman came from the side and nearly caved the man's head in with some kind of heavy metal box. Gantz took the box before she could kill him.
— "Leave him to me," he uttered, brushing his hand over her bruised face. She covered herself as she sat on the bed.
— "The payment!" Gantz said, stepping on the man's heel.
— "Here! Here!" the man said, forcing himself to turn and pulling Gantz's foot off to show his ring, which immediately opened and poured out the money.
— "Please, let me go!"
— "Sure," Gantz said, taking the money. He grabbed the hand with the ring, interlacing his fingers with the man's, and crushed them. The fugitive screamed in pain as his crooked, bleeding fingers were shielded by his other hand. Other customers watched with distressed faces as Gantz dragged the man to the window and tossed him out. When he turned back, everyone dispersed. As he left the room, the girl came and hugged him; he patted her back and walked out.
As crazy as it seems, the number of idiots who did this kind of thing was irritatingly high, and he had to do it a few more times. Luckily, the Orcs took care of things in their own way. He saw one rip off a man's penis and testicles before throwing him out the window. God, even I felt sorry for that one, he thought, shaking his head.
Some time later, things seemed calmer until he heard a scream. He spun around and was met with a silver flash coming his way. By centimeters, he avoided being pierced by a blade that made a strange whistling sound. Gantz tried to grab the man's arm, but he swung the blade while shouting:
— "Out of my way, peasant! Or I'll part you in two!"
Gantz stood his ground in front of the stairs. The two exchanged blows without landing a hit until Gantz managed to grab the man's wrist. But with a quick hand movement, the man slashed Gantz's arm, making him pull back instantly.
— "Bastard!" Gantz uttered. His arms were covered with dark matter beneath his clothes, and he grabbed the man's hand again. This time, the blade struck and was repelled, being knocked out of the man's hand. He was distracted by the loss of his weapon and didn't see the punch coming. One of his eyes popped out, his skull caved in, his jaw was displaced, and blood exploded everywhere. Gantz recoiled as the body fell against the wall and slid to the floor, leaving a trail of blood.
Gantz looked down and saw everyone staring at them. His face went white as he felt that sensation again. He fell to his knees as vertigo hit him. He felt all those memories being absorbed by his brain, making it feel as if someone were poking around in his grey matter with their fingers. Fragments of memory flashed: a strange woman handing him books, others of him assembling engines and tools, others of him crafting knives and weapons. Then everything drained away as if someone had flushed the memories, and he blacked out.