After tying the woman's hands and feet with electrical wire, Axel tore a bedsheet into strips, gagged her, and secured the young man as well.
The young man finally broke down.
"Who sent you? How much did he pay? I'll give double… no, triple!"
"Maybe even more. My father owns a renovation company; we have plenty of money!"
"Don't kill me, please! I'm only twenty-two! I don't want to die!"
Even after gagging him, the man continued to struggle, but Axel ignored the protests. At last, the room fell silent.
Axel hung his coat and settled onto the sofa, holding his pistol casually.
"Relax. No one sent me. I just needed a bed for the night."
The young man whimpered, realizing the bed was far from clean. Axel sighed.
"I should have known. Your bed's filthy. Guess I'll have to find a clean room later. But you two don't get off easy. I'll borrow your bathroom for a shower."
He stripped and filled the bathtub, soaking comfortably. After a quick scrub, he patted both their shoulders, drying his hair.
"You two, bear with it. I'll toss you on the bed, you can just stay there. By the way, how long is your room booked? Not more than three days, right?"
The young man shook his head. Satisfied, Axel threw them onto the bed, then returned to the bedside, shifting them so the man's face rested against the woman's chest.
"You're welcome," he said with a smirk, covering them with the blanket before washing his hands and leaving the room.
Knocking on the next door, he found only a single woman inside.
"Room service?" he called.
"Yes, can you change my towels? I've used them all. Help—mmmph!" she started before Axel swiftly pulled her to the computer and tied her with cables. He lay on the bed, covering her with a blanket, leaving only her head exposed.
Axel picked up the phone in the room, dialing a number from the service directory.
"Hello, I'd like a full-night massage service."
"What do you mean, full-night?" the receptionist asked.
"Look, I'm paying, you solve the problem. Two overnight masseuses. Make it fast."
Click. Axel hung up, then tore the bath towels one by one. Soon, there was a knock.
"Room service," came the greeting.
"Coming!" Axel opened the door, gesturing them in. The two masseuses froze for a moment, then approached the bound woman.
One whispered to the other, "Boss likes role-play, huh? Man and woman? Or… confidence in his stamina?"
"You don't need to concern yourselves with what's happening here. Massage them well, then quietly rest. Two thousand Dollars for your trouble."
The masseuses exchanged glances, then laughed.
"So it's role-playing. Got it, boss. Massage first, fun later?"
"Exactly. Clever girls."
Axel praised them with satisfaction. Amid the woman's struggling, he rolled onto his stomach, watching her whimpers with a sly smile. The masseuses readied themselves.
After fifty minutes, the massage ended. Axel retrieved the torn towels, while the masseuses offered their own props, including two pairs of handcuffs. Axel took them. The three bound individuals lay quietly, leaving Axel with the large bed.
Turning off the lights, the soft breathing of the women surrounded him as he drifted into sleep.
In his dream, he sat on an impossibly comfortable sofa, the surrounding void filled with mist.
"Daytime death will become my night's dream. Can I grow stronger in dreams?" he whispered.
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I already know what to do."
When his vision cleared, Axel was back on the bus where he first encountered death. Early in his transmigration, penniless Axel had sung on a street corner to earn six cents for a bus ticket. Three and a half minutes after departure, he would have been killed by gang members launching a rocket attack.
His instincts screamed survival. Overcoming this Death repeatedly would hone his body and tactical skill, preparing him to take down the Dimitrov and Sabatino families in his dream.
He leaped from his seat.
"Driver, stop the bus! I left my integrity at the station!"
"Open the door! Let me off!"
Half a minute later, Axel stood at the dream station entrance, arms outstretched. He felt it: he had grown stronger.
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