Debt Collection

Chapter 13 Debt Collection

Like most other Wolverines in the universe, almost everyone in the world has forgotten "Jimmy," but Logan is the only one who will never forget him.

He is Wolverine's only blood relative in this world.

Logan is no exception now.

Before he awakened his mutant abilities, he was the rightful heir to a farm, and Victor was the gardener's son.

Logan later witnessed the gardener murdering his father. Enraged, he awakened his powers and killed the gardener. Only afterward did he learn that he was also his mother's and the gardener's illegitimate son, and that Victor was his half-brother.

To evade capture, the two left the farm together and relied on each other for survival. They participated in World War I and World War II, using their mutant abilities to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

When Logan first arrived in this world, he spent some time with Victor. Although Victor had a bad temper and was even indifferent to human life, he cared deeply for Logan.

Until decades ago, the two went their separate ways and had no contact since. They never expected to meet again in Las Vegas.

"I hadn't heard from you for so long, I thought you wouldn't be coming back from the Middle East."

Logan patted Victor on the shoulder with amusement. "Where have you been all these years?"

Victor smiled and shook his head, pointing to a small apartment building in front of him: "My home is nearby, let's go have a few drinks together. So much has happened over the years, it can't be explained in just a few words."

"Sure, I have plenty of time. I can drink all night without any problem."

Logan smiled and nodded in agreement; old friends getting together certainly need a few drinks to reminisce.

Victor led Logan to his apartment, explaining along the way, "After we separated, I've been working for various mercenary groups, and I'm doing quite well. I even started my own small mercenary group and travel all over the world."

Victor talked as he walked, reminiscing about the glory days.

"later……"

Victor continued, "What happened in Westchester was a huge incident, as you probably know. After that, the government started targeting mutants, my mercenary group was broken up, and I was forced to go on the run. Ah, those were tough times."

As he spoke, Victor led Logan into a secluded alley. "I wanted to take revenge on the government officials. Those politicians ruined my life, but with the advent of genetically modified foods, my abilities have deteriorated. I can no longer withstand twenty minutes of shooting like I could on the battlefield, so I was forced to stop my revenge."

During their conversation, the two entered a very old-looking apartment building, with various facilities that looked like they were from seventy or eighty years ago.

Victor opened the door to a room. The small room reeked of decay. Empty beer bottles littered the table, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts. It seemed that Victor often drank alone.

"Come in," Victor invited Logan inside, explaining with a smile, "It's a bit messy, but it'll do."

As he spoke, he swept the empty wine bottles off the table.

Logan looked at the small room without any disdain, and simply smiled, "As long as I can drink, it's fine."

He knew that Victor was currently wanted by the police, and it wouldn't be easy to rent a house that didn't require identification.

Logan sat down at the table, and Victor took a stack of chilled beer from the refrigerator. The two opened the cans, clinked glasses, and took a big gulp.

"And then? How did you end up here?"

Logan asked Victor.

Victor sighed and shook his head, looking somewhat dejected. "To escape the government's blockade, I went through many twists and turns to get here. Now I'm working for Mr. Norland, a local tycoon, who is a mean-spirited fellow."

"Do they know who you are?"

Logan asked in surprise, feeling that the current Victor was not similar to the one he knew. In the past few decades, the guy had probably changed quite a bit.

"I don't have the same fame as Wolverine. Even if I used my real name, I doubt anyone would recognize me."

Victor smiled, raised the bottle, and clinked it against Logan's.

"That's all in the past."

Logan gave a bitter laugh, tilted his head back and drank the liquor, saying wearily, "I wish they would forget about me. If they knew I was here, those bastards would come knocking on my door fully armed within three days."

"Don't worry, there are Avengers everywhere now. Everyone's attention is drawn to the Avengers, and nobody knows about Wolverine and the X-Men."

As he spoke, Victor's eyes dimmed as he stared at the bottle in his hand. Nowadays, even the Avengers are the spokespeople for beer.

Do you regret it?

Victor suddenly looked up and stared into Logan's eyes.

Logan knew he was being asked if he regretted joining the X-Men.

When it comes to government targets of mutants, the X-Men and Xavier's School of Geniuses are naturally the first to be targeted. If Logan had never joined the X-Men and didn't have such a resounding reputation, with his strength, he might not have ended up in such a miserable state.

Logan stared at the bottle in silence for a long time, then shook his head and said, "I only regret doing things the wrong way."

While we were chatting, the phone rang urgently.

Victor picked up his phone and answered the call.

The person on the other end of the phone said something, and Victor's response was just one word: "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Victor downed his beer in one gulp and said apologetically, "Sorry, I have to leave for a bit. It's work. Wait for me here, I'll be back in an hour."

"Working so late?"

Logan glanced at the time; it was already past nine o'clock at night.

Victor sighed helplessly, "My boss has a bad debt. The guy who owes it hasn't shown up for days. I heard he just went home. If we don't collect it now, he probably won't be around tomorrow."

Hearing this, Logan stood up as well. "I'll go with you. I don't have anything else to do anyway."

Victor glanced at Logan and nodded.

The two left the apartment and walked to a dilapidated street near the suburbs.

This street is just like the dark side of Las Vegas, with messy roads, dirty garbage everywhere, and a drain filled with a foul stench. Some gang members and drug addicts sit casually on the road, staring at passers-by. The graffiti on the street walls is full of all sorts of strange things.

If Victor hadn't looked so intimidating, they might have been surrounded by this group of thugs.

The two stopped in front of a dilapidated apartment building.

"This is it, that guy lives on the second floor."

Victor's gaze swept back and forth across the dilapidated apartment building.

"How much money does he owe your boss?"

Logan wondered how much debt was worth Sabretooth personally taking action against.

"fifty thousand."

Victor held up five fingers. "This guy's name is Elder. He's a gambler. Three months ago, he owed 50,000 at Mr. Notland's casino. Mr. Notland gave him three months to repay, but when the time came, he couldn't be found. The people downstairs said they saw him gambling at other casinos."

His tone turned colder as he said, "That damn gambler would rather take the money and gamble at other casinos than pay off his debts."

Logan paused for a moment, then said, "I thought it was fifty million."

After all, saber-toothed tigers never work for nobodys, let alone for trivial matters like debt collection.

Victor simply shook his head without responding and strode upstairs.

Logan, standing beside him, continued, "Do you usually help Mr. Notland collect debts?"

"This is just one of them."

Victor shook his head and said, "You know, anything can happen in a casino. I'm in charge of handling the kinds of things that the cops shouldn't get involved in."

You've changed.

Logan bluntly stated, "You used to disdain bending down to do these trivial tasks."

"Just trying to make a living."

Victor's expression darkened. "You should know that it's very difficult for someone of my status to find a decent job."

As they spoke, the two arrived at a large gate.

"This is it."

Victor reached out and pounded on the door, making it shake and sending dust flying. He growled, "Eld, open the door! I know you're in there!"

(End of this chapter)