Chapter 223 - Trading Information (2)
In a faraway building, Shiro was facing a similar situation as Kanae. When he came to the building he had chosen for his stakeout, he stumbled into Neo. The two of them were staring at each other. Neither one of them moved from their spots as they held their guns tightly.
Neo looked towards Shiro warily. With Shiro's getup, he could not see the other party's appearance. However, he had some guesses about this person's identity. They were doing trade with Fiore Group, so the other party should be someone from that group.
This person didn't have any distinctive features that made it easy to recognize him. Tom was known for the scar on his eyes and the headband. Oro was famous for the large sword that he always carried. As for Rei, he was famous for the small and thin peculiar sword.
This person wore a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses with a pistol ready in his hand. He had never heard of a Fiore Group's member with this appearance. This analysis made him certain that this was the last member of the Fiore Group, the one who rarely appeared.
Noticing the big bag on Shiro's side, Neo understood why this man rarely appeared. He was a sniper. This man would be located far away from the actual fighting location, which was why the information about him was quite scarce. It was only his bad luck to encounter a member of Fiore Group when he picked this place.
For snipers, this kind of close encounter was surely the worst. They were not too proficient in close combat.
Neo might be able to fight in close combat, but his official position in the clan was a sniper. He was more proficient in using a gun rather than fighting barehanded like Mike. This was also the biggest reason he hated training with Mike because his physical body was not as strong as the other members.
"What's your name?" Neo decided to open his mouth and asked.
Shiro arched his eyebrows and stayed silent. He had interacted a few times with Neo in real life, so he didn't want to risk getting found out. Neo and Kevin were the sharpest among the three from the Ryukalin Clan. It would be better for him to not speak at all.
"Shin, why did you turn silent all of a sudden?" Jason asked in bewilderment. These two suddenly turned quiet when they arrived at their spots. Could it be that there were people around?
He immediately took out his laptop. At this time, he was inside his car and parked in an alleyway. There were several people walking outside the car, but he ignored them as he checked the camera from nearby buildings. There were still some cameras that he could maneuver to see what was happening inside the buildings Kanae and Shiro went into.
Looking at the scenes inside, he cursed internally. How bad was their luck for them to stumble into Neo and Kevin right at the same time. In addition, Kevin and Kanae were close to each other in real life. It was not going to be easy for her to hide her real identity if Kevin tried to probe.
"Tom, you better finish the trade as fast as possible."
At this time, Tommy was standing on the roof with Mike in front of him. Tommy was wearing his signature clothes as Tom: shirt, jeans, plus a headband and scar on his eye. On the other hand, Mike was wearing a long leather jacket that almost reached the ground. On the back of the jacket, there was a large emblem of the Ryukalin Clan.
"I never knew that there was a place like this in our territory," Mike smiled.
Tommy nodded his head. He still didn't like seeing Mike's smile, but he was already quite used to it after his time in the Student Council. Still, the Mike that stood in front of him now seemed rather different from the student he usually saw in the school.
If the Mike that he saw at school usually looked amiable, the Mike before him exuded coldness and indifference. It was as if the two of them were completely different people.
"No one pays much attention to us. We often move from place to place," Tommy shrugged. It was normal for him.
Mike nodded his head. "You're right. We even missed your existence in our territory."
"The Ryukalin Clan has its share of troubles. When I started to make my name, your clan was still in turmoil because of the change in leadership," Tommy learned a bit of the clan's history from Shiro. Because he had to stay at that annoying doctor's place for several days, he was forced to learn a lot.
One of the things that Shiro often shared with him was the matter of the street. After that doctor found out that Kanae and Tommy forgot the name of the biggest clan, he stuffed more information into the two of them. He wanted to make sure that they weren't going to repeat the same stupid mistake ever again.
"You're quite knowledgeable."
"If it's about things that will affect my life, I have to know more," Tommy took out the flash disk. "How do you want to do the trade?"
"Leave the flash disk by your side, and we walk towards each other slowly."
"Sure."
The two of them placed the flash disk down on the ground without breaking their gazes from the person before them. After that, they slowly walked towards each other. Although they were friends in the school, right now they were representing their respective clan and group. No mishap should happen to them. They were careful because they were not sure about the other's intentions. If one of them wanted to change this into a fight, it wouldn't be easy for either of them.
Tommy was quite tense when he walked past Mike at an appropriate distance. From sheer strength alone, he was not a match against Mike. After experiencing this devil's training for such a long time, he was already quite familiar with the latter's strength. He knew that if Mike wanted to, he would be defeated in a matter of minutes. The few seconds of walking felt like forever because of the tense atmosphere.
Reaching the flash disk, Tommy kept it in his pocket and nodded at Mike. "It's a pleasure making the trade with you."
Mike picked up the flash disk too. He nodded his head. "Likewise."
"I hope this is the correct information," Tommy pointed to his pocket.
Mike arched his eyebrows. "I can say the same thing to you, but I believe that you're not that stupid to make the entire Ryukalin Clan your enemy."
"Indeed."
Watching Tommy's complicated expression, Mike thought for a bit before talking again. "If you want to do trade with us, there's no need to go through a roundabout method like the Black Market. You can just ask us directly."
"There's no need for that. We don't plan to get too close with any clans," Tommy smiled.
"What made you come here, then?"
In reality, Tommy didn't want to come here at all. He was only doing this because Jason told him to as he was the only one who already had his identity leaked out to the Ryukalin Clan. Because of that reason alone, Tommy felt rather stifled that he became the one who had to represent their group.
However, he knew that they wanted to make the trade to know the Ryukalin Clan's stance towards their group. At the same time, they wanted to know if it was possible to have a friendly relationship with the other party.
Based on how Mike conducted the trade, carefully but without hostility, Tommy guessed that the Ryukalin Clan also didn't want to make them enemies. When his thoughts reached this point, his lips unconsciously smirked a bit.
"Who knows? I'm going now, Mike."
Mike crossed his arms. "Be careful on your way back."
"Sure."
The two of them went their separate ways. Kanae and Shiro were informed by Jason that the trade was done and they could leave. Immediately, Shiro walked backwards towards the doorway slowly and left. Neo didn't try to chase and merely left after waiting for a bit.
He had received Mike's message that the trade was successful. Even though he wanted to know the other party's identity, this was not the right time. He would just try to search for more information after he returned back home later.
On the other hand, Kanae was still looking towards Kevin warily. She didn't know about Kevin's fighting prowess, but she could guess that it was not ordinary. He managed to sneak up on her and she only found out right at the moment he attacked. The way he hid his presence was superb.
"Boss, are you here?" Lou's voice came towards them.
The moment Kanae heard that sound, she dashed towards the stairs. Her movement surprised Kevin, but he didn't try to shoot. His eyes grew solemn. Based on that speed alone, he would be gravely injured if Rei tried to attack him if they were positioned close to each other.
He lowered his gun and looked towards the incoming Lou with an indifferent expression.
"Let's go back."
"Boss?" Lou's sharp eyes noticed the trace of a bullet embedded in the pillar not far from them. Someone else was here with Kevin before. Seeing that the one who was here before managed to run with Kevin on his guard, he frowned. Whoever that was, he was quite powerful.
Kevin put his gun back in its holster. "Lou, ask Neo to search for more information on Fiore Group."
"Boss?" why did he suddenly ask that?
"If there's a chance to meet with them again, tell me," Kevin felt that Fiore Group was truly interesting. In addition, it had been quite some time since he felt danger in a one-on-one encounter.
"Yes, Boss."
On the other hand, Kanae already disappeared into the darkness. She only stopped when she was quite a distance away from the building. Her heart was racing as she was still feeling nervous over meeting Kevin in this disguise. From the bottom of her heart, she hoped that that man hadn't discovered her real identity.
She turned the special phone on. "Oro, have you checked the information?"
"Not yet, I'm waiting for Tom. Is there anything wrong, Boss?"
"If it's possible, let's avoid having contact with the Ryukalin Clan," Kanae instructed. She didn't want to face them again under the guise of Rei. It was too nerve-wracking.
Jason smiled wryly. "Yes, Captain."
As Kanae turned the communication device off, she wondered if they could do that. Somehow, she had the feeling that they were going to meet with each other again in the future.
Shaking her head lightly, she tried to forget about it.. At this time, she didn't realize that they indeed would meet more often in the future because Kevin already set his sights on Fiore Group.