Under the Veil of Night

(Special mention for web novel [without space between the two words] reader aistitch)

…

Swish!

"Get her!" The leader was still at the back because he used his men as shield for him. His heart bled when he saw his men fall down just like that. That woman had warned him before that this woman was dangerous, but he didn't expect that she would be so vicious and killed his men directly within seconds like that.

Her shots were so accurate!

The two men were just about to get near Ashley when they felt sudden pain and dropped on the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Two bullets pierced their heads and the last one hit the leader's leg. The leader was unable to stand still as he fell down with a large 'thud'. His eyes widened in disbelief. That woman shouldn't have any bullet left with her. How come they got shot?

Ashley furrowed her brows and turned around. Not far from her, Neo had alighted from his car while his hand was holding a handgun that clearly had just been used to shoot the men.

"You… how come you're here?"

"I'm on the way back when I heard some ruckuses," Neo replied.

"It's not your business," Ashley responded. She felt bad for involving him in this matter. If her sisters caught wind of her getting involved with some local residents in this city when she returned back, she was sure that they wouldn't hesitate to target Neo.

Neo smiled slightly and walked to the leader. "The moment they decided to make a move in this place, it's my business."

"What?"

At this time, Neo didn't bother to explain to the confused Ashley and walked directly to the man. The leader was still struggling to move as he raised his head. Upon seeing Neo's face, blood drained from his face.

"N…Neo Soha?"

"Oh, you recognize me?" Neo asked with a light chuckle. "Then, can you explain what you're doing in this place after rallying a lot of men?"

The leader's face turned ashen. One of the new laws that Ryukalin Clan made was that they couldn't fight randomly on someone's request anymore. If they were caught accepting requests to harm normal citizens, Ryukalin Clan would be the one to take care of them.

Because of the rule, the number of crimes had been reduced greatly.

"I…I need… I need money," The leader finally replied with a pitiful expression.

Neo arched his eyebrows. "Do you think I will believe your excuse? You can talk to the police about whatever reason you have. Rin Family is not easy to handle."

The leader was unable to speak anymore because Neo had already kicked him when the leader tried to grab him. Even though Neo didn't specialize in physical skill, he was still quite powerful as the result of countless spars that he had with Mike.

Ashley was still looking at Neo with a confused expression. She found it hard to believe that the man whom she met coincidentally turned out to be someone extra amazing in this city.

"Who are you?" Ashley blurted out.

Neo arched his eyebrows. "I'm Neo Soha. As for who I am, I'm sure that your family will know if you ever mention my name to them."

Ashley furrowed her brows. She had already kept her gun back as she took out her phone. "Can I get your phone number?."

"Give me yours. I'll contact you later."

"Ok. My number is 08XXXXXX."

Neo nodded and memorized it easily. He pointed to the leader at the back. "You can do whatever you want with him."

Ashley stood still in her place as she calculated the time. Her uncle would arrive here in a few more minutes, but she still wanted to get information from the leader. She looked at the man, who was writhing on the ground.

"Do you know who he is?"

The man looked at Ashley as if he was seeing a big idiot. "That's Neo Soha! He's one of the elders in Ryukalin Clan who is a renowned sniper in this city!"

The name 'Neo Soha' didn't ring any bells in Ashley's mind, but the name 'Ryukalin Clan' was clearly very familiar to her. It was the biggest clan in this city and practically the only clan left. It was controlling the city from underground and made sure that the city was growing lately.

The only reason why her father and uncle decided for her to come here was precisely because this city had been developing under the shadow of Ryukalin Clan.

Ashley pursed her lips. That annoying man had truly kept it so deeply.

…

In Ryukalin Clan, Neo was reprimanded for interfering in other matters again. However, they accepted his excuse and only gave him an order to work overnight again.

When it was night time, Neo checked his phone as he lay down on bed. He had sent a message to Ashley when he was in the car on the way home. The message was extremely short.

Neo: This is Neo Soha

Now that he checked the message again, Neo realized that there was an additional message on his phone.

Ashley: Why didn't you tell me that you're from Ryukalin Clan, Elder Neo?

Neo: I'm still young, so the title of elder doesn't seem to suit me in the slightest bit.

It didn't even take one minute for Ashley to reply back. It seemed that she was using her phone at the moment.

Ashley: So, Elder Neo, why are you wandering on the street at night?

Neo: It's my job

Ashley: Your job includes eliminating bad people?

Neo: Why not?

In the end, Neo and Ashley chatted with each other until it was dawn. Looking at the sun rising, Neo groaned because he knew that he would need to work again, so he was unable to chat any longer. Even though their conversation didn't seem to be important at all, Neo was having fun.

Neo: It's already dawn, time for me to work

Ashley: Have fun then. I'm going to sleep

Neo: … enjoy your morning sleep.

Neo sighed to himself. Who would tell him that working was fun? As he got out of his room, he bumped across Mike who was yawning. From his attire, it was clear that he planned to head over to the field and have morning practice.

"Oh, Neo, care to join me?"

"No. I still have a lot of work."

"Work and work again. If this continues, you'll be like those two who are working while they're dating."

Looking at the location where Mike pointed, Neo could see Kevin and Kanae were already bickering. He looked at the sun and sighed. They sure wake up early just to start working again.

Gathering his will, Neo began to work again.

Time passed swiftly.

Lou looked at Neo with bewilderment. He knew that Neo loved to work, but he noticed that the time Neo spent looking at his laptop had increased ever since a month ago. It looked as if Neo was falling in love with his laptop.

"Neo, what are you doing over there?"

"Ah? I'm working," Neo replied.

Feeling suspicious, Lou leaned over and looked at the screen. Upon seeing the rows of code filled with 0 and 1, Lou decided to back off. He was not interested in making his eyes hurt from looking at those codes that only a programmer would ever understand in their lifetime.

Neo smiled slightly. With a sweep of his hand, he had opened another app which contained his conversation with Ashley.

Ashley: I'm back at my home country. My Uncle is adamant for me to never return to your city again.

Neo: If it's because of safety reasons, I'm sure that it'll change in years to come.

Ashley: I still need to finish my school too. My Uncle told me that he would only allow me to return back when I have already finished my study and earned a Master's Degree. In addition, I need to succeed to the family's business.

Neo didn't reply right away. If he counted the time, there was at least around nine more years before Ashley could finish her study. As for succeeding her family, it might take more time.

Neo: If you need help, I can help you from afar.

Ashley: Oh, you're very kind, Elder Neo. But I should decline. I want to succeed with my own strength without anyone's help.

Neo: Then, I'll just watch over you by listening to your problem from here.

Ashley: Hehehe, okay~

…

- 11 years later -

Neo looked at Kevin, who was currently reading a report. He slowly uttered his request, "Boss, I want to ask for a month's holiday."

Kevin raised his head and arched his eyebrows. "Why so suddenly?"

"Well, there's not much work left, so I want to have some time to relax," Neo replied.

"Are you thinking of meeting with your girlfriend."

Neo's expression changed. "What are you talking about, Boss? I'm married to my laptop."

Noticing that Neo didn't want to admit even though he had been communicating with each other for years, Kevin shook his head. He pointed to the laptop. "When you return, I hope you can bring out the person back here."

Mike was perplexed when he heard what Kevin said. How could someone bring a virtual person out?

Neo pursed his lips. He could guess that Kevin must have found out that he was secretly chatting with Ashley from time to time. The two of them also had video calls at times when it was night time, so Kevin might have heard him talking to her.

Damn, and here he was planning to keep it a secret from the others.

"Fine."

"You can go."

"Thank you, Boss!"

With that, Neo rushed out of the room happily while Mike was looking at his best friend as if Neo had a screw loose. He looked at Kevin with confusion. "Boss."

"The last bachelor will get married," Kevin said simply and returned his attention back to his document.

Mike didn't understand anything, but he was sure that Kevin didn't say it without any reason. He chose to head out and practice again. When he walked out, he noticed that Neo had already packed his belongings and rushed to the airport.

Did he hack the airlines to get a ticket right away?

He's just like a child when he's excited.

…

(end of side story 5)