Night falls.
Beside an inconspicuous alley in Toya City, a roadside stall, lit by a dim yellow light, was steaming with heat.
Ryuzaki Makoto sat alone on a simple plastic stool, slowly eating a bowl of oden.
There have been so many things happening lately, one after another, it's making it hard to breathe.
Fortunately, the necessary arrangements have been completed.
Ryuzaki Shin used a bamboo skewer to pick up a piece of soft, cooked white radish, put it in his mouth and chewed it gently.
The warm soup melted in his mouth, easing his tense nerves a little.
His mind, however, was still racing.
If Xia Zhi really can crack the contents of the USB drive, what should I do to maximize my profits?
Using only these to bring down the Kowloon Group would be a waste of the immense power contained in this USB drive.
The best use of this thing is to cultivate your own people in politics.
He had already planted Saeko, a key pawn, within the police system.
However, to truly penetrate power, one policeman is not enough; one must extend one's reach into the entire vast political system.
The problem is that I don't have any connections or influence in the prosecution, judiciary, or even the cabinet, which makes things a bit difficult.
It's like you have a key that can open all the treasures, but because you can't find the door to any of them, the key can't be used to its full potential.
Just then, Ryuzaki Makoto, who was chewing, suddenly paused.
His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept casually across the dim shadows at the alley entrance.
Ryuzaki Makoto keenly sensed several faint, yet chillingly murderous gazes.
Ryuzaki Makoto shook his head and finished the last fish ball.
If it's going to rain, if a mother wants to remarry, and if someone comes looking for death, there's nothing you can do about it.
He threw the bamboo skewers into the trash can and said with a smile to the busy stall owner:
"Boss, the bill."
A middle-aged man with a stocky build and a simple face immediately wiped his hands and came out of the stall.
"Oh, Mr. Ryuzaki, please don't be so polite! This meal is on me!"
This boss was originally from Wuming Street.
During the time when everyone was displaced after the fire on Wuming Street, he volunteered to help out in the temporary kitchen of the Zhenlong Society.
Ryuzaki Shinya has also tried his oden, and it does taste quite good.
So after rebuilding the nameless street, Ryuzaki gave him a small shop outside the street and let him run it himself.
Ryuzaki Shin pulled out a thick wad of banknotes from his pocket; judging by its thickness, it was easily over ten thousand yen.
"Here you go. You have two children at home, and they're growing a lot, so buy them some good food."
The middle-aged man looked at the stack of money, waved his hands repeatedly, and refused to accept it no matter what.
Without saying much, Ryuzaki stood up and forcefully stuffed the stack of money into his hand.
"Let's pack up now. The weather's bad tonight; it's probably going to rain soon."
After saying this, he didn't give the other party a chance to refuse, and turned to walk into the dark alley next to him.
The shop owner held the stack of money in his hand, which was still warm from his body, and felt it was burning hot.
He looked up, as if to say something more, when suddenly, a pale white flash of lightning ripped through the night sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
"Boom—!"
He instinctively shrank his neck.
"It's really going to rain..."
...
Ryuzaki walked through the narrow and winding alley, surrounded by towering buildings that cut the sky into a long, narrow black band.
He walked around for a while, turning east and west, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
A series of faint yet rapid footsteps came from ahead.
At the end of the alley, a group of men dressed in pure white suits appeared, like ghosts.
Ryuzaki Makoto stopped in his tracks, his face expressionless.
He slowly turned around and looked back.
As expected, the other end of the alley he came from was also silently blocked by a group of men in white.
Ryuzaki recognized it immediately; that iconic outfit was the uniform of the members of the Upper Garden Club.
It's ironic, really.
They do the dirtiest and bloodiest things in the city, yet they wear the purest and cleanest clothes.
I was hoping to have a day or two of peace and quiet, but being on edge every day has been quite tiring.
I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly.
Ryuzaki Makoto remained silent, simply standing quietly in the center of the alley, his eyes calm and undisturbed.
The members of the Shangyuan Association, who were blocking both ends of the alley, were also silent.
Like lifeless killing machines, they slowly drew their uniform long swords from their waists.
"Clang—!"
The sound of dozens of long swords being drawn simultaneously echoed through the narrow alley, sounding particularly jarring.
The cold blade reflected the pale moonlight that had just been obscured by dark clouds on the horizon, radiating a bloodthirsty gleam.
A cold smile slowly curved onto Ryuzaki's lips.
The moon looks exceptionally red tonight...