Under The Veil of Night

Kanae kicked the last person beside her. "It’s clear on my side. Do you spot anyone else, Shin?"

"Nope, you guys did a splendid job."

Jason ran towards the shipping container in the center of the chaos and peeked inside. The person inside punched forward when he saw Jason’s face, but Jason evaded immediately. He noticed the emblem and smirked.

"Tell your Boss, Fiore Group has swept the place clean."

The man was stunned. Before he could say anything else, Jason already sprinted away. Kanae and Tommy headed in the same direction and they gathered at Jason’s car.

"You two are late," Jason said when he saw them.

Tommy pointed his finger towards Jason. "You’re the one who’s late! We already started fighting by the time you came."

"As if I’ll be late again," Jason denied immediately.

Tommy truly had the urge to have another fight with this man, but Kanae kicked him into the car. "Save your quarrel for later. The other members from the Ryukalin Clan will come here soon enough."

"Get in."

Jason sped up the car and disappeared into the darkness.

"I’ll be going from this place too. Take care," Shiro cut communications with them, and they went silent.

Tommy sighed as he leaned back in the seat. "Your car is as comfy as ever, Jason. I’ll be happy to stay here forever."

"I don’t want to keep a pest around."

Kanae sighed. "Stop that you two. We’re going to have a training session at Brother Jason’s place tomorrow."

"Rei, why are you so polite? Just call him directly with his name."

"She knows manners while you don’t."

"What did you say?"

Kanae flicked her finger on Tommy’s forehead. "Stop that you brat. Brother Jason, have you contacted them about the payment?"

"I have. Don’t worry, I’ll send it to your account when it arrives."

Tommy rubbed his forehead. Kanae is younger than him, why was the brat instead? "Why do you think the Ryukalin Clan asked for our help this time? It’s not like their usual attitude."

"Who knows?" Kanae shrugged. She leaned back and closed her eyes. "I’m going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up when we arrive at my place to take my clothes."

Tommy slapped his forehead. "I forgot to pack my clothes."

"If you take more than five minutes, I’ll leave you."

"You’re a demon!"

At the same time this group quarreled around, the place they just left was filled with scolding.

"Did you say you asked for an outsider’s help? Are you an idiot? If the ones who hear the news are the other clans and big gangs around here, what are you going to do? They will be glad that our clan gets destroyed rather than help us!"

The man pulled the phone slightly away from his ear. Their Boss was truly angry this time.

"But we didn’t have enough men and the reinforcements won’t come until dawn. This is the fastest way to secure this place."

"Are you saying that the Ryukalin Clan is weak?"

"No, obviously no. It’s just our number is lacking."

"Do you say that our clan can’t fight with fewer numbers...." Mike was about to lash out again when he noticed that Kevin raised his hand. He immediately went quiet.

"Double training for a month and half salary for three months," Kevin said in cold tone.

The man on the other side of the line nearly choked. Having less salary was not a big problem as they have some savings. The training was different, though. They wouldn’t be able to survive if they had to undergo harsh training for a month.

"Boss, please be lenient..."

"Double training for two months," Kevin cut him off.

"... We understand Boss."

Mike talked with the man on the phone for another minute before hanging up. His usual calm and polite demeanor has disappeared. This only happened when he was angry like this.

"Mike, how’s the performance of Fiore Group?" Kevin asked.

Mike recovered his composure as he coughed a bit. "They managed to secure the location in less than one hour. Considering the area and their number, it’s a great feat."

Kevin nodded his head. He also thought that they did a commendable job. After all, not everyone had the same capabilities as that group. In his view, their ability was not below the outer elite of his own clan.

Neo smirked. "They’re powerful, but not that precious. Isn’t that right, Boss?"

Kevin didn’t answer Neo’s question as he tapped his laptop. "How much is the payment they ask for?"

"They agree with the initial payment that man posted. It’s not too much considering their position as the strongest group, but it’s still in the middle tier."

"At least, they know their place," Kevin said calmly before returning his attention to the laptop. He was still working on something else.

Neo steered the wheel to the side. "Boss, don’t you think they’re truly interesting? We still need help from those small groups and gangs occasionally. After all, clans are not allowed to break the rules."

Faced with Neo’s remark, Kevin paid no heed. He ignored the boy and focused on his work completely. However, Neo also didn’t feel offended as this was already an usual occurrence.

"Having some relations with local groups is not bad. Besides, Fiore Group has its base in our territory," Neo grinned.

Mike looked towards Neo. "Don’t think of doing anything without Boss knowing. You won’t be able to do that."

"I know."

...

Kanae and Tommy only stopped at their houses for several minutes to take their belongings. Kanae only needed a few seconds because she had already packed them while Tommy just scrambled for anything he could grab before boarding Jason’s car.

"Are you sure that your new place is hidden?" Tommy asked Jason. "Last time, our training was interrupted by your friends."

"I bought a remote place in the east. No one should know about this place because it’s surrounded by forests. Besides, it’s in the middle of nowhere," Jason answered casually.

Kanae looked outside. Even though night had already fallen, she still could faintly see the surroundings from the moonlight. They were headed towards the mountains and going further away from the city.

She took off her glasses and her vision turned slightly blurry.

"Why are you taking them off? You can’t see clearly when you don’t wear them, right?" Tommy asked curiously. Right now, it was pretty dark in the car as they were on the mountain road. If only Tommy could see clearly, he would surely be mesmerized by Kanae’s appearance.

Kanae nodded her head. "But I can fight better because I use all of my senses when I don’t wear my glasses."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."