'Oh crap, I'm really doing this?!'
Luke was breathing heavily as he stared at the crowd of men before him. A droplet of sweat formed on his face, but since it was covered by a cheap mask he saw by the roadside, it wasn't exposed to them.
In fact, his nervous expression was completely hidden from the targets.
'I've never done this before, but…' His eyes focused on the cash in the bag, and a drooling smile formed on his face at that very instant. 'I SMELL MONEY!'
Lots of money!
How could he resist such an allure?
"Huh? Who is this bastard?" One of the men rose to his feet, followed by a few others. They stared threateningly at Luke, slowly approaching him with dangerous gleams in their eyes.
Their muscular bodies were filled with scars and tattoos, giving them an ominous vibe.
Normally, he would avoid these kinds of people.
But—
"I'll only ask one more time. Give me the—"
WHOOSH!
Before he could finish his statement, they angrily lunged at him. Some of them brought out knives from their pockets, while others wielded wooden bats. One in particular had knuckle dusters, and another went to grab an axe in the corner.
All of these were dangerous weapons that could cause massive disadvantage to any melee fighter.
However, they were nothing to Luke.
He dodged their combined assault in a flash, turning into a blur that appeared behind them. A cruel smile formed on his face as his hoodie remained fixed on his head, hiding strands of his blond hair from view.
His dirty mask seemed to gleam with ominous delight, and he reveled in it.
"W-what?!"
"H-how did he do that?!"
"T-this is crazy, right?!"
The thugs were stunned by Luke's speed, their eyes flickering with mild hesitation as they glanced at one another. Only Kevin fully understood the situation. After all, all of his men had been hospitalized thanks to this man, and even he didn't get away scot-free.
Even though Luke had obscured his face, there was no way he could hide such an imposing aura.
Something like that wasn't human!
"My turn." Luke smirked, charging at them effortlessly, his body freely moving like the wind as he landed blows and kicks on them without exerting much strength.
He feared that, at Level 10, he could rupture their flesh and shatter their bones if he mustered sufficient strength. Even though Luke desired money, he wasn't quite ready to be a killer yet, so he let them off with 'mild injuries' instead.
Within a minute, the fight was already over.
The winner: Luke Scofield.
'It's a good thing I caught them playing poker. They weren't expecting a fight, which made it easy for me to take them all out very quickly…' Luke silently noted to himself as he glanced at the mess around him.
'I was worried they would have guns, but I guess such a small crew wouldn't have something like that… especially after the whole Gun Ban years ago.'
After the Ban, guns were cleaned out from the street and were very rare to come across.
As a result, the world became relatively safer… but that only made certain rich and powerful elites—the ones who could protect their interests—remain with such dangerous arms. As such, even though a petty group like this wouldn't have guns, much more powerful gangs had a few of them distributed among their most powerful members.
Fortunately, Luke didn't have to face any of them, so the fight was relatively easy.
"You're the only one left." Luke turned to Kevin, his eyes shining with a dangerous glint. "Now hand over the money, and you won't get hurt… too much."
Kevin stared at Luke in silence.
His body had already stopped trembling, and while his face remained pale, he was gradually regaining his composure. He sighed and pushed the bag to Luke, the latter grabbing it immediately while keeping his gaze on his target.
Kevin was going nowhere with Luke's keen eyes watching him.
"Well, thanks for cooperating. Because of that, I won't be too rough on you." He cracked his knuckles and approached Kevin, ignoring all the groaning bodies that littered the floor.
"Wait." Kevin quickly raised a hand and stopped Luke.
"Hm?"
"I'm not actually with them…" He reached into his pocket to pull something out, causing Luke to flinch with caution. However, his calm gaze and the sudden revelation he made caused Luke to watch and not interfere.
In a flash, Kevin pulled out a badge from his pocket, revealing his 'true identity'.
"I'm an undercover cop." With a sigh, he showed Luke the badge. "I was tasked with infiltrating this group and rising through the ranks."
"You expect me to believe that?" Luke sneered outwardly, but was actually freaking out inside.
'Oh shit, an actual cop?! I compromised his mission! Fuck, this is bad!'
Thankfully, his expression was perfectly obscured thanks to his mask, so he could maintain his mysterious and oppressive aura.
"It's true…" Kevin sighed once more, retrieving his badge from Luke's grasp. "This group might seem unimpressive, but they're connected to a much larger organization. Have you heard of the Nine Headed Dragon Alliance?"
'Eh? What's that?'
Luke quietly wondered, but was too ashamed to display his ignorance.
"Perhaps I have…" He responded with a knowing tone.
"Just as I figured… you're not an ordinary person." Kevin smiled softly, returning his badge to his pocket. "Normal people aren't aware of their existence, even though they are the most powerful criminal empire in this country—no, in the whole world."
'For real? America had something like that? Are they like the Yakuza or Triad?' Luke pondered silently. 'They have such a cringe name, though. I can see why no one knows about them…'
"You ruined my mission, but I don't blame you for that. You probably have your own goals here, and you used the money as an excuse… right?" Kevin nodded slowly.
'Um, no… I just wanted the money.'
"I get it, but this has put me in a tight spot." Kevin continued. "I need to clean up and report to my superiors. The higher-ups of this organization are also expecting that money, which means they could send someone here very soon if no one delivers it. Knocking me out will be too dangerous for me, so I would appreciate it if you could just leave."
"So what you're basically saying is that I shouldn't hit you." Luke raised a brow and stared at the sincere expression of the lanky man before him.
"Precisely. Just take the money and go."
'Oh? I was worried for a second that he would say that I couldn't leave with the money…'
Luke wasn't a bloodthirsty guy, so he saw no issues with the situation. Even if Kevin hadn't told him not to hit him, he probably wouldn't have resorted to that anyway.
After all, the guy was an actual cop.
'Dad was a cop before…' Luke quickly shook his head and set aside his thoughts. 'In any case, I've gotten what I wanted. I should just go.'
He walked away, only turning to Kevin one last time as hesitation flickered in his eyes. "Sorry about… you know, ruining your mission and all."
"It's no problem." Kevin maintained a calm smile.
"Cool. cool."
Luke hurried away, not even glancing and the burly man who sat unconscious next to the gate. He was his first victim, and his chubby face was distorted as snot dripped from it.
'Nine Headed Dragon Alliance… undercover cop… my goodness, what kind of mess did I get myself into?' Luke thought to himself as he escaped out of the tunnel and charged through the streets.
'Thank goodness I wore a mask!'