Black Online

Creak~! Heavy doors of an abandoned warehouse swung open. It was dark and empty inside with nothing but some rats scurrying away.

"This shall do just fine."

Jack said as he entered the warehouse with Fang Raon in tow, who looked around the warehouse with indifference.

"We will wait here. Others will also come here. Then we can have a proper conversation with just us."

Jack said.

Fang Raon thought, and he started to look like he was visibly nervous at the dark surroundings, and he kept glancing around as if expecting danger to jump out at any moment.

Jack glanced at him. Just scoffed. Then sat down on a ragged-looking sofa that seemed to be left behind by the warehouse’s former owners.

Then, he pulled out his phone to properly message something, and Fang Raon just stood there, looking uneasy.

Time ticked down, and about twenty-five minutes later, the warehouse doors opened yet again, and about five people walked in.

People of Reality First.

And at the front of them, James strolled with his hands inside his pockets, like he was having a stroll in a park.

"You must be James."

Fang Raon said and put his hand forward for a handshake, but James just looked at the hand and shrugged it off.

"You talk when I say you can talk."

James said coldly.

’Oh, domineering act. I guess Jack must’ve sent him a message that I look like a nervous wreck.’

Fang Raon thought, and then he sheepishly pulled his hand back and didn’t talk another word for now.

"Jack told me that we will only get the game cards if we decide the conditions of this new partnership. What is it that you want?"

James asked while walking circles around Raon, taking in the sight of his nervous self, and he completely thought that he was in control of the situation.

The other members of the Reality First tried looking menacing.

"...My father planned to trick you guys. He was actually working with the Rain Family with their new name—Rain Online.

"Father tried to use you guys to destroy Black Online’s reputation so that Rain Online could rise to the top of the industry."

Fang Raon said.

Members of the Reality First looked shocked, and honestly angry that they were being used like that.

James’ eyes turned cold.

"Is that so?"

He cracked his knuckles, and then he looked at him and asked.

"You don’t intend to do that? Your family would gain a lot from that kind of partnership."

"I’ve already put an end to that. I am like you guys. I hate this virtual reality bullshit. I think it’s cancerous.

"We know very little about these Virtual Reality Pod. You know what I think? I think Black Online Company has put some kind of mind-controlling technology inside those pods.

"The longer we use those pods, the more control they have over us."

Fang Raon said.

"...That’s a good theory. I’ve also been trying to examine these pods very thoroughly, and I’ve found some disturbing things as well."

James nodded with understanding.

"You say that, Mr. Fang, but I went through Leon’s stream feed a while back, and in that stream, I saw you."

Raquel said.

She was one of the core members of Reality First, but she never played Black Online like others, as she was more of a computer hacker.

Hacking government websites, et cetera.

"Mind explaining that?"

James asked.

After finding out about Fang Raon, they investigated him very thoroughly and found out that he was actually working against them in Black Online.

Which was why they changed the meeting location.

"I was told to be there to help you guys. By my father. He didn’t want you guys to lose, so I was the backup plan."

Fang Raon said.

"But you didn’t do shit. Your ’help’ contributed fuckall. You might as well never have been there!"

Jack roared.

"I was planning to help in case James was about to die, but I didn’t know about this Zero Floor shit. I thought you could just come back from there.

"I didn’t know that it was in some separate pocket dimension!"

Fang Raon said with a sheepish look.

He looked like he was telling the truth.

"You weren’t in on the plan? I can’t really remember, but weren’t you attacking me? Doesn’t feel like you tried helping."

James said with a frown.

"I am part of the Fang Family. I can’t publicly help you. The police might think that I am part of you guys, so I had to stay out of it."

Fang Raon said.

"Doesn’t sound like you’re fully committed to the cause. This smells fishy, James. I don’t trust this guy."

Jack said.

"Come on, guys. I told you about my father’s intentions because I want to start this partnership on a clean slate. I will get you guys the new hacked game cards."

Fang Raon said.

In that moment, James suddenly grabbed him from his throat and squeezed, and Raon looked like he couldn’t breathe.

"P-p-please..."

Fang Raon’s face turned red, almost purple, but then James let go of his throat, and he fell to the ground.

"You’ll get those game cards to us. You know what, I don’t care what you’re after. If you don’t give those game cards to us, I will spill the beans to everyone that it was your family that helped us!

"Fang Family will become the public enemy number one, just like us!"

James shouted.

"Don’t do that!"

Fang Raon shouted, but then James kicked him in the chest and sent him sprawling on the ground.

"You have till the evening to get us those game cards. Email us the location. One of us will go to pick them up."

James said, and then he made a circular motion with his finger, and it acted as a signal for the others to leave.

They all headed out of the warehouse, leaving Fang Raon alone on the ground, panting heavily with a panicked expression.

Creak~! Bang~!

The door closed.

Instantly, Fang Raon’s panicked expression disappeared. He looked calm yet again. Then, he stood up.

’Read: Tracking.’

He closed his eyes.

With his enhanced senses, he could sense James and others climbing inside a car and driving off.

Read Tracking was a high-level technique that Rock taught him, and it needed few things to work out.

First of all, high-level mastery over Read.

And second, he needed to be in close contact with the person whom he wanted to track, and this time around, it was James.

He was currently sensing James’ presence, which he could use to track him over long distances.

’Time to get a mask.’

Fang Raon thought, and with Godspeed, he vanished from the warehouse, disappearing like a shadow in the darkness.

...

A car wheeled down a narrow street. It was a dark street. Homeless people were huddled together on the sidewalks.

"What do you think of him?"

Jack asked while he was driving the car.

"A coward. Nothing like Aizen. I don’t really understand why Aizen chose him as the head of the family.

"They’re completely different.

"You fear Aizen, but you do not fear Raon. He is like one of those pathetic losers I used to bully back in the school."

James said.

"I think he was about to cry!"

Raquel giggled.

In that moment, the car entered a narrow alleyway and parked at the end, right by a side entrance of a building.

They stepped out of the car, looked around for any spying eyes, and then entered the building all the way to the third floor.

"Welcome back!"

As soon as they entered the third floor, a group of people greeted them back. They were Reality First.

This building was one of the safehouses that the Fang family owned with the help of a shadow company.

It couldn’t be tracked to Fang Family, and the citizens of Zodiac City thought it was just another abandoned building like the hundred others.

"How did the meeting go?"

"Good, we will get the game cards this evening."

James said with a smirk, and others also looked relieved, as they could return to creating havoc in Black Online.

It irritated them to no end that now everybody was laughing at Reality First just because they lost.

It wasn’t over!

At that moment...

SHATTER~! The window shattered with glass flying everywhere, and everyone looked shocked as a figure dressed in all black emerged from the broken window.

"...What the hell?"

"Who the hell are you?!"

They asked, but then, the figure in black raised his head, and he was wearing a strange mask of a smiling jester.

"Police?"

"That isn’t police! It’s just some clown in a stupid costume!"

Jack rolled his sleeves and approached the figure, shouting, "Answer! Who are you?" and he reached his hand for his mask.

Trying to unmask him.

In that moment.

The masked Raon grabbed his hand, squeezed hard, and did it so hard that he broke a bone in Jack’s hand!

"Aaaaaargggggggh!"

Jack screamed in pain.

Then.

Fang Raon lifted him and tossed him on the ceiling, and the force of the collision sent him crashing back down onto the floor.

"Kill that bastard!"

James screamed.

The mask had two eye holes. The holes showed bright blue eyes. But then, they were starting to turn scarlet-red.

Smoke began billowing out of the eye holes...

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