Wild Cat, The undercurrent is brewing in this City!
...
In a rather crowded city suburb.
A band-aid nose man looking around in the alley discretely before finding his way toward a door hidden within the alley. He brings a bag of salt fish original flavor in his hands with a serious-looking at his face.
"If this thing could arouse Boss interest. Then, next month I might become another high-level thug under him. Hahaha," he murmured before laughing himself.
Two days ago, he found suspicious things in an online shop that is rather pricey. Then after looking at a few buyer reviews, he bought at least a three-pack salt fish snack of the original flavor. Last night he opened a pack to check it. If this is true delicacy then his boss might be pleased with this snack.
When he saw the reviews, it's written that the salt fish snack was truly delicious with a 5-star rating. Even one of them said, "This is a magical snack! I've never tasted this energizing and crunchy snack! This is must-buy snacks for night shift workers like me!".
How in the world a snack could energize a person's fatigue? And more, it was a crunchy snack? Crunchy?
'Um... Boss like a crunchy snack too, right?' thought him, before ordering it.
As he opens the pack, a brimming spirit energy bursts out at once. Of course, he would never know about it as he is only a little thug without a proper martial lineage. But he could feel something off when he opens the snack pack.
It was a little fishy at first, but it smells quite comfortable and looks tasty when you are accustomed to it. As it was a snack version that you could eat directly, he tried one piece after hesitating for a few minutes.
Crunch...
In seemingly a flash, he already eats all pieces in the first pack. Then he unconsciously opened another pack and gulp down another pack in no time. Before he comes to sense when he tried to open the last pack. "Eh?!"
What an embarrassment?! He just tries to check the taste before bringing it to his boss but nearly eats all out. With this, he could be sure that the taste is too good that he almost ends up eating his boss portion.
Well, he still reminisces that taste. It was like your throat gulping down a cool spirit spring before it turned into a warm current within your body. Yes, it was the taste of this snack, an energizing and crunchy snack! Truly marvelous!
...
Bang!
The door opened with force as the band-aided nose guy comes in hurriedly.
"Where is Boss?! Wait, wait... It's me!" told him hurriedly.
His body has nearly become like a honeycomb with bloody red color. They are ready to shoot him down.
"Sorry, sorry... I just got excited and in a hurry to report!" said him, embarrassingly nodding at them. "By the way, where is Boss?"
After knowing he was their own people, one of them said coldly, "Just wait here! Boss still in morning meetings with other executives."
Another guy said excitedly, "Hehe, recently there are a few scums from nearby gangs coming to make trouble here. I would like to know who gives them that guts..."
Band-aided nose guy looks away as his mouth twitching, hoping that this crazy fighter goes to hell earlier. Even everyone there feels the same.
He was the last option for you to look at when it comes to the 'cleaning' mission. As for the reason, it is simple. He would go mad like a berserker, fortunately, no one was willing to give him a gun and only leave him with a knife.
In the Underground's influence, he called 'Frenzied Knife Butcher'. His legend would be often used as material education for scaring disobedient kids, something like, "Listen! Or Frenzied Knife Butcher would catch you!"
They hope to never be paired with him if it really comes to clash with other gangs. Yeah, only hope so. Because...
"I know your boss wouldn't be willing to come here. But, I would like to give him a warning. This isn't just a problem of my territory, but also all of you. I just finished my investigation, they come from Yellowish City near Mount Creme, they began to develop more in these recent years. Reportedly, they managed to hold a big thigh—Uhm, I mean support from a branch of True Powerhouse. They were a faction of martial artists that got established ten years ago, a branch force with average high-grade Master Level and few high-grade Grandmasters assumed the position as Elder."
Stern-looking middle-aged man explained his purpose indirectly. His meaning is, "Your territory also within their eyes, they have big back but we have our number. As they say, even dragons couldn't beat local snakes. We aren't ordinary snakes, and they aren't dragons either. Let us fight them together!"
It means, he is already prepared for an all-out war with the other party and would be happy if he could draw his rival as well.
Shrimp City is a mid-level city with dense inhabitants and rich natural resources like fish, salt, and a few varieties of minerals. Not only it was just right in one spot of a seaport, but it also become a transit for travelers or business materials from three provinces. The only negative point in this city is its high temperature and a bit crowded land.
Even so, there is already four warlords' family of past that reside here. They currently take a shape as an underground force that controls Shrimp City side by side with the local government.
As of now, there were already worlds treaties that no war among nations again. They change the way of 'war' with heavy sports competitions—tournaments like Tenkaichi Budokai or martial contest as the last option to reach an agreement in the international dispute. This policy has already reached the smallest component of the country, so it is rare to see organized crime like gangs or hoodlums in broad daylight doing pickpocket to extortion.
Something like unsightly crime is a rarity in current daily life. Right, in 'day' time. What about the night?
Of course, it's not like there is no security for common people. There is a curfew that divides nightlife in the city. Usually, curfew begins at 12 midnight at the center of the city whereas common people would stop activities outside at 10 around the suburb. A commoner would cease their activities until 4 in the early morning.
There is someone who has a good phrase in this case. "The one who dominated one-fourth time of the World."
So as long as an ordinary citizens didn't confront 'their' interest, it is unlikely one would ever bump with them. On the contrary, if one done crime in their territories. Then, no matter how high standing you are in society, you would be 'invited' in a very hard way.
In some way, they contribute for the security of the city from outside Underground Force. Like what happened several days ago.
Even Wild Cat feels a bit off as each time he checked the news on the internet. He rarely saw criminal news, much more business and sports news with politics as a daily basis. It is basically, every time criminals news is published, it would be big news that could even affect nearby cities.
He only learned that "one-fourth time of world" from Ol' Thief Sol recently.
Law is strict for each citizen, except for people of the underground force. As county or even Alliance and Union need their hands to settle an international dispute.
People from underground force are nearly immune to the city's law so long they don't overdo things like murdering commoners or other hard offense toward common people. Of course, if commoners wants to retaliate against underground forces with their own strength, they are also immune to the law. But, it is simply impossible for things to happen as no one wanted to offend them by any means.
Only, it was until these few days ago. Someone brazenly doing extortion at a public market in broad daylight. There is also someone picking a fight on a random street. Aside from extortion and street fighters, one of their man also got injured when he coincidentally meet them while still wearing his t-shirt with his force's mark.
This is a blatant provocation!
A war sign!
If not for his buddies stopping him, Frenzied Knife Butcher would go seeking them himself. Of course not for revenge, only looking for a fight and also conveniently venting his anger. Definitely not for revenge!
Inside the meeting room.
There is three middle-aged men with looks like some Godfather and a mature woman with a voluptuous body facing each other only divided by the round table. Behind them, two robust men with fierce stern faces stand like an unmovable mountains.
Puff~ The Boss of this place exhaled his smoke, still, he looked a bit tense.
With a wary tone, he said, "Let's begin our agenda today."
That was the prelude to a large storm that would engulf a whole city in the near future.