Hearing this, what Willow said the man froze and glanced around before bringing her through some passages that brought her to the back of a kitchen. The place smelled of lavender to which Willow smiled. She turned to a spot when the man asked her to sit. She thanked him and sat on the chair next to the counter before a bar stand. When Willow saw him hand her the menu of drinks, she took it and frowned as she saw the choices, but then a thought came to her and she smirked.
'Akira? What's your opinion about this?'
There was a small movement in the bag as a voice came into her mind.
'Don't choose anything, then."
The voice returned to her mind with a laugh.
She sighed and sat the menu down with a small smile, "Sorry, I don't drink."
"That's fine." The man responded with a sigh, "But, you have to know that some information requires codes and such or a lot of money."
"I see." Willow nodded, "Then, I should know those things before going into a conversation with one."
"That's right." The man responded with a raised brow and sighed, "I'll give you information with a bonus for now since this is your first time."
"Really?" Willow raised a brow, "How much?"
"It'll depend on the situation." The man grumbled, "As you can see, everyone escaped from this city when the catastrophe hit Beijing hard. As a result, prices have gone higher than normal. If anyone wants a decent living with good prices, they'll have to leave the city. However, there's been talk of the government wanting to barricade people in this city to prevent refugees from spreading the plague that once hit Beijing."
"So, that's it." Willow frowned before nodding her head, "Thank you for the gift."
Hearing this, the man smirked, "It's good to see that you understand words. Then what brought you back here?"
Willow sighed, "Business. How about this, mister? Let's do some bargaining."
"Bargain?" The man raised a brow.
Willow nodded, "Since you already know who I am, then it shouldn't be that hard to bargain with me, right? You could say and exchange of information."
"So, you have something that I don't know?" The man raised a brow.
Willow smirked under her mask, "You can say that."
"Please enlighten me." The man responded with amusement in the glint of his eyes.
For someone who can keep his calm, it was almost natural that he fits into his occupation. She
"If I give you information about a topic, then you give me information about the same topic. The more detail it is, the more detail you give me." Willow spoke up, "Is that fair?"
"How would you know what is it worth?" The man asked.
"You're an information broker, right?" Willow wore a smile in her eyes as she said this, "I trust you'll fairly judge the value of my information."
"Or?"
Willow smiled wider and even showing it in her eyes as she responded, "You must have wanted to know what exactly happened to me during the days I went missing. Perhaps you've lost track of me at some point in time."
The man's eyes widen in shock as he sees her reaction. To be honest, he was only testing her when he said this and wanted to teach her how to play by this speech, but it seems this little girl isn't all that foolish and naive as he thought she was. Still, just what sort of power does she have? Money? Social connections? Realizing that his appearance was falling apart, he quickly tries to regain his composure and responded back with a trying smile clear across his face, "Fine. What information do you have?"
"It would have to do if these gang members are children or young adults or not." Willow smiled, "After all, the situation is very different compared to the past hundred years or so."
"This..." The man looked to her in bewilderment but quickly fell into contemplation before he could answer, "Let's say what if they are pretty young?"
"They must be an unusual bunch, then." Willow said with a nod as she sat back calmly but not in the off handish manner, "Especially, since they choose not to wear masks."
The man raised a brow which prompts her to continue, "Amongst everyone, they wear masks to prevent the virus, ANDS. However, what you should be more careful isn't just the virus, but those that aren't wearing them."
"The masks?" The man raised a brow.
"Did they not wear masks themselves?" Willow said firmly, "There's a reason and that reason isn't justified with a person being open-minded or narrow-minded. Idiot or prodigy. A stronger immunity or a weak immune system. Rather than watching those people that behave more abnormal under the mask. You should watch those who simply chose not to wear them for any sort of reason. Those that chose not to simply because they get in the way."
"What does that mean?" The man questioned her in confusion.
Willow shook her head with a deep frown. The man must've felt that she was frowning before he sighed, "Then, I'll tell you this. The gang is led by a young child thought to be around twelve or thirteen. She's fairly well off and often appears to be in control of those boys."
"Boys, huh?" Willow sighed.
"I'm not done yet, that's if you can tell me how important this information is." The man responded watching her closely.
Willow nodded and folded her arms, "If you mess with those people, I can't say what would happen to you. Whether it is a fortune or misfortune if you meet them. Those people are just as diverse as there are people. But, there are conceited people too. That's why you should keep your distance. After all, they might be watching over their surroundings when they act."
Hearing this, the man's eyes widen involuntarily before quickly reverting back to the expressionless look. As he stared at her, he felt that something about what she said bugged him. He had already known that the child and the boys aren't anything good and his guts always told him to stay far from them, but, to hear it from this person who managed to escape from his sights doesn't make it any better.
It was as she thought. This guy is still rather a greenhorn in his field making his position as an information breaker very fragile. Aside from knowing his suspicion and surprise, she can't read much else from him. However, he decided to play along with her from the very beginning. What was it for? Was it because he was still new to the job?
No.
People in the same position as him would need a lot of caution around their surroundings. To differentiate between right information and false rumors is something they need to be wary about as well as where they get their information from. They can get it from a beggar to a policeman and still get lied to if he wasn't careful. That's why their source of information must be reliable or, not only would they lose their source of income, but their lives as well. So, how would he take her information?
He nodded, "Fine. Those people are weird, though. The girl goes on about how those who goes against her would fall into her parent's hands. I don't know what that means, but its these words that makes everyone on edge."
"Even though nobody knows her current background?" Willow raised a brow.
"It's because we don't know her background that we're cautious." The man responded, "You don't want to harm a person of higher power and not realize it. Even if we say that we'd be protected by the law, it would mean nothing if those who uphold the law chooses to turn a blind eye because of some bribes or someone powerful in the government. Think about it. Would you rather take bad money or disappear without a trace the next day?"
"That'd be obvious, huh?" Willow nodded in understanding, "I get it. Then, about something else."
Willow thought for a bit quietly before deciding to speak, "The plague within Beijing borders have been wiped out."
The man raised a brow as she continued, "Those that had been plagued by the strange man-eating virus is completely wiped out. Those that had been afflicted are no longer afflicted by it."
"Liar! How is that possible?" The man raised a brow and stared at her with a frown, "Anyway, this information isn't enough."
Willow nodded. It wasn't enough, not that it wasn't true. Knowing this, she continued, "It's not that it's no longer afflicted."
As she said this, Willow stared at him quietly, "Rather, it was no longer necessary."
Hearing this, the man's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You mean to say that its man-made?"
"Man-made?" Willow shook her head with a sigh, "That's not what I said. I wouldn't even say it was naturally made completely either."
Of course not. For Willow, she had already experienced the symptoms of the virus eating her from inside out of her body. Something so ferocious and violent was never made by man nor by nature. With her current knowledge, she can finally come to a conclusion. If there were so many celestials of different origins in the first place, then there's only one answer. This was the plan of Elijah and his siblings.
'Hey, kid.' Akira spoke up in her head, 'How long do you plan to hold this conversation?'
'Just a little bit longer.' Willow responded inside, 'I don't plan to prolong my stay unless necessary.'
"How can that be?" The man frowned, "Can the government really...?"
"Since when can the government predict the lives of the people or manipulate it to this extent?" Willow sighed, "Even if it's them, then they must be really confident. Also, don't ask for a cure. I don't have one yet depending on what you give me. If I'm in trouble, I can't say for the rest of the refugees and people such as yourself."
"I-I see." The man grumbled something to himself quietly in Cantonese with a heavy dialect.
It would seem that she'll have to work on that as well. She only understood Mandarin, not Cantonese.
"How do we know that what you say is valid?" The man dared himself to ask.
"That'll depend on what you choose to do." Willow responded firmly, "Ignore my words and suffer something worse or heed my words and die much later than the others. After all, as long as you're alive, there will always be death. Not even the first emperor could escape the presence of death."
When Willow said this, the man raised a brow, "What are you? Some wise man?"
"Wise man?" Willow raised a brow, "If I was so wise, I wouldn't have gotten myself in the predicament you saw me in the first place, right?"
"How long have you known?" The man asked unhappily.
"I don't believe its something I want to dig up on." Willow responded, "I'll tell you this, though. If you still want to spy on me, it'll become much harder as from here on out."
When she said this, the man frowned, "That's..."