Theo halted his steps as Morgan mentioned they had arrived. He fell silent, gazing at the building in front of him. "Is this really the headquarters of Infero Ravens?" he muttered softly.
His gaze roamed, studying the building before him. The Infero Ravens headquarters was far from the hustle and bustle. To reach there, Theo had to traverse various narrow and squalid alleys. However, once in front of the building, the streets appeared deserted and clean. The structure serving as the Infero Ravens headquarters seemed well-maintained, even though it looked old.
The building before him was quite large, and judging from the outside, Theo could conclude that the interior must be spacious.
"What are you doing? Don't you want to go in?" Morgan asked, shifting his attention to the sound. Theo, realizing this, promptly followed him to enter.
Theo walked into the Infero Ravens headquarters, with Morgan leading the way. Along the way, they crossed paths with several Infero Ravens members who were about to leave. After walking for a while, Morgan and Theo finally reached an elevator. "Boss Alessio is currently on the top floor. You can meet him as soon as we get there."
"Yes, all right," Theo murmured softly. Along the way, Theo continued to observe the inside of the Infero Ravens headquarters, which turned out to have an interesting appearance. The elevator door opened when they finally arrived at the desired floor. Theo and Morgan stepped out and headed straight to where Alessio was.
"You can meet him there." Morgan pointed towards one of the corridors leading to a room in the corner.
"All right, thank you for bringing me this far. I'll take it from here," Theo replied.
"Okay, then. I'll leave. I need to tend to my wounds."
Theo nodded. He then parted ways with Morgan, who walked towards another direction. Meanwhile, Theo approached the room Morgan had mentioned earlier. There, he paused for a moment; peeking inside through the slightly wide-open door. Theo glanced inside and could see Alessio, who was currently sitting alone, facing a large window while enjoying a cigarette.
Theo could even clearly see the smoke from the cigarette being drawn.
"Ahem!" Theo cleared his throat while stepping into the room. His arrival immediately caught Alessio's attention, who was lost in thought. The man turned, finding Theo standing at the doorway, gazing in his direction.
Alessio's facial expression immediately changed upon seeing Theo appear there. He truly did not expect to see Theo setting foot in the Infero Ravens headquarters, but nonetheless, he was delighted by his presence.
Theo remained silent for a moment, not saying anything. He just stood there, locking eyes with Alessio. Shortly after, his attention shifted as the system displayed the quest screen he had received a few days ago.
"In the shadows of conflict, echoes of peace are heard, Puzzles of cooperation, solved in due time. Enemies of enemies, now alliances forged, With them, against the foe, heading towards shared triumph." Category: Sub Difficulty Level: B Completion Requirements: Accept the invitation from the leader of Infero Ravens and collaborate with them to achieve all your goals! Time Limit: Until you join Infero Ravens and officially become their member. Reward: You will receive special coins as a reward once this quest is successfully completed!> Theo moved his hand, sliding the screen until the item disappeared from his view. His attention shifted back to the man who had been standing there, observing him. "I'm surprised you came to me like this," Alessio said, still wearing a smile. "I've been looking for you all this time." "Really? Why do you want to meet with me?" "Don't we have something to discuss?" Theo walked towards Alessio, who had been standing there. Alessio turned his body, taking a drag from the cigarette in his hand, standing facing Theo, who now stood before him. "If that's the case, state the purpose of your visit." "I want to accept your offer to join Infero Ravens!" * Theo grinned widely as he saw the system screen appearing before him. Now that his goal of coming to the Infero Ravens headquarters had been achieved, Theo felt like his journey towards revenge was getting closer. "Now, by joining Infero Ravens, I can gather information for my revenge!" Theo clenched both of his fists tightly. After a brief pause, he then left the Infero Ravens headquarters, intending to go home and get some rest. * Stab! The knife shot swiftly and struck the target hanging on the wall. The picture of a chubby man in the middle of the target instantly tore as the thrown knife hit the bullseye. Thud! All attention turned to the sound they heard. The noise came from Dante, who had just slammed the table so violently that several objects on it vibrated intensely. "Damn! I truly don't understand why he repeatedly manages to escape death. He even suddenly becomes stronger after his appearance takes a 180-degree turn. What's really going on with him? How can he suddenly become that powerful? He can even defeat my subordinates so effortlessly," Dante grumbled with an annoyed expression. For several days, Dante had been frustrated because his recent encounters with Theo did not go as he wished. Dante truly didn't understand why Theo could suddenly become so powerful. He also genuinely couldn't comprehend how Theo could easily defeat his subordinates. Despite Dante almost killing him several times. "If the boss hears about this, we'll all be in trouble..." he muttered. That was the only thing echoing in his mind from the beginning. Dante was only afraid that Zach would find out they failed to kill Theo. Throughout all this time, Zach didn't know that Theo was still alive. As far as Zach knew, Dante and the Bloodhound Cartel had killed the man, but there were issues during the mission that led them to involve the police. Actually, the problem with the police regarding the first stabbing case of Theo was resolved as soon as Dante decided to sacrifice his innocent subordinate as a scapegoat to cover up his crime. But since the second and third stabbing incidents at the bar and the hospital, he had to be even more cautious. Because since then, he felt the police would become suspicious if they kept finding stabbing cases in similar locations with nearly identical victims. "No matter what, I have to be able to kill Theo. Only that way can I return to enjoying a normal life like before..." Dante shifted his focus to the photo of Theo attached to the target with a knife stuck in the middle. He stared at the photo intensely with both fists clenched tightly. "I will make sure you die!" * "If you truly want to join Infero Ravens, then I'll be more than happy to accept it. But the question is, are you serious about your decision? I don't want you to join out of forced. It would only burden you," Alessio said. He observed Theo standing before him with determination. From what he saw, Alessio could sense a sincerity radiating from his eyes, but Alessio just wanted to ensure that what he saw was indeed Theo's conviction. "I genuinely want to join Infero Ravens." Theo stared at him intently, nodding his head firmly. Trying to convince Alessio that his decision was truly resolute. "What changed your mind? Didn't you say before that you didn't want to join Infero Ravens?" "After reconsidering, what you said that night is true. We do have common enemies and goals. I want to destroy the Bloodhound Cartel, just like you. And since we have the same goal, wouldn't it be better for us to work together? Consider this as a symbiotic mutualism partnership. We both benefit from this collaboration." Alessio smiled broadly. He was truly impressed by Theo's words, sounding confident in the decision he had made. "Because you said that, I will gladly welcome you as part of Infero Ravens. Starting today, you are officially part of Infero Ravens." Alessio extended his hand, congratulating Theo. With a wide smile, Theo promptly accepted his handshake, confidently shaking Alessio's hand. "Congratulations, starting today, you are officially part of Infero Ravens." "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join!" "Oh! There's one more thing you need to do as a sign of your official membership in Infero Ravens," Alessio said once they finished shaking hands. Theo's expression changed immediately upon hearing this. He raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What do I need to do?" "You'll know when the time comes. For now, go home. And make sure not to be late at the address written here." Alessio handed a small piece of paper to Theo. The man fell silent with head bowed, reading the writing on the paper in his hand. "Theo!" Berta slapped his shoulder hard enough to snap Theo out of his reverie. He winced and turned towards the woman standing beside him. "Sshh... you just startled me! Can't you talk more gently?" Theo rubbed his shoulder, feeling a bit sore from Berta's strong slaps. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Besides, it's your fault. I've been calling you since earlier, but you didn't hear. Didn't you see there are customers waving at you over there?" Berta pointed to a table where several patrons were sitting, signaling towards Theo and Berta, indicating they wanted to order drinks. "Why don't you serve them?" "I already went there to serve them. But the ladies sitting there insisted that you should be the one. They said there's something they want to discuss with you." "What?" Theo raised an eyebrow, confused. "Do you know those ladies?" "No." "Weird. Why would they say there's something to discuss with you?" "I don't know. Never mind, I'll go attend to them first." Theo walked towards the table of the ladies. However, his attention immediately shifted upon hearing the sound of the door opening. As he turned, Theo saw Alessio standing with Infero Ravens at the entrance. Their eyes met, and Theo and Alessio exchanged meaningful smiles. I feel like, from now on, my revenge journey is going to get a little more interesting... ***