While Haiser and company were busy dealing with Harrison, Lake Heart City woke up to astounding news. Multiple law enforcement officials were crowding one of the most beautiful high rise building in all of the upper East side of the city.
Moreover, there were multiple body bags being wheeled out of the compound. So much so that even the local morgues were overflowing.
What was most surprising was, the building was owned by one of the shell companies under the well known Two crowns Security consultants, which was a just a fancy name for a very tough mercenary group.
The place had been built like a fortress, and the security personnel that guarded the place day and night were no joke. Despite such security, some people had managed to infiltrate the place, kill everyone, and make out with God knows what.
Already, they had ascertained that the leader of the group, the notoriously infamous Harrison, was missing.
Naturally, such a big event even made the news, with multiple journalists milling about, trying to get the inside scoop. One such journalist was able to get information from a source inside the police station.
In her online column, she stared that, based on the evidence and nature of the body, the infiltrators were no more than two people, max. This went to show just how skilled these people were. Coming in like fiends, and then leaving without a trail.
By the evening, what had been known to a few people became common knowledge. Apparently, the Two crowns Security consultants had recently attacked a small mercenary group, injuring one of its members and kidnapping another. It was not explicitly clear whether the group were responsible for the carnage, but the internet would not wait for confirmation.
Soon, everyone who paid attention to such matters was talking about it. After a while, it was all everyone was talking about. It even got attention from planet Tres' global media corporations. This was exacerbated by the timing of it all.. The biggest competition in the planet was about to take place.
Suddenly, another piece of shocking news came out. The new mercenary group had only been recently formed, and they had already taken a contract with Iresal corporation, and they would be participating in the battle of the five families.
Many began to wonder, was this Iresal corporation's doing? Were they showcasing their might? Why would they do that? Couldn't they have concealed their strength and then come out as dark horses in the competition?
With all these questions, came the doubters. Some did not believe that such a thing had happened, while others, those that did believe, thought that the story had been exaggerated. There were also some who were trying to dilute the story, prevent it from blowing up further, a futile attempt if there ever was one.
Like everyone else, even the super powers were paying attention to this matter. Quite a number had worked with Two Crowns Security Consultants, and they knew how fierce the group could be. Harrison was a major league badass with quite a ruthless streak.
To have someone like that just taken off the board, something fishy was going on. Everyone believed that there was more to the story than they were receiving. Unlike the public who had to wait for the news, the various major powers had their own information streams.
They knew of Harrison's interaction with the group. He had not been private about it, making a spectacle and a statement. He had wanted to use the group as the chicken that scares away the monkeys.
They also knew a lot more about the investigation than the police were letting on. They knew that the person, or people, who infiltrated were at least experts. To perform such an easy infiltration, they knew to be wary of the expert behind it.
After much investigation, they also knew that the group was the same group that saved Iresal's team and managed to kill off the three specialty animals prepared for the competition.
Even information on Laventine corporation's interference in the hunting games was uncovered, though it was only available among the various major powers. This led to the shocking news that Golden Kirin had fallen to the group.
With Golden Kirin's fame, the various major powers definitely knew of him. They never expected such an expert to fall in such an unremarkable manner. He was little more than a stepping stone to showcase the group's prowess and expertise.
Unfortunately, upon investigating the various members, there was little to no information about their past. Usually, such a thing was not uncommon in planet Tres. Many people had troubled histories. However, the group's various members mysterious pasts only served to boost their renown, making them more captivating to the public.
There were others that were slightly worried about the disappearance of Harrison. Since killing him publicly would have earned the group more renown, the only reason he was not among the dead bodies could only be: information.
Harrison was a con artist and blackmailer long before he was a proprietor. He had managed to get his hands on premium and confidential information, so if he blabbed to the wrong people ... The results would be disastrous.
All this culminated to both Forest view mercenary group and the Iresal corporation being thrust into the limelight. In a short span, the little known Iresal corporation and the upstart group had become household names.
Even the major betting companies that made a killing on this competition responded, improving the odds of the corporation. The various major powers updated the threat level of the group, becoming more wary of them. For a time, everyone was wondering just how much power the little group was hiding.
As for the group themselves, they were cooped up in one of Iresal corporation's safe house, wiling away the time as they waited for the competition to start.
As for the Iresal corporation, the family had called an emergency meeting. They wanted to understand just what kind of game Phanas was playing at. Their phones had not stopped ringing since this all began.