"What did you just say? Sorry, my ears aren't the best."
Ronnel withdrew his fist and spoke calmly.
The bodyguard next to him stared, frozen, at the car, which had been smashed apart by Ronnel's punch. Their bodies stiffened in place.
It wasn't until a gust of cold wind blew through the shattered car door, chilling the rich man's face, that he snapped out of his daze.
He glanced at Ronnel, who wore a smile. But no matter how one looked, that smile carried a hint of coldness.
A shiver ran from his feet all the way up his spine.
At that moment, the bodyguards surrounding him quickly drew their guns, cocked them, and aimed them at Ronnel and his companions.
Only then did Regal, the rich man, breathe a sigh of relief, letting a grin spread across his face—until, abruptly, his expression froze.
A cute girl who had been silently sitting beside Ronnel, blending into the background, suddenly pulled out an unusual vacuum cleaner from seemingly nowhere.
"Blinky, please~"
The bodyguards instinctively tried to fire, but a powerful suction force pulled at their guns, preventing them from holding on.
One by one, their weapons were sucked into the vacuum cleaner's nozzle.
Silence filled the air.
"I'll repeat it. I didn't hear you before. Mind saying it again?"
Ronnel stood up, towering over the rich man, his voice steady and cold.
"I... I meant..."
The rich man's body trembled slightly, and a weak smile—a poor mask for his terror—spread across his face.
"This… It's all just a misunderstanding. Getting an ID card is no trouble at all."
"If it's easy, then do it now."
"Huh? Right now?"
"Immediately!"
"...Yes!"
Ronnel's tone hardened, and the wealthy man, drenched in sweat, hurriedly fumbled for his phone to make the necessary arrangements.
Not long after he hung up, Regal's phone rang.
"Mr. Ronnel, your identity certificates are ready. The place of birth and household registration is listed as Meteor City."
The rich man nervously relayed this information, his voice trembling, forcing a flattering smile.
"Good. Now, have them deliver the IDs. But remember—only one person can come. If anyone else, like your bodyguards, shows up, I'll have no problem breaking your legs and taking you as my hostage."
"N-No, Mr. Ronnel, I swear, he'll come alone!"
The wealthy man quickly assured the other end of the line before hanging up and finding Ronnel staring him down.
"W-What's wrong, Mr. Ronnel? I've arranged everything, and the IDs will be here shortly."
Regal's heart skipped a beat, sensing something wrong.
"Did I help you win a lot of money at the casino just now?"
"Y-Yes, you did."
"I was under the impression we had a good deal. I'd help you win money, and you'd get me my IDs. Simple. We'd both be happy. But here you are, pulling this stunt, which gave me quite a scare. I think a little mental damage fee is in order."
Ronnel placed his hand over his heart and locked eyes with the rich man, his gaze unyielding.
Mental damage fee? Regal couldn't believe what he was hearing. Still, faced with someone like Ronnel, what choice did he have?
"Ugh..."
Regal swallowed hard, catching on to Ronnel's demand. Trembling, he pulled out a card from his pocket.
"This is my special casino bank card. There's no password set on it. It's processed through an underground bank."
Regal's face twisted in agony.
Though this world had its fair share of modern cities, the existence of Nen made it a breeding ground for all sorts of criminals. Not to mention the underground crime families whose influence spanned the globe.
The prestige of the Ten Dons had long reached every corner of the six continents.
(T/N: The Ten Dons, also called the Ten Mafia Dons or simply Dons, were the ten leaders of the Mafia, each of whom controlled a territory in one of the six continents.)
With so many black-market forces in play, orthodox banking wasn't always an option for laundering money or selling stolen goods, giving rise to underground banks.
According to rumors, the so-called underground bank might even have ties to the official V5…
(T/N: The V6, formerly the V5, is a group formed by the main leaders of the world.)
Ronnel snatched the card from the man's hand without hesitation.
"I'll also be taking that watch."
Before Ronnel could finish, Regal quickly removed the diamond-studded watch from his wrist.
If Ronnel wanted to hold them hostage, they needed to be prepared for the worst.
At least Ronnel retained some decency from his previous life. If it had been any other resident of the streets of Meteor City, the rich man's head would have already been separated from his body.
Silence reigned again, save for the anxious wiping of sweat from Regal's forehead.
Soon after, someone arrived hurriedly. One of Regal's bodyguards stepped out of the car, engaged in a brief negotiation with the visitor, and then walked over holding a few documents.
At the top were two freshly printed ID cards. Ronnel and Shizuku's faces stood out in the photos, leaving Ronnel satisfied.
The pictures had been taken just moments ago, and they weren't bad.
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