“Why did the owner choose this place to have an open rooftop venue when all you can see are boring buildings?” Haze wondered. Even an amateur person like him understood that. “Unless it is the first building here?”
“You’re correct,” Elaine continued to explain, “B&J Brothers was founded about twenty years ago before many skyscrapers were built. It was the highest building with fifteen floors in this area. However, five years later, the skyscrapers started to grow one by one. Look closely.”Haze squinted his eyes. In a time like this, he was reminded about his eyesight problem. After years of staring at screens for playing online games, studying computers, and then working as a game developer, he was lucky not to end up with thick glasses like some people he knew.Even so, he’d become near-sighted sooner or later.As he directed his gaze around, he noticed it. There were six buildings around B&J Brothers, each with the same name, signifying it"Wear it," Elaine threw protective body gears, consisting of a padded vest to guard his stomach and chest and a padded helmet for his head. "As much as I want to, I can't just punch you and risk injury. What would Mr. Blackwood say if he found you in the hospital, losing your memory." "Yeah, I imagine it'd be a nightmare for you." After he donned the protective gear, Haze clapped his hands and faced her. "Okay, I'm ready." Elaine cracked her fingers, completing the warm-up from before. She set a timer on her phone for three minutes, and they started. Haze moved with calculated precision, evading each of the brunette's attacks with amateur grace and agility. She wasn't the only one warming up earlier, and the hours he spent gasping for breath during the morning jog somehow made him quite fast to react. But, it was barely enough. Despite their height difference, Elaine was a seasoned warrior who could unleash a barrage of strikes, her movement s
"Let's move it to the study." "And what will happen if Mr. Blackwood pays you a visit?" Elaine reminded him. "You said he's a busy man. In fact, not even once did he ever visit here since I came, right?" "He can easily send Jeremy, or any of his employees, he has many." "Ah, true… but–" "You just hate to be in a place where I mop the floor with your behind, right?" Annoyed that she was right, he vehemently denied, "My butt has nothing to do with it." They stood before the clean whiteboard and started to discuss things. One by one, they put up pieces of information about Cassius's death on it. "First, the cause of death was a modified poison used by the Burner, a hitman who also got paid by Wilhem Carter." Haze pinned the photo of Wilhem and the Burner he got from Nathan Wolfe. "Although he wasn't entirely working for Carter, we have to note that the hit for Cassius was ordered by someone else."
“I miss Cassius…” Elaine heard it loud and clear. The words coming out of Haze’s mouth, no mistaking it for a mere dream or hallucination. She knew it was real, because not even Haze could hide it nor make it up when he was deep in his subconsciousness. It was the truth. Even as Haze sobbed through it, she was far too shocked to notice. How? How could someone so unrelated and unknown before any of this knew Cassius – and even missed him, in the first place? What did she miss? She might appear indifferent against a man who was sobbing, crying without awareness, but she couldn’t waste this chance for that. So, like a loyal and calculating assistant that she was, a question followed, “Did you know Cassius before the night of his death?” Somehow, the sobs dispersed and Haze was clear in his reply, “Yes.” “How?” “…what a strange question.” “Why did you say that?” Instea
Haze took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Impossible. How could he calm his mind when he just found out someone who he put his trust in betrayed him like this? Hypnotherapy? He said yes, but only for one time. Only one time. And yet, they had done it three times without his consent – without him knowing. How could he trust her again after this? Sending a glance at the sharp-eyed teen, Haze contemplated her offer. The first time they met, she could beat him to a pulp if she wanted to. Besides, betting over a sparring match with Elaine was what got him in this mess in the first place. He wouldn’t trust Elaine nor Maxine with anything involving a sparring match ever again. “What, are you afraid of me?” Maxine’s smirk infuriated him. No. Haze wouldn’t take the bait. Snickering, Maxine finally offered, “What if I teach you how to fight?” Bitterly, he said, “Yeah, like I’d believe th
“S-s-so what do you want to know, Mr. Blackwood?”Haze suspected there must be a dark history involving the three of them before this. “Your enemies.”Muller paled hearing his answer, “I-I’m so-sorry?”“I need to know who your enemy is. People who have a grudge against you, or anyone who has a slight dislike towards you. Write me their names.”Muller gulped, writing off the names Haze didn’t recognize. With his trembling hands, the writing was sure to be shaky, but thankfully still readable. He glanced at Haze, hesitating a bit before his panic took over and he slid the paper forward. “Did you want to write my name on it?”Muller squeaked, shaking his head vehemently. “N-no, sir.”Sighing, Haze leaned forward with a serious face. “You look quite familiar,” he lied, “Tell me, what did I do wrong to warrant such treatment from you, hmm?”The red-haired Muller looked back and forth at Haze and Maxine, trying to se
Maxine drew her arm, then quickly shot her fist, catching the man unguarded. He had to dodge to the side, almost colliding with the one still in Haze’s grip. However, the sharp-eyed teen followed with a high kick to his chest. Bhug! The kick landed right on the priced suitcase, much to the tattooed man’s chagrin. “You little shit! Do you know how important this suitcase is?!” “Are you hiding a dildo in there or something?” Maxine snickered at her own lewd joke. Haze would have reprimanded her if he had the time, but seeing as a fight broke in front of them, the man in his grip struggled and shoved him to the wall. Pinned, he almost got his face smacked right into the sturdy brick. Thankfully, he saw it coming and dodged away. At least, his training with the back-stabbing assistant was useful. They fought each tattooed man in the apartment hallway. Well, he was more into evading getting hit while Maxine tried to deal damage to her opp
“You and your petty mood, when is this going to end?” “It’s not petty,” Haze snarled, feeling highly offended by her careless remark. “You don’t know how awful it feels to have the person you trusted the most in this strange event of my life to betray me.” “Yeah, yeah, how would I know? The worst thing that happened to me was missing my breakfast this morning and always being reminded that my brother is dead while someone who looks exactly like him gets everything he has.” That quickly shut Haze up. An apologetic look crossed his face, followed by a silent sorry that came out of his mouth. Fixing her seating position on the couch, the teenage girl motioned to the suit case currently closed on the coffee table between them. “What are you going to do with it then?” Haze’s shoulders slumped as he leaned back against his couch. He closed his eyes, feeling a massive headache starting in no time. “I don’t know.” “And that’s why y
“Good job everyone,” Haze high fived his team in his Nameless costume, “I’ll treat you all to something special this Friday.” “But, boss!” Alfie whined to him, “Why can’t we do that now?” “I have some business, unlike a lazy bum like you.” Haze told them, “Besides, you have to work on your stealth first before the official Player League’s invitation comes to us.” “You think they’d let us in? It’s pretty big, you know?” “After our stellar performance? Oh, they couldn’t place us like a typical new team and ignore us for long.” Then, Haze looked at Melody, the daughter of the Head of the Immigration Service they made a deal with, “Did your father give you a hard time lately?” Melody frowned, but shook his head, “Strangely no, sir. You must have said very good words for me to my father? I hope the deal is worth it.” “Oh, you wouldn’t know.” After that, Haze and Maxine left the headquarters. Only then that they realize