The Meetup

The bald man had an outstanding presence. Despite his mana capacity being only greater than a regular civilian by a small margin, his aura made him seem bigger than he actually was.

Regular civilians would cower in his presence.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. I've got the Verstimuline. Pay up."

Despite that, Chloe spoke in a condensing tone without any fear. She tossed the duffle bag in front of her.

The bald man walked forward and opened the bag. Opening it revealed many bags packed full of pure white powder.

The man grabbed a bag and sniffed it. After taking a deep breath, his eyes nearly rolled backwards as he seemed to have reached the 7th heaven.

"This is good shit. No wonder they call you the best. It's because of that gift of yours."

When the bald man revealed that he knew Chloe had a gift, she tensed up but quickly regained composure. "You've done your research. Your intel network must be good." She replied calmly.

"Of course. I have eyes and ears everywhere in the underworld. And Optimus City is my playground."

The bald man spoke in a bragging tone. It seemed like he was enjoying this.

"Well, you got your drugs. I want the cash. I have other things to do."

Despite his bragging, Chloe spoke to him not as an equal, but as someone who was beneath her.

"Unfortunately that won't be happening."

As soon as he revealed his intentions Chloe's gaze sharpened as she became more cautious of her surroundings.

Alexia put her hand on her gun and unlocked its safety as she prepared to fire. Shivan copied her movements.

"Do you understand who you're dealing with? The Syndicate is not to be trifled with."

"Your backing means nothing on my territory. This is Optimus City."

The bald man countered Chloe's threat with another provocation. He was unafraid of her.

Suddenly a large quantity of mana gushed out Chloe as she prepared to fight.

"Don't underestimate me! I may not have a combat-related gift, but I'm still a gift user."

Her mana caused some of the bald man's associates to take a step back in fear. 

Her strength may be weak compared to those at PCA, but to regular humans, she was still incredibly strong. 

Despite that, the bald man looked unconcerned. He pulled out a gun from his holster.

As soon as he did that, Shivan went on full alert and pulled his gun out.

But instead of firing at Chloe, he fired at the wall.

BOOM!

The wall collapsed as the bullet travelled at a speed that Shivan could barely perceive. It was definitely faster than a regular gun which Shivan could perceive and react to.

When he fired his gun, it started glowing blue and the explosion created was somewhat blue.

Then, two men came behind Alexia and Shivan aiming their guns at their feet. Shivan realised, if the men fired, he and Alexia wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Shivan had noticed their presence ahead of time but didn't realise they were armed with the same gun the bald man had.

"Military-Grade! How?"

After seeing the effects of the weapon, Chloe's eyes widened. Alexia was also similarly shocked as well.

Shivan was somewhat surprised to see a small gun doing such damage. But his face remained expressionless as ever.

"Connections." The bald said while a smirk formed on his face. "You may be a gift-user but I don't think you want to be hit by one of these."

"Surrender."

After a few seconds of consideration, Chloe signalled to the two behind her to give up. Alexia put her hands up and dropped her gun while Shivan copied her.

The men behind them kicked their guns away while doing a body check. They completely disarmed them, taking away all of the knives Alexia had hidden on her body. She clicked her tongue as they did so.

After ensuring the trio were completely unarmed the men retreated and they gave a signal to the bald man.

"What do you want?"

Chloe spoke in a hostile tone when the bald man approached.

"Your skills are impressive. You're better than expected. I want you to create something." His excitement was evident as he spoke.

"What is it?"

"Lumicidence Boost. And don't worry, I've got the ingredients and equipment."

When he spoke those words, a trace of fear appeared on Chloe's face.

Shivan had already known what Verstimuline was beforehand. It was an illicit drug that caused people to experience intense bliss with various side effects such as recklessness.

But Shivan had never heard of Lumicidence Boost before.

"Are you trying to earn the wrath of the military?!" Chloe didn't conceal her anger towards the bald man.

"Having these weapons is enough for the military to be pissed at us. What's the harm in having some Lumicidence Boosts?" Compared to Chloe's tone, he was completely calm. "So can you create it?" 

"..." Chloe hesitated for a bit. Finally, after a couple of seconds, she replied with "Yes."

"Good, Good." The bald smiled and rubbed his hands seeing everything going as he planned.

"But I have conditions," Chloe responded, showing her determination not to be completely overwhelmed by him.

"You're in no position to give any conditions. But since I'm a generous man, I'll give you a chance."

"I want to bring my associates with me. I need their help. They'll provide some mental stability. After all, my gift works best when I'm fully concentrated. Plus they can help with extraction."

The bald man had a thoughtful look on his face as considered the benefits.

"They're unarmed so they pose no threat to you or your guards."

After a bit more convincing, the bald man eventually accepted her reasoning and allowed some concessions.

Then he walked away and snapped his fingers. His men put black hoods on over the group's faces and stuffed them in a van, driving off to an undisclosed location.

Shivan considered blowing up the van with his gift so they could escape, but there were other vehicles nearby that would immediately attack them afterwards. The only thing he could do was wait.

Shivan realised he wouldn't be able to make it back before curfew. But he quickly shoved it out of his mind. It was the least of their concerns currently. It was questionable if they could even make it back alive.