Chapter 283: The First Encounter of Youth Faction (Middle) _1

At the end of East side Tail Street Alley, a "click" sound echoed from a basement door being opened. A boy with black hair and a red jacket was the first to jump out, closely followed by a boy with glasses and red curly hair.

The red-headed boy with glasses grabbed the arm of his companion as if to stop him from leaving, saying, "Hey, Jason, don't do this. Batman's been prowling around here a lot lately. If you go out to steal tonight, he's sure to spot you!"

The boy called Jason turned round, saying, "You're the one who said that the big tire we pried up can't be sold. I have to go now, otherwise those younger kids in the Tail Gang will starve!"

The brown-haired boy continued to persuade him, but Jason, slightly impatient, shrugged him off, saying, "Little Sly, I know you're good. The big shots of the famous black gangs on Elizabeth Street all want to recruit you."

"But we're not the same. The location on Curled Tail Street's not good to begin with; we have to take over the territory to the south in order for our gang members to make money. But if we can't eat, where will we get the energy to fight?"

Little Sly adjusted his glasses and said, "That's exactly why I'm trying to stop you, Jason. You're the boss of Tail Gang, and if you get caught by Batman, there would be no way out for the remaining gang members."

Annoyed, Jason ran his fingers through his hair. Little Sly pulled him back into the basement. Jason seemed at a loss, but let himself be led inside.

Inside the basement was a small workshop with two decrepit workbenches loaded with various tools. One toolbox, remarkably new, was placed on a slightly cleaner table.

Drawing the eye was an unusually large and uniquely shaped tire resting on one workbench. Embossed in the center of the tire was a bat symbol.

Little Sly led Jason to a chair nearby and said, "If you hadn't helped me out last time, I would have had my throat slit by those Drag Racers. You saved my life, so of course I'm willing to help you."

Although Jason looked young, he dressed maturely and carried himself like those in the black gangs. He spat on the ground and said, "The market's been bad lately. Our youngest gang members can't bring in a penny."

"To keep them from getting beaten, some of us older ones have to support them. But this can't continue."

Then, he turned to look at the tire on the workbench and slammed the wall in frustration, saying, "If only this piece of crap could be sold. Is it really impossible?"

Calmly, Little Sly said, "Don't panic. Yesterday during vocational school, I asked some of my classmates to come around. Maybe they can find a way."

Just then, a few rhythmic footsteps were heard from the ceiling above. Jason stopped Little Sly from getting up and said, "I'll go take a look, hope it's not trouble."

Jason cracked open the basement door slightly, and Little Sly peeped out too. They saw an older chubby boy stomping outside. Little Sly called out to him from the doorway, "Hey! Tire! Over here…"

"Oh, there you are! So, you guys live in the basement. Now I know why you wanted me to come here and stomp on the ground..."

Tire entered the basement and immediately noticed the Bat Tire. He approached, eyes wide, "Cool..."

"Wait, is that the bat symbol? My God! Did you guys really pull off a big heist?"

Tire walked over and vigorously tapped the rubber of the Bat Tire. Suddenly, hurried stomps echoed from above again. Little Sly went to open the door, and his voice was heard at the entrance, "Hey, you two are together? Rocket and Red Truck..."

They entered and saw Tire standing by the Bat Tire. Tire waved them over and pointed at the Bat Tire, "Check this out! The coolest tire I've ever seen, it's the only one worthy of my name!"

Jason came forward to greet them, "Hello, I'm Jason, Jason Todd, the boss of the Tail Gang. You can just call me Jason."

Tire, Rocket, and Red Truck were all much older than Jason and Little Sly, but they were still only in their early teens. This room was full of kids, but their communication was mature.

Red Truck was the first to step forward. He was an African-American boy and greeted Jason with a fist bump in the style of his fellow black gang members. He said, "I've heard of you. You smacked that annoying Yellow Eyes with a baseball bat full of rivets last time. When I heard a man three years older got beaten by someone younger than him, I hardly believed it. But now, you definitely are a tough character..."

Jason wiped his nose and said, "You need some skills to survive here."

Little Sly interrupted their banter, tapping on the table, "I invited you guys over specifically to help with this tire situation. As you can see, Jason and I planned to steal the tire of the infamous Batman's car..."

Little Sly and Jason exchanged glances, while the other three looked curious. Rocket, who was a girl said, "How did you do it? My dad told me, Batman is not somebody to be messed with."