CHAPTER 9

–Central City–

At 8 pm. A yellow car drove into a deep alley behind a supermarket chain. Yuri had just parked the car when two men walked up to him - Jim and Terry.

"I knew you'd come, buddy. Who doesn't want to make money?" Jim said while smirking, as if he had expected Yuri to show up.

"Hey, your car has been upgraded a lot. Did you get it refurbished?" Terry asked, looking at the old car.

"Of course, you guys have a big plan, and obviously, an old and worn-out car is not conducive to the implementation of the plan, right?" Yuri replied casually. "And if what you say is true, we will soon be damn rich. What does refurbishing a car matter?"

"You're absolutely fucking right," Jim agreed. "When it's time to spend money, we should spend it."

As they spoke, they got into the car. The interior of the old car had not been modified in any way, but the cabin was much cleaner and tidier than before.

"You can't achieve this level in just one night. Ordinary shops can't do it. Did you go to a repair shop under that shop?" Terry asked Yuri as he walked to the front of the cabin.

"Besides them, who else can achieve this speed?" Yuri nodded, even though he had never been to what the guy was talking about.

"Okay, now is not the time to talk about my car. Where are we going and how are we going to make a few million dollars?" Yuri asked, looking at Jim and Terry.

The two men looked at each other but didn't speak.

"Come on, guys, we're in this together. Whatever you plan to do, we're accomplices. If I don't even know what you're going to do, how can I ensure that our actions are foolproof?" Yuri tried to convince them.

"You're right. You're in this with us, and now it's impossible for you to back out or quit." Jim said after a moment of silence.

After a moment of silence, Jim spoke slowly. "You know the Rogues, right...err.. That's a stupid question. Everyone in Twin City knows the Rogues."

Jim looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice. "But do you know who provides weapons and information sources for the Rogues, who has been helping them behind the scenes?"

'Knew it.'

Yuri's heart stirred. Jim and Terry had really aligned themselves with some major force.

"Who?"

Yuri lowered his voice and asked a tense face.

"The Network!"

Jim and Terry both exclaimed, with endless longing and admiration in their eyes.

"The Network?"

Yuri muttered this word twice in secret. Hmm...never heard of it.

This name is too weird. Why don't they just go for the neighboring villain organizations, like Hydra, Umbrella, Team Rocket, Brotherhood...

Just saying it feels awesome!

You mention "The Network" and someone who doesn't know would think your house just got internet.

"Don't even think about reporting The Network to the authorities because The Network has eyes everywhere in Twin City. They know our every move," Jim warned Yuri with a serious expression.

"Whenever someone wants to quit The Network or gets caught, The Network erases their memory. No matter where you go, even if it's in Iron Heights Penitentiary, you can't escape The Network's revenge."

Yuri nodded solemnly. "I know what to do and what not to do. So where do we go now? I can't wait to be a part of The Network."

"Let's first pick up two people and then head to Keystone City."

Jim told Yuri an address and the latter immediately started the old beat-up car.

...

After a dozen minutes, the old car stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.

Two people were squatting in front of the warehouse, not knowing what they were inhaling, with a euphoric expression on their faces.

Jim and Terry waved to them from the car and called out softly.

"Pudge! Busk!"

The two addicts heard the call and turned to see Jim and Terry, rushing over immediately.

"We still have work to do, don't get high."

Terry opened the car for Pudge and Busk while Jim looked a little dissatisfied.

"Don't worry, we haven't even hit half our usual dose today."

Pudge and Busk grinned, unconcerned.

Yuri remained silent, just changing direction and heading towards Keystone City with Terry, Jim, Pudge, and Busk, the four hooligans and addicts.

Yuri didn't know what "the network" was plotting, but he didn't think these four guys were qualified to be noticed by the network.

"Hey, Jim, we're almost in Keystone City after crossing the Van Buren Bridge. What's our plan? Are we going to blow up the bridge?" Yuri asked as he drove his old car onto the bridge.

"Go here, and our boss is waiting for us," Jim leaned over and whispered an address in Yuri's ear.

Boss?

Yuri's eyes narrowed slightly. If he guessed correctly, this boss was the person who truly had connections with the network. Jim and his friends were probably just cannon fodder.

After about half an hour, Uri finally arrived at his destination.

It was a bar.

Yuri stood at the entrance of the bar, lost in thought.

No drinking before 21 years old.

He had never been to a bar in his life.

"What are you hesitating for? Come on in," Jim noticed Yuri standing outside the bar and reminded him.

"...I'll be right there," Uri responded casually and followed him in.

He thought he would be stopped by the security, but unexpectedly, no one paid attention to him.

The bar looked small from the outside, but it was even smaller inside.

There was only one bar counter and a few tables.

The man behind the bar was burly with a shaved head, looking like a Vin Diesel-like bartender wiping glasses behind the counter.

The arrangement of tables and chairs looked more like a small cafe than a bar, at least from Yuri's perspective. It was completely different from the bars commonly seen in movies.

The bar was empty, with only two people sitting at separate tables far apart from each other.

The "boss" was presumably one of them.

The man closer to Yuri appeared to be around thirty years old with short white hair and wore a blue sleeveless jacket. His table was covered with a dozen bottles of alcohol, with empty ones piled up on the right side and unopened ones on the left.

The man's face was flushed and his eyes were hazy, as if he was drunk, but he kept pouring himself more drinks.

The other person sat at the back, with his back facing Yuri and the others. The only feature that could be seen was his yellow hair, nothing else.

Upon entering, Terry and Jim went straight to the back, with Busk and Pudge following closely behind. As for the white-haired man drinking heavily, the four didn't even spare him a glance.

Yuri didn't think much and followed the four hooligans to the "boss's" table.

However, when he finally saw the true face of this so-called "boss," he couldn't help but be surprised.

..

..

'Trickster?'

*****

Give me some stones pleassseee..

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