Chapter 43

Ali took his time savouring the assortment of pastries Himari had brought him, chewing slowly as if he had no worries in the world. But beneath his calm exterior, his mind was calculating his next move. Once he finished, he stood up, and left the shop without another word.

He drove back to the warehouse where he switched vehicles, trading the van for the sleek BMW. Fumiko's intel had led him to a specific address, and he had no time to waste. As he cruised through the streets of Tokyo, the hum of the engine matched the rhythm of his thoughts. Eventually, he arrived at the location Fumiko had described, parking the BMW just out of sight. The building looked unremarkable at first glance, a typical two-story structure nestled among the shops lining the busy street. However, Ali quickly noticed something unusual.

Five large trucks were parked nearby, four of them visibly unloading goods into the surrounding shops. But the fifth truck, positioned more discreetly, had workers moving wooden crates into the back of the auction house-the real target.

'Smart,' Ali mused as he leaned casually against his car. 'They're using the other trucks as cover to hide the real cargo.'

His gaze shifted to the road in front of the building. It was wide, flanked by towering fifteen-story office buildings. 'If the CCG planned an attack, this would be their entry point-clear, open, and ideal for a large force to sweep in. But that also made it vulnerable'. Ali's mind raced, formulating a plan.

'If I wanted to cause maximum chaos, that's where l'd start. A few well-placed explosives and I could bring the whole street down.' He smirked, already plotting his next steps. 'But I'll need a lot of firepower. Hopefully, the mafia here is as resourceful as the one back home!'

Ali casually made his way towards one of the towering office buildings. The first three floors housed a busy bank, while the upper levels were rented out to various businesses. Walking through the bustling bank lobby, Ali's eyes scanned the walls and infrastructure. He was already thinking about how to exploit the layout to his advantage.

Unbeknownst to him, two pairs of eyes were following his every move. Outside, a pair of young twins-one boy and one girl-watched him closely. Something about the tall, imposing man caught their attention, and they couldn't tear their eyes away. When Ali disappeared into the building, the girl made a snap decision and followed him inside, her brother trailing behind.

Ali moved with purpose, heading up the stairwell to the top floor. His boots echoed against the concrete steps as he ascended, and when he reached the door to the roof, he found it locked. With a swift movement, he snapped the lock open without a second thought and stepped onto the rooftop, the cool wind hitting his face as he surveyed the area.

Standing at the edge of the roof, Ali looked down at the auction house below.

'This is perfect', he thought, already imagining the mass casualties he could cause from this vantage point. 'If the CCG attacks from here, I can wipe a good number of them' He was lost in thought when he heard faint footsteps approaching from behind.

Without turning around, Ali sensed the amateurish attempt at stealth. The girl twin had followed him to the roof, knife in hand, ready to strike. She moved with nervous anticipation, but as she lunged to stab him, Ali spun around with lightning speed, catching her wrist before the blade could reach him.

The force of his grip made her gasp in pain, her blue hair whipping in the wind as she struggled in vain to free herself.

Ali studied her, unfazed. The girl's eyes, like her hair, were a striking shade of blue, and her face twisted in frustration as she realised how easily he had stopped her. Moments later, her twin brother burst through the rooftop door, knife raised in a protective stance.

His eyes were filled with anger as he shouted, "Let her go! Now!" the boy demanded, stepping forward.

Ali barely glanced at him before lifting the girl by her wrist, dangling her off the edge of the roof like a rag-doll. She screamed, her eyes wide with terror as she stared down at the fifteen-story drop below. Tears streamed down her face, and she clutched at Ali's arm with her free hand, desperately trying to avoid falling.

"NO! Please don't! Don't drop her!" the boy screamed, panic seizing him. He immediately dropped his knife and fell to his knees, pleading.

Ali's expression remained cold and mocking as he dangled the girl over the ledge.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Who are you?" he asked, shaking the girl slightly, eliciting another terrified scream.

The boy's voice trembled as he answered. "We're players like you! We saw you in the slums before we were teleported here. We saw you scoping out the place, and we followed you. Please don't hurt my sister. I'll do anything, just don't drop her!"

Ali's smirk deepened at the mention of other players. "Other players, huh?

Interesting. What's your personal mission?"

"I have to kill three ghouls, and she has to kill six CCG members," the boy responded quickly, desperate to appease him.

'So the missions are tailored to individual strength. And they gave these kids single digits? They should've given me at least three hundred', Ali thought smugly. He yanked the girl back onto the roof, though he kept a tight grip on her wrist.

"Listen up," Ali said, his voice cold and commanding. "You and your psycho sister made a big mistake coming after me. If you want to live through this, you're going to follow my orders. Got it?"

The boy nodded furiously.

Ali leaned down slightly, towering over the boy. "Your sister stays with me as insurance. You'll do what I say, or she might catch a stray bullet between the eyes. Understand?"

Without waiting for a reply, Ali kicked the boy in the stomach, sending him sprawling across the rooftop. He wasn't aiming to cripple the kid-he needed him functional-but the point was clear. The girl, still in his grip, bit and scratched at Ali's hand in a futile attempt to break free. Her attacks were nothing more than an annoyance to him.

Ali tossed a phone at the boy, who was struggling to catch his breath. "I'll use this to contact you," he said, his tone dismissive. He then turned his attention back to the girl, giving her a quick, hard slap to stun her. Drawing his gun, he aimed it at her brother. "Be a good little girl, or I'll Implant a bullet in his skull," he warned.

The girl stopped struggling, and Ali smirked as he led her back down the stairs.

They reached the ground floor just in time to catch a news broadcast on a TV screen. The footage showed a CCG agent wielding a massive red hammer, it was similar to the Bikaku he had sold to Fumiko earlier that day.

'didn't know they used them as weapons,' Ali thought, narrowing his eyes. 'That bitch scammed me.'

With the girl in tow, Ali returned to Fumiko's shop. A brief conversation about the true value of the Bikaku convinced Fumiko to agree to keep the girl for two days, no questions asked. Once the arrangement was made, Ali slipped back into his BMW and drove off, pulling out one of the phones he had taken from the gangsters.

He searched for the location of a port in Tokyo, a place he remembered from his time on Earth. When the search came back positive, a smile crept across his face.

Ali drove to the port, parking a short distance away so as not to alert the guards stationed at the entrance. The next phase of his plan was about to unfold.

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