Alice looked at the man beside her with a wry smile. "Tommy, you donât need to force yourself if you canât."
Tommy was trying to stand with one of his legs still in bandages. Even though he refused to wear crutches, he could only move his legs one step at the time. With Alice in front of him, he slowed down their pace considerably.
"Iâm fine," Tommy waved his hand. "Weâre going to meet with the others, right? I canât possibly miss it."
"Okay, but be careful."
Slowly, Tommy moved from his position to the elevator. The short journey that was supposed to take a few seconds turned into minutes because of him. Thankfully, no one paid any attention, or he would be extremely embarrassed.
"This is the room," Alice pointed at one of the VIP rooms.
Tommyâs lips twitched a bit when he saw several doors have a lot of guards waiting before the door. Those were truly rich and important people. He wondered who was inside when he heard Alice pointed to them.
"That one is Young Master Jason while the other one is Kanae and Clan Head Kevin."
Tommy: "..." they were actually my friends.
He chose not to compare them anymore. It was already good enough for him that Aliceâs father approved of him, so he would just accept what he got so far.
"Excuse me," Tommy knocked the door and entered. He saw Neo and Lou were typing on their laptop furiously while Mike lay like a dead log on one of the beds. His eyes grew bigger.
Isnât the VIP room supposed to be only for one person?
"Oh, hello Tom. Miss Alice," Neo greeted. He didnât turn his head as he was still busy typing on his laptop.
"Hello Neo," Alice replied. "Howâs your condition after the battle."
"Aside from the fact that I canât walk for the time being, thereâs nothing different. Is there any reason for your visit today, Miss Alice?"
"Yes," Alice picked up the remote and turned the television on.
"...This is the rest of whatâs left from Lima School. It seems that the fierce battle that happened two years ago repeats itself in this place today. The result of the battle is very catastrophic as almost nothing is left. Police officers and people from Black Street are guarding the place, but they didnât leak out any detail..."
She switched the channel:
"Breaking news, we have just found out that the person whom we used to adore, Ferdinand Mowlem, is the one behind the missing children all these years. While the rumor about it has circulated for quite some time, only today that the higher up gives their formal statement..."
Another channel:
"...The destruction of Lima School is linked closely with the disappearance of Ferdinand Mowlem. Itâs believed that he destroyed the school to erase the evidence about his real target of the missing children. Many of their parents are swarming to the site, trying to find the missing man and ask for..."
Alice turned around to look at Neo. "Someone leaked out the news too quickly and the people were gathering around the school. Theyâre still outside the perimeter, but if they get any closer, they might face Ferdinand."
"Do you think heâs still alive?" Mike turned his head. He hadnât fallen asleep yet because the two were incredibly noisy in their typing. It made him rather annoyed that they were typing so much late at night like this.
"We donât know," Lou replied bitterly. "Thereâs no corpse or other evidence that heâs still alive either, so we canât make any conclusion."
"There is chaos everywhere," Alice crossed her arm. "Will Ryukalin Clan make their move or not?"
The one who has the most fighting power has always been the Ryukalin Clan. She told them the news because she hoped that they could do something to stop the rampaging fight that spread everywhere like wildfire.
Mike yawned. "Thatâs not going to happen."
"What? Why?"
"Boss has already deployed the men in the Ryukalin Clan to sweep the Black Street in this city from a long time ago," Neo replied. "Thereâs no one left to help with the matter of the angry parents. Besides, the elites are all staying in the hospital."
Patrick and Dean were in the other room not far from here, staying after the battle for recovery. There was simply no one who they could deploy to help.
"What do you mean by sweep?" Alice arched her eyebrows, her demeanor had turned rather fierce when she had something that she wanted.
"Cleaning the place and assign more people there to turn it into a proper place in this city. The small officials in the area have started to expand their area of work as we have been cleaning up the Black Street," Neo replied.
Alice looked back at Neo. Even though Neo didnât mention it to her blatantly, she knew very well what it meant by cleaning up the Black Street. Black Street was the place of the outlaws to live without any law. When they were gone, those people wouldnât have any place to work anymore.
The action of Ryukalin Clan taking over the territory was not for them to govern them, but to change the place.
"I see," Alice murmured. "Clan Head wants to erase the existence of the underworld organization?"
"Not completely erase them, but make them work behind the shadow," Neo shrugged. "If this city wants to develop, it needs a good image and the name âunderworldâ is unsuitable. Even though the destruction of many large factions is unwanted, it allowed us to move freer."
"Then what are you going to do with those parents?"
"Nothing," Lou was the one who answered. "The people from Black Street that we manage to call are those who we have swept over the course of time. Theyâre waiting for a chance to live anew, so they will need the money from the mission. After this, theyâre going to pursue new lives."
Alice looked at the three of them with amazement. Even though many of the events happened without them expecting anything, they were already prepared enough with them all. Really, they were truly amazing. It was no wonder that Ryukalin Clan has always been placed at the very top.
Mike sat down and put his hand on the back of his head. "Boss has a great plan for this city because he wishes that no one will experience the same with him again. As times fly, itâs time for the change in this city and he wants to participate in them."
"Is that why Ryukalin Clan always lacks people?"
Mike shrugged. "Theyâre not first rate fighters too, so it didnât matter."
Lou looked at Tommy behind Alice. "Looking at your condition, itâs not a surprise for you to not participate in the battle. How long do you need until full recovery?"
"Around two months," Tommy grimaced when he recalled what the doctor said.
"Youâre weak."
"That long?"
"Are you really Tom from Fiore Group?"
Tommy: "..." stop doubting me like that!
Alice giggled. "Itâs actually 1 month for recovery, but he needs to participate in a short rehab to make sure that he can move and fight like before. In the end, itâs around 2 months."
Neo turned his head for the first time. "You two seem rather close. Has your father approved of him, Alice?"
Alice made a âvâ gesture with her finger. "Yep!"
"Wow, Tom, youâre really great!"
"Being wounded didnât matter when youâre already getting something like that, right?"
Tommy smiled. Internally, he rolled his eyes. If it was possible, he would like getting the approval without having the need to go through something like this. His body felt painful all over because of the battle before.
Mike looked at Alice. "Itâs good that youâre not wounded from the battle, Alice."
"I have some bruises on my fingers," Alice raised her hand. She got them when she was busy digging the rubbles. Even though she was only helping for the lighter one, it still caused some effect on her fingers.
"Why didnât you tell me?" Tommy pulled her finger for him to see. He caressed her fingers when he saw that they were red.
"Iâm fine."
"No, youâre not."
Lou rolled his eyes when he saw the two of them bickering. "There are other rooms for you to bicker around. Thereâs no need to show off your love in front of us, is there?"
"Ah, sorry," Alice blushed embarrassedly. She didnât mean to do that, but Tommy was pretty close with her.
"Is this how you two usually interact?" Neo asked curiously.
Alice nodded his head. "Yeah, but usually Tommy always yells to the other clan members after the approval saying that âIâm his.â"
"Wait! Donât tell them!" Tommyâs face turned red in embarrassment. This girl didnât know what that meant very well because her father was overprotective, but he didnât want others to know that.
"Oooooh," Neo nodded his head in understanding. "I donât know that youâre that possessive, Tom."
"I know youâre a bit of a pervert, but this is the first time I heard about you being possessive."
"Should I inform Clan Head Nico about his future son-in-lawâs possessiveness?"
"Iâm not a pervert!" Tommy glared at Mike. "And Iâm not possessive."
"What are you talking about? If youâre not possessive, you wouldnât say those words."
"Not a pervert? Are you sure about that?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Facing the barrage of questions from the three men in front of him, Tommy wanted to cry. He almost died out of embarrassment just because of them asking him this and that. On the back, Alice just watched with confusion, unaware that she was the one who started the entire thing.