酷视

Chapter 35: The mob does not control all the crime in its territory

First, having someone see me with bags from an expensive clothing store in one hand and bags from a well-known restaurant in the other... A report like that would be too ridiculous for my aunt to believe.

Secondly, by parading around with my bags like that through those not-really-safe streets, I was simply inviting trouble. Before long, this trouble manifested in the form of a group of three young men walking out of a nearby alley and crossing my path.

\'They have weapons,\' I thought, easily noticing both the bulges in the shape of the guns on the men\'s clothes and the small knife one of them hid in his palm.

"This isn\'t going to be your best day, buddy," the knife-bearing goon spoke out as he stepped ahead of the group and revealed the knife in his hand. "Drop all those bags, your wallet, and your phone and you might get away with just a beating!"

\'Just a beating? Even if I surrender all my valuables?\' I thought, torn between chuckling and actually covering in fear.

I managed to not show it on my face, but the presence of the guns... Well, this part of the scientific development of this world could be called a great equalizer. Because once shot, I struggled to believe my high endurance could save me from my fate.

But there was one, very particular reason for why I actually wanted this situation to happen. And it all boiled down to the message that important mobster from before left me with.

\'Since I need to earn my right to contact him again, I need to find someone else to liaison with.\'

"You guys with the group?" I asked in a calm, collected voice while looking at them with an empty if not slightly mocking expression.

I couldn\'t show even a hint of fear now. They couldn\'t see me as a prey.

And from the looks they gave each other in response to my words, I wasn\'t all that unlucky today. There was no way that a single gang controlled every last criminal in their area, after all.

In all honesty, I was lucky. Luckily I didn\'t need to test just how useful my increased stats would be in a fight against a firearm. What would I do if the heat of the fight the food ended up spilling all over while the clothes got all wrinkled?

"I\'ve had a long, very long day," I muttered in a cold, exhausted voice. "Getting all this stuff and then hauling my ass here with it..." I shook my head while putting an exasperated look on my face. Then, I slowly raised my eyes on the trio of the goons.

"Don\'t make it any worse."

I uttered one word after the other, as slowly as if I wanted to let every single letter sound out properly.

The goons looked at each other. And after a moment of hesitation...

"Hey, one more thing," I called after them right as they were about to turn around and leave.

"What?" the knife-bearing man looked at me and barked.

"I\'m to contact the captain responsible for this zone," I spoke out, making up orders from above as I went. "Where do I find him?"

This time, the hesitation on the goons\' face grew even more profound.

\'It makes them look as if they were about to develop intelligence and advance as a species,\' I thought, having little to no respect for criminals like them.

"He usually sits around at Makary\'s," the goon spoke out, his face relaxing as the reality of the situation finally clicked in. His hostility properly vanished as he hid his knife back in his pocket. "Ask for Mark and you will find him."

With that, the goons finally turned around and left, opening a path for me to make the last few steps and reach my shed\'s doorway. I raised my hand... and then hesitated for a second.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, killing all the leftover emotions from the encounter. Even though nothing happened, facing off against people sporting guns... Even with my increased endurance, aura, and other stats, it was a pretty damn unnerving experience!

\'I guess that\'s one thing off my bucket list,\' I thought, before bringing my hand down and knocking in the arranged fashion. Then, as I pushed the doors open...

"I felt your aura shake," Fay announced in a cold voice.

She stood right by the doors, her eyes already sweeping the area outside. Spotting no threat, she turned to face me and asked, "What happened?"

\'That\'s a new side of hers I didn\'t see before.\'

I gulped my saliva down, my thoughts racing to decide whether I should speak about the event from just before or...

"Nothing much, really," I waved my hand, opting to just bury the topic and move on.

There was no point for me to include Fay in the precise details of how I was obtaining money. It was my lack of ability to do it any other way that led to this situation. As such, I had no right to burden her with what came out of my decisions.

Fay didn\'t take my words kindly. She cast a cold, focused look all over me while I made sure to hurriedly close the doors before anyone outside could chance a glance at Fay.

Her beauty, as much as I enjoyed it, would put her at an unnecessary risk if noticed by the residents of this unpleasant district.

"Trust me, nothing big happened," I nailed down my point while dropping all the bags that I managed to haul on my own to the floor. "Here," I spoke while pulling out one of the two phones that I\'d bought and already registered while still back at the mall. "This is a magical device that will allow us to stay in touch, regardless of where we are, as long as it\'s in this world."

How was I supposed to explain the idea of phones to Fay who never really had any contact with proper technology? Was there any point in diving deep into the physical rules that allowed people to master communication through thin air?

No, there was no point. So, rather than trying to cram several years\' worth of knowledge into Fay\'s pretty head, I opted to go with an explanation that achieved the same purpose without needlessly confusing my pretty fox-girl.

As soon as Fay accepted the phone and moved her gaze from my face to the strange, small device, I moved on to unpack the only bag I kept on me at all times, even though it was one of the very first things I bought.

"This here is a device that can tap into nearly all of the knowledge and information this world has to offer," I spoke as I brought out the simple laptop and left it on the bed. "It will take you only a moment to learn how to use it, but let\'s leave it for just a bit later."

Seeing Fay\'s eyes move over to the next product and slowly start to regain their usual excitement and anticipation, I couldn\'t help but breathe out in relief.

\'Is this what a man feels returning late at night only to have their wife wait for them in the doorway with a clock in her hand?\' I thought, trying my utmost to give this situation a spin as far removed from seriousness as I could.

Fay only cast a short, fleeting glance at the portable computer. She appeared to have little to no interest in it, even with how much I promoted it in my short introduction.

\'Maybe it\'s because she doesn\'t understand how it works?\' I thought, only to shake my head and put this thought to the back of my mind.

After all, I still had things that I could tell for sure Fay would be extremely interested in.

"And lastly, those are..." I smiled as I raised the bags I dropped to the floor just a moment ago. "Tasty treats for your heart," I announced while raising the bags with all sorts of foods and confectionaries, "and to your soul," I added while moving forth the bags with the clothes.

\'And now,\' I couldn\'t help but smile when the usual shine fully returned to Fay\'s beautiful eyes. \'Which one will she start with?\'