Gin froze slightly mid-motion, cigarette halfway to his lips, as he watched someone climb into the car.
He hadn't invited Jiang Xia in—he'd only opened the door to grab a briefcase.
But the way Jiang Xia casually opened the door and slipped into the back seat had been so smooth, so natural, it completely threw Gin off. Vodka, probably too used to ferrying people around, didn't question it for a second and started the engine like clockwork. By the time Gin looked down to light his cigarette, Jiang Xia was already comfortably seated.
Gin hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't kick him out.
They weren't far from the blast site, and the area was crawling with cops. His Porsche 356A wasn't exactly inconspicuous—frequent stops would only draw more attention. Besides, Jiang Xia had pulled off the job, got the info and the cash. He could ride for a bit. He'd get kicked out soon enough.
With him already here, Gin figured he might as well get a detailed account of what happened. They'd spoken briefly on the phone, but the explosion had cut things short, and some details still needed confirming.
Jiang Xia began recounting the day's events from the beginning. Midway through, the car came to a stop at an intersection. As they waited for the light to change, Jiang Xia suddenly fell silent.
Gin glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Jiang Xia staring wide-eyed out the window.
Gin tensed. "Problem?" he asked sharply.
The windows were up, soundproofing solid.
Jiang Xia pressed a hand to the dark-tinted glass and pointed at the driver of the car next to them. "What a coincidence... That's the guy who planted the bomb. I saw him messing with the label of Tequila's trade partner's briefcase."
As soon as he said it, a startled yelp came from Xiaobai. The ghost immediately launched forward and latched onto a fresh wisp of Gin's murderous aura.
Gin didn't notice.
He just coldly gestured to Vodka. "Follow him."
Gin was not having a good day.
Sherry was still missing. The area around this place had already been flagged as a key search zone by the Organization. Now, thanks to that unsolved bombing, the cops would swarm even harder, making movement nearly impossible.
And if Tequila had opened the briefcase in a crowded place, the rising body count would've guaranteed an all-out police effort to track down his identity. That would've exposed the Organization.
Not to mention, this random guy's bomb had just taken out one of their official members. They didn't exactly have extras to spare.
It all stacked up, souring Gin's already foul mood.
Jiang Xia observed Gin's expression, then glanced at Xiaobai and Tengu, who were busy dealing with the murderous aura. He reached into his pocket, pulled out Miyano Akemi, and sent her to help.
Neutralizing this kind of dense, lingering murderous aura required more effort than usual. Emotional surges could cause it to dissipate too quickly if they didn't act fast. Three ghosts worked better than two—and besides, she was his ghost. No way she'd be afraid of someone just because they were drenched in killer intent.
Miyano Akemi was still panicking, but seeing Jiang Xia's resolve, she reluctantly floated over, eyes squeezed shut, and joined Xiaobai and Tengu in dragging the aura down.
A minute or two later, she seemed to get used to it—or maybe just remembered Gin couldn't see her. Her expression relaxed. She even started stabbing the murderous aura with a bit of flair, secretly tying it into bows. Hard to tell if she was goofing off or just being petty.
…
Brother Buzzcut lived out in the suburbs.
As Jiang Xia wrangled ghosts, Vodka ran Brother Buzzcut's car off the road onto a quiet stretch of highway.
Buzzcut, confused and angry, rolled down his window to yell at them—but before it was halfway down, Gin casually raised his gun and shot. Brother Buzzcut slumped lifelessly in the seat.
Vodka floored it, speeding off.
Gin holstered the gun, feeling slightly better.
Jiang Xia, seated nearby, almost expected to be told to clean up the body. But before Gin could open his mouth, he seemed to think better of it. Maybe it felt like overkill. Besides, Vodka was already going too fast to turn back now.
Tch. Why does it feel like Vodka doesn't treat Jiang Xia like a peripheral member at all? More like a regular one… Gin scowled slightly but filed the thought away.
In the end, he messaged a few other capable peripheral members to take care of the cleanup. He also warned the trade partner to keep their mouth shut about Tequila.
Jiang Xia sat quietly.
At that moment, only two of his ghosts were with him—one was still outside.
Like Gin, he was unimpressed with Vodka's speed. The second Buzzcut died, the shikigami he would've produced as a death echo was released. Tengu flew off to grab it, but Vodka had already stepped on the gas.
Signed shikigami could teleport back to Jiang Xia's tattoo space like a file returning to its folder. New ones? Not so lucky.
Tengu barely managed to snatch the shikigami before the car roared away. It flapped its wings like mad, trying to catch up.
Jiang Xia spotted the poor thing flailing after them, and while he felt a little bad, it would've been weirder to demand Gin stop in the middle of nowhere. He silently cheered the ghost on.
Eventually, after they re-entered the city and the car slowed down, Tengu caught up. It squeezed through the window, collapsed onto the seat with a pathetic thud, and lay there twitching.
After a few moments, it shakily held up the shikigami like a defeated courier completing its delivery.
Gin had calmed down by now—no fresh murderous aura to harvest.
Xiaobai and Akemi gathered around the exhausted Tengu, gently massaging its wings.
Jiang Xia took the shikigami Tequila had become and scanned Gin from the back seat.
No sign of a new shikigami. He wasn't sure if Brother Buzzcut's echo had failed, gotten lost, or just… chickened out.
He tapped Tengu and got an answer: the shikigami had formed, but instead of chasing Gin, it stayed near the body, clinging to it.
Jiang Xia pondered this.
Based on past experience, he'd probably have to either get Gin arrested—or kill him—to gain Buzzcut's shikigami.
If it had been a ghost, maybe he'd hesitate. But this…
He looked at Buzzcut's weak, unimpressive shikigami, then at the fresh, deluxe murderous aura the ghosts had just collected.
…Forget it.
…
Vodka pulled into a quiet spot per Gin's orders.
Jiang Xia had everything he came for. This time, he didn't linger. He stepped out with his ghosts and the aura in tow.
After he left, Gin nudged the briefcase Jiang Xia had retrieved with his foot. Earlier today, Tequila had proudly carried those two briefcases. Now he was a burnt husk.
Gin muttered darkly, "Another one dead."
The new recruits hadn't even finished training or gone through identity screening. Useless as cannon fodder, never mind actual assignments.
Gin's eyes followed the direction Jiang Xia had disappeared in.
Vodka caught the look instantly.
He thought back to that poor innocent child Jiang Xia once folded into his bag like a building block.
If there was any surprise, it was just that it took this long for Gin to consider officially promoting Jiang Xia.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 29/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*