Chapter 26 Standoff

In the dim light, the two faced off, the little boy hiding behind the adult, his eyes full of composure, without a trace of fear.

Faced with Vermouth's pressure, Cheng You's expression remained completely calm. He smiled and said, "How can you call it a threat? It's clearly a well-intentioned reminder."

"..." The other party has too much information that is detrimental to her, Vermouth thought. There's no need to sacrifice what she cares about for the sake of the organization's mission. The man in front of her named Cheng You is not simple, but Vermouth is certain that as long as his interests are not threatened, he will not reveal the identities of Matsukawa Yuichi or Kudo Shinichi, and the organization will not find out anything else. It's good to keep it a secret like this.

Thinking this, Vermouth put away her gun, but looked at Cheng You with a warning look: "I hope you don't reveal their identities."

“Of course. Their identities can only be used to threaten you now.” Cheng You shrugged, then turned and gently took Youyi’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Yu took his hand in return: "Yes, Brother Cheng You." As they passed by Vermouth, he glanced at her and finally smiled with relief.

On the way to the residential area, Cheng You thought of something and sighed with some puzzlement: "Sigh, Takeda Ryosuke said he would come to talk to me about cooperation at this time, but he still didn't come."

“…That shouldn’t be the case. Since he’s already sent the message, why wouldn’t he come?” Yuichi frowned. “I feel that Takeda Ryosuke is a very loyal and trustworthy person.” Seemingly feeling that this wasn’t convincing enough, he added, “I’m usually very good at judging people.”

"Has something happened?" Cheng You suddenly remembered the internal strife within the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization and couldn't help but begin to suspect and subconsciously speculate.

Realizing what he had blurted out, Cheng was surprised. He quickly hid in a blind spot of the surveillance camera and projected the system's code interface onto his phone, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Youyi observed the surroundings from the side.

Tracking the other party's whereabouts using Takeda Ryosuke's account wasn't difficult; Cheng You had it all done in about twenty minutes.

The final address found was an abandoned steel plant, not far from here, but that large area had been abandoned for many years and was definitely not a safe place.

Cheng You immediately decided to go and see, and told Youyi to go back first. Youyi was also a little worried, about Cheng You and his friends, but then she thought about how she was still a child and couldn't help but feel annoyed that she couldn't help Cheng You.

"Go back first, and be careful." Cheng didn't notice Youyi's emotional fluctuations; he was only worried about Takeda Ryosuke's safety and felt a chill towards the enemy.

He finally managed to get a connection with the Japanese yakuza through Takeda Ryosuke; how could he let others ruin it?!

After saying that, Cheng You immediately left. Youyi stood there, watching the other person's back get further and further away. A few traces of disappointment appeared in his eyes, but it didn't last long. He noticed the movement behind him, quickly came back to his senses, and put on an innocent smile.

The next second, a figure walked out from the end of the dimly lit road. The person frowned and asked, "Why are you here alone? Where is Cheng You?"

"Brother Cheng has something to take care of, so he told me to go ahead." As if she already knew who it was, Youyi smiled and turned to look at Yagami Kamishin in front of her. "Didn't Brother Yagami go to high school? Why are you back so late?"

"I'm going to quit my part-time job at the haunted house," Yagami replied casually. Hearing Yuichi's answer, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Cheng You actually wants you to go back by yourself? That's rare." In his memory, Cheng You was indeed a qualified, even excellent, older brother. What could possibly make him disregard all of this?

Yuichi, fearing that Yagami might overthink things, maintained his smile: "It really is urgent. Brother Cheng You still cares about me." In fact, he knew in his heart that his current connection with Cheng You was like a paper window that had not yet been broken, and there was mutual respect in the ambiguous relationship.

Perhaps Cheng felt a protective instinct towards him stemming from his childlike appearance, or perhaps it was a longing for family in a foreign land, or a way of seeing someone through his eyes, but ultimately it was nothing more than that.

Yagami brought Yuichi home, but unfortunately, both of them seemed to have virtually no cooking skills. So, after standing in the kitchen for two minutes in a daze, they picked up their phones, ordered takeout, and ate quietly.

Yuichi didn't know anything special about Yagami's visit, but since Cheng You's older brother had voluntarily chosen to live with him, there must be something about the other person that Cheng You's older brother wanted or liked...

Thinking this, Youyi's eyes dimmed slightly.

On the other side, Cheng You arrived at the outskirts of the abandoned steel plant based on the tracking results. In the deep of night, there was not a single light, so he could not see what was going on inside, and there were no voices around him to let him know what was going on.

Just as Cheng Youxin steeled himself to force his way in, a faint voice came from afar: "Why are they here?"

Oh no!

Cheng recognized the voice; it was the voice that belonged only to Takeda Ryosuke.

"Them"? Who are you referring to?

Listening carefully, one could also hear the fragmented thoughts of others, though they were somewhat unstable due to the distance. [Damn it, Takeda Ryosuke actually attracted the researchers from the institute?!]

People from the research institute?! Currently, the most powerful yakuza groups in Japan, besides that research institute that only exists in online forums, are the breweries. So, is this research institute the Japanese yakuza group that can rival the breweries?!

So... the research institute is the one that has a grudge against the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization?

Cheng noted these things down. Since Takeda Ryosuke was still alive, and he was going to take over the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization in the future, Takeda Ryosuke would be his loyal subordinate. It was rare to find someone so loyal, so he decided to save him.

Thinking this, Cheng put on a hood and a mask. He had originally worn black clothes and brought disguises to deal with Vermouth, but he never expected to use them to save people.

Cheng You, dressed in all black, gradually disappeared into the night.

Based on the thoughts of those potential criminals, Cheng could estimate their locations and hide accordingly.

After wandering around for a while, Cheng You finally found a lone person. It seemed to be a faction within the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization that supported a certain high-ranking member of the organization to become the BOSS, and was opposed to him. Cheng You showed no mercy and attacked from behind, knocking the other person unconscious in a few moves and taking the gun from his hand.

After checking the gun for bullets to make sure it was full, Cheng You took bullets from the unconscious man and kept them all for himself, though he planned to throw them away afterward. Given the magnitude of the incident, the Japanese police or the FBI would likely know by tomorrow.

FBI...it seems I also need to prepare an alibi...Cheng thought helplessly.

Continuing to search for Takeda Ryosuke's location by feeling his heart, there were almost no footsteps on these floors; every member of the organization was very cautious.

Looking around, Cheng noticed that there were almost no people downstairs; they all seemed to be moving upstairs. It seemed that Takeda Ryosuke and the other factions of the organization were upstairs.

Do they know how the researchers will act when they arrive?

He already had the answer in his heart. Cheng You gathered his thoughts and quietly crept up the small staircase.

The wind was strong at night, and the cool breeze whistled into his collar. Cheng You saw a few slivers of light peeking out from the stairwell above him; they were traces of moonlight shining from the rooftop.

The thoughts of Takeda Ryosuke and the other organization members were clear enough to cause a stir in Cheng You's ears. His heart pounded, and his eyes were filled with excitement and tension. Despite this, Cheng You suppressed his nervousness and stood calmly by the stairwell below the rooftop, listening quietly to the sounds inside and mentally planning his course of action.

"Ha, aren't you all supporting that old man Kawamura Hide? He doesn't even dare to confront the people at the research institute directly, and you expect him to lead the organization to a better future?!" The contemptuous and arrogant tone belonged to Takeda Ryosuke.

"Mr. Kawamura's abilities haven't been fully utilized yet." The other party spoke calmly. "Takeda Ryosuke, don't you love this organization? You probably don't want it to disappear like this, so... why don't you take action and kill those rats sent by the research institute?"

“…” Takeda Ryosuke hesitated.

"You're the organization's number one assassin, you can handle this, right?" The man remained calm and composed, seemingly convinced that Takeda Ryosuke wouldn't let the organization be destroyed like this. They could fight amongst themselves, and they could cause all sorts of trouble without harming the organization, but they couldn't allow outsiders to interfere.

[As a lackey of this organization, unwilling to leave, how could we allow the research institute to wipe us out? Controlling you is as easy as controlling an ant.]

[Hahaha, everyone knows Takeda Ryosuke and the old boss have a good relationship. How could he bear to see the organization destroyed? Even if we recommend that old man Kawamura Hide as the new boss, would Takeda Ryosuke dare to resist? He'd still obediently listen and serve the organization.]

This is their true feeling, a feeling that reveals a deep-seated greed.

A hint of coldness flashed in Cheng You's eyes. Listening to the thoughts of the research institute members downstairs, and estimating that they would be on the rooftop in five or six minutes, his plan was clear. Cheng You slipped onto the rooftop and sprayed the poison Yu Yi had given him onto the people blocking the rooftop door.

Unexpectedly, the effect was quite good. After spraying some, the people became dizzy and their bodies went limp. Just as they were about to fall to the ground and make a sound, Cheng quietly walked over, supported their bodies, and gently placed them on the ground.

Cheng Youshuang hid behind the rooftop solar panels to observe the situation. Takeda Ryosuke slumped to the ground, pale and bruised, blood trickling from his abdomen. He forced himself to stand, picked up his submachine gun, and resolved to fight to the last for the organization's honor. The others laughed, mocking him inwardly and teasing each other about Takeda Ryosuke.

"Look, he's standing up."

"Wow, our great hero is going to kill someone."

"What lies are you telling? You're clearly just sending yourself to your death. Hahahaha."

“Takeda Ryosuke is the organization’s number one assassin. How could a mere ten or so people be a match for him? Hahaha.”

Even though the enemy was right downstairs, they didn't seem to take it seriously.

"..." Cheng You gripped his gun tightly, out of anger, and also out of the tension of injuring someone again. Taking advantage of everyone's attention being focused on Takeda Ryosuke, two scalpels from Cheng You's sleeve flew out swiftly, one striking the leader of the group in the abdomen, and the other landing at Takeda Ryosuke's feet. Chaos erupted around them, and in the dim light, no one noticed Cheng You standing there.

Takeda Ryosuke was stunned. He looked up and saw the man in black standing there openly. His heart tightened. His first thought was that the man was from the research institute. Just as he was about to raise his gun to fight the man, the man suddenly made a gesture. First, he made a C shape with his hand, then he put his index and middle fingers together, and made a "six" gesture with his other hand.

Takeda Ryosuke frowned. He realized they were comparing letters: ch and y.

Cheng You.

He understood, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. He had never considered what would happen if he died doing something like this, and no one discovered his death or found his body. But now it seemed that someone really could discover he was missing, that something had happened to him, and even dared to come to his rescue alone.

Even if this is based on self-interest, Takeda Ryosuke is even more certain that he, Cheng You, can indeed make the organization bigger and stronger!

Cheng understood that the other party already knew he had arrived, so he made a gesture of cooperation to leave someone alive.

Takeda Ryosuke nodded from afar.

While the others were still arguing about who had done it and who had injured their team leader, the man with the stab wound to the abdomen lay helplessly on the ground, his mouth still uttering cries for help and curses. The next second, a sudden change occurred—

Cheng You and Takeda Ryosuke acted swiftly, raising their guns and aiming at the attackers. The bullets struck precisely, wounding their legs and hands. Only when they were certain the attackers posed no threat did they stop. At that moment, the people at the research institute downstairs heard the gunshots and heard some disordered footsteps.

"Wow~ they're here," Cheng You said with a smile.

Those members of other factions lying in pools of blood glared fiercely at Cheng You, then looked at Takeda Ryosuke with bloodshot eyes, "You actually colluded with people outside the organization?! You conspired with outsiders to deal with us?!"

"Aren't you leaving?" Takeda Ryosuke ignored their noise and turned to Cheng You, asking in his top hat.

"No, of course I won't leave." Cheng You looked at the person who was glaring at him fiercely and said with a smile, "I'm not an outsider~ Also, you're no longer a member of this organization, oh no, you probably won't have a future."

"What...what do you mean?" The man choked up, looking at Cheng You, who exuded a terrifying aura, with some fear.

"I'm here today to announce something to everyone—"

"—I am the new BOSS of Sakura Blade Pavilion. You can call me Lucifer." Cheng You opened his arms and gestured towards the depths of the night, as if embracing the moonlight.

There is no moonlight tonight.

But in Cheng You's eyes, the moonlight was right there.

"Yes, my BOSS." Takeda Ryosuke disregarded his own injuries; at this moment, he felt no pain, only respect for the person before him. He knelt on one knee, one fist clenched in front of his chest, and bowed his proud head to Cheng You.

Everyone was surprised, their eyes fixed on Cheng You.