Anom lifted the robe the spy was wearing, revealing a badge tied to his belt. Anom ignored its fancy design and focused on the words engraved on it.

'Giro Gang.'

It was the same name he had heard Kaslik mentioning to his wife… Someone from this gang had delivered a parcel to the Safaira family. It was meant for Rudard, but Rudard had sent Kaslik to receive the package in his stead.

'It was most likely the poison Rudard had tried to use on Crystal.' Anom guessed. But it didn't matter anymore as he had already handled the situation by warning Loreana in advance. Gamus also had a talk with Rudard to hint to him about making him the next head. So the situation had calmed...

'...for now.' It won't be long before the Handler family is ready for their next move. He had to find a solution before it was too late.

Anom focused back on the interrogation. "How is the identity of members checked before allowing them to enter?" He looked at the spy who had his face covered and thought of an unoriginal but thrilling idea.

The spy was astonished as he had an idea about what Anom was going to do. But he wasn't in a position to do anything other than answer all the questions truthfully.

Anom continued to ask questions as a plan was starting to take form in his mind.

He also made the spy speak various words and utter strange sounds while listening to them attentively.

*Thud*

The spy collapsed on the floor as Anom retracted his hand. He grabbed the fainted spy and dragged him behind a broken table.

'That should do it for a while.' He had made it so that the spy wouldn't be waking up for at least a day. He could already do such small tricks before, but the knowledge he gained about the human body by studying and cultivating the energy within himself had helped him improve these tricks even further.

Anom walked out as the door closed behind him. He was wearing the robe that the spy had been wearing. His head was wrapped in a cloth, leaving only his eyes visible. His build was almost similar to that of the spy, which, along with the badge identifying him as a member of the Giro Gang hanging on his waist, allowed Anom to impersonate him.

He walked forward, putting his hand on the big door. He didn't hesitate as he had already planned the best he could.

'It hasn’t been long since the last time I did something similar, but I feel as if decades have passed… My first infiltration in another world…hah!'

The door was pushed open and all the sounds that it had been isolating rained down upon Anom's ears.

The sound of the door opening attracted the attention of many people present in what looked like a bar. Most of the people had a drink in their hands and were chatting in small groups.

Most of the people here were men with a few women, but regardless of the gender, they were all strong… All of them were at least at the Foundational Realm with a rare few being at the Reinforcement Realm.

They all looked at him for a while, but as he wasn't the only one covering his whole head, most of them soon ignored him.

But some of them gazed at his badge and recognised him.

"Hey, if it isn’t Riko? I heard you were selected for the personal squad of the young master, is that right? …Man, I was so jealous…" Anom looked at this blabbering dude who had stood up from one of the tables while holding a jug in his hand.

His shout attracted the attention of many back on Anom. Various reactions were given to him being a part of the personal squad of Selvo. Many showed jealous and hostile looks as they also wanted that position because it guaranteed many benefits.

Anom observed this dude, who seemed to be hiding many sinister ploys behind his harmless smile. But he had no time to waste as he asked in a voice imitating the original Riko, "Where's the boss?"

"Oh! Has the young master made you a messenger between his family and the boss? Man, you're really moving up in the world." The man smiled again as he raised his jug. "Just don't forget to buy your friends some drinks once in a while." His assumption ignited another wave of jealousy among the crowd, and Anom saw many of them looking at him with hostile expressions.

Anom looked on coldly as if he had no time to waste on these stupid schemes. "Where's the boss?" He asked again.

"Oh man. You are not even going to greet your friend now that yo-" The two-faced dude was about to spat some more bullshit but was stopped midway by a punch that had connected squarely to his face.

He got kicked on the floor as his drink spilled all over his clothes. He hadn’t imagined someone punching his smiling face. He lost his smile as a sinister expression took over his face.

*Thud*

Just as he was about to stand up and teach a lesson to this bastard who had gotten lucky, he felt a pain in his chest as he was pushed to the floor once again.

Anom's eyes were the only thing that entered the dude's eyes as Anom asked, "Where is the Boss?" His voice was similar to the one that the sprawled dude was familiar with. But a chilly feeling was coming from his every word while his eyes made the heart of the poor dude shiver.

Even the others were backing off as they were astonished by his quick reactions and strength. They only saw a blur and they saw the dude lying on the floor the next second.

They could only attribute his growth to the resources provided by the Handler family, and this made them even more jealous, but they knew better than spouting nonsense now.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The sprawled dude quivered as he hurriedly answered, "H-He's up in his room. Yo-You could go and find him there… Please…"

Anom lifted his leg as he had no interest in these small fries.

He started walking towards a staircase and everyone parted to make way for him.

He climbed the stairs and disappeared amidst the complicated gazes of everyone in the bar.

The building was three storeys tall and the boss' room was on the top floor. Anom climbed for a few seconds before arriving in a corridor connected to a single door.

He readied his senses as he walked forward and knocked on the door.

No reply came for a few moments but Anom could detect some disturbance from inside the room. The energy inside the room was getting restless as someone was trying to exert control over it. Whoever it was, was clearly only in the Materialization Realm. It was impossible for someone in this realm to detect and control the external energy by themselves. Of course, Anom was an exception as his case was unique.

"Come in!" A calm voice was heard but Anom could feel the frustration hidden underneath that calm tone.

He pushed the door open and walked inside.

Anom was greeted by a fancy room covered with furniture that was more than necessary. A man was sitting on a sofa covered in red and black beast fur. The thirty-something man had shoulder-length red hair along with a moustache and a goatee. His bulky body was covered in black leather clothes while a heavy blade was placed near his leg.

He looked at Anom but didn't show any reaction to his fully covered face. The red-haired man or, the boss, as they called him, turned towards the badge on Anom's waist.

His neutral reaction finally changed when he saw the name on the badge. He remembered the personal squad that was assigned to Selvo as he was the one who had chosen them.

"What happened? Has the young master sent any further orders?" The boss went straight to the point, as he didn't consider any other possibility for Anom to come here.

Anom looked at the gang leader and realized the reason for his vexation. His energy was at the peak of the Materialization Realm, seemingly ready to charge into the next level.

But Anom also detected some minute but unstable fluctuations coming from within the leader. It looked as if he had received a sudden boost in his realm, but his realm was unstable as this boosted energy was not assimilated with his own yet.

'He might have been trying to break through to the next level all this time.' That's why he was doing all he could to get inspiration for his breakthrough.

"Boss, I… uh… messed up a task assigned to me by the young master." Anom replied in Riko's voice with a nervous tone.

The leader frowned. The deal with the Handler family was too important for him to be messed up in any way. But he still showed the calmness of a gang leader and asked, "What happened?"

Anom explained everything in detail from Riko's perspective. His voice couldn't hide his nervousness and the fear he felt.

The leader smacked the armrest with his hand and stood up.

"You fool! Who told you to act so smart? That area was enough for you to take care of him… I really don't know why I chose you for the young master's personal squad…"

His breathing was heavy as he tried to suppress his anger. The frenzied energy made him much more irritable, but he was trying his best to keep it under control, as he didn't want to lose his chance to reach the next realm.

Anom also knew about his unstable state. So he acted like a frightened underling would, shrinking back and quivering with his head lowered.

This made the leader calm himself as his scolding seemed to have taken effect. Using his authority to deter his subordinates is always a satisfying thing.

He sat back down after taking a deep breath.

"So? Why come here? Do you want me to help you get out of this mess you created yourself?" His tone was still harsh but much calmer. Although his subordinate had made a little blunder, he couldn't allow the Handler family to use this and lower his benefits. But turning over his underling for a punishment wouldn't work either, as that would be an indication of weakness. That also won't be good for future negotiations.

Anom saw the leader furrowing his brows in thought as he suddenly spoke, "Uh… Boss…"

"Hm? What?" The leader replied irritably as he was interrupted when trying to think of a way out of this mess.

Anom's tone was hesitant as he asked, "I-I heard the young master talking about how they are working for a bigger force… I-Is that true?"

The leader's eyes glinted when he heard this. "Hm. You're right. But only the leaders of the city know about this. For the young master to say this so openly… Hmph!" He clearly didn't like the fact that he had to act subservient to a weak young man just because he was from a big family.

Anom saw his expression and understood his thoughts. "Why don't we deal directly with that bigger power, boss? I mean, getting in contact with them will put us at the same level as the Handler family. Then we won't have to act so restrained in front of them." He expressed his annoyance and anger at the Handler family, which was something the leader felt clearly. He also didn't like the arrogant way they had begun to act just because they received better support.

But he still refused, "What do you know? You think I haven’t thought of that before? But can we form an alliance with such a large force just because we want to? They need people who can be controlled easily while having enough strength to do the tasks given to them… It's similar to our case with the Handler family… *sigh*" The leader vented as this was what he really desired but was unable to accomplish.

"I might have an idea…" Anom muttered unsurely.

But it was enough to get the leader's attention as he asked, "Oh? You have an idea?" he chuckled, "Let's hear it."

Anom looked around nervously as if hesitating about something. The leader saw his reaction and chuckled, "At least you know about being careful." Then he gestured with his hand for Anom to come closer.

Anom walked forward and arrived near the leader. The leader nodded as Anom began to tell him about his idea…

"What?" The boss exclaimed when he heard Anom's plan, while looking at him with a stupefied expression. He would have shout out loud, if not for his control over his emotions being fine.

Anom just shrugged as if he had not just told him about a plan to kidnap the Safaira family head's daughter and offer her to the Sorneo House. He emphasized the fact that it worked when the Handler family did the same by offering their daughter.

"Either all of them or at least the people who are dealing with the matters of Nulis City are pure lechers. And boss, don’t tell me you haven't heard about her beauty… I don't think such a generous 'gift' will go unnoticed by them. Besides, they won't mind having another force to keep the Handler family under control." Anom laughed vulgarly as he tempted as he polished the ides further.

"…"

The leader of the Giro Gang remained silent as he contemplated his underling's words. He would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted by the idea.

In fact, he liked the possibility of it so much that he had let his guard down completely. Lost in his contemplation, he didn't notice that Anom had changed his position slightly.

The leader was beginning to appreciate this subordinate of his. He thought that he might be more of a strategist than be suitable for the field work.

'Maybe I was too harsh on him.'

"What should we do first?" The leader asked for an opinion.

Anom chuckled as he replied, "How about destroying the Handler family first and then going for the one in the capital?"

The leader was horrified. Not because of the words that 'Riko' had said, but because Anom had spoken in his original voice, stunning the leader for not recognizing his identity as an imposter till now.

Before the leader could react, a karate chop on his neck sent him into a deep sleep. But Anom didn't let him fall on the floor as he caught the leader's body and threw him onto the sofa.

He stretched a little as he looked towards the door of the room.

"It's time to make this gang more useful."

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A/N: Hey guys. As you might have noticed, I'm new to this whole writing thing, so there might have been some mistakes, but I'm trying my best while also learning more to provide you guys with a better reading experience. You can show your support by liking my chapters and commenting and reviewing about things you want to read.

Thanks.

- lemmewrite.