10 hours later
Milza's 747 landed on the largest airport on Zifang's capital city.
As expected for filthy rich people, the plane had its own private hangar.
Waiting for Theo's group was a bunch of black cars, about 30 MIBs and a scary muscular man with elaborate tattoos that screamed Yakuza.
"Hitori Gonzou?! What the hell is he doing here?!" said Himiko Yagyu who was behind Theo as they exited the plane.
"Someone infamous?" Asked Theo.
"He's a Yakuza!"
"I can see that. But so what? I've been ripping hundreds of Yakuza's limbs off for years. I doubt someone who lived in a safe country could match me."
"That's not the point! Hitori Gonzou is the leader of the Kirisaki Clan that specialize in prostitution and drug smuggling! But more importantly, he has enough money and influence to twist the arm of many Zifang politicians! He may not be able to win against you in combat, but he'll destroy you using the legal system!"
"Shit... So he's the type I cant stand the most."
"Fret not Lorne and young samurai. Hitori Gonzou is our contact here. We'll need his help if we want to locate our target as fast as possible without bureaucratic red tape to stop us." said Milza as he bravely stepped in front of the beast of a man.
"Hmm... So you're Milza huh? I'm kind of surprised that you'd approach the dark side given your prestige. If this got out, your credibility will tank." said Hitori as he sized up Milza.
The yakuza was clearly trying to intimidate the old man, but Milza held his ground phenomenally.
"Hahaha. It cant be help young lad. We need to smuggle in a highly illegal contraband into the city. Naturally, we'll pay for your services." replied Milza in a calm manner.
If the old man felt any fear, Theo could not spot it. Such was the power of wisdom gained through the years.
"Naturally, we'll do exactly as we have promised. We are both in the goods transportation business after all. So? Where's the merchandise?"
Milza pointed to Theo.
"Him and all of his weapons. If you please."
Hitori walked in front of Theo and observed him.
"This brat? Really? I mean, the cybernetic eye does make him look a little dangerous, but does he really need special attention? Dont tell me we have to babysit this brat?"
The other yakuzas laughed in unison.
It was quite annoying and Theo was starting to feel an itch of teaching these peace born city slickers the true meaning of fear and violence.
However, before he could make up his mind, an old man stepped out of one of the cars. He was sporting a pair of red glasses and a blood red yukata field with skull designs.
"That's enough of that Gonzou. You're offending our customers." said the old man as one of the younger yakuza's supported him.
"But Oyabun, the job was strictly transportation of goods. It will be a breach of contract if we have to take care of him." replied Hitori.
"I praise you for sticking to contractual obligations, but it seems that you haven't brushed up in your recent events. My cane please."
One of the Yakuza's quickly went back to the car and returned with the old man's walking cane.
"This young man is Theodore Lorne of Vermillion City. A talented drop out of the Superhero Alliance Academy and is officially responsible for at least 2000 murders. Unofficially, the number should be 3 times that. And that is a conservative estimate. He's infamy is so great that a decent number of nations have unofficially labeled him a persona non grata."
"Hold on! Zifang isn't the only one that blacklisted me?!" asked Theo.
"Correct. Though I am not entirely certain, I believe most of the top 10 richest country in the world has done so." replied the old yakuza.
"SHIT! DAMN IT!"
"Hahaha. Power comes with a steep price. Anyways, where are my manners. My name is Douman Kirisaki, patriarch of the Kirisaki Clan. Though I have retired and handed the reigns to my dear friend Gonzou, I do sometimes stick my old nose into business transactions that are too important to ignore. A pleasure to meet you all."
Douman Kirisaki began giving those who mattered a hug as a greeting.
This was uncharacteristic for a Zifanesse whom were known to keep everyone at arms length.
First he hugged Old Man Milza followed by Du Al Ryien who was trying to stay out of human affairs. And as Douman hugged Theo, he whispered in his ear.
"Zifang based, 3rd Generation Deep Infiltrator Clone No. 79476923. Jabir sends his regards. Assistant Clone No. 58912213 or Pani as you would call her misses you terribly." said the old man, much to Theo's surprise.
He knew that Jabir sent his clones all over the world and had them integrate with the local population by boning them.
Naturally, not all the offsprings could even access the mental network like the 1st gen clones could, but those who could had countless life experiences they could draw upon. This made them extremely successful in whatever field they were in.
And naturally, this came at a price of having Jabir the exclusive right of controlling them whenever he felt like it.
Fairly cheap for a life of comfort.
It seemed that Jabir was able to penetrate Zifang's isolationist hymen. As expected of the greatest spy in the world.
Before Theo could ask anything from Douman Kirisaki, he moved away and ushered Theo, his Eisenritters, Maria, Himiko and the 3 bikini Drows into what seemed to be a small delivery van. Du Al Ryien, Alial Milza, the rest were with Douman.
"The other party has already informed us of your task. Payments have already been taken cared off. No time to waste." said Douman.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Huh? Oyabun? I wasn't told of this 'other party'." asked Gonzou.
"Of course you weren't. This one is on the international channels and they went straight to me. If I could recall, you refused to deal with international clients because you can only speak Commonwealth Commons and Zifanesse."
"Y-yes... that's true."
"Then there's no problem if I do it for you. Fret not. The amount they paid is 3 times this escort job. Anyway, let's get a move on. Time is not on our side."
Inside the van, the driver gave Theo a tablet that displayed massive stream of reports about 4 big players in the game.
These were:
1. Vivi and 3 teenage girls, 2 of which Theo has never seen before.
The last one was a B rank Superhero named Iron Maiden with the power to turn her entire body into metal. She wasn't particularly powerful, but she was pretty. And as a superhero, she had a publicly available bio.
All were most certainly honey traps.
2. The ever elusive Kepeitai. They're the intelligence division of Zifang. Employed a lot of ninjas.
3. The Union of Nation's Human Rights commission who worked for the Jade Empire. How the once prestigious organization became the bitch of the Little Emperor was beyond comprehension.
4. The last one was of course, the HAA. They wouldn't send Iron Maiden, who found Vivi extremely undesirable (she preferred manly men), without a collar to keep her in check.
Quite ironic given that Vivi found Iron Maiden very attractive. Her big plots, thicc thiccness and aggressive tomboyish attitude was exactly what a spineless harem anime protagonist desired.
There used to be more players on the board, but they were beaten off the cock carousel.
But there was one thing that alarmed Theo.
"Shit! We really do have no time left!" said Theo as he fired up his usually under utilized brain to keep up with all of the reports.
He felt a tap on his shoulders and saw La Ren holding a phone with the text 'What's wrong?' on it.
"Huh? You can't speak?" asked Theo.
"My power is sound manipulation and amplification. If I carelessly speak to you, I might rip your face off." La Ren texted in reply.
"Ho. Interesting. Anyways, the reports states that Vivi and his bitches have just finished their after movie meal and are on their way to a love hotel. They'll be taking the long way and walk through the shops before the eventual foursome. This gives us 30 minutes to get there and extract Vivi. We just left the airport, so even if we hurry, we wont have time to sneak in and secure him."
"Boss, I have a suggestion." said Maria who was taking her bodyguard role a little too seriously.
She calls Theo Boss when she in role to hide their familial bond.
"Hit me Maria."
"Though my power is regeneration, I am a stealth specialist. I can reduce my existence to the extent that I become a ghost. Normally, people would die from reducing their existence by that much, but I can survive literally anything as long as I have power."
"That's cool and all, but we still don't have time to abduct Vivi without anyone noticing."
"Then we don't do that. I suggest that you Boss should make the loudest, most destructive distraction you can muster. More specifically, you must bring as many people to stop your rampage."
"I'm not going to say no to a little carnage, but I doubt this is all there is too it."
"Your unofficial blacklist works to our advantage here. The current operation for Vivi's loins by the other parties are most certainly espionage in nature. Aside from Zifang's Kepeitai, the others are here illegally. Cause enough trouble and the amount of eyes on you will make it impossible for them to make a move on you."
"Ah. Now I get it. I'll take Vivi as 'hostage' and once there's a lot of people chasing after me, I'll drop the dead weight exactly where you'll be waiting."
"Correct. A criminal releasing his hostage is a good thing. No one would bat an eye to the hostage once he is safely out of your hands."
"Hahaha! I like this idea..... but there's a catch there, right? Like there's no exit strategy? Will I even get out of this in one piece? Or even alive?"
"One piece? That's up to chance. Alive, most certainly. You have the Ecclesiarchy, Nosferatu and the Machine God on your side. Then you have Miss Samantha itching to sink her proverbial daggers into someone's back. Killing you is not only political suicide, it could doom untold number of lives. It's a 'damned if they do, damned if they don't' type of scenario."
"I've broken bones, lost limbs and had my entire body turned into mush in the past. A few more life threatening injuries for world peace shouldn't be a problem. "
"Very good Boss. All we need now is to decide how we split the troops."
At this, La Ren Sithra thrust her phone in front of everyone.
"Me and Lorne will be on the assault team. The rest will secure the Chosen One." said the Drow via text.
"And the reasoning for the line up?" asked Theo.
"I am sadly a one trick pony. I am extremely capable at heavy front line combat and nothing else. I might even accidentally kill the Chosen One."
"Oh. I see. Thoughts Maria?"
"The smaller the assault team, the easier it is to run and hide from a larger group in a claustrophobic city like Zifang's capital. A larger stealth team would allow more decoys and potential smoke screens. If what La Ren Sithra saying is true, then I agree with the line up."
"That's one vote for it. Anyone with any input is more than welcome to speak." said Theo to the rest of the group.
None raised any objected.
"Alright. The majority have spoken. Let's spend what little time we have hashing out the details."
The result of such a rushed brainstorming stage was a horrifically reckless plan that required tons of improvisation and a whole lot of luck.
The Bro-Code stated that friends were obligated to kick their friends in the balls if they were about to stick their dick in something that they will regret.
It wasn't Theo's cup of tea, but blue balling Vivi in the most action packed and absurd way possible was too tempting to resist.
-:-
30 minutes later.
Zifang was unofficially labeled by most normies as the land of the weeabos, weirdos and perverts.
From anime figurines, rabid pop idol scene, hentai and high suicide rate, no one would fault the layman to see Zifang in such a negative light.
Mind you, these labels were not entirely wrong, but they're not entirely right either.
Despite being one of the most peaceful countries in the world, Zifang's working sector was stuck in the obsolete age of the samurai. Workers were expected to give up everything, even their life, in the service of their lord AKA the company.
In such a stressful environment, it was no surprise the rate of people offing themselves was quite high.
But it was not all doom and gloom.
This stressful environment also paved the way to a thriving sex market. Prostitution, though technically illegal, was mostly accepted as a 'health care' type of service. The amount of love hotels in the heart of Zifang's capital was a testament of how much pent up stress the daily man needed to release.
If Theo wasnt so deathly afraid of catching STD again, he'd feel right at home in the red light district of Zifang's capital city.
Speaking of fitting in, the Theo-La Ren pair blended in like it was nothing.
Theo wore a long trench coat to hide his power armor beneath it. On his shoulder was a duffel bag filled with a small arsenal of guns and explosives to light up the town.
Given the ever eccentric fashion sense of those around him, Theo's attire was not noteworthy.
Normally, La Ren's extremely revealing school girl outfit (which was practically a bikini), light gray skin and the pair of horns sticking out of her forehead made her stick out like a sore thumb, but this was not the case in Zifang where Yokais (Demons) walked among the regular populace.
5 spydrones flew around the area to keep track of enemy movements and act as emergency armories for Theo.
On the Theo and La Ren's ear were comlinks where Jabir's clones reported a constant stream of status reports.
"The enemies have noticed your presence. Kepeitai ninjas hiding in an alley to your right."
"HAA troops moving on roof tops to observe."
"UN personnel 5 meters on your six."
La Ren snuggled to Theo and showed him her phone.
"They reacted way to quickly don't you think?" texted La Ren
"My connection to Vivi is no secret. Everyone probably expected me come flying to his rescue the moment I knew something was up." replied Theo.
"Ah yes, True Friendship. A bond stronger than blood and would always stand the test of time."
For the next few minutes, Theo and La Ren pretended to a flirting couple as they made their way through the ever lively nightlife of Zifang's largest red light district.
Eventually, they arrived at a small 5 story love hotel you find everywhere in the area.
After confirming Jabir's clones that Vivi and his bitches were in the fanciest room at the top floor, the number of civilians in the building and where the enemy was, Theo placed his duffel bag on the ground and took out a Milkor MGL 6 pack grenade launcher.
He took aim at the 4th floor of the building beside Vivi's current location and unloaded all 6 rounds without so much as a warning.
And just like that, 7 of the UN's surveillance team was blown to bits.
Having Jabir's information network was a godsend.
As the sound of screaming, panic and chaos spread through out the red light district, Theo stepped forward and said...
"Operation Cock Block BEGIN!"
"That is not the name of this operation!" roared Maria through the coms.
"Aww... What a killjoy."