Chinatown.
Rorschach had changed into a white chef's uniform.
He carried two heavy takeout containers.
He made his way through layer upon layer of people.
Until he arrived before an antique-style building with ornate carved beams and painted rafters.
This was the headquarters of the Gao Family Trading Company.
Perhaps because the trading company was holding an important meeting today,
there was even a tall, thin man in sunglasses standing at the entrance, constantly turning away tourists and pedestrians who had wandered in by mistake.
Rorschach, delivering takeout, wore a professional smile.
He walked up to the tall, thin man and showed him the takeout containers in his hands.
"Hello, takeout for the trading company."
Before he could finish speaking,
Rorschach had just started toward the entrance when the tall, thin man raised a hand to stop him.
"Wait!"
The other man's abrupt action
made Rorschach frown slightly.
However, he said nothing and merely stood where he was, waiting.
The tall, thin man pressed his earpiece.
He asked a few questions in a low voice.
"The takeout's here... Yes, understood."
Then, the tall, thin man turned his gaze toward Rorschach and said,
"Go straight down the corridor after entering, to the Banquet Hall. Don't wander around. Understand?"
"Understood."
Rorschach nodded, the smile on his face fading.
He casually carried the heavy takeout containers into the trading company.
The lavishly decorated lobby was completely empty.
Only the low hum of the standing air conditioners could be heard.
Rorschach followed the tall, thin man's directions.
He walked down the broad corridor connected to the lobby and arrived at the Banquet Hall at its end.
Bang!
Rorschach shoved open the heavy wooden doors.
In an instant, at least forty or fifty pairs of eyes in the Banquet Hall turned toward him in perfect unison.
With a stiff smile on his face, Rorschach showed no sign of nervousness.
He merely raised the takeout containers in his hand.
And said softly,
"Takeout delivery."
Perhaps it was Rorschach's chef attire, or perhaps his words had worked.
Countless gazes immediately withdrew.
These people simply went back to drinking tea and talking amongst themselves.
No one paid any more attention to Rorschach.
As though Rorschach were merely a stray puff of air.
Not worth acknowledging.
At that moment, Rorschach narrowed his eyes slightly.
Other than their hairstyles,
nearly every person before him wore a white shirt and black suit.
They looked like crude, shoddy copies of one another.
Moreover, they were all young, strong men. There were no women.
After waiting in place for a while,
Rorschach still did not see anyone come to attend to him.
Left with no choice, he walked over to the nearest man and asked softly,
"Brother, what should I do with this takeout?"
"Hm?"
Hearing Rorschach's question, the man froze slightly.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, he said,
"Madam Gao is in the second-floor meeting room with a guest."
"But the trading company manager in charge is on the third floor. Why don't you go up and find him directly?"
"Thank you."
Having gotten his answer, Rorschach thanked the man.
After thinking it over, he set the takeout containers directly in the hall.
Then, Rorschach headed upstairs via the staircase near the hall.
Following the stair railing carved with exquisite Pixiu Wood Carvings,
he went straight up to the third floor.
There was no need to search deliberately. Rorschach spotted the manager's office at once, marked by a conspicuous sign.
With a relaxed expression, he walked down the corridor covered in expensive carpeting and arrived at the door.
Rorschach had just raised his hand to knock.
At that moment, a fierce argument suddenly rang out from behind the manager's office door.
"Without the support of our Triads, addicts across more than half the East Coast would rise in revolt!"
A powerful woman's voice shouted loudly.
Her voice seemed filled with uncontrollable fury.
"The Underworld King has made it clear: either you hand over the Blueberry Nightclub business, or you keep doing your powder business... There has never been anything in this world where you reap benefits without paying a price!"
At the same time, just as the woman finished speaking,
a lazy male voice came through the wooden door.
Yet it was one of the terms the man used.
That almost instantly caught Rorschach's attention.
It also stopped his raised hand in midair.
Just as Rorschach hesitated over whether to leave or continue eavesdropping,
"Heh heh..."
the powerful woman suddenly let out a cold laugh.
She continued in a mocking tone,
"If the women at Blueberry Nightclub lose our Smuggling Route, and even our personal training... do you think that place could still gather so many tycoons and dignitaries? Keep dreaming!"
"And in all of New York now, what other gang could manage Blueberry Nightclub's territory? The Tracksuit Gang? I think their heads and corpses are still lying in the police Morgue!"
Before the woman had even finished speaking,
Rorschach, standing outside and eavesdropping, could not help narrowing his eyes.
He had already made up his mind to leave this dangerous place first.
When he had left home earlier, he had forgotten to bring his Plasma Pistol.
However, at that moment,
the woman's mocking words seemed to provoke the man.
His lazy, relaxed tone instantly became grim and terrifying.
"Madam Gao! The Underworld King never makes requests! He gives orders that must be carried out! Unless your Triads intend to start a new war and oppose the new order... my advice is that you obediently listen!"
"Ha? A new war? Who doesn't know that, because of the Tracksuit Gang, the Underworld King is already overwhelmed... I even heard that a Mysterious Department within the Federal Government, one that acts strangely and uses brutal methods, is tracking the Underworld King..."
"His days... aren't going well!"
"You—"
Before the words could finish,
just as Rorschach thought the man and woman were at daggers drawn
and about to erupt into an even greater conflict,
the wooden door before him was suddenly yanked open!
Beside a white-haired woman in a qipao,
a cold-faced blond white man flicked a pencil in his hand.
And casually shot it at Rorschach's eye!
In that instant, the seemingly unprepared Rorschach merely swayed his body.
One hand shot up like lightning.
And caught the pencil just before it could pierce his eye!
Snap!
Immediately afterward, Rorschach's expressionless fingers tightened slightly.
He easily snapped the deadly weapon in two.
His gaze fixed on the two people standing right before him.
"Whew—"
Rorschach took a deep breath without changing expression.
A trace of helpless amusement appeared on his face.
"I'd like to say this was just a simple accident... Would you believe me?"
"A little eavesdropping rat!"
The cold-faced blond white man twisted his neck from side to side and bared his teeth in a vicious grin.
He flicked his hand.
A stack of playing cards gleaming with metallic luster appeared between his fingers!
Thanks to Qian Xi for the 1,500 tip!
Thanks to Shen Xiuhao for the 500-point tip!
I'm stuck on the plot. The next chapter will be a little later.
Before you continue