Lu Ming Hall.
"They didn't meet with anyone at all?"
Naito, smoking a pipe, looked up in astonishment upon hearing his subordinate's report.
The subordinate nodded. "That's right. It was as though they didn't take any of it seriously."
"Has Huai Shi really become this arrogant? Young people really are impatient—even keeping up appearances feels like too much trouble for him. Good. Whom heaven would destroy, it first drives mad... Immersed in the expansion of his own power, seeing no one else as worthy—he won't be far from losing all popular support."
Naito tapped his pipe, pondering for a moment before suddenly speaking. "Tell William and Kaneda that we want to see further results from him."
"The sooner, the better."
"Yes!"
The subordinate nodded and turned to leave.
In the darkness, only Naito remained, silently watching the faint glow in the pipe bowl flicker.
The dim sparks illuminated his cold, gloomy eyes.
The atmosphere on the streets seemed to have changed.
It grew more restless by the day.
Even the dullest residents were now seeing more and more disputes and conflicts on the streets. Gokudō members in suits, once rarely seen, now appeared throughout the streets and alleys, while those causing trouble became increasingly numerous.
Among the unfamiliar faces were quite a few familiar ones as well.
Leaflets from something called the Freedom Alliance were everywhere. They said quite a few shops had been smashed up too, for reasons ranging from looking down on foreign mixed-bloods to wage discrimination. Some simply suspected that their doctors had prescribed them fake medicine.
Fights and brawls were becoming more frequent as well.
Strikes had already begun in some places.
The elderly shut their doors and told their children not to run around. When they heard anything unusual late at night, men who had