Red Black

Red John Black.

This was the name of the Viper Family boss. Although his surname was Black, this Black had nothing to do with Sirius Black. In England, there were many common surnames like Black.

As the boss of a family, Red naturally wouldn't be like those petty thugs, cursing and spitting dirty words while squatting at the alley entrance with a cigarette butt in his hand.

On the contrary, Red had always been cultured. If one didn't consider his status as a family boss, judging solely by his appearance, he resembled a successful businessman or a socialite.

He wore a sharp suit, impeccably polished leather shoes, and was always impeccably dressed. Even his shirt buttons were free of any stray threads.

His reddish-brown hair was slicked back, and his jaw was framed by a meticulously groomed full beard.

He wasn't a complete family boss; he was more of a businessman.

Red managed a racecourse and a casino. The family under him was born out of business needs, which was the opposite of typical gangs.

In London's underworld, Red wasn't a major player, and the Viper Gang wasn't a large gang. However, Red had an advantage that other factions lacked – he was quite wealthy.

Due to the Viper Family's ample funds and their not-insignificant influence, they were able to establish a stable foothold in London.

Ultimately, whether it was founding the family or opening the racecourse and casino, the fundamental reason was to make more money.

However, even for the sake of making money, Red wouldn't dare to earn just anything, such as narcotics.

The reason the Viper Family had remained stable until now wasn't due to their strength, but because they lacked ambition.

Red had a family – a wife who loved him and a well-behaved, adorable daughter. Under these circumstances, even if he were beaten to death, Red wouldn't dare to easily touch something that could shatter him if he wasn't careful.

Sitting quietly in the casino's office, Red was calmly contemplating the future plans for his gang. The times had become increasingly unfavorable for the family's development over the past two years. Due to the Hungerford Shooting Incident two years ago, gun control had become increasingly strict.

What the hell was he supposed to do when fighting in the future? Would they just hack at each other with watermelon knives?

But if he didn't operate his establishments, how would he and his brothers make a living?

Red was currently facing an awkward situation. He wanted to go legitimate, but he had no other way to make money.

Yet, the current situation was very unfriendly to families of his size.

Knock, knock, knock…

A knock sounded at the door. Red looked up towards the entrance and reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a handgun. He sidestepped and hid behind the desk.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a man wearing sunglasses stood expressionlessly at the doorway.

"Phew…" Red let out a sigh of relief and put the handgun back into the drawer, chuckling as he cursed, "When the hell did you learn to knock, Wickle?"

Thump…

The man in sunglasses, Wickle, fell to the ground. In an instant, Red's expression changed drastically. He quickly reached for his gun, but before he could disengage the safety, a web strand flew through the air, snatching his handgun away.

At the same time, a small hand gripped Red's wrist.

"Please remain calm, sir. I'm not here to cause trouble."

A gentle voice spoke. Red looked up and finally got a clear look at the figure before him.

It was a boy with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a black mask. He was probably no taller than 1.4 meters. Judging by his voice and appearance, this boy couldn't be older than twelve.

The boy was Gemini.

Red didn't underestimate the boy just because he was young. The immense force on his arm told him that this boy could easily pin him to the ground repeatedly with one hand.

"Boy, you've already taken down my men. How am I supposed to believe you're not here to cause trouble?" Red wasn't overly panicked.

After all, he came from a family background and had participated in many turf wars in his younger days. Back then, everyone used guns. Having weathered storms and come this far, Red's psychological fortitude had always been stable.

"You might not believe me, but I'm just here to talk business." Gemini smiled gently, released Red's arm, took a step back, maintaining a polite and friendly distance.

"But your subordinate didn't seem to believe my words, and his manners weren't very good, so I just made a small move. When doing business, one must show their capabilities to the client."

Gemini spread his hands, sounding incredibly innocent.

Red eyed Gemini with interest, exclaiming with a hint of amazement, "It's incredible. You look about the same age as my daughter… yet you were able to take down my brothers."

Saying this, Red calmly walked to the door and glanced into the hallway. "As expected, not a single one is left. Good boy…"

"Please excuse me." Gemini plopped down onto the plush sofa and crossed his legs.

Sitting on the sofa opposite Gemini, Red rested his chin on his hands. "Red Black."

Gemini blinked for a moment. "Harry Potter."

As the words fell, they looked at each other and chuckled awkwardly.

Red's sudden question momentarily stunned Gemini, who couldn't think of a response immediately. Although he blurted out a name in haste, the other party clearly didn't believe him.

"Just kidding. Actually, my name is Ron Weasley."

Red waved his hand with a wry smile. "Forget it, forget it. I'm not interested in what your name is. Let's talk about this business you mentioned."

"Then, please allow me to introduce myself." Gemini gave a polite, slight nod. "I am a businessman."

Red raised an eyebrow. "A legitimate one?"

"If you're talking about my character, then yes, I am indeed a legitimate businessman." Gemini nodded seriously. "I sell things like fire sticks, shields, and armor."

They looked at each other, falling into silence once more.

"Alright, I won't ask any pointless questions. For people like us, it doesn't matter if you're a legitimate businessman or not. Let's get straight to business."

As he spoke, Red looked at Gemini seriously. "What kind of goods do you have?"

"Firearms... Of course, I won't sell those to you," Gemini said, spreading his hands. "I naturally wouldn't casually disrupt national order."

Even without a business license, Gemini always considered himself a legitimate businessman and wouldn't easily cross the legal line.

Unless the price was right.

Red shook his head in disappointment. "If it's cold weapons, you don't need to say anything."

"If you want them, I can get some knives, spears, clubs, and staffs, but those aren't worth a special trip for me," Gemini chuckled. "I deal in high-tech items."

"Like what?" Red asked.

Thwip—

A strand of webbing shot out, sticking to a vase in the corner. Gemini then pulled the vase back to him.

"Like these Web-Shooters. With these, even a 300-pound fatty can leap nimbly between skyscrapers. At the very least, you won't have to worry about your safety when jumping off buildings."

"The webbing is cold-resistant, fire-resistant, and non-conductive. It degrades naturally after 24 hours, so you don't have to worry about environmental pollution."

Gemini smiled. "If you don't believe me, I can give you a detailed demonstration."

Red nodded. "I just saw it. This is indeed a very interesting item."

He had good judgment, and the Web-Shooters Gemini presented were truly extraordinary. The ability to pull someone through buildings was already incredible. However, the specifics would have to be discussed after a detailed understanding.

Actually, these weren't what I originally wanted to sell [facepalm]. But as I was writing, I realized, damn, they're going to censor me, right? I quickly asked my editor, and they said I couldn't write about it... I forgot about this before starting the book, so I deleted a lot and rewrote it, sniffle, hiccup~