On that occasion, one of his underlings had been responsible for business on the street where St. Chris's Children's Home stood. The underling was none too bright and had actually gone to the orphanage to collect protection money.
Under the rules of the underworld, protection money had always been collected from businesses along the streets. What business did anyone have demanding it from places like schools and hospitals?
Naturally, the orphanage refused to pay and called the police. Normally, a few underlings would be sent to spend several days at the station, and that would be the end of it.
But that underling was truly an idiot. He actually sent people to set fire to the orphanage. When Reed learned about it, he went personally to the underling's branch headquarters to clean house. There, he witnessed a scene he would never forget.
Reed arrived at the branch headquarters with a group of underlings, bristling with fury. He kicked the door open hard, gripping a golf club, looking ready to give the underling a vicious beating. But the moment he stepped through the doorway, the sight before him struck his heart like a sledgehammer, leaving an impression he would never forget.
His underlings lay strewn across the floor, every one of them bleeding from head wounds. The scene was ghastly. All sorts of objects flew through the air like missiles out of control-stools, vases, televisions, tables-with shocking amounts of blood staining many of them.
In the middle of the hall lay something that appeared to be a corpse. More horrifying still, a statue flew up and down through the air like a crazed pile driver, smashing the apparent corpse again and again until it no longer resembled a human being.
Amid the chaos, a little black-haired boy slowly turned his head. His white pupils, like a gaze from hell, instantly came into view.
The underlings beside Reed collapsed to the floor one after another, like toppling dominoes.
Then Herman slowly walked up to Reed and said with an icy gaze, "Stay away from the orphanage. This is a warning."
Afterward, Reed discovered to his horror that all his underlings had lost varying stretches of their memories. Several had even been reduced to imbeciles.
Without exception, they had all forgotten what happened that night. As for the underling who had brought trouble upon himself and died, Reed publicly claimed that he had executed him for disobeying orders.
Reed had nightmares for several nights in a row because of it. As a gang boss, however, he soon forced down his fear and came up with a new plan.
After secretly keeping watch on Herman for some time, Reed discovered that Herman showed no violent tendencies in his everyday life. Instead, he frequently hung around various arcades and loved playing slot machines.
Herman actually wanted to show off his skills at the gaming tables, too, but the dealers were all ordinary people. How could they let a child play? Even if he won, getting away would be no easy matter.
As for other ways to make money quickly, Herman could not think of any for the moment. Eventually, he discovered these gambling machines, which had long since been banned back in his hometown. More importantly, as long as he did not hit the jackpot every day and instead slowly accumulated small wins, he would not attract too much attention.
Young Herman had ultimately been careless, however. He had not noticed that Reed had hired a professional private investigator.
His movements had long since been thoroughly investigated. Still, the private investigator had not discovered Herman's superpowers either, merely thinking that the boy was extraordinarily lucky.
Since Herman wanted money, there was room for cooperation. After testing the waters several times, Herman and Reed reached an agreement: Herman would serve as a casino consultant and keep an eye on the place for Reed, while Reed would pay him a consulting fee.
Of course, Reed's ambitions went far beyond that. Making Herman a consultant was only the first step in his plan. After all, Herman was just a child. He would find a way to turn him into his tool.
Two gangs in Cokeworth were far too many. Reed's voice was the only one needed here.
His recollection ended, and Reed once again instructed his deputy gravely, "Find him as soon as possible. Also, station some men near the orphanage. Have them bring weapons and wait for my orders."
"All right." Although the deputy did not really believe Reed and even seriously doubted his mental state, Scar Reed had always been known as a madman, after all. He dared not say more and could only follow orders.
With that, the deputy turned to make a phone call and arrange the manpower. The call had just connected, and he was about to give his orders when, with a sudden bang, the casino doors were violently kicked open. A furious crowd armed with guns of all kinds poured in like a tide.
They first fired several shots at the ceiling. The sharp gunfire instantly silenced the casino. Once the room had fallen quiet, leaving only the monotonous music of the slot machines, their leader bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Reed, you bastard! You dared sleep with a woman from my Fierce Tiger Gang! I'm going to kill you today!"
In his office, Reed was instantly stunned by the roar, his mind going blank. What was going on? When had I slept with a woman from the Fierce Tiger Gang? But there was no time to think. He hurriedly shouted at his deputy to call in reinforcements.
Gunfire erupted immediately afterward, and the entire casino instantly became a smoke-filled battlefield. Both sides exchanged fierce volleys.
At first, Reed had only the casino's security personnel on his side. Clearly outmatched, they could only hole up in the office and barely hold their ground.
Fortunately, the deputy had contacted their men in time. After they held out for a while, reinforcements arrived like saviors. Caught in a pincer attack, the Fierce Tiger Gang was driven into a desperate position. Its annihilation was only a matter of time.
But Cokeworth was clearly not beyond the law. However corrupt Britain's detectives might be, they could not possibly ignore gunfire ringing out across the entire town.
Besides, the gunfight had lasted so long that they could not even deliberately arrive late and merely collect the bodies.
Eventually, the police partially surrounded the casino and began shouting, "Listen up, everyone inside! You're surrounded! Put down your weapons immediately and surrender with your hands up!"
Inside the wreckage of the casino, Reed looked at the Fierce Tiger Gang's boss, whose body had been riddled with bullets, still utterly confused. He kept wondering, When exactly had I touched a woman from the Fierce Tiger Gang? For that matter, when had I touched a woman at all?
Listening to the detectives shouting outside, the deputy hurriedly suggested, "Boss, we're running out of time. Let's get out of here before the detectives storm in."
Only then did Reed come to his senses. This was no time to dwell on that. Although this incident had caused quite a stir, as long as he was not caught on the spot, he still had a chance to make a comeback.
"Let's go. Head to the old house and bring the stuff. We'll lie low down south for a while and come back once things blow over."
Reed stopped dwelling on it. Whatever the case, the Fierce Tiger Gang had been wiped out. Once he returned, Cokeworth would be his domain.
Their escape went smoothly enough. After all, the Cokeworth police had only partially surrounded the place precisely because they wanted to let some of them escape, rather than drive them into a corner and make them fight desperately. Then they could arrest a few people in time to have something to show for it.
Half an hour later, Reed and his deputy hurried to the shore carrying large suitcases, preparing to leave Cokeworth by speedboat.
The two had just boarded when a voice suddenly came from the cabin. "Leaving already? You haven't paid my consulting fee for today yet." Reed's and his deputy's expressions changed drastically. They hastily drew their pistols and aimed at the cabin.
Then Herman slowly walked out of the cabin.