Joey led Isaac through several turns in the alley, stopped in front of a door, knocked three times on the door, paused for two seconds, and then knocked twice more.
Starting slowly and then speeding up must be a pre-arranged code.
The two waited a moment, then the door opened a crack, revealing an eye that glanced at Joey and then at Isaac behind him.
Isaac put his left hand in his pocket, while still holding his cane in his right.
When the door was opened, the man who had been following Isaac and Li Jiehao appeared, his wariness undisguised.
"Why did you bring him here?" The man stared at Isaac and said to Joey.
Joey shrugged. "He said he needed to see someone in charge, otherwise he wouldn't hand over the stuff. The people we helped even tried to fight him, but we couldn't get it back, so we had to bring the person over."
The man frowned. "What do you mean? We agreed that the delivery would be made at warehouse number three in Deer Lane. You just need to hand over the goods to the receiving person, and someone else will take care of the rest."
"Who took it over? After the ring was handed over, did it end up in the hands of the Cult or someone in the Boot Gang? I have no idea," Isaac said. "I risked everything to steal this ring, and I never said I was using a bunch of gang members as a middleman. I handed it over to them, but I haven't even seen anyone from the Cult. I don't know where I'll find you afterward. Why should I trust you?"
"They are in charge of receiving the goods, and afterwards... the Cult will contact you naturally."
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept that. Although I can't stay in the Joint Investigation Bureau any longer, if the Cult can't give me a definite guarantee, I'd rather go back and turn myself in. At least the ring isn't lost, and there's still a chance to get it back. If I really give you the ring, I don't think I'll get any leniency even if I turn myself in."
"... Good sense of caution." The man said through gritted teeth, clearly thinking that Isaac was really clueless.
"If I hand over the ring, will you really accept me? I need an explanation."
The man was silent for a moment, then stepped aside to let us into the doorway. "Come in and talk."
Isaac entered the room, and Joey tried to follow, but the man glared at her. "What are you doing here? Keep an eye out, if anything happens..."
"Yes, Mr. Glen!" Joey nodded and bowed, then went out to keep watch.
Inside the door, a wooden table stood against the wall, with an oil lamp on its corner for illumination. Glen sat down in the chair, making no offer to Isaac.
Isaac leaned against the wall by the door, one hand still in his pocket.
"I'm in charge of this ring matter with the Cult. Now that you've seen the person, you can take the ring out, right?" Glen said.
"Before that, answer my question: what will the Cult do with me after I hand over the ring? They'll find out about this sooner or later. If the Cult just takes the ring and leaves me to fend for myself, then there's no point in me taking this risk."
"I told you, the Cult will accept you."
"Simply 'accept' is too general," Isaac said. "If it weren't for..."
"What if it weren't for?"
Isaac hesitated for a moment before saying, "... If we weren't moving tomorrow, I wouldn't have acted in such a rush."
"Relocate?" Glen's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood Isaac's predicament.
This kid is probably worried that he won't be able to get his hands on the ring after today, so in his haste, he acted first to get his hands on the ring before trying to negotiate with the Cult.
That makes things easier to handle...
"So if you want me to hand over the ring, the Cult should first explain how they will accept me, otherwise there's nothing to talk about." Isaac's tone was tinged with annoyance.
Glen stroked his chin. "How do you want the Cult to accept you?"
" The Cult should have a base outside of Vista. You should send someone to get me there safely. Staying in Vista is too risky for me."
Glen was somewhat surprised that Isaac directly proposed leaving Vista: "You've thought things through quite thoroughly."
Isaac remained calm, using "going to a base outside Vista " as a negotiating condition, rather than directly demanding to stay at the Cult's base in Vista, which could reduce the other party's defensiveness to some extent.
"But the Cult still needs to discuss escorting you out of Vista; I can't make the decision on that," Glen continued.
"Then let's find someone who can commit to it to talk to me. I can wait here, but the ring won't stay on my hand for long."
Glen scoffed, "Are you threatening me?"
"I'm stating the facts. Every day I wait, the risk increases. If you can't give me a clear answer, I'll have to find my own way out."
What means do you have to get away?
Isaac paused for a moment, and Glen realized that the kid was indeed thinking about his options.
I don't know if it's a bluff, but a person driven to desperation often makes irrational decisions. If he really leaves directly, or takes the ring back to the Joint Investigation Bureau to "surrender," it will be much harder to get it back later...
"Alright, I'll take you somewhere," Glen said. "You can stay in the Cult has arranged for you for a few days. I'll contact the higher-ups during this time. As for the follow-up arrangements, we'll discuss that after they've made their decision."
"You're just leaving me here? How can you be sure you won't just abandon me inside?"
"Are you never going to stop?" Glen took a deep breath. "Then what do you think should be done?"
"I need someone from the Cult who has authority to stay with me. If that's not possible, then take me to the Cult's stronghold in Vista."
Glen sneered, "Do you think that's possible? What if you're an undercover agent sent by the Joint Investigation Bureau? Bringing you into the base would be like inviting the Joint Investigation Bureau in for tea."
"I can't accept your proposal either. After the Cult took the ring, they abandoned me on the side of the road. I don't even know who to hold accountable."
The two stared at each other, neither showing any intention of backing down.
After a moment, Isaac said, "The situation is this: I'm afraid you'll take the ring and abandon me. You're afraid I'm an Joint Investigation Bureau. I can't prove I'm not an agent, and you can't prove the Cult won't betray me, so there's nothing to talk about."
He straightened up and made as if to walk towards the door.
Then, time seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Will Isaac Lessing back down against Glen? Check score 60, Charisma bonus 14, final score 74."
Two phantom images of ten-sided dice appear; 23, check successful.
As Glen watched Isaac turn around, a sudden sense of unease crept into his heart.
If this kid is serious and really leaves, then the Cult might think they've handled things poorly.
Perhaps we should keep this kid calm for now and let the person in charge make the decision...
Thinking this, Glen called out to Isaac, "Wait!"
Isaac stopped in his tracks, his left hand, tucked into his pocket, clutching a twenty-sided die.