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"Hey!" Luffy appeared in front of Russell with a big, carefree smile and put a hand on his straw hat.
Russell's heart was heavy with grief, but the boy's cheerful, infectious personality was a small comfort. Russell smiled a little bit as he greeted his new creation. As Luffy curiously looked around the house, poking at furniture and being amazed by everyday things, Russell started to plan what he would do next.
The Cardmaker Association tightly controlled the exploration of hidden worlds. He thought, "That means I won't be able to get back into the [Black Flag] realm anytime soon." A familiar sense of powerlessness washed over him. Unless he could get someone to help him out. But who?
Shepherd, the principal? If the principal had that much power, he would have been sending students from New Metro First High to train in bronze-level realms for training years ago.
Marcus? Russell didn't have a real relationship with the president of the Evergrove district, even though he was a powerful man. Why would he go out of his way to help just one student?
What about Jonathan Whitemore? If Nancy's dad could easily set up things like that, Nancy would have grown up in a secret realm.
Russell let out a sigh. It was clear that getting revenge on Zane would take a long-term plan. But he thought that if he showed off his skills, the Association would have to treat him better After just one month of hard work, he was a bronze-level cardmaker, and his very first bronze card was red-quality. The leaders of the Association would definitely want to nurture that kind of genius.
In the next room, Brother Tiger was casually trimming his nails. The only sound in the dark room was the soft snip-snip of the clippers.
"Skinny," he asked, not looking up. "Have you been with me for a while now?"
Skinny, a thin man who had been called to the house in the middle of the night, was nervous and didn't know why he was there. He put on a fake smile. "One year now, Brother Tiger. A whole year. He felt a wave of relief wash over him. His predecessor had only been in office for a few months before being... processed. He would have run away a long time ago if Brother Tiger didn't pay so well.
Brother Tiger put down the clippers and looked at Skinny. His face was blank. He let out a big sigh. "Hey, Thin... I was going to take you with me on the next big step. But sadly...
What is unfortunate?
A pale, thin hand burst from Skinny's back and punched through his chest before he could fully form the question in his mind. He couldn't believe what he saw when he looked down at the hand that was holding his still-beating heart. He looked up at Brother Tiger, and his mouth made a single, wheezing question. "Why... Tiger...?"
He fell down before he could finish the word.
Brother Tiger walked over to the body with a mean look on his face. "Why? "Why?" he said in a mocking voice. "I've told you this so many times, Skinny. Don't ask so many "whys."
He thought, "If the Spirit Begging Society hadn't told me to tie up all the loose ends, I wouldn't have bothered with an idiot like you." His face was serious. It was time for the Society's big plan to begin. He had moved all of his assets. He would have been gone by now if it weren't for that direct order.
Sadly, there was still one last thing to do.
Brother Tiger's eyes moved to the house next door, where Russell lived.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was strange to hear knocking in the quiet night. Russell didn't understand. Who would come to see him this late? And shouldn't they call first? A shiver of unease ran down his spine.
Luffy smiled widely and ran to the door, as if he could sense that his master was suddenly tense. The boy made of rubber should definitely answer it in this case.
"Who is it?" Luffy asked as he opened the door. A pale, clenched fist shot out of the dark and hit him in the face before he could see it well.
It hit hard, but it was funny. Luffy's face changed shape and stretched like putty as it wrapped around the fist. It then snapped back to its original shape, unharmed.
"What?" Someone outside gasped in disbelief.
I knew the voice. Russell's eyes got bigger as he realised. That's Tiger's voice!
Luffy had already started his counterattack while Russell was still thinking about it. His right arm stretched out behind him and then shot forward like a spring that had been released. The punch hit the unknown attacker with a terrifying force, sending the creature flying across the street with a loud BOOM, where it crashed in a cloud of dust and debris.
Russell's neighbourhood was empty at this late hour, so the noise went unnoticed.
Russell and Luffy went outside into the light of the moon. Brother Tiger stood there, staring in awe at his vampire card as it tried to pull itself out of the crater it had made.
Russell's eyes got smaller. "A vampire?" The creature looked very familiar. It looked just like the card that Darren's with the cockscomb haircut had used against him before. It wasn't exactly the same, but it looked a lot like it. But it was clear that Brother Tiger's vampire was a lot better. The damage Luffy had done was already starting to slowly heal in the moonlight.
"This kid... he really IS bait set up by the Association!" Brother Tiger's mind was spinning, and his paranoia led him to a conclusion. When did he start going after me? Was it because I lent him money for the first time? Was that also an order from the Association?
He didn't believe that any student could make high-quality, bronze-level cards in just over a month. Of course, he was completely wrong, and with each passing second, his guess got farther and farther from the truth.
Russell's clear voice broke through the night air at that moment. "Are you a member of the Spirit Begging Society?"
Brother Tiger laughed in a cold, mocking way. He thought the kid was just acting dumb. "Oh, come on!" Don't act like you didn't know that from the start!
Russell was shocked. Did i know it? What did i know? What do I need to know?
Brother Tiger turned and ran away before he could ask.
I'm not stupid! Why would I wait for his backup to show up? Brother Tiger thought about it as he pumped his legs. He was sure the kid wasn't by himself.
Russell's face hardened when he saw the surprisingly fast, round body disappear into the dark. "Finish this," he told Luffy. Fast.
Russell wasn't brave enough to chase after him. He couldn't risk walking into another trap because all of his other cards were on cooldown.
"You got it!" Luffy was happy when he answered. He put his feet down, put his left hand on his right shoulder, and his arms turned into a blur. In the next moment, a huge storm of fists hit the vampire, who was already having a hard time.
"Gum-Gum... GATLING!"
The vampire opened its mouth and let out a loud, piercing scream when it was hit by a lot of punches. "REEEEEEE!" Russell's ears hurt because the sound was so high-pitched. But it had no effect on Luffy at all.
[Optimist]: Luffy is naturally happy and positive, so he won't be affected by negative emotions below the Silver level.
Luffy's fists beat the vampire to death, sending smoke and dust flying all over the street. He stopped attacking after a few seconds. There was only a broken piece of asphalt where the vampire had been.
Russell's eye twitched as he looked at the damage. "...The Association should pay me back for this, right?"
He put the thought out of his mind. It was clear that there were more important things to worry about now. He looked in the direction where Tiger had run away, and his face was serious.
(End of this chapter)
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