The Black Swan Behind

100 Betrayal

“Where’s Kei?” Ron asked one of the members who were sitting around.

“A few hours after you left, Big bro Kei also went somewhere, Big bro,” Answered the man with the hair parted in the middle.

“Did he leave a message?” Ron asked again.

The man shook his head, “He didn’t, Big bro.”

Ron nodded before letting out a long sigh, then, motioned for his men to leave his room. After the door closed, he immediately took his cell phone from his pocket, dialled someone’s contact number before putting the cellphone to his ear while massaging his nose bridge.

“Hey, Garry. Have you had dinner? How are things there?” Ron asked as soon as the man on the other side picked up the phone.

“There’s nothing left, Big bro. I couldn’t hold it in. I’m sorry.” Said the man named Garry who was at the headquarters of another branch that had previously been attacked by Jita Kyoei’s group, The Lonely Hero or Calvin Lee, and the Black Helmet. After the attack, they destroyed the entire property of the base, making the losses even greater. The original owner of the building they rented was furious and fined them a heavy sum of money.

“It’s okay. You’ve worked hard. Have you told Kei about this matter?”

“I called him earlier, but he hasn’t picked up yet,” Garry replied.

.....

“He can be really difficult to be contacted sometimes. Especially when he’s on his way home. Ask the others to bring all the important files and worthy properties left in the base here.” Ron ordered.

“Alright, Boss!!” Garry replied swiftly.

“Um... Garry.”

“Yes?” said the man.

“Please find out where Kei is now. Incidentally, I have something important to talk to him about. If you have met him or been able to contact him, tell Kei to return to this base immediately, or at least call me.” Ron asked.

“Got it!!” Garry replied.

Ron hung up the phone and placed the phone on the table. Then, he slammed his back against the back of the chair quite hard. He shifted his hand massage to his forehead because he felt a sensation of dizziness that was quite severe there.

All of this made him feel like he was going crazy. Every day he worried about Mezu’s condition, who was still unconscious. Plus, the debts that were piling up and the information from Kei regarding the group’s funds that were running low, were made him confused about what to do.

Ron judged that Kei was too careless about this precarious situation. Even in his small heart, Ron felt that Kei seemed to not care anymore. But he always tried to get rid of these thoughts. Logically, it was also impossible for Kei to leave what he had built with hard work.

Without realizing it, Ron had fallen asleep, leaning back in his chair. He woke up startled when he heard the sound of his cell phone vibrating on the wooden table. On the screen appeared the name of Garry who was one of his adopted brothers since they were homeless, “Yes? Have you received any information, Garry?” asked Ron by rubbing his still heavy eyes.

“Ron!! This is terrible! Kei is running away!” The man exclaimed in a frantic voice.

Ron’s brows furrowed, “Running away? What do you mean?” he asked, glancing at the clock on the wall, it was 1:00 am! Crazy! It turned out he had been asleep for four hours.

“I’ve looked for information, Ron.. I found that Kei had left the country six hours ago with all our important files. It turns out that he has also sold all the assets of the boat engine business and withdrew all the money from Hell Gate’s account into his account. And he also... All this time, he always put your name on every loan application, Ron.” Garry explained in a weak voice.

Garry’s explanation made Ron’s ears ring in pain. He was no longer able to respond to the man who was calling his name from behind the phone. His hands were so weak that he dropped the phone on the floor. No wonder Kei looked very relaxed all this time. Wasn’t it obvious that Kei had scammed him.. no.. he had deceived the entire Hell Gate group.

Ron should have realized from the start, that Kei Matsumoto never really thought of Hell Gate as a brother. All that man cared about was money, money, and money.

Suddenly, Ron’s room door was knocked at a rapid rhythm from outside, before someone opened it without his approval. It was Max, the head of the branch headquarters he was currently occupying. Max’s face was already covered in sweat with dishevelled clothes.

Ron didn’t ask again. He just glanced at the man with a grim face. The noise that came from behind Max was enough to let Ron know what was going on outside.

“Boss!! We’re under attack!” the man exclaimed.

“Go..” Ron said quietly, which immediately took Max by surprise.

“B.. boss?” Max looked frustrated and confused.

“I SAID, GO!!” A glass ashtray floated with Ron’s shout, and smashed straight into the doorframe to shatter.

Max, who reflexively protected his head which was two centimetres away from being hit by the hard object, immediately stepped back and closed the door with a trembling hand.

“ARGGGHHHH!!!” Ron shouted as grabbing his long hair with both hands. Then, he ransacked his desk as an outlet for his unstoppable anger.

He lost everything. Even worse than when he was homeless. Not only did he have no money, but the debts they used to fund their ongoing business and build Hell Gate bigger, turned out to be all on his shoulders. It was all because he was too stupid. And Kei, who had a smart brain, realized this easily. Kei had used Ron and his brothers for his personal gain.

“There’s nothing left for me or Hell Gate anymore. If it’s to be destroyed, I’ll be blown away with everyone else.” The man muttered as he opened his office door, and stepped outside.

He walked to the barrier of the second floor and looked down, where all the members of Hell Gate were battling a group of men. The group with a big and burly man who looked very prominent with a face that was quite familiar to people living in the dark world like them. He was Troy Roner, the leader of the legendary group, Jita Kyoei.

At the final base, all the members of Hell Gate gathered together. There were about three hundred people in total. From the strongest to the weakest. Those who were truly loyal or those who were just want to have a good shelter.

Even though it’s a lot of men, it’s not a big problem for Jita Kyoei’s group. They have been vacuumed for a long time from the world of fighting between gangsters. But after being ignited a little with a few fights recently, it was as if the wick they had buried so deep was starting to light again.

Jita Kyoei, who was famous for being bloodthirsty in their fight, was now showing their monster side again. The group that was feared and always expected to fall, now really rose and was witnessed by more than three hundred pairs of eyes.

Calvin Lee was the first man who caught the figure of Ron Smith perched on the second floor while looking at the commotion below with a cold face. Calvin smiled happily that he didn’t need to bother looking for the leader of Hell Gate anymore. That had already come out of his own. It seemed luck was on his side lately.

Calvin looked up with a mocking grin on his face. Then, he raised his index finger and moved it inward, as a symbol for Ron to come down to face him.

Calvin was already very upset about what Hell Gate had done to so many people. Not just a lot of girls, they also hurt people Calvin knew, namely Roger and Poppy. Their evil deeds could not be forgiven.

Ron, who saw himself being challenged in such a lowly manner, immediately chuckled. He wouldn’t be soft this time. Everything was already a mess. If he had to die, then he would drag all his enemies into the gates of hell with him.

WHOOSH!! BUGH!!

Everyone on the wide floor below was stopped moving. They stared at the figure who had just shot down from the second floor into the centre of the large room.

Ron Smith’s crazy action made everyone there gasp. Ron was now in the middle of the room in a squatting position, but with one knee almost touching the ground. His two fingers pressed against the floor to relieve the pressure on his body as he jumped from the second floor earlier. Truly, no bones were broken and the landing was perfect. He looked like a warrior from a Kung Fu movie!

Slowly, Ron rose from his position. His face looked very cold. Those ruthless eyes had never been seen by the members of Hell Gate who had worked with him all this time. Even those who had known Ron since they were homeless had never seen that look.

“You’re great too,”

WOOSH!!

Calvin dodged very fast when Ron ran towards him and flew straight away with a circular kick using his long leg. Ron wasn’t the type to wait for his opponent to make small talk during a fight.

Why Hell Gate was untouchable? Why Kei Matsumoto was willing to spend a lot of money in the beginning to be able to build the Hell Gate group by making Ron Smith a leader? Why would he allow a stupid, reckless brain to take the number one spot in a group he financed with his personal money? It was because Ron Smith was so strong.

Several years ago, before appearing in front of Ron in person, it was Kei Matsumoto who always placed huge bets in the underground wrestling events. When he saw Ron’s extremely powerful figure, he judged that it was a very profitable opportunity. That way, Kei paid a lot to keep Ron paired with powerful opponents with various dangerous weapons.