"Boss, the Lizard Gang is here!"
"Smash it all!"
A harsh hiss cut through the air as a group of lizardn burst through the entrance, waving steel pipes and baseball bats violently.
Leading them was a towering lizardman lieutenant, his eyes cold and predatory.
The mont he stepped inside, chaos erupted. Several taxis sat parked inside the station for routine maintenance, but none would co out unscathed. The lizardn sward around the vehicles like a pack of rabid animals and began smashing them into twisted scrap tal.
"Stop right there! What the hell are you trying to do? Is there no law anymore?!" one of Rowan's employees shouted desperately.
"Law?"
The lizardn burst into mocking laughter, as if they'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"In this area, the Lizard Gang is the law, you idiot!"
The lieutenant stepped forward with a sneer. "Kid, did you pay this month's protection fee? Oh right, and there's handling fees, operation fees, venue fees... not a single di less!"
Rowan imdiately understood what was happening. They were deliberately here to cause trouble, and the timing was far too convenient. He had just retaliated against Pegasus Taxi, and now these thugs showed up to trash his business.
If they couldn't win fairly, they simply flipped the table and resorted to violence. The mastermind didn't need guessing. It was obviously the owner behind Pegasus Taxi Company pulling the strings.
"That bastard can't win head-on, so he plays dirty," Rowan muttered through clenched teeth, his blood beginning to boil.
The lizardn showed no signs of stopping their rampage. Cars were being smashed beyond repair, their windows shattered and tal fras bent at unnatural angles. So of Rowan's employees tried to fight back in desperation, but against their overwhelming numbers, they were completely outmatched. Each brave attempt ended with them getting beaten and thrown aside like ragdolls.
Rage surged through Rowan's veins and reached his head like an explosion of fire. He roared at the top of his lungs and charged headlong into the fight, unable to stand by any longer.
One powerful kick sent a lizardman flying backward through the air, but the others imdiately sward him like angry hornets protecting their nest.
"You dare fight back? Cripple this fat bastard!"
Seeing they vastly outnumbered him, Rowan stopped hesitating and swung his baseball bat in wide arcs. The scene instantly devolved into a chaotic lee of fists, weapons, and bodies colliding.
The level-one protective barrier he'd equipped clearly wasn't enough for this situation. It shimred briefly under the assault before shattering like glass. Outnumbered and surrounded, he managed to block an attack from the front but imdiately got struck hard from behind. He grimaced in searing pain as he staggered forward, barely keeping his footing.
The lizardman lieutenant was no weakling either; his movents practiced and brutal. With his active participation, Rowan completely lost any ability to resist effectively. They surrounded him from all sides and beat him relentlessly, their weapons raining down on him without rcy.
He clenched the bat tightly and desperately tried to fight back, but the attacks ca too fast and from too many directions. He couldn't even lift his arms properly anymore and was forced to simply endure the savage beating, protecting his head as best he could.
His consciousness gradually blurred at the edges. The world grew darker and darker around him, sounds becoming muffled and distant, until total darkness consud everything.
When he opened his eyes again, harsh fluorescent lights burned overhead.
He was lying in a hospital bed, his entire body aching like he'd been hit by a truck.
Damn it!
Vivid scenes replayed in his mind like a nightmare he couldn't escape. The smashed station with its destroyed vehicles. His beaten employees lying helpless on the ground. Himself being bullied by those lizard thugs while completely powerless. The fire in his chest reignited fiercely, hotter than ever before.
This ti, he was truly enraged beyond reason, not just caught up in so montary impulse that would fade.
He swore on everything he held dear that he would make the Lizard Gang and the Pegasus Taxi Company behind them pay dearly for what they'd done!
Not even bothering to wait for the nurse or get properly discharged, he ripped out his IV and got up. His body protested with sharp stings, but he ignored them completely and hurried out of the hospital.
Within one hour, he walked into the Kangaroo Dodger's Weapon Shop with determination burning in his eyes.
The kangaroo owner sat in his usual spot, looking as arrogant as ever, leaning back in his chair with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Seeing Rowan enter, he rely raised one eyebrow without bothering to greet him properly.
Rowan looked around the displayed rchandise and tested several pieces of gear with growing frustration. Baseball bats, brass knuckles, reinforced vests. None of it felt nearly strong enough for what he had planned.
He stepped closer and covered his mouth, dropping his voice to barely above a whisper. "Boss, got anything more powerful? Sothing with real punch?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm a legitimate businessman running an honest establishnt. How could I possibly sell illegal stuff?" The kangaroo spoke with exaggerated righteousness, spreading his hands innocently.
Rowan's face fell in disappointnt. Without access to heavier firepower, he had no realistic way to take on an entire criminal gang and win.
Though Dodger refused verbally with such conviction, his hands moved slyly. He casually slid a small note across the counter while maintaining eye contact, the movent so smooth it almost seed accidental.
"I'm a law-abiding citizen, after all. How could I have illegal goods in my respectable shop? Now hurry along and don't disturb my legitimate business."
Rowan's eyes lit up with understanding as he pald the note.
Looking at the two-faced shopkeeper who played his role so expertly, he desperately wanted to complain about the blatant hypocrisy. But at least he'd gotten the result he wanted, so he kept his mouth shut.
He wasted no ti and drove toward the entrance to the underground black market, his mind already focused on what weapons he would need.
With speed and grim determination, he reached his destination far outside the city proper.
Staring at the pitch-black cave entrance that seed to swallow all light, Rowan felt genuine unease creep up his spine. But he forced himself to step inside anyway, driven by the burning need for revenge.
After he disappeared into the darkness, the kangaroo casually stood from his chair. He walked to the warehouse behind the shop and opened a hidden cellar entrance, then climbed straight down a ladder into the depths below.
After passing through a long corridor lit by flickering torches, the underground black market suddenly opened up before Rowan like a secret world.
Just like Boshita before him, Rowan stood there completely shocked by this hidden place thriving beneath the surface. Who would have thought that beneath Liberty City lay such an extensive corner of organized cri and illegal trade?
Following the address scrawled on the note, he navigated the crowded market streets until he found the underground armory tucked away in a side passage.
And there, standing behind the counter, was the sa kangaroo boss grinning at him.
"Boss, you're not a very honest guy, are you?" Rowan said flatly.
"Ahem, friend, I think you've mistaken for soone else entirely. I'm not who you think at all. I'm Roger, his much more handso twin brother!" He gestured grandly at his shop. "Now take a look around at my impressive inventory. Plenty of quality goods here, and I guarantee complete satisfaction with every purchase."
Rowan said nothing in response to the obvious lie. He simply pulled out a thick wad of cash and slapped it down hard onto the wooden table.
"Bring the heavy stuff. The really heavy stuff."
After an enthusiastic shopping spree that would have made arms dealers proud, a substantial chunk of his hard-earned money had completely vanished. But Rowan didn't care one bit about the cost. This ti, his enemies would definitely pay the price in blood, and that made every bill worth it.
Next, he needed to find soone who could dig up information about the Pegasus company's boss. Can't take revenge on a ghost, after all.
From the helpful shopkeeper, he obtained a na spoken in hushed tones.
Goblin Kent, the information broker.
Along with the na ca a location. Apparently, the sneaky goblin also maintained a base sowhere in this underground market. After wandering around the winding passages for quite a while and asking a few shady characters, he finally found a small shop tucked away in an inconspicuous corner that most people would walk right past.
Surprisingly, no one was manning the place. The door was locked tight, but a handwritten note had been taped to the front.
"Gone to Malibu Club. Back whenever I feel like it."
Rowan was quite familiar with that nightclub from his previous visits during better tis. He hurried back up and drove there imdiately, his purchased weapons hidden carefully in the trunk.
At the club, pulsing music filled the air while colored lights danced across the crowd.
Kent sat in a corner booth, still busy flirting shalessly with several attractive girls who seed amused by his short stature and grand personality.
Rowan scanned the crowded establishnt and spotted only one goblin present among all the various races. Definitely the person he was looking for.
He imdiately approached the booth.
Kent, clearly annoyed at having his fun interrupted, turned and frowned deeply at the interruption.
"If you've got sothing to say, spit it out quick! Can't you see I'm busy here?"
Rowan didn't waste ti with words. He simply pulled out a thick stack of cash and placed it on the table where Kent could see it clearly.
"Boss, I need information. I want to know everything about soone."
The mont Kent's eyes locked onto the money, his previously unhappy expression instantly transford. His face blood into a delighted smile, and he casually waved the disappointed girls away with a flick of his wrist.
"No problem whatsoever, my generous friend! There's absolutely nothing in Liberty City I don't know about. Nas, addresses, dirty secrets, you na it!"
After Rowan spent the remainder of his available cash, Kent provided him with the Pegasus boss's complete personal information. Ho address, daily schedule, security details, everything he could possibly need for what ca next.
Late that sa night, inside a luxurious villa on the wealthy side of town, the boss of Pegasus Company sat in an expensive leather chair. He leisurely sipped aged red wine from a crystal glass, completely relaxed and satisfied with himself.
He was extrely skilled at crushing business competitors through any ans necessary. Relying on these brutal and underhanded thods, he'd risen from being just another ordinary citizen to his current position of wealth and influence.
To him, his opponent's amateurish little tricks were still far too naive and laughably inadequate. He planned to let Rowan learn his lesson pretty soon.
Hey guys, quickly wanna say sorry that I've been slowing down quite a bit this week and didn't really respond to anything. It was my birthday, which led to being pretty occupied by friends visiting . I'll start writing a new story and translating a new story next week, and they should be releasable in like 2 weeks or so. Stay tuned^^
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