West nodded calmly.
"We recently awakened."
"That’s common around this ti of year," Halden replied.
He pulled up the registration requirents on his screen.
"First, we need confirmation that all founding mbers are awakened individuals."
The three of them each placed their hands on a small scanning device.
The machine made soft beeping sounds and a mont later the results appeared on Halden’s monitor.
He raised his eyebrows slightly.
"All three confird."
"Good."
"Next requirent."
He tapped the screen again.
"A gang must begin with a minimum of three founding mbers."
He glanced at them.
"You et that requirent."
Jax leaned back in his chair slightly.
"So far so good."
Halden continued.
"Next is financial verification."
"A new gang must show a minimum operational fund of $100,000."
West pulled out his phone.
"No problem."
He transferred the funds imdiately and the terminal beeped.
Halden looked at the confirmation.
"Paynt received."
He nodded.
"Now we move on to the official registration."
He opened a form.
"Na of gang?"
West had been thinking about this for a long ti, so without hesitation, he answered.
"Shadow Reapers."
Halden typed the na while Jax grinned slightly.
"That sounds badass."
Nina nodded approvingly.
"Yeah... I like it."
Halden finished entering the na and then looked back at West.
"Now we reach the final requirent."
His tone shifted slightly.
"For a new gang to be recognized, you must provide two recomndations from existing gang leaders."
Jax and Nina both stiffened slightly.
They hadn’t known about that part.
Halden folded his hands.
"Most new gangs struggle here."
"Without connections to existing organizations, this requirent can delay approval for months."
But before he could continue, West calmly slid two docunts across the desk.
"Here you go."
Halden blinked while picking them up.
Then his eyebrows slowly rose higher and higher as he read.
Jax leaned toward West and whispered.
"...Wait."
"You actually had those?"
Nina looked equally shocked while Halden looked up at West again.
"You’re eighteen?"
"Yes."
"And you already have two gang leader recomndations?"
West shrugged.
"I’ve t a few people."
Halden looked down again at the docunts.
The first one made his eyes widen.
"Recomndation from..."
"...Zu Li?"
He looked up sharply.
"The leader of Dragon Fang Gang?"
Even Jax nearly choked.
"WAIT WHAT?!"
Nina stared at West.
"You know her?!"
West rubbed the back of his neck slightly.
"We t once."
That was a massive understatent since they had bumped into each other multiple tis due to Zu Li’s obsession.
Halden shook his head slowly.
"That’s... quite impressive."
He then looked at the second recomndation.
This one surprised him in a different way.
"Iron Chain Gang."
He glanced back up.
"Not one of the major organizations, but still an established street gang."
Halden leaned back slightly.
"You’re full of surprises, Mr. West."
West didn’t reply.
Instead, his mind drifted briefly to the mont he obtained that second recomndation.
---
He recalled two days ago when he visited the Iron Chain Gang territory.
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant place.
There were old factories, broken roads and graffiti everywhere.
West had walked directly into their territory alone.
Naturally, that attracted attention.
Several gang mbers surrounded him quickly and one of them stepped forward.
It was a youngster no older than 19 with dark hair and a scar across his cheek.
"Raze."
"What are you doing here?" Raze looked annoyed.
"Didn’t we already try recruiting you like five tis?"
West nodded.
"Yes."
"And you rejected every offer."
Raze crossed his arms.
"So why are you here now?"
West got straight to the point.
"I need a recomndation."
Raze stared at him.
"...For what?"
"To start my own gang."
There was a brief silence before Raze burst out laughing.
"You serious?"
He shook his head.
"You might be talented."
"But you’re a Tier 1 awakener who just awakened recently."
"That’s suicidal."
West simply stood there calmly before answering. "That’s my decision to make. I’d like to speak to your boss."
After a few minutes of back and forth discussion, Raze sighed.
"...Fine."
"I’ll take you to the boss."
About a minute later, West found himself standing before the Iron Chain leader...
This man was... massive.
He was nearly seven feet tall, with arms thick as tree trunks.
When West explained his request, the man laughed loudly several tis before leaning forward.
"Alright."
"I’ll give you the recomndation."
Everyone in the room looked shocked but the giant man raised one finger.
"There’s a condition."
West already knew what was coming.
"You owe one."
"One day..."
"...I will collect that favor."
West nodded.
"Fair."
The man grinned.
"That’s how the awakened world works, kid."
"Nothing cos free."
He leaned back in his chair.
"If you want to survive out there..."
"...learn to use others."
"Or you’ll end up being used."
West rembered those words clearly.
---
~ Back To The Present ~
West’s thoughts returned to the bureau office as Halden finished reviewing the docunts.
"Well."
"Everything seems to be in order."
He typed a few more entries into the system.
Then he printed a docunt and slid it across the desk.
"Congratulations."
"You have successfully submitted the registration for the gang..."
"Shadow Reapers."
Jax grinned widely while Nina looked excited.
West simply nodded calmly as Halden continued.
"However, approval isn’t imdiate."
"The review process usually takes two to three weeks."
"During that ti, your docuntation and recomndations will be verified."
"If everything checks out..."
"...your gang will officially be recognized."
West stood up.
"Understood."
They left the bureau building together as the afternoon sun began to set.
Jax stretched his arms.
"Man..."
"That actually worked."
Nina smiled.
"Shadow Reapers..."
"I like the sound of that."
West looked up at the skyline.
In two or three weeks, everything would change... and the real journey would finally begin.
For now, he had to get ready for his graduation tomorrow.
...
...
That night, he briefed Aria on the current progress through chats and she congratulated him non stop.
"Have you thought about where the gang base will be located?" She asked West.
"I have sothing in mind..."
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