There he stood, gasping for breath, and had been highly stressed mainly due to the mission he been given by that man. His lungs felt as if they were on fire, and every breath of air left his throat sore, paranoia had wasted his mental energy all day. He had been profoundly afraid of the consequences that could happen due to what he saw.He tried to calm himself as much as he could before meeting them, but the more he stood on the outside of the building, the more his brain sent impulse signals that made him want to rush through the doors near him. He felt as if eyes were locked continuously on his back and that he could be shot down at any moment. He couldn"t help but move uncontrollably; his legs were shaking as he was struggling to decide. Then, as he couldn"t take it anymore, he entered through the door while licking his parched lips. He managed to make contact with one of the building"s administrators. After a minute of explanation from his part, he managed to get a meeting with the higher-ups.
The next moment, he sat on a cold chair in a dimly lighted room. Although it wasn"t anything comfortable, he finally felt at ease in the enclosure of the building. He was aware that the Filthy Jade Palace"s security wasn"t to be trifled with. Although he wasn"t sure if they could fend off their attacks, in the end, it was much better than the streets of the Core.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting for them, he finally heard footsteps approach the door of the room. He saw the door handle turn, and a small flash of light burned his eyes as the light from the corridor entered the room. A person entered the room, and although he didn"t have the time to identify any feature, he was sure that it was him.
"How was the mission?" a cold, emotionless voice entered his ears. Although the voice was chilling, he was comforted by it as he got confirmation that it was him.
"It was a success…", the man in a grey coat briskly answered the question. His lips opened up again, but the sentence he wanted to say didn"t manage to leave his throat. Silence took over the room as his hesitation spiked; finally, he managed to blurt a few words as he felt the man"s cold glare on his body intensify.
"W-W-We are doomed!" he paused for an instant as he noticed the man"s glare flash for a moment in confusion before continuing. "I went there, I"ve hidden among them like you"ve asked me to do. The operation went without any trouble, and I don"t think I was even noticed during the whole ordeal.", he tried to formulate everything as good as he could. But his stressed state of mind and the fact that he didn"t manage to sleep for a week made him spurt gibberish.
"I can"t do it anymore… And I"m sure that if I go back now, they"ll notice that I left.", he managed to say in a single breath. He felt the man"s glare furiously pierce through his neck, and he began explaining himself furthermore. "I didn"t have another way! N-No wait!" the man with a grey coat screamed as he saw the man advance toward him.
"The city is done for… They are planning an attack, we are all doomed.", the man"s advance stopped, and curiosity appeared in his gaze. Feeling that he had a chance for life, his lips shivered as he grasped the opportunity to speak more. "Recently, Something happened in the main district. An otherworldly phenomenon took over the city by night; clouds appeared from the middle of nowhere! Thunder clapped, but the event went unnoticed since it happened in the middle of the night. But they understood what it meant! And they are going to take precautions against it and deal with it as soon as possible!" he spoke loud and fast as he knew that the man in front of him wouldn"t show more patience.
The man with a cold gaze looked at him intensely as if he wanted to pierce him. He felt as if his secret were unearthed during that moment, and his throat tightened as he felt he couldn"t breathe anymore. Then, he spoke. "You"ve done well… Thanks to your information, we can prepare ourselves to leave.", contrary to his dead eyes, his voice was warm and showed concern to the man wearing a grey coat.
He didn"t relax at all. In fact, it was the contrary as his brain sent him dozens of signals showing him that danger was even more present than before. His fear spiked, and he felt as if he was going to throw up from the stressful situation.
"But we can"t let you leave.", as soon as the word entered his ears. It was like a bomb dropped confirming his fears. "You are going to have to die, but it will be for the better good of Filthy Jade Palace. We have enjoyed your partic.i.p.ation in our business and are definitely grateful for your work.", then his hand moved, and a m.u.f.fled shot resounded in the now silent room. No screams, no sound of pitiful pleading could be heard as the poor man didn"t even have the time to pray for his well-being in the afterlife.
Blank-Faced Joe turned around and left the room without taking another look at the still warm corpse. He was one of the generals of Filthy Jade Palace and was well known for being one of the most cold-blooded and heartless general of the business. Emotions were only a means to his end, and all acknowledged him for his wits and strength. Contrary to the others, he hadn"t climbed from a mountain of corpses like the other generals. He was one of the founders of the a.s.sociation3. Keeping his position for such a long time was a true feat and a testimony of his strength.