A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 194 The Hero Reappears (Part 2)
"Chirp—chirp—"

Around noon, the chirping of birds came from outside the room, which was completely covered by curtains. The man, awakened by the noise, sat up in bed. Instead of cursing the bird as usual, he rubbed his forehead and stared straight ahead without blinking.

There was nothing there: no yellow sand, no mountains of corpses, and no imperial knights as swift as the wind.

I was dreaming again.

It has been almost ten years since he left the Western Continent, and time has smoothed over the blood and ferocity that land left him with. But when the night is deep and quiet, the vibration of the horse's hooves on the ground still resonates with his heart.

He didn't often dwell on the past; sentimental people couldn't make it in the underworld. Instead, he was grateful for his current life. Compared to scavenging for food on a battlefield where a stray arrow could come from anywhere, this life of lending money, running casinos, and occasionally clashing with other gangs was like paradise.

But lately I've been having these dreams more and more frequently.

He wasn't bound to any particular day, but his dreams were filled with mountains of life and death. He relentlessly searched for one cloth bag after another that might contain food. When he woke up, he would stare blankly like this, as if he were in another world, unable to shake off the emotion of simply surviving.

This is not a good thing for a superhuman, especially one at the middle or higher level.

This is a sign that things are about to get out of control.

"Ike, what's wrong?" The woman beside him noticed his strange behavior, but before she could say anything, she was silenced. Even though they had done it many times last night, his body was as angular as a classical sculpture, and he seemed tireless.

He didn't get out of bed until the birds outside started chirping loudly. After cleaning himself in the bathroom, he had the woman help him get dressed.

"What are you thinking about?" the woman asked cautiously, her eyes lowered as she tied his tie.

"I had lunch with some Ron guys who wanted to launder money through the magic crystal business, and this afternoon I have to negotiate with the Razor Gang."

Ike wasn't really thinking about anything. Working in the mafia is easier than dealing with the shady dealings of politicians or corporations. You do what you can, you fight what you can't, and you don't do what you can't fight. It's actually very simple. As long as you control the rules, everyone will be happy.

He removed the woman's hand from the scar on his chest.

"I told you, we need to talk business later."

Her voice carried a hint of coldness and hardness, which made the woman feel somewhat aggrieved. In fact, she was more emotional than physical.

"If you don't have anything else planned for tonight, I'd like to watch the Arcane Festival with you, just the two of us."

She was rambling on and on, but Ike wasn't listening. Instead, he was staring at himself in the mirror. No matter how he looked, he couldn't find the shadow of the disheveled little boy who had wandered through piles of corpses, clutching a patched-up dagger. The man in the mirror was dressed in a suit and tie, looking every bit the successful man. If you covered up the scar on his chest, he wouldn't even give off a hint of gangster vibes.

There are still five years until the Demon King descends upon the world.

The knight's judgment back then was correct; that dirty little black boy was a gifted child, and only those with strong hearts could wield the extraordinary. However, the hidden dangers of taking the extraordinary potion too early eventually surfaced, and his loss of control might be more difficult to resolve than others.

He originally thought that signs of losing control wouldn't appear until Sequence Four; no matter how careful he was, he couldn't explain these things.

He wasn't too worried; things would work themselves out. He figured the guy would handle things if things got out of control. He bent down and rummaged through the underwear on the floor to find the cigar he hadn't finished smoking last night. He slowly put it in his mouth and waited a while, but the woman with the lighter didn't appear.

Glancing sideways, he saw a young and beautiful woman glaring at him, looking somewhat sullen. They seemed to have been talking about the party, but Ike hadn't paid much attention. This was one of the few times each day that his mind could clear for a moment. He was very dissatisfied with his indulgent private life, especially his choice of partners. He couldn't date married men, and he couldn't force women. What was it again? "It has to be pure love."

If it weren't for pure love, he would simply disappear without a word, expressing his protest through the Cold War. But Ike didn't care about all that; a child raised amidst piles of corpses had no worldly morals or concepts of chastity. If necessary, he would even sleep with a ewe.

What truly interested Ike about women was her father, Benitez, the deputy chief of law enforcement in Eswell, who was also the most successful official in the Yangen government-in-exile cabinet. Through her and her mother, Ike learned many things the government-in-exile had kept from him, such as the sacred artifact of the Fifth Hero, Jiangnan, the identity of the "Doctor" researching artificial arcane circuits, and the true pursuits of the various cabinet remnants.
With the Little Prince now completely obedient and the exiled government of Yangen following his every command, this woman has lost her value. Ike needs to release the uncontrollable tendencies of his supernatural abilities, so he indifferently kept her until today, making her his longest-lasting bed partner in recent years.

But recently she's changed a lot, always subtly harboring some thoughts—not bad ones, of course, which didn't escape his notice. The woman wanted to be alone with him, and her mother was visiting less and less.
Ike had never been in love. His first bed partner was ten years ago? Eleven years ago? Anyway, he died the next day in a raid by a group of bandits. There were many bandits in the Western Continent, and seeing a group of children with food and money, how could they not rob them? By the time he had killed all the bandits, the woman, five years older than him, was already motionless and naturally had no feelings about it. Of the six people who had followed him from the Western Continent to Aishwell, only six survived.

Unlike now, back then, even if a child did his best, how many companions could he protect in the midst of war?
Seeing that the woman showed no intention of lighting a cigarette, Ike snapped his fingers, and with a magical "whoosh," a flame appeared and lit the cigar. After taking a puff, the woman snatched the cigar away, looking somewhat upset.

“Ike, I don’t want to just sleep with him.”

Similar things have been said before. When Ekra opened the curtains, the sky above the Arcane Festival appeared cloudless under the magnificent power of the academy. The midday sun poured into the room, making even the vast slums of Seville seem to be gilded.

A gang leader can't have love. The women he takes out to be affectionate with will eventually become hostages with price tags, which will then lead to revenge, war, and a fight to the death. The woman is too young; she can't think that far ahead, and Ike won't explain these things to her.

“We’ve been together for quite a while now,” he said, without looking at the woman’s suddenly delighted face. “Go pick out some jewelry that Hughes likes. You don’t need to come anymore.”

It sounded as casual as discussing what to wear to a party.

"Eh?" The woman paused, then forced a smile and hugged Ike from behind, trying to put a cigar in his mouth. In an almost humble tone, she said, "You have things to do tonight, so forget it. I won't mention it again. Don't be angry, okay?"

Ike took the cigar, took a puff, looked at the sparrow tied in the cage outside the door, and said nothing.

"Is it because of my mother?" the woman asked cautiously. "My father is getting a promotion, and she's had a lot of social engagements lately, so..."

“She doesn’t need to come.” Ike looked up at her one last time, but his mind was filled with thoughts of her father, a man who was willing to trade his wife and daughter for power. He looked at her for a moment, then turned and went downstairs.

"Remember to leave the room key."

Hearing the woman's heartbroken cries, even the greetings from his underlings downstairs became much weaker. One of the busybodies, who held a high position in the gang and was on good terms with him, winked and came up, only to be kicked back downstairs by him in a huff.

The breakfast served by his subordinate consisted of two red sausages. This type of preserved meat, a specialty of the Empire, was hard to find these days with the shipping routes blocked by the Misty Sea. However, judging from both its color and aroma, these two sausages were very authentic. Not every person from the Southern Continent could accept the strong smoky flavor of the red sausages, but Ike preferred them and ate them plain without any side dishes or bread.

As usual, Hughes, the young CFO of Golden Wind, came to report to him, but today he was busy and didn't have time to look at the reports carefully, so he casually asked, "How is the revised Customs Act coming along?"

Hughes shook his head and replied with a puzzled tone, "Our efforts have been largely in vain. Even with two congressmen speaking up for us, Elon is determined to push through Customs Act reform."

"If the new law is implemented, every piece of goods entering or leaving the airport may be subject to random inspections, which means that almost all of our sourcing channels will be at risk of being seized and subject to tax audits."

Ike, eating his sausage, remained unmoved: "What are the estimated losses?"

"Twenty percent, and if Elon enforces the new law very strongly, it could rise further at any time."

“They’re after us.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s cut off business with the Alexandre family. Hmm, don’t they have a shipment of weapons from Ron that they’re planning to smuggle into Britain? Let’s report them to Elon.”

Hughes's expression turned serious. "Boss, putting aside the losses, this will ruin my reputation, and it concerns the British Civil War. I don't think we should take sides; it will cause us to lose a lot of clients."

The Alexandre family had always maintained good relations with the British government, using British technology to open numerous ironworks in Aswell and amass great wealth. After the Great Fire of Britain, driven by self-interest, they naturally aligned themselves with the new government, and this shipment of weapons was now a gift to the King. Ike didn't care.

"Go find the matriarch of the Branson family, the one named Jenny, and tell her that our casino is short of alcohol suppliers and plans to buy alcohol from the Branson family. Let's cooperate. As a reward for helping us supplement our supply chain, we can give her 30% of the casino's profits."

These words stunned not only Hughes, but also the high-ranking members of Golden Wind who were around him.

A cacophony of dissent immediately arose, and even Bonner, the second-in-command of Golden Wind, fell silent. The reason was simple: this portion of the revenue was simply too much. Golden Wind operated on a profit-sharing system, while the casino was the gang's purse, and this would directly impact their interests.

But Ike simply glanced around, and everyone he saw fell silent. This seemingly gentle black man was like a taciturn old wolf among a pack of wolves.

Only Borna dared to speak up under his gaze: "Boss, I don't think we need to go through all that trouble. Although he's a senator, but..."

Borna reached out and wiped his neck, his intentions were obvious.

"Find two assassins, do the job, and then send it to the Western Continent. Then hire an arcanist to erase the traces so that no one will know."

“You underestimate the Academy. Nothing that happens in this city can be hidden from them.” Ike wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Elon isn’t targeting us. He wants smuggling channels. Since this guy has sided with the Sons of Prophecy’s royalists, let him have what he wants. I’ll personally negotiate after we’ve made the connection.”

"Would doing this make him abandon the idea of ​​amending the Customs Law?"

"No. But it doesn't matter. Every law needs someone to enforce it; it's just a matter of spending more money to bribe officials. As long as those above turn a blind eye, countless loopholes will be exploited below."

Borna sighed.

"Isn't this too cowardly? Compromising on everything? We're ruthless gangsters who've fought tooth and nail!"

Ike looked at each of them.

"Development is the only way forward. Every day the gang's business operates, we become stronger. When we're qualified to pledge our allegiance to the academy, we won't have to depend on the government anymore. But until then, any conflict that might hinder our development must be avoided. Understand?"

Everyone nodded silently. Hughes looked at him with burning eyes. To get an elite with a proper university education to serve him, besides money, it must be his personal charm.

"Where did you learn all these nice words?" Borna clicked his tongue in amazement. "You've never been to school, no wonder you're the boss."

Ike smiled with a complicated expression.

"So I'll let you have it."

"Worship the gods more often."

The afternoon was uneventful.

He secured an additional money laundering deal for Ron for Golden Wind; he also met with the leader of the Razorfen Downs and, fortunately, settled the matter without bloodshed—several high-ranking members of the Razorfen Downs had recently died, all of them superhumans, inexplicably killed while alone. They were now in a state of panic and aimlessness. Although Ike had a guess as to who the killer was, given the guy's cooperation with Golden Wind, he didn't reveal it for the time being, telling the other party that it had nothing to do with Golden Wind.

For Ike, meeting the new teaching assistant at the academy that evening was the most important thing for him today, and he even turned down a dinner party that he could only manage to get everyone together during the Arcane Festival.

The academy is investigating the Golden Wind.

The reason and motive are unclear. If it was about punishing evil and eliminating wickedness, then before the Golden Wind, there were always people doing smuggling in Axwell. After Ike built a complete smuggling system, he was always very careful about smuggling arcane artifacts, which the Academy valued most. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that he helped the Academy control the outflow of arcane artifacts from the black market.

In terms of their modus operandi, although both are gangs, the Golden Winds are much more peaceful than the Razor Gang, and are far from being as vicious as the Academy would take seriously.

Regardless, gangs will always exist in Aswell, and a stable and intelligent gang like Golden Wind is something the Academy would be happy to see.

Therefore, the only reason Ike could think of was the jewelry store massacre in March.

That academic affairs officer named Ankuya probably really found out something and has his eye on the Jengen government-in-exile.

"What do you think of that guy who's coming over later? Should I try to win him over?"

Meanwhile, the airport party had already begun. Elon took to the stage to speak amidst thousands of spectators and the lights of the Eye of Grindelwald, while Quinn stood high up in the warehouse district, holding two glasses of red wine, waiting for Quinn's arrival.

"Hey," Ike frowned, "Why haven't you said a word today? Are you dead?"

Darkness returned to silence until he saw the figure of a man with black hair and black eyes.

Ike opened his arms, which were holding bottles of red wine, as if to give them a distant hug.

"My friend, we've finally met."

The college teaching assistant, Quinn, was expressionless and, as Bonner had said, gave off an impression of being difficult to communicate with.

"Borner should have told you the price. The usual, three flowers, three hundred and ninety gold pounds."

"Heh, just as the rumors say, they're cautious." Ike poured both glasses of red wine into his mouth at the same time, then turned the empty glass upside down to check it, smiling to indicate that there was no need to be so wary, the wine was fine.

"If we can't drink, how about we chat? You know I've always had great respect for the wondrous knowledge of arcane magic, whether it's the arcane sorcerers who cooperate with our gang, the teachers at the academy, or even you who are both."

"I don't have much time."

Ike had seen him at the banquet last night and had hoped to use that as an opportunity to chat, but Quinn had no intention of making small talk, so he had to change the subject: "Why did you choose to trade here?"

"You were the one who suggested meeting up, it's just on the way. If you don't have anything to say, let's get going."

As Quinn spoke, he opened his briefcase. Three star flowers, wrapped in a paper bag like a hastily packed fast food meal, quietly emitted a faint blue light in the darkness.

Ike nodded. This guy always does it this way. If the flowers aren't delivered to the lab before they're fresh, the 330 gold pounds will be wasted.

But just as he was about to take out the check, a hoarse voice that hadn't made a sound all day suddenly rang in his mind—

"Damn, who's going to get me the glass jar I'm missing? This kid's really like Genshin Impact, activate!!"

(End of this chapter)