An alliance. That was a very bold statement and simultaneously a proposal that came as quite a surprise to Yui.
Shuri knew very well that she couldn't just stop here and proceeded to explain her reasons behind seeking an alliance with a mafia boss.
"I have many reasons. But let me explain what I understood from my time here."
She elegantly placed one of her legs above the other and looked right into Yui's eyes before slowly uttering her next set of words…
"When I first heard about your establishment, I thought it was just a glorified strip bar or some whore house."
She was blunt in her assessment, "I came for personal reasons but I honestly didn't expect much by coming here. This was why I was all the more astonished by what I had seen and am seeing even now and how I was received."
She gave a look at the masked man beside Yui and smiled slightly, showing her favorability for Cinder, "Even though it's still a host bar, the investment put in both the hosts and the different ressources is too high and I could actually recognize few of the guests. This was when I understood… The boss of this organization is doing this to increase their influence in the Light side, right?"
This was a rather common train of thought and something necessary for all high-grade crime lords.
One couldn't just live in the shadows, the Dark side of the world, forever. They had to have an impeccable life that left absolutely no handle for the police to get them.
This was the reason why there were so many known crime lords but actually no arrests that came to their name. Because they were technically clean in any and all ways. There was never proof left for their misdeeds and the deals behind the scenes and there were always scapegoats ready to be used at their beck and call.
"I can help you."
"Help me?"
"Indeed. In the past, I had… Let's say clients of interesting origins and some misdeeds they were accused of and I helped them walk on a brighter road."
It was quite the roundabout way to say that she had dealt with many criminals and helped them get clean sheets in her own ways but she wasn't stupid enough to say such a thing out loud.
"In fact, Feng Huang Yui, I also had many deals with your grandfather, Feng Yuxiang."
The nonchalance in Yui's expression vanished and became stony at the mention of her paternal family…
"If you are so well connected, why not contact my grandfather? Is it because you look down on my organization?"
Shuri was not surprised by the sudden shift in tone and atmosphere. She had made extensive research in the last 24 hours and she knew what she came here for.
"I am not underestimating you but rather correctly estimating your and my worth. As I am now, while I am quite big, I am still a slightly bigger fish in the sea. Nothing more and nothing less. An alliance with a big whale like old man Feng would only end up in me becoming his subordinate. As you can already tell, I don't want to be under anyone."
Shuri knew her position in life. She was rich, she had great influence and some armed forces at her disposal.
But this was nothing compared to what the big gangs could bring to the table.
"Let's not play the pride game. I am sure you understand very well that in terms of Pure organization size, your group is still a fledgling group. Of course, if you find this offensive, we can stop this conversation right here and now and forget that any of it happened."
Shuri had met many different kinds of criminals throughout her life and she did not want to deal with the spoiled type that seemed to believe that the world turned around their existence.
Adam, meanwhile, was silently observing the wrestling match that was happening between the two women and damn, he had to admit that Shuri had bigger balls than many men he had encountered in his life.
Even without taking into account the supernatural nature of Yui, as Shuri had no way of knowing about this, the fact that she entered a crime lord's lair with no hesitation whatsoever and didn't even hesitate in giving the harsh truth right to their faces was nothing short of incredible. She was like a fearless warrior, charging into enemy lines all by themselves.
The most impressive?
He could see some slight fear in her emotions. But this fear never showed in her expression.
She was calm, stoic, and seemingly extremely confident in herself with no feelings of fear or hesitation.
Yui, of course, was feeling as much impressed if not more. Deciding that this situation was suddenly much more interesting than what she had given it credit for.
Yui decided to take a small step back. After all, what Shuri said was a truth she always knew.
"Go on."
Inwardly, Shuri leaked out a sigh of relief. Her words may have been harsh but those were necessary to gauge the maturity and personality of the woman in front of her.
She had obviously made sure to prepare some protection just in case but, in all obviousness, she would have rather not have to use those measures.
"Good. Now that we have made the situation clear. I will be blunt."
"So you weren't already blunt?"
Shuri smiled at the small quip, this was proof that they were becoming more at ease with each other, "I was attacked not long ago after leaving your establishment."
"Oh?"
"The attack resulted in no obvious wounds. But I have sources that lead me to believe that some of my relatives made a deal with some enemy of yours and now are after my life."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is that it?'
"No. The enemy of my enemy can also be an enemy. But it can also become a valuable ally."
Believing in friendship in this world of crime and business was just blatantly asking to get stabbed in the back.
Shuri only believed in contracts and even contracts were not totally trustworthy. After all, her husband had broken one of the most sacred contracts that existed since primordial times. He had broken her heart on top.
This was why the only true friend she had was Cecilia. But she was not sad.
Better have only one true friend than a bunch of Hyenas who acted friendly while waiting for you to fall.
"The deal is simple. Assure my security. Protect me and I will help you step into the Light of this world."
"How?"
"Because I am the best lawyer you will ever have and I can bring my entire firm behind you."
Yui whistled at that declaration.
Those were indeed arguments of great weight.
———
(AN: Edit as of 30/05/23
AN: So, yeah it seems like I failed. I currently have 8.4K+ unlock and I need 1500 more. I have 250 priv. So I would need to write 6 chapters in 24h again and absolutely all Priv readers to unlock everything directly. The problem is we are reaching the climax of the volume and my brain is going mushy. I feel like the story quality dropped a bit since I pushed so many chapters so fast yesterday. I don't know, perhaps just stress.
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm Anyways guys, rant aside, you guys have been incredible. The failure is entirely on me since If I pushed a few more chapters earlier, I am sure we could have reached 10K. Not only did I go from around 190 Priv readers last month to 250 this month, but I also got 53 gifts out of which 3 were castles. Having your readers support your work always feels good. Even though failing so close to the goal is painful. Thanks for the support everyone
As such, I decided to keep the 99% off next month even though I didn't meet the goal. I don't know how many of you guys will come back as Priv Readers though I hope all of you will come back next month haha. I will try one last push today. Will most likely fail but at least I believe next month I can succeed if I plan ahead better.)
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