A Few Minutes Before

Kevin and the other two got into the same mall using their usual car. Along the way, Mike still spaced out here and there. He seemed to be unable to calm down as his mind drifted to Misae over and over again.

"Mike, if you continue this, I'll kick you out of the car," Neo said with an annoyed tone. He could keep up with Mike going crazy with training no matter how much he hated that part of Mike. However, seeing the distressed Mike was out of the question. At this time, he wished for nothing that kicking that boy up.

Mike nodded his head slightly. "I understand."

Finally, they arrived in the parking lot and got out of the car. Kevin looked around as he inspected the place. For today's meeting, he arranged a meeting with one of the hidden clan head. However, he didn't expect them to pick the place in the mall where many people were around.

"Be careful," Kevin glanced to the two of them. "This time, it's not as easy as fighting head-on."

"Yes, Boss."

The two of them nodded solemnly. They knew that Kevin's position in the future would be determined by the result of every single meeting with the hidden clan heads. This was only one of them, but every single voice counted importantly.

"Mike!" Neo suddenly called out.

"Yes?"

"If you walk another step, you're going to crash into the pillar," Neo pointed to the pillar barely an inch away from Mike. If he stepped another step, he would crash into the pillar.

Mike quickly shifted his body's direction to the other way. He felt rather embarrassed that at the important time like this, he still being disturbed.

Kevin looked towards Mike. "Mike, you stay here."

"Boss?"

"Clear out your mind. This meeting will be handled by me and Neo," Kevin answered in a flat tone.

Mike was bewildered. In terms of fighting strength, Neo was certainly not up to par with him. However, right now, his mind was still unstable, which made Kevin didn't want to take him along.

"I'm fine, Boss."

"Stay here and guard the car. If something happens, we'll call you."

Hearing that strong tone from Kevin, Mike knew that his boss didn't accept the answer 'no'. With reluctance, he got into the driver seat and sat down there trying to sort out his own feeling.

As his two friends walked away, he thought about his own action. This was the second time he allowed different thoughts to stay in his mind. Each time this happened, his performance would decrease greatly and hindered other people around him.

'I change again.'

He sighed to himself. Right now, what he needed to do was to calm himself down. He couldn't possibly let any other thoughts got into the way of his mind right now because it would mean that he placed his own self into danger. During a mission and fight, even one second could result in death.

As Mike gathered his resolve, he calmed himself down and focused on the surrounding, determined to catch anyone who acted suspiciously.

Inside the mall, Neo walked nervously beside Kevin. He was not fully confident that he could protect this man because he knew very well that his fighting strength was not up to par with many other elites, including Mike. The only help he could provide was the gun because he trained himself in them quite proficiently.

"Boss, there are several people watching us," Neo frowned.

Kevin nodded his head. He was not comfortable with the other party bringing so many of his men into this mall. Nevertheless, he was the one who accepted the deal, so he would go through it until the end.

His feet brought him into a certain empty space at the ground floor. In the sofa not far from him, a man was sitting calmly. He quickly stood up the moment he spotted Kevin.

"Clan head," he greeted.

"There's no need for formality," Kevin immediately said. He pointed to the seat. "Let's sit down."

The man sat down and watched as Kevin also sat down with Neo beside him. He frowned a bit as he recalled that Kevin always brought two people around him. Where was the other one?

"Thank you very much for agreeing to my request to have a meeting in this place. I'm feeling honored that you're willing to come," the man started.

Kevin nodded. "I believe you already know the reason for my coming today."

"Yes. Clan head wish for me to pick you during the gathering, right?"

During the gathering, the hidden clan heads would have the power to select the new clan head. Because this time there was only one successor, the option would be to pick him or not. If they disagree, they could try to search for others from different lineages.

So far, there has been no instance where the lineage of Kalin Family cut down. However, it might happen this time because Kevin didn't have the full support of the hidden clan heads below him.

"Yes, I want to know your answer today," Kevin answered.

The clan head looked towards Kevin's eyes. The eyes of the youth were holding a great determination behind the seemingly ordinary eyes. It was very different than the usual people as he knew that the person before him had far etched view for the clan.

"What do you wish for Ryukalin Clan?"

"I will make the clan thrive again and become the most powerful one in this city," Kevin answered strongly.

"Ryukalin Clan is already the strongest, right?"

"The moment you feel complacent, it was also the start of your downfall. There is still someone stronger than us in this city," Kevin answered.

That answer shook the man to the core. He saw Kevin with an astonished gaze. This was the first time a clan head dared to say something like that. His blood boiled from the excitement just from thinking about it.

Unfortunately….

"Clan head, I can't."

If only he knew about this youth vision earlier, he wouldn't have chosen this way. Now, everything was too late.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry," as he said that, he waved his hand. Countless men suddenly appeared from the other corner around them with a gun pointed right at Kevin and Neo.

Neo's gaze hardened. He already prepared his gun on his hand, ready to take it out and shoot the people around them should Kevin willed it.

"I see, so this is your answer," Kevin sighed. How many times should he get a rejection? This time, this was a blatant betrayal from one of the hidden clans. He lowered his arm. "Since this is your choice, are you aware of your punishment?"

The man nodded his head. "I know."

BANG!

Neo shot the man in a split second. His gaze was as cold as ice. "Every traitor deserves death."

"Neo, call Mike," Kevin sighed as he took out his own gun. The men around them already became restless.