Jin’s POV
   A few minutes later, Mika came back with drinks for everyone. The amount is a bit too much, so she had to use a trolley. On it are all sorts of beverages and an assortment of snacks. Jin looks at Miko.

   “You know, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of using that if you helped out.” he points out as he remembered her ability.

   “I try not to use it too much. It has recharge time, you know~?” the younger of the twin informs while yawning.

   “It does?”

   “Yup yup~. I tried pushing my limit once, and the limit is two hours a day, and that’s before considering the weight of the objects I levitate~.”

   In other words, the more and/or heavier things she lifted, the faster she runs out of juice. And Jin just realized that she could hear him just fine, even though she’s wearing her earplugs right now.

   “I can read lips.” Miko informs as if she managed to read his mind. “Mii-chan and I trained a lot, so we’re real good at it~.”

   “As a matter of fact, so did I.” King adds.

   Zheng starts to laugh loudly. The whole building vibrated for a moment again.

   “ALL OF YOU ARE WAY TOO SCARED OF MY LOUD VOICE!” he guffaws.

   “We would prefer to keep our hearing intact, thank you.” King tells him coldly.

   “AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I GUESS MY VOICE CAN BE A BIT TOO LOUT SOMETIMES!”

   “Only sometimes?”

   “Anyway, let’s start the meeting.” Jin says.

   “Yup.” Tatsuma agrees.

   All of a sudden, Zheng raises up his right hand.

   “Yes?” Jin asks.

   “IS THERE REALLY A NEED FOR A STRATEGY MEETING AT ALL? WE CAN JUST CHARGE IN AND WRECK EVERYTHING!”

   Jin looks at Tatsuma.

   “Something tells me the two of you really get along.”

   “We kind of do. I mean, he’s the only one I was willing to work with when I was still fixated on the whole family-only thing.”

   “I wonder why. Look, Zheng. We can’t bulldoze our way through this one, okay?”

   ”WHY NOT? IT’S THE FASTEST WAY TO END THIS, RIGHT?”

   “Right, and the consequences will be terrible.”

   He was about to explain the same thing he did to Tatsuma when Fang pulls Zheng’s right sleeve to get his attention.

   “WHAT IS IT, FANG?” the Chinese boy asks loudly even though she’s standing right next to him.

   She puts her lips closer to his ear and whispers something.

   “...WHAT? THAT MIGHT HAPPEN?”

   More whispering.

   “I SEE. THAT’S INDEED BAD. WE CAN’T ATTRACT MORE ATTENTION THAN WE ALREADY HAVE, CAN WE?”

   When Fang is finally done, Zheng looks at Jin.

   “SORRY ABOUT WHAT I SAID EARLIER! I DON’T USE MY BRAIN OFTEN, YOU SEE!” he apologizes.

   Jin shrugs to show that he doesn’t mind.

   “As long as you understand. I’m just glad that Fang managed to talk some sense into you.”

   “NO KIDDING! SHE WAS ALWAYS THERE TO STOP ME FROM BEING RECKLESS! I HONESTLY WON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITHOUT HER!” Zheng laughs.

   Jin sneaks a glance towards Fang. The soft-spoken girl is blushing and smiling happily. Ah, so that’s how it is.

   “Anyone has any objections or things they want to say?” Jin asks while looking around.

   No one else said a thing.

   “That’s a no.” he concludes. “Before we get started, though, I need to do a group chat with some of my allies. They’ll be joining this meeting through it.”

   Naturally, there’s the option of asking them to come over directly. However, it’s better if they have as little contact with the Ryuuzaki folks and their allies as little as possible. After all, Jin still doesn’t fully trust them. Soon, all of Jin’s allies pick up his call. Once everyone present got their drinks, they sit down in circle, and the meeting could finally get started.

   “Let’s get down to business. All of us here, including some of us who’re not here right now, have gathered here for one purpose and one purpose only: to crush the UCI.” Jin begins.

   “I’ve been wondering this for a while. Those places are protected by the PM himself, right? Being someone hired by him, can you even join in the crushing?” Tatsuma asks.

   “Again, we’re not going to crush them literally. If we do that for real, we’ll never hear the end of it from the government. It’s especially bad for you guys, right?”

   He pauses.

   “What exactly are your professions?” he asks Zheng and King.

   “I LEAD A GANG OF CHINESE MAFIA BASED IN YOKOHAMA! FANG HERE HELPS ME WITH THE GROUP, AND SHE’S ALSO AN ACUPUNCTURIST!”

   “I am the vice leader of a mafia group in England.”

   “Yup, it would be bad. And that’s not all. I only told the Ryuuzaki siblings this, but the UCI have four demons under them. Even one is enough to turn this city into dust. I can’t have you guys going wild and attract their attention until I’m done with them.”

   “What do you propose, then?” King asks.

   “I have received an information that they are currently inside the UCI lab of the Roppongi branch. That said, they were seen there three days ago. I can’t guarantee that they’re still there.”

   “You want us to cause a ruckus and lure them out.” Tatsuma concludes.

   “That’s right.”

   “And in the case where none of them are present?”

   “Either way, a fight will begin. While all that is going on, we’ll send someone to sneak inside the lab to gather evidence about their wrongdoings. I tried it once, but the more important ones were destroyed. This time, we have to be more discreet.”

   “I’ll do it.” Mika volunteers.

   “You sure? The security’s probably tight.”

   “No worries. My ability is suitable for this kind of situation, even though that wasn’t my original intention.”

   Ah, yes. Her ability which gave Jin a literal headache.

   “What exactly is your ability?” Jin asks curiously.

   “It’s similar to a jammer, except that it jams human brains instead of electronics.” Mika explains. “I can make people hear unpleasant sound inside their head, or temporary disable one of their senses.”

   “That’s a rather interesting choice.”

   Choice, not ability. By now, Jin knows how the power-granting serums work, at least on surface level. Those things grant its user the ability he or she desires the most. Isobe Manabu obtained a black hole stomach from his desire to store food. Date Jr. gained her scale-and-chain from her huge sense of justice. Kubo’s desire to get a harem of maids awakened his latent power to mind-control girls.

   “Well, I was always fascinated by spy agents in movies. I’m not really stealthy, so I figured this is the best way for me to move around without being detected.”

   Jin looks at Miko.

   “Let me guess. You got yours since you want to get stuff from far away without moving.” he predicts.

   “That’s right. Pretty genius of me, huh~?” Miko asks smugly.

   “I have no comments in regards to that. Back to the topic in hand. It might be too dangerous for you to go alone, so someone has to accompany you.” Jin says to Mika.

   “No thanks. I prefer to work alone when it comes to stealth missions.”

   Jin looks at Tatsuma. The younger brother merely shrugged, so Jin decides to respect her decision.

   “DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE REST OF US WILL GET TO SEE SOME ACTION?” Zheng asks eagerly.

   “Probably, it really depends on how they act. After all, the rest of us are meant to be decoys and baits. For all we know, they’ll just stay put until we go away.”

   “There’s also the possibility of them releasing HER out of whatever cage she’s being locked up in.” Tatsuma says all of a sudden.

   Upon hearing that, the expression of everyone present becomes grim. Well, except Jin’s.

   “Who’s this we’re talking about?”

   “A particularly dangerous ability user. Hold on, it’s faster to show you. Hold on.”

   Tatsuma rummages through his pants pocket and fishes out his phone. He taps on the screen for a few times with his fingers before handing it to Jin. The screen shows a paused video. Jin uses his index finger to tap on the screen and makes the video play.

   Once it starts, it shows a fighting ring of some sort. There are wired fences surrounding it, and Jin has a feeling that those wires are charged with electricity. The fences don’t matter, though. What matters is that there are one human girl and three female trolls standing opposite each other on top of the ring.

   Jin could tell the human is a girl due to her slender body. Her hair reaches until her neck, and she’s wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The camera is facing her back, so he can’t see her face. The three trolls, on the other hand, are exactly the same as all the trolls Jin has fought so far: green, huge, and muscular. And all of them are trembling in fear.

   Trolls aren’t exactly known for their intelligence. They’ve known to charge head-first into danger, even more so when they’re hungry. They’re so stupid they would ignore their sense of danger if it would mean that their hunger can be satisfied. Jin would know. He can’t even begin to count how many times he was attacked by hungry trolls when he was at Ifezan. And now, seeing these beast-like humanoids actually being scared makes Jin feels like a whole new world has opened up to him.

   “Begin.”

   The voice was mechanical, bland, and came from somewhere near the ceiling. Probably a researcher who’s hiding behind reinforced glass or something.

   Jin didn’t blink at all, and his eyes were well-trained to catch the faintest movements, which is why he could see that the moment the voice was done, he saw multiple shadowy mouths complete with sharp teeth coming out of the girl. The mouths opened and closed in quick successions. By the time they were done, not a single trace of the trolls remained, not even bloodstains. And then the video ends.

   “How did you even get this footage?” Jin asks while handing Tatsuma back his phone.

   “One of our men went undercover to check on things there.” comes the reply.

   “And where is he now?”

   Instead of answering, Tatsuma merely lowered his head. That’s all the answer Jin needs.

   “Why did you sent him to do something so dangerous?” he couldn’t help but ask.

   “I didn’t, okay? He just disappeared on us one day. By the time he sent me that video, it was already too late.”

   “Well, the least we could do is make full use of this information that he got with his life. Is there anything else other than the video?”

   “He mentioned that she was given the code name Hatred.”

   “Just the code name? What about her real one?”

   “He couldn’t find out. He said that the researchers literally found her on the streets and decided to experiment on her.”

   “And they managed to create a monster.”

   “Sure did. And the worst part is, she was in the lab for only around a month. Can you imagine the destruction she can cause if she’s given more time?”

   “Wait a minute. So, part of the reason you wanted to storm a lab is…”

   “I wanted to do something about her.”

   “You know, you could have mentioned her first.”

   “Does it matter? We need to fight her anyway if they decide to let her run loose. So, think you could take her on?”

   “I’m not sure.” Jin confesses.

   Tatsuma widens his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

   “What do you mean? You’re practically invincible, right?”

   “Look, the main reason I managed to survive for so long is because I always underestimate myself. If I let my strength fog my surroundings, I’ll have the rug pulled out from under me in no time.”

   “Oh, I don’t know.” Tatsuma says a bit hesitantly. “My father always said that those with strength should act confident at all times.”

   Jin barely managed to stop himself from groaning. The young head just can’t break free from his father complex, can he? Then again, what does Jin know? He loathes his father, and he’s still savoring the feeling when he beat the living daylight out of that person. Well, enough about fathers. He has more important things to focus on.

   This one called Hatred. Something about her just bothers Jin to no end. Not to mention those mouths made of shadows. They seem awfully familiar to him, but he just can’t put his fingers around them-

   “-HEY, SILVER WOLF!”

   That yell from Tatsuma snapped Jin back to reality.

   “Hmm?”

   “Don’t you “hmm?” me! Why were you spacing out?”

   “My bad. Now, in the worst case scenario where we’ll have to deal with this Hatred and the five demons at the same time, I need you guys to do something about her.”

   “That’s quite a tall order.”

   “Hey, you guys got the advantage in numbers, so make full use of it.”

   “NO WORRIES, TATSUMA! WE CAN DEFINITELY TAKE HER ON IF WE WORK TOGETHER!” Zheng says optimistically.

   “I sure hope so…” Tatsuma mumbles.

   “Pray tell, will you be occupied with the said five demons?” King asks Jin.

   “That’s my plan. That said, I don’t plan on taking all of them at once. One of my allies-”

   He taps on his phone here.

   “-will help me to trap at least one of them in a different dimension. I’ll deal with the rest of them in the mean time.”

   Naturally, he’s talking about Audrey.

   “What is your chance of victory?”

   “If I have to fight at least four of them in one go, pretty much none.”

   The face of everyone present go pale at once.

   “We’re so going to die…” he hears the voice of Kubo saying softly from his phone.

   “If, and it’s a very big if, mind you, what do we do if you got defeated?” Mika asks.

   Jin thinks of Nyri, Shuten Douji, Yamauchi and Shiranui.

   “Someone else might appear and take care of them. A real emphasis on “might”, though.”

   “WELL, WHAT HAPPENS, HAPPENS, RIGHT?”

   At times like this, Jin was glad that someone optimistic like Zheng is part of the team. It didn’t really help with the mood, but at least their expression look a bit determined.

   “We’ll take care of Hatred. You just concentrate on those demons.” Tatsuma decides.

   “Thanks. I really appreciate that. Now here’s the thing. I was told that some of the demons were seen at the lab of Roppongi branch. If we have to attack a place, it’s gotta be there.”

   “Funny you should say that. Hatred was stationed there too.” Tatsuma informs.

   “Seriously? My informant didn’t say anything about her, though.”

   “Did she got the information about the demons from a former employee of the lab?”

   “Yup.”

   “Thought so. See, any and all staff members who wanted out were threatened not to leak out any top secret info on pain of their family members’ death.”

   “And the info about the demons were fine?”

   Tatsuma shrugs. “Normal people would just assume that they don’t exist.”

   “One more thing. There’s this man. Blue eyes, blond hair, around forty years old. Ring any bells?”

   Jin hears someone exhaling sharply on his phone. No prize for guessing who was it.

   “Can’t say that I have. Who’s that supposed to be?”

   “Another dangerous individual. He’s a really skilled spellcaster from Ifezan. He’s not as dangerous as the demons, but he’s dangerous enough.”

   “...Seriously? And who’s going to take care of him if he decides to come out?”

   “I will.”

   “Me too.”

   As expected, Audrey and Aldenia spoke out.

   “Are the two of you sure?” Tatsuma asks. “That guy must be pretty dangerous if Silver Wolf of all people said that he’s not to be messed with.”

   “We will accomplish it without fail.” Audrey assures.

   “Rather, we have to.” Jin hears Aldenia’s voice coming from his phone.

   “You two know him or something?”

   “All too well.”

   “He’s our father, after all.”

   Tatsuma looks at Jin. Jin nods at him.

   “...Well, um, I won’t pry any further. He’s all yours.”

   “Much appreciated.”

   “Thanks for that.”

   “So, anything else on your side?” Tatsuma asks Jin.

   Jin thinks about it for a moment.

   “I guess I’m done. What about you?”

   “I got nothing else too.”

   Jin notices Fang raises up her hand. She raised it up to her face level, and she moved really slowly, so he barely noticed.

   “Yes?” he asks.

   She opens and closes her mouth a few times.

   “FANG ASKS IF IT’S REALLY OKAY FOR US TO GO WILD! SHE’S WORRIED THAT ONCE WE START FIGHTING, OUR SURROUNDINGS MIGHT GET WRECKED!” Zheng translates.

   “Don’t worry about that. We have a group of onmyojis who’re specialized in creating barriers. They’ll be able to minimize the damage caused should things get messy.” Jin assures.

   “He is absolutely right. Please have faith in us.” Ayumi speaks out from his phone.

   Upon hearing that, Fang looks a bit more relaxed.

   “Anyone else has anything to say or ask?” Jin asks.

   He waits for a few seconds. No one else speaks out. He was about to end the meeting when he remembered that he has totally forgotten about one particular individual who might want to take revenge on the UCI.

   “Well, you guys head to the lab at Roppongi. I’ll be joining you guys later. ” he tells those here.

   “Where are you going?” Tatsuma asks.

   “To give a certain someone a chance.”