“Crows.” 

The Commissioner sat at his desk with both his legs crossed. The cigar in his mouth released a smell more pungent than ever. 

He was pissed. 

Not only had they failed to remove a drug dealer off the street, but that same drug dealer was under the protection of the Crow’s Eye. However, something was strange about this. Why was the Crow’s Eye protecting such a minor drug lord like Uenkram? What’s even more bizarre was Uenkram personally driving the truck. There was even that interaction the Commissioner had with the Crow. Uenkram didn’t seem fearful of the Crow compared to some other dealers the Crow’s Eye protects.

It wasn’t simply equal cooperation.

No, it appeared that Uenkram was working under the Crow.

The gaze in his eyes was one of servitude, respect, and gratitude. That kind of gaze was not something an ordinary Crow should receive. He had an authentic Borealis pin, and it doesn’t seem like he bought it off anyone. Plus, his movements did match that of any other Crow, but he was much younger in comparison. He seemed to be the same age as their new recruit, Elias. The Crow did claim that he was a new employee who wasn’t a lie according to the Commissioners [Insight], but he must’ve possessed a high standing in the Crow’s Eye to make Uenkram bend like that. 

An executive, perhaps? 

It seems that there are some more hidden characters in Ozwarth that the Commissioner wasn’t aware of. 

“Schedule the earliest meeting with Neilson possible. I want to speak with him.” 

Something big is going on that might just shake up all of Ozwarth.

>>>

Night fell the next day. 

Drew had barely any time to recover from the encounter with the Commissioner. If Neilson hadn’t told him everything he knew about the Commissioner, he probably would have made it alive in one piece. But the Commissioner was not ever the most surprising part of this encounter. 

Elias was there too. 

Things had just gotten more complicated. 

While Drew was angry that Elias lied to him, he came to the realization that he was also doing the same thing. Thus, Drew assumed Elias must have his reasons for being quiet other than confidentiality. Plus, if he told Elias that he saw him, Drew would also be exposing himself, so that wouldn’t be a good idea either. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. Drew had to focus on the task at hand, and that was to complete the regiment in time. 

The two Alchemists who barged into his room the day prior, Alvin and Terra, had presented him with the completed extracts he requested. Each one is created with a different ratio of ingredients and varying concentrations, but all retain the essential factor of five. 

Now it was time to conduct the simulations. 

Drew placed the extract and Otrio Blood Poisoning Regiment inside the testing machine. But before closing the door, Drew modified the experiment parameters and set the extract to be used after the Otrio Blood Poisoning Regiment. Within seconds, various algorithms had emerged on Drew’s screen as the machine rapidly collected data from the instantaneous trials it had conducted. 

Ding. 

The familiar bell sound from the testing machine chimed. 

On the holographic screen, a large blinking number showed up. 

Drew's eyes widened.

He couldn't contain his shock. 

"No way-" 

[70%] 

A 70% success rate?

"Show me the analytics," Drew commanded, his voice trembling ever so slightly as he tried to cover up his astonishment. 

A holographic screen appeared in front of Drew's eyes with the data collected from the rapid tests sorted into several files. Upon looking at the information, it appeared Drew's theory had been proven correct. The way to treat Otrio Blood Poisoning couldn't be done with a single regiment. Packing both a cleansing and healing effect into one regiment would cause the chances of success to decrease exponentially. However, creating two separate regiments with a single effect would increase the overall success rate for curing Otrio Blood Poisoning. This was just a general summary of the test conducted by the machine, but when he read a bit further, he found something fascinating. The timing of when each regiment was injected also affected the success rate since it was a two-parter. Interestingly enough, the maximum success rate occurred at exactly five seconds and not a millisecond more or less. 

"It appears that everything regarding this extract from its production to its administration has to occur at some factor of five. I have to conduct a few more tests to verify this." 

And so Drew did exactly that. Of course, he wasn't alone. He distributed some of the work to the other Alchemists. 

After a few hours, half of the regiment combinations had been tested. So far, the highest success rate was 81%, and the ideal ratio for the Alicore Heart and Zyphericus Stem extract was 15:85 or about 3:17, which wasn't a factor of five when simplified but required a factor of five to create. It was peculiar, but it worked. 

It was nearing midnight and Drew had to head back before the dorms would close. 

Picking up his jacket, Drew gave out one last order for the Alchemists. 

"Once all possible combinations have been tested, send me the data. I will also ask one of you to make some Galigar Lotus extract from scratch. I would like to confirm something tomorrow." 

"Yes, sir!" The Alchemists replied with respect before Drew left the vicinity. 

As soon as Drew's figure disappeared from sight, a few Alchemists began talking amongst themselves. 

"Hey, why does Mr. Snow only work six hours while we have to work twelve-hour shifts?" One Alchemist asked. 

Terra, who couldn't help but eavesdrop, decided to respond to his question.  

"He's the boss. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's got other things to do other than this. I mean it's already asking for a lot to have him take charge of this project considering how urgent it was. I heard it was even a personal request from Boss Neilson." 

The other Alchemist's eyes widened. 

"Really, I didn't know that. So Snow is taking precious time out of his day to help out with this. I wonder how the two are connected?"

Terra shrugged as she placed another set of regiments into the testing machine.  

"Probably through business."

The Alchemist didn't say another word upon hearing Terra's reply and resumed his current activity. 

>>>

On the AirTrain, Drew picked up his usual snacks and hot tea. 

"I know I'm able to afford more than this," Drew muttered. "However, I can't help but feel comfortable. Sometimes expensive things aren't satisfactory." 

Drew scoffed munching on a bag of chips watching the lights of the sleepless city pass through his tired gaze.

As the train pulls into another station, Elias enters the same car as Drew. His brows furrowed together as considered the events of the night before. 

>>>

It was the first time the Commissioner had allowed him to join the Hunters on a mission. He was happy that he could finally do some good in the city by taking down his first drug dealer, Weasel. However, that guy, Dealer 3960, had to intervene. Elias wondered why the Commissioner couldn't do anything against him until a fellow colleague told him: "Elias, you are aware that the Underworld exists no matter which planet you reside on. However, that world is more dangerous than you've seen in the movies. There are hidden powers that can overturn governments and the individual in front of you is a representative of one of those powers. They are not ones that even the Hunters can take on that's why we have to cooperate with them. To rid evil, you must do anything no matter how dirty it is. That's why we Hunters exist."

"Who exactly is he?" Elias asked impatiently. 

"He's known as a Dealer but us Hunters refer to them as Crows." The colleague replied. "He's an information broker for an organization called Crow's Eye which the Hunters have a contract with to obtain information. However, some Dealers have a higher standing than others and act as representatives for the head of the Crow's Eye. This Dealer in front of us is one of them." 

Elias sighed.

"Okay, I get that part. So you're basically saying that we can't touch the Dealers because that would destroy our relationship with the Crow's Eye who is one of our most important sources of information." 

"Right on the dot. But that's not all. There is a clause in our contract that says that we can't touch individuals that are considered affiliates of the Crow's Eye." 

“Dammit,” Elías hissed. “Doesn’t that means the Crow’s Eye can pretty much pardon anyone from the Hunters judgment as long as they are considered an affiliate. Then why are we even hunting down these drugs dealers and criminals?” 

“Like any other organization, the Crow’s Eye has enemies. These enemies have committed heinous deeds by cooperating with the Crow’s not only are we helping them but we are also ridding the city of crime. It’s a win-win situation. If you compared Yerburn fifteen years ago to now, it’s much safer thanks to our cooperation with the Crows.” 

Elias couldn’t help but agree with his colleague. As much as he hates the Crow’s Eye for helping certain criminals, they still do the Hunters a big favor by leading them to others. 

“Then what can we do against the Crow’s Eye?” 

“Two things, either go after the individuals who aren’t protected by the Crow’s Eye but are affiliated with the ones they protect to whittle away their power like low-ranked gang members. Or-“

“Or what?” 

“Or gain the favor of the executives of Crow’s Eye. The latter is much harder to accomplish but it’ll make it easier for us to acquire info in the long run. That’s why the Commissioner tries so hard to stay on their good side.” 

Elias couldn’t help but curse in his mind. It would take longer for him the accomplish his goal. Much longer than he had originally planned. 

>>> 

 “El,” Drew called to Elias who was deep in his thoughts. “Elias Mathis Ryhard!” 

The voice of the annoying green-haired Avian pierced his eardrums. 

It seems like he’s here too. 

“You’re out late. Snow kept you busy again?” 

“Yeah,” Drew replied the caffeine from the tea causing his sense to perk up. “It seems like my work will be like this for a while until he finishes up this project. He’s almost done so I’ll finally be back in the dorms earlier. Anyhow, wassup? You look pretty tense.” 

“It’s just work. I’m trying to figure out how to deal with people better. The customers I deal with can be quite a nuisance-“ 

The image of Dealer 3960 popped up in his mind. Though they were the same age and same rank, the vibe Dealer 3960 gave off was completely different than that of his own. It was cold, calculating, and terrifying. It made him shudder knowing that there were people like the Dealer if not more terrifying in the Underworld, even wielding a fragment of its power that was more sinister than anything he had ever experienced. If that guy was just a Dealer, Elias couldn't possibly imagine the power that the Crow's Eye leader possessed. 

"I'm sure they are." Drew grinned, trying to lighten the mood. 

Drew, on the other hand, knew exactly what Elias was thinking about. It was basically written all over his face. To be honest, his act from yesterday was a mix of bluffs and truths. However, facing the Commissioner and Hunters so boldly made him tremble with fear. If he made a single wrong be it with his words or actions, the Commissioner could easily cut him down but Neilson's status as the Head of the Crow's Eye protected him. This made him realize that he was just a small fish in a large pond whose actions were dictated by the will of others. He was merely a pawn in this massive game of four-dimensional chess. A drop of fresh water in the ocean. 

It's infuriating. Both Elias and Drew thought to themselves. Just how weak I am. 

The two sat in the car in silence, contemplating the events from the night before as the AirTrain sped through Ozwarth. 

Not another word was uttered by one or the other.