NOVEL NEXT Chapter 122: Need Max!
"Huh?" Max muttered with a raised brow.
"Yes. The Black Veil Gang. That is the gang which Zach's father runs. And right now, the both of us have just pissed them off. I killed their son, and you humiliated Zach." Jake replied with a huge sigh as he slipped back into his seat.
"But why are you so worried?" Jim suddenly asked as he stared at Jake. "I recall you shouting. Though I was unconscious, I don't know why I could hear the outside words.
You yelled you were a gang member too. So why not just ask for your gang's protection? It's Max who should be worried right now."
"I wouldn't be worried if it wasn't for the fact that I lied about being in a gang. I'm just the son of a wealthy businessman and that's all. Though we have influence and power on our side, we don't really have strength with us.
And the Black Veil Gang, they have both strength and money on their side. So right now, we are both screwed." Jake replied as he rubbed his head, a headache already coming up.
'This is a big problem for me. First the demons, hybrids and now gangs? What kind of mess have I just found myself in? Currently, there are demons still roaming wild and the association is unable to track them because they mysteriously masked their auras.
So it is either the demons have technology to do that, or I am going to face a huge threat. And on top of all that, this too?!' Max thought as his frown deepened, his mind spinning with countless worries.
"So what's going to happen right now?" Jim asked with a raised brow. "Because honestly, I am totally confused and overwhelmed. First, I find out that Max is no human but a dragon. Then I learn that demons are real and actively hunting him down, and now we suddenly have the Black Veil gang after us too."
"I just have a question for you, Jake." Max said as he leaned towards the hybrid with a frown on his face. "Why have you been researching me? Why on earth have you been so interested in me from day one?"
"Recall when I said that my family only has money and not strength on their side?" Jake asked and the duo nodded. "Well, I planned to change that, hence why I came to this association after becoming a hybrid."
"Meaning?" Max asked with a raised brow.
"I knew that this association had hybrids, though not a lot, but still. And the humans here are actually stronger than the normal humans outside.
So when I first met you, I initially thought you were human, and the strength and agility you displayed made me realise that you were stronger than the average human, which excited me.
But later along the line, I began seeing signs that made me feel you were a hybrid. So I started digging properly to be accurate, which led me to discovering that you are a dragon. And up till now, even as you have admitted the truth, I am still in shock." Jake chuckled faintly, though his eyes betrayed the seriousness of his words.
"You still haven't answered my question, and you dumped another one on me. Why have you been looking into me? And what exactly do you want with hybrids and humans?" Max asked with a raised brow.
"Simple. I wanted to recruit them." Jake said with a wide grin on his face.
"For?" Jim asked, now even more intrigued.
"If I tell you, will you keep everything we have said in this room a secret?" Jake asked with furrowed brows as he stared at the E ranked hunter.
"Even though Max doesn't know this, I have already pledged my loyalty to him. Anything involving him, if he deems it a secret and doesn't want it out, nobody would hear of it from me." Jim replied firmly, and Max only shot him a side glance, silently taking note of the weight behind Jim's words.
"Fine then." Jake sighed as he stared at the duo. "Max, I want to create a gang of my own."
"What?!" Max shouted, staring at Jake as if he had completely lost his mind. "What are you saying and why do you want to do that?!"
"Listen. At this point, the Black Veil Gang will come for us sooner or later. Max, the association can't protect us for long. Never! We'll keep going on missions and might get ambushed again, just like the time before.
What then? You were unconscious when that double A ranked hunter showed up. Did you know that the association actually monitors us during missions?
They saw everything that happened and still only chose to intervene after everything had settled down. Don't you see it? Our lives don't matter to them one bit." Jake asked, his tone rising. Max opened his mouth to argue, but not a single word came out.
'He has a fair point here. But a gang? I feel like that's bad news and way too much at this point. Where would we even get the funds to function? And who in their right mind would want to join a newly formed gang that nobody knows anything about? Tch!' Max thought as his brows furrowed deeper, his mind spinning with conflict.
"But according to what I know, gangs need a lot of money to run. They don't operate for free. They earn their money from different ventures.
Either being hired by powerful corporations to work under them, extorting from the weak, running their own illegal businesses, or getting contracted by influential companies. Where exactly do you want to get your funds from?" Jim asked, his brows knitted tightly in confusion.
"I will handle that. I just need Max." Jake replied firmly, his gaze shifting toward the dragon.
"Me? Why on earth would you need me to run your gang?" Max asked, his voice sharp as he noticed the faint smile spreading across Jake's lips.
"That's because you are going to be a key function in this gang. I could actually create it without you, but with you… my recipe would finally be complete." Jake replied, and the confidence in his tone sent a chill across the room.
"Huh? Meaning? What exactly do you want with Max?" Jim asked, suspicion lacing his words as he studied Jake carefully.
"I don't just want to recruit Max. I want to make him the leader of the gang." Jake replied, his words cutting through the silence like a blade. For a second, the entire room froze as though time itself had stopped before the duo suddenly exploded in shock.
"Wait, what?!"