CHAPTER 37 : BLACK & WHITE PART 3

Never again.The unconscious bodies of gangsters were sprawled all around. Khalid, in his Beast Tigers armor, walked out of a room accompanied by Mei and Chyou. Ali met them as he walked down a corridor.I won't allow it anymore...White stood gazing at the city of Klang. The only buildings illuminated were the surrounding condominium towers near the White Tigers' base. Alex stood by his desk, and suddenly, White's phone rang. He quickly picked it up.What else are you willing to do?The door to White's room swung wide open. Members of HOPE who were there stepped inside. Ali clenched his fists the moment he saw White and Alex. Khalid and Mei aligned their shoulders with Ali."Just get ready," said White, ending the call he had just answered. He stood from his chair, both eyes glaring sharply at Ali.What can you do?"Finally, we meet, Masked Man. And you're not alone," remarked White, briefly glancing at Khalid and Mei."You think you can escape? I know what you're planning... There's a helicopter waiting for you up there, isn't there?" Ali retorted, as glowing blue veins became visible on both of his hands."That's right. I don't intend to fight, let's talk, Masked Man," White proposed."What's there left to talk about? If you don't want to fight, surrender! And stop all of White Tigers' operations," Ali demanded."Surrender to whom? The police or to you?" White countered. Ali fell silent for a moment. White placed his hands behind his back and moved forward, approaching Ali and the HOPE members."You realize the authorities don't side with you either. It seems what you're doing isn't actually for them—it's for your own desires," White said, facing them confidently."You... you put so many people in danger. Your gang creates monsters! Do you think everyone will just stay silent and let you do as you please?" Ali questioned."You also put other Mutants in a dangerous position, making people fear us," Khalid added."The public should fear us. Mutants are the next step in evolution; humans who aren't Mutants are weak. They're beneath us... and that's the reality. Tell me, what are you fighting for?" White asked, twisting his own question."To eliminate Strays, prevent the deaths of innocent people... and give Mutants a good name," Khalid answered."You say I endanger Mutants, but your actions do the same, don't they? The government and authorities will never fully trust Mutants. No matter how many people you save, Mutants remain outside their control. Anything uncontrollable is their enemy," White explained."So what? You want to control Mutants and Strays before they do?""Exactly. It's clear that Mutants and humans can't coexist—we're too different, too strong, too powerful compared to humans. They won't allow us to exist together... But White Tigers ensure that Mutants won't be harmed and will remain on top," White smiled slightly, raising both his hands."That's not your true reason..." Ali stated, causing White to pause."You say these things to mask your real desires. What you truly want is power... to control a greater force. If you genuinely cared about Mutants, you wouldn't have created monsters like the ones in Port Klang. What you care about when it comes to Mutants is their power, not their lives," Ali revealed, as White clenched his fists."Hypocrite... What reason do you have to stop me? To interfere with my operations? To protect others? To be a hero? Life isn't black and white, Masked Man. You have your own selfish desires too...""You're right. I just hate gangsters..." Ali replied. White simply looked at him, his once fierce expression now calm."I have no choice..."The moment you step into this world, you can never leave.A younger White, with black hair, was walking alongside Alex. In the background, several other gangsters watched them as they both entered a hidden door in a narrow alleyway."White Tiger, I heard you're the best hitman... but no one mentioned you always bring your 'lover' along, haha," laughed a burly man wearing glasses. He was surrounded by other gangsters and a woman with long hair. White glanced at him slightly, but Alex remained silent.I'm just a hitman who doesn't belong to any gang. It doesn't matter who you are, as long as you can pay me, I'll kill them.Most gang leaders don't want to dirty their own hands or order their subordinates to kill someone. Hitmen like me—they won't hesitate to pay... just to clean up their mess.I kill the man who dares to betray his own gang.I kill the woman pregnant with the child of one of the gang's members.I threaten the man who can't pay his debts.Kill... Hurt...Kill and kill again...Over time, their screams and pleas faded from my hearing. I didn't feel human anymore."All alone, huh? Where's your...'boyfriend'?" teased a woman with long, flowing black hair as she sat beside White, who was drinking alone."He's my assistant," White replied."Hmm... if that's true, prove it to me, White." The woman placed her index finger on White's chest. They stared at each other, the woman smiling sweetly, and White's eyes locked onto hers.Falling in love isn't an option for a man like me..."Huh... Huh... Wh-Why?" The woman sat in front of White, her hands and feet bound, blood dripping from her nose. White pointed his gun at her face as she looked at him with bruised eyes, tears flowing from her reddened right eye."Wh-White... I-"White pulled the trigger, watching as a pool of blood formed from the gunshot wound in the woman's forehead.White walked away, seeing Alex waiting for him in the car. White got into the car, exhaled deeply, and leaned his head back."You... actually killed her, huh?" Alex asked."No choice, Alex... I had no choice. She knew too much. They said what she knew could start a war between the other gangs," White lamented, as Alex simply looked at him. White's face appeared completely empty.You never know who you'll have to kill. One moment, you're shooting someone you had a conversation with just yesterday.I shot... someone I thought I liked.White had dyed his hair white. He walked alone under the heavy rain. His eyes scanned the surroundings, and quickly he entered a narrow alley. Alex was leaning against the wall, holding his umbrella."He ran. From what they said, he had a family, and like usual, when you realize you're chained, you try to escape, but... there's no way out for someone like him." Alex handed over photos of a man, one of which showed him walking with a little girl."They want us to kill him and make sure no one sees him again... They want him to disappear without a trace. He used to be a big shot too," Alex continued.Emptiness is all I feel. My life is void of meaning. I do nothing to change it either. There's no point...This meaningless life of mine will end with someone else killing me.Alex lay sprawled on the floor, blood dripping from his left eye, while White hid behind a wall with a wound on his cheek."D-Don't! P-P-Please! It hurts... Papa! Papa..." A long-haired Stray with multiple sharp legs was searching for White. Underneath it lay the body of a man with a gunshot wound to his chest.White just stared at Alex, gritting his teeth, before stepping out from his hiding spot, aiming his gun at the Stray.Maybe this is the demon that will drag me to hell and end this meaningless life of mine..."Uuuaaarrrghhh!" Several legs extended and stabbed White directly in the stomach before he could shoot, blood splattered as the Stray hurled White forcefully against the wall.So, this is my life..."White...""I was thinking... what if we just ran away from all of this? From this life..." She lay beside me, her head resting on her arm, with her long hair covering part of her face."You're not under any gang, right? So why keep going with this life?" she asked, as I simply looked at her, her blue eyes resembling clear water."People like me don't have a choice. They'll come for me... They want what I can do. Because I'm not tied to any gang, they like my work... I can kill whoever they want dead without restrictions.""If they asked you to kill me, would you kill me too, White?" she asked, but at that moment, I stayed silent. She kissed me and whispered in my ear."Don't kill me, White."White leaned against the wall, blood pouring from his stab wound. The Stray that had stabbed him earlier walked closer. White stared at the creature with vacant eyes.If only I could destroy all those gangs. She wouldn't have to die.If only I had run away with her. Maybe I could've lived a more meaningful life, even if it was short.Maybe we could've just died together...But... I still chose this damn life?"I'm not worthy of you...""Aaaarrrghhhh!" White screamed as he held back the Stray's mouth from devouring him, the creature's sharp teeth sinking into White's hand, blood spilling onto his face.Suddenly, White's eyes turned yellow, and his pupils shifted into slits like a cat's. Stripes began to form across his body."You can become someone worthy. Don't waste the life I tried to build for us..."She tried to create something meaningful with her life. Tried to build a path for me and her to escape this empty existence.And I destroyed everything she built..."Ergh... Huh..." Alex regained consciousness, clutching onto White, who was dragging him."W-What happened?" Alex asked."I killed that monster..." White said, sitting Alex by the car door. White slumped down as well, his stab wound still not fully healed."White...""Alex... I'm going to build...""Huh?""Build... a gang that controls the entire underworld. No more hitmen, no more dealers, no more... fragmented syndicates. Everything... under one gang. I'm going to tear down the whole underworld...""What's wrong with you? You kill one monster... and now you think you can take on everyone?""Yes, Alex. Because... I'm a monster too. With this power, I can do it." White looked at Alex with his cat-like eyes."I also... hate gangsters, Masked Man, but you can't just erase them. Without them, there's no evil that's needed... Someone powerful has to become that evil!" White stared at Ali with the same eyes. Ali swung his fist at him, but White caught the punch with his hand, which had transformed into metal with sharp claws, tiger-like stripes forming all over his body.But the punch caused a strong shockwave, shattering the windows in the room. Khalid rushed in to attack, attempting to strike White with the hilt of his sword, but White caught that too."I'll kill you. You won't stop me anymore. My empire will keep growing stronger... I don't care if other Mutants try to fight me like you! They have only two choices! Bow down or die!" White said, still gripping Ali's fist and deflecting Khalid's sword. He forced their hands down, his entire body transforming into metal, with feline features like ears and a metallic tail emerging from his body."Copying... my style, huh? Going with the whole tiger theme," Khalid mocked. White kicked him aside and threw Ali far across the room. Chyou caught Ali before he could crash into the wall, and Khalid anchored his sword to avoid being thrown too far.Mei was about to use her powers on White, but suddenly Chyou teleported her, causing Mei to lose focus on White."Chyou?""Look behind us," Chyou replied. Mei glanced back and saw knives flying toward her and Chyou, chasing them both.Chyou teleported again, but the knives still followed. A bit of Chyou's hair was pushed back, and his sharp eyes glanced toward Alex, who was watching them alongside Mei. In Alex's eyes, a targeting reticle appeared. From his perspective, the targets were locked on Mei's chest and head as well as Chyou's."You noticed, huh," said Alex as he controlled the knives to follow the targets he had set. Chyou and Mei narrowly avoided being hit, but once again, Chyou's teleportation power kept them safe from the blades.At the same time, Khalid and Ali unleashed a barrage of attacks on White, but White blocked and deflected every one of them without issue. His iron body was too tough to be damaged by Ali's powerful punches or Khalid's Claw Sword slashes."I gave you a choice... You had plenty of chances to just turn a blind eye! You could have lived like a regular person! But no! You chose this life! Once you step into it, there's no way out! The only exit is death!" White landed a heavy punch to Khalid's chest, cracking a small part of his Beast Tiger armor. He then swung his arm at Ali, slashing the left side of Ali's face and tearing off part of his mask."There's no normal life for Mutants anymore! But you just made things even worse!" Ali managed to land a solid punch to White's side, denting his metal body slightly, but White quickly grabbed Ali's head and slammed him into the ground with force."Mutants, humans, Strays, or aliens, I won't let anyone challenge me... No one will tear down what I've built!" White prepared to punch Ali's face with all his strength, but Khalid shoved him just in time, causing the punch to miss."We won't let you either... You will not destroy the life we dream of!" Khalid said, his anger evident behind his mask. White shifted his focus to Khalid, sending him flying backward with a powerful punch, while Ali attempted to counterattack by punching White in the face."Argh!" Ali winced in pain as the iron hardness of White's body made his punch hurt. White used his tail to trip Ali, sending him crashing to the ground. Khalid swung his Claw Sword at White again, but White caught his arm once more."The fate of Mutants was sealed long ago! There's no bright future, only a life filled with battles, death, and destruction until the strongest being emerges." White stepped on Ali, preventing him from getting back up, while crushing Khalid's hand in his iron grip."Ergh!" Khalid groaned as he knelt before White."People with naïve beliefs like yours will all be destroyed. Let me speed that up!" White yelled as he twisted Khalid's arm, causing the armor on his arm to begin cracking.