Ch.84 : A Threat from the Shadows

The black car that had been tailing Nic's family earlier now stopped a short distance away from their house. After a moment of stillness, it slowly drove off and disappeared around the corner.

Inside the vehicle, a man made a quick call and shared his location via his phone.

On the other end of the line, a deep, commanding voice replied. In a dark room somewhere, a tall, heavily built man sat calmly, a massive dragon tattoo covering his bare back.

With a slight smirk, he said,

"Good work. Now… it's your turn."

He turned to a woman in a red cloak wearing a mask. Her eyes glowed a sharp crimson under the hood. She nodded silently and disappeared into the darkness, ready to carry out her mission.

Elsewhere, Julia had just logged into her hacking rental platform. Notification after notification popped up rapidly.

"Huh? What's all this?" she muttered.

When she opened the request list, her eyes widened.

"Red... Dragon...?" she whispered. "That's... the largest gang network... even bigger than Red Scorpion?"

A wave of unease washed over her. Her thoughts instantly went back to the incident involving Nic and Red Scorpion. Was this… revenge?

Charlotte, noticing Julia's tense expression, walked over.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Julia quickly showed her the screen.

"Look at this, Char."

Charlotte scanned it and froze. Her expression hardened.

Without wasting time, they tried calling Nic. He didn't pick up, but replied via text saying he was busy organizing the UNITY Club's new room. If it was urgent, he asked them to come directly.

Julia bit her lip. "If we tell him at the club, the others will hear it..."

So, she sent a distress message.

Minutes later, Nic rushed to Julia's apartment. Before leaving, he told Gina,

"Gina, I'm leaving the rest to you. Just follow the plan."

Gina nodded, "Got it. Don't worry."

Once Nic arrived, he entered the room where Julia and Charlotte were waiting.

"What's the emergency?" he asked sharply.

Julia was visibly uneasy. Her fingers were trembling as she took a breath.

"Nic... it looks like someone's coming after you. You remember Red Scorpion, right?"

"Yeah. Are there still people left?"

Charlotte jumped in,

"It's not just them. This time, it's a bigger group—the one backing Red Scorpion. They're called Red Dragon. They rule the Red District and beyond."

Julia pulled up a monitor showing Red Dragon's profiles.

"They're not just some thugs. They've got power, money, and immunity. Even high-ranking officials and the mayor avoid messing with them."

Nic furrowed his brows, thinking hard.

"Then... I need to make sure. They might be after my family, who just got back."

Charlotte's face turned pale.

"That's really dangerous, Nic. They could be targeted too."

"Should we report this to the police?" Julia asked.

Nic shook his head immediately.

"That won't help. This is something I have to deal with myself."

Without delay, Nic headed to Daniella's house instead of going home. He didn't want to worry his family, so he turned to someone he trusted.

When he reached her house, he knocked.

"SIS ELLA....! SIS ELLA..!"

Daniella opened the door, surprised.

"Nic? What's going on?"

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you. It's important."

Inside, they sat in the living room. Nic looked tense.

"Sis Ella," he said, "during the drive back yesterday... did you notice anything weird? Like someone following us?"

Daniella thought for a moment.

"Actually... yeah. I did feel like a black car was tailing us. But it turned off eventually, so I thought it was just a coincidence."

Nic suddenly slammed the table.

"Sis Ella! Please... have my family stay here for now. They know my house. But yours... they don't."

Daniella froze, startled by his urgency.

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

Taking a deep breath, Nic explained everything.

"They're coming after me... because of what happened in the Red District. It's serious."

Memories of the Red Scorpion incident surfaced in Daniella's mind. She nodded slowly, realizing the danger.

Without hesitation, she called Nic's family and invited them over, using a simple excuse: to keep her company. Luckily, they agreed without suspicion. Daniella had always been close to them.

Nic, however, stayed behind, saying someone needed to keep an eye on the house.

That night, Nic sat in his room lit only by his laptop screen. The laptop Julia had loaned him was now his main tool—for hunting threats.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he used his God of Hacking Skill and activated God of Tracker Skill to monitor the city via hacked CCTV feeds.

Main streets, alleys, rooftops, parks—it was all visible. He analyzed behavior, scanned every corner...

After an hour of surveillance—

"Nothing...?" Nic leaned back and sighed.

No suspicious activity. No black car. Everything was too normal.

"Am I just paranoid?" he muttered. "They wouldn't attack this fast... right?"

He closed his eyes briefly, but couldn't relax.

Eventually, he decided to check the progress of UNITY's new room.

When he arrived, he spotted Nia walking out, bundled up and looking annoyed.

"Hey, Nia. Where you going this late?" Nic asked casually.

Nia sighed.

"They told me to get more decor... star-themed accessories. Everyone else is busy, so they sent me."

"I'll go instead. You head back and rest," Nic offered.

"You sure? You even know what it looks like?"

"Of course."

Later, Nic walked down the cold city streets, hands in his pockets. The chill bit at his skin, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Zeta," he whispered. "Activate Infinite Heartscope. Just for 10 seconds."

[ Activating... ]

Suddenly, a 3D holographic map of Harlington lit up in his vision. Green dots marked potential love interests.

But at the 9th second... a red dot appeared.

[ Time's up. ]

Nic stopped walking.

"Zeta... what's a red dot?"

[ It means a potential partner... but with a high threat level. Danger—physical or emotional. ]

Nic narrowed his eyes. Then smirked.

"So… they sent a girl to deal with me? Bad move."

After buying the star accessories, he stepped out of the shop and felt a strange chill.

Looking up, he spotted a vague shadow on a rooftop.

He smiled faintly.

"Oh... just the light."

But on that rooftop, a woman in a red cloak aimed a sniper at him. Her eyes were sharp—then suddenly widened.

He was staring directly at her.

"Did... he see me?" she thought. "Or was that a coincidence?"

This was Alexa, the Red Dragon's top assassin.

"Damn... this guy's different. No wonder I was sent myself. But I can't act yet."

She retreated silently into the night.

Meanwhile, Nic returned to UNITY and handed the bag to Gina.

"Here's the stuff. It's all yours now."

Gina nodded, "Leave it to me."

Inside the nearly finished room, Vivi and Leona approached.

"This room… feels like it's for someone," Vivi said curiously.

"You seeing someone new?" Leona teased.

Nic looked at the wall and replied quietly,

"Maybe. And… she has a pretty sad story."

In the lounge, the girls gathered as Nic shared Nova's story—the girl of the night who loved the stars.

Suddenly, Luna stood up.

"...Nova?" she whispered.

"You know her?" Nic asked.

Luna clutched her chest, her usual cheer gone.

"Nova… was my childhood friend. Her dad and mine were old friends. He was a space scientist... mine was a science researcher."

She took a deep breath.

"After the tragedy… she shut herself off from everyone. Even me. She just disappeared."

Nic gently patted her shoulder and smiled.

"She's still around. You just never saw her because she's... a night owl. But don't worry! SHE'LL BE HERE! YOU'LL REUNITE!"

Luna's eyes welled up.

"Nic... thank you..."

Olivia pulled her into a warm hug. The others followed, surrounding her with love and comfort.

To be continued...