685 NO HONOUR
Several minutes after the game started, Emi opened the door to the Shio’s private room and tried to act calm. However, her face felt a little warm when she thought about her moment with Yagi. It was perfectly innocent, but she felt like something transpired between them.
Moreover, he seemed reluctant to part with her and even insisted on sending her to the room. Of course, she refused to even let him walk towards the general direction. She did not dare to be seen with him. If her brother found out, she would definitely be in trouble.
In the best-case scenario, he would lecture her about involving herself with the most famous yakuza family in the country and putting herself in danger. He might even hang around to prevent her from interacting with Yagi Seiryo again.
In the worst-case scenario, he would tell the rest of the family. Emi dared not think what her parents would do if they knew that she had any kind of relationship with the Yagi family. They would probably escalate everything, forcing her to leave Tokyo.
“Where were you?” Inei asked calmly.
After thinking about the matter he found out earlier from her phone and Shi’s appearance, he had already drawn some conclusions. According to his investigations, there was someone interested in acquiring the Anarkh because Yuan Haoran was no longer in the picture.
The information was unclear, but it was not that hard to figure out the potential buyer. Anarkh was a hard business, and the company needed a tough hand. Only a few players could handle it, and at the forefront, Inei could only think of Yagi Seiryo.
He was already in the hotel business, and he had access to the power of yakuza families.
If Yagi was the one interested in Anarkh and the other casinos in downtown Tokyo, it would explain the reason he was familiar with Shi. But it was unclear why Shi knew Emi and even went to a certain length to protect that Yagi man.
.....
The entire situation made him a little uneasy.
“I just saw someone I knew and spent a few minutes chatting.” She said with feigned calm before picking up her fresh glass of cocktail. She took a sip and hoped it covered up her discomfort. It was not exactly a lie, but she was not being entirely honest.
“Oh, is that so?” Inei responded before looking at the screen. “I did not know that you walked in this circle in Tokyo.”
Emi wondered if Inei suspected something. Sometimes, she got the sense that Inei was a lot more complicated than he seemed on the surface. She could not read his expression or decipher the casual words.
And she was afraid she would expose herself if she continued talking. Despite her degrees in psychology, she was not good at lying and manipulating. She preferred being direct and working with transparent individuals, like children.
“So, what did I miss?” She asked, changing the topic.
It was an obvious move, but it was the best one.
“You missed an exciting tale of a foolish child who is tricked and does not realise it until it is too late,” Inei said with a loaded sideways glance at his sister. “Of course, I do not have a flair for storytelling like the great Firebird.”
He pointed to the top of the totem podium where the Firebird was giving a commentary alongside the images on the large screen. Emi looked at the man in a suit and nodded. It seemed she had missed a lot after leaving for only a while.
“What are those percentage numbers beneath each contestant?” She asked.
“They are releasing poison gas into each sealed room?” Inei explained. “When it reaches 100%, the contestant will die.”
Emi was shocked. “Like die, die?”
“Of course. Those who participate sign a waiver indicating that neither they nor their dependents can pursue responsibility for injuries or wrongful death.” Inei said with the rare seriousness of an older brother.
“You are trying to scare me,” Emi said, but she was a little uneasy as she looked at the contestants.
“Yes.” Inei did not deny it. “The people here do not care about life and death as long as they get a little entertainment. This is not like Martial Island, Emi. There are no rules of honour. If you mess with the wrong person, you will die.”
Emi knew her brother meant well, but she also believed he was exaggerating. She had travelled around the world, and she never met people who would take life so lightly. Even the coldest murderers would always feel the burden of the lives they took.
Little did she know she would encounter a dangerous situation not too long later.
In another private room, a woman was watching the screen with interest. She took a sip of her drink and looked at the man beside her. He seemed as calm as usual, but she knew how to read the subtlest of his expressions.
He was interested in the game.
“I thought you did not like this kind of gladiator-like, crass display.” She smiled while sidling closer to his body.
“I don’t.” He responded directly, but his eyes were glued to the screen.
“Let me guess.” She asked. “You want to unravel the puzzle yourself.”
He looked at her flatly as if she was an idiot. “I already know the location of all the keys. The puzzles are child’s play.”
She pouted with annoyance. “Alright, mighty genius. What do you like about the game?”
He reached to pat her head lightly. “I am indeed interested in a puzzle. The concept of this barbaric game is quite fascinating. I wonder if it is possible to create a virtual version of it.”
“Aren’t there like a thousand escape games in all forms of media and on all devices?” She asked with a tilt of her head.
The man’s lips barely stretched into a smile, but she could see the spark in his eyes. It was rare to see this expression on the man because he was excellent at everything. So, he barely found projects to spark a fire in him, at least not lately.
That expression made her want to merge with him and experience his mind. She could only settle with coiling her body around him like a snake.
