Demon Lord's Reincarnation

There were only a few times I felt sorry for a stranger I'd never met but with the things we were passionate about, I would've wished to have shared an ice-cold beer with the guy.

But yeah, this "safe house" we found him in—despite the state we umm… found him in—would be a good spot to hunker down for a few months if it was stocked or a few days just so the occupants wouldn't have to sleep in the streets.

Jared turned to me, "Bro, we have a nice pad in all but this place isn't too bad."

I chuckled, "You can move in here if you want?"

"Wha— I didn't mean it like that, you know, it's just… we have those loner nests all around too, just add a few cameras here and there this could be one of those places, right?"

Ilanna added, "And the other ones we haven't visited too. If it's the same vibe as this cozy little place is, it'd be great to have aside from the train stations we have in the open."

I chuckled once again, "Did you just say we?"

"You— We ARE in a team, right?"

"Well, yeah—"

"And we already had sex, so—"

Jared and Ibarra's eyes just went wide, "BRO! HOW MANY— Fuck it, nevermind…/I'm still wondering to this day as to how Natasha got with me…"

Kaley slightly stared Ilana down, "You— You do know we don't say that type of thing here?"

Ilana looked apologetic, "Ah— My b, my b. Won't happen again."

"Haa… It's fun and all in the safe zone but not everyone's— Forget it, we'll just talk about this later."

"Alright, alright… I AM new, so— Ah— I'm doing it again… My b, my b."

Jared just had to say it to me in a whisper, "I just wonder what it would be like if you can duplicate yourself, huh? You'd be drowning in so much pussy, bro— AHH! I get it— STOP!"

"Uh-huh. I could beat your ass twice as fast too," then I turned to everyone, "Anyway, let's just clean this place up before we lock it down. We could check the other spots tomorrow but can we keep this place and all the other things related to Gregory Adams a secret for now? I'm a proponent of 100% transparency but I just want a few more trump cards in my— no, in OUR sleeves.

Once we get his place cleaned up, you can use this place as you wish, deal?"

With that question asked, I didn't receive any push back though Ilana seemed to be interested in a place where she could be in her lonesome.

While it was true that she socializes well with the right people—ignoring the hacker stereotypes and whatnot—I could understand having a place of my own without anyone bothering me. It was just that the world wasn't the same as before and the supposed person that should've been safe in this safe house wasn't safe at all.

It could be him being at the wrong place at the wrong time but there was always safety AND security in numbers, high walls, drone patrols, good food, tons of guns, me being around, etc.

But yeah, it didn't take long before we drove back to Iskoh's territory, and the first thing that everyone noticed was the Jeep we brought with us. However, almost all of the firearms and documents we uncovered were already in the bottom seats of my Raptor—and I was more than welcome to share the non-perishables and some of the miscellaneous items in it.

'I'm glad we left some shit in the safehouse after cleaning it up a bit…'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It's just that the reason my trainees were so eager to fucking take stuff out the Jeep was they had to bet some stuff for Joe—and it seemed like our guy had deep pockets or valuables that were well… valuable.

"I'm taking some of the MREs and the batteries— Is this Jeep available for an advance?" Brownie came up to me while looking a little antsy.

"I'll give you all a share but the Jeep's not— Why are you asking again?"

"The bet, sir! The bet! Joe's got some good stuff!"

"What stuff? And don't go betting everything else on you, alright?! It's— You can bet your own guns but not the scopes! Those are more expensive!"

In any case, our group made our way to this dirt circle where Joe supposedly had an aboveground amateur prizefighting ring held—and lemme tell all of you, it was like familiar territory like in Cuervo Heights or in the Cockpit Arena.

But yeah, aside from this dirt circle, Joe had his own RV parked close with a sign that said, "My Stuff!", and he was having an impromptu garage sale with all sorts of items as he was hosting a game and sometimes even participating in it.

'When did this shit start?'

And just at the right time, Mayor Iskoh graced us with his presence and he more or less told me that this had been happening on the down low for quite some time and since it wasn't going away any time soon, he just decided to sanction it and have Joe continue his racket and have a very small cut in exchange.

"Some passive income, eh?"

"Like you don't do something similar in your place."

"It's held once a month but it's been mostly private fights and private bets with rivals. It's been dying down, actually. The Gambling Hall and the Pink House are doing better than the Octagon."

"That's what happens when you never lose."

"Then it's cheating if I lose."

"Then where's the fun in that? Don't participate, at least!"

"And where's the fun in that? I'd host it sometimes but they always end up challenging me! It's not my fault I'm invincible! It's not the same when I'm in Japan, you know?"

"I fucking don't, actually. You say you actually lose?"

"I do lose, just not a lot. Pretty high win rate if I say so myself."

"Huh. I'm not surprised."

"I lost to Tatiana once."

"I'm not surprised, too. The usual spar?"

"Why would we fight for real?"

"I doubt you'd lose if you fight for real too."

"I mean— if it's to the death there's no winning or losing, if you think about it. Why are we getting philosophical? Can't we just have some fun?"

"Eh. I lost a ship to ya when we had some fun."

"You still remember that, huh? That vessel's pretty nice, actually. Thanks for that."

"Now I'm getting pissed, at least lose a few rounds of betting with me?"

"I'm pretty lucky too—"

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"Just let me bet first on a few bouts and you bet on the other guy, is that too hard to ask?"

"It's not that hard but what would my kids say—"

"Eugh, kid, stop calling them your kids. You're only a few years apart."

"You fucks kept calling me that, what's the difference—"

"Because we're years apart! Didn't you call them dogs, already?"

"Sounds a little racist, I dunno…"

"You care about that now?"

"A little, but still sounds dull. I want something cool… er."

"Hounds?"

"Ohh~ Sounds nice, actually."

"I guess I'll call my kids, Hounds—"

"YOU—"

"Dibs! Got fucking dibs on it! Besides, calling them my subordinates doesn't sound too right. They're pretty low on the ladder too so my actual soldiers might not like it. How about wolves or wolfpack?"

"Eh. Used too much now even if I like the sound of it… Oh! How about Jackals? Not used as much, no?"

"I'll give you Hounds if you give me Jackals—"

"Nuh-uh. I'm keeping it— and I'm calling them Jekyll if they go too crazy."

"Like Jekyll and Hyde? Oh~ Nice. We're pretty lame, aren't we?"

"I'm embracing it, fuck you."

"Heh. Well said, kid."

In any case, it didn't take long before we gathered enough people so that Joe could start his event—because he was simply buying and selling as everyone else was slowly gathering—and as soon as the first bout started, it was actually between Brian and Tennyson.

'What the fuck?'

Hearing this matchup absolutely confused me but like Mayor Iskoh, JP came in at the right time and explained things for me.

"Yeah, about that… Brian wasn't too happy about Tennyson getting the vice leader position so he asked him if he could fight him for it."

"And Tennyson agreed?"

"Yep."

"He's confident, then."

"He could back up that confidence when it counts. I'm next after he announced he'd beat Brian too."

"You bet your position?"

"I'm confident too. And it's only for a day while I get to order him around for three days while we're off-duty."

"Wanna fight me too? I'm confident as well—"

"I'd rather shoot myself in the foot, sir. Respectfully."

"Oh, come on! I'll only use my left hand!"

"Now that's too much, sir. I'll be going—"

"Well, I can't hop on one foot! Come back here!"