Shawn Young and Kimiko had no idea what gossip the Japanese hostesses in the nightclub were spreading—because the two of them had already slipped out the back door and onto a deserted street. Unlike the bustling main strip of Portland Street, this side road was eerily quiet. Groups of eccentric-looking young men and women huddled in the corners, leaning against the walls in a mysterious fashion, heads drooping, puffing clouds of smoke into the air. The air was thick with a strange, pungent odor, and their pale faces appeared even more ghostly and out of place under the swirling neon lights and bizarre billboards.
Kimiko sniffed the air and said to Shawn Young, "Uh—this must be Yamaguchi Syndicate turf. These kids are smoking a new designer drug called 'Fallen Angel.' It's a specialty of the Yamaguchi Syndicate, really hot on the black market. One hit and you're hooked, but it's not super toxic. It gives you an intense rush, so it's especially popular with young people! In Hong Kong, and really all of Asia, only the Yamaguchi Syndicate has this stuff. I'm guessing it's their lower-level members selling it here!"
"Fallen Angel"!? Doesn't the Hong Kong anti-drug squad do anything about it?" Shawn Young asked curiously, suddenly thinking of Rainie Cheng, the Interpol specialist in charge of drug cases.
Kimiko shook her head and sighed, "Portland Street is basically the wildest part of Hong Kong. All the major gangs have turf here, and vice, gambling, and drugs are everywhere. The anti-drug squad raids all the time, but it barely makes a dent. The problem is huge, especially since this is Yamaguchi Syndicate territory. Their pro dealers have unique and clever ways of selling drugs. Plus, Yamaguchi always has hidden surveillance cameras at the street entrances, and their people check out anyone suspicious. If there's trouble, they can move out fast. And 'Fallen Angel' dissolves in water—if they can't run, they just dump it and it's gone! So the cops have a hard time gathering evidence. Hong Kong is a law-abiding society and a free port, so wiping out drugs is incredibly tough!"
"Oh—so that's how it is." Hearing her explanation, Shawn Young felt like he'd just learned something new about the 'wicked capitalist' society.
As they chatted, the two of them walked up to a tall building—over twenty stories high. Looking up, the place was still lit with dazzling neon signs, and the entrance was flanked by Japanese signboards. Through the glass doors, Shawn Young could see a big black door with a strange emblem: a diamond-shaped crest with the characters for 'Yamaguchi.' Suddenly, Shawn remembered—this was the unique symbol of the Yamaguchi Syndicate.
Two men in black suits stood outside the door, hands behind their backs, guarding each side of the entrance. They wore sunglasses and looked deadly serious, giving off a creepy vibe. Kimiko studied them for a moment, then turned and whispered to Shawn Young, "Yeah, this is the place. Let's go in!"
"Okay!" Shawn Young nodded, focusing his energy, and followed Kimiko. The two of them walked up to the big door. As soon as the men in black saw Kimiko, they immediately bowed respectfully and greeted her, "Hai!" Then they stepped forward and opened the door.
Kimiko nodded coolly at them and led Shawn Young straight inside. Once they entered, they saw burly men in black suits stationed all around the corridors. But as Kimiko and Shawn Young passed by, the men all bowed to her in greeting.
"You really have some pull with this identity!" As soon as they were inside and out of sight, Shawn Young couldn't help but whisper to her.
Kimiko laughed, "Hehe—it's all because this woman's got a special status! Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten in so easily. So, where do we go now?"
"Head to the top floor—there's an office up there. Daniel Feathercloud is probably inside!" Shawn Young said.
"Oh, alright. Let's keep quiet—looks like there are lots of surveillance cameras around!" Kimiko reminded Shawn Young. She led him to an elevator, and the two went straight up to the top floor.
They reached the top floor without a hitch. When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out, but to their surprise, the place wasn't heavily guarded at all—it was empty, not a soul in the corridors!
"That's weird—I thought this place would be crawling with guards!" Kimiko muttered.
"Uh—I have a bad feeling about this," Shawn Young said suddenly.
"What now? Where do we go?" Kimiko was just an imposter here—she really had no clue what to do next.
"Hmm, let me see—" Shawn Young hadn't been here before, but fragments of Kimiko's memories lingered in his mind. He knew this was the Yamaguchi Syndicate's Hong Kong HQ, but the corridor outside was deserted, lined with rooms on both sides. He couldn't pinpoint Daniel Feathercloud's exact location, but he figured he had other ways to search. So he said, "Hmm, let me see—"
As he spoke, Shawn Young activated his Heavenly Eye Technique to scan the rooms on either side of the corridor. But to his shock, all he saw were blurry, drifting images—his psychic sense was blocked by a strange force, like a massive shield. Everywhere his Heavenly Eye Technique scanned, the force bounced his senses back, leaving him only with fuzzy, indistinct visions. He couldn't make out anything at all.
"Uh—what the hell—could there be experts lying in wait here!?" Shawn Young's heart raced. It was rare for the Heavenly Eye Technique to be blocked like this, and this time he could clearly sense that someone had deliberately set up a mysterious barrier to stop him from spying!
To confirm his suspicion, Shawn Young walked into the corridor, gathered his true energy, and boosted his power, scanning deeper with his Heavenly Eye Technique. Sure enough, just as he'd thought, the mysterious force shook his senses again—he couldn't break through.
Realizing things were bad, Shawn Young decided to stop using the Heavenly Eye Technique and strode boldly down the corridor. He knew that since someone could block his technique, they must have set up an ambush, just waiting for him to walk right into it. But at this point, his only option was to charge ahead.
Sure enough, Shawn Young had only walked a few steps when several doors suddenly flew open. A crowd of men in black suits, wielding samurai swords, burst out and blocked his way.
Shawn Young looked up and saw their eyes gleaming with menace, but their faces were calm. All of them had tattoos on their hands and radiated a sinister aura—clearly, these were elite gang enforcers. The leader, looking like a junior boss, shouted at Shawn Young in Japanese, "Anata wa dare—Who are you?"