Wha...?! They actually destroyed part of the shutters!

My eyes widened as several units of the armed men gave hand signals to one another, and slowly entered the block after securing the perimeter. Looks like they didn’t have SWAT equipment for nothing.

A black van drove up near them, and the two units which had stayed behind lined up on each side like they were receiving some kind of VIP.

The back of the van opened up, and a figure dressed in full black stepped outside with two escorts on each side. It was hard to see precisely what that person looked like at a distance, but from the long wavy hair, it seemed like a woman.

Two representatives of each unit stepped forward and saluted once, and it seems like they were giving a report to her. The respectful demeanor they were holding seemed to imply that the woman was their superior. A moment passed, and after passing down what seems like an order to proceed, the two units bowed and quickly joined up with the rest who had already infiltrated the block.

The woman gazed at the top of the building, and touched her chest while saying something. Before long, she too, entered the block with the two muscular escorts by her sides.

All of that happened so suddenly, it took me a full minute to snap out of it. Just as quick as they’d arrived, the first floor returned to its usual silence once more.

It seemed like the suspicious people had never been here in the first place, had it not been for the gaping hole on the shutters which reminded me of what I had just witnessed.

Just who on earth were those people? And that woman who had suddenly came out of that black van. That’s right, the black van had disappeared at some point too.

From the way they behaved, it seems like it was a coordinated ‘assault’ on the club block, and it didn’t seem like some kind of half-hearted attempt to rob the place. If they had managed to enter the campus without alerting security and even came up with a countermeasure for the shutters which locked the floor down, then they must have came here for a very specific purpose.

Purpose… If it wasn’t specifically money, were they looking for something else in the club block? Was there some kind of confidential file stored in this building? As far as common sense goes, a university wasn’t exactly a very safe place to store industrial secrets. I racked my brain on the things someone would try to steal in a spy film. And suddenly… I was reminded of something.

What else would be more important than money? It must definitely be that.

More money.

The way the woman looked up at the fifth floor had also began to confirm my suspicions.

The black card. I’m not mistaken, those guys must’ve been here for the black card! When I realized that, I realized that cold sweat had already formed on my palms.

Did I actually pick up something I shouldn’t have? How naive I was to think that no one would have desired such an omnipotent object! To obtain that amount of wealth, there must be people prepared to resort to extremities just like in the movies.

I was suddenly reminded of the guns that the men were carrying. What if… they were going at it for real? A seed of fear was planted in my heart as I realized that I might have gotten more than what I had bargained for.

C-Calm down Yato. Maybe they were just here to retrieve something that belonged to them originally. If I return the card to them now, I might still make it if I apologize!

...To hell with that. Am I still drunk? Did I not just see them blow up the shutters? They’re probably some kind of mafia, aren’t they? And it’s probably easy for them to throw me into the ocean if they decide to eliminate any witnesses. Not good… my head hurts the more I think about it. Feels like I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole all of a sudden. In any case, staying here for any longer wouldn’t help me.

Withdrawing from the bushes, I darted back to the male dormitory-----

----Only to find another group of men patrolling around the lobby. While they didn’t have guns on them this time, I could immediately tell that they were in cahoots with the ones earlier.

Were they crazy, trying to cast a wide net over the entire campus?! But when I thought about how much money they were doing this for, my mind quickly cooled down.

It… definitely was possible. All of this, directed by someone who knows the true value of the black card. I placed down my bag and unzipped the hidden compartment inside where I had kept it. It was still there, fortunately. Looks like I’m sleeping out for tonight, but should I use the money inside of the black card again? Or…

Something told me that part of the reason why those guys had come here so quickly, was because they had detected its use. Feeling a strong desire to abate my doubts, I retraced my steps to where I had gone tonight.

The convenience store…

...I was right. There were some of them loitering around there too. And naturally when I sneaked around a spot where I could see the ATM which had malfunctioned previously, my eyes opened incredibly wide.

A large perimeter had been cordoned off with barricade tape, and several expensive-looking black cars were parked around. The number of those guys in SWAT equipment had more than doubled, seemingly condensed around the places where people were most likely at.

I’m actually in very deep shit, aren't I.

I hurriedly escaped from that suffocating atmosphere and walked briskly to the nearest subway station. I passed the gantry with a card pass and entered the first train that arrived.

It was only when I had taken a seat inside the coach that I felt a heavy rock lift from my heart. With the air-conditioner calming down my nerves, I started assessing my current situation more rationally.

...First things first. Those guys were definitely here for the card. And because I have it in my possession, I have essentially become the target they are looking for right now.

So, should I give up the card? As I had tried to reason with myself earlier, this item was something probably beyond my capabilities to handle. It wouldn’t be strange if I was killed once they found out that I was the one who took it. Right, so I’ve answered the question myself. I don’t have the guts to turn myself in, nor do I think that it is a smart way to do it.

In that case, what about keeping it? With that kind of money the black card could give me, I would never have to work my entire life! The conceited adults who weigh us by their own standards, the jobs that forces you to bow your heads in submission, the unfairness, the office politics---- I can finally be free of all of that.

The balance of the risks and benefits weighed within my mind, and I slowly came to an answer.

「I’ll keep it.」

That’s right. It must have been fate after all. Recalling the fact that the sum of money was untouched the entire time before it came into my hands, I had the illusion of already obtaining the ‘privilege’ as its first owner.

Besides, the moment that I had withdrawn that $5,000 already meant that there was no turning back. Money is supposed to be spent, and I who abide by that principle is just...

“Next stop… Shibuya… Next stop… Shibuya…”

As I heard the announcer’s voice call out, my gaze returned to the black card that had been tightly gripped in my hands. The cold feeling of metal, and the indentation of the inverted nine.

Was this a message from God after all, my chance at success in life?

「...」

Maybe I was just trying to create a reason, because I knew deep inside that this wasn’t something that belonged to me.

But as long as I’m not caught, it’s alright to live a dream, right? The surrealness of reality, can sometimes be stranger than fiction. I had finally understood what that means.

After making that decision, I started to compile and found a rough mental guide to how everything worked.

Right now, let’s call the armed group, “X”.

X can also be part of a bigger organization, one which probably works under the shadows. It isn’t surprising for wealthy people to amass ‘war potential’ as a private asset. Even in the modern world, with proper channels, one would be able to hire mercenaries for hit jobs as long as they were paid.

So it wouldn’t be strange for X to mobilize people in SWAT equipment so effortlessly. Their efficiency and demeanor could also be explained when I went along this train of thought.

Next, the first time I used the black card was three hours ago, in the convenience store. And for X to react so quickly to that, meant that either A, the black card was embedded with a tracking function, B, payment that processes using the black card can be traced, C, the particular ATM that I had withdrawn from was rigged, or D, all of the ATMs in the country were rigged.

Logic A would definitely be feasible as X did not even spare the male dormitory from its scrutiny. However, if that was the case, then the tracking function must not be very accurate as I had been in close proximity around their search areas a few times already.

B was also a likely answer, and that would also explain why their actions were slightly delayed from when I had made my purchase initially in the convenience store.

C follows B’s logic, however it would be rather inefficient to only tamper with a single ATM just for a small chance that the person holding the black card would use it.

D operates in a large scale, and the ability to access that many machines would create the assumption that X was capable of breaching bank security, or had connections with the affiliated bank. One should never underestimate what one would do for money, even at the expense of having the bank reveal the private information of its customers.

「...」

After summarizing the possibilities, I thought that there were still a few inconsistencies with my reasoning, and perhaps the best way to confirm my theories was to test them.

Thinking all day wouldn’t get me anywhere after all. Since I was already playing with fire, why not stretch it to its limits?

Gaining an unusual surge of confidence, I alighted from the train at the next station. It was already close to midnight, and if I left now I would definitely not make it for the last train by 12.45am. But since I was already prepared for this, I left the station calmly.

Kito-aka station was located near the heart of the city, and there were many shopping malls in the surroundings. And naturally for a metro scape, there would be ATMs around as well for the city-goers.

Without walking for more than two minutes outside of a mall, I quickly located one. Noticing that there was a CCTV attached at the top of the terminal this time, I wore a hoodie and lowered my face just for good measure. I would discard these clothes later and buy new ones since I still had some money left over from the $5,000.

When I had prepared myself sufficiently such that I wouldn’t be recognized, I came to the terminal.

With breaths of suspense, I held the black card… and slid it into the card slot again.

【Please wait...】

The familiar words appeared again, but I knew that this was just the start. Following the pattern like before, the card would then cause the machine to malfunction and request for the name. After inputting “Ninth” correctly, the interface would then return to one where it was possible to withdraw the astronomical sum of money inside.

In order to understand how the black card worked, even in the slightest, I needed everything to repeat again.

Except that it didn’t. Without waiting for a long time, the screen immediately faded into black almost immediately. The malfunction no longer happened, and a string of red words already surfaced onto the display from the get-go.

【Welcome back, Ninth.】

This… was different than before! It no longer required an input like the first time! Had it already removed the verification stage on its own?

While confusion struck me, I caught notice of a timer on top of the black screen.

【00:01:24】

【00:01:23】

【00:01:22】

The seconds passed by with each tick, as it slowly counted down to zero.