In downtown Nichiko City, two blocks from Sakura Hotel to be precise, there was a minimart which was said to be owned Aizen Mafia. The rumors circulated because apart from having the name Aizen, in the backyard of the minimart there was always a parked Nizan S14 belonging to the Chief of Aizen Mafia.

A group of young people who hang out every night in front of Aizen Minimart was also said to be junior members of Aizen Mafia.

At exactly half-past midnight, Takeo entered Aizen Minimart and immediately grabbed the shopping basket. Without wasting time he put in snack bars, chewing gum, salad oil, matches, isotonic drinks, and a few other items.

Not long after that, Takeo had left Minimart Aizen and rushed to the bus stop in front of Sakura Hotel, where he promised to meet Hide.

As soon as he arrived at the bus stop, Takeo found Hide sitting with a medium-sized backpack on his shoulders.

Takeo casually said, "I've bought the things you asked for."

Hide makes sure Takeo wears a pair of good sneakers, jeans, t-shirt, and a dark jacket he asks for before answering, "Then we'd better hurry."

Without a word, Takeo followed Hide into the alley beside Sakura Hotel, and after walking for twenty minutes they came to the side of a dark blue S14.

"Hide, whose S14 is this?"

"Chief of Aizen Mafia."

Hide then threw the S14's key at Takeo, who stared at him with wide eyes and a hanging mouth.

"Hide, don't you know that Chief of Aizen Mafia is a psychopath?"

"Tonight we're going to kill some people. So stealing a psychopath's car is trivial. But if you aren't ready, it's still not too late to cancel it."

Takeo swallowed hard before speaking, "No, we'll do it. It's just that I still can't do the spin maneuvers you're asking for. So are you sure you're going to ask me to drive? Besides, I've never driven on the highway."

Hide answered firmly, "I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't sure."

If Hide had time to practice driving even for just ten days, then he would be ten times more proficient than Takeo. But he had a lot of other things to do, so his best option right now was Takeo.

"Besides, this is a good opportunity to test your skills on the highway."

"Understood."

A moment later, an S14 rolled out of the alley beside Sakura Hotel, and went straight into the main road that led to the west side of Nichiko City.

—

Twenty days of intensive training would not give Takeo a god-level driving skill, but at least currently he had driving skills above average.

With ease Takeo drove the S14, smoothly cutting through a night street that was neither crowded or empty. Takeo was also not nervous when Hide asked him to change lanes or overtake car in front of them. The S14 gracefully moved according to Takeo's will, as if it was his own body.

Initially, Takeo was only traveling at speeds of 40-60 km/h. However, as soon as he got used to the road conditions and his feeling blended with the S14, he immediately stepped on the gas and maintained a speed of 60-80 km/h.

Before long, Hide and Takeo had entered Highway 11, a hilly route connecting Nichiko City with Aida City.

Hide then asked Takeo to park near the km.45 sign, among the cluster of pine trees. S14 was parked facing the front with a distance of 10 m from the edge of the road.

As soon as Takeo turned off the engine, Hide calmly said, "We will wait for our prey here."

"Who is our prey?"

"Aizen Mafia's couriers, every week they will transfer the cash generated by Aizen Mafia business in Aida to Nichiko."

Hide then took out two headcovers from his jacket's pocket. One he handed over to Takeo while the other he put on himself.

Without any words, Takeo put on the headcover until covering his forehead, then asked, "Are you sure we can ambush the convoy?"

"Our target is not a convoy, but a black Civic with a driver and a bodyguard. Neither of them are good drivers, but they are Aizen Mafia's executioners who are notorious for their brutality."

"Are you sure there is only one car and two people?"

"While you were practicing driving, I was not only busy preparing for the robbery at Knosses, but also on the hunt for prey to test your readiness."

"Understood." Takeo nodded and then ate a piece of gum.

Hide actually wants to explain that when transporting high-value packages, confidentiality was far more important than a large open escort. As no matter how strong or how big an escort was, if the opponent could study it and find its weaknesses, the escort would be almost useless.

However, because Takeo did not ask any further questions, Hide chose to remain silent and ate a snack bar.

—

Time continued to flow before finally, Takeo nervously looked at the situation around S14. As far as the eye could see he only saw the darkness, accompanied by the sound of crickets and night insects.

According to some experts, the sound of crickets and night insects could help calm one's soul. But for Takeo, the sound of crickets and night insects that he heard actually made the hairs on his nape stand straight to the end.

In addition, every time he glanced at Hide, Takeo got a very strong impression that his friend somehow seemed to merge with the eerie situation around them. Slowly but surely, doubts arose in Takeo's heart. Is Hide sitting next to him a human or a ghost?

To confirm his doubts, Takeo opened a conversation. "Hide, how did you steal this S14?"

"Entering Aizen Minimart's backyard by jumping over the fence, opening the S14 door with a steel plate, starting the engine with the standard trick, then leading it into the alley next to Sakura Hotel."

"You mean, the junior member of Aizen Mafia in front of the minimart didn't check who was driving their boss's S14?"

Hide shook his head. "They are not junior members of Aizen Mafia. The only one who has connection with Aizen Mafia is the minimart owner. She is the Chief of Aizen Mafia's illegitimate daughter, but the two have not spoken for the last two years.

To steal this car I did not use magic tricks, but exploitation of information, by exploiting the gap between believed information and actual information."

Takeo nodded slightly while Hide checked his watch.

"Five minutes before our target appears."

"How do you know?"

"Our targets are following a protocol with great precision."

Without a word, Takeo then lowered the headcover to his chin, while Hide took out the AEK-74SU and Sieg Sauer P365 from his backpack, complete with magazine pouches filled with extra magazines.

Hide deftly attached the AEK-74SU to the three-point sling and then placed it in front of his chest, then placed Sieg Sauer P365 on his right calf. For the extra magazine, he placed them around his waist along with a combat knife.

Seeing Takeo staring at him with wide eyes, Hide immediately said, "Well, we're going to kill some people tonight."

"Yeah."

Takeo replied softly before swallowing hard. Previously, Hide had said that he had killed some people. At that time Takeo doubted Hide's words.

But now, after he had a close look at the glint in Hide's eyes, Takeo got the feeling that Hide seemed to have not only killed, but had killed very often.

'Hide, who are you?'

Right now, Takeo firmly believed that Hide who was sitting next to him, was not Hide in his memory.

*****