The Newgate Country was made up of several cities and towns. The most famous of them all would definitely be the capital Newgate City, but the most infamous was definitely the Red Light District. Miko and the girls arrived at this place in the middle of the day.

“So this is the Red Light District? Looks a bit different than I expected.”

The city Miko was standing in was the complete opposite of the capital. The buildings weren’t as tall, the vehicles weren’t as fancy, and they weren’t that many people walking around. It was as if it wasn’t a part of the country.

“This place is a city that comes to life at night, so it might be different later.”

Momo said.

“Why aren’t I surprised that this is the first city you wanted to visit?”

“Well, Aeon told me to come here in case of an emergency. Since it’s a potential future safe haven I think it’s better I check it out now. Who knows, I might turn this into my base.”

“That would be hard since there’s many factions here from what Kaido said. I doubt they’d just let you set up shop and if you get too wild with them, Bloom definitely won’t sit back and do nothing.”

Miko nodded at Momo’s words. He was in his Dark Lord form by the way.

“I agree, but I’m curious. Why is this outside of government influence? Did Bloom declare it a neutral zone or did MYTH?”

“If MYTH really did it then there must be a deeper meaning.”

Tia said.

“Did something happen in this place that made them abandon it or did this place turn out like it did on purpose?”

“Are you saying that MYTH purposely create a dead zone in Bloom’s regime? Why?”

Tia shrugged at Momo’s question.

“It’s only a theory. We’ll have to figure it out ourselves.”

They were all walking through the streets while looking around.

“As expected, there’s a lot of motels, bars, and clubs. There all closed now though.”

Miko said.

“It might’ve been better if we had came in the night. It’s like the city itself is asleep.”

Momo said.

“No, this is perfect. This goes without saying but there’s a lot of stuff about this city that you’ll only see in day.”

*Bam!*

A loud explosion reached Miko’s ears. He turned around and saw a man standing over another man while pointing a gun at him.

“Like that. An assassination in broad daylight.”

“How do you know it’s an assassination? It could’ve been a feud.”

“My instincts as a Don, I guess.”

The people who were walking about quickly deserted the area, and the murderer walked away without haste. After he left, Miko walked over to the body with Tia and Momo.

“Whew~. A clean headshot. It must’ve been at point blank.”

“He must’ve casually walked up to him and shot him while his guard was down. I can see mana residue, so a magic gun was used.”

Tia said.

“What do you think the motive was?”

“Probably pissed off the wrong people. Maybe he didn’t repay a loan or something.”

“Why are you two acting like detectives? Besides, if you want to know the motive the guy who did it is still walking down the street, he’s even stopping to buy something. Also, stop disrespecting the dead like that.”

“Stop ruining the fun, Momo.”

“We’re just trying to get into the mood.”

Miko and Tia defended themselves.

“Yeah, Yeah. Let’s go. You wanted to check the place out didn’t you? There must be places open in the day where we can talk to people.”

“That’s a good idea. People in these parts should know a lot things about this country that isn’t available to the public. I’m sure they’ll talk with some persuasion.”

“Money or violence?”

“That depends on who we’re asking. I don’t mind using both though.”

Miko laughed and Tia smiled.

“Well, aren’t you a bad man?”

Miko shook his head.

“No darling, you’re talking to the devil.”

********

Despite being full with hotels and the likes, there were actual places where people could live in the Red Light District. In one of these apartments, someone was enjoying a nice nap in their bed. This muscular half naked blond man was called Nico, a member of Bloom Newgate’s Silver Crow, aka the special police.

*Vrr!* *Vrr!* *Vrr!*

“Mhm…”

*Vrr!* *Vrr!* *Vrr!*

“Goddammit!”

Nico roared and grabbed his phone that was vibrating on his bedside table and answered it.

“What?!”

(…..From the fact that you’re shouting at the Queen, I take it that I woke you up.)

Bloom’s voice could be heard from the other side of the phone. Hearing that it was Bloom, Nico-

“What is it, Bloom? It’s just noon.”

He showed no remorse and kept his rough tone. Bloom didn’t seem to care as she continued.

(How’s the situation in the Red Light District?)

“Prostitutes are selling their bodies, people are going missing and drugs are being circulated. Same old same old.”

Nico frowned.

“This can’t be the reason why you’re calling. After all, I’m schedule to send in my report later tonight….Tell me, Bloom. What’s up?”

He had a more serious tone and seemed willing to listen. He could hear Bloom sigh before she started speaking.

(Miko is in the Red Light District.)

“What?!”

Nico jumped out of bed.

“Why would you let him come here at a time like this?! What is Kaido doing?!”

(It’s not Kaido’s fault. He was with me when he left. Besides, it’s impossible to completely keep track of someone like Miko.)

“Tsk. I guess that’s true.”

Nico opened the draw of his bedside table and pulled a file and opened in it. Inside it was a photo of Miko.

“From what we’ve gathered about him, it’s fair to say that he’s hard to handle. Most of his recent conflicts have resulted in his victory, and the only one to defeat him was Tang Xian. Even then he came out of that conflict the overall winner and a much more dangerous person. In fact, it’s in his battle against Tang he showed off his intellect and talent for scheming.”

(……..)

Bloom listened silently as Nico closed the file.

“I’ll be honest with Bloom, I think Jin was right. You and Kaido bringing Miko here was a mistake.”

(I understand what you’re saying but the benefits overweighted the risks.)

“So what? You want me to monitor Miko while he’s here?”

(That’s right.)

“Even if it means blowing my cover in the Red Light District?”

(No, I want you to just observe him and then give me your conclusions on what kind of person he is. Making contact is not necessary.)

“What if he goes on a rampage?”

(Don’t worry about that. The Red Light District can be rebuilt, it’s not worth your life.)

Nico was silent for a while before smiling.

“Understood.”

********

Meanwhile, Miko’s group arrived at a bar that was opened in the day. When they walked in they were surprised to see that it was full.

“I thought that this place would be empty but I guess not.”

“Well, it is a city. Some people are bound to be up in the day. That being said, isn’t it too early to visit a bar?”

Momo said while looking around. Those in the bar all looked like thugs and lowlifes. They were all glancing at Miko’s group with eyes filled greed and lust. Miko ignored this and walked up to the bar counter.

“What can I get for you today?”

“I’ll have your strongest rum on the rocks.”

“Coming up.”

The bartender made Miko’s drink and placed it in front of him.

“Thanks.”

Miko took a sip and then gestured for Tia and Momo to come sit beside him. Once they did he started talking to the bartender.

“Say, are you the owner of this place?”

“That’s right. I’ve been running this bar for thirty years now.”

“I see. Well, you see these ladies and I are new this part of the country. Could you fill us in?”

Miko placed a pebble-sized diamond in front of the bartender. This made his eyes brighten up. He quickly picked it up and place it in his vest pocket.

“What do you want to know?”

“For starters, is there anyone running or close to running this city?”

The bartender shook his head.

“Many have come close but none have reigned long. This is a brutal city after all. Death is an everyday thing.”

“I see. Then there’s no rules or laws that people follow?”

“Only those set by crime lords, and only people in their territory follow them.”

“So every territory has its own rules, huh?”

Miko had an amused expression on his face.

“Then, What about here? Whose territory am I in?”

Miko lifted his hand and stopped the bartender from speaking. Momo narrowed her eyes as the place became quiet. She could feel dozens of eyes on her. Tia seemed unbothered as she took up Miko’s glass and drank from it and savored the taste of the rum.

“I think it’s pretty obvious whose the boss is, Don.”

The bartender smiled.

“How did you know?”

“You said it yourself, every territory has its own rules. This is the only bar we’ve come across that’s open in the day and it’s full too. In other words, this isn’t a normal bar but a base.”

Miko pointed at the bartender.

“And you the owner is the boss.”

“That’s a good guess.”

Miko grinned.

“I don’t guess, I analyze.”

“I see.”

Everyone in bar got up from their seats and started surrounding Miko’s group.

“Well, since you figured it out I’ll give you my praise. However, my friends don’t like strangers coming in. It’s horrible for business really.”

“Nah, I understand. After ,all you don’t know who’s an assassin in disguise. This place is tense so I’m certain there are gang wars all time. I can’t even imagine how intense a war in a country filled with futuristic weapons can be.”

“Then you must also understand how much it cost to wage war for a long time.”

The bartender showed a sly smile. Miko started laughing.

“Don, thank my advice. You don’t wanna give the order you’re thinking.”

“And why not?”

Miko showed a bright smile.

“Because you’ll lose everything you worked 30 years to build in a single second.”

The bartender looked at Miko in silence before raising his hand.

“Everyone sit back down. It isn’t worth it.”

Everyone in the bar immediately listened and returned to what they were doing before.

“A guy who can waltz into a lawless city like this without a care and casually pull out diamonds isn’t someone my little gang can handle.”

“Wise choice. It shows your experience.”

Miko said with a laugh. He then stood up.

“I also didn’t want to slaughter people while I’m sightseeing, so it works out for me.”

He then started walking out when the bartender called out to him.

“If you weren’t sightseeing then what would you have done?”

“That depends….”

Miko turned and flash a smile.

“If this place is worth conquering or not.”

After saying that he and the girls walked out. The bartender sighed and placed his hand on his other hand to stop it from trembling.

“It seems that I just had a run in with the devil.”

*******

“What do we do now?”

Momo asked.

“I’m curious about the territories in this city and who run them. So I’m thinking of trying to get a better picture by going to all of them.”

“Are you planning on capturing this place?”

Tia asked.

“No. That would be like declaring war on Bloom which I currently have no intentions of doing.”

Miko shook his head.

“We’re just going to observe, nothing else. Although, killing a guy or two might happen.”

He laughed. The city was currently dead but Miko knew that once Night came it will come to life like a vampire. A vampire that’s sucking the blood and soul out of those inside. Miko crossed his arms behind his head as he walked and looked up in the sky.

“This is definitely my kind of city.”

Not far away three persons had their eyes glued to Miko. These three were all unrelated but all belong to powerful factions in the country as a whole. They were all thinking different things when they saw Miko.

“He’s too dangerous.”

“He seems fun.”

“He’s a real Don.”

These thoughts would soon mix together and lead to a major event in this country’s history.