Wait, what?
Ren was shocked. This came out of nowhere.
Why? he asked unconsciously, still trying to wrap his head around this.
"Well, for one thing, I'm the vice leader of Gunshot, and I'm here because I'm furious it you and your friend destroyed our gang's biggest operation."
She looked serious and glared at Ren with ferocity. Ren gulped nervously.
"HAHA."
Iris laughed, making Ren freeze.
Wait—was that all a lie?
"Yes, yes it is. Well… not entirely," Iris said. "I am the vice leader of Gunshot, that part is true, but I honestly don't give a shit about the nightclub or anything like that."
Now Ren was just confused, and it gave him a headache.
"So why the hell are you here?"
"Because I was there the day you took down the nightclub. I was dancing. Also, that was the day I was supposed to be checking on it. So obviously, the boss is angry at me now."
Ren's tension started to fade as things clicked into place.
Now that he thought about it—if that's what she normally did when she visited the nightclub to "check on it," no wonder the place looked good while the security was trash. The vice leader was supposed to oversee it, but instead she was neglecting her job.
"So that's why you're here?" Ren asked.
"Yes, exactly. I have to drag you to the boss, and I honestly don't know what he's gonna do. Maybe kill you, maybe do something else. I don't know. And I have to do all of that alone so he can fully forgive me."
Ren processed all of that in his head.
"Okay, I get why you're doing this," he said, "but there's still one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?" she replied.
"Why are you here?" Ren asked. "Why are you telling me all of this instead of attacking us?"
"Well, I didn't attack you right now because the two of you are in a public place. That would've ended in disaster. It's better if I wait for you and your friend to go somewhere less public so I can attack you properly. And I'm still planning on doing that."
Then her smile stretched, becoming disturbingly wide, and her eyes darkened.
"As for why I'm telling you this…" she continued, "it's more fun hunting the two of you down while you're running in fear."
And just like that, she got up and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Ren, who watched her vanish, sighed.
"I really got my hopes up that we were done with this Gunshot bullshit…"
He then saw Kai come out of the bathroom, so he immediately got up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him out of the coffee shop.
"What's going on?" Kai asked as soon as they stepped onto the public sidewalk.
Ren didn't waste time and told him everything.
"The vice leader of Gunshot—a girl named Iris—is here. She knows what we did, and she's coming after us. She's probably watching us or tailing us right now."
"Seriously… shit," Kai muttered. "Do you know anything about her?"
"No," Ren answered immediately. "All I know is her name. Nothing else."
"Okay," Kai said. "Then we need to get out of this situation right now."
"I don't think we can," Ren replied. "Our chances are already low."
"So we should just run?" Kai asked. "Why shouldn't we just run for it?"
"Because like I said, our chances are already low," Ren said. "And I'm pretty sure she has a power. Otherwise, she wouldn't have approached us so confidently. If her power has any detection capabilities, then sneaking out becomes even less likely."
Kai frowned, listening.
"Just hear me out," Ren continued. "I think we should run and let her follow us."
"Ren, that's ridiculous," Kai said. "Why would we let her follow us?"
"Because we don't know what her power is," Ren answered. "Running blindly doesn't guarantee we'll lose her especially if her power gives her mobility. But if she follows us, we can observe her, figure out what her power does. If we manage to escape during the chase, then if she ever finds us again—or we're forced to fight—we'll at least know what we're dealing with."
Ren finished speaking.
Kai stayed silent, thinking it over. After a moment, he sighed.
"I guess we don't really have a choice," he said. "So we might as well do this."
They started walking normally. No sudden movements. No signs of panic. Nothing that suggested they were about to run.
Then, once they got close enough to the entrance of an alleyway, they suddenly dashed inside.
Their footsteps echoed as they ran deeper into the alley, the noise of the sidewalk fading away—
Except for one set of footsteps that stayed close behind them.
They saw a cross Way in front of them and and they randomly chose a side, deeper into the alleyway. They changed the direction multiple times. trying to escape as fast as possible, but the footsteps were still behind them. They could still hear her.
Ahead of them was an iron gate leading to an empty sidewalk street. Next to the gate was a dumpster—high enough to use as a platform to vault over it.
They ran as fast as they could, trying to build enough momentum to clear the gate—
Bang.
Something flew past them, grazing Ren's leg and making him stumble.
Something had hit the gate, stopping it.
"Ren, are you okay?" Kai asked, immediately panicking as he turned toward his friend.
"Oh, don't worry," a voice said casually. "I made sure to only scratch his leg. He's fine. He's just being overdramatic."
Ren looked up at Iris, and his eyes widened in shock—not because of her expression, but because of what she was holding.
A gun.
A revolver.
How the hell does she have a gun?
Guns were one of the most illegal things you could own on Star Island. Yes, firearms existed on the island, but they were all advanced, non-lethal weapons designed to stun or knock out targets. None of them were real guns.
Not like the one she was holding.
"Well," Iris said calmly, "I suggest you two give up right now."
She opened her palm, purple sparks crackling across her hand.
Ren and Kai tensed, expecting some kind of Electric attack—
But then the bullet embedded in the gate suddenly ripped free and flew back into her hand. She casually slid it back into the revolver.
It was a special kind of bullet—a reusable one.
They weren't that hard to make. They didn't require especially advanced technology, but no one really bothered using them before. Retrieving bullets after firing them was usually pointless—until New Life came around.
Once Star Island began producing more superhumans, reusable bullets became a custom-made option for people who could actually retrieve them easily. They were cheaper than regular bullets, could only be reused a limited number of times, and were slower and weaker than normal rounds because of that special property.
Kai, who had been kneeling to check on Ren, slowly stood up and took a fighting stance.
"So you're not gonna give up?" She asked.
Iris smirked.