Asa, an Easterner, a Wizard... what the hell?
With just a few words, the initiative in the conversation had been snatched away by Asa. Maine's crew held the business cards Asa had handed them, unsure of how to proceed.
Instead, after handing over the cards to the three of them, Asa seemed to lose interest entirely and turned back to continue his drink.
Today's sales quota had been met.
Such eccentric behavior only added to his mystical, rambling Wizard persona.
Beside him, Jackie watched in a daze. He had thought Asa was motivated by lust, but it turned out he was motivated by profit.
Finally, Jackie discovered Asa shining qualities: he was dedicated, professional, and never missed an opportunity to expand his business channels. This kind of initiative was truly something to learn from.
Jackie Welles almost noted this down in his little notebook to share with Misty later, picking up some professional experience.
Maine's crew was effectively 'hard-crowd-controlled' in place by Asa for a full 30 seconds. Finally, Maine gave a cold snort, tossed the business card away, and turned to leave.
Sasha, the girl with the bob cut at the back, thoughtfully tucked the card away with great care.
With such a stunning opening, surely he must have left a deep impression on them?
A smile tugged at the corner of Asa mouth as he downed the tequila in his glass.
...
The night was enchanting, and the moon was like a full disk.
After a few drinks with Jackie Welles, Asa walked back along a small path, arm-in-arm with him.
The area around the Afterlife Bar was a neutral zone carved out of Watson. Here, neither the Tyger Claws nor the Maelstrom dared to interfere, for this was the domain of the Queen of the Afterlife.
But after walking a distance and turning a corner, several swaying figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
At a glance, they were clearly Tyger Claws, their attire a blend of Yakuza and Bōsōzoku styles.
Luminous tattoos covered their bodies, and they wore street biker gear with katanas strapped to their backs.
They clearly didn't come in peace.
The thugs glanced at Asa. Seeing his black-haired, black-eyed Asian features, one of them stepped forward and said: "Oi! You drunk bastard! You're blocking our way! Get lost, fast!"
What was he gibbering about? He couldn't understand a word.
Asa picked at his ear, looking impatient.
Such a flippant attitude instantly enraged the street thugs. Their tone grew more vicious as they spat out threats, quickly forming a semi-circle to surround Asa and Jackie.
This was Night City; even just walking down the street, random thugs would come to provoke you.
In this moment of crisis, Jackie stepped directly in front of Asa, shielding him behind his back.
Standing at 1.9 meters tall, the intimidation of a muscular brute was not to be underestimated, causing the Tyger Claws thugs to hesitate for a moment.
"Oi, you guys looking for a fight?"
Regardless of whether they understood him, Jackie spoke in English.
However, this was Watson, far from the Valentinos' territory in Heywood; this was the Tyger Claws' home turf.
Even though Jackie invoked the Valentinos, it only escalated the situation.
The Tyger Claws thugs weren't afraid at all. One or two were already impatiently putting on brass knuckles or drawing katanas, ready to charge.
While Jackie stood in front of him, Asa observed the surroundings.
This was a relatively secluded road with only occasional passing vehicles. There were almost no surveillance cameras, and the residential buildings on both sides were dark; most people were already asleep.
Conditions permitted.
Asa patted the big guy's shoulder. When Jackie Welles turned back in confusion, he flashed a bright, sunny smile:
"Let me handle this."
"Let... let you what?"
Jackie Welles looked bewildered.
"Let me show off... I mean, let me explain things to them."
Out of trust for the Wizard's silver tongue, Jackie Welles stepped aside, though he still warned him:
"Be careful. If things really pop off, I'll take over."
Asa smiled slightly.
"Don't worry."
"I won't beat them to death... not."
He added silently.
"Huh?"
Jackie Welles was stunned.
"What is this guy saying?"
Two against five, and they were fully armed Tyger Claws thugs—the difficulty was quite high. Even Jackie couldn't guarantee getting out unscathed.
More importantly, these Tyger Claws crazies had no restraint; often, the lower the rank of the street thug, the more bloodthirsty they were.
Asa stepped in front of the Tyger Claws and began his performance art.
He clenched his fist and held it palm-down, as if inviting them to guess what was inside.
Just as the thugs were momentarily confused, Asa suddenly flipped his palm up and extended his middle finger in a standard international gesture.
Asa: (￣dish￣)convex
The Tyger Claws immediately realized they were being mocked and turned furious: "Baka!" They drew their katanas and charged.
"Perfect."
Asa had hacked the street cameras in advance specifically for this moment.
He had nine ways to instantly kill the Tyger Claws thugs in front of him. Nine!
But he chose the one with the most expensive special effects.
No particular reason, other than it being cool.
Time to try a newly created magic: Liquid Fire Cloak.
Scorching fire elements were released from Asa body.
Jackie, shielded behind Asa, was about to step forward when he suddenly witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The air began to simmer. A layer of orange-red shielding suddenly formed from the black-haired man's feet upward into a spherical dome, with scorching heat waves radiating from the top. This shield formed incredibly fast, wrapping around Asa in less than a second.
The moment the shield formed, its color shifted abruptly to an orange-yellow, its flowing aura seemingly condensing something powerful.
Boom!
A second after the color change, brilliant flames erupted from the shield, spreading outward in a 360-degree radius, covering five meters around Asa—sparing only the side where Jackie stood.
But the oncoming heat and light forced Jackie Welles to instinctively close his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, the light that stung his eyes finally vanished, though the scorching heat in the air remained.
Jackie Welles opened his eyes to see that the Tyger Claws thugs had disappeared, leaving only several charred marks on the ground.
And the culprit behind it all stood there, showing off a perfectly handsome profile.
Am I dreaming, or have I not woken up yet?
Jackie felt a bit dazed.
Before the pose had even lasted two seconds, the Wizard suddenly asked:
"Did you record that?"
"?" Jackie was stunned.
"It seems you don't have the habit of recording highlights."
Asa sighed.
Even more of a pity that you aren't a girl.
In the depths of his heart, unknown to Jackie Welles, Asa was full of regret.