The Crane Hermit Quest

The Crane Hermit

Easy Quest

Requirements: None

Reward: 1,000 Zeni and 10 Villain Points.

After returning from death, Master Shen has been seething and wishes to destroy everything in his path. He sees great potential in you to become an agent of chaos. He thinks it good fun for you send a message to the people of Earth, that they should be afraid, very afraid. Wreck havoc and impress the dark master.

Nightfall had just settled over the neon lit streets of Taiwan. The sky had been threatening to rain all day, and at 10:27 PM it finally did. A few people scrambled for cover, but for the most part the slight drizzle was ignored. Lei Mengyao walked silently among the clusters of strangers, hands in his pockets with his hood pulled over his head, slightly obscuring his face but doing nothing to hide his signature hairstyle. Rain was always troublesome to people who kept unique hair, but Lei had always believed a true Triad needed three things; determination, skill and really good hairspray. His canvas tennis shoes, on the other hand, might not have fared so well. It would all depend on whether or not the rain worsened.

He may not have looked the part dressed in such casual attire, but he was out on business. It had taken some time for him to come to terms with the fact that he had been snubbed on the matter of Triad leadership, but he was determined not to let that stop him. He'd start his own gang. Of course, he made it seem like a simple goal, but in reality it was a risky one. He was already in trouble for storming out of the meeting, and it would be difficult for him to convince other gangsters to join him. But he knew what motivated them, and he knew how to get results. Well, as long as his plan worked out.

He shifted fluidly as he made his way through shoulder to shoulder crowds, just another face among them. His target was a back alley market where few dared tread. It was an open secret that the area was Triad territory, the little outdoor market just a front. The real action took place in the basement of a tiny grocery store located in the area, which housed an illegal gambling den. If Lei wanted to have a shot at the big time, he was going to have to make a big impact.

Slipping his way out of the tightly packed crowd he made his way down the alley, which opened up into a small square housing a few vendor stalls. The merchants eyed him with suspicion and he adjusted his hood instinctively, walking into the grocery store. It wasn't much to look at. The shelves weren't well stocked, save for a rack of adult magazines, and the clerk watched him like a hawk as soon as he entered. Lei didn't mind. He approached the man and put his hands on the counter, leaning down and speaking in a low whisper. “I'm here for some action.”

The man only glared at him, shaking his head. “I don't know what you mean. This is a simple grocery store.” Lei made eye contact, pulling a hand out of his pocket. He placed a large wad of bills on the counter, gently pushing it forward. “I'm part of the Super Savers Club.” The old man gave him a once over, then took the bills and nodded. “Ah. I see. Pardon my lapse of memory. I must have forgotten about the perks to being a Super Savers member. Forgive me.” With that Lei was lead into a stockroom that probably hadn't seen a truck in years, then to a door which was opened for him. “As you wish, sir.” Lei nodded and proceeded down the stairs without another word as the old man looked on, smirking to himself as he turned away.

When he arrived at the bottom it was like a scene straight out of an American gangster movie. Men and women were gathered around makeshift blackjack tables, grouped together shooting craps on the floor, and drinking overpriced alcohol from an unlicensed vendor. There was a lot of money in this room, but more importantly there were a lot of Triad. He was confident in his abilities, but he knew he'd have to be careful. He was vastly outnumbered, and he knew most of them would be armed.

For the moment he would watch. His eyes were keen and darted around the room, his presence unnoticed and ignored in favor of high stakes outlaw gambling. Lei analyzed everyone, trying to figure out who was there to have fun and who was Triad. In most cases it was obvious. A door opened off to the side and he turned his head. A man stepped out, his head shaved bald with dark circular glasses covering his eyes. Lei recognized him. Fong Wei. He was a high ranking member, and if Lei had to guess this was probably his turf. As he analyzed this new presence he found that Fong was watching him too, and he knew that things would be getting rough in an instant.

Fong pointed at the intruder and began shouting orders to his men. The gamblers scrambled for cover or tried to get up the stairs, doing their best not to get involved in the coming fight. A group of thugs rushed Lei, but he knew they were just unskilled ruffians. He dodged their sloppy punches easily, not even taking his hands out of the pockets of his hoodie as he hit them with flurries of kicks. The men were knocked around, but when he saw the second wave coming at him with knives he knew it was time to be serious. Two of the men ran at him and thrust the blades toward him, put he used his arms to knock their hands away. He shoved one and grabbed the other, holding his arm tight with one arm as he used a closed fist on the other to punch against it. There was a loud snap and the man stumbled back with a shout of pain, his knife falling to the ground. That was when the group closed in on him. There wasn't much room to fight and he had to be extremely careful as he dodged, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He may have bitten off more than he could chew.

As soon as one of the thugs made a mistake he capitalized, throwing a punch aimed at the larger man's jaw. It was a solid hit and he fell down, causing the man next to him to stumble. Lei shoved the stumbling man and broke free from the group, running toward the abandoned blackjack tables. The thugs gave chase and Lei jumped onto one of the tables, then sprang off of it, whirling his leg in an arc. His foot slammed from skull to skull, and he landed just as the last of the men hit the ground. They weren't knocked out, but he knew they wouldn't be doing any more fighting for the time being.

Fong had on his poker face. If he was impressed by the display he wasn't showing it. Lei knew that all the Triad bosses were martial arts masters, and he was in for a grueling fight. The two men began to walk toward one another, each going into a run before they leaped at one another with loud shouts, exchanging a brief bout of blows in the air before each landed on the opposite side from where they had started. They both turned and threw a kick, their legs colliding painfully. It was an even match.

The two of them took a moment to assess the situation then came to blows again, exchanging punches and dodges at an equal pace. Lei was starting to wonder if this had been a good idea when his opponent whiffed a punch. Lei took advantage and drove a knee into his stomach, causing the older man to bend forward. When he did Lei dropped an elbow on the back of his head, sending him crashing down just in time for Lei's foot to come up, catching him with a kick to the chin. The older man fell back, crashing through one of the blackjack tables. He sent cards flying everywhere and struggled to stand up, but could barely lean forward. He'd be fine. All of them would. Lei walked over to his fallen foe and stooped down, grabbing him by the shirt with a grin on his face. “From now on, you work for me. I'm taking all the money here tonight. I'll be back this time next week to collect on your profits. I'll go easy on you. You can give me 80%. If you fall in line quickly, you'll get a bigger but.” With that he released the man's shirt and got to his feet, dusting himself off to the sound of pained groans. He went around the room collecting the money, counting it all out before stuffing it into his wallet and, when he ran out of room, his pockets. Then he jogged back up the stairs, whistling to himself.

The old man was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't bother him. Lei figured he probably left when the fighting started. He walked toward the door, stopping at the magazine rack. Shrugging his shoulders, Lei picked one up and opened it, watching as the centerfold poster unraveled itself. “Heh...” He grinned as he admired the photo, his free hand rubbing the back of his head. “Maybe I should take this too.” He was so busy looking at the magazine that he didn't even notice the old man creeping up behind him, and before he even knew he wasn't alone a single, swift blow to the head knocked him off his feet. He fell to the ground in a heap, knocked out cold. The old man looked around, and when he was sure he was alone he picked Lei up and threw him over his shoulder, walking out the door.

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