千寻影视

The man stepped forwar—

"...!"

But he stopped before he could take that step as he noticed a line of thread had already been wrapped around his neck.

"Don\'t move."

Brandon glared at him.

The man gestured with his hand to stop.

"Woah, woah. Calm down, this isn\'t like you, Ripper."

"..."

Yet Brandon didn\'t respond and continued to glare at him. Extending from his fingertip, the thread tightened and a miniscule amount of blood seeped from the man\'s neck.

"Talk."

Brandon coldly spoke.

The man traced his neck with his finger and peered down to look at his blood.

Shortly after, he responded.

"Alright, where do I start?"

The man spoke as if the whole situation didn\'t bother him at all. Pinching his chin, his eyes darted up as if pondering.

Shortly after, he spoke up.

"To ease your tension, my name is Zed Alistar."

"..."

"I\'m telling the truth, come on now. Since when have I ever given you false information?"

Zed retrieved something from his pocket and….

"Here."

Clink—!

He tossed a coin and it landed on the ground.

"A shadow broker\'s honor. Use that."

"Heh."

Brandon stifled a chuckle. He leaned down to grab the coin and clasped it in his palms.

Then…

Clink—!

"What\'s your motive?"

Zed leaned down to grab the coin that Brandon tossed.

He responded soon after.

"To find you."

"..."

"Without breaking your trust."

"Why?"

Clink—!

Zed shook his head.

"It\'s my turn to ask the questions."

Brandon frowned at his words. The threads tightened even more and blood continued seeping out of Zed\'s neck.

"Are you really in the situation to ask questions?"

Brandon venomously spat out.

Zed closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Fair. Alright, ask away."

Clink—!

"Since when did you know I was an Astrea student?"

"I didn\'t know. But from your irregular appearance in Everglade, I had a couple of theories in mind."

"Irregular appearance?"

"You only appear on the weekends."

"Ah…"

Makes sense.

"And the theories?"

"Either you were a student, a civil worker, or someone who just enjoyed visiting Everglade on the weekends."

"Then when did you confirm I was a student?"

Zed pinched his chin at Brandon\'s question.

This persisted for a few seconds until he had finally found the right words to say.

His mouth then parted open.

"The forest fire a month ago, that was you wasn\'t it? The one caused by Astrea?"

"..."

"So I was right. Anyway, do you remember the first thing you asked me when we first met?"

"Hm?"

Brandon pondered for a while.

What was the first information that he bought off from—

Ah.

"I asked about the forest situation."

"Yep. Connect the dots from the forest fires that you\'ve recently caused and the previous incident. Sure, the puzzle doesn\'t quite fit properly. But it leaves me wondering."

"So you just jumped into conclusions then?"

"Call it instincts."

What sort of…

Their conversation continued on from there.

"If you wanted to confirm my identity, then why did you stop me from blurting out my real name when I was drunk?"

"Same as you. Why did you let your guard down when you were wary of me the whole time?"

"To assess how much each side could trust the other."

"Exactly."

In other words, to gain Brandon\'s trust. The same went for Brandon who had gotten himself drunk that day just for Zed to let down his guard around him.

The reason why Brandon grew wary of him was because of the specific information that Zed had told him.

He quickly recalled his words a few weeks back.

—They\'re planning on obstructing this Academy called Astrea during their festival. Maybe you can use them as a reference.

Yes, that.

The information was way too specific.

At that moment, Brandon got the gist that Zed had an inkling of his identity.

An Astrea student.

Just that Zed wasn\'t quite there and needed some kind of confirmation.

Was Brandon a malefactor or not?

If Brandon wasn\'t the kind of person Zed thought he was, and would contribute in the academy attack, or maybe partake in a different kind of crime, then Zed\'s efforts would\'ve gone for naught.

After all, a normal student wouldn\'t even think of partaking in shady deals or joining an underground syndicate.

Thankfully, Zed\'s conjectures were proven correct and Brandon wasn\'t a student on the wrong path.

At that, Zed had finally assessed his character.

Looking at Zed, Brandon pursed his lips.

"Are you satisfied with the results?"

"More than satisfied."

Zed nodded.

Brandon went against the syndicate, despite wanting to climb its ranks. Something unthinkable if he were a shady character.

"Congratulations."

Zed stepped forward and threads tightened even more.

"I said don\'t mo—"

"Let me introduce myself. Once again, I am Zed Alistar. A Twilight Syndicate head. You\'ve completely captured my interest, Brandon Locke."

Zed extended his hand.

"I would like to formally invite you to work directly under me."

"..."

Brandon was taken aback.

He had known Zed was a member. But wasn\'t he just a lowly bartender?

\'So he was a head this whole time.\'

Something he hadn\'t taken into account.

Brandon chuckled at the thought.

The threads loosened, and eventually it cut off.

He looked at Zed who looked at him back with a serious expression.

Accepting Zed\'s handshake, he pursed his lips.

"What will this work entail?"

"The organization\'s destruction."

***

Soon after the talent show ended, the results were finally being announced.

Standing on the center of the stage, Belle stood at the center as the spotlight shined down on her.

She adorned an extravagant red dress as her hair was styled in a elegant fashion. A small touch of makeup was visible on her face and a tinge of red lipstick etched on her lips.

She was a bonafide beauty.

And it was evident as the audience were all awestruck. The women were captivated as the men had visible blushes on their faces.

With the microphone in front of her, Belle leaned close.

Tension gripped the entire room. The audience were separated on who deserved first place.

Was it Amelia or Brandon?

Shortly after, Belle\'s sweet voice echoed throughout the entire theater room.

—First place….

She paused as she let the suspense sink in.

Shortly after, she announced.

—Brandon Locke. Please come to the stage to receive your award.

"Wooooo….!"

"Wew~ Wew~"

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Cheers and applause instantly filled the room. Despite the fact that Amelia had lost, her fans didn\'t take it to heart and chimed in on the praises.

This persisted for a few seconds but that was until…

—Brandon Locke. Please come to the stage to receive your award.

Belle\'s announcement repeated yet the man of the hour had never appeared.

Shortly after, Amelia appeared from the curtains and walked towards Belle. Leaning close, she whispered something in her ear.

As soon as she finished, Amelia went back behind the curtains and Belle announced once more.

—Apologies for the delay. It seems like Brandon Locke currently isn\'t present. I will then proceed to the next awarding.

And the awarding ceremony continued on from there.

The results?

∟ 1st. Brandon Locke

∟ 2nd. Amelia Constantine

∟ 3rd. Cyrus Rosewill

Honorable Mentions:

∟ Reinhard Van

.

.

The judges handled the voting, and after they had chosen their top three, the honorable mentions were based on community votes.

For some reason, some of the male students voted for Reinhard as a joke.

Just like that the awarding ceremony had ended.

And now…

It was time for the fireworks display to mark the end of the three day festival.

The audience were instructed to leave the theater room and were allowed to go anywhere to watch the display.

Most opted for the school\'s courtyard, while some decided to leave the premises.

As Rachel glanced around couples started forming and gazed from the window, waiting for the fireworks display to start.

Though she couldn\'t openly admit it, in her heart, she wanted to watch the fireworks with Brandon.

But she knew that was impossible.

In the first place, Brandon wasn\'t even present during the awarding ceremony. Most likely, he had already left the building due to exhaustion.

Rachel once again glanced around to look for her friends.

But for some reason, she couldn\'t find them.

Her shoulders dropped and she breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Haa…."

She had barely seen the one person she had wanted to be with the entire time. Much less, even talk to him.

For all she knew he might still be in the academy and was planning on watching the fireworks with Amelia or something.

No.

She shook her head at the thought.

It would be unfair to think about Brandon like that knowing how busy he was.

Glancing around, Rachel roamed the hallways.

Each step felt heavy, and she could feel like her heart was slowly sinking.

This festival that she was wholeheartedly looking forward to…

It was a disappointment.

Turning her head, the sight of the stairs registered in her eyes.

The rooftop should be closed during the talent show.

But Rachel didn\'t care.

She could just break the lock.

If she was going to watch the fireworks all alone, then she might as well get the best view.

With such thoughts, she started ascending the flight of stairs, until she had finally made it at the entrance.

Creaaaaaak….

And as she pushed the door open, what greeted her sight made her eyes widen.

Ba… Thump!

Her heart skipped a beat as she took in the sight of Brandon who\'s back was faced towards her.

Slowly…

He turned around.

Ba… Thump!

Her heart quickened, and she felt like running away as of this moment.

There was no way Brandon was here.

"No way…"

The one person she had been actively seeking this entire time.

The only person she wanted to be with during the festival.

There was just no way that Brandon was here, alone.

She must\'ve been seeing things.

And so she rubbed her eyes.

Blinking, the sight of Brandon hadn\'t faded away.

...He really was here.

And as she stood frozen in her feet…

"Rachel…?"

He called out to her.