Chapter 198: A Happy Max
Dud had been moments away from walking off until a single name froze him in place.
"The Billion Bloodline?" Chrono repeated the words, his brow furrowing. He said it like it should’ve meant something, but the name rang hollow in his mind.
That’s when Dud, with a swift movement, tapped Na in the stomach, harder than necessary. It wasn’t just a playful jab. It was firm, almost aggressive, like he meant to remind him of something... or hurt him for saying something foolish.
"I thought you said they were nothing to worry about," Dud said sharply. "Just a bunch of high school kids playing dress-up in some flashy uniform."
"A bunch of kids?" Chrono scoffed, visibly irritated. "Are you seriously bringing up some nonsense about teenagers again? Sure, a few of them have talent, Max and Wolf come to mind, but they’ve never managed to push beyond that, have they?"
He leaned against the wall, folding his arms with a smug tilt of his head. "They’re just a recruitment pool. Groups like ours have always picked off the best from schools like that. I’m surprised, Na. You of all people, wasting your breath on this?"
Na’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. He wanted to explain, to backtrack, to show them there was something more to this, but after being talked down so easily, he just let it go. They didn’t want to hear it.
The truth was, during that drive with Dud, Na had seen something that stuck with him. There were more students wearing those Billion Bloodline uniforms than he expected. And it wasn’t just the usual crowd. Some of them were from Max and Wolf’s school. Others were popping up in unexpected places.
So Na had done what he always did when something felt off, he looked into it. Just a little. Just enough.
And what he found... didn’t make sense.
There were newly opened gyms, real ones, not some converted garages. Their clothes were being sold like wildfire. Their symbol was spreading across the city like it had been part of a long-term branding strategy.