By the seventh report, Bloodstain was no longer speaking.

He simply stood there listening, dangerously silent.

The attackers gone, there was no useful information acquire that could uncover their identities, neither was there any clear leads.

The right-hand man slowly lowered another report.

"Seven."

Bloodstain didn’t answer.

"Seven teams confirmed."

Only three expeditions remained unaccounted for.

Bloodstain stared at the maps displayed on the largest screen with bloodshot eyes and clenched fists.

He was certain that this wasn’t random. Someone had carefully orchestrated this... and deep down, although he couldn’t prove it and logic told him it shouldn’t be possible, one name kept appearing in his thoughts... Shadow Reapers.

Hours later, hundreds of Iron Vultures members filled the headquarters.

The massive compound that had looked strangely empty only a day ago was overflowing once more.

Awakened members moved everywhere.

Some were covered in cuts and bruises while others carried broken limbs supported by makeshift splints.

A few were outright being dragged toward medical rooms.

Most of the original ruin-clearing teams had returned as well as the backup teams.

None of them had brought back anything worthwhile.

Every single bit of loot was gone.

One operator swallowed nervously. "B-Boss..."

Bloodstain slowly turned, visibly irked. "What."

The single word carried enough pressure to make several people lower their heads.

The operator quickly continued. "We just got confirmation from the final expedition team."

Bloodstain’s eyes narrowed as he waited for the news. This was the only team that might have a chance to salvage something from this disaster.

"What happened?"

The operator hesitated before answering. "The backup team arrived at the same time the original team completed the ruin."

A brief flicker of hope appeared in Bloodstain’s eyes as the operator continued.

"They reached a number of forty-eight."

Bloodstain nodded slowly. "Good."

The operator looked like he wanted to disappear as he added. "It wasn’t enough."

"What do you mean it wasn’t enough?"

The operator looked down at the report as his voice became weaker.

"The attacker seemed to be a summoned creature."

Bloodstain’s eye twitched. "A summon..."

Several people in the room visibly stiffened while the operator continued.

"According to eyewitness accounts, the creature attacked immediately."

A screen lit up nearby displaying security footage from a convoy camera began playing.

The quality wasn’t perfect but it was clear enough, displaying a battlefield with vehicles overturned.

Massive torrents of mana swirled through the area creating a storm of winds that flipped vehicles into the air.

Dozens of awakened members were blown off their feet. Some crashed into trees while others crashed through rocks.

Several simply disappeared into clouds of dust.

The footage shook violently before capturing a ten feet tall alluring feminine figure covered from head to toe in dark-grey warrior-like armor. There was also an helmet on her head, hiding the creature’s face behind it.

She stood amidst the chaos like a war goddess with her staff raised and her eyes glowing.

The surrounding winds obeyed her every command, continously sweeping more and more vehicles away.

Moments later her staff transformed, slowly enlogating and shifting till it turned into a sword.

Bloodstain watched as Iron Vultures members charged and got demolished one after another.

The loot convoy disappeared shortly afterward and then the footage ended.

The operation had been a complete failure.

Bloodstain breathing became slower as he shut his eyes. This somehow felt even more terrifying than his rage to the people in the room.

Another voice suddenly spoke. "B-Boss."

Bloodstain opened one eye. "What now."

The operator looked ready to cry. "It’s the storage facilities."

The entire room froze as Bloodstain slowly straightened. "What about them?"

The operator looked pale. "We just got report that all of them were hit."

"What?!"

"Every Iron Vultures storage facility across Misty High City..."

Another operator hurriedly projected reports onto the central screens, displaying the same thing...

Broken entrances... unconscious guards... empty storage rooms... missing resources... in all six storage facilities.

Bloodstain stared at the figures that displayed the amount of loss they had taken.

The numbers alone were enough to make smaller gangs collapse.

Hundreds of millions were completely gone. Someone had robbed Iron Vultures blind.

After many moments of brief silence, Bloodstain finally snapped.

BOOM!

The table beneath him exploded causing metal fragments to shoot across the room.

Several operators screamed and ducked while another monitor shattered.

"FIND THEM!" The roar shook the entire operations center.

"I WANT NAMES!"

"I WANT FACES!"

"I WANT SOMETHING!"

People immediately began running, phones started ringing and teams started moving.

Orders were issued, vehicles were prepared and investigations were immediately launched.

•••

•••

~ Later The Next Day ~

Shadow Reapers headquarters looked completely different.

Where Iron Vultures was drowning in panic... Shadow Reapers was celebrating.

The atmosphere felt almost festive.

Storage rooms had become so packed that crates lined walls, rare materials filled shelves and monster parts occupied entire sections.

Weapons, armor, resources, valuable components were so immense that it would take a lot of time to finish cataloguing everything.

The haul was enormous.

Even Aria occasionally stopped working just to stare at the sheer quantity of goods now filling the base.

She had expected success but not like this.

The operation had exceeded every projection she made.

Jax stood atop a crate laughing.

"I’m telling you!"

"Best day of my life! Was as easy as taking candy from a baby"

Several newer recruits laughed.

Hart shook his head. "They practically sabotaged themselves."

One rookie grinned. "I still can’t believe we pulled it off."

Nearby, Vanya nodded. "Honestly, I thought we’d all die. They’re a more established gang after all."

"Thanks for the confidence," Hart replied dryly.

The room erupted with laughter.

Meanwhile West stood near the center of the gathering, looking perfectly calm as though dismantling a top one hundred gang’s logistics network was merely another Tuesday.

Aria eventually stepped forward. "Attention everyone."

The room quieted as West folded his arms with a small smile on his face. "Good work."

Those simple words immediately brightened the expressions of several members... especially the newer recruits.

For many of them, this had been their first major operation under Shadow Reapers and it had been wildly successful.

West continued. "You all did exactly what you were supposed to do."

"You followed instructions."

"You trusted the plan."

"And because of that..."

He gestured around the room.

"...this happened."

Several people laughed while others cheered. The evidence of success surrounded them.

West nodded to the new recruits. "Welcome to Shadow Reapers."

Another round of applause rang out while West added. "And since everyone performed well..."

The cheering immediately got louder as West smirked. "Bonuses."

Now the room practically exploded in loud cheers as Jax raised both arms triumphantly.

"I knew joining this gang was the right choice!"

Several newer recruits enthusiastically agreed.

Aria was already updating figures on a tablet.

She looked both amused and horrified by how much money West was casually giving away.

Eventually the excitement settled down and a newer recruit raised his hand.

West pointed at him. "Yes?"

The young man hesitated before speaking. "Boss."

"Yeah?"

"What happens when Iron Vultures retaliates?"

The room became noticeably quieter.

It was a very valid question since everyone understood that what happened last night wouldn’t simply be forgotten.

Iron Vultures wasn’t some tiny street gang... they were ranked eighty-ninth in the city.

Organizations like that wouldn’t take this lying down.

Several people looked toward West expecting an expression of wariness but West simply smiled.

"They can’t prove anything."

A few members exchanged glances as West continued. "Can they suspect us?"

"Sure."

"Will they suspect us?"

"Definitely."

That earned a few chuckles.

"But suspicion isn’t proof."

He leaned against a nearby crate. "All they had was a very bad day."

More laughter followed before West’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Besides."

"If they come after us..."

"We’ll deal with that when it happens."

That simple confidence was enough to calm the nerves of many in the room. Afterall, people would have a difficult time following a leader who lacked guts.

Not only has West proven he had guts, he had also proven he had brains and brains to back it up, taking apart a large gang such as this with barely any numbers.

This had earned him enough points... so much so, that they’d follow him blindly, assured he had a plan for everything.

Eventually the gathering began dispersing as people returned to work and the inventory sorting resumed.

Meanwhile West quietly looked around the base. He was proud of how rapidly the gang was growing.

West exhaled slowly. "Not bad."

Nearby, Aria glanced over. "Thinking already?"

West chuckled. "When am I not?"

Aria rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you’re not planning another operation already."

West looked away innocently which immediately answered her question.

"Oh no," Aria covered her face.

West laughed. "Relax."

"We’re laying low."

And for once, he meant it.

The Iron Vultures had been hit very hard so now it was time to disappear back into the shadows...

To let the dust settle... to let Bloodstain chase ghosts.