"Can I kill you?" Yuuta asked with a innocent smile.
"Huh?"
Even the man was shocked to the core at the boy's audacity to ask that question, looking at him with furrowed brows wondering if something had hit his head.
Yuuta remained still, his expression unmoved by the bewildered expressions around him.
"Hey buddy, if you think your fun-" One of the bodyguards interjected, his face twisting in anger as he stared daggers at the boy.
The man recovered as fast as he got shocked and raised his hand to silence him, not removing his sharp gaze from the boy in front of him, his gaze never wavering.
Tap, tap, tap
The man approached the boy steadily in silence, not breaking eye contact with him as he closing the distance between them.
He stood before him, scanning him from head to toe, which the boy responded to with a wry smile.
"You know, if you were an adult I would have one out of two things"
He showed his index and middle finger to the boy before folding his middle finger first.
"One, I would've either killed you right here and now"
He spoke in a cold and chilling voice that sent shivers down everyone present.
"Or"
He then folded his index finger before he once again spoke.
"I would have thrown you out of here after I broke all your arms and legs"
In response to the question, the boy's eyes sparkled, as if conveying 'Ooooooh'.
The man raised his eyes in intrigue, as he wondered why the boy was so fearless despite being in the presences of them, not even making the notion of flinching.
He quickly brainstormed potential reasons.
'Perhaps he has a strong backer behind him?' He wondered with a finger on his chin, scratching it thoughtfully.
He took another look at the boys fearless actions before he shook his head inwardly.
"Such a weird boy. That does not seem the case....perhaps.... maybe he doesn't understand the gravity of the situation? But even if he didn't, asking if he could kill me is still considered going too far...hm.."
The man was perplexed as he wondered about the odd case of a boy in front of him, brainstorming potential reasons about the boy's shamelessness.
However, before he could dwell on his thoughts more, he was interrupted by the boy in front of him.
"Hey, old man"
The mans brows twitched in irritation, as he was jolted of his stupor, focusing his eyes back on the boy.
In front of him, the boy simply adjusted his black gloves, tightening them ever so slightly ignoring the presences of everyone around him as if they were flies, before he once again looked back at the guard with now lazy eyes, clearly bored of the situation.
"Fuck off"
This was the final twig that broke the back of the animal.
(A/N: It means that this was the final nerve before everything went chaotic :3. From your narsccistic author-sama)
Gasps rippled from the crowd, as the guards under the order of Aria all pointed their assault rifles towards the boy, waiting for the order to open fire.
However, just as Aria was going to give the orders, she was stopped along with everyone.
The man in his fifties finally spoke, his deep, gravelly voice cutting through the noise.
"Halt!"
The man's gruffy voice echoed and bounced off all the walls, as his comanding voice halted all actions in the first floor be it from his guards or from the guests. Everyone gave him a bewildered look, before the guards looked at each other in confusion and raised down their weapons in resignation.
Aria bit her nails in fury, as she continued glaring with extreme undisguised loathing and hatred towards the unsuspecting boy who mere shrugged her gaze off.
"Oh, If you keep stating at me intensely like this, I'll be embarrassed you know?"
The boy fidgeted his body shyly, mastering the art of acting, as he pretended to be quite shy under the gaze of Aria's intense hatred.
Everyone looked stunned and dumfounded at the boys realistic acting to the point that they would have thought he was serious if not for him previous demeanour screaming internally.
'Too shameless!!!' They all had the same thought at the same time. Only the old man remained unfazed, seemingly expecting the boy's unexpected actions. Calmly gazing at the boy serenely, he proficiently shot out a question towards to the boy.
"Where is your identification, boy?"
Yuuta, still unbothered, lazily dug into his pocket to take out the familiar black card. After a while of rummaging into his pocket, he furrowed his brows before delving his left hand into his other pocket.
Upon discovering that both of them were empty, the boy's eyes widened in panic, as he dropped his lazy demeanour and started checking all the secret pockets in his pants and shirt. He then proceeded to take off his boots and emptying them from all the gold coins, hooks, hidden scalpels, and other devices hidden inside.
The crowd that had gathered were all shocked beyond words, wondering how such a small boot could contain so many things. In fact, they were even more shocked about the boy, wondering why a child who had yet to even reach high school properly had all sorts of illegal things hidden inside.
Upon realizing that he had lost the card, the boy slapped his forehead, remembering where it had went.
"Oh, I used it as bait when I went fishing."
Silence.
The whole crowd including the man became speechless at the boy. If it wasn't for his previous shameless behavior, they would have thought the boy was joking, if not for his innocent and truthful eyes.
A young man with green eyes and fair blond hair awkwardly chuckled as he whispered to himself.
"Hahaha... He's joking, right?"
The mans stifled chuckle trailed off as his eyes widened, not believing the boy had actually lost his card, and to a fish at that.
To enter the skyscraper, you needed more than just an ID or card. You needed a specific card, one that determined your place in the social hierarchy, your worth in the game of survival.
The cards were issued by the corporation that controlled the building otherwise known as 'OSENT' and was divided into four levels. The lowest was Red which signified the lowest level one could enter in the building and the restrictions that were put on such an individual
The Red card, the lowest level, granted access only to the ground floor, where most individuals were at. Those with Red cards were the basic of the basic, required to even enter the building. The fees required to purchase such a card exceeded 150,000 dollars, and only those with silver and gold filled pockets could afford it. To get one required nothing more than paying off a low-ranking bureaucrat who'd pocket the money and grant you entry to the lowest tier of the building. It had a symbol emblemed on it of a fox's tail.
After the Red came the Blue card which was held by those who'd managed to climb through the corporate ladder, but were still beholden to the system. With a Blue card, individuals could access the second and third floors, where those that were higher ranked such as corporate managers and similarly rich individuals could peacefully indulge in their fantasies and serene peace, with less people that the former. The Blue card had to be earned through alliances and other similar deals, with a healthy dose of illegal activity and could only be bought with 2-3 million dollars, depending on karma, connections, etc. It had the emblem of the head of an eagle. The security in the third and fourth floor were even more secure, with more technological advanced security systems and such being present.
Corporate giants on the other hands as well as middle-ranked capitalists had the 5th floor, which required the third card, a golden card, which was the realm of the high-ranking officials, executives, and corrupt politicians. It was the color of power, a color worn by those who had become too rich, too influential, and too dangerous to be touched, on the edges of leaving the system. Getting a Gold card was a game of manipulation, bribery, and outright threats. For this type of card, it could not be bought by money but rather it had to earned it by becoming part of the system the correct way. But even then, it was a small chance you'd ever get your hands on one without selling your soul. This had the emblem of the body of a lion with three tails and a horn on its forehead.
Finally, the highest tier was an obsidian black card, which was so rare and coveted it was almost mythical with mere rumors surrounding it. Only a handful of people held one, and most of them were too far removed from the reality of the rest of the world to care. The Black cardholders were the untouchable ones, the ones who controlled not just the skyscraper, but the city itself and other businesses, which included many such as those that worked with the invisible government, anarcho capitalists, drug lords that dealt with worldwide international drug warfare, or even oligarchs, where not even presidents had a say in such matters . Access to Black came not though wealth but through pure, unchecked power, judged by the deep state. A Black card was a ticket into a different world entirely, a world where laws didn't matter, and neither did morality. The emblem engraved this card was said to be a hydra with three heads spewing black, eerie-like fire.
To avoid things like fraud or fake cards, many procedures such as use specific types of steel and engraving numbers into the card using 18 digit RSA encryption and AES using SHA-256 and finally using the infamous Kryptos.
.
.
"What card did you previously have before losing it? Meaning, what color was it, boy?"
The old guard coughed a few times to break the mood which threatened to take a turn to the worse before curiously looking at the boy. He was quite curious about the boy's origins and how he managed to get a card, but he put his thoughts aside for now.
In response to his question, the boy looked at a certain elevator that was currently beeping as he nonchantedly answered.
"Black"