Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

"I know what you wanted, Joker."

Matthew remained silent upon being addressed by his alias by the man speaking through the walkie talkie. There was only one person who knew Matthew's alias: Paul. 

"What? Are you surprised?" The person humored as he cackled at the silence on Matthew's side. "You didn't expect that I would know who you are, did you?" 

Instead of responding, Matthew took a deep breath as he slowly placed his pistol down. The next second, Matthew left the back passenger seat and strode towards the man standing not far away from him.

"Wow! You actually came out!" The man exclaimed as he clapped his hands together.

The man didn't expect that Matthew would actually come out of the car despite the unknown dangers outside. Well, not that it was something to be surprised about as he heard that 'Joker' would kill anyone who had seen him.

Matthew peered at the man from head to toe. He was with four other people, but Matthew sensed the different aura emanating from them. Although they were just five in total, Matthew discerned that outnumbering them was not enough.

However, Matthew wasn't worried, despite the fact that Paul and his other guards were lying on the ground.

"Say it," Matthew leaned on the side of the car as she shoved his hands inside his pocket. "Your intentions, I mean." 

"Heh," The man chuckled faintly and shook his head sideways. "I knew threats won't work on you. How scary." 

The man raised his head and looked around in the dimness of the night. The place was in a higher ground of the field where lights were limited. The only source of lights that were shining upon them was the soft rays of the full moon.

"Work with me," The man didn't beat around the bush as he directly revealed his intention. 

"Pfft--!" Matthew chuckled at the remarks which displeased the man's subordinate.

However, the man raised his hand as if stopping his subordinates from doing anything. He then gave them a side eye before returning his gaze back to Matthew's figure.

"Although I say 'work with me', what I mean by that is, I need resources."

"You mean, you need my help?" Matthew queried as he raised his right brow. "And why should I help you?" 

"The chip you wanted from the auction is an incomplete project of Country Y. However, I managed to get my hands on the finished product -- the one and only copy. I can give it to you as a trade." The man's quirky voice suddenly grew solemn. He didn't falter in his negotiation; neither did he look away from Matthew's pair of sharp russet eyes.

"Mhmm," Matthew hummed a low tune as he nodded in understanding, "If you have the finished product, why don't you use it for yourself?"

"Haha! I can hog it all to myself, correct. However, just like I said, I need resources. Having the chip in my possession is not enough. It needs a budget and a lot more than a system and small room to use it."

Matthew once again nodded as he listened to the man's reason. He had a point. 

"You're smart." Matthew praised as he stared at the man before shifting his gaze to his companions.

"Smart?" The man repeated as he chuckled. "You're wrong, Mister Xi -- I mean, Joker. I am not smart, but wise."

The man corrected in a matter-of-fact tone. Matthew nodded in agreement as loosened his tie.

"Indeed," Matthew agreed as he once again scanned the people not far away from him. "You could have attacked or attempted to kill me, but you didn't. I commend your sharpness on reading the situation."

"Joker, if you were that easy to kill, you would have died long ago. Your men are rather scary… how far are they?" The man replied as he looked in the distance. "Can they really protect you from that far?"

"Why don't you try and see for yourself?" Matthew shrugged as he tilted his head a little to the side. Matthew then slowly raised his hand which alerted the men as they held their guns up.

"Idiots! Don--" 

Before the man could halt his men, one of his subordinates opened fire. However, just as he did, a hole was made on his forehead and the bullet he had fired suddenly dropped on the ground at some distance away from them.

Everything happened in a fraction of second that no one could discern what happened. All they heard was a lifeless body collapsing on the ground. The man who was negotiating with Matthew widened his eyes as he turned his head towards his dead subordinate.

"This man!" 

"Don't!" The man ordered as he sensed the rage from his other companions. "Drop your weapons now!" 

The three subordinates who froze at their leader's orders looked at him in dismay. However, upon seeing the expression on their boss's side profile, they dropped their firearms reluctantly.

"See?" Matthew smirked as his eyes bore no remorse towards the people before him. "My men are reliable. They can massacre you in a second and I can leave here unscathed."

Matthew added as he looked down at the two bullets on the ground. Both bullets came from a different gun: one came from the dead man while the other was the one that stopped it from penetrating Matthew.

It was an unbelievable skill to stop a bullet. However, Matthew's real shadow guards are reliable men. He handpicked them personally and they swore their loyalty to him. 

They were the reason Matthew wasn't worried of being killed if these men turned out to be foes. They would drop dead even before they could harm Matthew.

"However, I like your courage and I'm not foolish to think that you'll carry around a valuable item of this trade. After all, I can just ask my men to shoot you all and steal the chip for myself." 

Matthew slowly strode towards the man. The man he was negotiating with raised his head as he watched Matthew approach them and then stopped a few steps away from him.

"Not many can play their cards right, yet… " Matthew paused as he studied the man's figure. "And yet, you did, perfectly." 

Matthew uttered as the side of his lips curled into a smile. He then reached his hand for a handshake. "I smell fun adventures with you…"

"Inigo." The man looked at Matthew's hand before he accepted it in a handshake. 

"Inigo…" Matthew repeated with a cunning smirk as their handshake was the start of their unbreakable brotherhood.