Lust Meter System: Conquering Beauties-Chapter 90: A New Threat 2

Mr. L gestured toward a pair of old metal folding chairs near the center of the room.

"Shall we?" he said, his tone light, almost cordial.

Liam didn’t answer. He just walked over and sat down, his eyes never leaving the mask.

Mr. L sat across from him, leaning back slightly, his hands resting on his knees.

The mask tilted slightly as he studied Liam.

Shay stood off to the side, his arms still crossed, his expression hovering somewhere between confusion and irritation.

And then nobody said anything.

The silence stretched out, thick and uncomfortable. Liam stared at Mr. L.

Mr. L stared back. Neither of them moved.

Ten seconds passed.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Shay shifted his weight, glancing between them. His jaw tightened.

Forty seconds.

"Alright," Shay finally said, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. "Would one of you just speak up already? This whole staring contest bullshit is getting old."

Mr. L’s head tilted slightly, but he didn’t look at Shay.

His focus remained on Liam.

Then he spoke, his voice calm and measured.

"You know, kid, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. About what happened that night." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Liam didn’t respond. He kept his expression neutral, waiting.

Mr. L leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees now.

"You beat two of my guys. Both of them. Didn’t even break a sweat, from what I heard." He paused.

""And then there’s this one." He jerked his thumb toward Shay without sparing him a glance. "You defeated that brainless brute as well."

Shay’s jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists at his sides, but he said nothing.

Mr. L’s tone shifted, becoming lighter, almost playful.

"So I’ve been asking myself, how does some college kid pull that off? How does someone like you, with no training, no reputation, no history in this world, just... win?"

Liam’s expression didn’t change. "Maybe I just got lucky."

Mr. L laughed, shaking his head. "Lucky. Right. You got lucky twice. Against trained fighters. Against a guy who’s been running a crew for five years." He leaned back again, spreading his arms. "Come on, kid. You can do better than that."

Liam shrugged. "Believe what you want."

Mr. L stared at him for a long moment, then tilted his head.

"Or maybe," he said slowly, "you’re like one of them."

Liam frowned. "Like who?"

Mr. L didn’t answer right away. He just sat there, watching Liam through the mask, like he was deciding whether or not to say more.

Then he laughed again, waving a hand dismissively.

"Ah, it’s no problem, kid. Forget I said anything."

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t push. Whatever Mr. L was talking about, he clearly wasn’t going to explain it.

Mr. L leaned forward again, his tone becoming more serious.

"Here’s the thing. It’d be foolish for me to try and fight you. I can see that now. You’re not some random nobody. You’ve got something. I don’t know what it is, but you’ve got it."

He paused, and even through the mask, Liam could feel the weight of his gaze.

"But that doesn’t mean I’m just going to forget what you did to me. I’m still going to get my revenge. Just... some other way."

The mask seemed to shift slightly, and Liam got the distinct impression that Mr. L was smiling beneath it.

Liam’s jaw tightened, but he kept his voice calm. "Looking forward to it."

Mr. L chuckled, then leaned back again, his hands clasped together.

"Alright. Enough about that. Let’s talk business."

Shay finally spoke up, his voice tight. "About damn time."

Mr. L ignored him, his attention still fixed on Liam.

"There’s a problem in this city. A big one. And it’s not me, and it’s not you."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "What kind of problem?"

Mr. L’s tone became darker, more serious.

"Someone’s been killing crews. I mean wiping them out. Completely. No survivors. And what’s funny is that they’re not taking over their turf, not moving in on their business—nothing. Just killing them and walking away."

Liam felt a chill run down his spine. "How many crews?"

"Three so far," Mr. L said. "Small operations, mostly. Corner dealers, low-level muscle. But still. Three crews, gone. And nobody knows who’s doing it."

Shay shifted his weight, his expression tense. "Nobody’s seen this guy?"

"Oh, people have seen him," Mr. L said, his voice grim. "They just don’t live long enough to describe him. Every single person who’s encountered this guy ends up dead. No witnesses. No survivors. Just bodies and empty territory."

Liam’s mind was racing. A single person taking out entire crews? That didn’t make sense. Not unless this person was incredibly skilled, incredibly lucky, or something else entirely.

"You’re telling me one guy is doing all this?" Liam asked.

"That’s what the word on the street is," Mr. L said. "One man. Moving through the city like a ghost. Killing who he wants and leaving nothing behind."

Mr. L leaned forward, his voice dropping lower.

"But here’s the thing that really gets me. This guy has a signature. Every single body he leaves behind has the same mark."

Liam’s attention sharpened. "What kind of mark?"

"A small X," Mr. L said, bringing his hand up and crossing his fingers to demonstrate. "Carved into their skin. Sometimes on the forehead.

Sometimes on the chest.

Sometimes on the back of the hand. But it’s always there. Always the same size. Always precise."

Shay let out a sharp breath. "Scary."

"That’s the point," Mr. L said. "It’s a message. He wants people to know it’s him. He wants the fear to spread."

Liam’s jaw tightened.

"And you’re sure it’s just one person?" Liam asked.

Mr. L nodded. "At least, that’s what we’ve got. But we can’t be sure if there’s more than one."

The room fell silent again. Liam could feel the weight of what Mr. L was saying settling over him.

Shay broke the silence. "So what’s this got to do with us?"

Mr. L turned his head slightly, finally acknowledging Shay.

"Sooner or later, he’s going to come for one of us. Maybe he’s already watching. Maybe he’s already chosen his next target."

He turned back to Liam.

"Now that it’s you leading this group of unmannered misfits, and not this fool behind you—"

Shay’s entire body tensed. "What did you just call me?"

He took a step forward, his hands clenched into fists, his face twisted with anger.

Liam raised a hand, his voice firm. "Shay. Stop."

Shay froze, his eyes snapping to Liam. For a moment, it looked like he was going to ignore the order, but then he took a step back, his jaw still tight, his breathing heavy.

Liam turned his attention back to Mr. L, his expression hard.

"I don’t appreciate you talking about my people like that."

Mr. L tilted his head, and again, Liam could feel that smile beneath the mask.

"Look at you," Mr. L said, his tone almost amused. "Standing up for one of your own. You’re actually fitting in nicely, I see. Playing the part of the leader. I like it."

Liam didn’t respond. He kept his eyes locked on the mask.

Mr. L leaned forward again, his voice becoming more serious.

"Here’s the point, kid. As much as we hate each other, we’ve got a joint enemy now. This guy, whoever he is, he’s a threat to all of us. And I believe that now that you’re the leader of this crew, it’d be wise for us to fight alongside each other. Just until this problem is dealt with."

Liam’s eyes narrowed. "You want an alliance."

"Temporary," Mr. L said, raising a finger. "Very temporary. Once this guy is dead or gone, we go back to our separate corners and pretend this conversation never happened."

Liam didn’t answer right away. He sat there, processing.

An alliance with Mr. L. The guy who’d threatened to kill him. The guy who’d sent people after him twice. The guy who was sitting across from him right now, clearly enjoying this entire situation.

’This is a bad idea.’

But at the same time, if what Mr. L was saying was true, if there really was someone out there taking out entire crews by himself and leaving that X mark as a calling card, then Liam needed to know more. And having Mr. L as a temporary ally, as much as it grated on him, might actually be useful.

Shay spoke up, his voice sharp. "You’re not seriously considering this, are you?"

Liam glanced at him, then back at Mr. L.

"What are the terms?" Liam asked.

Mr. L spread his hands. "Simple. We pool our resources. Share information. If either of us gets a lead on this guy, we share it. We coordinate our movements so we don’t get caught off guard. And when we find him, we take him down together."

"And after that?" Liam asked.

"After that, we’re done," Mr. L said. "No hard feelings. No debts. We go back to being enemies, and whatever happens next happens next."

Liam studied him.

There was something in the way Mr. L was talking, something almost too casual about it, that made Liam suspicious.

But at the same time, he couldn’t deny the logic. If this killer was as dangerous as Mr. L was saying, then going it alone would be stupid.

"I want some guarantees," Liam said.

Mr. L tilted his head, the mask catching the light. "Such as?"

"First, no moves against my crew while this alliance is active. No ambushes, no surprise attacks, no trying to weaken us while we’re working together."

Mr. L was quiet for a moment, then let out a low chuckle. "You think I’d be that stupid? Fighting a war on two fronts is bad business, kid. I’m not interested in that."

"Second," Liam continued, "we share everything. Every piece of information, every lead, every bit of intel. No holding back."

Mr. L laughed, shaking his head. "Everything? Come on, kid. Be realistic. How about we share what’s relevant and keep our little secrets to ourselves? We’re not exactly best friends here."

Liam’s jaw tightened. "No. Full transparency or no deal."

The silence stretched between them. Mr. L leaned forward slightly, his fingers tapping against his knee. Then he sighed, like Liam was being unreasonable.

"Alright, alright. You drive a hard bargain." He paused. "But that goes both ways. If I find out you’re holding back on me, the deal’s off. We clear?"

"Clear," Liam said.

"And third," Liam said, his voice hardening, "if I find out you’re using this alliance as a cover to set me up, to get me killed by this guy or anyone else, the deal’s off and you’re the first person I’m coming for."

Mr. L was silent for a long moment. Then he started laughing, genuine and loud.

"You’ve got guts, kid. I’ll give you that." He stood up slowly, brushing off his jeans.

"Alright. Deal. But just so we’re clear, if you try to screw me over, I’ll do the same to you. Sound fair?"

Liam stood as well, his eyes never leaving the mask. "Fair."

They didn’t shake hands.

They just stood there, staring at each other, the weight of the agreement hanging between them.

Then Mr. L stepped back, started walking toward the door, then paused and turned back.

"Oh, and one more thing. I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

The way he said it, with that mocking tone, made it clear he was enjoying himself far too much.

Liam’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything.

Mr. L gave a small wave, then walked out, the door closing behind him with a loud creak.

The room was silent again.

Shay let out a long breath, running a hand over his face. "I can’t believe you just agreed to that."

"We didn’t have much choice," Liam said.

"There’s always a choice," Shay shot back. "Look, I know you’re new to this world, but you don’t just decide to trust a madman."

"I didn’t say I trust him," Liam said. "But if what he’s saying is true, we need to know more about this killer. And we can’t do that alone."

Shay shook his head. "You’re playing a dangerous game, man."

"I know," Liam said quietly. "But we’re already in a dangerous game. This just raises the stakes."

Shay was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "So what do we do now?"

Liam stood up slowly, his hands unclenching at his sides. He turned to look at Shay.

"First," Liam said, "we change our name."

Shay blinked. "What?"

"Berserk Gang?" Liam said, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously? That’s the name you went with?"

Shay’s face flushed slightly. "It’s intimidating."

"It’s terrible," Liam said flatly. "We’re changing it."

Shay opened his mouth to argue, then seemed to think better of it. He let out a sigh and shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. You’re the boss."

Liam nodded. "Second, we need to get everyone together. Brief them on what’s happening. They need to know about this killer and the alliance."

"They’re not going to like working with Mr. L," Shay said.

"They don’t have to like it," Liam said. "They just have to do it."

Shay nodded slowly. "Alright. I’ll start making calls."

Liam walked toward the door, then stopped and looked back at Shay.

"And Shay?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep this between us for now. Just the core crew. I don’t want word spreading until we know more."

Shay nodded. "Got it."

Liam pushed open the door and stepped out into the night air. The wind had picked up, carrying with it the scent of rain.

He looked up at the sky, his mind turning over everything that had just happened.

’Real nice start to being leader... universe.’