Thần returned to the turf. Gym Leaders of Pokemen gathered at the south-side turf, waiting for their master. Men armed themselves with weapons and firearms, which seemed impossible to obtain in broad daylight. A moment later, the master arrived with men walking into the room. High-end gears - they wore and seemed like high-ranking members of the Pokemen's organization.

Gym leaders nod in acknowledgment, but an air of tension protruded in the room.

"You two must be the new guy-" The Master skimmed the appearance of the boys from Lương Thế Vinh and expressed his approval. "I usually don't trust mercenaries, but now a job is needed."

Thần and Lâm took turns to greet the Master, and they shook hands. Gym Leaders took seats at a round table; the Master took a seat at the head of the table.

"Care to explain the new incident?" Thuan opened the meeting. "Others are looking at us like punks from the streets."

"We have been out of the game for long-" Minh cleared his throat. "But taking money from plebs ain't gaining old fame."

Others look at the Master skeptically, knowing that the new policy left the organization under suspicious circumstances.

"We know why you are doing this-" Tan Phong uttered. "But as a family, I cannot unsee this."

The Master leaned forward, exhaled as he fed up with the latest incident. The Master had invested the organization fund in a project called PooCoins; however, as the news had been told, the project posed a scam. Investors demanded refunded the NFTs, but no response from their end. The Master actually reached out to their leaders twice; albeit processing the refund, nothing occurred — perhaps, a dead tomb to the investors.

The round table grasped their breath to the news since members had put their hard effort in the Master's trust. In other words, everyone at the table knew the virtual coin posed a classic influencer greed story where a streamer presented an unreal project; deemed millions of cash and delivered nothing in the end. As the famous streamer promised the world a lucrative blockchain game which obtained investors real life money, the man did nothing. While their leaders fled the country in a matter of weeks, people still believed in the hype train and did nothing in return.

"I'm aware of the situation-" The Master stroked his nose. "But I mean, it's Logan Nguyen we are talking about right?"

The Master used to be excited about the project since Logan Nguyen put his name in the marketing. The streamer also claimed backing the project from start to end, so no chance a celebrity could mess up his credit. Logan Nguyen, a real-life streamer, made quite a lot of content from social media platforms; so, the weight of his name was tremendous. Even other named celebrities were excited to become a part of the hype train; waited for their investment to blossom.

"But, this is not gold!" Tan Thanh expressed disbelief from the story of the Master since everyone knows money ain't grown from trees. "Are you trying to pretend because this is a blockchain coin and it will make gold?"

The Master remained silent when the round table looked at him; fed up with the news.

"How are we gonna tell others that you fuck up?" Minh criticized the Master, rubbing his face. "I know something is wrong with the new policy."

"Relax, I got this in control-" The Master refuted, shying away from the round table. "Just need a little more time."

"News on the air already-" Thuan scratched his head and leaned backward. "The upper-men will make a move on us."

Lâm whispered to his partner, saying that Logan Nguyen was a low-key criminal. Moreover, the virtual community knew Logan posed an obnoxious behavior in one live stream video with dead people. Because of that, no one could say good deeds with the man. At the moment, the PooCoin project failed to fulfill, leaving a mess behind the scenes with millions of cash vanishing in thin air.

The tension in the air led to a quick recession for the round table. Everyone spread across the room, trying to think of an idea. Thần returned to the room after a refreshment, looking for a head start.

"Now, he could take this to court-" Minh was aware of the approaching newcomer; chuckled in a vague smile since he knew well how the system worked. "But shit they gonna do 'em good."

"I mean, he could-" Thần looked at the Master who stroked his nose, saddened. "You guys donate the money after all, right?"

"Are you being serious?" Minh looked at Thần dead in the eyes, said that the An Nam system never dealt with the virtual coin catastrophe before; so, the government would never bat an eye into the problem. "If you fucked, you fucked. Period."

After Minh ended the conversation, Thần approached the man who leaned on the walls, lost in deep thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, I did not notice-" Thuan returned to reality after realizing a man approached. "I'm sorry we drag you into this mess."

"No big', I have done this and that-" Thần replied. "I hear about the upper-men, who are they?"

"Men from the main branch of our organization-" Thuan explained that the Pokemen consisted only of a small branch from a larger organization - the sect. The sect meant real business, Thuan claimed, and they cared less about the smaller branch's business until a cause affected the upper branch. Upper-men used to be members from smaller branches, posing prime qualities and characteristics. The sect selected them to be part of the bigger deeds, not just doing the chores. "Usually, the upper-men will have special privilege."

When An Thần gestured a motion to continue, Thuan cited that men from the sect would benefit from good income, insurance and other commodities. An Nam consisted of many sects; all of them owned large businesses and firms to gain income. Men in sects possessed power; in a poetic statement, some could move mountains, control the wind as they wished.

Thần nod as an end statement to the conversation; moved to the Tan brothers as they were expecting the man to come.

"After all the effort, we achieve nothing." Tan Phong exhaled disappointedly. "We did every deed the Master asked, and now, he did us dirty."

"Cheer up, brother-" Tan Thanh tried to comfort the younger kin. "I mean, he did pay us well."

"Bullshit, that man's greed is unparalleled-" Phong looked at the man who stroked his nose, saddened, in contempt. "I trust him with every action, now I pay the price."

"You still have others taking care-" Thần rolled a motion to persuade. "Everyone makes bad choices sometimes."

"No, this is too much-" Phong shook; walked away from the conversation. "He will take responsibility."

The older kin looked at Than; shrugged since failing to think of another explanation. Then, Thanh followed his younger brother, trying to motion to talk about the situation. Than, behind, exhaled and revalidated the situation; perhaps, nothing could save the situation more than waiting for a good resolution.

Thần moved forward to the Fervent Master, who started all the commotion. The Master recognized the newcomer's appearance, welcoming a seat.

"I just need more time-" The Master remained unwavering despite the pitfall. "I can collect every penny and put us back on track."

"What do you mean?" Thần inquired. "The money has disappeared."

"We can make this work." The Master pulled a detailed note of tasks which they could do to fix the situation. His eyes fixed at the newcomer and looked for a favorable gesture. "Look, I know you can do it, just tell me what you think."

Thần read through the tasks in the note. It seemed the Master demanded the man to do some work with big lenders in the districts. Although the sum failed to satisfy the bad investment funding, some cash might be better than none. Thus, Thần looked into the thin air, calling for a seance. Those sums would fail to suffice the debt, the appearing ghost shook in disapproval, they had to save time on such an inevitable outcome. Yet, one might choose to help if necessary, perhaps the boy could obtain a reward on the way. A hesitation occurred, Thần scrambled in thoughts for a fracture of seconds.

"Very well-" The Master expressed an approval after receiving a nod from the newcomer. "May you bring good news to the table."

Thần and the boys ventured to District 4 where old remnants of the industrial revolution remained. Many apartments coated on the old smoke and dirty with walls painted hate graffitis. The eyes could see clothes hanging on the small balconies or some fresh meat and sausages.

The boys passed merchants who sold fruits and legumes of all sorts; hobos who hung on their empty beer bottles and smokers who sought chill vibes in their daytime.

Thần knocked on the door of a designated apartment. A voice asked to identify the strangers, so they all had to speak the name. After the unlock handlebar sounded, the door slowly revealed the lender. Thần meant no trouble there since he only needed to complete the task. Indeed, the lender had to know why strangers such as Thần came to knock on the door. Real businesses, they meant. Therefore, the lender told the boys to wait for a moment and came out with the fresh cash. Simple task, the newcomer thought to himself, and left the door.

The boys continued to move forward onto other destinations, doing their business with the lenders. As Thần moved forward, he recognized many of them acting quite differently when they knew the collectors coming to town. Awed, anxious little sweat on their face dripping down their chin as if a monster had come to visit and eat them alive. But, the task had to be simple, the newcomer thought to himself, and left the door. The boys stopped at a convenient store nearby a designated home, buying some refreshments. Thần did the business as usual, knocking on the door and waited for a response. When the boys cooled their throats for a long moment, the door failed to respond. A strange feeling surged in Than, then Tan's brother started to ramp on the door. Wind came from the windows, the eyes described, and a rope tightened on the balcony.

"Find the bitch!" Phong looked down the rope and saw the target; so, he alerted others and split the group. "This dawg wants to die already!"

The boys split in pairs, Thần and Lâm headed south; took a roundabout to catch the target at the end.

"Ei, see 'em-" Lâm pinpointed a guy who ran with his underwear and white tank top to the market in front. "Need to catch him before he's in the place."

Thần knew Market 200, or the Cathedral Market, usually crowded with people and bikers in the morning. Therefore, the pursuit would become harder when one had to dodge moving objects back and forth. The target ran past merchants which presented a full range of items such as food, fresh vegetables, sticky rice and fruit which sold along both sides of Alley 200. The duo followed along and dodged every item which the target threw at them. The chaos rose when they ran to the culinary alley with a variety of dishes ranging from crab soup, ground duck, duck vermicelli. A duck out of the blue flew on Lam, attacking and pecking on the man by any means. From there, Thần exhaled and continued the pursuit without his partner. The chase lasted until a smoke screen caught Thần in a hidden corner. The gray smoke formed dense as mist from the high mountain, impossible to see or realize the outcome.

Pock!

A stone hit Thần from behind, yet he failed to identify the direction.

Pock! Pock!

More stones hit Thần from left and right, yet he failed to prepare himself with the shots.

Smack!

A wrench hit Thần from the right, yet he succeeded in blocking the blow.

"Go away!" the target eluded to the smoke, blinded to the eyes. "I don't want to do this!"

"Give me the money!" Thần cried; cautioned in the surroundings. "Fuck this shit!"

The target appeared and hit on the stomach all the sudden which caught Thần off guard. The boy grunted in pain, dodged the next attack and hugged the attacker out of the smoke. While both of them struggled to gain control of the wrench, Thần tried to move his body on top to gain advantage of his weight. Because of that, the disarm technique could do its magic.

"Stop, stop!" the target yielded; protected his face. "You win, okay?"

Thần sat on the floor; breathed heavily, leaving space for the other. Both of them sat on the concrete pavement, panting and looked over the busty crowd from the hidden corner. Thần got a chance to catch an eye on the worn tank top. That middle aged man swiped sweat with his calloused hands; the weathered face frowned off short-winded breath. It seemed years of working in physical labor exposed the man.

"Please, take it-" the middle aged man took out the loaned sum. "You can leave me be."

The green armband rang a bell to Thần as a suggestion. Therefore, the boy had to choose to leave the place in silence or confront the curiosity of the mind.

"What are you waiting for?" The middle aged man urged the collector to take the sum. "What do you want?"

"What is your business with the Pokemen?" Thần gazed at the other. "Why do you run away?"

The middle aged man looked at the young collector in a moment of silence, then sighed deeply. When both of them sat at an outdoor coffee shop, the middle aged sipped his black ice coffee which eluded his mind to the reminiscent of the old days. The man opted to become a shoe shiner, the one who spends his days sitting on the street corner or in a public space with a small box or stool, offering to shine the shoes of passersby for a small fee. In the young days, he would wear new white tank tops and carry all his supplies in a small, leather bag.

"I used to wander all the streets in the district-" the middle aged described the process of doing such work. "Gents used to wear Derbies and Monks, they looked for us to shine their spots."

Indeed, men always came to an outdoor coffee shop to converse and meet their colleagues in whatever business they conduct. Shoe shiners had to come there to shine the gentlemen and make ways to their outlook. Besides, for a shoe shiner, he caught an eye on a young mistress who served in the place. The mistress wore a white blouse, a black skirt, vividly among the guests. Therefore, he would take a peek at her whenever possible, believing one day he could talk to her for once.

"It has been years since I met her for the last time-" the middle aged man twirled the ice black. The clacking ice sounded with a burn desire in his gut. "I would love to give her a gift."

"Quite an unrequited love story-" the ghost applauded, seated on an empty chair aside. "Love never ends well if it's one sided."

"Mis'rable one-" Gomboc echoed many voices in the surrounding. Invisible purple tentacles crawled slowly onto the prey and began to wrap a human roll. "S'rve me and thee shall beest freeeeeeeee."

Thần sought guidance beyond the horizon, looking for a suitable path. A moment later, Thần expressed the final selection.

"Y-You really want to help me?" The shoe shiner brimmed in joy, stuttered his tongue. "I mean, I still owe you money."

"Yes, but I will keep an eye on you-" The young collector observed the melting ice black. "We will deal with the debt when things are done."

Both of them traveled to the Thursday night bistro at District 3 where a known merchant had prepared all the goods. Putting on a classic tuxedo, a bow tie and Derbies, the shoe shiner watched himself in the mirror, stunned. However, the expectation ceased to end when the fine gentleman could hold a bouquet of 30 fresh red roses. Perhaps, the preparation sufficed the first meeting, the specter observed the situation, and then, the middle aged man only needed to wait for the moment of truth from dusk to dawn.

"Are you sure we are in the right place?" Thần questioned the middle aged man while the clock was ticking at six. "I see no one here yet."

Although seats at the outdoor coffee shop began to empty a few, the fine gentleman remained still, neatly, no response. Phone rang in the pocket of the young collector, demanding for a response.

"What's the word, captain?" a man from the other side criticized since the tasks remained nine more to finish, no tippy tappin'. "I think I caught you lackin-!"

"I feel lucky I'm not you-" Thần replied and sipped the milky ice. "At the place I do the do."

The phone conversation sparked a quarrel between callers; while doing so, a young mistress noticed them. The fine gentleman recognized the approaching woman, preemptively questioning the reason.

"You look splendid today, mister." the young woman complimented the outlook of the gentleman. "Don't tell me it is because of the rumors."

"I would love to see it come true-" the gentleman replied, lowering his voice. "But I guess the rumors are not real after all."

"About it-" the mistress hesitated for a few seconds. "I-I'm terribly sorry for the news."

After that, the young mistress returned to her task as a waitress, swiftly in an odd way.

"Alright, talk when we meet-" Thần hung up the call while the other side still criticized the lack of work. "I never signed up for this shit."

"Here's the money" the gentleman left his seat when putting the owes on the table. "Thank you for your time."

Thần observed the shoeshiner leaving the door, incomprehended the situation. Scratching the head, the boy could only assume that the meeting satisfied the shoeshiner. Thus, he then completed the mission.

"W-Wait a moment-" the waitress halted Thần at the door. "I need to talk to you."

The outdoor coffee shop shared a tale with shoe shiners who spent their days sitting on the street corner or in a public space with a small box or stool, offering to shine the shoes of passersby for a small fee. In modern times, gentlemen demanded less on shining their shoes since the power of technology could make it all. Shoe shiners in the streets became few, yet only one remained. At times, a shoe shiner wore old clothing and carried all his supplies in a small, weathered bag. Oldies in the place knew his story, yet failed to share the burden. Indeed, some witnessed a young mistress starting to make a move, comb her layered hair with flipped-out ends and feathered bangs and such; befriended with the shoe shiner.

"The only thing kept them apart-" the young mistress hesitated. "Well, you already knew."

"And, you are?" Thần questioned the waitress, sipping the melting milky ice with a smirk. "Must have followed this like some melancholy drama 'ting', yeah?"

"Daughter." The waitress responded. "Very close, of course."

The response flabbergasted Than, stunned him for a moment. His mind began counting numbers - in years, actually - to gulp the harsh truth.

"Please talk to him-" the waitress confided that the middle aged man had waited long for the return of his springs. "I-I do not know what to do."

Thần looked her dead in the eye as if he could conduct better deeds in such a situation. The boy left the place, and asked for intelligence from a trusted source to find the target. When reaching a bridge which connected District 4 to District 3, Thần found a beat gentleman who stared at the flowing river. Strange feelings surged in the gut as the legs told Thần to run straight forward.

"Relax, I won't-" the gentleman realized the intention of the boy. "Tried, yet can't."

"What's the meaning of this?" Thần questioned. "You knew that young girl and all?"

The shoe shiner opened up the last day, a day where both of them sat and enjoyed the morning breezes with the ice blacks. The young mistress shared a story of going abroad with the family, to Olbus. The shoe shiner was happy for the mistress since life would become better with higher hopes and such. Yet, that night, more yeast, more drunk appeared to ease the phantom pain. The shoe shiner had to go through the process of the mistress going to another planet and failing to enjoy the ice black together. Perhaps, the man had to put aside a couple of thoughts to ease the broken heart. Perhaps, the man had to step back from night to night to realize their lives were different in such a way.

The next morning, the shoe shiner reunited the young mistress, disappointed that the person who he cared for every drop of happiness that day would disappear.

"How do you feel about it?" the young mistress asked that day. "I mean, people say you can achieve your dreams there."

"I-I don't know-" the shoe shiner smiled lightly. "I know you will be fine there."

The young mistress watched the shoe shiner for a moment, perhaps realizing a reaction.

"I'm sorry-" the shoe shiner twirled the melting milky ice; smirked. "I'm not as sad as you think."

"Hey, why don't we do this-" the young mistress introduced a new subject. "I will be back soon, you think you could wait?"

"Where's the fun in that?" the shoe shiner gazed at her smile. "I should really try to forget you now."

The young mistress smiled brightly, the man knew, only when she talked about her favorite topics. Yet, every word of her from there would tear his heart apart. The man knew it would become futile when waiting for a promise. However, the wind would remain memories of his mistress, the rain would suggest he cared for the last words. Then, the nocturne felt the shadow was darker; and in dreams, the man still saw the last meeting in every word, every smile.

Furthermore, it seemed hilarious when a later day the man would meet a copy-cat of the young mistress. In other words, the man had to find the fun in it since that girl looked like the young mistress. But, the man had to stop being sad as he thought since some subjects were worth forgetting. But the man felt sad when he was lost in thoughts at two o'clock at night. Perhaps the man had a tale to remember. The tale that no one remembered, but no one wanted to forget.

Every morning from that time, the mimic mistress served the ice black for a shoe shiner, yet the seat beside still became empty since the day she walked away. Perhaps the tale they shared had to keep it as a memento, and the man had to stop feeling depressed as he thought.

"It's just that-" the gentleman confided since he took the tale personally, so how could he blame the one who got away. The man tortured himself and made his eyelashes thin. His mind thought it seemed just a little insane when the mistress stayed afar. "Of course, I'm not as sad as you think."

"And, you dress from tip to toe?" Thần responded. "You must be lying or just plain crazy."

The gentleman stared at Thần for a moment, stunned, then slid down the fence, hugged his face.

"I'm so sorry-" the man shredded in tears. "I'm a failure."

Thần approached, embraced and patted the man's back. The next day, both of them reunited at the outdoor coffee shop, observing the busty crowd of Market 200. After the waitress served their drinks, she looked at Than, smiled and returned to her tasks.

"I should put aside the couple thing now," the middle aged man sipped the ice black. The past had come to lead the current event. If it was mentioned again, the man had to blame himself for his cause. "I guess she left her daughter to take care of the shop."

"Now I'm disappointed you don't care at all-" Thần sipped the ice black; replied as a poke. "You don't miss those old tales any more?"

"I'm still alive, you know." the middle aged man uttered. Memories became the wind blowing towards the rain; and, then the night fell, shadow was still darker; and, in his dreams, he still saw every word, every smile. But, the man had to step back from regret and pain from night to night. He was alone amidst a crowded street from the early days until then, so let the tales be mementos. "Memories do leave the bitterness as our drinks."

The middle aged man made up his mind, and introduced the friend to his L'Onde Alpha 110cc with a plastic trunk behind. From there, he could see more people; deliver goods or diminish some misery at his end. Besides, the man took out a draft which marked a location of District 4, saying that a present was waiting for the friend.

An Thần accepted the draft, headed to the designated area after the meeting. Under a marked bridge, the boy found a shoe box which contained brand new black boots. The maker constructed the boots with lightweight and durable materials such as nylon and leather. Thần inspected the upper part of the boot, which was made from seamless micro mesh. Touching the outsole, the boy realized the maker designed it with rubber bottom; injected EVA cushion midsole. The ultra-light boots featured a removable cushioned footbed that offered additional comfort and support to the feet. The maker designed the zipper to make the boots putting on and taking off quickly. Thần put on the shoes; felt the boots emphasize functionality, dexterity and comfort in dealing with various surfaces.