Ambition.

A power in its own right. When you want to do something great you have to be ambitious otherwise you will be beaten into the ground and left behind like a used tissue paper.

No one knows this better than Qingzhao Tung, one of the best reporters for the Citizen newspaper.

To give up means to be defeated and Qing doesn't like defeat. Over the last few months nothing even remotely interesting happened.

That is until this new vigilante appeared. Everyone knows about the triads and other gangs in the city, they know that they have power and are willing to use it if they're pushed too much into the corner.

The police can't act without turning the city into a warzone. Then the vigilante, like an answer to a prayer, just showed up one day. No rhyme, no reason he just came out of nowhere and started to hammer the gangs into the ground.

The gangs are more hesitant to actually commit any heists and robberies, however they will probably be relying more on extortion since that doesn't cause as much ruckus as their other methods. Regular mugging might increase as well.

All because of him.

Yet no one knows who he is. To get a photo or an interview would surely make Qing popular as a journalist. It would definitely win her The Golden lemur.

The first Golden lemur was given to her father. As well as the next one and the other.

Her father was very enthusiastic when it came to journalism and she wanted to beat him, but things didn't go as planned. She hoped that she would win her prize within two years of her employment.

It's been five years already and nothing that would make for a good enough story showed up. Don't get her wrong her articles are received very positively both by the public and the businesses she interviews. That is not enough. Everything from murders to fashion fiascos, she couldn't find anything good enough to get the Golden lemur.

Until now.

She looked for any clues as to who this vigilante might be. Eventually she managed to spot a pater.

The vigilante is a he, spend most of his time fighting crime during night unless a bank robbery is happening. She managed to make a map that could potentially predict his next strike. From what she heard about him, what info she got from sources she'd rather not mention, he more often than not seems to head to the east section of the city.

A place known for its lower class and higher crime rates. Makes sense that he would give it more time than the rest, but in the back of her mind and the gut feeling she had told her that that is the place he probably lives.

No time to waste then.

The east part of the city is very bland. Buildings look like blocks of cement almost no satomobiles on the roads.

Best way to find the vigilante is to find trouble. Hopefully.

In the end she found no one. The vigilante was more effective than she gave him credit for.

It's night the central part of the town is shining like brilliant star.

Tired and disappointed she decided to stop for now and look for him tomorrow. She could stay late, but that would affect her schedule and she can't have that.

As she walks on the street, she passes an alley and immediately someone drags her in.

As she's dragged, she tries to scream, but it's muffled by cloth that they used to cover her mouth.

Suddenly they come to a halt and she feels something hot on her right side. She turns her head and one of the men is holding fire in his hand.

"Shut it or I'll burn you!" He says insistently. She freezes.

"You're lucky, boss just wants to talk with you otherwise we would do something… unpleasant to you" He finishes his sentence with a disgusting grin as he looks her up and down.

Qing's eyes narrow with a single thought.

Leech. Just looking into his eyes, she can tell that he's a worthless scum that can't take responsibility for his actions. He's more than willing to throw someone under the bus.

His cohorts aren't much better.

"Ah. Long time no see my little dove." A voice I recognize in an instant.

I look up at the man that revealed himself from the shadows.

Akihiko Hikaru. A man with a lot of influence in the criminal underworld.

A very tall man with a face so still one would think he's a statue. Blue eyes like the ocean, long black hair a scar going across his eye vertically down his cheek.

[Spoiler=Akihiko Hikaru] [/spoiler]

His gang is small compared to rest, but that works in his favor since they specialize in gathering information. Using proxies to extend their network without dirtying their hands too much.

Qing would be lying if she said that she didn't employ them few times to get info on multiple things. You need to live dangerously if you want to survive in the world of journalism.

"Akihiko, to what do I owe the pleasure for this meeting." He smiles a little and gestures his men to let her go.

They do so with hesitation.

"My dear, pardon their manners. If I knew that they would be so rough I'd schedule a meeting for us, however this meeting is of great importance to me." He says apologetically only to get very serious by the end. His face in a frown.

Few of his lackeys bring a table and two chairs.

"Is it about the vigilante?" I ask carefully as we sit down.

His small smile returns. "As quick as I hoped. Yes, this is about the vigilante, more specifically if you know anything about him. Whilst he didn't attack any of my subordinates the option is still on the table and I would hate to stop giving you information. It's bad for business as you can probably guess."

Another batch of his men bring some drinks and small meals.

Qing is in deep thought. She looks at the food.

It's chicken-possum soup with noodles. A simple but filling meal.

"I don't think he is going to be trouble for you. Mostly due to his targets usually being the bigger gangs that cause a lot of trouble. Your gang which deals mostly with information shouldn't be under any danger unless you provoke him."

Akihiko looks at her, processing information she just told him. The begin to eat.

"I see anything else I should know."

She nods as she swallows.

"He spends more time in east part of the city rather than the rest. He has yet to contact the police, said police politely ignores him for whatever reason."

Akihiko quickly finished his meal and put his hand in his breast pocket.

He took out a small paper card and gave it to Qing.

"A business card? Really?" She asks in disbelief.

"I hope to persuade him not to beat us up. It would be very bad for business after all." More like completely burn the business into the ground but that's just semantics.

"Also, it would cut you off from any possible info we might have in the future and wouldn't that be a shame. Don't you agree?" He tells her as he gets up and starts to leave.

"I hope you enjoyed the meal my little dove. Now go and spread peace and good will as any good dove should." And with that he disappears into the shadows.

She gets up and takes the card. The henchmen take the table and chairs and slowly disappear into the shadows their boss left.

The three morons that dragged her in are leaving with a bag filled with coins if the noise is any indication.

Qing huffs. "Honestly, he couldn't have just scheduled a meeting." With a sigh she starts to walk home.

Tomorrow she'll resume her search and get that Golden lemur.

…

And the card can't forget the card.

AN: So, I somehow finished this in a single day so sorry if this is a bit off or too boring for some of you.

I wonder if anyone even reads the Author's notes