Chapter 9 – Wu Zi Mu

Claude Speed, Chinatown, Metropolis City, 2030

Claude Speed pulled up beside the dojo where the leader of the Triads Wu Zi Mu supposedly lived. He had lived in a recluse since moving to Metropolis City Lee had told him; from this dojo he controlled all of the Triads affairs. The Triads only owned one territory of Metropolis called Chinatown which was in the Downtown Sector, but it was the toughest territory to invade, not one gang had successfully took it over. Every gang that had tried had gone down in a hail of bullets. It was obvious that it was secure; there were loads of Triad gang members on both sides and there wasn't any ZPF hanging around like any other territory. Lee had told him Wu Zi Mu was an old blind man with long white hair and a white beard, but he was so skilled, that even though his eyes couldn't be used he still had a mental picture of his surroundings. He was also expertly skilled in Kung Fu. As Claude stepped out of his red futuristic car which he still had no idea what it was called a Triad strolled over.

"What purpose do you have in this territory?" the Triad asked

"I wish to see Wu Zi Mu" Claude replied

"You must be joking, Wu Zi Mu has swore an oath to speak to no-one apart from Chinese and ZPF" the Triad said

"So there's no way around it?" Claude asked

"Only if you wish to pursue Kung Fu with him" the Triad replied "where you must be able to beat Wu Zi Mu"

"If it must be, I will try and beat him, but all I wanted do was work for him" Claude said walking towards the door of the dojo.

Claude strolled into the dojo. The place was decorated completely in red and gold, the ceiling was very high and the floor was matted with a blue mat in the centre of the room, apart from the front of the dojo which had a wooden floor. A Chinese man wearing a black coat tied with a black belt and trousers walked up to him.

"Hello I am the dojo master" he said "how may I help you?"

"I wish to see Wu Zi Mu" Claude replied

"I doubt he would speak to you, he swore an oath to only talk to…"

"I know" Claude interrupted "I wish to pursue Kung Fu with him"

"I know your wishes are not filled with malice, but don't you want to practice with me first?" the dojo master asked

"No" Claude said

"But he is so skilled he could kill you" the dojo master exclaimed

"Please fetch him" Claude replied

"If you insist" the dojo master said giving up his advice and fetched him

A few minutes later Wu Zi Mu, dressed completely in white walked out of the back room. As Lee had described he had long white hair and a long white beard.

"Hello, I hear you wish to battle me using the art of Kung Fu?" Wu Zi Mu asked

"No, not really, I wish to work with you Wu Zi Mu" Claude replied

"Please call me Woozie, and I have an oath not to speak to people that aren't pursuing Kung Fu" Woozie said "apart from Chinese and ZPF"

"How did you not know I wasn't Chinese?" Claude asked

"I have a mental picture in my head of everything, where it comes from I am unsure, but it replaces me being blind, over time it has become clearer and clearer" Woozie said

"Well I would wish to speak to you" Claude said

"To not be Chinese or ZPF and speak to me, you have to fight me anyway" Woozie said

"So be it" Claude replied "but I have completely no Kung Fu skills"

"Okay what skills do you have?" Woozie asked

"Weapon and fighting skills" Claude replied

"Okay, how about an American style gun fight?" Woozie asked

"Only if there's some reward" Claude said

"Okay, if you can place one bullet in my skin, I will hand you over ten thousand dollars" Woozie said

"That is easy" Claude replied

"It's not as easy as you think" Woozie said "go on, try it"

"What without a vest or anything, just shoot you like that" Claude said

"Yep" Woozie said

"Okay" Claude said "if you insist"

Claude quickly pulled a Colt 45 out of his black jacket pocket and pulled the trigger at Wu Zi Mu. He expected to see him clutching at his chest in pain and pints of blood bursting from his body but he was standing there in his white gown as if nothing had happened. The bullet had completely missed him.

"What the…" Claude muttered dumbfounded

"Yes, it completely missed didn't it" Woozie said with a smirk

Claude shot again, it missed, he shot two more times and they all missed.

"What the f-ck is going on?" Claude asked

"I used to ask the same question, about twenty-five years ago, now I just ignore it as one of they little quirks people have" Woozie replied

"You can dodge bullets?" Claude asked still in a state of shock

"I don't have to" Woozie replied "I'll explain what happened, it just happened one day way back in San Fierro 2005, there was an assassination attempt on my life, I was sitting outside a café in Chinatown when these five 'Da Nang Boys' rolled up in a Banshee and blasted at me. Not one bullet touched me and they had blasted whole rounds of Uzi's at me, they hit the table, the chair, even hit a Triad sitting beside me, but not me, I wondered how this could happen, was it some mysterious force protecting me? I became interested in the art of Kung Fu like my ancestors"

"This mysterious force came from your ancestors?" Claude asked still mystified

"No, I read up on it, every few years a mysterious force is placed on someone in this world, it makes them almost invincible, they are not in danger from anything physical, bullets and blades almost stop like a force field is stopping them" Woozie said "when the person dies, it is given to another soul in this world"

"Is this got anything to do with you going into a recluse?" Claude asked

"It has everything to do with me being in a recluse, I am afraid that some opposing gang decides to take a shot at me, but not how people are normally afraid of the these things, I'm afraid that people know I can't be shot at" Woozie replied

"So what do you do then?" Claude asked

"I just stay in this dojo, practice my Kung Fu techniques, bless whatever gives me this skill" Woozie replied

"May I work with you?" Claude asked

"It feels hard to say no" Woozie said "I wouldn't usually pick some random street person who walks into my dojo and asks to work for me, but somehow I want you to work for me"

"Do you really?" Claude asked "and I don't have to kung-fu fight you?"

"No you don't" Woozie said "you may take this case of ten thousand dollars"

"Why?" Claude asked

"I don't know, I don't know why I picked you out of every person in the world to tell you my little quirk either" Woozie said

"Okay, if you insist" Claude said

"And I'll call you back for any more work" Woozie said

Claude made his way back to the door of the dojo but then Woozie called to him.

"One last thing" Woozie said "I have to remind you that we are not related in any way to the old Liberty City Triads, we are derived from the San Fierro Triads, we don't wear the colour blue, we originate from a completely different Chinese City as well, we're from Beijing and they're from Peking"

"Hang on…" Claude said quickly being interrupted by Wu Zi Mu

"Please don't question my knowledge" Woozie said

Claude stepped out of the dojo and back into his futuristic red car. He sped his way towards Arbo.

"No, you're kidding me right?" Lee asked angrily

"I'm telling the truth" Claude replied

"C'mon, stop f-cking with me, next you're going to tell me the word gullible isn't in the dictionary" Lee said

"I'm not" Claude said

"Well, it isn't, Zaibatsu banned the use of that word" Lee replied

"Trust me; that is what he told me, and he showed me, I shot four caps at him, they all missed" Claude stated again

"You're being for real, aren't you?" Lee said

"It's completely true" Claude said "just don't tell anyone"

They sat in silence staring at each other for a few seconds.

"Never mind that, did you get any money?" Lee asked

"Ten thousand dollars in cash" Claude replied

Claude opened the briefcase and Lee counted it.

"Do you think we can begin this state of emergency yet?" Lee asked

"Wait another few weeks until I've got some money from the Rednecks, Krishna's, Scientists and Loonies" Claude replied