Chapter 691 Thinking the same thing
Elijah brought out his little notebook and pulled the pencil from his ear. He started to write down notes immediately.
"Green-haired, possibly an Altered. Too confident. What are they doing in a Tier-4 area? Are they from another gang?"
These notes were added to what he had previously written down.
"From the looks of things, it's clear that he's not from this city. But then, why would a higher city Altered come down here? There is only one answer for that: he must be part of a gang!" Elijah smiled to himself, grinning from ear to ear.
But if he wanted to get more information, he would have to try another approach. So he started to walk up to the green-haired teenager. He quickly crossed the road and, to act natural, made his way as if nothing had happened. The teenager was far too focused on the phone in his hand anyway.
"Hey, is everything all right? It looks like you've got a problem there," Elijah asked.
Gary took one look at the stranger approaching him. Unlike the others he had seen so far, there was colour in his face and his clothes. Although they looked old, it was almost as if they didn't quite suit him. So far, while outside, not a single person had approached them, and from the look of the people in the city, he could somewhat understand.
So why was this person approaching him all of a sudden?
"If he's this confident to just approach a stranger like me... then it's quite possible that he could be in a gang!" Gary thought to himself. There was a good chance this was the one he was looking for.
"Ah, yeah, well, my phone kinda broke when I was trying to catch this thief. It looks like I might need to get a replacement," Gary said. It was true. He and Austin didn't know the city, so for the two of them to blindly search for each other, it was unlikely they would ever meet.
"Worst case, maybe I should just cause such a big commotion that Austin will know where I am," Gary thought.
"Argh, yeah, not only has the screen cracked, but it looks like the phone even got bent a bit. You must have hit him pretty hard for him to fall like that," Elijah laughed. "It looks like you're going to have to get a whole new phone altogether.
"You don't seem like you're from around here. Why don't I take you to a phone shop I know, and you can get a new one?" Elijah recommended.
In most cases, it wasn't as if someone could just buy a new phone out of the blue, but Gary did have the money. The other thing was that he noticed there was a lack of electronics shops in the first place, and he would have no idea where to go. Besides all of that, he thought he had the person he needed right in front of him.
"Sure... thanks for the help. My name's Ga... Gaba," Gary answered.
Gary was a common name, so he didn't think it was too much of a problem. But if there were those who thought they recognized him and then realised he had the same name as the Altered Star who had been gaining a lot of attention recently, they would put two and two together fairly quickly. In a rush, he had come up with a name a baby might have come up with.
"Alright, Gaba! Follow me," Elijah said.
Following Elijah for around ten minutes, they eventually came to one of the very few phone shops in the entire city. Unlike in Slough, where the latest handsets would be displayed at the front, there were several burner phones instead. Old phones that didn't even have a touch screen on them. Gary assumed it was because most of the people who lived here bought those phones.
"Oh, good sir!" The man behind the counter rubbed his hands together as he rushed over to them. "Are you looking to do business with us again?"
Seeing this interaction, Gary inwardly smiled. 'I knew it. He even knows the local workers here. He has to be someone big in this part of town,' Gary thought to himself.
"It's for my new friend here. He seems to have broken his phone. I don't suppose you can get one for him, can you?" Elijah asked.
"Certainly. What is your budget? What type of phone were you looking for?" The man asked.
Gary pulled out his phone and placed it on top of the glass counter. "If you can just get do so in this city was even rarer.
With these thoughts, Elijah's own phone started to ring. He checked who it was and me the exact replacement of this, please."
The worker looked at the phone. It was one of the latest models. It was his lucky day. He retrieved the phone immediately with a big grin on his face.
"And would you be looking to take out a contract with us?" The man asked.
"No, I'll just buy it outright. But can you try to move the contacts over for me? It's quite important," Gary asked.
"I can try my best," the man replied and got right to processing the whole transaction.
Watching all of this, Elijah felt like he was on the ball more and more. He was sure of it. Not just anyone could buy a phone outright that cost more than a thousand, and to do so in this city was even rarer.
With these thoughts, Elijah's own phone started to ring. He checked who it was and started to panic a little. "Sorry, I just need to take this call. I'll be back."
Elijah made sure to leave the store and close the door behind him, ensuring that no one was listening in on their conversation. He knew Gaba was an Altered, so there was a chance he had good hearing as well.
"Hello, sir. Yes, sir!" Elijah answered the call. "...I believe I am on a lead now. A gang member from another city has paid a visit. We will be close to getting a link from where the black liquid is coming from."
The call ended, and Elijah let out a big sigh. "It's tough work, working for White Rose."