The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 37: Red Steel Gang (2)

Jason frowned when he heard Raymond's warning. It mostly pissed him off that Raymond seemed to think that his Gramps was the owner! Still, it was not something that he could just ignore. Harry turned to look at him at that point.

"Go. I'll deal with the clerks. Dani, you better hand me your bag. They'll want to check its contents before they allow us to take the plants into town." Harry said with a grim expression.

Now it was Raymond's turn to be confused. He had no idea why Harry would send his grandson instead of dealing with the matter personally. But, if that was how he wanted to approach it, then who was he to question him.

"Let's go," Jason said to Raymond after handing his stuff to Harry.

Raymond nodded before turning and jogging off in the direction of the store. Jason's legs still wobbly after running so much the day before, but he grit his teeth and put up with it. He heard the light patter of Dani's feet on the ground as she chased after them. She obviously wanted to know what the commotion was about, as well as finally getting to see Jason's store.

"Can't you tell me anything before we get there?" Jason shouted as he jogged behind Raymond, who only shook his head.

"Trust me. It's better if you just see the situation for yourself! It's way out of control over there!"

Jason frowned at Raymond's words. How could anything have gone wrong in the short period that they had been absent? The store was not even open yet! It brought images to Jason's mind of someone having broken into his store and trashed the place. It was needless to say that he was thoroughly concerned about what he would find when he got there!

However, reality turned out to be far different from what he imagined. Before he could even turn the corner onto Crafters Street, a long line of tents, sleeping bags and blankets had already come into view. 'What the fuck is this?' Jason stared with wide eyes at the people who rested in or on these things while chatting casually to each other.

The queue of faces waved eagerly at Raymond as he jogged past with excited looks in their eyes. It seemed like they were expecting something when they saw that he had returned. This made Jason feel quite nervous. They gave him the impression of being predators waiting for just the right moment to pounce.

"There's the problem!" Raymond pointed to a spot in front of the store as he came to a halt. There was a hint of anger in his voice as he sounded like he was complaining.

Jason glanced at where he was pointing, only to see a mass of tents with a ring of people surrounding them. There was a large gap between them and the people at the front of the queue. 'They really are lining up for my store!' Jason gasped before paying some attention to the strange scene at the front.

His eyes scanned the ring of what could only be described as guards. Each of them had a weapon close at hand and constantly eyeballed those waiting in the queue. At the centre of the tents behind them sat a young woman casually drinking a warm beverage as if she were on some kind of picnic. However, for some reason, Jason felt nothing but bad vibes when he looked at her.

'Despite her obviously holding her place with a show of force, I don't see what the big issue is.' Jason frowned as he looked around at the people patiently waiting. Although he would not have enough stock for all of these people, this actually seemed like a pretty good thing to him. However, at that moment, the woman seemed to sense that someone was looking at her.

She turned her head and spotted Jason standing next to Raymond at the side of the queue. She frowned for a moment before pondering who he was and why the man with three arms kept pointing at her. Then, Al's description about the creator of the Primal popped into her mind!

Suddenly, Sam put on a charming smile as she stared right back at Jason. He shivered at that sight as a cold chill ran down his spine. 'Oh, this doesn't seem so good.' Jason thought with apprehension as the woman stood up and walked towards him. Jason decided to wait while watching several of the woman's guards take up positions to flank her on either side.

The crowd suddenly went quiet as they paid attention to what was going to happen. Nobody seemed to be aware that Jason was the store owner of the establishment that they were queueing outside of, but everyone wanted to see why he had drawn the attention of an obvious bigshot. Jason sighed as the woman came to a halt in front of him and casually checked him out.

"Can I help you miss?" Jason finally asked as he placed his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket. Trying to act casual and not draw attention to himself.

"I think you can, Mr Wright. I got that right, didn't I? You are Jason Wright. Founder and owner of Star Gear?" Sam asked with a keen look in her eyes.

The crowd gasped at this revelation as they began to study Jason more closely. They never expected someone so young to be the owner of this place! That just so happened to go double for Raymond, who stared blankly at Jason in disbelief.

Jason glanced at the crowd's reaction before letting out a heavy sigh. This woman in front of him had revealed his identity too quickly. There was no point in pretending otherwise now. He put on a polite smile before nodding at her.

"That's right. And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" Jason eyed her guards warily.

"Your biggest fan!" The woman quickly covered her mouth, seemingly surprised at her own outburst. "Ahem, sorry."

Jason did not know how to reply to that as his expression turned dumbstruck. He never expected this woman to say such a thing. How could he even have a true fan in the first place? It was not like he had sold many items so far!

Sam grinned when she saw Jason's confused expression. She lightly snapped the fingers on her right hand before two of her guards broke away and quickly made a round trip to their tents. When they returned, each of them carried a metal case. They glanced at Sam, seemingly seeking some kind of confirmation. With a broad smile, she nodded at the pair.

The two guards held the cases towards Jason so that he would be able to see their contents once they opened them. Jason's eyes went wide as every single Primal he had ever provided to Al was suddenly displayed in front of his eyes. Suddenly, he understood what this woman had meant by being his biggest fan.

"Do you recognise them?" Sam asked with a hint of pride in her voice as she gauged Jason's reaction.

"Of course. You think heir creator would not recognise his own work?" Jason frowned as he tried to figure out what game she was up to. "The real question is, why do you need so many? And it doesn't answer why you've approached me now. The store doesn't open for another day yet."

"Ah, but I have a business proposal for you, Mr Wright. Don't you think you should invite me inside so we can discuss this matter?"

Although Sam sounded like she was being polite, something about her was setting off alarm bells in Jason's head. Personally, he would prefer to ditch her just now and let Harry deal with her later. He would rather not run the risk of allowing this woman to trip him up somehow.

"Ah, if it's a business-related matter, then I would like to inform you that you should bring this to my Grandfather. He has a stake in the business and is responsible for all negotiations. I'm afraid that I can't help you with this at all." Jason replied with a stiff smile that caused Sam to express an ugly look on her face.

Dani chuckled from somewhere behind Jason. Up until this point, she had an unexplainable dislike for this woman and her domineering attitude. It was good to see Jason put her in her place. Dani smiled innocently as Sam suddenly glared at her.

"I was unaware that you had a business partner. My sources did not mention this to me at all." Sam put on an aggrieved expression before returning her attention to Jason. "Still, I think it would be beneficial for you to personally hear my offer."

'What's with this chick?' Jason grimaced as he realised that Sam did not want to let him off the hook just yet. Anyone else would have just focused on his Gramps by now, but she seemed hell-bent on having a private conversation with him. Jason sighed reluctantly as he realised that he would have to give in here. He would just deflect it to his Gramps if she asked for any promises. 'I'm sorry old man. Seems like I'll have to put you to work again.'

"This way then" Jason grinned before leading the way to his store.