Chapter 175 - Surprising Revelation
After reaching the centre of Staten Island, Anglea, Wayde and Adam headed to a hotel that they had found online. It was very expensive and luxurious, which was exactly what Angela wanted, but most importantly, it was in the centre of Staten Island and was a good base for them to scout from.
After booking a suite that had 3 bedrooms for them all to stay in together, Angela, Wayde and Adam all got straight to work.
They were all armed and had most of their belongings with them, while Adam had all of his belongings with him using his Inventory Feature that was incredibly useful.
"I will be heading out now to scout the area and find out any information," said Adam was eager to get right into it and investigate the Epstein Family that had piqued his curiosity.
"Okay be careful and call me or Wayde if you meet any troubles. Avoid battle or areas where you are likely to come across an Advanced Cultivator, while you should also be wary of Damian who is most likely pursuing us" warned Angela as she bid him farewell.
After Adam left, Angela and Wayde left soon after and also knew that there wasn't much they could do without personally investigating and scouting the Epstein Family as the Epstein Family had managed to keep most of their internal affairs private.
Adam walked around the area, seemingly going for a stroll, but he was actually observing everything around him and looking for any clues that could lead him to the puzzle piece that he was looking for.
He felt that it was something that was close to him and easy to find out, yet despite being close to the clue, he didn't know where or what it was that his instincts were telling him had something to do with the Epstein Family.
It was starting to get late and after scouting the area for a few hours, Angela, who was with Wayde, and Adam returned to their hotel suite. In that time Damian had also arrived at Staten Island and was also staying in a luxurious hotel, also planning to search for information while also planning to get in Angela's way.
"Did you find out anything?" asked Angela as she reunited with Adam in their suite.
"Not much and since it was getting late there were fewer and fewer people outside, so I decided to return before my disguise was seen through. However, there was one piece of information that I stumbled upon" answered Adam.
At the start of his answer, Angela was slightly disappointed as she was beginning to doubt whether or not it would be possible to form an alliance with the Epstein Family, especially in the position that the Maxwell Family was in.
Angela and Wayde didn't find out anything that they didn't know already and hadn't managed to get into any of the Epstein Family buildings, but after hearing that Adam had stumbled upon some information, her face lit up.
"What did you find?" asked Angela who was clearly placing her hopes on Adam, who although was much weaker than Wayde and herself, weirdly seemed very capable.
"Well since my disguise is one that makes me look quite unkempt, I pretended to be homeless and sat in an alleyway that was large and close to a nightclub, which was a likely place to find gang members. I knew that the Epstein Family didn't involve themselves in criminal organisations and tried to stay clean and independent, I was just trying my luck and it turned out I was lucky" said Adam with a slight smile.
He was dragging out his story to annoy Angela who was clearly curious and excited to find out what he heard about, and even Wayde was beginning to get annoyed.
"Spit it out already" urged Angela as Adam chuckled at her eager nature.
"Alright calm down, let me finish my story. There was a drunk man and in his hand, he held something that seemed to be an Illusion Stone, so I assumed he was a cultivator, so I followed him from a distance. He walked around the areas that were just outside the areas that belonged to the Epstein Family aimlessly and it seemed as though it was a lost cause until he got into a brawl" described Adam.
"3 men tried to steal from the man who was wearing quite nice clothing and an expensive watch, but I was surprised to see that he was quite skilled and despite being very drunk was able to strike all three of them down. He didn't seem to be an Advanced Cultivator and had been drinking large amounts, so I assumed there was something weighing on his mind" continued Adam.
"After that, I approached him and asked him what was the matter and surprisingly it was that easy. He began babbling about how his wife had passed away and other things, but then he mentioned that one of his affiliates were a candidate for the young Epstein Family head and that the great elder of the Epstein Family wanted his own son to be the next family and was obstructing him and his son" revealed Adam.
Adam's revelation was bigger than they had thought it would be and not only disproved that the Epstein Family had a young family head, but also revealed the Epstein Family's internal conflict.
However, to Adam, it was deeper than that and was closer to home than he had expected it would be. The missing puzzle piece that he had been seeking surprisingly had something to do with Cole and the man that he followed was actually Cole's father.
After spotting him extremely drunk Adam watched him from a distance, but since he had become a cultivator he could sense that was something that was weird about him, which made him think that he was a cultivator.
Everything else was history, but there were some things that Adam didn't reveal to Angela and Wayde.