He Ao’s footsteps mingled in the dense crowd, quickly leaving it behind, and passed through the long, dark alley, raising his head to look forward.

Three figures were swiftly moving through the alley.

None of the three were fat, the one in the middle was the tallest, with shorter ones on either side.

Their speed was fast, concealed beneath the alley’s shadows, like a chilling wind passing through.

Soon, they turned into several alleys in quick succession, reaching a somewhat old abandoned building.

"Is it here?" the slightly shorter man on the left glanced at the scattered tents on the building’s first floor, and asked slowly.

"It should be here," the middle-aged, slightly taller man nodded slightly at the somewhat bewildered homeless people in the tents.

"These guys curled up here are like worms in a ditch," the shorter man on the right scoffed, "so disgusting."

"The target’s income shouldn’t be low," the short man on the left rasped, "why would he live in such a slum."

"According to our data, the target’s income isn’t low, but his expenses aren’t low either," the tall man lowered his voice, saying, "He’s already filed for personal bankruptcy, his income is requested in cash, and with such credit scores, he basically can’t live in corporate housing."

"But even if he can’t live in corporate housing, some private landlords would be willing to rent to him, as long as he’s willing to spend money," the shorter man on the right wondered, "why bother living in a place like this."

"Enough, don’t ask too much," the tall man snorted coldly, "just act according to our original plan."

He then rubbed his cheek, took a few anti-Skewis stickers out from his pocket and stuck them on the car, wearing a cap that said ’Skewis Step Down.’

Quickly, he ruffled his hair to make himself appear more disheveled.

With this, he wore a somewhat angry expression on his face.

Meanwhile, as he worked, his two companions put on similar props on themselves.

The three exchanged glances, each wearing an expression of seeming unjust anger, hurriedly rushing towards the abandoned building ahead.

The homeless sitting beside the building, looking somewhat dazed, watched them approach but seemed unaffected, continuing to sit there like the walking dead, blocking the path.

Bang—

The tall man directly pulled out a gun from his pocket, fired a shot at the sky, "Get out of the way, I need to kill somebody."

The resounding gunshot jolted the sleepy thoughts of the homeless, and without time to see who was coming, they instinctively scrambled up and staggered to the side.

A wide path opened up before the three.

Some homeless then looked up cautiously, seeking the source of the gunshot, observing the attire of the three, which clashed with the surroundings.

They were cautious and careful, their dull eyes flickering with fear and numbness.

"Yes, all of you, get out of the way," the shorter man on the right seemed somewhat excited upon seeing this, also took out a gun from his pocket and fired one shot upwards.

Bang—

As the gunshot roared and dust scattered from the ceiling, the surrounding homeless scattered even more hurriedly to the side.

They crouched on the ground, even more cautious and bewildered by the sudden arrival of the three unexpected guests.

"Alright, stop fooling around," the middle tall man holstered his gun, lowering his voice, "Plan execution is crucial, if this plan fails, we’ll be sacrificed by the Priest."

Upon hearing this, the shorter man on the right shrank back and holstered his gun.

Yet he cast a glance at the surrounding bewildered homeless, muttered, "Look at these beasts, like rotting firewood, offering them as sacrifices to the Divine Being, guiding them back to death’s embrace, attaining eternal redemption, we’re actually helping them."

"After this is over, do whatever you want," the tall man replied casually, raising his head, glancing at the rusty, seemingly abandoned elevator, then at the stairs with removed railings, "but before the plan is completed, if you try anything, I’ll kill you first."

"I know, I know," the shorter man on the right smirked, "I won’t ruin the Priest’s plan."

"The elevator here is broken, we have little time, hurry up." At this point, the tall man changed the subject, quickly heading towards the stairs.

The two shorter men promptly followed him, heading up the stairs.

As the three figures disappeared further into the stairwell, an elderly dressed in casual wear slowly walked from their direction.

He raised his head, glanced in the direction the three departed into, then slowly followed them.

With the elderly’s steps, the surrounding frightened homeless began returning to their original positions.

They seemed to have seen the elderly, yet also seemed to have not.

But the fear in their eyes was gradually calming with the elderly’s steps.

By the time the elderly stepped onto the first step of the stairs, the scattered homeless had all returned to their original spots.

When the elderly’s figure completely disappeared into the stairway, some seemed to awake from a dream, raising their heads and looking at the desolate surroundings.

"Where am I..."

——

Kest City Menshu Group Building

"Menshu Group Leave Kest."

"Skewis Step Down!"

"We need health insurance and minimum wage—"

As the scorching sun rose into the firmament, the dense parade stood before the Group building, holding various placards, shouting loudly.

Some young individuals mixed in the crowd, shouting intensely.

After a while, feeling a bit tired from shouting, his throat somewhat dry, he tucked the placard under his arm, pulled out a water bottle from his pocket, sipping eagerly.

Just then, the door of the Menshu Group opened, a group of mercenaries emerged from it.

Seeing this, the young man swiftly capped the water, raised his placard, shouted louder, "Menshu Group Get Out of Kest!"

The leader of the mercenary squad was also young, seemingly in his thirties, dressed neatly in the Mercenary Corps uniform, somewhat helplessly watching the parade crowd below, as if listening to a flock of sheep wishing.

He raised his hand, the mercenaries behind him immediately raised their guns, forming a line and advancing towards the parade, seemingly ready to push the parade further back.

The people at the front of the protest march immediately moved forward, ready to confront the mercenaries.

At that moment, the mercenary leader raised his hand again.

The mercenaries, in a single row, raised their rifles in unison, aimed at the sky, and pulled the triggers.

Bam bam bam—

The thunderous gunshots sounded like a continuous roll of thunder, deafening.

The protest march, preparing to confront, was momentarily stunned.

"Move forward."

Immediately after, the young mercenary leader lowered his palm, and the entire mercenary squad began to move forward in unison.

At this moment, these ’rule-abiding’ Menshu Group mercenaries, who had never recklessly fired guns or robbed, exuded an even more terrifying sense of oppression than the powerful Nord Group mercenaries.

"They really might kill us..."

A soft whisper emerged from the crowd.

The people at the front looked at the mercenary squad moving forward in unison and swallowed hard.

Soon, the entire protest march was pushed back by the mercenary squad, all the way to the edge of the street.

Only then did the young mercenary leader raise his hand, signaling the mercenaries to stop.

The straight-backed mercenaries stood in a row at the edge of the street, like an immovable human wall, blocking the entire protest march.

"Gentlemen," the young mercenary leader walked to the front of the crowd, "protest if you will, but don’t invade our Group’s land. This is a private street. If you go too far, you will really get hurt."

"Corporate lapdogs, pretending to be big shots!" a man shouted angrily from the crowd, "Menshu Group should get out of Kest City, and you company lackeys deserve to die."

Hearing this, the young mercenary leader merely wiped his face and said in a somewhat helpless tone, "Sometimes I don’t even know how to comment on your ’innocence.’ Even if you shout for ten or twenty years, it won’t affect the Group at all. If you’re tired of shouting, go home, eat, wash up, and sleep."

"We won’t leave, we’ll sit here forever! It’s been ten years since Menshu Group raised wages, and they even canceled our healthcare; we at least want universal healthcare!" a man shouted from the crowd before sitting down.

"Yes, we won’t leave!" another person sat down too, "We demand Skewis to step down, and the Congressmen and Senators must expedite his impeachment!"

"I’m not leaving either, Skewis’s office is illegal! There must be a re-election!"

"I’m not leaving either..."

One by one, people sat down, filling almost all the open space at the street’s edge and on the other side of the street.

"Suit yourselves," the young mercenary leader shook his head, stood at the edge of the street, and waved, "As long as you don’t enter this street, play however you like."

With that, he stood calmly at the edge of the street, gazing at the crowd.

At this time, he suddenly remembered something and casually said, "By the way, this might be your last ’safe’ time standing here. Your folly will eventually anger the Group’s higher-ups, and the orders we receive are already changing."

"Are you threatening us?" a voice shouted from the crowd.

"I don’t need to threaten a bunch of fools who don’t even understand their own demands," the mercenary leader shrugged and said casually.

"You’re just cocky because you have a couple of guns," the voice continued, "If you’re tough, come down and fight me one-on-one! Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death!"

"Tsk." The young mercenary leader shrugged again and did not respond.

Luxury cars drove from the other side of the street, passing in front of the crowd and into the luxurious building ahead.

And among the crowd, the naive young man was looking up, watching the vehicles in a daze.

"What’s up?" his companion asked, puzzled, "Envious of those corporate ’masters’?"

"No," the young man withdrew his gaze and said, a bit confused, "What exactly is our demand?"

"Of course, it’s to get Skewis to step down and to bring the laws that protect everyone in Dawn City to our place!" the companion said without hesitation.

"That’s what we think," the young man turned back and glanced at the people around him, large and small, young and old, "But it seems not everyone thinks the same; everyone’s thoughts seem slightly different."

"What does that matter? As long as we gather together, we’re powerful, and sooner or later, we’ll have the chance to achieve our goals!" the companion waved dismissively, "And it’s not just us who are protesting; the whole Federation is marching..."

"Yes, our demands are somewhat different," the young man said thoughtfully, "but we can gather here, which should mean there is some common ground... But does pure protest really threaten the corporations..."

"Alright, alright, stop overthinking," the companion pulled out a loaf of bread and a pack of cooled roasted meat from his pocket, "Are you hungry? If so, have some?"

"Alright." The young man quickly brought his thoughts back and reached for the bread.

——

Abandoned Building

The iron door, made from old scrap metal, was suddenly yanked open. The elderly woman lying on the bed raised her head, looking at the three figures entering the room, and said with a bit of confusion, "Virene, you’re back? And you’ve brought a few friends?"

"So Virene is already a squad leader in the Menshu Group mercenary corps, and he still lives with his mom in this place?" The short man on the right glanced at the narrow bed on the other side of the room and clicked his tongue, "Phew, there’s a strong smell of medicine here."

"He must have spent it all on medical fees," the short man on the left said, looking at the scattered medicine bottles on the floor and the makeshift IV device by the old woman’s bed, "This old lady probably has some incurable disease."

"Hey, then by killing this old lady," the man on the right looked at the old woman on the bed and suddenly laughed, "we’d be freeing that Virene?"

"He would probably go nuts," the short man on the left said softly, "He did so much just to keep his mom alive."

"You’re not Virene? Who are you?" The old woman said hoarsely, finally able to make out the three figures.

"Ma’am," the tallest figure among the three slowly walked over and said offhandedly, "Virene didn’t come back; we’re his friends,"

He sat beside the old woman’s bed, smiling, and pulled a ’K’ necklace from his pocket, placing it in the old woman’s hand. "You know, he’s been working for the corporations, bullying others. We’re ’K’ believers, here to eradicate evil on behalf of the people."

"Virene has always been a good kid; you must be mistaken?" the old woman asked in confusion, holding the necklace. "K? I think I’ve heard Virene mention it... You..."

"You know ’K’," the tall man pulled a handgun from his pocket, aiming it at the old woman, "It makes things easier. Since we can’t find Virene, we’ll have to trouble you to go down and wait for him first. Don’t worry; he’ll join you soon."

Lowering his gaze, he spoke in a tone laced with sanctity as if in prayer, "May you find eternal peace in the realm of death."

His index finger squeezed the trigger.

The hammer clicked, but the gunshot didn’t follow.