Lu Yuan looked at Pete and spoke:
"Talk."
Pete lowered his hands and said:
"Our Black Rat Gang has been investigating news about that Black Shadow throughout the entire slums lately, and we did find something. Four or five years ago, people had already witnessed that Black Shadow harming people in the slums. But back then, there were few deaths and even fewer witnesses. Over the past two years, though, the death toll has risen. Just among the cases discovered by our Black Rat Gang, more than a hundred people were killed by that Black Shadow last year. There will probably be even more this year."
"Over a hundred people? That many? And even more this year?!"
Lu Yuan's eyes widened in astonishment.
Although far more people than that died in the slums every year.
Most of those deaths, however, were caused by gang conflicts, starvation, illness, and similar circumstances.
But over a hundred people had been killed by some inexplicable thing, based only on what the Black Rat Gang had uncovered. That was already an enormous number.
"Has no one reported this abnormal situation to the Night Watchers?"
The Night Watchers were an official organization established specifically to deal with abnormalities such as mutation and alien spies.
Not only did the Red Maple Empire have an organization like the Night Watch Division; other nations had them as well.
To Lu Yuan, they were somewhat like the special police or secret agents from his previous life.
A situation like this was already quite serious.
Lu Yuan truly could not understand why the Night Watchers had not been notified to handle it.
Pete shrugged.
"To those lofty big shots, us slum folk are nothing but lowly cockroaches. Why would they care whether we live or die? So many people die here every year. A mere hundred or so deaths in one year naturally wouldn't draw their attention."
Lu Yuan frowned slightly. "If an abnormal situation like this isn't reported to the Night Watch Division, wouldn't the local governor be punished?"
"Who said it wasn't reported? Someone from our Black Rat Gang in the bureau said it was reported last year, but nothing has happened since. That's why I said those big shots don't care about this place."
Pete grinned.
"Still, that ghostly thing seems to target only ordinary people. It doesn't seem interested in Gene Warriors like us. Maybe it can't harm us? So you don't need to worry too much, friend."
"..."
Lu Yuan smiled. "That ghostly thing came looking for me a few days ago. If I hadn't been fairly strong, I'd probably be dead already."
Pete: "???"
His eyes widened slightly as he stared blankly at Lu Yuan.
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment.
Pete swallowed and gave a dry laugh.
"That's not good."
Everyone knew that if it had gone from targeting only ordinary people to attacking Gene Warriors, something significant had likely changed.
"Any other information?"
Lu Yuan continued asking.
Pete shook his head. "No. Our Black Rat Gang is also very curious about that ghostly thing, so we're actively investigating it. This is all we've uncovered so far."
Lu Yuan nodded and smiled.
"Then I can send you on your way now."
Pete was startled and hurriedly backed away two steps.
"Wait! Wait! Friend! This isn't what we agreed on! Didn't you say you'd let me go after I told you?"
Lu Yuan tilted his head.
"When did I ever say that? I only said that if you didn't talk, I'd kill you right then. You've already lived a while longer. You should be grateful."
Lu Yuan walked toward Pete.
Pete's eyes widened, cold sweat pouring down his forehead as he retreated again and again.
"Wait! Wait! Friend! Let's talk this out! We can sit down and have a proper discussion."
His eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something.
"Right! Hold on! I'm still useful to you!"
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"What use?"
"Look, hasn't that Black Shadow already set its sights on you? As far as I know, no one targeted by that Black Shadow has survived. You definitely don't want to get killed too, right?!"
Lu Yuan's heart sank.
To be honest, he still felt somewhat uneasy.
That thing seemed rather bizarre, after all.
He did not know whether it would come after him again in the future.
That was exactly why Lu Yuan cared so much about the Black Shadow.
Otherwise, what did that thing have to do with him?
Seeing Lu Yuan stop, Pete was delighted and hurriedly continued.
"Our Black Rat Gang has influence and intelligence channels that you don't. As long as you let me go, any information the Black Rat Gang gets will be reported to you immediately! Isn't that a good deal?!"
Lu Yuan looked at Pete and fell silent.
Honestly, he was a little tempted.
After all, he was just a poor student. His influence could not possibly compare to that of a local gang.
Having the Black Rat Gang gather intelligence would indeed benefit him.
Seeing that Lu Yuan was somewhat tempted, Pete continued.
"And besides, friend, our Black Rat Gang has considerable influence in the slums. If you ever want to join a gang in the future..."
"Get lost!"
Lu Yuan glared at Pete.
He would never join one of those strange organizations.
He said:
"I can let you go this time, but if you get any information about that Black Shadow, you must notify me immediately. Otherwise, you know the consequences."
Seeing that Lu Yuan had agreed, Pete hurriedly nodded.
"I understand! I'll definitely notify you the moment I hear anything!"
Lu Yuan took out his phone and smiled at Pete.
"Give me your contact information."
Pete pulled out his phone with a fawning smile, and the two scanned each other's codes to add each other as friends.
Only then did Lu Yuan notice that he had another friend request on his phone.
He glanced at the note.
Zhuo Ming.
A classmate he had met earlier in the Sandstone Dungeon.
Lu Yuan casually accepted the request.
After adding Pete as a friend, Lu Yuan put away his phone.
Pete also let out a breath of relief and kept smiling obsequiously at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan smiled.
"You'll deal with those two upstairs, right?"
Pete hurriedly nodded. "Leave it to me! I'll handle them properly."
"Mm. Come upstairs with me."
Lu Yuan led Pete back to the apartment building.
The entire building was deathly silent, without a sound.
It would have been unrealistic to say no one had heard the continuous gunshots earlier.
But when something like that happened in the slums, the safest thing to do was keep quiet and stay out of sight.
Meddling in other people's business could get you killed.
That was the rule of survival in the slums.
Lu Yuan opened the door to his rental unit, only to see Li Qinghe emerge from her room.
She wore a plain white nightgown and watched the two little thugs lying on the ground warily. She still held her phone, and her expression suggested that she was still shaken.
Lu Yuan paused.
"Qinghe Jie, why did you come out?"
When Li Qinghe saw Lu Yuan, her eyes lit up and she revealed a delighted smile.
"Yuan Didi, I woke up when I heard gunshots. Then there was no movement for a long time, so I wanted to come out and see whether you were okay. I also called the police."
Warmth filled Lu Yuan's heart. Who else would risk their life to worry about him?
The doors of the other two tenants were still tightly shut, and everything inside was silent. It was impossible to tell that anyone was there.
He smiled.
"I'm fine, Qinghe Jie, so don't worry. Wait a moment. I'll deal with this first."
Li Qinghe nodded, glanced at Pete, and said, "Then I'll go back to my room first."
She returned to her room and closed the door.
Lu Yuan turned to Pete. "You handle it."
Pete nodded and squatted in front of the two little thugs.
The red-haired little thug had already passed out.
Though many of the green-haired little thug's bones were broken, he was still conscious.
When he saw Pete approach, his eyes lit up with hope.
"Brother Pete!"
Pete looked at the green-haired little thug and expressionlessly reached out to grip his neck.
Under the green-haired little thug's disbelieving gaze, he squeezed hard.
Crack.
The green-haired little thug died on the spot.
Pete then casually finished off the red-haired little thug, who was still unconscious.
He turned back and smiled at Lu Yuan.
"Mr. Lu, shall I take their bodies away?"
Lu Yuan nodded. "Mm."
Pete slung one body over each shoulder.
Just as Pete was about to leave, Lu Yuan spoke again.
"Oh, right. What about the money to fix the window?"
He was broke right now and had no money to repair the window.
He still wanted to buy Gene Potions.
"I'll fix it! I'll fix it! I'll transfer the money to the landlord!"
Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "Then go back. Notify me promptly if you hear anything about that thing."
"Don't worry, Mr. Lu! I'll definitely notify you immediately."
Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
Pete carried the two bodies away, gently closing the apartment door behind him.
Lu Yuan let out a breath and looked out the window.
The night was darkest before dawn, and only the brilliant neon lights remained unchanged.
Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then knocked on Li Qinghe's door.
Li Qinghe seemed to have been waiting by the door the entire time. The moment Lu Yuan knocked, the door opened.
"Yuan Didi, what happened just now?"
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