Anke's expression remained firm as he shook his head.
"It wasn't me."
"Fine. I hope it wasn't you either. If I can't find anything after a month, the higher-ups will probably treat this as an accident."
"Do as you please." Anke showed no gratitude.
"Don't relax too soon. I won't be leaving after a month either. I'll stay here until the end of the year. Those little piglets can keep begging and stealing as usual, but the tribute money cannot be short. You'd better keep that in mind."
"Got it." Anke headed back inside, no longer paying attention to the people outside.
Before he formally took office, the people outside had either been sent by the higher-ups or were leftovers from the previous boss.
He could not build his own faction in such a short time.
But once he sat in that position, people would naturally come to pledge their loyalty. They had little loyalty to speak of, and they certainly would not guard a dead man's grave.
Over the following days, the gang investigators focused their investigation on the beggars. The situation within the gang compound had already been thoroughly investigated, and there were not many clues left unless they found a hypnotist to give it a try.
That day, Mel Carlo and the others were assigned to clear the sewers. Someone had paid for it, and since the gang had taken the money, they were naturally willing to handle the matter.
Most sewer blockages were caused by excessive debris, with countless small bits of trash piling together.
Mel Carlo was clearly resistant to the sewers. This european-style sewer had walkways on both sides for people to pass through, while the filthy channel ran down the middle.
Even so, the stench hit them the moment they entered.
"It reeks." Mel Carlo felt truly miserable. It smelled far worse than aboveground.
At least the air circulated better aboveground. Generally speaking, aside from the streets in residential districts being rather smelly, the streets in commercial areas were still fairly clean.
The children picked up their tools and began checking the blocked sections of the sewer.
"Mel, stop complaining! Hurry up and work. I don't want to stay in this hellhole either. If a rat bites us, we might get sick."
"Mm." Mel Carlo slowly followed behind.
Rats were level 1 mobs in games, just right for beginners to grind levels on. But getting bitten carried the risk of poisoning. More importantly, this was not a game world; there might be a risk of catching other diseases as well.
The sewer rats were as sturdy as kittens, and they could often be seen leaping about in the darkness.
"This really makes my skin crawl." Mel Carlo was deeply worried about the surroundings. In an environment like this, catching some strange bacteria was entirely possible.
The only option was to finish the job quickly and get out. Refusing to work would easily earn him a beating, and with the gang higher-ups sending people to investigate, he needed to keep an even lower profile.
Chubby pulled a cart by himself, meant to carry away the garbage causing the blockage. The others held skewers and tongs, while someone carried a torch for light. Everyone hoped to resolve the matter quickly.
Suddenly, a rat let out a shriek. A beggar had speared a fat rat with the fork in his hand. Its limbs and tail still thrashed wildly, but it could no longer escape.
"We'll have meat tonight." The beggar slammed the rat on the fork to death before pulling it off.
Several other children quickly gathered around. To them, rat meat could fill their bellies too, especially such a fat rat.
If it had been a field mouse, Mel Carlo might have found the courage to take a bite. But a filthy rat that lived in the sewers was impossible to swallow no matter what, and he was not about to eat himself sick.
The day's work ended quickly. They emerged from the sewers, dumped the final cartload of garbage, and began burning it.
It was their first time outside the city. The desolation beyond the walls and the prosperity within the city were like two completely different worlds. Outside, there were only a few scattered villages.
The garbage was piled together and set ablaze. The children also began bathing by the river, while gang guards watched from nearby.
Naturally, the gang guards would not join the work. They only needed to make sure the children worked properly and prevent the little piglets from running away.
Mel Carlo began washing himself as well. It was autumn, and the river water had already become somewhat cold, but it was better than having no chance to wash. Once he had cleaned himself, he could wash his clothes too and dry them by the fire.
They would definitely not return until the next day, so they could only spend the night here.
As he looked at the pitch-black forest, Mel Carlo had a bold thought. This seemed like a good chance to escape. He only needed to disappear into the night.
But before he could act, a gang guard shouted, "One of the piglets has escaped! Go after him! Leave some men behind to watch the remaining children!"
A beggar stood frozen in place, staring at the dark forest. It seemed he was not the only one who had considered running away.
"Get back to what you were doing! If you want to run, getting caught means death!" the gang guard barked at the remaining children.
Mel Carlo sat beside the bonfire. In the heat of the flames, his clothes dried at a decent pace, though he needed to keep adjusting which side faced the fire. Otherwise, they could easily scorch.
The children who had caught rats had already removed the heads and tails, thoroughly cleaned out the innards, skinned the rats, and placed them beside the bonfire to roast.
They borrowed some salt from the guards and carefully sprinkled it over the rats. Mel Carlo held half a piece of black bread in his hand and forced it down with difficulty.
Quite a few children were roasting rats. After the first child had speared one with a fork, the others followed suit. Mel Carlo tried it once too, but it did not seem to feel particularly different.
He could not see exact numbers on the status panel, so he was unsure whether killing it had given him any experience.
"Mel, aren't you eating?" Lily came over to Mel with a roasted rat leg.
"I'm not that hungry. You all eat." Mel Carlo felt his stomach acid churning. It was not that he could not accept the taste of the rat; he simply could not get past the barrier in his heart.
It was like eating swill. If he did not know what it was, perhaps it would be fine. But once he knew, it was impossible to swallow.
The children present clearly did not have that psychological burden. They all ate happily, even though the rat meat had been roasted dry and tough.
Not long after, the child who had escaped was dragged back. Then came a brutal beating, and the child's screams continued endlessly through the darkness.
Mel Carlo clenched his fists. He could not do anything yet. That child was like himself; he too had entertained the thought of escape just now. If he had been the one who ran, he would be the one receiving that savage beating.
All he could do was curse those beasts in his heart.
After a long while, the child seemed to have stopped moving. Every child's heart sank.
The gang guard's voice rang out again:
"Enough. Go to sleep. Don't even think about running away. We return to the city tomorrow."
Before you continue