Watching the thief named Gaoli leave the living room and head off along the Tussock River without looking back, Angel locked the front door, remained invisible, and followed him from a distance.
This clumsy intruder had no idea that a hidden Beyonder was following behind him. Delighted at having completed his task so easily, he walked briskly through the deserted streets, crossing Red Rose Street and Rose Lane before finally reaching the East Borough adjacent to Backlund Bridge Borough.
As the area with the largest concentration of Backlund's poor, the East Borough had a permanent population of over 350,000. Including the transient "unregistered residents," it might have housed half a million people in total. Most were ordinary folk scraping out a living in all kinds of trades, but there were countless gangs making their living through illegal means.
Angel followed the thief through streets overflowing with sewage, observing Backlund's largest slum through Dark Vision. Countless homeless people sat or lay in street corners, their faces sallow and thin, their clothes ragged. Their clouded eyes watched Gaoli hurry past, along with the document bag tucked beneath his arm.
He seemed well acquainted with the rules of survival in the East Borough. Displaying the dagger sheath beneath his jacket, he easily deterred the restless drifters around him, then continued through streets and alleys until he soon arrived before a three-story building.
After knocking on the wooden door three times long and once short, the door opened inward. A burly man cautiously poked his head out and glanced around.
"Come in. Boss is waiting for you on the second floor."
The burly man stepped aside to let Gaoli enter. He then looked over the street outside again, and only after confirming that no one had followed him did he carefully shut the door.