Black Tide

The night was pitch-black, and the moon flickered in and out behind the clouds.

In an abandoned car scrapyard, several tattooed men emerged from the otherwise silent open space.

"Boss, are you sure we should do this?"

"Bullshit. We're the Black Rat Gang. Don't tell me you're scared."

"How could we be? We're just a little worried. We've never killed anyone before."

"Then today will be the beginning.

Sooner or later, all of Hell's Kitchen will belong to the Black Rat Gang."

Behind them stood a middle-aged couple who looked utterly terrified.

Their hands were tied, rags stuffed into their mouths, their faces pale.

The boss, with a spider tattoo on his neck, glanced at them and curled his lip disdainfully.

Just two poor bastards. But he'd heard their son had made a fortune recently. Once they got their hands on it, the Black Rat Gang could live it up for a while.

Maybe they could even use this opportunity to enter Hell's Kitchen's real underworld.

That was the most dangerous world there was, but also the most exhilarating.

As for killing people, his men thought he had never done it before, but in truth, he had killed more than one.

Looking up at the moon, the Black Rat Gang's boss felt something was off.

"That kid didn't run off, did he? He's not even coming to save his parents?"

"Probably not. From what I learned before, Noah Allen isn't that kind of person," one of the underlings said.

"Let's hope so. We'll wait another ten minutes. If he still doesn't show up by then, we kill them and leave."

The Black Rat Gang boss spat on the ground, an inexplicable unease rising in his chest.

Not far away, a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy walked over slowly in silence. It was Noah Allen.

His gaze was icy, brimming with killing intent.

Having lived two lives, the parents in this life had given him a familial love he had never known before. And now, those gang scum wanted to take it away.

Fine. It was time.

"Begin cultivation."

Instruction accepted.

Cultivating lifeform: Level 0 Corpse-Eating Insects.

Cultivation beginning.

Instruction accepted. Accelerated cultivation activated.

Current quantity: 15... 38... 155... 489... 756...

As the system continued updating the data, countless black insects had already appeared around Noah.

They were only the size of fingernails, but their densely packed numbers were enough to make anyone who saw them feel their scalp go numb.

They covered the ground and the abandoned vehicles around him. Noah even crushed a few beneath his feet from time to time.

Yet the insects showed no reaction whatsoever.

At last, their numbers stopped increasing.

Noah stopped walking.

"Spread out."

He had to save his parents. He could not let the insects appear openly before those gangsters.

When he saw the gangsters holding his parents hostage, killing intent flashed in Noah's eyes for an instant before he forced it down.

The Black Rat Gang boss saw him, patted the shoulder of the underling beside him, then stepped forward with a pistol in hand.

"Noah Allen?"

"That's me. What do you want?"

Noah's calm expression was chilling.

The Black Rat Gang members burst into laughter, and their boss sneered.

"I think you already know, so that question is meaningless."

As he spoke, he held up two fingers.

"Two hundred thousand dollars. Not a cent less!"

Noah looked at his parents, who were frantically shaking their heads at him, and said calmly,

"That's too much. I can't come up with it.

Maybe you heard that I made some money recently.

But I spent most of it buying equipment for my research. Even if I add all of my family's savings, it still won't be enough."

The Black Rat Gang boss glanced at the underling beside him. Clearly, he had not known about this.

At the same time, a black tide silently began creeping toward the Black Rat Gang from the shadows.

The underling frowned and thought for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"I did hear that he'd recently been contacting people to buy those ridiculously expensive things. Maybe it's true."

The Black Rat Gang boss's expression darkened.

If that was the case, things had deviated from their original plan.

They had been prepared to kill the hostages, but if they got too little money, he would feel like he was taking a loss. After all, killing people could easily bring trouble.

"How much do you have?"

Noah raised the briefcase in his hand.

"This is everything. You can check it yourself."

The Black Rat Gang boss's heart skipped a beat.

This kid was far too calm. It was nothing like he had imagined.

He hated surprises, because surprises usually meant trouble.

"You, go get it."

He pointed at one of his men.

The underling's eyes lit up with excitement.

If there wasn't two hundred thousand, there had to be at least a hundred thousand or so.

Even after splitting it with everyone else, he could still get tens of thousands of dollars. That was enough for him to enjoy himself for quite a while.

Then they could kill the family of three. No one would be any the wiser, and nobody would ever suspect the Black Rat Gang.

He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips as he slowly approached Noah.

Noah watched him calmly without reacting in the slightest.

As the man's hand was about to reach the briefcase, everyone's eyes were drawn to it.

At that moment, vicious light flashed in Noah's eyes.

The next instant, countless Corpse-Eating Insects erupted, abandoning their previous sluggish pace as they lunged at the Black Rat Gang members.

The Black Rat Gang boss's pupils constricted, his eyes filled with horror.

"Damn it, what is this?!"

"Bastard, where did these bugs come from?!"

In just a few seconds, the black tide had surged over the Black Rat Gang members.

Beside them, Noah's bound parents trembled from head to toe in shock.

They could not understand what was happening before their eyes.

They only saw the insects suddenly appear and cover the men from head to toe, while they themselves seemed to be within God's Forbidden Zone. Not a single insect came near them.

The Black Rat Gang member who had come to take the money noticed the horrifying situation. Though he did not understand it, he knew Noah had to be behind it.

He looked at Noah in terror.

"D-Demon!"

In his fear, he even forgot about the gun in his hand.

But he had forgotten. Noah had not.

Noah had long been ready to make his move. At that very moment, he lunged forward and pressed close to the gangster, preventing him from firing.

Then Noah drove an elbow directly into the man's throat.

Crack—

A crisp sound rang out. The man made hoarse choking noises from his throat before quickly falling silent.

He had killed someone!

Noah took a deep breath.

Ever since he discovered that he lived in a world with Stark Industries, he had begun preparing for this day.

This was his first time killing someone, but it probably would not be his last.

With a thought, the black tide retreated.

Only several disgusting corpses covered in pustules remained.

The Corpse-Eating Insects were lifeforms he had ultimately cultivated through the system and his own research. They fed on corpses, of course, but corpses were not always available, so they were also skilled at killing.

The gangsters had been dealt with.

The important thing now was how to explain this to his parents.

In Western myths and legends, black insects were usually associated with demons.

Would they think he was a demon after what they had seen tonight?

Especially considering his religious mother, Noah rubbed his head, uncertain as he walked toward them.

The two were clearly still shaken.

"Noah, wh-what were those things?"

Marcy Allen's voice trembled.

"Um... you know I've been doing some biological research lately. Those insects can be considered one of my research results."

Marcy Allen's mouth fell open.

"Aren't they demons incarnated in the human world?"

"No!"

Noah answered without hesitation.

He absolutely could not admit to that.

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