Black Tide

The night was pitch black, the moon in the sky occasionally peeking through the clouds.

In a junkyard, on a clearing that was originally silent, several tattooed men emerged.

"Boss, are you sure about this?"

"Nonsense, we're the Black Rat Gang. Are you guys scared?"

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

"If that's the case, then today's the day.

Sooner or later, the entire Hell's Kitchen will be our Black Rat Gang's territory."

Behind them were a middle-aged couple who looked terrified.

Their hands were bound, their mouths stuffed with rags, and their faces pale.

The boss, with a spider tattoo on his neck, glanced at the couple and sneered.

These poor bastards. But I heard their son made a fortune recently. Once we get our hands on it, the Black Rat Gang will have a good time for a while.

And maybe we can even use this opportunity to enter the real underworld of Hell's Kitchen.

That's the most dangerous, but also the most enjoyable world.

As for killing people, his subordinates thought he hadn't killed anyone, but in reality, he had killed more than one.

Looking at the moon overhead, the Black Rat Gang boss felt a strange sense of unease.

"Did that kid run off? Not even saving his parents?"

"That shouldn't be the case. From what I gathered before, Noah Allen isn't that kind of person," one of the henchmen said.

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

The Black Rat Gang boss spat on the ground, a strange sense of unease in his heart.

Not far away, a boy of seventeen or eighteen was walking slowly and silently. It was Noah Allen.

His eyes were cold, filled with killing intent.

Having lived two lives, the parents in this life had given him a sense of family he had never experienced. Now, these gangster scum were trying to take it away.

Fine, it's time.

"Begin synthesis."

"Command accepted.

Synthesizing lifeform: Level 0 ghoul worm.

Synthesis commencing.

Command accepted, accelerating synthesis.

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

As the system continuously updated the data, countless black insects appeared around Noah.

They were only the size of a fingernail, but their sheer number was enough to make anyone who saw them's scalp tingle.

They were everywhere – on the ground, on the surrounding abandoned vehicles. Noah even stepped on a few from time to time.

Yet, these insects showed no reaction.

Finally, the number of insects stopped increasing.

Noah stopped walking.

"Disperse."

He had to save his parents, but he couldn't let these insects appear before the gangsters.

When he saw the gangsters holding his parents hostage, a flash of killing intent appeared in Noah's eyes before he suppressed it.

The Black Rat Gang boss saw him, patted the shoulder of the henchman next to him, and then stepped forward, a handgun in his hand. He spoke:

"Noah Allen?"

"It's me. What do you want!"

Noah's face was eerily calm.

The Black Rat Gang members laughed heartily. The boss smirked and said:

"I assume you already know, so this question is meaningless."

As he spoke, he held up two fingers.

"200,000 US dollars, not a cent less!"

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

"That's too much. I can't afford it.

You might have heard that I made a fortune.

But most of that money was spent on research equipment. Even with all our family's savings, it's not that much."

The Black Rat Gang leader glanced at the subordinate beside him, clearly unaware of the situation.

At the same time, from the shadows, the black tide silently and slowly surged towards the Black Rat Gang members.

The subordinate frowned and thought for a moment, then whispered:

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

The Black Rat Gang leader's expression soured.

If that were the case, it deviated from their original plan.

Although they were prepared to kill the hostages, if they received too little money, he would feel like he was losing out, especially since killing people could easily cause trouble.

"How much do you have?"

Noah raised the briefcase in his hand.

"This is all of it, you can see for yourself."

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

He felt the kid was a little too calm, which was different from what he had imagined.

He disliked surprises, as surprises usually meant trouble.

"You go get it."

He said to one of his subordinates.

The subordinate's eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing this.

If not two hundred thousand, then surely over a hundred thousand.

Even if they split it, he could get tens of thousands of dollars, enough for him to live it up for a while.

After that, they could kill the family of three, and no one would ever suspect the Black Rat Gang.

He licked his lips and slowly walked towards Noah.

Noah watched calmly, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Just as the other man's hand was about to reach the briefcase, everyone's eyes were drawn to the case.

At that moment, a fierce glint flashed in Noah's eyes.

The next instant, countless ghoul worms erupted, abandoning their previous slow speed and lunging at the Black Rat Gang members.

The Black Rat Gang leader's pupils contracted, 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 swarmed over the Black Rat Gang members.

Noah's parents, bound nearby, trembled uncontrollably in shock.

They couldn't comprehend what was happening before their eyes.

They only saw these bugs suddenly appear, then cover the bodies of the gang members, while they themselves were like a forbidden zone, with not a single bug coming near.

The Black Rat Gang member who had come to collect the money noticed this terrifying situation. Even though he didn't understand, he knew it had to be Noah's doing.

He stared at Noah, his face full of fear.

"De-devil!"

In his terror, he even forgot about the gun in his hand for a moment.

But he forgot, Noah did not.

Noah had already prepared to strike. At this moment, he lunged forward, closing the distance with the gang member to prevent him from firing his gun.

Then, with an elbow strike, he directly smashed into the man's throat.

Crack~

With a crisp sound, a gurgling noise came from the man's throat, and he quickly fell silent.

He had killed someone!

Noah took a deep breath.

Ever since he discovered he was living in a world with Stark Industries, he had been preparing for this day.

This was his first kill, but likely not his last.

With a thought, the black tide receded.

Leaving behind only a few disgusting corpses covered in pustules.

The ghoul worms were life forms he had created using the system and his own research. They fed on corpses, but since corpses weren't always available, they were also skilled at killing.

Now, the gang was dealt with.

The next priority was explaining things to his parents.

Black insects were often symbols of demons in European and American mythology.

He hoped they wouldn't see his performance tonight as demonic.

Thinking especially of his religious mother, Noah rubbed his head, feeling a bit uncertain, and walked over to the two of them.

They were clearly still somewhat shaken.

"Noah, wh-what are those?"

Marcy Allen's voice trembled slightly.

"Well... you know I've been doing some biological research lately. These worms are sort of the result of my research."

Marcy Allen's jaw dropped.

"Aren't these the manifestations of demons on Earth?"

"No!"

Noah stated with absolute certainty.

He absolutely couldn't admit to that.

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