The night was deep, yet the intermittent wail of police sirens made it feel restlessly agitated.
Like someone startled in their sleep, unconsciously kicking at the blanket, convulsing in reality and struggling in dreams.
A dilapidated house by the street was lit up, yet silent and empty. A little farther down, in a dark basement, two people were pressed close together. One had his hand around the other's throat, pinning him against the wall and lifting him one-handed into the air.
The poor bug being choked kept kicking his legs, forcing words out of his throat with difficulty.
"Boss... spare me."
"Please call me Mr. Pawa."
"Pawa..."
"Too slow."
Pawa casually snapped the man's neck, then let go.
The corpse hit the floor with a dull thud, its limbs giving one final twitch.
Pawa could not be bothered to look again. He walked aside and tidied his appearance slightly in a mirror streaked with mottled cracks on the wall.
In truth, given his appearance, there was little point in tidying himself up.
He was thin, with half-long hair and a full beard. It was obvious he had not groomed himself in a long time, and his clothes were equally unremarkable. He looked like any vagrant one might see on the streets. His eyes were large and somewhat bulging, while his age had given him prominent bags beneath them, leaving him with the weary look of someone sleep-deprived and malnourished.
Yet he smiled brilliantly at the mirror, displaying an almost abnormal excitement.
"That felt good!"
It was as if he had returned to seven years ago, when the High-Energy Tide had arrived.
Back then, the Kang Family, now governing one side, had not yet risen to prominence. The area around East 725 District had been a complete mess. People could act