Throat Cutter-Soren

The next day, when Vivian opened her eyes and drowsily rubbed the corners of them, preparing to get up and make breakfast,

a bowl of fragrant oatmeal porridge had already been served before her.

Then she saw Soren's smiling face. He held an iron pan, and the apron tied around him made him look rather comical as he seriously fried eggs.

"Brother."

"Isn't this too wasteful?"

Vivian took a deep breath of the rich scent of oil, then stretched out her little arms around Soren's neck and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She secretly sniffed him as well, and sure enough, caught a faint smell of blood. For some reason, she had been unusually sensitive to the scent of blood since she was very young. If Soren had blood on him, it was hard to hide it from her.

The clever little girl did not ask any questions.

She merely said regretfully, "Brother, you used too much oil."

"You only need a little oil to fry eggs. Let me do it next time."

"Look at all that oil going to waste."

After saying that, she even wrinkled her cute little nose.

It was as though simply smelling the fragrance of oil rising from the pan was enough to make her feel satisfied.

"All right."

"You little housekeeper!"

Soren put the poorly fried egg into a bowl and rubbed Vivian's little head. He said helplessly, "You can make it next time, all right?" It was a very lavish breakfast.

The fragrant oatmeal porridge tasted excellent. Once the fried egg was placed in the bowl, a layer of grease immediately spread across the surface. There were also several thin slices of Smoked Meat.

Just looking at it made one's appetite surge!

This was a breakfast only nobles and wealthy merchants in the city could afford. Vivian had not eaten anything this good in a very, very long time.

After finishing the lavish breakfast,

the little girl began tidying up and cleaning the room. Soren's clothes needed washing too.

Faint voices drifted in from outside.

It seemed some familiar faces had deliberately passed by this street many times. Soren sat at the doorway carving something, his expression serious as he handled a Dagger.

"Lord Soren!"

At last, a man who did not look like a good person approached. Somewhat fearful, he said, "Savi is grateful that you helped him deal with a nuisance!"

"So he sent me to deliver a gift."

He beckoned behind him, and two burly men nervously stepped forward, carrying a gift box.

Soren raised his head and glanced at them, then motioned for Vivian beside him to accept the gift. He slowly said, "I'll take it."

"I have no interest in getting involved with matters in the Slums again." "Whether Savi can swallow up those streets is his business, as long as he doesn't disturb my life again."

"Understood?"

His voice gradually turned cold, and the Dagger in Soren's fingertips became a blur.

The lead thug wiped away cold sweat, feeling a chill at his neck. He stammered, "N-no problem!..."

"Savi thinks the same!..."

Overnight,

the core members of the rival gang had been wiped out!

When Savi received the news, he was almost delirious with joy. He thought those idiots must have provoked some terrifying enemy again.

But when he learned that Soren was the one who had acted, Savi's expression immediately turned ugly.

"Boss!"

A sharp-witted street thug ran in, panting. "We've found out what happened."

"Apparently, Cole threatened Soren and even sent people to seize his sister as a hostage!"

"Everyone on East Ditch Street knows Soren values his sister more than his own life. Cole set his sights on his sister, which was why Soren slaughtered them!"

"We hardly ever saw him make a move before. Who would've thought Soren was this formidable..."

"Now everyone in Cross Lane calls him Throat Cutter. Even people in the Dock District have heard of his reputation. All eleven gang elites had their throats slit, and blood covered the entire floor of the room."

"Boss."

"Should we make a move against him?"

A one-eyed man looked at the others and hesitated. "Even if he's powerful, he's still only one man."

"If we let him grow stronger, I'm afraid we won't be able to swallow Cross Lane."

Crash!

Savi grabbed something and hurled it over, smashing the man's face bloody. His expression was livid as he said, "Go after him?"

"Is your brain full of shit?"

"He could take out so many of Cole's men head-on. If he ambushes us, every last one of us will be killed!"

"Don't make any rash moves yet."

"Have Doghead Qiang deliver a gift and see what he means. Since Soren is that capable, he'll leave the Slums sooner or later."

"How could someone like him be willing to stay in this godforsaken place!"

"And."

"Send people to keep watch over Cross Lane and see whether Soren intends to claim it."

"If he doesn't."

"Make sure no one else snatches it first."

The underlings all began bustling about. Only Savi hesitated with an ugly expression before stopping one man. "Bring Doghead Qiang to me first. I'll prepare the gift myself."

Since Soren could wipe out Cole and his men in a single night, he could probably kill him just as easily.

A man like that was too dangerous!

It was better to find a way to curry favor with him first. Hadn't Savi risen from a street punk to a gang Boss precisely because he knew when to yield and never acted tough?

He had not left a single survivor.

Even a ruthless gang Boss like him found such methods chilling. After all, street brawls usually did not result in many deaths or injuries. They still tried their best to avoid getting their men killed.

If everyone died, who would work for them?

Those thugs and scoundrels in the Slums might seem brainless, but if a Boss kept getting his men killed, they would not stupidly join him either.

It was a quiet morning.

Of course, that was only for Soren. After receiving his reply, Savi was ecstatic and ordered his men to gather forces to seize the streets around Cross Lane. Since Soren had made it clear that he had no interest in the Slums, the territory around Cross Lane belonged to whoever was capable of taking it. Savi gathered several hundred people that day. Most were just there to make up the numbers, but over a hundred could genuinely pick up blades and charge in to fight.

As for how many of those hundred had received professional combat training and learned real techniques of Slaughter,

one should not expect too much!

No one cared about gang conflicts in the Slums. As long as they did not cause a major disturbance, a dozen deaths meant nothing. So once Savi gathered his men, he quickly took control of Cross Lane.

This place was far inferior to the Dock District.

Because the docks controlled nearly half the flow of wealth in Amber City, a shift in territory there could mean more than a hundred people dying overnight!

That was the sort of thing that could alarm all of Amber City.

The Slums?

That shithole had nothing worth paying attention to!

That was right.

People with real power had no interest in the Slums. Still, over the past few days, they had occasionally heard that a very formidable person had appeared there.

He seemed to be called Throat Cutter Soren!

It was said that every enemy he killed had their throat slit. He held considerable prestige in the Slums. Though he had not joined any faction, every gang Boss there feared and respected him.

Two days quietly passed.

Even Vivian keenly sensed that something was wrong. The people around her clearly looked at her with a trace of reverence, and they spoke to her timidly.

As for Soren, none of them even dared meet his gaze!

"Brother is much more impressive than before!"

Vivian swept fallen leaves with a broom. Looking outside, she muttered, "The one who delivered the gift that day was Savi's subordinate."

"Why would he bring such a valuable gift?"

"I heard all of Cole's men are dead."

"They were killed by someone called Throat Cutter! That Throat Cutter should be Brother, right?"

"That sounds so cool!"

"Brother is much stronger than before."

Yesterday, when she passed the grocery store at the street corner, the plump proprietress who had once whipped her back with a stick turned pale upon seeing her.

Once she confirmed that Vivian was Soren's sister, the fat proprietress immediately knelt before her and desperately slapped herself. She slapped herself until her face swelled high. Only after Vivian agreed not to hold the past against her did she rise with a look of immense gratitude. The shopkeeper had even specially prepared a gift, stuffing more than ten Silver Dalers inside the box. He respectfully said it was to soothe her fright!

They were afraid.

Although they feared Throat Cutter Soren, Vivian still enjoyed that feeling of Fear just a tiny bit.

"La la la!"

The little girl hummed a tuneless song as she happily cleaned the room. "We're bad guys! We're villains!"

"They're afraid of us!"

"No one will ever dare bully us again!"