Garbage Mountain

"I'm back."

Tao Yu hadn't chosen to use his Stealth skill to track them in turn. There were too many people around during the day, and staying in Shadow Meld for that long would drain him badly.

Tao Yu's main goal now was simply to buy as much time as possible and spread the news as widely as he could. Then the problem would resolve itself naturally.

With his own talent and potential, he didn't want to risk a head-on fight while he was still weak.

Influenced by the world he'd lived in during his previous life, Tao Yu still preferred to settle things peacefully.

Killing Yosef had been an accident. That guy had actually tried to trick him into using something he hated.

"Dinner's on the table. Mom and Dad have already gone back to the Abyss."

His third sister-in-law, Li Li, wiped her hands on her apron.

"Is Shi back? Anything happen today?"

Tao Yu asked casually, looking unconcerned.

"He came back around noon. He said he was staying at a friend's place tonight."

Li Li sighed again. She spent most of her time looking after the family, and seeing Tao Shi staying out all night at such a young age always worried her.

"It's fine. He's grown up, and he's a boy. He'll be all right."

From his sister-in-law's expression, Tao Yu could tell that the people from earlier hadn't come to bother the family again.

As for his little brother, Tao Yu wasn't really worried. The kid had always been like this.

Although he'd had plenty of Qi Replenishing Soup at the martial arts hall, the bowl of fried pickles with cured meat and white rice on the table still made Tao Yu rub his stomach.

He needed to replenish the energy he'd spent using Stealth earlier.

"Your parents said you should try to make meat dishes when you're home. They'll keep an eye out for some at the settlement and bring it back."

Tao Yu didn't refuse his parents' concern.

Meat was expensive in the Real World, but it was much easier to get at the Abyss settlement. It just wasn't convenient to carry back every time, so sometimes his parents would ask coworkers who were returning to bring some along or pass on a message.

By the time Tao Yu finished eating, it was completely dark.

Since Eighth Brother had already said he wouldn't be coming home, Li Li had locked the door and bolted it early.

Then she took the dishes to wash.

Tao Yu returned to his room to rest and gather his strength. He wasn't planning to sleep tonight. He needed to stay on guard.

At the very least, he'd have to keep this up until he'd spread the news completely.

He lifted the cardboard covering the window, widening the gap, and measured the opening with his hand. Then he went back to bed.

It feels like I'm back to spending the night alone in the Abyss...

Tao Yu sighed inwardly. Someone like him, who didn't enjoy fighting and killing, really did find all this troublesome.

I hope everything goes smoothly...

Night fell, and the outside world was pitch-black. The faint sounds of automated turrets occasionally drifted over.

Tao Yu, who had been leaning against the bed with his eyes closed, opened them.

There really was movement outside!

"Ugh..."

He got up reluctantly. The next moment, he vanished into the shadows.

He merged with the shadows and slipped out through the window!

Shadow Meld couldn't let Tao Yu pass through walls, but as long as there was a gap wide enough, he could slide through like jelly!

The shadowed view around him flickered rapidly from one angle to another. To some extent, he could ignore collision, making no sound and leaving no footprints. He moved far faster than he had while fleeing during the day.

In less than two seconds, he'd circled behind the house and reached the two dark figures who had just climbed over the farm fence.

The automated turret on the roof could only detect Gray Mist Demonic Creatures. It wasn't an intelligent defense system, so the two men had simply ignored it.

They looked familiar. They were the same two men from the day, but they'd changed into different gear.

During the day, they'd been dressed like ordinary Outer City residents, looking dusty and disheveled.

This time, they wore black tactical uniforms.

Their tactical pockets were stuffed with all sorts of things, and each held a small submachine gun resembling an MP5. The guns were fitted with suppressors. They'd clearly come with bad intentions.

The Night Vision Goggles on their heads gave them a professional air, a world apart from their shabby appearance while they'd been tailing him earlier.

If Tao Yu hadn't had such sharp eyesight, he might not have recognized them right away.

As he looked at their gear, Tao Yu's eyes gradually darkened in the shadows.

I've already backed off. Why are you forcing my hand...?

The two men climbed over the farm fence and exchanged a glance. Neither spoke. Clearly, they'd planned this in advance.

They exchanged a few tactical hand signals, and one of them crept forward, quickly moving in a crouch.

They seemed to have skills similar to Stealth, and their tactical boots let them move without a sound.

They were fast, too.

But just as the man in front reached the corner and pulled out a dagger to pry open the door bolt, a faint crack came from behind him.

A chill ran up his spine. He knew that sound very well!

The sound of a neck being snapped!

Without hesitation, he swung his dagger behind him, while his other hand was already back on the grip of his gun.

But behind him, apart from his companion's body collapsing to the ground, there was nothing!

Something's wrong! Before he could react again, a blow to the back of his head blacked out his vision and knocked him unconscious.

Within just a few seconds, the first body had barely hit the ground before Tao Yu had taken care of both men.

He quickly searched them and found two tactical earpieces. After a moment's hesitation, he snapped off the microphones and put one to his ear.

They seemed to be for the two men's private communications. He didn't hear anything.

Then, carrying the corpse in one hand and the unconscious man in the other, he climbed over the fence and headed toward Garbage Mountain.

The Outer City at night was almost completely dark. There was no starlight or moon, and only a few points of light shone from the Inner City walls. Around Tao Yu's home, it was nearly too dark to see your hand in front of your face.

But in Tao Yu's eyes, every detail remained clear.

The Outer City streets were just as filthy at night, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Apart from the occasional cough from inside a house, there wasn't even a dog barking.

The sporadic gunshots in the distance were the only things that broke the silence.

Tao Yu walked quickly. Carrying two fully armed adults didn't slow him down at all.

He also kept an eye on his surroundings, in case there was a backup team.

He'd deliberately revealed himself because he wanted to see just how many people they had.

With Bullet Time backed up by Stealth, and enough willingness to spare, Tao Yu had the means to test them.

Still, it might count as good news that, just like the earpieces, the night remained quiet. Tao Yu didn't encounter another attack before reaching Garbage Mountain.

"Heh. This kind of force is more than enough to deal with our family."

Tao Yu smiled bitterly. Sometimes, being underestimated wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Ahead of him loomed a black mountain of garbage, piled high with all kinds of waste. It smelled even more pungent than the streets.

And among the trash and stench were countless little red dots, darting through the heaps as they searched for something.

Tao Yu could easily make out that each red dot was the eye of a huge rat.

Every rat was nearly as big as a kitten. After Tao Yu arrived, many of them stared straight at him instead of running away. Their blood-red eyes were full of ferocity.

Since these rats' meat was poisonous—even cooking it didn't help—they were among the few animals in the Outer City that lived well.

Tao Yu had heard the ghost stories about Garbage Mountain rats eating people ever since he was a child.

He casually dropped the two men on the ground and crouched to strip them of their gear.

He removed their bulletproof vests and packed away all their scattered equipment.

The next moment, Tao Yu gripped the corpse with both hands, spun with all his strength, and hurled it a long distance onto Garbage Mountain.

Squeak, squeak—

The rats, which had been watching him already, swarmed over in an instant, piling onto the corpse. The sounds of leather tearing, chewing, and gnawing bones came one after another, making Tao Yu feel a little sick.

Looking down at the unconscious man, Tao Yu wasn't sure whether he'd controlled his strength properly or if the man was dead.

But he didn't bother worrying about it. He really didn't have much experience with this sort of thing.

He casually flipped the man over, then put his weight into his foot.

Crack! Crack!

He stomped on each limb, snapping them one by one. The unconscious man let out a muffled groan and woke up.

But before he could scream, an iron-grip hand clamped around his neck. The man, who'd just woken in a daze from the pain, nearly blacked out again.

Li Xiang had just woken up, and every part of his body hurt. His head was foggy, and the tremendous pressure around his neck made it hard to breathe.

What happened?

Right...

He and his cousin had been about to capture that kid from earlier and interrogate him.

Then what?

Fragments of the earlier scene surfaced in his mind. He'd just been about to use his dagger to pry open the door bolt when he'd heard something behind him.

He'd turned around...

His cousin was dead!

The memories rushed back, jolting Li Xiang alert and clearing his head.

His Night Vision Goggles had been removed, leaving him in darkness. He could only make out a few reddish dots ahead. A foul stench assaulted his nose, and rustling sounds came from all around him.

Li Xiang's heart sank.

Even though he couldn't see the outline clearly, he knew where he was.

Garbage Mountain!

He'd done some dirty work here before, dumping things like this!

I'm finished...