Who Allowed You to Look Straight at Me, Mongrel!

Bridge-on-the-Nation, Taichilawolf.

Wind and snow raged here, mist thick enough to dim what should have been a clear sky into murky gloom.

At the bridgehead, piles of construction materials and tools were stacked, with tall lampposts lining both sides, casting a faint light across the entire bridge deck.

A crowd of people dressed in thin, tattered clothes, heavy iron balls chained to their feet, shuffled about on the bridge.

These were all the prisoners of Bridge-on-the-Nation.

Not a spark of life shone in any of their eyes; they moved like walking corpses.

Repeating the same grueling labor over and over, silently waiting for the day death would come.

And around these people—

stood Overseer Soldiers in thick cotton uniforms, rifles slung across their backs, long whips clenched tight in their hands.

Crack—!

Near the bridge's edge, an Overseer Soldier standing by a lamppost suddenly lashed his whip across a passing slave's back.

"Move it! You want to eat or not?!"

The middle-aged man struck on the back buckled from the pain, his legs giving out.

The timber he'd been carrying on his shoulder crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The Overseer Soldier's face twisted in fury. He stomped over and began lashing wildly, shouting as he struck:

"Worthless slave! Can't even hold a piece of wood! Useless trash!"

"If you delay the bridge construction, I'll beat you to death!"

Most of the surrounding slaves paid it no mind, looking away—clearly long accustomed to scenes like this.

Even if two or three secretly cast glances, a flicker of struggle in their eyes, in the end, they forced themselves to turn their heads and look no more.

Whoosh—!

But just then—

the Overseer Soldier suddenly heard a sound of something cutting through the air behind him, as if something had flown past.

He stopped his whip and turned to look around, but saw nothing.

Still, a nagging unease crept into his gut.

Just as he was about to step aside and search more carefully—

the Overseer Soldier's whole body jolted, his eyes bulging, as if some terrifying creature had locked onto him.

Acting on instinct, he jerked his head up—and there, in the hazy lamplight above, on the lamppost beside him, stood a tall figure.

The Overseer Soldier, backlit by the glow, saw the man standing on the lamppost and stumbled back two steps in shock, mouth hanging open.

That cold gaze, as if looking at a corpse, sent a chill through his entire body.

Snapping back to reality, the Overseer Soldier shuddered.

Then he quickly grabbed the rifle from his back, raised it, aimed, and barked a warning:

"Who the hell are you?! Daring to break into Bridge-on-the-Nation!"

"Get down here now, or else!"

His shouts drew the attention of the slaves toiling nearby, their gazes turning toward him.

Will stood on the lamppost, arms crossed, his voice colder than the wind and snow around him:

"Who allowed you to look up at me, mongrel?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Will's figure faded into the wind and snow, as if it had all been an illusion.

"Wh-where'd he go?!"

The Overseer Soldier's eyes went wide, his hands trembling slightly as he whipped his head around, searching warily.

"Breathe deep. Dizziness is normal."

Suddenly, a voice like a demon's whisper drilled into the Overseer Soldier's ear from behind.

His entire body froze solid, sheer terror flooding his eyes.

Before he could turn around, his vision began to spin, and everything around him rapidly dimmed.

He didn't even get to feel the dizziness.

Watching the Overseer Soldier's neck snap so easily, his body crumpling straight onto the snow, every slave around, long numbed to the world, couldn't help but show a flicker of shock on their faces.

Then, almost instinctively—

Everyone turned to look at the tall, well-built, handsome man with a cold expression, his hands hanging at his sides.

Seeing his utterly indifferent demeanor.

All the slaves froze in place, not daring to move, afraid of provoking this heaven-sent madman.

And none of the slaves present naively believed he had come specifically to rescue them.

Or rather, their hearts had long grown numb, no longer hoping to be saved by anyone.

At that moment, blocked by the wind and snow, and with the bridge being exceptionally wide.

The Overseer Soldiers responsible for other areas nearby had yet to notice what was happening here.

Will paid no attention to the reactions of those around him. After sweeping his gaze across the crowd, he asked expressionlessly:

"Does anyone know the specific situation inside Bridge-on-the-Nation? Step forward and tell me."

Hearing this, the people stiffly twisted their necks to look at each other, their eyes somewhat dazed.

Just then, a bald man with several whip scars on his face suddenly emerged from the crowd.

The Bald Man looked up at Will with a numb expression, pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice:

"You came here to rescue someone, didn't you."

"It's useless. The person you want to save is probably dead by now."

"Even if they aren't dead, with so many slaves on this bridge, you'll never find them."

"Get out of here now, before those powerful guys notice you."

"Oh?"

Will's eyes lit up. Ignoring the man's advice, he asked again: "Those powerful guys you mentioned? Where are they?"

"Not here to rescue someone..."

Seeing his reaction, the Bald Man showed a hint of surprise.

Then, noticing the man before him still looked calm, he sighed inwardly, his expression turning numb again as he said:

"Forget it. Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you everything I know."

"This is the 'Construction Area' of the bridge. There aren't any powerful people guarding it right now."

"Because directly below the bridgehead, over a dozen Naval Warships are moored year-round. No one can escape from here."

"So those strong Naval Officers are mostly stationed in the 'Consolidation Area' further back, keeping watch."

"That area is bigger, and there are even more slaves."

Having said this.

The Bald Man seemed to think of something, hesitated briefly, then continued:

"Actually, there's been a rumor these past two days. They say some big shot has arrived in the 'Consolidation Area' in the back."

"According to what some slaves over there whisper among themselves."

"Even the two most powerful Naval Officers act all fawning and cautious in front of that big shot."

"I don't know if any of this is true, but since I've already said so much, I might as well tell you everything."

"As for whether you'll still go to the back of the bridge after hearing all this, that's none of my business."