"Underhive—truly a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abound."
After leaving Tark, Alvin rubbed his brow, a bitter look crossing his face. "Jackal Tark is far too dangerous. I'd better avoid him as much as possible in the future."
Jackal Tark was definitely not as simple as he appeared.
Not only could he obtain Mid-hive resident IDs, but he could even get his hands on weapons and equipment. That man's background was unfathomably deep!
Thinking about it further, he not only knew about "gold," but had also vaguely revealed through his words that he knew Upper-hive nobles used gold to make ornaments.
That alone was enough for Alvin to determine one thing.
"Jackal" Tark definitely hadn't been exiled to the Underhive simply because he had offended a Mid-hive noble, as the rumors claimed.
What kind of Mid-hive noble could exile someone who seemed to have connections with Upper-hive nobility to the Underhive?
Unless he came from one of the top Upper-hive noble families.
Could Tark have been the guard of some top Upper-hive noble and been exiled to the Underhive after making a mistake?
That was certainly possible.
But all of that was pure speculation. He had not a shred of evidence.
What truly troubled Alvin was that Tark gave him an extremely dangerous feeling!
His psychic-enhanced senses—even his sixth sense—made him feel as though thorns were pricking his back whenever he faced Tark.
It was as if someone had pressed a knife against his throat. The sharp, icy touch made it seem as though his life could be taken at any moment!
He was a genuine A-class Psyker, after all!
Even across the entire Imperium, he might not count as an impressive figure, but in the Underhive, aside from the cult's Psykers, Tark was the only person who had ever made him feel such terror.
"Just what's this guy's background?"
Even after racking his brains, Alvin couldn't figure out why Jackal Tark had appeared in the Underhive.
Fortunately, Tark did not seem to bear him any ill will for the time being. That was something worth celebrating.
Moreover, this encounter had not been entirely disadvantageous. At the very least, it had taught Alvin that, in the eyes of certain people, his disguise was as childish as a child's play!
Put on some clothes, wear a mask, and lower his voice—and that counted as a disguise?
No. It might fool idiots, but in the eyes of a true "expert," it was nothing more than playing an axe before Lu Ban.
"I definitely have to find some time to learn the art of disguise!"
Alvin secretly made up his mind. So what if he was terrible at it? As long as he was willing to learn, wouldn't that be enough?
In any case, he would definitely have frequent use for the art of disguise in the future.
After resolving his greatest immediate problem, Alvin's heavy mood improved considerably.
He lowered his head and glanced at the "Navigator System" on his wrist. The status column still displayed: Searching for reachable Anchor Worlds.
"Looks like I can't travel between worlds consecutively."
Alvin shook his head helplessly. He had originally planned to use the three days while Tark prepared to visit the next world and scrounge up some "capital."
But now it seemed he had simply been overthinking it. After every traversal, the "Navigator System" had to search again for reachable "Anchor Worlds," and he had no idea how long that would take.
If it was an already fixed "Anchor World," there probably wouldn't be so many restrictions.
Unfortunately, he had spent too little time in The Boys' world. Otherwise, obtaining "1,000 Source Power" would have been no problem at all.
Actually, he had had opportunities. For example, if he had simply killed Hughie or Butcher, one of the two protagonists, he probably could have gathered 1,000 Source Power.
But when it came time to act, Alvin rejected the idea.
He could be a scumbag, but he couldn't be a scumbag without any bottom line. That distinction was important.
"Hey, I'm telling you—something huge just happened!"
"Something huge? What happened?"
Suddenly, the conversation between two people by the roadside made Alvin stop unconsciously.
Although the two had deliberately lowered their voices, Alvin's enhanced senses still allowed him to hear everything they said clearly.
"The Blood Axe Gang in the East District was wiped out by the Iron Hammer Gang!"
"Holy crap, really?"
"Of course it's real! I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be fake?"
"You?"
"Don't doubt me. I just came back from the East District. The Blood Axe Gang's camp... good lord, it was a massacre. There was blood everywhere!"
"Wasn't the Blood Axe Gang pretty powerful? They were fighting the Iron Hammer Gang evenly just a few days ago. How did they suddenly get wiped out?"
"Who knows? Anyway, don't go to the East District lately. That place isn't safe."
Alvin heard every word of their private conversation.
The Blood Axe Gang had been wiped out?!
The news caused the anxiety he had just managed to calm to flare back to life.
"Damn it, the Blood Axe Gang was too useless. They got wiped out that quickly?" Alvin was shocked and horrified at the same time. "The cult is making such a huge move. Aren't they afraid of being discovered by the enforcers?"
But after thinking it over carefully, it seemed to make perfect sense.
The Iron Hammer Gang had close ties with the cult. With the help of the "Psyker" he had seen that day, slaughtering a small gang would be as easy as flipping a hand.
Besides, the destruction of a mere Underhive gang was about as likely to attract the enforcers' attention as winning the grand prize.
The enforcers protected the Mid-hive commoners and the Upper-hive nobles and elite. As for the Underhive?
What did they care about a bunch of bottom-feeding scum? Unless too many people died, there was no chance the enforcers would pay attention!
"I can't go back. At least not for now!"
Alvin immediately changed direction and turned toward the South District, outside the Iron Hammer Gang's current sphere of influence.
He did this for two reasons.
First, he couldn't be sure whether the cult's Psyker had seen his face clearly that day.
Second, judging from the hundreds of scavengers slaughtered in the East District, the cult had already begun preparing its "sacrificial" ritual. Returning now would be no different from walking into a wolf's den.
Having made up his mind, Alvin tugged at his hood and tried not to attract attention.
The Bone Gang, which currently controlled the South District, was one of the top powers in the entire Underhive, no weaker than the Crusader Gang had once been. With the Iron Hammer Gang's current strength, even with the cult's secret assistance, eliminating the "Bone Gang" in a short time would be no easy feat.
Although the Underhive had no clearly defined "districts" in the strictest sense, anyone traveling from one gang's territory into another had to pay a "protection fee."
Several "Bone Gang" members stood guard beside a dilapidated, abandoned pipeline.
Under normal circumstances, scavengers rarely chose to travel to other districts. No matter where they went, the gangs would squeeze them all the same. There was no difference.
"Stop! You—what are you doing?"
The tall, gray-skinned man wearing a Gas Mask raised his gun a few inches and aimed it at the shabbily dressed Alvin.
"I—I'm a scavenger from the East District. I want to go to the South District, sir."
Alvin deliberately put on a fearful expression and pulled a tube of Nutrient Solution from his clothes with his filthy hand. "Th-this is the toll. I know the rules~"
The man glanced at it before lowering his gun and snatching the Nutrient Solution from Alvin's hand. He sneered, "Not enough. Prices have gone up. It's thirty crowns now!"
Bullshit. You're the one raising the price on the spot!
A vicious look flashed across Alvin's face beneath his hood, but he quickly suppressed it.
No, he couldn't start a fight here!
There were surveillance devices nearby. If he killed these two bastards, the Bone Gang would certainly investigate him, which would go completely against Alvin's plan to keep a low profile and buy time.
He put on a pleading expression and said humbly, "Sir, this is all I have. Please let me through. I promise I'll show my gratitude next time, all right?"
"Fuck off! If you don't have money, get lost!"
Unexpectedly, the man's face twisted viciously, and he raised his foot to kick Alvin in the face.
Alvin moved extremely quickly, sidestepping the kick. He hadn't expected that doing so would directly enrage the other man.
The man missed and nearly performed a split on the spot, drawing laughter from his companion behind him. "Hahaha! Tiva, did you use up all your strength on some woman last night?"
"Damn it! Who the hell told you to dodge?!"
Humiliated and enraged, Tiva aimed his gun directly at Alvin and snarled furiously, "A piece of trash who picks through garbage dares to toy with me? You must be tired of living!"
"Why can't you just let me through?"
Alvin pulled a shoddy cigarette from his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, lit it, and took a puff. He cast a sidelong glance at the two men. "How about we make a deal? Let me pass, and we'll pretend this never happened. How's that?"
Tiva felt his authority had been challenged. His face grew even more ferocious, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "You piece of garbage! If I don't kill you today, then I'm not Tiva!"
Alvin exhaled a smoke ring. "True. I've been so focused on smoking, I almost forgot to smoke you."
Psychic power—activate!
Before you continue