Scavengers

As he climbed the stairs, Liao Ji sorted through the information he had gathered in his mind.

First, Brian, the boss of Haisha, had mentioned that he sent people to visit Irin's mother just yesterday. Therefore, the transfer record the nurse spoke of—stating that Irin's mother was moved out at noon today—carried a high degree of credibility.

Reasoning from this foundation, a new question emerged: why was she moved at noon, why at that specific time, and did any special events occur at that hour?

The answer was obvious. After a quick mental calculation, Liao Ji realized that this time slot coincided exactly with when Irin and Kalleva's men left the settlement to head toward the Relic Cave to dig up his "grave."

That left only one final question: why did Dr. Fredre send Irin's mother out of the clinic the moment Irin and Kalleva's men had departed?

Liao Ji already had a grim answer in his heart.

He hoped he was wrong.

The third floor of the clinic was quiet. There was no one in the hallway, and perhaps to save electricity, even the lights overhead felt dim.

Liao Ji and Irin followed the directions given by the receptionist, arriving at the corresponding door. The girl was about to knock, but the young man beside her had already pushed the door open and walked straight in.

"Who—who are you!?" A cry of alarm erupted from inside the room.

Fredre, standing before his desk, was undoubtedly startled by the two people who had suddenly barged in.

Liao Ji looked at the middle-aged man in the room, who wore a white coat and black-rimmed glasses, giving off a refined and scholarly air. He didn't waste any words and cut straight to the point.

"Dr. Fredre, may I ask where Ms. Nolan is now?"

"No—Nolan?"

The man was stunned at first, but he seemed to react to the name quickly. His brows furrowed, and after observing that Liao Ji and Irin's attire was clearly out of place for the slums, he said directly:

"Looking at the two of you, you don't seem like the patient's family. As a doctor, I have an obligation to protect the personal information of every patient!"

"Furthermore, this is the internal area of the clinic, and we do not welcome outsiders. Please leave immediately, or I will have someone escort you out!"

As Fredre spoke, he reached toward a button on his desk that looked like a call bell.

But to his utter shock, the young man who looked like a rich young master suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it right at him!

"Dr. Fredre, do you think your people can arrive faster than my bullets?"

"Don't—don't be impulsive! We can talk about this slowly, let's talk slowly!"

Cold sweat beaded on Fredre's forehead. He cursed his own carelessness in his heart; this wasn't some pampered young master, he was practically a gangster. He hurriedly moved his hand away from the call bell and raised both hands above his head.

"Honestly, Dr. Fredre, I was a bit hesitant at first, but after hearing your speech, I am certain my guess was correct."

"I'll ask you one last time: what did you do to Ms. Nolan?"

Even with Liao Ji's gun pointed at him, Fredre stubbornly insisted:

"There—there must be some misunderstanding. I don't know what relationship you have with Ms. Nolan, but I can only tell you that Ms. Nolan was picked up from the clinic by her daughter at noon today. I even tried to dissuade them, but her daughter seemed very anxious, as if—as if she were going on a long journey."

Fredre intentionally threw out this "long journey" as a lead; it was a cover story he had prepared in case something went wrong.

"As for what happened after that, I really don't know! If you must find Ms. Nolan, you should go find her daughter, a Scavenger named Irin! I can provide you with her information. I hear she's quite famous among the Scavengers and often frequents Haisha."

"You f***ing liar!" Behind Liao Ji, the girl who had been brewing in silence finally erupted.

Irin strode past the young man and arrived in front of Fredre. She grabbed the doctor by his collar, pulled him close, and stared into his panicked eyes, grinding her teeth in fury as she spat out, "Look at who I am!"

"You..."

From a distance, Fredre hadn't recognized her. After all, Irin hadn't just changed her hairstyle and clothes; even her skin had become much fairer.

But when he was pulled in by the girl and looked closely at her features, the doctor finally widened his eyes in disbelief.

"You—you are..."

"That's impossible! How could Kalleva's people have let you come back alive..."

Realizing he had let it slip in his shock, Fredre tried to seal his lips, but it was clearly too late. Irin threw him heavily to the ground.

"Kalleva? What Kalleva? You better explain yourself clearly!"

Pinned under the girl's foot, a piercing pain radiated from his chest. Fredre didn't know how Irin could have such strength, but he knew that if this continued, he wouldn't just be unable to breathe—his entire chest would be crushed.

"I—I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Under the fear of death, Fredre was terrified out of his wits. He gasped for air and told Irin in a trembling voice:

"I saw—I saw you leave with Kalleva's group, and I... I thought you would never come back, so I... I sold your mother to the Scavengers..."

"Your mother was a nun of The Church. With that status, she could be sold for a good price. You—you let me go, I'll return the money to you! I'll give you all the hundred thousand I got for selling your mother!"

"No—one hundred and fifty thousand! Is that enough? I'll add another fifty thousand, that should satisfy you, right!"

Fredre tried to beg for mercy in the only way he knew how, but unfortunately, this only incited even more murderous rage in Irin.

Hearing that her mother had been sold for money—and to the Scavengers, no less—the girl was consumed by fury. The Corrupt Calamity in her body surged toward her brain. Now, there was only one thought in Irin's mind.

Kill this piece of trash!

"Go to hell!!"

Just as Irin was about to crush the doctor's skull with her foot, the young man beside her intervened.

Liao Ji held Irin back and shook his head at the enraged girl, then turned his cold gaze toward the shaken Dr. Fredre.

"What do you mean by Scavengers?"

"Sc, Scavengers are those human traffickers who specialize in rounding up living people and selling them to gangs."

"Is it for the organs of those living people?"

"I d-don't know, but it seems like it's not just about the organs. I've heard that there might be a shadow of The Church behind them."

Fredre could see that if he fell into the hands of Irin, he would surely die, so now he answered every question the young man asked, racking his brain to tell him everything he knew, hoping that Liao Ji would spare his life.

"This isn't your first time doing something like this, right? You have a fixed contact for the Scavengers, don't you? Call him now and tell him to come pick up the goods."

"Pi-pick up the goods?"

Where would the goods be right now?

Fredre's brain couldn't keep up with Liao Ji at all, and he looked completely bewildered, but when Liao Ji pressed his gun against his forehead, Fredre stopped caring about anything else and hurriedly took out his communication device, not even needing to make a call, just sending an email was enough.

"O-okay, I've done as you said. The Scavengers come very quickly, they'll be here in about a quarter of an hour. Can you let me go now? I beg you!"

"Where did you agree to hand over the goods?"

"Go out the back door of the clinic, take a turn, and there's a... there's a small alleyway. He'll park there and wait for me. I really don't know anything else, I-I was just trying to earn some extra cash, please, please let me go."

Faced with Fredre's desperate pleas, Liao Ji nodded quite readily.

"You just need to do one last thing for us."

"Y-you name it, I can do anything!" Fredre was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

But soon, the joy on the doctor's face froze.

Because

"Is that so? Then thank you for becoming our goods."

"Wh-what do you m—"

Bang!