Maybe I'm going to... take back what belongs to me?

At 10:07 p.m., in the southeastern corner of the Black Cave Settlement, stood the lair of Kalleva, the largest gang that effectively ruled the settlement.

A small cargo pickup slowly drove inside. It was stopped near the entrance to what looked like a massive industrial complex by members of the Kalleva gang on guard.

The driver rolled down his window and deftly handed over the cigarettes he'd prepared. The guard took one without a second thought, lit it, then frowned at the driver.

"Weren't you here at noon? What, got another delivery already?"

"Y-yeah, I got lucky. My supplier hooked a few more fish, so I rushed over to bring them to you."

"And who's that in the passenger seat? Never seen you bring a partner before."

"Ah! Him? He's, uh, he's a new apprentice I just took on. Figured I'd bring him along so he could learn the ropes. Heh. Hehe."

The driver stammered, forcing an unnatural smile onto his face.

He hoped the gang member would notice something was off about him, but unfortunately, perhaps because it was so dark, or perhaps because the gang members had never imagined anyone would dare cause trouble for Kalleva in the Black Cave.

Instead, the gang members at the factory entrance burst out laughing. The one who'd asked the questions in particular seemed to find it the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"Hey, hey, you serious? My ears aren't broken, are they? Even scavengers can take on apprentices now? These days, as long as there's money in it, anyone'll take a student!"

"Ha ha, yeah," the driver replied, laughing along.

Usually, the guards would at least make a show of checking the vehicle. But this time, they seemed to be laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. They didn't even glance at the back of the pickup before waving the driver through.

"You scavengers must be making a pretty penny. Makes me want to give it a try, too. All right, all right, go on in."

"Thank you, thank you, boss."

The driver bowed and scraped, putting on a grateful act. Inside, though, he was cursing them as a bunch of idiots. He started to say something, but when he noticed the young man in the passenger seat looking his way, he quickly rolled the window up and drove farther into the industrial complex.

A few minutes later, the pickup finally stopped beside a warehouse.

"B-big brother, this is it. The rest of the process is, I unload the goods, then go find the supervisor in charge outside the warehouse. He pays me based on the value of the goods."

"This warehouse is where they store their stock. If it's high-end stuff, they send it farther inside, but... but I can't go there."

The scavenger did his best to explain things to Liao Ji. He didn't know who Liao Ji was or what he was planning, but he was sure the young man was crazy.

Everyone else would rather stay as far away from Kalleva as possible, yet this young man had deliberately sneaked in. The scavenger just wanted to get away as soon as possible, before Liao Ji dragged him into trouble.

"The goods you delivered at noon. Which warehouse did they take them to?" Liao Ji asked abruptly.

"Th-those were high-end goods. They took them straight to the place farther inside I told you about."

At first, the scavenger wondered why the young man was asking. But then he thought of what had happened to Doctor Fredre, and a cold sweat broke out all over him. He seemed to understand why the young man was doing all this.

"That nun has nothing to do with me! I-I'm just a middleman, a transport driver. It was all Fredre's fault, that crooked doctor!"

The man began backing away in fear, desperately trying to deny responsibility. But when he saw the way Liao Ji looked at him, as if he were already dead, he completely broke down.

"You—you can't! You can't kill me! If I'm not out of here in half an hour, they'll send people to search for me! That's right! Then they'll find you all! Just let me leave safely, and I-I promise I won't say a word to them!"

The scavenger thought he had a trump card that would save his life. But the only answer he got was a searing pain from behind. He looked down to see a sharp dagger piercing his heart.

"Wh-why..."

Even as he died, the man couldn't understand. Were these two really not afraid of being discovered by Kalleva?

Then, just before death took him, he heard the young man say:

"Half an hour should be enough. Don't worry. No one's getting away tonight. Soon, all the gang members here will be joining you down there."

"You crazy... lunatic..."

Thud!

The scavenger fell to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, his eyes staring lifelessly.

After dragging his body behind a small grove of trees, Irin disappeared back into the darkness of the night. Liao Ji hefted Fredre's body bag from the pickup and headed toward the warehouse supervisor's office, the place the scavenger had pointed out.

Perhaps because it was late, there were only three gang members in the supervisor's room, including the supervisor himself. All three were drinking and playing cards to pass the time, half drunk. When Liao Ji walked in, they didn't even notice his unfamiliar face. They thought he was just another scavenger.

That saved Liao Ji some trouble. The girl emerged from the shadows behind him, and in the space of just two or three breaths, she had slit all three gang members' throats and dropped them.

After finding the warehouse key on the leader, Liao Ji and Irin entered the so-called "stockroom."

The moment they opened the door, a foul stench hit them. By the faint moonlight coming through the windows, Liao Ji saw a scene of misery, like something out of a concentration camp.

The captured people, men and women alike, were all extremely weak. Many had lost their minds and were barely clinging to life. The source of the stench was a corpse in the corner of the warehouse, starved to death. It was a child who couldn't have been more than ten years old.

"Let's go." After looking around and finding no sign of Irin's mother, Liao Ji spoke to the girl behind him, whose fists were clenched tight, his face expressionless.

But anyone who knew Liao Ji would have understood that when he wore that expression, things had truly become serious.

That was right. In Liao Ji's heart, this was no longer just about helping Irin rescue her mother. He had sentenced the Kalleva gang to death.

The Holy Kingdom had been founded by Stia herself, and the Black Cave was part of the Holy Kingdom. To Liao Ji, Stia was the very embodiment of purity, kindness, and all that was good.

Now, on this land, there was such a filthy, corrupt stain. Liao Ji couldn't allow himself to simply stand by. This wasn't just for Irin. It was for Stia, too.

They found two sets of gang uniforms in the management office, changed into them, and continued deeper into the factory complex.

Perhaps that was what playing "certain" games had ingrained in them: every berserker had a little bit of a stealth specialist in their heart.

But this time, they hadn't gone far before something happened. It wasn't that anyone had spotted them. Rather, up ahead in Liao Ji's field of vision, a suspicious-looking gang member was constantly glancing around, behaving in a thoroughly furtive manner.

The girl shot Liao Ji a questioning look and made a throat-slitting gesture. But the young man shook his head, then took the initiative and strode straight toward the man.

He hadn't bothered to hide the sound of his footsteps, so the already wary gang member jumped at Liao Ji's approach. When Liao Ji drew close, he saw that the man was clutching something. As soon as he noticed Liao Ji coming over, the man hastily hid it behind his back.

"Hey! What are you sneaking around here by yourself for? And what are you hiding behind your back? Show me, or I'll call the others!"

Startled by Liao Ji's harsh demand and threat to call for help, the lone, furtive gang member panicked. He quickly shook his head, then showed Liao Ji what he'd been hiding.

A broken antique, a clay figurine, a copper coin, and a rusty copper key?

Liao Ji frowned at the junk in the man's bag, completely baffled.

Meanwhile, the furtive gang member seemed to have come to his senses. He examined Liao Ji's unfamiliar face, frowned, and began to question him.

"Wait! Hold on a second. Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Oh, we're under Lord Simon. Uh, we were recruited recently," Liao Ji replied casually. Simon was the warehouse supervisor's name.

The moment the man heard Liao Ji was just an ordinary member, and a new recruit at that, his face darkened. He immediately took back the bag he'd shown Liao Ji, and his attitude changed completely.

"You son of a bitch! You scared the hell out of me! Did that bastard Simon not teach you the rules?"

"What are you going to do with those things?" Liao Ji asked directly, ignoring the man's cursing.

"Me? Ugh! I had such a damn bad day today, running into you two greenhorns! Whatever. I brought a bit too much stuff with me anyway. You two can take some!"

Goods?

These things were goods, too?

"What are you waiting for? Take them!"

The man grumbled as he split the trinkets between Liao Ji and Irin, then spoke in a commanding tone.

"Listen up, rookies. You're in luck. There's a way to make a fortune right in front of you. If you do what I say, we can all make a killing. First, get back to your warehouse and carry out an experiment subject. Any one will do. Remember, keep it hidden. Don't let anyone see you. Got it?"

Liao Ji hesitated for a moment, then gave Irin a look. The girl nodded and immediately turned back. Liao Ji stayed behind to make sure the gang member didn't run off.

"Heh, you're pretty smart. I like that! So, how about working for me from now on? Artur's the name."

"Sure," Liao Ji said without hesitation.

Artur: "Huh?"

It hadn't even been a minute before Irin returned, the body bag slung over her shoulder. Artur watched her stride back at such speed and quietly swallowed.

"Your buddy... sure is strong."

"So, can you tell us the rest of the plan now?"

"Not yet! Bring the body bag and follow me. I'll explain once we get inside the 'factory.'"

And so, with Artur leading the way, Liao Ji and Irin made it through without a hitch and arrived at a large factory deep inside the complex.

As soon as they approached it, Liao Ji and the girl both frowned. They could feel waves of Corrupt Calamity radiating from within.

The pollution level was definitely high, at least around Grade C. Irin couldn't imagine what sort of terrifying source of pollution had shrouded such a huge factory.

The Zhuo'e Factory was clearly much more heavily guarded. Even at this hour, several teams of gang members were still patrolling the area, and a large number of them stood guard at the entrance.

Fortunately, Artur had clearly paid off the right people. The guards didn't question them much and let them through, handing each of the three a cross.

"Take these and make sure you wear them. They'll save your lives!" Artur turned and handed two to Liao Ji, then carefully hung his own cross against his chest.

Liao Ji examined the cross. He could sense a faint trace of holy light within it, a power that came from Stia. It was one of the few forces capable of purifying and counteracting Corrupt Calamity.

Now it seemed that Kalleva's ability to run such a large factory full of Corrupt Calamity without many members going berserk or mutating was probably thanks to these crosses, which served as a kind of "protective gear."

But...

Crosses?

If they only had a few, it could be explained as a special supply. But if they were using crosses as consumables, going through hundreds of them every day...

There was no way the gang itself could make them. Only one organization could produce crosses imbued with Stia's power.

The Church.

Thinking of how Stia's power was being used, Liao Ji's gaze toward the factory grew even colder.

Once the three had made it inside, Artur led them without hesitation around a corner. It was a blind spot; people in the factory would have a hard time noticing them tucked away there.

"All right, now just take out all the stuff I gave you earlier. Hope we have better luck this time and manage to catalyze a few good ones!"

Catalyze?

Did he mean...

Only now did Liao Ji finally begin to understand.

The factory was filled with dense Corrupt Calamity pollution. But from another perspective, that was a resource. If they secretly brought in outside objects, kept them away from the crosses, and let them absorb the pollution, perhaps the objects would become...

Corrupt Calamity items.

No, judging by the man's expression, they didn't have to become actual Corrupt Calamity items. As long as the objects absorbed some of the Corrupt Calamity, he could take them outside afterward and sell them on the black market for a huge profit.

That was the way to make a fortune he'd mentioned to Liao Ji earlier.

Beside them,

Irin was frozen.

The girl stared blankly at the "clay figurine" she'd been given. It was all so familiar, and so bitterly ironic.

Because six years ago, her father had been just as delighted, convinced he'd found a "precious" Corrupt Calamity item on the black market. That was how he became one of the Corrupted, setting off the chain of tragedies that followed.

Irin had never imagined it. Never thought...

That this was how it had all happened.

"Artur, have you ever thought about the disasters these items might cause once they're tainted with Corrupt Calamity and make their way into the settlement?" Liao Ji asked, taking a deep breath.

"Huh!? Is there something wrong with your head? You got a problem with making money? What happens to the people who buy the stuff has nothing to do with me! If something goes wrong, I'd say they deserve it. They brought it on themselves!"

"Have you ever thought that if you stopped doing this, a lot of tragedies could be prevented?"

"Ugh, you're really something, you know that? Looking for a fight? Me stop? You think I'm the only one doing this? Plenty of people in Kalleva make extra money on the side like I do!"

Artur seemed to be getting annoyed. He'd kindly brought them along to make money, and now the two of them were turning around to ask if he had a conscience?

What good was a conscience? Could it make him rich?

A conscience.

Pah!

"Here, let me tell you something. If you really have a conscience and want to be some big hero, then take down this whole factory. That way, none of us could do this even if we wanted to. But do you have what it takes? Do you even know what's stored in there? If you can't do it, then quit talking out of your ass!"

"What is it?" Liao Ji asked.

Seeing that the young man across from him still wouldn't back down, Artur sneered.

Then the gang member spoke to Liao Ji with pride and glee in his voice.

"Heh heh, listen up, rookie. What's stored here is the greatest reason Kalleva is so powerful, the biggest trump card that made us the rulers of the Black Cave!"

"It's the Relic of that legendary 'Great Emperor,' dug up from the Relic Cave!"

As he spoke, Artur's face filled with fervor and longing. No one could resist going mad over anything connected to the words "Great Emperor," let alone a genuine Relic.

He'd only gotten a tiny taste of the "Relic," and it had already made him a pretty penny. So many members of Kalleva were willing to risk breaking the rules just to get a taste.

It was easy to imagine what an enormous fortune they'd make if they could get their hands on an actual "Great Emperor's Relic"!

Unfortunately...

That was all just a fantasy. Even Kalleva still hadn't figured out how to use the "Great Emperor's Relic" they'd dug up. Otherwise, they wouldn't have built such a huge factory and gathered "test subjects" from all over, trying to awaken the "Relic."

Still, Artur believed that one day Kalleva would succeed in activating the "Relic" and awakening the true power of the "Great Emperor's Relic."

And when that day came...

Heh heh.

They wouldn't just rule the Black Cave. They'd rise to become the greatest gang in the entire Holy Kingdom.

While Artur was lost in dreams of a glorious future, the young man beside him, who'd been silent for a little while, spoke again.

"I see. No wonder." Liao Ji's voice carried a complicated note.

"No wonder what? Hey! Wait! Where are you going? Don't wander off!"

Artur panicked when he saw Liao Ji starting to walk away. Kalleva's members taking a cut of the "Relic" was an unspoken rule within the gang. If they were caught in the act, they'd still be punished severely.

But in response to his frantic protests, the young man turned around, seemed to give it some thought, and finally said:

"Maybe I'm going to... take back what belongs to me?"