Kill a Rat

Chu Mu appeared in an alley in Boulder Town.

He heard a familiar voice again.

"Boss!" Sampo exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't the selection ceremony going on at the Orphanage right now? What are you doing here?"

"So I have no chance anymore," Chu Mu said quietly. "Disappointed, Sampo? You used to have such high hopes for me."

"Boss, what are you saying? Am I, good old Sampo, really that much of a snob?" Sampo declared righteously. "It's just a little city lord in some backwater. I'd be shocked if you thought it was worth your time! You're a man destined for great things. How could you possibly stay trapped in a place like this?"

"I still have no idea where that mysterious confidence of yours comes from," Chu Mu said dryly, thinking of Aha, the god of Elation.

He changed the subject and asked:

"Weren't you going to blow up Kliperburg at noon today? Why are you still here?"

"They're following Mr. Bosang's orders to blow up Kliperburg. What's that got to do with good old Sampo?" Sampo spread his hands. "Besides, that plan is guaranteed to fail. What a shame."

"Because the timing changed?" Chu Mu asked.

"Exactly!" Sampo said, utterly frustrated. "The information I got said the Supreme Guardian would leave Kliperburg at twelve noon today. I was going to wait until she came down here, then blow up her Kliperburg.

"But she left more than a whole hour early! The people going to blow up Kliperburg at twelve will run straight into her on her way back! Why am I so unlucky?"

After a pause, Sampo changed tack and sighed:

"I wonder which lucky girl at the Orphanage got picked. She must have taken all my luck."

"I'm not at the Orphanage, so I don't know either," Chu Mu said without giving anything away. "By the way, let me ask you something. What's going on at the Fight Club right now? Why are so many people gathered outside?"

"What else? That Upper District patron Scott pays tribute to is here." Sampo shrugged. "That fat bastard's a bit of a psychopath. Every time he comes down here, he has to get into the Fight Club's ring. He won't stop until he's beaten someone to death."

Then he scoffed:

"With that fat pig's actual skills, he'd only get thrashed in the ring. But Scott insists on sucking up to him. He forces the champions to throw their matches, then lets that pig beat them to death.

"So tell me, what's the use of being a good fighter? Do you think he's scared of your punches? You challenge him with your fists, and he challenges you with money and power. You're not even competing on the same level."

Chu Mu nodded silently. Sampo's words held true throughout the entire Sea of Stars.

"Wait, Boss, why are you asking?" Sampo suddenly asked.

"I'm going to kill a rat," Chu Mu said calmly. "An old rat."

"Whoa, don't do anything rash!" Sampo hastily tried to stop him. "I know you've got a score to settle with Scott, but you could pick a better time. Say, ten years from now, when you're sixteen or seventeen and in your prime, and old Scott can barely move. Wouldn't killing him be easier and more satisfying then?"

"Sampo, this isn't about settling scores," Chu Mu said softly. "There are just some things I have to do, and I have to do them now."

He said nothing more, turned around, and headed toward the Fight Club.

With Xiao Bu adopted by the Supreme Guardian, Chu Mu no longer had anything holding him back from heading into the Sea of Stars.

But before leaving Jarilo, there were some things he had to do.

Killing Scott was the first.

He didn't want more children to be deceived by Scott after he left.

Besides, Seele was still in the Underworld.

Scott had a grudge against her. He would definitely take revenge on that girl!

Meanwhile, in the backstage changing room at the Fight Club.

Scott wore a black eyepatch. His other eye fixed on the middle-aged man before him as he gave a sly laugh.

"Kruzer, do you know why I let bygones be bygones, brought you back to the club, and even made you a Five-Time Champion?"

Kruzer was the fighter who had spoken up for Chu Mu at the Fight Club half a month ago.

He had been kicked out over that incident and had fallen into poverty afterward, his family never knowing where their next meal would come from.

Fortunately, a week ago, his former boss Scott had sought him out and let him return to the Fight Club.

As soon as he returned, he entered one match after another and won every single one!

Kruzer had thought a week of hunger would leave him in terrible shape, yet the matches had gone surprisingly smoothly.

Even the reigning champions at the height of their fame had lost to him!

Just last night, Kruzer had earned the supreme honor of becoming a Five-Time Champion!

And now, he was about to contend for an unprecedented sixth title!

Looking back on everything that had happened lately, Kruzer felt as though he were dreaming.

He had been a fringe fighter at the Fight Club, fired for offending his boss, only for that same boss to bring him back when he was at his most desperate. Then he had won several championships in a row!

The mood at home had improved so much over the past week! He brought money back every night, and there was even meat on the family dinner table!

It was only the cheapest Rock-Dwelling Crab meat, but even that was a delicacy they had never dared dream of before.

With better food, his wife's sallow complexion had improved considerably. Their young child slept more soundly too, no longer waking in the middle of the night from hunger.

At that moment, Kruzer felt nothing but gratitude toward Scott. He couldn't even hear the hidden meaning in Scott's words.

Seeing this, Scott simply laid his cards on the table:

"Hey, Kruzer! You don't actually think there's such a thing as a free lunch, do you? Or do you think you earned all this with your own skills? With your pathetic ability, you think you could become a Five-Time Champion if I hadn't arranged for people to lose on purpose? Pah! You'd struggle to win even a consolation prize!"

He jabbed Kruzer's head with a finger, shouting in his harsh, quacking voice:

"Now think carefully about why I made you a Five-Time Champion! Did you think I was doing a good deed? Do you take me for that damned old hag at the Orphanage, handing out charity?"

"B-Boss?" Kruzer began to stammer. "What are you saying? Why did you... why did you arrange all this for me?"

Kruzer's eyes were filled with confusion and fear of the unknown!

Scott patted Kruzer's face and said:

"You've been at our Fight Club for a long time. You never achieved much before, but you must have heard of that gentleman."

Kruzer's eyes instantly widened in disbelief.

"That gentleman" was the nickname of a mysterious fighter at the Fight Club. Kruzer had never seen him personally, but he had heard that the gentleman specifically hunted champion fighters.

No one knew where the gentleman came from, but whenever he appeared in the ring, he invariably beat the club's most famous fighter to death!

And right now, the most famous fighter was Kruzer himself!

Kruzer felt his voice turn hoarse:

"Boss, I... I don't want to fight anymore. I'll withdraw today. I can even give up my title as Five-Time Champion."

"What are you thinking? Withdrawing now? Are you trying to get both of us killed?" Scott cursed. "Do you know who that gentleman is? He's an important man from the Upper District! He could crush ants like us with a flick of his finger!"

He seized Kruzer by the collar and snarled:

"What did you think I trained you for? To send you to your death! His guards have the place surrounded right now. You won't make it a single step outside!"

After a pause, he enunciated every word:

"In that ring, you're only allowed to lose. You're not allowed to win!"

"But he'll beat me to death!" Kruzer said in anguish.

Only now did he understand that every gift fate offered already had its price marked!

"You die, or you and your family die together. Pick one." Scott's lone eye gleamed darkly. "Kruzer, I know where you live. Do you really think you can escape?"

Then he smiled, patted Kruzer's face, and said cheerfully:

"Don't worry. You won't die for nothing. I'll set aside some money for you from today's ticket sales. Your kid's still very young, right? Your family needs money right now. With that money, your wife can at least get by until she remarries, and your kid won't starve to death. Haha, what can I say? I'm merciful. I just can't bear to see families destroyed."

Kruzer opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say a single word. He bowed his head heavily.