On the streets of Boulder Town, a purple-haired girl ran barefoot at full speed.
The stone paving was as cold as ice, freezing her feet until they were almost numb.
Shards of broken bottles cut into her feet, leaving them slick with blood, but she never slowed down.
She ran straight toward Boulder Town's Public Security Office!
Only one thought filled her mind: Find Oleg, find Oleg, find Oleg!
Only Oleg could save Chu Mu.
Otherwise, he would be beaten to death...
Tears of regret streamed down the girl's cheeks. The cold wind swept away her sorrow, turning it into glittering ice crystals that shattered into dust against the paving stones.
At last, she pushed open the door of the Public Security Office and shouted with every ounce of strength she had left:
"Uncle Oleg, save Chu Mu!"
Oleg was still brooding over what had happened at the mine that noon. He had never expected to hear Chu Mu's name again that evening.
And from Seele, no less.
The girl with deep blue hair was an old acquaintance of his, the Guard Captain.
Like Chu Mu, Seele was a restless little thing. Rather than stay at the Orphanage, she wandered the streets every day, only occasionally stopping at its entrance to ask for a drink of water.
Oleg could not understand it. These children were still so young. Why did they all force themselves to act like adults?
Perhaps, as Chu Mu had said, their childhoods had been painful from the start.
Remembering Chu Mu's expression as he said those words, Oleg felt those calm eyes pierce through time and space to stab at his heart once more.
"What happened to Chu Mu?" Oleg took down the equipment hanging on the wall. "Where is he now? At the Great Dump, or did he go back to the mine?"
As far as he could tell, Chu Mu had most likely run into danger in one of those two places.
"At Scott's Fight Club!" Seele tugged hard at Oleg's sleeve, her voice panicked and choked with sobs. "Scott's going to kill him! Uncle, please hurry! Scott's going to beat him to death!"
"The Fight Club? Why did he go there? Why would Scott attack a child?" Oleg's head swam with questions, but he did not waste a moment responding to Seele's plea.
Other adults might have dismissed what these children said. But Oleg knew that the Underworld's street children would never come to him for help unless something terrible had happened and they had no other choice.
"I'll take her there first. You lot, get your equipment on and follow us!" Oleg ordered his subordinates.
"Yes, sir!" His subordinates instantly dropped their relaxed, lazy attitudes.
Seeing this, Seele immediately ran to the door, not daring to waste a second.
"Wait a moment, little girl!" Oleg glanced at Seele's feet, covered in blood and grime, then silently crouched down and lifted her onto his shoulder.
Once that was done, Oleg strode out the door and said gravely:
"Tell me everything that happened!"
"Kill him! Kill him! Beat that little bastard to death!"
Inside the Fight Club, Scott sat in a chair, shouting incessantly.
The resident doctor was bandaging his wounds beside him. Alcohol flooded his empty eye socket, making him grimace and hiss in pain, while the fury inside him burned even hotter!
To cover Seele's escape, Chu Mu had chosen to stay behind and hold off the thugs.
But how could a child possibly be a match for those grown men?
They were more than two or three times his size!
Once they recovered their wits, they knocked him down almost instantly.
It became a one-sided beating!
One thug still had a conscience and seemed unwilling to attack a child. After all, his own child was about the same age.
The thug looked at Scott and pleaded on Chu Mu's behalf:
"Boss, he's just a kid. He doesn't know any better. Are we really going to beat him to death?"
"Killing him would be letting him off easy! He crushed my eyeball under his foot! I'm going to kill that brat!" Scott grew hysterical, his anger overwhelming his reason.
"But he's a child from the Orphanage. If the Old Director comes looking..." The thug looked hesitant, seemingly hoping to awaken Scott's conscience by invoking the Old Director.
If anyone had the best reputation in the Underworld, it was surely the selfless Old Director!
Even drifters with no moral standards would give her a heartfelt thumbs-up whenever she was mentioned!
"Heh, that old woman? A few decades ago, when she was still a wealthy family's young lady, I might have been afraid of her. Now she's just a damned old hag from a ruined family. Why would I fear her?" Scott sneered. "So what if he's from the Orphanage? Once he's dead, throw him into the Core Furnace and burn him to ash. If that old hag wants to look for him, let her come to me!"
Hearing this, the thug closed his eyes in anguish and said loudly:
"Boss, this is immoral!"
"Morals? Those damned morals again!" Scott stood up angrily. "That's what my dead wife used to say, and it's what those self-righteous pricks say too! They act like opening a Fight Club makes me some unforgivable monster! But if you damned bastards didn't want to watch, if you weren't willing to pay for tickets, would my Fight Club still be open?"
At that point, Scott seemed to realize he had said too much. He sat down, looked coldly at the thug, and asked:
"What's your name?"
"I..." The thug seemed to realize what was about to happen, so he took off his boxing gloves. "My name is Kruzer!"
"Don't bother coming back." Scott scoffed. "Heh, I was even planning to put some real effort into training you. I must've been blind."
Hearing that, Kruzer's back bowed a little.
At the sight, Scott wore a satisfied expression and mocked him with relish:
"Get out! You useless mole, get out of this Fight Club!"
With heavy steps, Kruzer walked out through the Fight Club's doors.
Behind him came Scott's ducklike squawking:
"Did the rest of you see that? Disobey me, and your only choice is to pack up and get out! Listen up! Beat that little bastard to death! No knives. Use your fists! Pound him to death nice and slowly, and tonight I'll give each of you ten Winter City Shields as a bonus!"
Hearing that, Kruzer felt the bitterness in his heart deepen.
He left the Fight Club and wandered aimlessly through the streets, one hand tightly gripping the few Winter City Shields in his pocket.
With so little money, how could he face his wife and child back home?
His child was at an age when proper nutrition was essential. He had only taken up fighting at the Fight Club because he had no other choice, and now that livelihood was gone too.
An overwhelming sense of disorientation washed over him. He truly had no idea how to keep going. All he could do was lean helplessly against a wall and cover his eyes with his large, rough hands. Tears soaked into the unhealed wounds on his hands. It hurt. It hurt so much.
Even at his most lost and helpless, this tall, resolute man did not want those around him to see his weakness.
Kruzer could not understand. He truly could not understand-
Why was it so hard to be a good person in this world?
He just couldn't understand!
Before you continue