A-Wu X Identity X Revenge Plan

Darkness fell completely, and the moon climbed into the sky. For some reason, a dark red shadow veiled it tonight.

"Ah, it looks like Kerien isn't coming."

Wennide's regretful voice echoed through the abandoned courtyard.

He chuckled and spoke, enunciating each word. "In that case, strike his name from the rolls."

The bosses' faces changed drastically.

They dimly sensed that it wasn't just the sky that had changed; the times had changed too.

"Tomorrow, please come with me to the East District, everyone."

Wennide addressed the bosses, who had been looking down their noses at him only a few hours ago. His tone left no room for refusal. "If you have any objections, you can raise them now."

Whatever the bosses thought, they all responded with silence.

Wennide gave another sinister chuckle.

Just look at the expressions on their faces! The fear, resentment, helplessness and resignation in their eyes...

Was this what it felt like to hold power? How intoxicating... He was only a minor hall master now. What if he could climb a little higher, and then a little higher still?

Would he be able to look down on everything, decide who lived and who died, and indulge in or destroy the scenery atop the mountain as he pleased?

Wennide laughed with abandon, his eyes narrowing.

Imitating the vice president that morning, he gave an order in a cool, indifferent voice. "That's settled, then. Everyone, go home and get some rest."

The bosses gazed at him with complicated emotions. Without a word, they obediently turned and left in silence.

After the last figure disappeared from view, Wennide let out a laugh, utterly restrained yet utterly gleeful.

He slowly turned to look at Qi Zhou, who had brought him all this, and asked softly, "Will you come to the East District with us tomorrow?"

Qi Zhou gave no definite answer. "We'll see-oh, right, what's the situation in the East District now?"

Wennide said, "It's the same as before. Elder Eros's people have no heart for fighting, but Elder Tabo can't openly send people to seize it by force either. Neither side has the upper hand."

Stunned by the extraordinary news, Qi Zhou froze. "Eros...?"

Seeing Qi Zhou's reaction, Wennide froze as well. He seemed puzzled that the child knew nothing at all about the surname "Eros."

But then he considered that the child might just be a "freak" who had plenty of fighting strength but had never interacted with people, and had only come out to get the Stock Solution. So he explained:

"Elder Eros's full name is Kadis Eros. About two years ago, he succeeded to the position of West District elder."

"The West District was in terrible turmoil at the time, and it still hasn't recovered. The other elders are interested in the West District and want a share, so they've all been sending people over in secret, keeping it from ever settling down."

Qi Zhou's breath caught.

A-Wu's true identity was revealed.

The child was cunning, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, steady and ruthless in his actions. He knew so much, and someone was protecting him in secret.

But if he had "walked" out of Meteor City's elders' district, none of that was strange at all.

Qi Zhou frowned and pondered. A-Wu had me kill the president, then sent me to find this person to invest in-his real target is the White Eagle Society, or rather, his goal is to have the standing to return to the East District without drawing attention.

He was probably already considering how to use it from the moment he learned I'd blown off Kerien's arm.

At that thought, Qi Zhou once again exclaimed inwardly, How terrifying, the children of Meteor City.

Wennide stood silently beside the thoughtful Qi Zhou, quietly waiting for the child to come back to himself.

Having finished thinking, Qi Zhou looked up at the man standing quietly before him. "I'll decide later whether to go."

"But I wasn't expecting to bring all your men completely to heel in one go." He stared at Wennide. "I'll come find you tomorrow morning, so you don't get killed by one of your subordinates."

Wennide, who had been worried about not getting a definite answer, brightened at once. "Oh, yes, good."

Qi Zhou shrugged. "Then I'm off."

With that, he leaped onto the low wall without waiting for Wennide to react. After circling the area a few times to shake off the tails sent after him, he headed back to the trash mountain.

In the little nest on District Nine's trash mountain, A-Wu, covered in blood, leaned against a sofa he had dragged out of some unknown corner, his eyes closed.

Qi Zhou was still outside when the overpowering smell of blood stunned him. Covering his nose, he said, "What happened to you?!"

"Ah, it's all other people's blood." A-Wu kept his eyes closed. "You're finally back. Give me some water."

"...So I'm your errand boy, huh?"

Qi Zhou spoke irritably. He looked around, picked up a bucket with a piece missing, and returned to the nest, where he began filling it with water. "Wait."

"Oh," A-Wu replied.

Water trickled into the bucket, making a dripping sound.

A-Wu finished training and opened his eyes. "How did things go for you today?"

"Taken care of." Qi Zhou fell silent for a moment, then looked at A-Wu. "What you really want is to go to the East District, right?"

A-Wu was silent for a few seconds, then the corners of his mouth curled up. "You know what I'm after and still dared to come back. I admire your courage."

Qi Zhou rolled his eyes in response and spoke the name he had heard from Wennide that day. "Kadis Eros."

"Can I ask what he is to you?"

Hearing the name Qi Zhou had spoken, A-Wu fell silent for a moment. His smile faded, and his voice turned cold. "He's nothing to me. If you insist, he's my older half-brother."

Qi Zhou nodded. "I see."

"Hey, that's a pretty lukewarm reaction." A-Wu stared at Qi Zhou curiously. "Now that you know who I am, aren't you afraid I'll drag you into trouble?"

"Am I not already in it?" Qi Zhou shrugged.

A-Wu smiled and tilted his head, looking toward the East District as a knife honed to a gleam spun between his fingertips.

"There were three people watching me before, one with Nen and two without. I've killed them all, so it's safe for now."

"But once he goes a while without receiving information about me, the people he sends next won't just be watching me."

A-Wu gripped the knife, its glint vanishing between his fingers as a fleeting killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"'Kill him on the spot if he shows any sign of resisting. If he stays obediently in Meteor City, leave him to live or die on his own'-those were his exact words. So only one of us can live."

"Mm..." Qi Zhou sighed. "That's ruthless."

"But it's not a big problem. We're both people who are going to die soon." Qi Zhou shrugged. "No need to stand on ceremony with each other. Let's just make do together."

A-Wu: "...?"

"Actually, I'm not interested in his position at all." Ignoring Qi Zhou, A-Wu spoke with disdain and resignation. "But he won't let me leave Meteor City. He said, 'If you want to leave, walk out of the T Arena.'"

A-Wu looked at Qi Zhou and asked conversationally, "Tell me, how is a ten-year-old child without Nen supposed to walk out of there?"

"...But you still walked out."

Qi Zhou thought of what A-Wu had said about the T Arena on the first day they met and spoke with emotion.

"Mm-hmm. Interested? Want to hear the details?" A-Wu said. "I don't mind telling you, but what happened was pretty disgusting. Do you want to hear it?"

"Nope, really no need." Qi Zhou hurriedly shook his head.

He withdrew his hand and kicked the bucket toward A-Wu. "Here, the water you wanted."

A-Wu stood up, took off his shirt and tossed it into the bucket to soak, revealing countless wounds covering his back and chest.

Qi Zhou glanced at him, then silently turned his head away.

A-Wu never stared at the sorry state Qi Zhou's body was in when an episode struck, so naturally he would not dwell on the injuries A-Wu had suffered either.