Rumors X Barbed remarks X Settling every score

Word spread faster than Jiang Ye had expected.

By the time Iron Wall and his men carried the last crate of loot back to camp, two groups of Shattered Eye's men had already returned.

The first group brought back news from the scrapyard on the eastern side of District 13.

A few small gangs were packing up their belongings and preparing to leave. The second group brought news from farther afield.

"People over in Central City are talking."

Shattered Eye knelt on one knee before Jiang Ye, the campfire reflected in his pale eyes.

"They say the Rust Bone Gang got a twelve-year-old leader who swallowed up the Shattered Iron Group and the Gray Rat Squad overnight."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, then added another sentence.

"They're also saying word is spreading everywhere that things have changed in District 13."

Jiang Ye listened without rushing to respond.

He sat against the wall of a shipping container. The wound on his shoulder had been bandaged again, Toad's mucus membrane replaced with a layer of clean scrap cloth. The bleeding had noticeably slowed.

Iron Wall stood nearby, crushing the old cigarette in his hand and tossing it to the ground. He kept his voice low.

"Some people say there's an elder backing you, boss."

"Without an elder's support, you couldn't have turned things around in District 13 so quickly."

Shattered Eye frowned and instinctively glanced at Jiang Ye, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Faced with these rumors, Jiang Ye waved a hand.

"Let them guess."

He glanced at the shadow lying quietly at his feet.

He had recalled Toad, while Divine Dog: Totality and Rabbit Escape had also returned to the depths of his shadow. Three silhouettes lay motionless in the darkness.

"The more they guess, the less sure they'll be of what we're capable of."

Jiang Ye looked away and stood up straight.

The goods were still being moved, and he needed to assign people to take inventory and redistribute the living quarters. More importantly, someone needed to keep an eye on the thirty-odd surrendered fighters who had just joined them.

But he had barely taken two steps when Shattered Eye spoke again.

"There's one more thing."

Jiang Ye stopped and turned his head.

"What is it?"

"People in the Fifth District are talking too."

Shattered Eye looked up, the firelight flickering faintly in his pale eyes.

"Someone said the Daw-"

"Dawn Society."

Jiang Ye finished for him, his tone even.

Shattered Eye pressed his lips together for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, the Dawn Society."

"Someone over there connected Tie Liao's death to the new power in District 13. They say Tie Liao was the head of the Shattered Iron Group in name, but he actually worked for the Dawn Society."

"They also said..."

He hesitated, then continued.

"They also said that now Tie Liao is dead, there's no way the Dawn Society won't make a move."

Jiang Ye said nothing, listening quietly.

All of this was within his expectations.

Iron Wall clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking softly.

"Gray Beak mentioned in the report he brought back that Tie Liao was one of Nubia's men."

"If word has already reached the Fifth District, then Nubia definitely knows too."

Jiang Ye looked down at his bandaged shoulder. Dark marks left by Shu Mu's poisoned shrapnel still lingered around the edges of the wound.

He tilted his head slightly, his lips moving as he murmured to himself.

"That works out."

Iron Wall froze for a moment and exchanged a glance with Shattered Eye.

Neither of them dared respond.

"Let's finish what we have to do tonight first."

Jiang Ye turned and walked deeper into the camp.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

Iron Wall and Shattered Eye both dropped to one knee and answered, "Yes."

When Jiang Ye entered the temporary quarters converted from a shipping container, footsteps could still be heard around the edges of the camp.

People were carrying goods, taking inventory, and guarding prisoners.

At that moment, the entire Rust Remains Alliance was in motion.

He lay down with his arms crossed beneath his head, looked up at the yellowed ceiling, and slowly closed his eyes.

That same night.

Fifth District, Dawn Society headquarters.

A gray-white building converted from an old bank stood in the very center of the Fifth District.

Every glass window in the outer walls had been replaced with bulletproof steel plates, leaving only a ring of narrow windows on the second floor that let out a dim yellow light.

The two guards standing before the main entrance wore matching gray-black uniform coats, with a semicircular arc of light embroidered on their shoulder patches.

Third-floor meeting hall.

Two people sat on either side of a long table.

The man on the left was lean, with prominent cheekbones. An old-fashioned telephone sat beside him, and his fingertips tapped rhythmically on the tabletop.

He wore a long, dark blue trench coat with its collar neatly folded. Sitting there, he looked like a length of steel wire pulled taut.

He was Jiliu, one of the three leaders!

The woman on the right leaned back in her chair, far more relaxed than Jiliu, but the fingers resting on the armrests were long and strong, her nails trimmed very short.

She wore a dark gray casual jacket, her hair tied in a neat ponytail. Her features held the sharpness that came only from having seen all kinds of people.

She too was one of the three leaders: Yejian!

The chair at the center of the long table stood empty.

When the door was pushed open, they both turned their heads.

Nubia strode in, the hem of his black coat whipping up a gust as the bulletproof steel door slammed shut with a bang.

He walked to the chair in the center but did not sit. Instead, he planted both hands on the table and leaned forward slightly.

The light shone down from above, casting a dark shadow across the tabletop.

"Speak."

His voice was quiet and very deep.

"The news from District 13."

Jiliu's fingers stopped on the tabletop, and one fingertip pressed down lightly.

He raised his eyes to Nubia, a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. Though small, it was particularly glaring to Nubia.

"I hear a drifter unified District 13."

"The Shattered Iron Group and the Gray Rat Squad were wiped out. Their people either died or surrendered, and all their territory was swallowed up."

He paused, then added pointedly.

"What was your standard-bearer called again?"

"Tie Liao?"

"If I remember correctly, I think he was among them too."

At those words, Nubia's expression darkened for a moment.

Yejian leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs the other way, her tone even more casual than Jiliu's.

"Wasn't Tie Liao one of your men, Nubia?"

"I remember you saying that once he established himself in District 13, you'd promote him to chief standard-bearer."

She tilted her head, her sharp eyes narrowing slightly in the light.

"A drifter... killed your man, stole your territory, and cut off your vote while he was at it."

"Can you swallow that?"

Nubia's chest rose and fell uncontrollably.

His knuckles cracked sharply.

Jiliu glanced at Yejian, then back at Nubia. The curve at the corner of his mouth remained, but his voice softened somewhat.

"We're not making snide remarks."

"We're just reminding you that with Tie Liao dead, your connection to District 13 is cut off."

"You have one less vote, but our decision-making process still has to keep going."

"How are you going to make up for it?"

Faced with the question, Nubia slowly straightened.

He stood at the head of the long table, his back to the dim yellow light filtering through the row of narrow windows. Shadows concealed most of his expression, but something in his eyes was pressing to break free.

"Tie Liao was my man."

His voice was steady, but beneath that steadiness lay a tension ready to snap at any moment.

"He was killed, my plans were cut short, and you two are watching me..."

He glanced at Jiliu, then at Yejian.

"Watching me make a fool of myself."

Jiliu did not deny it.

He merely withdrew the hand that had been tapping the table and folded it over the other in front of his stomach.

Yejian said nothing either, but the faint curve at the corner of her mouth said it all.

Watching the two of them, Nubia took a deep breath, turned, and headed for the door.

The hem of his black coat swept through a hard, cold arc as he turned.

He paused at the door without looking back.

"My men will set out before dawn."

"That drifter..."

His voice turned utterly cold, chilling to the bone.

"I want him to come to the Fifth District and see me in person."

"To confess his guilt and beg for my forgiveness on his knees."

"Otherwise..."

His fingers pressed against the doorframe with such force that he nearly squeezed a deep imprint into it.

"He can't withstand the Dawn Society's wrath!"

With a loud bang, the door shut behind him.

The meeting hall fell silent for a few seconds.

Jiliu unfolded his fingers, picked up the old-fashioned telephone on the table, and dialed a number.

When he put the receiver to his ear, he spoke in a low voice.

"He's angry."

Yejian straightened in her chair and smoothed back her tightly bound ponytail.

"Tie Liao is dead. Of course he's angry."

She stood up and brushed nonexistent dust from the hem of her jacket.

"But I do wonder... will that drifter actually come?"

Jiliu hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

"If he comes, he dies."

"If he doesn't..."

He tilted his head and spoke without a care.

"He dies anyway."

"After all, Nubia... is famous for settling every score!"