Chapter 42
Chenxing Empire, King District.
Ink sttered across the sky, as night chased away the waning moon.
Old but orderly buildings looked like toy models made from the same mold, neatly arranged together. From the heavens above, it resembled a prank by the gods.
In the streets running between the buildings, sewage flowed freely, and pedestrians hurried by with numb and cold expressions. In street corners, people furtively traded some kind of stimnt. At intersections, heavy motorcycles roared past, sshing dirty water onto pedestrians’ trouser legs, followed by shouts, curses, and yells.
Then, a burst of intense gunfire drowned out everything else.
Hearing the gunshots, no one cried out, no one wept, no one ran around shouting. They routinely took temporary shelter in the nearest building – perhaps a convenience store, their own home, or maybe a bar or hotel.
When everything calmed down, they emerged as if nothing had happened, continuing what they were doing before.
Hurried pedestrians continued rushing home; convenience store owners counting the day’s earnings resumed tallying ounts; strangers who hadpleted their transactions left without looking back, each with bulging wallets and stimnts, only to be dragged away shortly after; in the depths of unlit alleys, young couples disturbed by gunfire continued their passionate kisses…The world remained as it always had been.
In the King District, such urrences weremonce. Every few days, nameless bodies would be found in dark corners, possibly due to territorial disputes, a wrong word spoken, a few fragrant imperial banknotes, or even just a loaf of bread…These executioners, who exchanged fire in the night, piercing others’ bodies with cold bullets and reaping lives as if they were mere weeds, might return home to be obedient sons, simple husbands, or reliable fathers. Of course, they might also be even more terrible abusers.
Everyone had grown ustomed to such role changes.
This was the way of survival in the King District.
It had been this way for generations.
Since everyone had long grown ustomed to the environment here, naturally, no one noticed that –
Over the past month or so, the gunfire had be more frequent and orderly than before;
The conflicts that used to erupt anytime, anywhere now seemed to concentrate in the deep night or at certain special times, as if by agreement;
The addicts who were once seen everywhere had vanished without a trace;
Gang leaders and arms dealers who used to be at odds now frequented the same ces, as if some authoritypelled them to converge;
As for those excluded from this circle, with each round of nighttime gunfire, they were gradually eliminated, devoured, and consumed by this new small group.
It was as if an invisible hand controlled everyone, establishing a brand new order within this seemingly chaotic disorder, and setting up a new set of rules.
“Sigh…”
Josiah exhaled a smoke ring filled with the scent of blood and gunpowder, tossed his cheap cigarette to the ground, and crushed it under his foot before cing his hand on the doorknob in front of him.
As the leader of “Cleaners,” one of thergest gangs in the King District, a man who specialized in doing dirty work for the upper-ss elites – in fact, under the indulgence of the big shots in the Chenxing Empire, there were many like him in the King District, all mere tools in the hands of the powerful – few would believe he would live in such an ordinary, dpidated, and inconspicuous old house.
Those who tried to follow him and capture his weaknesses and vulnerabilities would always be confused by his careful movements and various tricks. No one had been fortunate enough to see his residence.
But Josiah liked it here.
Every night, when he saw the lights on in this house and opened the door to receive hugs from his wife and daughter, all his fatigue would vanish, reced by a sense ofplete satisfaction.
This was what he would fight to protect at all costs.
The cruelty of taking others’ lives disappeared from him, and Josiah’s face showed a tender smile.
He opened the front door and walked in.
“Thud—!”
As he pushed the door open, a sound rang out, as if someone had heavily pressed a piano key, and music poured forth.
Low, elegant, gentle, sacred… like a hymn in a church, a holy song at a wedding. The night seemed to turn into dawn, with golden morning light piercing through the clouds, falling into the room. Angels descended to earth amid the divine music.
Josiah’s face broke into a delighted smile.
He knew his wife loved the piano and had even bought her one after they married, which she cherished, but he never knew her skills had improved to this level…
“p p p!”
“Yay, yay!”
His daughter’s childish cheers rang out in the living room. She excitedly pped her hands, grabbed a bouquet of roses from the table, and ran towards the wall where the piano was, eagerly presenting the flowers to the performer. Her little face was flushed with excitement.
So much so that she didn’t even notice her father’s return.
Josiah’s doting gaze followed his daughter’s direction, and the delighted smile on his face slowly froze.
A tall figure slowly rose from the piano, epted the bouquet from the little girl, and gracefully bowed like a performer about to leave the stage.
Moonlight shone in from outside, and the man’s pale golden hair seemed to glow. His deep green eyes were gentler than the moonlight. As he took the flowers, one hand held the little girl’s hand, performing a no-contact hand kiss.
“Thank you, dear little miss~”
The little girl smiled even more happily.
The moment the man reached out to hold the little girl’s hand, Josiah’s pupils suddenly revealed undisguisable panic, anger, and fear, as if he had seen the kiss of a venomous snake!
He stood frozen, not daring to breathe.
As if the slightest carelessness would startle the snake before him, sending his daughter’s young life to its doom under the snake’s kiss.
Seeming to notice his gaze, the man in the moonlight looked up at him, slowly curling his lips into an arc, as exquisite and perfect as a doll in a shop window,cking warmth.
The thick night spread behind him, his shadowpletely enveloping the little girl in front of him, yet it seemed to envelop the entire house, including Josiah himself, plunging everything into a deep, viscous, terrifying shadow.
“Joe, you’re back!”
His wife’s delighted voice sounded behind Josiah, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.
She came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, cing steaming dishes on the table. “Perfect timing. Mr. K came to visit today, so I prepared a hearty dinner for you all!”
Saying this, she smiled at the man by the window, “Mr. K, I apologize for not being able to properly entertain you. I hope this little one didn’t cause you any trouble.”
“Not at all. The little miss is very charming.”
The little girl pouted angrily, then raised her head again at hispliment.
The tall man and the small child walked past Josiah, who stood frozen like a statue in the living room, and headed to the dining table to sit down.
The hostess nced at her husband, who was standing still like a sculpture, and called out in dissatisfaction, “Joe, what are you doing standing there? It’s so rude!”
The man called Mr. K smiled and said, “No, I should be the one apologizing for visiting without the host’s permission…Though, I thought Josiah and I had developed quite a deep friendship during this time.”
As he said this, he let out a soft sigh.
“No!” Josiah finally reacted, realizing his rudeness, and quickly forced a smile, “I’m just… I’m just too surprised! I never expected you to visit, it’s such a pleasant surprise!”
He rambled a bit, but moved quickly, almost rushing to the dining table. Without thinking, he sat down next to K before the three could be seated, subtly separating him from his wife and daughter on either side.
The dinner was filled with joy and warmth.
The hostess was very enthusiastic about this elegant, gentle, and charming guest who had an upper-ss air so different from the King District. Compared to her husband’s former unsavory friends, the difference was like night and day.
Therefore, when this guest came to visit, she brought out her best manners, even generously lending out her precious piano that she usually treasured.
This woman, who grew up in the King District, could tell at a nce with her intelligence and acumen that such a distinguished guest, far above their current social ss, might be the only chance in their lifetime to associate with someone of such high status. It could also be their family’s opportunity to escape the King District!
She couldn’t allow her daughter to spend her whole life in this ce like she had, either ending up as a factory worker, a streetwalker, or gambling on finding a reliable man to marry when she came of age – she couldn’t allow it!
Now it seemed that this Mr. K had a rare good nature, apparently quite appreciative of her husband and also had a good impression of their daughter… Her smile became even warmer.
The little girl beside her obviously liked this guest as well.
Perhaps the only one not enthusiastic enough was Josiah himself. He seemed overly nervous.
Thinking this must truly be a guest of noble status, the hostess nced at her useless husband a few times, feeling she had to make up for his part as well.
Amid the enthusiastic hospitality of mother and daughter, K responded with ease. Even faced with the little girl’s innocent childish words, he could reply with gentle humor, keeping the dining table filled withughter and a very harmonious atmosphere.
Throughout this, Josiah, who remained tense, seemed out of ce. His wife had frowned at him several times, and a pair of gentle, concerned deep green eyes asionally fell on him, forcing him to squeeze out a smile.
When the enjoyable dinner finally ended, Josiah quickly made an excuse about having something to discuss and sent his wife and daughter back to their rooms. He locked the door and angrily walked towards the living room.
All the fear, worry, panic, and anger that had umted throughout the evening seemed to explode at this moment.
<i>— He couldn’t tolerate anyone threatening his family!</i>
<i>— Even if, even if that person was a devil!</i>
A figure was sitting on the sofa, with its back to him.
The man’s light golden shoulder-length hair was draped over his shoulders. His long legs were crossed, and he was casually ying with a rose— a gift from a little girl.
Seeing this scene, Josiah’s entire aura deted like a punctured balloon.
His anger-clouded mind suddenly cleared.
<i>—How could I forget, this is an absolute devil!</i>
In just over a month, how many people in the King District lost their lives silently because of this devil in front of him? They fell into trash cans, into stinking gutters, more worthless than stray dogs…
As one of the chosen executors, he survived by timely surrendering and bing apdog. He knew better than anyone else.
Their lives, the treasures in their hearts more precious than life itself, and those secrets that, if leaked, would bring great trouble to their families, were now all in the hands of this devil.
<i>As for resistance? Ambush?</i>
Anyone who had seen this person appear and disappear like a ghost, who had seen the fate of those who resisted or ambushed, would not entertain such foolish thoughts.
His feet felt glued to the spot as he stood there in silence for a long time, his chest heaving violently.
Then, he slowly walked to the other side of the sofa, as if enveloped by the shadow that covered the entire room.
He bowed his head respectfully. “Mr. K, please give your orders.”
……
In a distant country, a pen was swiftly writing.
<i>[…After some unknownmunication and probing, K reached an undisclosed agreement with the president of the Shadow Council. He then left the now boring Yuanyang City and came to this, to another country across the ocean.]</i>
<i>[He quickly found a ce that matched his aesthetic and decided to replenish some ammunition for his weapons.]</i>
<i>[…Well-versed in human weaknesses and unmatched in understanding human nature, the Puppet Master, who controlled the Shadow Council’s intelligencework, provided significant help in this process. Thispensated for K’sck of patience and tendency to act impulsively and passionately.]</i>
<i>[The entire King District became his hunting ground.]</i>
<i>[K’s powerful execution ability and his cold heart, unbound by any moralws, ensured the smooth implementation of the n, allowing the Puppet Master to receive his due reward.]</i>
<i>[The Shadow Council’s influence is expanding…]</i>
<i>[Losing one Dawn City, there will always be another Dawn City.]</i>
<i>[—This country is just one of the choices.]</i><hr>
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