On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Frederick.

At that moment, he felt the cold touch of a gun barrel pressed against the back of his head.

And

The young man's voice.

"Alright, now that you've seen the goods and Fredley himself is here, you can lead the way."

"Did you go deliver the goods?"

Chapter 36 is probably about... retrieving what belongs to me, right?

At 10:07 PM, in the southeast corner of the Black Hole settlement, the lair of Kaleva, the largest gang that semi-rules the settlement.

A pickup truck slowly drove in, and was finally stopped by the Kaleva gang members guarding the entrance to what looked like a large industrial area.

The driver rolled down the window and expertly handed out the prepared cigarettes. The gangster on guard naturally took them, pulled one out, lit it, and frowned at the driver.

"Didn't you just come by at noon today? What? You already have new stock?"

"Yes, yes, we're lucky! My supplier caught a few more fish, so I'm sending them over to you right away!"

"Where's the guy in the passenger seat next to you? I've never seen you bring any accomplices before."

"Ah! Him? He is my newly accepted apprentice. I brought him along to learn the ropes, hehe."

The driver spoke haltingly, forcing an unnatural smile onto his face.

He hoped the gangsters across the street would notice something was wrong, but unfortunately, perhaps because it was too dark at night, or perhaps because these gangsters never imagined that anyone would cause trouble for Kaleva in the Black Hole.

The gangsters at the factory gate suddenly burst into laughter, especially the one who had just asked the question, as if he had heard some incredibly funny joke.

"Hey! Seriously? Am I hearing things? Even street cleaners can take on apprentices now?! These days, it seems like anyone can learn anything as long as there's money to be made!"

"Haha, yes," the driver replied with a forced smile.

Usually, the guards would do a token check, but this time they seemed to be amused to the point of stomach pain. They didn't even glance at the back of the pickup truck before waving directly at the driver.

"You cleaners really make a lot of money, it makes me want to try it too. Alright, alright, go in."

"Thank you. Thank you, boss."

The driver bowed and scraped, outwardly pretending to be grateful, but inwardly he was cursing a bunch of idiots. He hesitated to say something, but when the young man in the passenger seat looked over, he quickly rolled up the window and continued driving the pickup truck into the work area.

A few minutes later, the pickup truck finally stopped next to a warehouse.

"Big Brother, this is it. The next step is for me to unload the goods and then go to the manager in front of the warehouse. He will settle my payment based on the price of the goods."

"This warehouse is where they store their goods. If it's high-end merchandise, they'll send it to a deeper location, but... but that's not a place I can go."

The cleaner tried his best to explain to Liao Ji that he didn't know Liao Ji's identity or what he was trying to do, but he was certain that the young man was crazy.

Everyone else wanted to get as far away from Kaleva as possible, but the young man had actually sneaked in on his own initiative. He now wanted to get away as soon as possible and not get involved with the young man.

"Which warehouse is the package you delivered at noon in?" Liao Ji asked abruptly.

"That was a high-end item, and they sent it directly to the place I mentioned earlier, further inside."

At first, the cleaner wondered why the young man was asking this, but soon, when he considered Dr. Frederick's experience, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, because he seemed to understand why the young man had done all this.

"That nun has nothing to do with me. I'm just a middleman, a delivery driver. It's all that guy Fredley's fault, that heartless doctor!"

The man began to back away in fear, trying to absolve himself of responsibility, but when he saw Liao Ji's gaze, which looked at him as if he were already dead, he completely broke down.

"You...you can't...you can't kill me! If I don't get out in half an hour, they'll send people to search! Yes! That's right! Then you'll all be exposed! As long as you let me leave safely, I promise you, I won't say a word to them when I get out!"

The cleaner thought he had a trump card to save his life, but the only answer he received was a piercing pain from behind. When he looked down, he saw a sharp dagger piercing his heart.

Why?

The man died without understanding why these two people weren't afraid of being discovered by Kaleva.

He heard these words from the young man just before he died.

"Half an hour should be enough. Don't worry, no one can escape tonight. Soon, even the gangsters here will be going down to join you."

"You're crazy!"

thump!

The cleaner, spitting blood, collapsed to the ground with his eyes wide open in death.

After dragging his body to a nearby grove, Irene continued to slip into the darkness of night, while Liao Ji carried Frederick's body bag from the pickup truck and headed towards the location the man had pointed out, where the warehouse supervisor was.

Perhaps because it was late, there were only three gangsters in the supervisor's room, including himself. All three were drinking and playing cards to pass the time, and they were all half-drunk. When Liao Ji came in, he didn't even notice his unfamiliar face and thought he was the original cleaner.

This saved Liao Ji a lot of trouble. The girl who emerged from the shadows behind him used a dagger to slit the throats of all three gangsters in the room in just two or three breaths.

After finding the warehouse key on the leader, Liao Ji and Yi Lin entered the so-called "stock" warehouse.

The moment the door was opened, a pungent stench hit him. With the help of the faint moonlight streaming through the window, Liao Ji saw a scene of utter desolation, like that of a concentration camp.

Among these captured survivors were both men and women, all of whom were extremely weak. Many were already delirious and barely clinging to life. The source of the stench was a corpse that had starved to death in a corner of the warehouse—a child who was probably no more than ten years old.

"Let's go." After circling around and not finding Irene's mother, Liao Ji said expressionlessly to the girl behind him who had already clenched her fists.

But anyone familiar with Liao Ji knows that when he has no expression, that's when things are really serious.

Indeed, at this moment, Liao Ji's mind was no longer just about helping Yilin rescue her mother, but about sentencing the Kaleva gang to death.

The Holy Kingdom was established by Styutia, and the Black Hole is part of the Holy Kingdom. In Liao Ji's heart, Styutia is the epitome of purity, kindness, and beauty.

Now, with such a dirty and filthy stain on this land, Liao Ji cannot allow himself to stand idly by. This is not only for Irene, but also for Styutia.

After changing into two sets of gang uniforms found in the management office, Liao Ji and Yi Lin continued walking deeper into the factory area.

Perhaps this is a habit fostered by "certain" games, instilling a stealthy mindset in every berserker.

But this time, they hadn't gone far when, not that they were discovered by others, but rather, in Liao Ji's line of sight, not far ahead, a suspicious-looking gangster appeared, constantly glancing around, with a furtive air about him.

The girl gave Liao Ji a questioning look and made a throat-slitting gesture, but the young man shook his head and then, as if taking the initiative, strode towards her.

Because he didn't conceal his footsteps, the already wary gangster was startled by Liao Ji's approach. Only when Liao Ji got closer did he realize that Liao Ji seemed to be carrying something in his arms, which he quickly put behind his back when Liao Ji approached.

"Hey! What are you doing sneaking around here all by yourself! And what are you hiding behind your back? Take it out now! Or I'll call the police!"

When Liao Ji questioned him sternly and threatened to call for backup, the lone, furtive gangster immediately panicked. He quickly shook his head at Liao Ji and then showed him what he had hidden.

Broken antiques, clay sculptures, copper coins, and rusty copper keys?

Liao Ji frowned as he looked at the junk in the other person's bag, finding it very puzzling.

Meanwhile, the furtive gangster seemed to have come to his senses. He scrutinized Liao Ji's unfamiliar face, frowned, and began to question him:

"Wait! Hold on a minute. Who are you? I've never seen you before!"

"Oh, we're under Lord Simon's command, um... we're newly recruited," Liao Ji replied casually. Simon was the name of the warehouse manager.

Upon hearing that Liao Ji was just an ordinary member, and a new recruit at that, the man opposite him frowned, immediately took back the bag he had shown to Liao Ji, and his attitude towards Liao Ji completely changed.

"You son of a bitch! You scared the hell out of me! Didn't that bastard Simon teach you any manners?!"

"What are you going to do with all this stuff?" Liao Ji ignored the man's curses and asked directly.

"Hey! I'm really unlucky today! I bumped into you two greenhorns! Oh well, I happened to have a lot of goods with me today, you two help me divide some up!"

goods?

Are these also goods?

"What are you waiting for? Take it!"

After distributing the trinkets to Liao Ji and Yilin while grumbling, the man said in a somewhat commanding tone:

"Listen up, newbies. You're in luck. A way to make money is right in front of you. If you do as I say, we can all make a fortune. Now, the first thing is to hurry back to your warehouse, grab any test subject you can find, and remember to hide it well. Don't let them find out. Got it?"

After the man finished speaking, Liao Ji hesitated for a moment, then gave Yilin a look. The girl nodded and immediately turned back, while Liao Ji himself stayed behind to prevent the gangster from escaping.

"Heh, quite clever, not bad, I like it! So, how about it, interested in working for me, Artur, from now on?"

"Okay," Liao Ji replied readily.

Artur: "Uh..."

It probably took less than a minute for Irene to return with the body bag on her shoulder. Artur watched Irene walk briskly and so quickly, and secretly swallowed.

"You're pretty strong, buddy."

"And then? Can you tell me about the plans for the future?"

"Don't rush! Take the body bags and come with me. I'll tell you everything once we're inside the 'factory.'"

And so, under Artur's guidance, Liao Ji and Yilin made their way smoothly to a large factory located deep within the park.

As soon as they approached the factory, Liao Ji and the girl frowned simultaneously, because they both sensed the ominous aura emanating from within the factory.

Moreover, the pollution level is definitely not low; it must be at least around level C. Irene couldn't imagine what kind of terrifying pollution source must be inside such a large factory.

The security at this Turbid Factory was noticeably stronger. Even at this hour, several gangs were still patrolling the area, and a large number of gangs were guarding the factory entrance.

Fortunately, Artur was there, and he had clearly bribed his way through, so the guards didn't question them too much and gave them three crosses as a sign of their safety.

"Take these, make sure you wear them properly, they're lifesavers!" Artur turned and handed the two to Liao Ji, then carefully hung the crosses tightly against his chest.

Liao Ji examined the cross and could sense a faint aura of holy light within it. This was the power of Sciutia, one of the few powers capable of purifying and counteracting calamities.

It now seems that the reason why Kaleva was able to open such a huge and polluting Turbid Factory here, yet not many of its members went berserk and mutated, was probably because these crosses served as "protective suits."

but.

A cross, perhaps?

If it were just a few crosses, it could be somewhat explained as them coming from special channels. But if, as it is now, crosses are treated as consumables, hundreds of crosses might be used every day.

There is absolutely no possibility for gangs to create crosses; only one organization can produce crosses imbued with Styutia's power.

church.

The thought of Styutia's power being used in this way made Liao Ji's gaze towards the factory grow even colder.

After the three of them entered smoothly, Artur, familiar with the place, spotted a corner and led Liao Ji and the other man in. This was a blind spot, and it would be difficult for people in the factory to spot them in the corner.

"Alright, now all we need to do is bring out all the stuff I gave you before. Hopefully, we'll have better luck this time and manage to extract a few good items!"