The abandoned factory, which was the base of Sewer snakes, was located near the sewer, so the air was not very good.
The air was not good throughout District X, but it was especially worse here.
"Hey, who are you?"
A bald man wearing only worn-out jeans and showing his bare upper body threatened with an old shotgun.
On the naked upper body, the word "Survive" was written.
It didn't seem like a fancy tattoo.
Looking at the man pointing a gun at Oliver, the corpse dolls growled, but Oliver calmed them down quickly, avoiding a problem.
Meanwhile, Joe, who looked at the situation, took a few steps forward and talked to the bald gangster.
"We’re not here to fight. We’re here to meet your leader."
"Why our leader?!"
The bald gangster turned the gun angrily toward Joe.
Oliver did not understand why, but the bald gangster's emotions were unstable.
It was similar to the drug dealers he saw when he was a disciple at the Joseph family.
Anxiety and the resulting state of excitement lowered his fears and encouraged aggression.
"It's because I have something to talk about. I didn't come empty-handed. Don't worry."
"Fu*k worry! Who cares!! How dare you threaten us, the Sewer Snakes in this neighborhood?
At the cry of the enraged bald gangster, other gangsters slowly flocked around.
Six gangsters armed with crossbows, bombs, and cheap pistols took an attacking position on top of a container near the factory, while eight gangsters armed with trench clubs, blackjacks and shotguns gathered near Oliver's party.
Owen raised the iron club bewildered by the sight, while Sam put his hand on his favorite pistol, but Joe stopped them.
"Uh, I'm not here to fight……. I'm just here to talk."
It was then.
"Huh? Knuckle Joe and Twin Pistol Sam?"
The man, who appeared to be the head of the gatekeepers, said with a rough and crude machine gun in his hand.
"Hey, what are the nobles living outside doing inside?”
"Are you guys still distinguishing inside and outside?"
"Of course, we are… Did you come here to argue about that?”
Joe didn't look happy, but he didn't care.
"Yes, I'm not here to argue about that….. Can I see your leader?"
"… what's the matter?"
"I'm here to talk about work. I didn't come empty-handed, so don't worry."
Joe showed him the money envelope.
“Ha… If you follow me alone, I'll guide you to the leader. Why did you bring so many?”
The gangster looked at the group behind Joe and said.
And at that moment, Oliver took a step forward and asked.
"I'm sorry, but can I come in with Joe?”
"…who are you? I've never seen you here before."
The gangster stared at Oliver and asked.
"Hello, my name is Dave. I work with Joe. I'm sorry, but can I meet the leader along with Joe? I also want to talk to him in person."
"Hahahahahahahahah…”
The gangster laughed.
Soon, all the subordinates laughed along.
However, the laughter stopped after a while, and at the same time, the gangster aimed a gun at Oliver's forehead.
"A basta*d I've never seen before dares to meet…."
"Kikikikiki!"
Second, who entered the body of the corpse doll [Sniper], made a loud noise and aimed the guns.
It aimed two sawed-off shotguns at the gatekeeper head gangster and raised the guns in six arms on its back and sides, and aimed not only at nearby gangsters but also at gangsters on containers far away.
CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK
Soon, the sound of the guns being loaded echoed throughout the place.
The posture looked clumsy because of the numerous arms, but those who made living with violence could see how accurate the aim was.
The gangster, on whom the two sawed-off shotguns were pointed, said immediately.
"Umm…let's talk."
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Though unintentional, Second's timely intervention persuaded the gangsters to allow Oliver and Joe to enter the factory.
For security reasons, the rest had to wait outside, but that alone was not so bad.
"Um…"
Oliver and Joe went inside after passing the exterior of the factory, which was filled with cement-filled drums, barbed wire, huge wooden boxes, and containers.
There were quite as many people inside as outside the building.
About 20 to 30 people?
More than Murphy's Kimbell family, even though they don't look very rich.
"There are a lot of people."
Oliver whispered to Joe.
Joe replied kindly, even though he was dumbfounded.
"Most of the people here would gladly become a gangster if they were given food and a place to stay."
"Oh, I see…..”
There were actually a lot of gangsters in the factory, but the quality didn't look that high.
Most of them were skinny as if they were starving.
They felt similar to the gangsters Oliver faced on Assistant Professor Herbert job in the past.
‘I don't think there are only people like that.'
CLING CLANG CLING CLANG
With the sound of a chain, a person who looked somewhat different from others popped out and threatened Oliver and Joe.
Fortunately, there was no problem with the huge chain around his neck and limbs, but he still gave off a threatening atmosphere.
Despite his bent posture, he easily exceeded 2 meters in height, and his muscles were quite developed, giving off the same pressure as a beast even though he was a human.
Above all, what stood out the most was a protruding forehead, a deformed jaw, and fangs that rose above it, and it felt like the body would be torn to pieces if bitten by them once.
He growled at Oliver, blazing with fear, anxiety, and rage.
The gangster, who was guiding the way, calmed down his frightened chest and shouted.
"Hey, what the fu*k! I brought guests. Are you not managing this properly?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry… Hey, sit down, sit down you fu*king dog."
"Kurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”
The big-jawed man threatened the fat gangster who ordered him with a croaking sound.
The fat gangster flinched in a cold sweat because of the size, but that was only for a while.
Other gangsters near him soon joined in and overpowered the big-jawed man.
"Shit! Bring the pole! A pole! A fu*king electric shock rod!"
"Wait! Wait! I'll bring it now!"
"The hell, how can he be this fierce….. We've starved him for two days, and he has this much power."
"That's good! If Leader succeeds in taming him, no one can attack us around here anymore!"
Oliver looked at the figure and thought about where he had seen a similar person before, and soon remembered.
It was when he first met Joe, he was similar to a man named Bigjaw who fought as a team with Joe.
He was a member of the fighter crew and was said to be a mutant.
When Oliver tried to talk about this, he saw Joe spewing sad emotions.
He looked at the scene where the person who looked like a Bigjaw was subdued and beaten.
It even felt like he wanted to run at this moment and try to stop them if he could.
"Well, I'm sorry. I'll show you the way."
Oliver and Joe walked again according to the guide gangster.
After coming in front of a staircase the guide gangster stopped.
It seemed like there was an office above the stairs.
The gangster who guided them said something to the two guards guarding the stairs.
Unlike other gangsters, the two guards wore masks, and their bodies were also incredibly muscular– more than Joe's.
There was even an artificial smell such as medicine and drugs spewing out from them.
They were so different from other members of the organization, but they had one thing in common.
The phrase [Survive] was written on the body parts such as the chest, head, and forearm.
‘What does that mean?’
After a while, the conversation ended, and the gangster approached and said.
"It’s good. Now follow these people."
At those words, one of the masked guards lifted his head, while carrying a lump of iron on his shoulder, which Oliver did not know was an ax or a knife.
It felt like he was asking them to follow him.
Tung! Tung! Tung!
They climbed the stairs that resonated with every step and went to the office installed on the second floor of the factory.
"Come in."
As soon as they arrived at the door, a voice was heard from beyond the door.
The masked guard opened the door and shook his head as if saying to enter.
When Oliver and Joe enter the office, they saw a dirty office with an unpleasant smell and a man.
Oil-filled curly hair, messy shaved short beard, prominent cheekbones, deeply wrinkled cheeks.
But what stood out the most was the thick-rimmed glasses.
The glasses obscured his sly impression by giving him a weak impression.
After a short but long silence, Joe coughed and opened his mouth.
"Are you Guile of the Sewer Snakes?"
"Yes, I am Guile. So, you’re Knuckle Joe.”
"……"
Joe was slightly surprised. It didn't seem like they passed the information, so he wondered how he knew he was Knuckle Joe…..
Guile, the leader of the Sewer Snakes, pointed to Oliver and said.
"And the person who handles the Corpse doll is you….?”
"Yes, it's me."
"That's incredible. Really… To handle such a corpse doll, you should be highly skilled. Do you have a name?"
"It's Dave."
"Dave? …Oh, you mean Dave, the one who is making his name known in District T these days?"
"Do you know me?"
"Hahaha! Living in a place like this doesn't deafen your ears. If you don't have the strength, you should at least be good at seeing things. Hahaha. Anyway, nice to meet you. It's an honor to meet an outstanding Warlock."
"Mr. Guile, you also seem to be a great Warlock, aren't you?”
Joe flinched as if he didn't know.
"Hahaha. Thank you for the compliment. However, I’m just a third-rate Warlock who runs a small gang in a filthy neighborhood."
Oliver tapped his face as if pointing to the guard's mask.
"It was pretty sophisticated for a third-rate, don’t you think so?”
At that moment, Guile's sly smile stopped. Along with that, the sly atmosphere hidden by the glasses got revealed even more.
It seemed that it was not just luck that he survived inside District X.
"Oh… you have good eyes.”
"It’s just a guess."
"Hahaha. That's what talent is. The haves and the have-nots are completely different in value. I envy you."
Guile smiled slickly again, but once the mask came off, it didn't seem like just a silly laugh.
Clap!
Guile clapped his hands.
"Well, then, since we've said enough greetings, shall we talk about work? I heard you had something to talk about.”
"Uh, can we get some customer information?"
Joe took out the money envelope along with those words.
It was an envelope with 5 million.
"Looking at the thickness, I think it's 5 million. It's a lot of money. Especially in District X….. Are you looking for the Kell rebels?”
"……!"
Joe was surprised once again.
Guile seemed to know quite a lot, unlike his stupid and lazy appearance.
But Joe asked back without showing any agitation.
"From what I know, I guess you're hiding them.”
"What do you mean I’m hiding them? All I did was advise them to hide somewhere, get paid, and run errands."
"Well, can you tell us where it is?”
"Well… I can't tell you. After all, trust is the basis for this business."
"How much more do you want?”
"You misunderstood what I meant. It's about trust… If there is a rumor that we handed over the customers, what do you think will happen in the future?"
It wasn't wrong, but Joe didn't just back down, he continued to pressure Guile.
At the same time, he thought of other ways, but Guile opened his mouth as if he had a better idea.
"But there is an exception."
"Exception?"
"Yes. The customers paid a lot of money in payment, but the hiding period became longer than what they paid for, so now they’re in debt. They said that they will pay back by contacting their colleague soon, but this is not certain."
"Not certain?”
Oliver asked reflexively.
"Yes, this is kind of common in this business. They might have the money but won’t pay it and extend the date as long as possible, and then run away. We can't even call the police, so good gangsters like us are bound to suffer….. Today's dawn is the promised day, and if they run away before then, I will hand over the information. Then, I didn't betray the customer, and you can get the information you want, how about it?"
Hearing the plan, Joe asked.
"How will you tell us when they run away?”
"We have our own way to do that, so don't worry…..”
"…what if they pay you?"
"Then, it's a bit difficult to tell. It's kind of hard to sell customers who have paid for it… But don't worry. For some reason, it looks like they won't pay and bounce.”
"How do you know?”
"I just know."
Joe and Guile glared at each other, then Joe tossed the envelope with the money.
Guile implicitly agreed that the contract was concluded by taking the money envelope.
Oliver followed Joe out of the office, but before leaving he stopped and asked Guile a question.
"Can I ask you something?”
"What is it?"
"What does Survive mean? It was engraved on the bodies of all the employees here."
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just like our doctrine. To survive. It's a basic need for life. We need something to believe in to live in a place like this."
(To be Continued)
OR
$5/month5 chap ahead$15/month9 chap ahead$30/month15 chap ahead$45/monthAll advance chap + 7 chap/week
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