Chapter 5: New tenants

"Bam bam bam~" Atlas was awoken by a deafening knocking sound. Kicking off his blanket, as well as all his belongings on it, Atlas shot out of his bed and raced towards the door.

Iris tapped onto her watch, listening to every tick. The door opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Atlas appeared by the door.

Iris frowned. "You took three long minutes to open a door. You're giving yourself a bad reputation."

"Chill. Chill..."

Atlas's plain white vest crafted out his lean and muscular body, a lazy smile printed onto his face, increasing his cordial charm. Tucked under the vest was a pendant, its golden outlines barely visible.

Pretty cute guy. Iris thought. But kinda like a goofball too.

In contrast to Atlas's good looks, he wore flashy, pink flowery beach shorts and a Pikachu cartooned sock. Yes, a sock. Specifically the left sock, which was kinda why he was downgraded from good looking to goofball.

His hair was also clumped in an ugly manner, shaped like a poop emoji.

On the other hand, Atlas was also examining the beauty of Iris.

Estimated about 21 to 22 years young, her waves of long mid-night black hair ran down her shoulders. Under her clean black suit, was a white shirt, with the top two buttons unbuttoned, showing a deep mysterious ditch.

"What are you looking at, pervert!" Iris's expression instantly turned ice-cold, with haze literally emitting from her. Throwing a disgusted look at Atlas, who was distracted by the mountains the whole time, she stomped away from the mansion.

"No, please wait!" Atlas caught up to her and pleaded. "Sorry, why don't we talk about the price inside the house."

Throwing a threatening glare at Atlas, Iris jolted her ice-cold face away from Atlas.

"Pretty nice!" Studying the magnificence of inside the mansion, a warm smile couldn't help but to form on Iris's ice-cold face.

"Did you know there's even a pool up stairs?"

"Woah! Really?!" Iris cheered, as if she has found treasure. Realizing she had made a gaffe, her face reddened.

"It's livable." Iris's tone was still cold as ever, but Atlas could easily tell that she was satisfied. "Ok then, since you've made your decision. Let's start discussing the price." Atlas sat down, relaxing on the chair, enjoying the beautiful 'view'.

"Ok then. For such a luxurious mansion, it would be at least 8000RMB a month. And this already considering cheap."

Iris bit her lower lip. She couldn't afford this much money, at least for now.

"Please, can you lower it to 6000RMB a month." Iris gripped lightly onto the corner of Atlas's shirt, shining her adorable eyes.

"Nope." Atlas rejected her, as if immune to her cuteness.

Iris sighed, looking out the window, trying to find way to lower the price. She only has 4000RMB in her card right now.

Noticing a random advertisement outside, a light bulb popped out from the top of her head.

"Waittt a minute. Am I pretty?" Iris pouted her lip towards Atlas. Atlas nodded violently.

"Well then, if I remembered clearly. Don't chicks get half-price."

Damn it, she's good. Atlas rolled his eyes.

"Yeah."

Iris danced as she passed her credit card to Atlas.

[I am absolutely broke now, but that's ok. I'll make it through. They won't find me. New city. New home. New identity.] Iris comforted herself, tightening her grip.

Done unpacking, night has already fallen. Iris selected the room on the second floor, at the most left side of the mansion. She drifted into sleep, not knowing that a chaotic night was just about to begin.

——————

"Thump- thump- thump-"Rapid and heavy footsteps reverberated in the narrow alley.

"Over there. Go!" Suspicious characters wielding knives and spiked bats disrupted the tranquility of chilly night, kicking over garbage cans toppled on the floor.

Repressing the excruciating pain, Hugh rested against a wall center of a T-shaped alley, picking up an old rag to prevent blood from dripping.

Voices shuffled around the corner."Blood trails. He's somewhere near."

"Damn it." Hugh staggered forth, choosing the pathway on the right. Running, a mansion entered his sight.

Going through the limited selections in the refrigerator, Atlas's stomach grumbled.

"Ring!" The bell chimed melodiously, distracting Atlas from hunger. However, his acute senses picked up a metallic taste in the air. He opened the door. A huge figure barged in, falling onto the carpet behind Atlas, tricks of blood seeping through cloth.

"I'm sorry. Kinda in some trouble." Hugh tapped his bald head on the edge of the two meter long carpet, his intimidating build nearly covering it up.

"I can clearly see that." Atlas said."Pretty bad wound you've got there. Pistol blow?"

Surprised, Hugh briefly nodded."Looks like I stumbled into an expert's house. Guess I'm pretty lucky. Anyway, thanks for letting me catch my breath. I need to leave now."

"Sit." Atlas's word gently pinned him down. "You seem like a nice guy. Don't worry. I'll deal with whatever your facing." He grinned. "Like what you said. Lady Luck's with you today."

Concentrated footsteps approached the doorstep. "Who ever is inside, open the door right now!" Indignant voices growled outside."Just kick open the door! They can't do anything about us!"

"Oi, shut up." Altas opened the door once again, but this time, he was playing his mean face. An angry mob gathered along the alley. The elder in front, whom was clearly their leader, took one step closer." Sir, please cooperate. We suspect that you're harboring a fugitive." The mob took a step closer as well, aggressiveness rising.

"You've picked a fight with the wrong person." Altas knitted his thick brows irritatedly, looking down upon the elder, his atmosphere intensifying.

The elder's expression changed. Sensing his drastic coercion, he backed off many steps, even nearly stumbling over grass knots.

One of the punks stomped the ground, pointing a pistol at Atlas. "What the hell you think your doing?" Unlike the punk, the rest of the mob at least had a working brain. The punks seemingly brave action was yet to be revealed as a injudicious move.

Crack. The punk shrieked in agony. His arm dangled like a broken twig. Shockingly,it wasn't the young teen who did it, but their squad leader Darwin, whom was now beside the punk, body trembling with shame and terror.

"I sincerely apologize, Mr—?" Darwin acted like a child who made a mistake, at the same time trying to hook out Atlas's name.

"Sync. Call me Sync. Now get the hell out, I'm trying to sleep here." Atlas murmured." Such inefficient people. With all this time wasted, the guy you've been chasing has probably escaped by now. Shoo!"

Slamming the door shut, Atlas returned to his happy self. Topless, Hugh has detached the bullet from his tissue on his left arm. Centipede-like scars tattooed his body, varying from cuts to bullet wounds, indicating the complications in life that Hugh has gone through. However, only few fading scars were visible on his back.

Atlas praised."Woah! A man who fights face to face with his opponent bravely and never backs down. Impressive. Wait. Wait a minute." Atlas realized that he has contradicted himself. "Weren't you in my house trying to escape?"

"Hey!" Hugh didn't know what expression to make. "I fought heroically out there man."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. The f**king Rents." Mentioning that word, Hugh's tone burned with fury.

"Ok ok, calm down. This is a family friendly mansion my man." Atlas gibbered, relieving the change in the atmosphere. "And what kind of name is Rent?

Hugh gradually calmed down. He ground his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to recall the doleful memory that led to vengeance.

"I was ten back then. My parents were Warriors. I had a little brother too, Owen." A little smile formed on Hugh. "We always played in our family's Warrior Gym, training with my father's disciples. However..." Just as Altas begun to bear compassion for Hugh's saudade for his family, the emotions in the room had a sudden elevation. "Those ungrateful animals! Acting like they were disgusted about us sharing the Warrior knowledge to others. They were after the complete heritage!" Hugh quivered at the spot, vision hazy, as if he has traveled back in time, trapped in that scenario and unable to snap out.

Flame scorching. Friends and foes perishing under one another and the fire. Shoutings of confusion and chaos permeating the gym. Burnt wooden pillars collapsing. An axe driving through fathers chest. Young Hugh wasn't just horrified. He was furious. His father warned him about the incident." Be prepared. One day, you might have to run. Fast. Protect your brother and your mother." He paused." I hope that day will never come." Hugh knew his father well, so he took serious notice. But the day arrived too sudden and too quickly. Only few survived, managing to escape. And sadly, he was the only lineage left in the Kent family.

"I sought revenge after becoming much stronger." Hugh flexed his muscle. "But those dogs were more powerful than I expected. I fled while they kept chase. Managed to kill a Tier 5 intermediate tyro before getting wounded by the Tier 5 expert."

Atlas wooed. He had to admit, it sounded like a pretty glorious record. From what he has detected, Hugh is only a Tier 4 expert. Being able to reverse the situation while battling two intermediates higher ranking than him was really impressive. He made a wonderful choice helping Hugh. Atlas had conceptions of building up forces here, and Hugh was first step to initiating it.

"Let's settle down then. By the way, you're gonna have to pay rent if your staying here. I've got lots of empty rooms. But don't choose the left wing of the mansion on the second floor. It's occupied..."