Alleyway Incident

"Oi, are you still in there? What's your home address?"

"Hehehe…"

Anya replied with some incomprehensible slurs in her giggles while holding onto the wine bottle when Albion asked her. He clicked his tongue in response to her drunken state.

"Tch."

Young people were so troublesome—not that he was in a position to say that, considering what he was like in his past life and also, he was not much older.

"Gimme that," Albion said and snatched the wine bottle from Anya's grasp before taking a swig of it himself to relieve his frustrations.

The mellow taste of the wine rushed down his throat and warmed his stomach before soothing his being shortly after.

'Flavrey Noir.'

He read the name of the wine.

The wine should exist under a different name in his previous life, but he had no idea what it was. It was a type of red wine that cost nearly $300 per bottle. The most expensive wine he tasted in his past life did not even exceed $100.

He was just a poor bum.

Shaking his head, Albion carried the drunk Anya on his back around the unfamiliar streets and asked a person for directions, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find phone chargers?"

Maybe in novels, he should be finding a hotel and hope for something to happen between him and Anya during the night, but no, that is not going to happen.

Man's dirt poor. He did not receive $500 from Mr. Klein, so he would spend it all babysitting his daughter.

The random passerby took a brief moment to study Albion and Anya on his back before the person replied, "I do know a few phone stores, but what type of phone charger are you after exactly, young man?"

"Nothing in particular as long as it charges this piece of brick." Albion showed the dead phone to the middle-aged man he stopped for directions.

The man chortled softly, "Hahaha, a piece of brick, huh? This is quite an old model. You won't find any store selling chargers for this type of phone around here. You will have to go to..."

The man started giving Albion a string of directions to follow before reaching the desired destination to buy his phone charger. After thanking the person, Albion carried Anya and left.

"It's done." The man shortly took out a phone and calmly spoke into it after Albion and Anya disappear from his sight.

…

Sometime later, Albion walked about 800 meters and turned the last corner according to the directions given, leading into a dark and narrow alleyway. He immediately paused his steps with a frown.

"Why did you stop? How about we keep walking inside for a little chat, shall we?" Suggested a 30-year-old-looking male, who suddenly appeared behind Albion, along with ten other rough-looking ruffians of similar age.

Albion furrowed his brows slightly in question of these people. Glancing around, the open streets was not exactly the right place to ask. His brows relaxed shortly after a moment.

"Albion, these guys don't look like good people." Anya timidly whispered into Albion's ear after being jolted awake by a sense of danger.

Albion ignored her warning. It does not take an idiot to guess that.

He glanced at the person that appeared to be the leader of the group and smiled, "Sure, but only for a talk? Or are we also going to play?"

"Hahaha! I like an understanding person. Of course, we will play—play with that pretty lady, that is. As for you, how about we play rough?" Said the ruffian leader with a grin after seeing Albion walk into the dark alleyway willingly.

The ruffian group all followed Albion into the dark alleyway. However, their screams of terror were heard shortly after. They did not hesitate to launch a sneak attack against Albion's back, but they were rudely awakened by the disparity in strength in the next moment.

Poof!

"Sure, I like playing rough. The real question is, do 'you' like playing rough?" Albion said nonchalantly with one of his blood-stained hands pressed against the wall after splattering a ruffian's head on it and single-handedly stunned the group in fear.

It was an instant kill!

"A Hunter!"

The ruffians trembled greatly and turned to flee, but Albion's following words immediately made them freeze on the spot.

"If you all take another step, I will kill you," Albion said calmly before flicking the blood off his hand.

Anya saw the gory scene on Albion's back and paled with unease in her stomach. She wanted to puke, but she held back the urge due to fear. She did not expect Albion would just murder someone in cold blood like that.

The ruffians all dropped to the knees and crawled back Albion's feet before begging, "Boss, w-we are truly sorry if we offended you! We were just following orders. If we knew you were a Hunter, we wouldn't have had the courage to confront you!"

"Who sent you? You're all from the Bloodmoon Gang?"

"B-Bloodmoon Gang? No, no, no. We follow Brother Chen, just a small-time group of thugs living in the slums. We are not good enough to enter the sights of the big Bloodmoon Gang." The ruffian leader groveled at Albion's feet, knowing escape was impossible.

Albion's frown deepened.

"Not the Bloodmoon Gang? Why didn't you say so earlier then? Look, you made me kill a person for nothing." Albion said.

The ruffian leader wanted to cry.

If he knew Albion was such a ruthless person, would they even dare to pick a fight with him? Someone raring to have a go at the Bloodmoon Gang was definitely not someone normal.

"Never mind. Who is Brother Chen? What about the underworld power distribution of the city? Tell me about that also." Albion questioned.

"Brother Chen is one of the four leaders that rule the rural outer regions of Silvercove City. We call ourselves the Chen Gang. The other three are the Yan Gang, Metti Gang, and Declan Gang. The city itself is secretly ruled by the Bloodmoon Gang."

"You…"

"You can just call me Ah Zhen, Boss. Is there anything else you want to know?" Ah Zhen said humbly with his hands rubbing together nervously.

Albion looked down at Ah Zhen and the other ruffians quietly, wondering what to do with them. He could not just go around killing everyone, could he?

"Why is your boss after me?" Albion asked.

He did not seem to offend anyone else, and the Bloodmoon Gang should not know have known about him either. The only suspect left would be… from earlier?

"Boss Chen received a direct payment from a person called Yao Bai and sent us to beat the two of you into vegetables as part of the deal." Ah Zhen explained.

Albion raised an eyebrow.

"Vegetables? You mean vegetative states, huh?" Albion began to muse, "And not just me, but Anya included… It seems we were targeted by that person."

"Alright, I understand." Albion suddenly said.

"Are you going to kill us now, boss?" Ah Zhen asked with a shivering voice. The other ten ruffians also trembled on the ground at the same time.

"Hmm, who do you think is scarier between your Boss Chen and me?" Albion asked with a thoughtful look.

"Y-You are, boss."

Ah Zhen said nervously.

After Albion queried the rest of the ruffians, he received the same answer from all of them. He suddenly clapped his hands and said, "That's good. That simplifies things. I want you to betray your boss and start working for me. What do you guys think?"

The ruffians didn't answer immediately but glanced at each other for a moment and came to a tacit understanding. Only then did they unanimously answered, "We are willing to follow you, boss!"

Who were they kidding? If they refuse, they will probably also die gruesome deaths!

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Ah Zhen asked.

"Nothing for now. Just go back to your Boss Chen and tell him that you completed the task assigned to you."

"Yes, boss."

"Wait."

"Boss?"

Ah Zhen and the other shivered when Albion was not finished with them yet and stopped them from leaving.

"Don't worry. If you follow me obediently, nothing will happen to you. As the saying goes; those that follow me will prosper, and those that oppose me will die. I just want to ask where the damn phone store is."

"Boss, it is just at the other end of the alleyway, on the left…" Ah Zhen answered.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Albion was surprised. It seems the person he asked for directions did not entirely lie to him. He nodded and said, "Alright, I got it. You can leave now."

The group of ruffians was immediately relieved. However, before everyone could leave, a voice suddenly barked at them with a shining torch, "Hold it right there! What are you all doing in this narrow alleyway at this time so suspiciously?!"