Tale of the slum

In the middle of a hot wasteland lies O'ruma City. Surrounded by dry dirt and rare vegetation, the landscape is only hospitable to mutated animals and humans that live in the city.

O'ruma City is an enormous city that is encased within a 40-meter wall. It separated the privileged from those who were born unlucky. Outside the thick wall is a structure called "Slum City."

As the name implies, the city is not a part of O'ruma, but rather a lawless zone that leaches off the safety of the O'ruma wall. Life in the slum city comprises degenerates who have no home and thugs.

There's no law and no one to enforce it, so people often come here when they have nowhere to go or are piling on debt and drowning in their own sorrow.

In this ruthless landscape, no one is safe from the harsh reality. The rule of the jungle has been in full force. The weak fear the strong, and the strong bully the weak, even though there's no jungle anymore.

In the slum, we could find a deranged and deformed guy with a single glance. With all this in mind, people usually form an alliance with each other and call themselves "gangs."

However, their safety is still not guaranteed. They still have to fight and survive, just like anyone in the slums. Having gangs is like wearing a mask. It's going to protect you from small germs and viruses, but it won't be sufficient if you get shot in the head.

It is not that uncommon to see a kid walking or begging for food in the streets. One kid is seen walking around looking for his next prey.

Fran is a skilled pickpocket. He uses his skills to steal people's money. He survives day by day with only a cheap nutrient pack.

By no means is this kind of diet healthy, but you can still get by with it. The nutrient pack usually comprises of dust, flour, and the added flavor of our choosing. It's the bare minimum for a meal that keeps one body functional.

His pickpocket career has been going well until lately when his friend got injured really badly from the last pickpocketing operation. Usually, he would steal the pocket with one swoop motion, and his friend would create a distraction to let him get away.

This strategy works most of the time, but sadly, last time they messed up and his friend took one for the team. He's now lying in a cold metal sheet blanket with the highest fever they've ever seen.

Fran could just abandon him, but they always stick through thick and thin together. If he couldn't do it, would he be a good friend?

If people in the slum ever heard this, they would laugh and ridicule him for helping his dying friend. But that's not the point right now. He's alone in this operation, and his target is a high-ranking gang member.

Fran sneakily walks to the target and swipes his wallet with a proficient skill. He quickly walks past him nervously, making a quick turn into a dark alleyway. He lost the gang member. Contrary to the restless Fran, his target is too drunk to even perceive what's happened.

With this success, Fran is more confident in his skills, but most importantly, he can buy some medicine with the money.

"Vero! I got the money and the medicine! "

"T... thank God you're alive."

Seeing his friend succeed makes him happy. Not because of the money, but because his friend is safe. He didn't want to live alone in this cruel world.

"Ha! Do you think I would die that easily? If pickpocketing some poor gangs can get me killed, I won't be a great hunter at that rate! "

"Yeah.. yeah, you can't even get out of this dump."

"I definitely will!"

Seeing his friend in high spirits makes Vero feel happy and jealous at the same time. Contrary to his best friend, he doesn't have his own goal. He even struggles to maintain his current lifestyle and does not have time to think about the future.

Fran got to work with the medicine. It's a white jar that contains white cream. The shop owner says that he just needs to rub the cream in the area where he wants to heal. Fran does just that.

They're surprised by how effective it is. Like a miracle, the gaping wound in Vero's leg from a terrible cut is slowly healing in real-time, albeit very slowly. Both of them are fascinated by the process. Vero lays down for some needed rest while Fran keeps watching, waiting for his friend to recover.

Nightfall Vero and Fran are sleeping in the slums. A metal sheet is used as a blanket. It's better than sleeping bare on the hard concrete ground.

A group of people approaches them.

"Is this the guy's boss?"

"Yes, this is him."

Fran and Vero wake up instantly after hearing the talk. Years in the slum taught the kids to be half asleep so they could evade any danger that came at night. But this time it's not a wild monster or normal thugs.

The group quickly pins the kids down. Vero and Fran tried to resist but to no avail. The gang members were too strong for a weak slum kid to resist.

Fran screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Y... You're here for the money, right!? Just take me and let my friend go!! "

"You don't seem to know what situation you're in, kiddo. You have no right to negotiate in the first place."

"Pleas...."

Bang!

A pistol shot pierced right through Fran's head while Vero saw the world slow to a crawl. He tries to save Fran from the bullet, but his body is too weak to break free from the gang members. His dream, his hope, and his only friend disappear in a matter of seconds.

"AGGHHHHH!!"

His scream is a mixture of sadness and anger. At this point in time, he swears that one day this gang will be annihilated by his hand. The hate burns deep into his very soul. Every memory of his friend flashes before his very eyes.

They haven't been together for a long time, but he knows that Fran would die for him. He didn't expect that it would actually happen.

"Shut that kid's mouth up. He used our medicine, so just throw him in with the workers."

"Yes, sir!"

"I will f*cking kill you!!!!"

Vero's threat is only verbal, it can't manifest into anything. The gang member knocks him out and drags him to their base.

///////////

A while later, a group of men in the black augmented suits can be found walking around while they activate their stealth option.

"Sir, we found the copse."

"Recover it."

"Yes, sir."