Chapter 11 – Where to Start?

Nick had no idea where to start.

Everything had been prepared, and now, they only needed a Specter.

But where could they even get a Specter from?

The big Zephyx Manufacturers had several people searching for Specters at any given time while Nick was basically alone.

Sure, there was also Wyntor, but it wasn't his job to find and capture Specters.

'Should I search for a Specter with minions? I mean, I know about the Blood Mosquito and the Parasite, but both of them are too powerful.'

'Wait, do weak Specters even have minions, or does that require a lot more power?'

Nick just scratched the back of his head as he stood in front of the warehouse.

'There are three kinds of Specters, and I can't even attempt to get any Force Specters. That only leaves Possession Specters and Physical Specters.'

'I really doubt that I would easily find a Possession Specter since the Zephyx Manufacturers love those. At least, that was what Wyntor said.'

'That means I have to find a Physical Specter.'

'But where?'

Nick scratched the side of his head.

'I mean, I heard the outside is basically filled with Specters, but everybody knows that the outside is extremely dangerous. Level two Specters are already able to damage the walls of the Containment Unit, while I can't even make a dent in them. Obviously, level three Specters would be even more powerful.'

'I don't think going outside of the city would be a smart idea.'

Nick sighed.

'Guess that means I'm stuck searching for a Physical Specter inside the city.'

Nick still scratched the side of his head.

  The next moment, he turned towards the direction of the Dregs.

'Maybe I should just start asking around?'

After a couple of seconds, Nick just shrugged and walked towards the Dregs.

'Sure, why not?'

Wyntor looked through one of the windows at Nick, who was walking away.

'I hope he finds one,' Wyntor thought with furrowed brows.

'And I also hope the one he finds isn't too strong.'

After a while, Nick's surroundings became dirtier and dirtier, making him feel like he had come back home.

The Outer City had been a bit too clean for Nick.

It almost felt unnatural.

Eventually, Nick reached the marketplace where he had sat for months with his sign.

Today was not tax day, which meant that the marketplace was quite normal.

People were talking with each other but still keeping a safe distance.

After all, everyone could potentially be dangerous in the Dregs.

Nick scratched the side of his head again.

Eventually, someone just so happened to meet Nick's eyes, and Nick walked towards them.

The person Nick was walking to was a thin adult man who seemed like he regretted accidentally meeting Nick's eyes right now.

"Hey!" Nick said with a friendly tone. "I'm searching for a Specter."

Near the beginning, the man seemed annoyed and uninterested, but when he heard the word Specter, he became nervous.

"A Specter? Which one?!" he asked with worry.

"Ehm, I don't really know?" Nick said with uncertainty.

This confused the man. "What? But you just said you were searching for one!"

"I mean, yeah," Nick answered with an awkward laugh. "You see, I am a new Zephyx Extractor, and I'm searching for my first Specter, you know?"

When the man heard that, he calmed down a bit, but then, he became angry.

"Then stop talking like you lost a Specter! I thought I was in danger or something!" he shouted.

"Yes, yes, sorry and stuff," Nick said as he tried to sound nice. "So, you got any hints?"

"No," the man answered with annoyance, "and even if I had any, why would I give them to you? I would just tell the Investigators. At least they would give me enough money for the next couple of payments."

Nick could only sigh.

The Investigators were people who worked for Zephyx Manufacturers, and their job was to find clues about Specters. 

Naturally, a couple of Zephyx Manufacturers had already opened some kind of service point where the residents of the city could give them clues regarding Specters.

And Nick?

What did Nick have to offer?

Literally nothing.

"Thanks anyway," Nick said with a sigh.

The man snorted when he heard Nick. Apparently, he was still a bit angry about the scare Nick had given him.

Nick left the man behind and went to a clerk from one of the stalls.

That clerk basically said the same thing.

He was annoyed that Nick was wasting his time with useless talk and told Nick that he would just go to the Investigators if he had some clues.

After asking a couple more people, Nick realized that there was really basically nothing he could gain from talking to the people.

They would all just contact the Investigators because of the money.

Sure, Nick could probably ask Wyntor for some money to pay the people, but how many people would actually trust Nick's words, and more importantly, how many of the clues would actually lead to Specters?

After over two hours of asking around, Nick still hadn't found a clue regarding a Specter.

Eventually, Nick just decided to patrol.

The people were of no help anyway.

Nick walked through several small and remote alleyways, and the floor became more and more unstable.

The Dregs were way too big for the number of people that lived here.

The issue was the amount of money in circulation and the available food.

Theoretically, if two people lived in one house, just this part of the Dregs could hold over 10,000 people.

Yet, there were barely 2,000.

Because of that, there were plenty of abandoned places in the Dregs.

Usually, there was no point in going there.

Everything worthwhile had already been looted and stolen, while Specters hunted humans, which meant that they were also more likely to be amongst humans.

And the abandoned Dregs basically didn't have any humans.

Yet, Nick was already out of options, and this was the best thing he could do right now.

Maybe a Specter had its nest and hiding place in the abandoned parts and only went amongst humans when they were hungry?

"Hey."

When Nick heard that voice, his brows furrowed.

"What do you want?" Nick asked in annoyance as he looked at one of the broken plates of rusty metal.

A moment later, the small head of a rat poked out of a hole in the plate.

"I heard you were searching for a weak Specter," the rat said with a grin.

"I am," Nick said.

Naturally, Nick knew exactly who he was talking to right now.

The Parasite.

The Specter that tried to convince him to kill himself.

"I know of a couple," the rat said with a chuckle. "Interested?"

Nick raised one of his eyebrows.

"I am," he said after some hesitation.

"Alright," the rat said with a grin.

"I want five bodies."

"Bring me five bodies that have not been killed by Nurse Alice, and I will tell you where you can find a fitting one."