4. Shot to Death

Bang, bang, bang....

There were sounds of gunshots, resounding in the air. Although not a regular appearance, it was still not that uncommon among the slums. The residents were smart enough to avoid the scene, while those unlucky people nearby tacitly closed their doors and windows. Knowing too much was also a sin.

"Damn, just my shit luck." Sid cursed under his breath, thinking that he was rather unlucky these past few days. After escaping from the gang war a couple days ago, his food supply had been running out.

Thinking of plundering a few resources from nearby houses, he had taken a slight detour to this small territory. After all the gang active here was so small, that it was embarrassing to even call it a gang. Now, encountering this situation, he was rather frustrated.

"It looks like the gang next door, what are they doing in a foreign territory shooting so openly, is it a gang war? Well, it doesnt matter, the gang here is tiny anyway, it can be taken over by them anytime." He assessed the situation, recognizing the tattoos of the people afront.

As for the reason, why he never had a tattoo, well, it could only be said to be because he was never valued much. It could be seen from the fact that no gang ever pursued his betrayal. To put it bluntly, he was a dismal soul, at the bottom of the ranks.

Though he was never too unhappy by this. He was like an old beggar who had found the meaning if life, it was actually quiet meaningless.

.....

With his thoughts distracted, he squatted down, using the pile of drums, stacked at the roadside, as a cover to hide his figure while he observed the situation ahead. It was yet another tragic scene of debtors being unable to pay back their debt. The thugs went inside the house, carrying out an unwilling kid, struggling in their arms.

The incident just now seemed to have invoked some of his bad memories, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "F*ck my damned luck. To hell with it, shouldn't have come to this shitty place anyway." He cursed with a bitter expression, slipping away from the scene. It would seem there was a need for another detour along the way.

He walked with rapid steps, wanting to leave this cursed place behind. Slipping past the gang members, he walked around the scene.

Sid: !%#&$... what the hell, why is there a lookout so far away?

Sid stopped abruptly. Before him stood a young man, or a boy about 15-16 years old, just a bit younger than him. He had the same tatoo as other gang members from before. His brain exploded not understanding why a gang member would be on lookout here of all places.

'F*ck, I almost forgot, it's not their territory, the lookout must be keeping an eye on any local gang members coming over. Curse my luck, damn, son of a b*tch...' He wrecked his brain at a breakneck speed, trying to wrap his brain around the situation ahead of him.

Analysing the person opposite him, his face was rather handsome, with pitch black hair and dark eyes. His build was extraordinary for someone his age. His clothes seemed expensive at a glance, along with the revolver kept in a proper holster attached to his belt, he definitely had a prominent background. Looking at him, he was clearly not someone to be assigned as a lookout. The boy was also attracted by Sid's movements.

'This is clearly an expert, to be able to sense my presence at such a distance.' He thought, looking at the boy. He was quite surprised by the boys vigilance.

Their eyes met, their expressions serious. Looking at the boy Sid was the first to make his move. His eyes opened wide taking in all that was infront, carefully observing his opponent, while his hand moved over his belt grasping the handle of his makeshift pistol.

Sid: motherf*!%#$&... my baby doesn't seem so slick anymore. This damn rich kid, he's definitely younger than me, why the hell is he carrying a revolver.

His eyes were bloodshot with jealousy. But he knew a rich kid like him had to have a few bodyguards in the shadows, even if he was on a lookout.

For a moment, Sid's thoughts were distracted, his attention was divided between the boy infront of him, and the possible shadows that could be hiding nearby.

In a moment of distraction, his reaction slowed down, as he saw the boy taking out the revolver from his holster. He pointed the gun at Sid, without a moment of hesitation he shot.

Bang, bang, bang.

There were three shots in a row, no more, no less. They presicely hit his heart, killing Sod on the spot. The boy stood on the spot, there were no emotions in his eyes. He put away his revolver with a blank expression. Returning to his duty, he didn't pay any more attention to the corpse lying on the ground.

.....

'Son of a... who was that f*cker?' Cough! Cough! Cough!...

Sid cursed in his heart, still lying on the red sand limply, no longer twitching in pain. It seems his condition was getting better with every passing moment. At this moment, his expression was complicated, not being able to figure out the boy's identity.

'For some reason, I just, can't forget his face. It feels like I have seen him somewhere before, but where could it be. Ahh... my head hurts just thinking about it.'

Sid was thinking about the boy, trying to wreck his brain around his identity. But he was with no results, instead there was a stinging pain, as if his head was being split open.

"F*ck no wonder he looked so familiar. He looked just like my little brother, Kai. Hahaha... Cough! Cough!... Cough! Cough!..." Soon memories surged in his mind, causing him to shout out loud, resulting in a series of voilent cough.

"I was wondering what happened to Kai after I ran away, well... sometimes atleast. So it seems he survived, huh?"

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense, why was he so far away from home territory? Maybe he was someone else?"

"Sigh... forget it, it's not like I'm gonna see him again or anything. Hmm... maybe it would be good if I could see him again, that would mean he too died, right? Maybe I would have a chance to snatch his revolver or something." Sid's expression was indignant.

"At any rate, where the hell am I, and why the f*ck am I even here?" He quickly returned to his senses, trying to make sense of the situation he was in.

Sid: (>_<) Hmm..hmm....(☆□☆) Aha... could it be, it's because I have some unfulfilled wishes....

"Well, I don't seem to not have any... I still remember wanting to play 'Destiny' for atleast once. I was even saving some cash to play in that fancy VR cafe."

"Son of a b*tch, now that I remember it, what happened to my savings. That f*cker had better not looted it from my corpse. He was a rich kid anyway, why would someone like him even need that bit of money for anyway."

Cough! Cough!...

"Come to think of it, there seem to be some rage about the new update or something. Even the brats in the slums were talking about it with extreme enthusiasm, even if they couldn't afford it. I wonder what's so good about that game to cause such a commotion, wish I could have found out."

"Yawn... Well, at any rate, my body feels awfully comfortable for some reason. Huh... The burn on my skin is gone too, is my body f*cking awesome or what?" He stretched, standing up from the ground.

The nine suns were already at the verge of setting into the horizon. The sky was once again dyed a hue of golden orange, ominous yet beautiful. Sid looked at this beautiful sky, once again, feeling refreshed he took a deep breath.

"Cough! Cough!... Son of a b*tch, what the hell is this smell. Why is the damn fresh air so scarce even after death." There was a rotten smell of death in the air, it was rather nauseating to breath in.

"Ahem... for some reason I am feeling rather energetic. Let's look around for a bit, my veteran adventurer's sense is telling me, I would definitely find something good following the moon." He said to particularly no one, straightening his back. His hands were folded behind, chin tilted upward, his gaze swept towards the sky.

"Hmm... it's definitely not because I can hear those painful groans from the other direction or anything. It's just the senses I honed with my years of grueling experience as a veteran."

.....

At night

The red moon was bright, lighting the dark sky a faint shade of blood red. Somewhere in the unknown vast desert, there rustling noises. The vision was rather blurry due to sand, that swirled about in the howling winds. There could be seen the shillouets of the blood red centipedes scuttling about in the red sand, their shades blending together, making them tough to distinguish.

"F*ck!%#$&... why are there a bunch of these disgusting things." Looking at the scene, Sid cursed out loud, his hands had involuntarily formed a protection over his crotch. It was clear that the trauma was still fresh within his young heart.