Chapter 22: Client List? More Like A Hit List

Sitting on the side of the street, Ugan blended together with the trash can beside him.

The streets were already empty, and even without the warning of the officials, many townspeople didn't dare walk around in fear of demons.

He had no desire to go home, as that place was no longer his haven.

Ugan placed his head on his knees. He couldn't see anything in the darkness, and for some reason, he felt comforted by it. Floating in the void with nothing visible.

"Hey man. What are you doing there?"

BANG!

Ugan flinched when he heard a sudden voice out of nowhere. He turned his head left and right, but again, he couldn't see anything. So much for feeling comforted by being blind during the night.

"You can't see me? I'm here."

A palm touched his right cheek and pushed his head to face front. Ugan felt the leathery texture of the glove and couldn't help but hesitantly ask, "Officer?"

"Not really, but we have the same job. Tell me, did you kill anyone?"

The voice sounded calm, not interrogatory. It was like the man was just talking about the weather.

With unfocused eyes, Ugan stared at the darkness. He didn't feel flustered being asked by that question. He admitted, "Yes, I killed someone. I killed the person who sold my daughter."

"Oh, I don't care about your excuses. Do you know you are a big sinner now? In my eyes, there is no difference between you and them."

Ugan gave the darkness a smile that was uglier than crying. "I know... I wasn't asking for redemption. I know that I already committed a big sin the moment I decided to remain quiet, even knowing that Ron's group are about to abduct children."

"That fact made it even more unbearable for me. I feel like I'm being punished by the karma for my inaction. I feel like I couldn't blamed anyone for my misfortune... But why am I being punished? I'm just a helpless man. Why do those evil nobles got to live a happy life?" Ugan felt that it was unfair.

"So after killing the abductor, what are you gonna do? How do you find your child?" the voice asked. It was laced with curiosity.

Ugan paused. He touched his pockets and pulled out the piece of paper that he took from Ron.

"I— Sir, can you read?" He fumbled around to try and unfold the paper, but his hands were trembling. The man in front of him took the paper from his hand.

Ugan heard a rustling, then silence.

His heart dropped. The paper was his only hope. Don't tell him it was useless?

The voice finally sounded, "Where did you get this from?"

"From Ron. The man that I killed." Ugan was also curious as to what it was, so he asked, "Ahm, sir, what's written on the list?"

After hearing what the voice said, Ugan's eyes widened.

"Oh, this is a list of customers as well as their addresses... Well, let's read some names here. 1. Solly Ofinsam... 2. Rany Seal... Oh, there is even something written at the bottom about how many children they want... Such detailed evidence, why do they have this?"

Ugan never imagined that it was such a list. At first, he thought it was probably the names of children, because that is what he heard before. Why does Ron have a list of customers?

"Oh well, I really don't care, but if this is true then this is a fat piece of meat." Again, the voice sounded.

"What's your name? I owe you a favor." It said to be a favor, but the voice was very neutral, with not an ounce of happiness in it.

"My name is Ugan."

"Is there anything I can do for you? I'm in a good mood right now."

That was very unexpected for Ugan. He thought that the man would just take the paper and call it a day. But since it already asked, might as well throw his shots blindly. "Is the list really important to you? I— if possible, I want to see my daughter."

After saying that, he held his breath. It was impossible to say that he had no expectations, he was terrified to hear a negative answer.

"Sure."

"Really?" Ugan looked at the direction of the voice in disbelief. He had no idea what he was talking to or if it was a human or demon, but was there really such a good thing?

"But don't expect too much."

"I'm already okay with your promise." He couldn't help but silently cry. Ugan couldn't describe what he was feeling, but he felt a sense of hotness in his chest the moment he heard that word "Sure."

There was a possibility that this man was just tricking him, but for Ugan, who had already run out of options... this was hope.

Cia looked at the man in front of him. He had seen this man before. Maybe about two times. Although this guy always had his head down during those encounters, he never really changed his clothes, so Cia became familiar with it.

He was wandering on the streets, looking for sinners on the run, and this man was like a glaring red stain seated on the corner of the road.

He really killed someone.

This guy seemed to have night blindness.

It's dark right now, but still not dim enough that you can't see anything, but this man is acting like he is in pitch darkness. Probably because of some vitamin deficiency.

Cia is now in the punisher mode. Either he probably had mental problems, but he had a hard time activating it a while ago. Out of frustration, he wrapped his neck with a scarf and pull it really hard that it kicked his survival instincts on.

It successfully activated his punisher mode, but the system was scared to death.

To be honest, even after receiving the list, Cia still had an intense urge to stab this guy. The system said that he'd lose empathy when in this mode, but it really didn't specify other side effects. Because as of now, he realized that he had a feeling of intense hatred for any sinners.

Maybe the bloodlust was doing its work.

Fortunately, he could control his urge to kill this man after some twisted ideology.

Being sold means his daughter is probably not in good hands. That is enough to punish this man hard by letting him live with the fact that he is a pathetic loser who could only watch his loved one getting taken away because of his incompetence.

It gave Cia a sick sense of pleasure. Hating sinners doesn't mean he loved the innocent. Lack of empathy doesn't only apply to the damned, but also to those pure.

Cia stood up and made sure the mask on his face was securely fastened. "What does your daughter look like? Oh, wait! Don't describe her features to me, but does she have any defining physical characteristics that separate her from other kids?"

"She has six toes on her left foot." Ugan looked down. He couldn't see anything, but he knew that he also had six toes. Deformity is discriminated in this town, but an additional toe is not very noticeable.

"Oh, a bit ironic. Some cultures view six toes as a sign of fortune, but from the looks of it, it's not true." Cia looked at the man and clicked his tongue.

Ugan had never heard of such belief, but he had never read a book, so he didn't argue. In fact, that belief was in Cia's world. He had no idea if such a thing existed here.

"Live for a few days and maybe you'd get to see your daughter. I'll be going." Cia kept the note. Such a big pie~ he'd be eating food (EXP) good tonight.

...

Inside the Cluster Pub

"That bastard copied the client list?" Argon almost bit the cigar in his mouth. Listening to the report, he didn't sound annoyed.

The man reporting to him also said the report in such a condescending tone, as if he couldn't believe that someone could really live without a brain.

"Hahahahahaha! Cough cough... Fuck, I choked."

"What is he going to do with that? Try to blackmail us? Who would dare touch us in this town?" He wasn't worried. That idiot Ron had no big people backing him up. Really a moron to think that he can take advantage of the situation.

"Forget about it. If you saw him, beat the shit out of him. It was already good enough that we let him earn some, but he dared be greedy."

Argon leisurely lay on the lap of the beautiful woman sitting on the couch. His business had been very profitable for the last three months. He had been bathed with riches that it gave him an illusion that he held enormous power in this town.

Awakeners? None of the awakeners in this town dared touch him with his backing.

What he didn't know was that the "Client list" that he didn't really think too much about is now going to be renamed as "Kill list" after tonight.