Chapter 52: Chapter 52 – Caregiver
Nick entered the house opposite the warehouse.
It was quite a big building with five floors.
By now, Nick had gotten used to seeing these big and clean houses, and he wasn't currently in the mood to go sightseeing.
He only wanted to see Horua.
Nick had already seen on the key that Horua would be on the second floor, and in just a couple of seconds, he finally arrived.
He put the key in the lock and unlocked it. It took a bit of getting used to since keys basically didn't exist in the Dregs.
The room was silent.
It was almost like there was no life in this room.
However, Nick quickly saw Horua on the bed.
Right now, Horua was sitting on the bed, looking forward with dead eyes.
In a certain way, Horua's current appearance reminded Nick of the Dreamer.
They both had dead eyes.
Horua was wearing comfortable pajamas, and if it weren't for his impure skin due to living in the Dregs, he would look like any other child from the Outer City.
In the pajamas, Horua looked even more like a child than normal.
Nick took a deep breath and walked over.
"Hey, Horua. Everything alright?" Nick asked, not expecting an answer.
Naturally, he didn't get one.
Nick walked over and put his right arm on Horua's shoulder as he looked at him.
"Horua, I just wanted to say that all of this is my fault and that I am genuinely sorry," Nick said. "I should have known that not everyone can resist a Specter just like this."
"Maybe I should have moved slower?"
"Maybe I should have introduced the Dreamer to you when you were older?"
"I mean, I didn't need you to immediately become a Zephyx Extractor."
Nick was just looking into Horua's dead eyes with a sigh.
"I'm sorry. I wish I had been smarter."
"Sadly, I can't change the past."
"So, the next best thing is to make a bright future for you."
Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.
"Hey, how about I give you a massage?" Nick asked.
Then, Nick slowly moved Horua onto his stomach.
"The doctor said that we have to regularly move your body, or your health will suffer. Don't worry, I'll make sure that nothing like that will happen."
A moment later, Nick started to massage Horua's body.
For someone who wasn't technically conscious, Horua's muscles were quite strained.
"How does this feel?" Nick asked.
Naturally, Horua didn't answer.
For around 30 minutes, Nick kept massaging Horua's body while talking to him.
After some time, Nick just started telling Horua about his day at work and what their plans were.
Nick wasn't worried about keeping secrets since Horua officially belonged to their company.
When the massage was done, Nick grabbed a bowl and filled it with water.
Nick put the bowl to Horua's mouth, and surprisingly, Horua swallowed when water entered his mouth.
For just a moment, Nick became hopeful.
Yet, Horua showed no other reaction.
"Alright, that should be enough," Nick said.
"Do you want some food next?"
Silence.
"I'll get you some food, okay?"
Nick silently walked out of the room and entered the street.
After looking around for a bit, Nick found a nice place that sold soup.
Even though the price was outrageous, Nick didn't complain.
This was for Horua, which made the price seem unimportant.
Nick returned and slowly fed the soup to Horua.
After a bit of talking, Nick noticed that the room started to smell.
He quickly found the source.
Horua had just wet his clothing and the bed.
Nick could only sigh.
'The doctor said he couldn't go to the toilet on his own.'
Over the next few minutes, Nick also dealt with that mess.
Nick even went out to buy Horua several new sets of pajamas.
For the next couple of hours, Nick just remained in the room with Horua to talk.
Eventually, Nick became tired, and he reluctantly left Horua.
"I will be back in four hours to check on you, okay?" Nick said before leaving the room.
Nick went to the reception of the hotel and rented a room on the same floor as Horua.
The room wasn't anything special.
It was made of clean metal, and it looked quite nice. Just like Horua's bed, Nick's bed was made of a thick sheet of fabric that made it much easier to sleep.
A couple minutes later, Nick went to bed.
Yet, no matter what he did, Nick couldn't fall asleep.
Nick was definitely tired, but for some reason, sleep just wouldn't come to him.
Even more, Nick felt more and more nervous.
'I hope Horua is okay. No one is checking up on him.'
'What if he wet the bed again and has to sleep in his own urine?'
'What if he is thirsty?'
'What if his breathing stopped?'
After over half an hour of trying, Nick left his room and went back into Horua's room.
Horua was lying in bed, just as Nick had left him.
Nothing had changed.
Nick took a deep breath and went back to his room.
Yet, he still couldn't fall asleep, and he became nervous again.
An hour later, he returned to Horua's room again.
Nothing had changed.
Nick wanted to leave again, but he just didn't feel comfortable with leaving Horua alone.
So, Nick just remained in Horua's room.
He was tired, but he didn't try to sleep.
However, since Horua might be asleep, Nick also didn't talk to him.
He just remained in the room in silence without doing anything.
As more time passed, Nick felt a tightness in his chest.
"I'm sorry," Nick whispered.
"I didn't want this to happen."
Silence.
Nick just looked at Horua, different memories of him shooting through his mind.
"I'm so sorry," Nick repeated.
Slowly, Nick's eyes started to get wet, and eventually, tears started to flow down his face.
"Horua, I'm so sorry. I was such an idiot."
"I just want you to recover."
"It's fine if you hate me forever."
"I just want you to recover."
Nick's crying intensified.
"I'm so sorry."
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Chapter 53: Chapter 53 – Interview
"So, how are you with bad situations?" Nick asked the person in front of him.
In front of Nick was a woman in her early twenties.
She had brown hair and wore dirty clothes.
Obviously, she was from the Dregs.
Right now, Nick was interviewing her inside his room in the hotel.
The woman had originally been quite nervous about having a meeting for a job inside someone's room, but by now, she had realized that Nick wasn't trying to hurt her.
"I think I can react in a very calm and deliberate manner," the woman said casually.
Nick nodded. "Have you ever met a Specter?"
"I don't have an ability if that's your question," the woman said.
"Alright, but have you met a Specter before?" Nick repeated.
The woman frowned. "I think so, but I'm not sure," she said.
"Oh? Please elaborate," Nick said.
"Well," the woman started, "legend has it that the leader of the Riker Strikers is a Specter, and I met him before."
"Oh? That's a new one," Nick said. "What makes you think he's a Specter?"
"It's just a legend," the woman said. "People say that Riker has to be a Specter. After all, the Riker Strikers are the only gang that brings nothing positive to the Dregs."
"The Insurance Gang might have some very direct methods, but they protect the people's tax money."
"The Peddlers might charge exorbitant prices and don't allow any competition, but they have the ability to get all these important goods to the Dregs. Without them, so many more people would die."
"The Hub might not care about morals when they accept a mission, but they also give many jobs to a lot of people. Even more, they keep the different gangs in check since the Hub can essentially be bought out by them."
"But the Riker Strikers?"
The woman shook her head.
"The Riker Strikers just steal, rape, and assassinate."
"They want money without offering protection."
"They secretly kill people for seemingly no reason."
"There's nothing good about them."
"Not even a little bit."
"What human would create something like that? Isn't it easier to lead a group of willing humans than forcefully take their belongings every day?"
"At least, that's the explanation," the woman explained. "If Riker is a Specter, these things would make sense."
Nick scratched his chin in interest as he looked at the woman. "That's a very interesting theory. I never met Riker personally since I worked for The Hub most of the time. You said you did?"
The woman nodded. "It was when three men stalked me to my house. I wasn't sure if they just wanted my money or if they also wanted to rape me, but luckily, I never found out."
When the woman had talked about the possibility of getting sexually assaulted, she had seemed quite calm, cold, and indifferent, even though something like that probably terrified most people.
"During that time, I was on a long-term mission for The Hub, and I showed them my symbol as proof."
"Based on their expressions, the three of them didn't like that, but they decided to leave me be."
"That was until Riker appeared."
"I don't know why he was here, but based on how the three men acted and how they addressed Riker, I knew it was the leader of the Riker Strikers."
"When he saw what happened, he just put on a friendly smile and asked since when the Riker Strikers cared about what the other gangs thought of them."
"The three of them turned back to me and started to advance."
"Meanwhile, I turned around and ran away."
"Luckily, one of The Hub's outposts was very close, and I managed to enter and get help."
"The three men fled, but a group from The Hub ran after them."
"I never saw them again after that, and I also didn't hear anything about Riker again," the woman explained.
Nick nodded a couple of times. "How was the infamous Riker?"
"How was he?" the woman repeated as she furrowed her brows. "It's difficult to describe."
"He looked quite charming and beautiful. Back then, I thought he looked abhorrent, but after so many weeks, I can admit that he is very attractive from a general perspective."
"He has this entire playboy vibe to him, but there is also deep confidence in his gaze."
The woman seemed uncomfortable for a couple of seconds.
"I'm not sure if this is relevant," she said eventually, "but I felt like his eyes were strange."
"They looked just like any other pair of eyes, but when I looked into them, I felt like I was looking at some kind of natural predator of mine."
"He felt very, very dangerous."
"I felt like I had to run away from him, no matter what."
The next moment, she snorted.
"Ironically enough, this feeling of having to run away was what allowed me to react this quickly to his men's renewed advance."
Nick looked very intrigued.
"What if you met him again?" Nick asked.
"In what sense?" the woman asked.
"Alone," Nick answered. "Just you two."
A sneer of disgust appeared on the woman's face.
"I would love nothing more than to say that I would kill him, but I probably don't have the strength to do that. I don't think a gang leader is weak," she said.
When Nick heard that, a bright smile appeared on his face.
"Alright, that sounds good," he said.
The woman looked at Nick with newfound anxiety. "So, did everything go well? I feel like it went well."
Nick chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Everything sounds great."
"So, does that mean…?" the woman asked.
Nick nodded. "Yes, I think you are the right person for the job."
The woman's eyes widened in shock.
A Zephyx Extractor?
She was about to become a Zephyx Extractor?!
She almost couldn't believe it.
"Your name was Jennifer, right?" Nick asked.
"Yes," Jennifer asked. "Please, call me Jenny."
"Of course," Nick said.
The next moment, Nick stood up. "Would you mind waiting outside the hotel for around 15 minutes? I have to deal with something first."
"After that, I will show you where you will be working from now on."
"Of course! Thank you so much!" Jenny said with a grateful voice.
The two of them left Nick's room.
While Jenny left the hotel, Nick went to Horua's room.
Nick had to check up on Horua before leaving for work.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
444 Power
stone 
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