章節 72: Visiting the Slums Again
Beta stopped his planning when the pain on his soul suddenly intensified. After being inside of the Soul River for a prolonged amount of time, it was only natural that his body couldn't handle it anymore. But he was, nonetheless, surprised due to being so distracted by his thoughts that he actually forgot where he was.
He quickly left the Soul River and assimilated the soulpower of the souls that had torn his soul to stabilize his soul. It felt so refreshing that, even if just for a moment, he felt like all the troubles and stress from the previous days were gone. It was a kind of relaxation that he treasured dearly after a long time of being in hell.
As someone who always trained either his body or mind ever since he was two years old, resting was some kind of a reward for him. Because once the moment was over, all the thoughts about his thirst for power would come back again, urging him to hurry up and train more, for he would die if he didn't use every second to improve himself. This was part of the reason as to why he exercised even in the ruins while everyone was sleeping. By utilizing his time focused on hard training, Beta believes that he's getting a bit closer to his goal.
As if time was at a standstill, Beta closed his eyes and opened them after a few minutes. "Just what is the purpose of my life? What was I created for? Am I just born to fight? To Survive? Am I one of the many failures that my parents experienced on their way to create the ultimate lifeform? Why did they let me live in the end? What do they want me to do? What am I supposed to do?", Beta said with a long sigh.
He could still clearly recall that his parents' inheritance was earned simply because there was no one better there. In other words, the original plans for him were something entirely else. But what were they exactly? Would he end up like his older brother, Zeta, training Alpha who would eventually become the favorite child, getting everything he had yearned for for so long? He didn't know if that would be the case, nor did it even matter anymore. It would be pointless for him to dwell on it any longer than necessary.
"Though it will still be too far away in the future, I'll show my parents that they already succeeded in creating the ultimate lifeform! I will be at the very top of existence! I will be so far above everyone else that they still won't get to see me even if they break their necks looking up to me!", Beta said to himself while showing a dangerous glint in his eyes.
When the souls in the river looked at his eyes, they let out a silent scream and tried their best to swim even a little faster to get away from him. It seemed like something has awakened deep inside him which the souls couldn't stand being close to. At the same time, the orb of light that his father had left him seemed to merge just a bit more with his body slowly. Beta, however, didn't notice this at all, nor was he able to see any memories that came along with the orb.
After what seemed to be forever in the Void World, Beta then slowly opened his eyes again and looked out of his room's window.
"It's time to set things in motion.", Beta said while slowly getting up.
It was already bright outside. The sunlight slightly entered Beta's room, making it look more peaceful, especially with him in the center doing his usual morning routine. Not long after, he then left his room and walked into the city, aiming to enter the slums. Before he could even reach the area where he planned to go to, a bunch of kids suddenly stood before him. With their tidy clothes and clean bearing, they didn't seem to fit into the slums and yet, none of the nearby people seemed to be bothered about them. People passing by even held their heads down.
"We've already heard that you came back, but we didn't expect to get a visit so soon.", the boy in front said with a smile.
"Looks like you're all doing quite well by now. I'm glad to see that. I'll get straight to the point. There are some things I need some help with, Gerald.", Beta answered, smiling as well.
The kids in front of him were obviously Brian's kids from the slums. Beta had met them on several occasions on his nightly activities, so they were no stranger to his random strange requests. Ever since he helped them out that one time, they've all become closer to him and even assisted him with many things, especially when it comes to gathering information.
"Should we talk somewhere else?", replied Gerald with no hesitation.
"Yes, please. Let's go to my place.", said Beta as he walked ahead of them to lead the way.
They didn't waste much time and left the main street as they walked along several alleys to a more hidden spot. One thing that Beta placed great importance on was to always walk a different path towards his hideout. If anyone ever managed to follow him up to a certain point, and started waiting there to follow him once again once he visited his hideout a second time, there would be a huge problem. Therefore, to ensure that his hideout remains a secret from strangers, he came up with that idea.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. The group has been here before so they didn't question Beta and just quietly entered the underground hideout. Beta found the room just like he had left it, clean and tidy. Before going to the ruins, Beta had cleaned up this place and combined with the engraved runes he did, it created an always sterile setting that somehow made it nerve-wracking for the kids.
Even though they were all used to filthy things and places, they usually preferred it clean. But Beta's underground base was an exception since it was a kind of cleanliness that somehow seemed to give off an uncomfortable feeling. They didn't know exactly what was happening down here nor do they have any clue as to what he has been up to, but they had an inkling of what it could be, knowing that many bandits disappeared in the slums ever since Beta's hideout appeared. It's not like they don't like the idea of bandits disappearing which made their lives easier, but their greatest concern was what would happen if the bandits were all gone. Just that thought alone made them all drip cold sweats on their backs.
Once they all gathered there, behaved and quieted down, Beta started speaking.
"Okay, let's start with the easy stuff. Do you remember Martin?"
"The noble that has been sneaking around the slums? Of course, we remember him.", Anna, one of the youngest, answered before Gerald could even open his mouth.
Everyone looked at Anna, slightly amused by her eagerness to be a part of the conversation. She, on the other hand, who suddenly became the center of attention, moved behind Gerald as if using him as a barrier. Beta and Brian were away for a while so she became too enthusiastic when they spotted him. She also liked the fact that whenever she provided Beta some information, he'd give her some candy. Thinking that she'd be rewarded if she answered him first, she pushed aside her shyness and spoke up.
Gerald wanted to apologize for her interruption but then Beta brushed it off and patted Anna's head instead while handing her out some candies which she didn't hesitate to share with the rest of the kids. The tension that the kids were feeling was suddenly gone. The lively atmosphere also made Beta smile. He couldn't help that his underground base contained an eerie aura, after all, there had been countless deaths that occurred there. So, he was glad that Anna helped him alleviate their nerves before he could continue with his request.
"Good. Well you see, I'd like you to extort him. Use the fact that he kept going to the slums and his shady intentions as blackmail material. Just threaten him that you will tell his enemies and family if he doesn't give you a certain amount of money. Around 30 percent of his total wealth should do. It shouldn't be too hard like this.", Beta stated in a nonchalant voice.
"Eh?! 30 percent?", most of the kids replied in shock.
After all, his request did sound ridiculous. Plus, with Beta's nonchalant way of putting it, made it seem like extorting a huge amount of money was a walk in the park. But seeing that Beta was serious about his request, the kids couldn't help but have wry smiles on their faces, as if they're all thinking "This is so like Beta". Gerald thought differently though. He believed that Beta trusts their ability just that much, and that was why he never hesitated with his requests.
"Yes, it is possible to accomplish. What else do you have for us?", Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow, looking confident.
"Great! As for the other one, it is a bit harder. I want you to find the location of someone called Gepard. Tell me at once the moment you spot him. It'd be best if he's alone but if he's not, gather information as you can. As always, be careful not to be seen or noticed."
"Just find him or secure him?", Gerald asked as if he had been expecting something like this.
"You won't be able to secure him, so finding him is sufficient this time.", Beta answered, satisfied with Gerald's readiness of action and confidence.
"If that's all then we'll head out immediately." Judging by Beta's curt reply, Gerald assumed that it should be the last task that he wanted them to do.
Beta gave Gerald a meaningful smile as if he understood why he was rushing, so he nodded at them and signaled for them to go ahead. Gerald, of course, noticed Beta's subtle hint and was quite thankful for his gesture. In truth, he really didn't want to stay in the underground room any longer. The others may have relaxed and let go of their guard, but it was only him that was always on alert. Even though it hasn't been long that he started cultivating according to Brian's and Beta's teachings, his senses became a lot sharper than usual which made him able to discern an insight about the underground base.
To Gerald, that place seemed to be filled with the ghosts of people who have died full of pain and regret. Their lingering feelings were so strong that it was no wonder they got goosebumps the moment they entered the place. He felt great reverence and gratitude towards Beta but at the same time, he felt great fear. Just a couple minutes staying underground was all he could endure and yet Beta looked like that place was his home. "I'm glad he's Boss' best friend.", sighed Gerald in his mind.
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