Behind that shabby wooden door, the place Evan had entered was actually nothing more than an old grocery store that looked like it had long since given up on life. The smell of rotten spices and rancid oil hung in the air.
However, without saying a word, the shopkeeper moved a tattered carpet aside in the corner of the room, pried open a floorboard, and revealed a wooden staircase descending into the darkness below.
The man gave a faint smile as he stood at the edge of the opening, with no intention of going down himself.
"Please, Customer," he said in a hoarse voice. "Watch your step. Our shop takes no responsibility for any lives, wallets, or body parts that may go missing down there."
Evan paid no attention to the warning. Without hesitation, he stepped onto the creaking wooden stairs and began descending. Above his head, the wooden floor panel was quickly slammed back into place, cutting off the light from above.
At first, only darkness and the damp scent of earth greeted him. But as his footsteps carried him deeper, faint noises slowly began to rise toward him, the sound of wild laughter, the clinking of coins, frustrated shouts, and the ringing of glasses colliding.
"???????????? ???????? ???????? ????????’?? ???????? ?????????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????????? ???????? ??????’?? ???????? ?????????? ????????..." Evan thought with a cynical smile. "????’?? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????????. ???????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ????????, ?????? ?????? ????????????’ ???????????? ?????????????????????? ???????????????????? ????????."
As soon as he stepped onto the lower floor, an enormous underground hall with a stone ceiling stretched out before him. Thick tobacco smoke filled the air, revealing a scene of rough-looking men drinking black beer, rolling gambling dice, and whispering as they conducted shady transactions.
Evan’s arrival immediately attracted several wild gazes. They stared sharply at the shabby-clothed stranger, assessing the value of whatever he might be carrying.
Evan ignored those hungry stares. His eyes remained fixed on a long, intricately carved wooden table at the far end of the room, where valuable information was bought and sold.
As soon as Evan stood before the table, a young red-haired woman wearing somewhat revealing clothes greeted him with a mysterious, professional smile.
"Welcome to the Dark Vein of Velmora," the woman greeted him in a sensual voice. "How can our shadow organization assist you today, Sir?"
Without wasting a word on pleasantries, Evan reached into his pocket and dropped five pure gold coins onto the table.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sharp ringing of the pure coins instantly caused the atmosphere around the table to fall silent for a moment.
"Give me the most detailed information you have on Yohan Zex," Evan said firmly, his eyes sharp. "His current location, his connections, and what business he’s currently running."
The young woman was stunned. Her eyes widened as she stared at the five gleaming gold coins on the table. "???? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????????????! ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ?????????????? ????????????... ???? ?? ?????????? ???????????????? ???? ????????????????!"
With a swift movement, the woman swept the gold coins off the table, then turned and walked toward the secret shelves behind her. It didn’t take long before she returned with a parchment scroll sealed with black wax.
"Information regarding the former criminal who has now clawed his way up to become a landowner, Yohan Zex," the woman whispered as she handed over the parchment. "All of his records and habits are in here, Customer."
Evan snatched the scroll and concealed it within the folds of his shabby robe.
However, his act of pocketing the five gold coins had not escaped the attention of more than a dozen burly, vicious-looking men in the corner of the hall. Hoarse whispers and laughter began to rise as their malicious intentions grew stronger.
Realizing he had become an easy target, Evan didn’t want to waste any time. He turned around and quickly headed back toward the stairs.
Above, the doorman was quite surprised to see the floor panel opening again so quickly. "Oho, that was a very quick transaction—"
Before the man could finish his sentence, Evan tossed a single pure gold coin directly into his hand.
"Send those hungry dogs downstairs toward the dead-end alley outside," Evan whispered in a cold voice that made the guard’s hair stand on end. "Show them the ’wrong’ way out."
The doorman chuckled, patting the gold coin in his hand. "Your wish is my command, Sir."
Only seconds after Evan stepped outside into the open air, the wooden floor burst open again. More than ten men armed with daggers and wooden clubs crowded up the stairs, panting heavily.
The shopkeeper immediately pointed toward the dark alley outside without waiting for them to ask.
"If you’re looking for the goose that lays golden eggs that just walked out... he ran straight toward the dead-end alley over there!"
The men exchanged greedy grins before surging out into the darkness of the night.
They made their way through a narrow, filthy, gloomy alley that reeked of foul odors. Along the brick walls, there were only a few beggars lying beneath ragged coverings.
"Quick! Where the hell did that rich bastard go?!"
"Damn it, there’s no way he could have disappeared this fast!"
"Bastard! We lost a big catch!" their leader snarled, cursing viciously.
However, while they were busy swearing over losing his trail, a figure silently emerged from behind the shadow of a wooden post directly behind them.
Evan had appeared like a ghost.
STAB!
"Kh--ghkk?!"
Without a word, a sharp dagger flew diagonally through the air, burying itself directly in the throat of the man at the very back. Fresh blood sprayed across the brick wall. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
The men in front flinched at the sound of a choking throat. They turned around with their weapons raised, only to find their companion already collapsed and the killer swallowed by the darkness of the night once again.
The alley, which had been noisy moments ago, instantly became terrifyingly quiet.
"B-bastard! He’s somewhere around here!"
"Come out, coward! If you’ve got the guts, face us like a man!" one of them shouted in panic.
SREKK!
A dagger flew from the darkness above the rooftops, striking another man’s throat with deadly precision. He collapsed instantly, his eyes wide open.
Evan moved like a shadow in the night. He used years of experience without hesitation or mercy. He took advantage of gaps between the walls, the darkness of the night, and his enemies’ panic.
"Bastard! Filthy rat!" one thug muttered, his hands trembling around his short sword. "Where are you, huh?! Don’t you have any pride as a fighter?!"
CLANG!
Something rolled loudly from the left side of the alley. Instinctively, the remaining group turned toward the sound, only to find that it was nothing more than a small stone.
At the exact moment their attention was diverted for a single second... Evan leaped down from behind the wooden rooftop!
SLASH! THUD!
Two more men collapsed instantly from devastating strikes to their chests and necks.
The screams of pain and the thick stench of blood shattered the remaining criminals’ resolve. They realized... the man they had been hunting wasn’t some weak, wealthy merchant, but a dangerous man.
The beggars lying along the roadside didn’t move at all. Evan had given them several copper coins beforehand to keep their eyes and ears shut. In Velmora’s filthy alleys, massacres between criminals like this were an everyday sight.
Now, only three men remained, trembling as they huddled together with pale faces.
Evan stepped out from between the buildings, spinning his dagger, which was drenched in fresh blood. His eyes glinted sharply.
"Well... now there are only three of you left," Evan said with a cold smile.
Seeing Evan calmly approaching them, the three thugs fell onto their backs, their knees completely giving out.
"Pl-please! Don’t kill m—"
THUD! BANG!
Evan gave them no chance to beg. He lunged forward, kicked the first man’s chest and sent him crashing into the wall, then repeatedly slammed his bare fists into the faces of the other two until their noses were crushed.
Evan did not kill the three men. However, with a cold and ruthless motion, he raised his leather boots and—
KRRAKK! KRRAKK! KRRAKK!
"AAAAARRGGHH! MY HANDS! MY HANDS!"
Evan crushed their wrists one by one beneath his boots until the bones in their fingers snapped and shattered. Hysterical screams filled the dead-end alley.
After ensuring that the three men were temporarily crippled, Evan turned around and waved toward the beggars who had been hiding all this time.
"Come here," Evan called in a falsely friendly tone. "Time to collect the rest of your payment as promised."
Hearing the word ’payment,’ the narrow-minded beggars cheered happily. They crawled forward and crowded around him, greedily reaching out their hands.
However, the moment they came within range—
SLASH! STAB!
Without the slightest mercy, Evan’s dagger slashed across the first beggar’s throat, flew into the chest of the second, and severed the third’s artery!
"W-what are you doing?! Run!" one of the remaining beggars screamed in utter horror.
They tried to turn around and run with all their strength. But to Evan, hunting down ordinary frightened people like them was as easy as turning over his palm. Within seconds, every one of the beggars had become a bloody corpse on the filthy ground.
"?????????? ??????’?? ???? ?????? ?????????????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????????????????. ?????? ?? ???????????? ?????????? ?????? ????????????," Evan thought flatly. His heart had truly become as hard as stone now, all for the sake of his goal.
Evan dipped his fingers into the thick pool of blood on the ground, then drew a circular symbol with a coin in the center on the brick wall, the legendary symbol of the wanted criminal Rick Grimes.
"Drag yourselves along and follow me now... if you don’t want to rot into corpses like these idiots," Evan threatened coldly.
Evan immediately wrapped the lower half of his face with a black cloth and quickly left the scene of the massacre. The three terrified thugs, despite groaning in pain, were forced to crawl and limp after Evan, afraid they would be killed on the spot if they didn’t.
However, just as they were about to leave the alley, Evan stopped.
From ahead, a pair of torches illuminated the road. The Velmora City Guard, having heard the hysterical screams earlier, came running toward them with their weapons drawn!
Evan tightened his robe and casually walked through the darkness along the side of the road, passing the group of guards without a second glance.
At the front of the guard formation, a blonde female soldier wearing iron armor that reflected the torchlight turned sharply toward Evan. Evan’s face was covered by cloth, but his eyes briefly met hers. Evan flashed a faint grin beneath his face covering before disappearing around the corner.
The female soldier flinched. But the shouts of her subordinates from inside the alley immediately drew her attention.
When the City Guard arrived at the scene, the sight that greeted them caused several young guards to vomit immediately. Corpses were scattered everywhere, blood pooling on the ground, throats slit, and beggars lying dead in gruesome poses.
The armored woman leading the force was Silvy Velmora, daughter of the noble family that ruled Velmora City, as well as the City Guard Captain known for her honesty. She had deliberately chosen this difficult path to eliminate crime and oppose her own family, which secretly protected criminals for business profits.
Silvy covered her nose, staring in horror at the merciless massacre. Suddenly, she remembered the man who had just passed her at the end of the alley!
"Damn it! He’s the culprit!" Silvy shouted as she quickly turned around. "Chase the bloodstained man who just came out of this alley! Quickly!"
Silvy sprinted toward the corner of the street, but the market road was already empty. The man had vanished as though swallowed by the night wind.
"Bastard! I lost his trail!" Silvy cursed in frustration, clenching her fists.
From inside the alley, one of her subordinates ran toward her with a pale face. "M-Miss Silvy! Come look at this! We found a mark on the wall!"
"What mark?!"
Silvy quickly returned to the alley and stared at the brick wall, which had been painted with fresh blood. A golden coin symbol enclosed within a circle.
Instantly, Silvy’s golden eyes widened. Memories from two years ago suddenly came rushing back—the case of the greatest fraud that had humiliated the Velmora Family and the Guard Order, committed by a con artist who always left a coin engraving at the scene of his crimes.
Silvy’s teeth clenched tightly, her fists tightening until her armor trembled.
"Rick... Grimes...!" Silvy hissed with deep resentment.
The frustration of failing to capture that criminal two years ago once again burned in her chest. Yet at the same time, a hunter’s smile appeared on her lips. That cunning fox had returned to her city!
However, Silvy frowned as she looked at the corpses around her in confusion.
"But... something’s strange. According to the criminal records from two years ago, Rick Grimes was a con artist who hated violence and had never killed anyone... Why has he suddenly turned into such a ruthless butcher?"
Meanwhile, far away in an abandoned old building on the outskirts of the city...
Evan threw three thick leather pouches onto a wooden table in front of the three thugs, who were groaning as they clutched their broken hands.
CLANG! CLANG!
Two of the pouches opened, revealing dozens of gleaming gold coins inside.
"Each of you gets ten gold coins," Evan said casually as he leaned against the wall. "And I’ll add another ten gold coins if you’re willing to work under my command."
The three thugs exchanged disbelieving and suspicious glances.
"A-are you crazy?!" one of the thugs shouted with his bruised face. "After you butchered our comrades, broke our hands, and killed those beggars... you think we’d be willing to work for you?!"
Evan didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled softly, a cold laugh that sounded incredibly cruel.
"Oh, you don’t want to?" Evan tilted his head, dragging another gold coin between his fingers. "You know... when we left the alley earlier, your blood-covered faces and limping figures walking right behind me were clearly seen by the City Guard Captain, Silvy Velmora."
Evan slowly clapped his hands, wearing the most cunning smile they had ever seen.
"Congratulations, gentlemen! Starting tonight, your faces have officially been registered as the accomplices of Rick Grimes, the cold-blooded butcher! The Velmora Family will plaster your portraits all over the city tomorrow morning!"
"W-WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING, BASTARD?!" the thug screamed hysterically.
"Kidding?" Evan stepped closer, staring at them one by one. "The city guards saw you walking alongside me from the scene of the massacre. Do you really think Princess Silvy, who is famous for her stubbornness, will listen to an explanation from lowlifes from the black market like you?"
Evan patted the trembling thug on the shoulder. "You have two choices. First, walk out that door, get arrested by the guards, and be hanged in the city square tomorrow morning. Or second... come with me, work for me, and become filthy rich."
The three thugs stood frozen. Their minds raced. The fear of the gallows and their greed for the piles of gold coins on the table suddenly outweighed their grief over the deaths of their comrades. After all, they had become criminals only for money and survival.
The man with the broken nose stared at the pouch of gold on the table, then looked at Evan with ragged breaths.
"...All right. We’ll come with you, Boss."