"Now your brain is completely loaded with shit. How could a demon possibly exist in a territory personally protected by the hero’s older sister, not to mention the old monster?! Huh?! Are you honestly dumb enough to forget a basic shit like that?!"
"B-but Boss, I swear I encountered them! It wasn’t just one...there were three! Three literal demons!" The Rat fell to his knees, trembling violently as the terrifying memory flashed through his mind.
"Shit, you’ve completely wasted my time. Go drink something to loosen up your overactive imagination... because I need to go loosen myself some more, too..."
"Boss...?"
"Don’t question me. Go buy some booze and haul your ass back here. Spend a chunk of that money you just won!" The syndicate boss slammed the door shut, clearly eager to resume his interrupted activities.
"I-is this really a good choice...? But... I can’t exactly cross the Boss. Maybe I really am just hallucinating things after winning such a massive sum of cash. I’ll just head out and come right back."
The Rat felt utterly hopeless, but his belief in his leader was absolute.
As far as his memory served, the Boss was always right.
"I just hope it really is an illusion..." the lowlife muttered, exiting the subterranean hideout.
The Boss’s word was the law, so he couldn’t refute a single piece of it.
....
"Hoh, so this is their secret hideout? Not bad at all."
From a distance, Urek observed a thoroughly ordinary-looking, run-down house sitting right in the middle of nowhere.
Any average pedestrian would simply pass by without giving it a second thought, as the entrance was expertly concealed.
Urek’s grand strategy was already in motion, but he required a clone to smoothly track the movements of the larger organizations.
Stumbling upon this hideout wasn’t something he could have easily achieved on his own; based on his memories of the original web novel, an insignificant thug like this wasn’t even mentioned in the plot.
The narrative mainly focused on the protagonist’s grand journey and his expanding harem battling major antagonists.
Minor bottom-feeders simply weren’t noteworthy.
Including them would just be a waste of word count and coins.
"Now, let’s go inspect inside."
Urek approached the entrance...obviously utilizing a clone rather than risking his primary body.
"Stop right there. State the code," a bulky sentry holding a solid metal baseball bat demanded, clearly dissatisfied to see yet another street mongrel trying his luck at the door.
"Plow Me, Daddy...?" Urek uttered.
He had overheard a thug whispering the phrase earlier, though it felt incredibly bizarre to say out loud.
"Okay, you may enter."
’Hell... that actually worked? What a strange gang.’
"Thank you," Urek replied, bowing his head slightly while still internally processing the password.
It was a totally unhinged security code.
’Well, that was surprisingly easy, I guess?’
Urek navigated through the threshold, walking straight down into the underground facility, actively searching for a suitable target.
"Hey there, buddy. You new around here?" a gang member called out casually.
"Yes, I just arrived tonight," Urek replied...or rather, his clone did, sporting a completely fabricated face.
"Oh, that’s a good thing. The Boss is exceptionally busy at the moment."
"Too bad."
"Haha, that’s perfectly normal around here, buddy. So, what exactly are you looking for?"
"A little bit of havoc..." Urek smirked, locking eyes with the man who kept calling him buddy.
"Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place. We cause havoc around the city from time to time."
"That is excellent to hear. You will serve your designated purpose perfectly."
"What did you just say, buddy?"
"Nothing. I was just appreciating the environment."
"Yes... definitely. Enjoying this room. is more than enough."
Both had a conversation for a few seconds before the man said his farewells.
" I’ve gotta run, bud. It’s my turn to go plow now. The Boss is working exceptionally hard, after all" the man said, looking quite drained.
’Shit... what kind of "plowing" are these degenerates constantly talking about? I think I need to distance myself from this shits or I need to execute my plan incredibly fast.’
Urek remained entirely clueless regarding the inner workings of the syndicate...well, not that he needed to care anyway, because they were all just bottom-feeders in his grand script.
Everything was operating precisely as part of his plan.
...
"I-I am really feeling an incredibly bad vibe right now..." The Rat felt deeply uneasy as he navigated the corridors.
The mysterious crawling sensation beneath his skin was growing stronger by the second.
He re-entered the hideout, looking anxiously to the left and right, checking every possible angle.
The atmosphere felt increasingly hazardous.
"Hey there, Rat."
"Shi—! Don’t scare me like that!"
"Oh, my bad... what’s wrong with you, man? You look incredibly gloomy tonight."
"Just having a terrible night... but heck, who are you anyway?" The Rat frowned, completely failing to recognize the face of the man standing before him.
He looked like an ordinary thug... except for a pair of striking, ruby-like eyes.
"Keke, we literally just met tonight, Rat. Don’t go forgetting about me already, man..."
"Y-you... who the hell are you?! H-help!! Somebody help me!"
"Keke... don’t look at me with such terror. I gave you specific orders, didn’t I?"
"Help me!! Someone!!" The Rat’s sanity completely snapped, dissolving into absolute hysteria.
"Too bad. No one can hear your screams down here... now, let’s end your suffering. Or, perhaps... this is merely the grand beginning..."
Shrkkk... Squealch!
Just like that, the extra perished, his role finally fulfilled.
Giving a minor thug too much screen time would be bad for the story anyway.
"Hmm... merely a Tier 2 vessel. A complete piece of trash." Urek casually discarded the lifeless body.
A moment later, another figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
It was an exact duplicate of the Rat, but this version possessed deep, ruby-red eyes.
...
The night passed as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
The bustling energy of the district returned the moment the sun finally made its morning appearance.
"Good morning to me. It’s another bright, beautiful day. Not bad at all." Urek yawned, stretching his limbs as he summoned his perfect clone back to his side to prepare for the day’s agenda.