Child of Destiny

……

Beep! Beep!

Lawrence logged out of the game at the usual time. He stared at the ceiling for quite a while before taking off the gaming helmet that he was using.

He then stood up and looked around. It was still the prison-like room that he had been staying in for quite a while now.

Ever since he had been under the ‘care’ of the Black-Market Organization, he had been transferred from one base to another.

He was not sure about the real reason for the multiple transfers, but it at least helped him run away from the members of the Black Serpent Mafia, who were constantly chasing after learning that he was still alive.

They also knew that the thing that his big brother had stolen from them was in his possession. Even though it was not exactly on him right now, he at least knew where his big brother had hidden it.

The Black-Market Organization seemed to be still unaware of this matter, but he could tell that they must have some suspicions.

Fortunately, he had gotten the recognition of the ‘Dark King’ from the game, which made him an important piece that everyone needed if they wanted to find the exact location of his legacy.

He had been following the suggestion that Arthur and Dark King Tang Hyeon had given him, giving bits of information little by little and mixing useless and useful in the process.

Unfortunately, the members of the Black-Market Organization were not clueless about his actions either, which was why their treatment of him was getting worse. Unless he provided them with truly useful information, his situation would only get worse.

At this moment, he was currently within the prison dungeon of the organization. It might still be considered decent when compared to the other prisoners being held in this place, but he was still no different from them.

His room at least had a decent bed, a metal chair, and a table, which were for his basic needs. There was also a bathroom here, which was something that the other prison rooms did not have in this dungeon.

On top of this, he also had an internet network that he could use to communicate outside and play games.

Of course, he was not foolish enough to contact anyone outside, knowing the line was under close watch by the organization.

They would even want him to contact someone so that they could learn his connections.

Aside from communicating with Arthur within the game, he was not doing anything else that would arouse the suspicions of the organization.

They were most likely aware of this fact as well, which was why they were constantly moving him around. It was also to prevent others from finding him.

Lawrence also did not know where they took him, so escaping from them would not be easy.

He did not know how Arthur – or more specially, the Springfield Family – would rescue him, so he could only trust them and the process.

Looking around, Lawrence could not help but think about his elder brother, wondering if this was how his elder brother had lived throughout his life within one of the Black Serpent Mafia Training Camps.

After a while, he could not help but look at the digital clock on the wall. This was supposed to be the time when the guards would bring him his meal.

They had always been on time, so he was wondering why they were late this time.

“Are they planning to starve me this time?” he mumbled while frowning deeply.

He knew that the organization would do all they could just to squeeze the information out of him, so he was expecting them to use all kinds of tricks just to get what they wanted.

However, he was not expecting them to be the opposite and take care of him quite well. It wasn’t until recently that they had changed their approach and started treating him a bit colder compared to how it used to be, particularly after arriving in this place.

He was about to stand up and look at what was happening when he heard a series of loud sounds coming from outside.

Bang! Bang!

“Ah!” he was startled by the sound, which made him fall on the bed.

Clank! Clank!

Not long after, he heard the familiar sound of the door when it was being unlocked from the outside.

Bang!

The door was then pushed open, and a woman wearing a tight leather suit entered the room.

She scanned her eyes at the prison room for a moment before her gaze landed on Lawrence, who was somewhat curled on his bed.

The woman opened a virtual screen for a moment, projecting a photo of Lawrence. She shifted her gaze between the photo and Lawrence a couple of times before pressing the back of his earlobe with her fingers. “This Black Cat. This Black Cat. I’ve found the target. Moving according to plan. Over.”

After that, she took out a suit from the inventory space that she had brought with her and took out a similar-looking leather suit from it before throwing it at Lawrence. “The young master has sent us to rescue you. Put it on! I will be getting you out of this place.”

Lawrence stared blankly at the woman, who seemed to have addressed herself as Black Cat, for a moment before snapping out of it.

He quickly got up and swiftly grabbed the leather suit, preparing to change. He was about to take off his clothes and change when he noticed that Black Cat was still looking at him.

Given her teasing smile, she seemed to be planning to watch him change, which made him quite uncomfortable.

He hesitated for quite a while before gritting his teeth and started taking off his clothes when he realized that she seemed not to be planning to take her eyes off him. It was not like he would be losing anyway, so he just went along with it.

After a while, he finished changing and walked over to her with a crimson face.

Black Cat stared at him, amused. She must admit that this kid was quite decent for his age. It was clear that he had trained quite well.

Moreover, she also noticed that he seemed to be training a quite strange method given the marks left on his body.

She was watching him change, not because of some sort of fetish. Instead, it was meant to look at his foundation and see if he had already trained in a decent Martial Art. Given the signs that she had gotten from his body, it seemed like he was indeed training a poison method.

After a brief thought, she turned around and started leading Lawrence out.

“Ah!”

When he stepped out of his prison room, Lawrence was immediately greeted by quite a scene, making him halt his steps for a moment.

Bodies littered the ground along with blood stains that were painting the wall. It was quite bloody and gory, making him uncomfortable. He even felt like vomiting at any given moment.

However, after seeing Black Cat walk away and about to leave him behind, he suppressed his urge and ran after her.

Looking around, he also realized that some of the prison rooms and cells were open. That was also when he realized that some of the dead bodies on the ground were wearing prisoner clothing just like what he was wearing earlier.

“These-… these people are-…” he struggled to open his mouth, wanting to ask Black Cat what happened.

If some of these guys were also prisoners, then there was a high chance that some of them were like him.

Unfortunately, he was too afraid of upsetting Black Cat, thinking that he would end up like these people if he overstepped his boundaries.

Seemingly understanding what he was thinking, Black Cat explained. “Most of these people were wanted criminals or some spies that the Black-Market Organization has caught.”

“This place is supposed to be a prison for such people, which is why it is a perfect place to hide you. It is to trick the other people who are looking for you without arousing that much suspicion.”

“Moreover, this place is under their tight influence, so infiltration is quite challenging, especially when there are more than a few powerhouses around,” she added.

With this little information, Lawrence immediately realized that he was currently being held in a not-so-ordinary prison dungeon.

After threading their way around the prison, they stopped before a wall, which seemed to be a dead end.

Black Cat looked around and knocked on the walls a couple of times before nodding its head. “This should be the right place.”

She then pressed her communication device before reporting their location and giving the signal. “Black Cat to Turtledove. Black Cat to Turtledove. We are at Point C. You can now commence the assault.”

Hearing her, the person from the other side of the line seemed to become very excited. “This is a command to all units! Command to all units! The target has been secured! It is time for the party!”

A few seconds after receiving his orders, a series of massive explosions suddenly erupted in the different parts of the Coralara Archipelago.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

……