Chapter 2670: Angry Shadows

After emerging from the void, Yuan picked up the weapon left behind by the man and smiled, "Since it can be powered by Refined Ores, this must be a high-end weapon. To personally deliver me such an expensive gift... how nice of them."

After putting the sword away, Yuan wore his mask again and left the alley with the intention of visiting the Angry Shadows’ hideout.

However, just as he exited the alley, he noticed the boy who had lured him standing not far away, as if waiting for someone.

"Waiting for your mother?" Yuan asked him.

"?!?!"

The boy was startled to see Yuan standing before him.

"Y-You?! How are you still—?!" The boy hastily covered his own mouth when he realized that they were out in the open with pedestrians walking around.

Yuan leaned in and whispered, "How am I still alive? Why don’t you guess?"

He showed the boy the weapon he’d just acquired.

When the boy saw the weapon, he immediately turned around and tried to flee, but Yuan grabbed him by the shoulder before he could take even two steps.

"H-Help! He’s trying to kidnap me!" the boy immediately shouted, drawing the attention of those nearby.

Yuan smiled behind his mask and waved dismissively. "He’s lying. He tried to pickpocket me just now."

The pedestrians turned their attention to the boy, and upon seeing his ragged clothes, immediately believed Yuan and continued on their way, paying the two of them no further attention.

"N-No! Please help!" the boy screamed desperately, but nobody even bothered to spare them a glance.

"If you cooperate with me, I promise I won’t hurt you," Yuan said to him. "Or I can take you to the authorities and have them figure things out."

"..."

The moment the boy heard Yuan mention involving the authorities, he immediately fell silent.

"Good. Now follow me."

Yuan brought the boy back to the alley.

"How are you related to the Angry Shadows?" Yuan asked once they were at the dead end.

However, the boy was too busy examining the scene to respond.

"Where is that man’s corpse? Didn’t you kill him?" he asked.

"I am the one asking questions here," Yuan said in a stern voice.

The boy nodded and said, "I am... their lure."

"How long have you been working with them?"

"I just started..." When the boy met Yuan’s cold gaze, he quickly added, "I swear! This was my first job, too!"

"How did you end up working for them?"

"How do you think? They promised me food and money if I worked for them, and as an orphan, it’s my only chance of survival."

"Well, starting today, you will no longer be working for them."

"What?! Then how the hell am I supposed to survive?!" the boy shouted.

"There are plenty of options out there, and they’re definitely better than working for criminals."

"Nobody will hire or help a young orphan like me!"

"You’re just not looking hard enough or in the right places. In fact, I passed by a restaurant not far from here with a sign saying they were hiring waiters. Age didn’t matter as long as you could carry dishes properly."

"That’s..." The boy fell silent.

He was already well aware of that. In truth, he preferred working as a lure because it was low effort, and the pay was far better than what he could earn from an ordinary job.

"Anyway, regardless of your feelings, you have no choice but to find another job after today," Yuan suddenly said.

"Why is that?"

"Because the Angry Shadows will cease to exist after today."

"?!?!"

"Alright. Take me to the Happy Pub," Yuan then said.

"You... can’t be serious..."

"I’m dead serious."

"..."

After a moment of silence, the boy released a defeated sigh.

"Follow me..."

The boy led Yuan to the Western District, only about an hour’s walk from their location. Then, after another fifteen minutes, they arrived at the Happy Pub.

"I thought you were going to destroy the Angry Shadows? What are we doing at a bar?" the boy asked Yuan.

The Happy Pub was a popular, well-known establishment throughout the Union, but aside from its core members, nobody knew it was the Angry Shadows’ hideout. Naturally, even the boy had no idea and mistook Yuan’s reason for bringing him there.

"You really didn’t know this was the Angry Shadows’ hideout?" Yuan looked at him and said.

"What!?" The boy exclaimed.

Yuan shook his head and sighed, "You can leave now, and don’t come back."

The boy didn’t question him and immediately left. However, instead of leaving entirely, he lingered at a distance—far enough to avoid getting caught up in whatever was about to happen, yet close enough to watch.

Meanwhile, Yuan entered the bar through the already-opened doors.

Inside, the establishment was laid out much like a restaurant, with tables spread throughout the room, but the atmosphere was anything but ordinary. It was a full-fledged bar, with loud music blaring and bright lights constantly flashing.

The place was also bustling with activity. Many of the tables were occupied by groups of beautiful women gathered around a single man, drinking and chatting merrily.

"Are you dining alone?" one of the waitresses asked as she approached Yuan shortly after he entered, dressed in a revealing black outfit with matching black pantyhose.

"Alone."

"Would you like to be seated outside, or do you want a private room?"

"Give me a private room."

"Very well. Please, follow me."

The waitress led Yuan to the back, where a hallway lined with several private rooms awaited them.

Once they were inside one of the rooms with the door closed, she asked, "Have you been here before? Do you have a specific girl in mind? If not, you can tell us your preferences. Of course, you can have multiple at once."

Yuan calmly looked at the waitress and said, "I do have someone in mind—the manager of this place. Bring them to me."

"...?"

The waitress immediately froze, dumbfounded by his unexpected request, and simply stared at him in silence.