[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 191 - Legal Technicalities

Dressed in casual clothing, and with his face revealed, pretty much everyone recognized Freddy out in the streets. His identity was public, and at this point, his image was basically everywhere. It had been for a long time. 

During his free days, he was still pretty busy, so it was rare for him to actually spend much time outside. Today wasn’t going to be an exception. It really shouldn’t have been.

As he left his apartment, having stopped by to get the little bit of sleep he was surviving on for the past few weeks, he overheard a strange conversation. 

Three people were chatting at a street corner while smoking. 

One of them, an older man, said, “I was finally approved for the evacuation.” He looked gleeful, bragging to the other two. 

“You lucky motherfucker,” a second man said. “My shitty studio apartment hasn’t gone through yet.”

“You two cunts at least have a way to enter,” the third man said bitterly. “If only I hadn’t sold my house like a dumbass…” He looked almost on the verge of tears.

“Don’t worry about it, man,” the first one said, putting a hand on the third man’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find a way out soon. And if you don’t, I could maybe tell ‘em you’re my brother. You never know, they might buy it.”

“You’d go that far for me? What if they catch you?”

The man smiled. “I’d do anything for my best man. You’re a brother enough to me for it to only be half a lie.”

“Excuse me,” Freddy butted in suddenly. 

The men paused and turned around. As soon as they realized who was coming their way, they froze on the spot, turning slightly pale. “Oh, hello sir…” the first one said stiffly. “Is there something we can help you with?”

Eyes squinted, he slowly walked over to them. “Yeah… What’s this evacuation you guys are talking about?”

The men exchanged nervous glances. The second one coughed. “We uh… We weren’t bothering anyone, sir. Is there a reason to look for trouble with us?” It was pretty much just a polite way to tell Freddy to mind his own business.

He wasn’t going to. “Just tell me. I’m curious.”

They exchanged more glances. The first man shifted and laughed nervously. “We are very impressed by your work so far, sir. Your exploits are all anyone is talking about nowadays. You know, it’s not… It’s not that we’re ungrateful… I would just like to clear that up.”

Freddy was scowling at this point, so the man rushed ahead a bit. “It’s just that, from what the rumors are saying, there are literally dozens of times more monsters coming here than anywhere else. Can’t blame us regular folk for getting a little restless.”

“Yeah, there sure are,” Freddy said. It was true, from what he’d heard as well. It was likely that Nahar was aware of what the different cities were doing to protect themselves, and was somehow guiding the horde to prioritize targets with better defenses. “But so what? We also have defenses hundred times thicker than any other city in the whole region. Anyway, stop beating around the bush. What’s this evacuation you’re talking about?”

They exchanged glances again, hesitating.

“Hurry the fuck up,” he urged.

The second man finally broke. “There is a group that arrived just about a few days ago. They’re offering to buy up people’s real estate, and on top of giving pretty generous offers, they also add a free evacuation to sweeten the deal.”

Freddy scowled. “Evacuating where, exactly?”

“Ottawa,” the first man said.

“And you think you’re gonna be safer there?”

“It’s a big city,” the third man said. “There’s safety in numbers.”

“No the fuck there isn’t.” Freddy sighed in exasperation. “There is no safety in numbers. Ottawa has no goddamn plan. Currently, they’re being defended by a bunch of independent groups, and those groups are holding the populace hostage and extorting them for everything they’re worth!” He was practically shouting by the end. “You morons just signed yourself up to get royally screwed!”

“So you say,” the first man rebutted. “But why would we take your word for it?” He paled a little as he realized who he was talking to. “No offense, of course. It’s just—”

“Just shut up, man.” He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Tell me the name of this group.”

The three men all looked away, and then down. “Sorry,” the first man said. “I would prefer not to.”

“Fine then. I’ll find them myself.”

He went all the way to the wall, over to the only exit letting people out of the city. This wasn’t a prison—if someone wanted to leave, they wouldn’t be stopped. That being said, there were checks at the wall, just to keep records of all the people coming in and out.

As soon as he reached the wall, he spotted a suspiciously long line there. “Oh, fuck my life.”

There were dozens of people waiting. And the line was going pretty fast. Who knew how many already fell for the scam?

Outraged, he rushed to the person last in line. It was a nervous-looking man wearing a beanie. He was skinny, unkept, and kept scratching himself on the neck. 

Freddy basically jumped him as he shouted. “Hey!”

He yelled loudly enough that the man, as well as everyone else waiting in line, flinched at the sudden noise. The man looked right about ready to bolt as Freddy asked, “Are you one of the people being ‘evacuated’?”

“Don’t hurt me, man,” the man pleaded. “I didn’t do anything to anyone!”

“Yes or no!?” 

“Yes! Yes! Please!” The man raised his hands to shield himself. 

“What’s the name of the group behind this?” he asked. “Where did you find them?”

Unlike the three men from before, this guy had no qualms with spilling the beans. Apparently, it was a real estate company called “Fantelon,” and they had only recently arrived in town. After interrogating a few others, Freddy was about to explode with rage. 

This group was preying on the populace’s fears to get them to sell their real estate. Their offers seemed generous by Repentawa standards, but everyone with half a brain knew that the prices would only keep going up as more people rushed to come here.

Repentawa was by far the best-defended city in the entire Northern Belt, and it wasn’t even close. On the surface, a city like Ottawa seemed like it had an advantage, but that simply wasn’t the case. They weren’t nearly as unified and organized as Repentawa. Sure, there were overall more defenders there, and they were holding their own for now. 

But they didn’t have any kind of wall defending the city, so there were always some monsters coming through. On top of that, they had a significantly higher need for frontliners, and people willing to fight with their lives on the line were a finite resource. 

The damage was starting to accumulate, and there was no end to the monsters in sight.

In Repentawa, if there was ever a particularly dense tide approaching the wall, the melee fights could pull back behind the walls and let the massive collection of rangers whittle the tides down until it was mostly safe again. This was much more sustainable, and, if anything, the last few weeks have only energized their defenses. 

As people fought, they continued to get stronger. Those who reached the second star were only getting more common, and there was even talk of some woman having reached the third star the other day. And because the setup was relatively safe, for most of the fighters, especially the rangers who were nice and cozy up in the walls, this was an easy source of income. 

The longer this went on, the more obvious it became that Repentawa was the safest place to be. 

But there was only so much space within the walls to build new homes. 

Freddy made his way over to the building housing this new business. It was on the outskirts of the downtown area. They had bought an entire residential building and turned it into their headquarters. It obviously wasn’t done being renovated yet, but they were damn close. That was the least that could be expected from a supposed “real estate” agency. 

Freddy simply marched inside. Their lobby was of the standard, highly unpleasant corporate style. Plastic plants, unassuming color scheme, ads with smiling families all over the walls. And thanks to those exact ads, it wasn’t hard to decipher what kind of business model they were aiming for. 

They were renting out the apartments they had bought. Obviously, the prices were nowhere to be seen, but given the listed “alternative payment plans,” such as the ability to “work” or even take out credit to pay rent, the prices were certainly going to be extortionate. 

There was a line of people waiting before the male clerk who was taking their information. Without waiting in line, Freddy charged up to the clerk and knocked on the protective glass. “Yeah, I’m gonna need to talk to your boss.”

“Uhm… I’m sorry, sir, but you’re gonna have to wait in line—”

Rather than argue, Freddy simply flicked the sturdy protective glass. Spiderweb cracks ran all across it. “I’m not here to play around.”

Panicked, the clerk moved his hand under the desk. Freddy sighed.

In the next moment, a door in the back opened, and several armed guards made their way out. Shooting the clerk a sickly-sweet smile, Freddy pointed at them. “That way, then?” Pushing through the line of people waiting, he confronted the security.

There were four bulky men walking towards him, all of them rather advanced two-stars. Three of them were approaching with hostile looks, but a man in the back, who just happened to be the strongest among them, suddenly paused as his face went pale. But before he could say anything, Freddy was already right in front of them.

“Do we have a problem sir?” one of the guards asked.

“We do. I’m gonna meet your boss. It would be better if you told me where he was before I started looking.”

“Hey, uh…” the man in the back called, tapping two others aggressively on their back. He whispered something, and they suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. 

But the man who was facing Freddy didn’t hear them. Instead, he pulled his fist back and punched, landing a perfect hit right on Freddy’s nose. 

Freddy didn’t even budge. His hand blurred, and in the next moment, the guard was flying across the room, his face swollen from the slap he just received. 

The people who had been waiting in line stirred at the commotion. In the next moment, they were filing out of the building in a panic.

“I’m gonna ask one more time—where is your boss?”

The others just glanced at the guard who lay unconscious across the room and moved out of the way. “There’s an elevator down the hallway, sir. Top floor.”

“Thank you,” Freddy said, moving past them. 

He reached the elevator in a couple of seconds and pressed the button that would lead him to the highest floor. 

But rather than go up, the elevator suddenly started falling down, as if the tether had been snapped. He was confused for a few moments, before deeply sighing. “Fuck my life.”

The elevator smashed into spikes that pierced through the floor. They poked a bit through his skin, but that was about it. Feeling a sense of danger, he conjured his Crimson Dragon Scales.

In the next moment, everything was flooded by extremely toxic gas that then proceeded to ignite, burning so hot it melted right through Freddy’s clothing. If that wasn’t enough, everything lit up with electric sparks. And if that wasn’t enough, the walls of the elevator started deforming and screeching, like a tin can being crushed inside a hydraulic press. 

He sighed again. “Well, points for creativity, I guess.”

Bracing himself against the two walls that were about to crush him, he pushed as hard as he could. While he couldn’t push it back, he could easily stop it from moving in. It was only when he braced his legs against one wall and his back against the other that he managed to break the mechanism and stop it. 

He looked down on his naked, scaled form. After putting on his white suit, Warrior King’s Pendant, and golden mask, he broke out of the bent elevator and started making his way up the shaft. 

With Hydraulic Flex, he could practically run straight up, as long as he went between one wall and the other. Within seconds, he was at the highest floor entrance. There, he broke through the doors with a swift kick and made his way in.

There was another straight hallway, with only one door on the other side. But between him and his destination was a three-star archhuman holding a cursed knife. “I’d advise you to reconsider,” the man said, flaring his aura. “I know you’re rumored to be quite powerful, but—”

Without waiting for the man to finish, Freddy conjured a Blood Javelin and threw it. 

He could give credit where it was due. The man’s reaction time was quite impressive. He activated an air-affinity ability and started moving out of the way the instant Freddy threw the spear. He might have even dodged it if he was actually fast enough to do so.

The spear jabbed right into the man’s rib, violently crushing through it and leaving out the other end. He released a wet gasp, just in time for Freddy’s foot to meet his face. He flew back, bursting through the door on the other side and skittering across the floor of a highly decorated office. A burst of essence confirmed the man’s death. 

“Stop!” someone shouted from inside the office. “You can’t do this!” 

Freddy walked forward, stepping into the opulent space. 

On the other side, standing behind a desk, was an intimidating individual with silver hair, wearing a black suit. He was a three-star, a rather advanced one at that. His face was all hard lines and his posture, while defensive, wasn’t full of fear. “Even if you own the city, you’re taking things way too far, you little shit!”

“Says who?” Freddy cocked his head. “I only came here to talk and you tried to kill me.”

“Not true,” the man stated confidently. “The elevator has an automatic safety feature. You pressed the top-floor button without authorization, and that activated the safety mechanism. And that was after you barged into my business and harassed my employees!” The man’s gaze turned cold. “If you think you can act however you please, then you have another thing coming. The empire has laws. You are not above them.”

“You are sending innocent men and women to their deaths by preying on their fears and making false promises,” Freddy said. “As the owner of this city, I have the responsibility to maintain order. And you are disturbing it.”

“I have done nothing illegal,” the man insisted.

“Technically not. But you’re still killing people for money.”

The man scowled. “Technical or not, it is still true I am acting within the bounds of what I’m legally permitted to do. You are not. You have signed a formal declaration that prevents you from disturbing business and killing people as you please. I advise you to back away. The adjudicator won’t stand by and watch if you continue this.”

“You want to talk about legal technicalities?” Freddy asked as he suddenly lunged forward. The man’s eyes flashed open, and he swung his hand, conjuring a shield of stone that actually managed to stop Freddy’s attack long enough for the man to jump out of the way. “Technically, you pissing me off is enough reason for me to legally execute you.” He lunged at the man again, punching out with a Tsunami Strike. 

The man tried defending himself again, but his defenses were completely pulverized this time, and the shockwave blew all the windows out, shaking the entire building. Groaning in pain, the man tumbled to the other side of the room, smashing hard into the wall.

“Fuckers like you love technicalities until they find themselves on the other end of one.”

Spitting blood on the floor, the man looked out the window. “We’ll see about that.” He jumped. “Promise of Salvation!” he shouted. 

Freddy could feel the man’s body flare with power, and in the next moment, a winged, angelic figure appeared above him, embracing him and carrying him off into the distance.

He pulled out another Blood Javelin, but the man swiftly flew behind a building. He clicked his tongue. “An escape spirit ability! Shit!”