Chapter 5 The Legendary Black Street

"I said, this is a robbery! Do you idiots not understand?! If I get mad, I will start killing people!!!" Being ignored drove Blue Hair into a frenzy. He let out a furious roar and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger—aiming at one of the security guards! Bang! A dull explosion— His crude, self-made gun blew apart in his hand! His right hand was instantly mangled. The searing pain made Blue Hair instinctively clutch his injury, but he didn't scream. He merely stood there, bloodshot eyes filled with utter confusion. "Huh? He didn't scream." Security Guard A looked puzzled. Security Guard B clicked his tongue. "Tough guy. Too bad he's an idiot." "Yeah... No matter how strong you are, if you don't have brains, you won't survive in Black Street." Security Guard A sighed. But Security Guard B disagreed. "That's not entirely true. On East Street, who dares mess with that Idiot?" "Lunatic from Central Street—he's a taboo in Black Street too!" Security Guard A nodded in agreement. Just hearing those two names sent a chill down their spine. Especially because everyone who had ever dared to provoke them— Had ended up dead. And not just dead—horribly dead. To the point that people instinctively avoided their territory, not even daring to look in that direction. As for what they actually looked like— They weren't even in the same league. Who in their right mind would get curious and go take a peek? Curiosity could get you killed. "Hey! You've got it all wrong! The nickname 'Lunatic' is 'Lunatic' for a reason. Being crazy and being stupid is not the same thing!" Hubert, who had been completely ignored until now, suddenly spoke up—seriously correcting them. Then, when both guards turned to look at him, he immediately tossed his dagger aside and raised his hands in surrender. "Oh! Looks like we've got someone who actually knows what's up! If you knew, then why the hell did you still come here to cause trouble?" Security Guard A looked at Hubert, chuckled, and then turned back to Blue Hair with amusement. "Buddy, if you're gonna do this kind of work, you need better gear. Want me to lend you something?" As he spoke, he casually pulled a sleek handgun from his waist, cocked it, and aimed it at Blue Hair. "It's nothing fancy, but at least it won't explode in your hand." As soon as he finished speaking, Security Guard A suddenly pulled the trigger, shooting Blue Hair in the thigh. Blue Hair let out a muffled groan and dropped to one knee. Blood gushed from the wound, trickling down onto the pristine white tiles, staining them red. "You're cleaning that up later." Security Guard B frowned slightly, looking displeased. "Heh, you know the rules—no guns allowed in Black Street. But hey, I finally got a chance to play around legitimately." Security Guard A licked his lips excitedly. "Gotta say, though, this guy's got guts—he still hasn't screamed." "Pfft, are you blind? You shot him in the femoral artery. He passed out from the pain." Security Guard B rolled his eyes, his tone dripping with mockery. "I thought we had a real hotshot on our hands. I mean, sure, we're just fringe residents of Black Street, but that doesn't mean people can treat us like nobodies." Looking at the unconscious Blue Hair, Security Guard A lost interest. He holstered his gun, turned to the service counter, and casually grabbed a long knife. Then, right in front of the remaining robbers, he walked over to Blue Hair, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and dragged him out of the bank. A crimson trail stretched across the white tiles— And with it, the last shred of courage in the robbers' hearts completely collapsed. Their weapons clattered to the floor as their bodies trembled. None of them dared to move. About thirty seconds later, Security Guard A returned alone, his hands stained with a few drops of blood. "Handled?" Security Guard B asked. Security Guard A nodded. "Yeah. Hung the body on the wall—standard procedure." He grinned and turned to the remaining robbers, including Monkey and Hubert. "Relax. According to Redted Bank's rules, we only kill the leader." Hearing this, everyone instinctively exhaled in relief. Monkey practically collapsed onto the floor, his limbs going limp. "After all," Security Guard A added, almost to himself, "live ones sell for a much better price than dead ones." His words sent a deep chill through the group. "Alright, that's enough! We finally get a chance to make some extra cash, and you're gonna scare them to death? Tie them up and toss them in the basement." Security Guard B impatiently cut him off. Without hesitation, the two of them strolled over to the service counter, grabbed ropes, and started tying people up one by one. None of the robbers resisted— They were too terrified to even think about fighting back. Their eyes were blank, pupils unfocused. Only one thought echoed in their minds— So this... is the legendary Black Street? A place that swallows people whole, not even spitting out their bones? Compared to this, the rest of Encten felt like a paradise. "Can you tie me up differently? This method leaves marks—it's pretty painful." Hubert, still wearing a smile, looked up at Security Guard B standing in front of him. His reaction was odd. From the moment he entered, he hadn't moved a muscle. And now, even as they tied him up, he didn't struggle at all. "Everyone gets tied up the same way. Gotta be fair, you know?" Security Guard B chuckled. Hubert's smile didn't waver. "Come on, I'm a longtime Black Street resident—show me a little respect." "Wow, even a local man dares to stir up trouble with Redted Bank?" Security Guard B clicked his tongue in amusement. He didn't respond directly, but he did tie Hubert up differently. "When life gets unbearable, you gotta find a way out. There are some things you just have to do—otherwise, you can't sleep at night." Hubert had absolutely no sense of being someone else's spoils of war. He even exchanged a few words with the Security Guard Before being shoved into the basement along with the others. The heavy iron door slammed shut behind them. In an instant, the dimly lit basement was plunged into total darkness. "Alright, folks, just a little hiccup—sorry about that!" Meanwhile, the two security guards returned to the lobby. Security Guard A diligently scrubbed the bloodstains off the floor, while Security Guard B flashed a polite, apologetic smile, sincerely offering his regrets to the customers. They were just security guards, yet they handled everything with impeccable efficiency. As for the customers inside the bank, none of them seemed to care. They simply continued with their transactions as if nothing had happened. Aside from the corpse hanging outside the bank's entrance, there was no indication that an armed robbery had just taken place. Even after thirty minutes had passed, no one from the City Lord's Mansion had arrived to investigate why a dead body was displayed at the bank's entrance. Only the occasional passersby cast a brief, curious glance at the corpse before quietly moving along. It was as if— To the people here, life itself was meaningless. Human lives— Were the cheapest commodity in this place.