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nNick scratched his chin for a bit.

nThe rat looked with interest at Nick.

n“Not interested,” Nick said after a bit.

n“Oh, come on,” the rat shouted, but it still didn’t dare to leave its little hole. “It’s just five bodies! You don’t even need to kill them yourself!”

n“No, killing is forbidden,” Nick answered.

n“So?” the rat asked. “Who cares?”

n“I do,” Nick said. “I am a real Zephyx Extractor now. I can’t do such shady stuff.”

nThe rat blinked very slowly.

n“What?” it asked in a disbelieving and deadpan voice. “Extractors kill the most people. They can basically kill whoever they want. They just need to pay a fine for it.”

nNick scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I get it, but I don’t like it.”

n“It feels dirty.”

nThe rat looked like it couldn’t believe what Nick was saying.

n“What are you talking about? I literally saw you kill that guy from the Insurance Gang and dump his body in the ruins!” the rat shouted.

n“Ruins?” Nick asked.

n“The sewers! The stuff below the grates you’re walking on!” the rat shouted with annoyance.

n“Oh, that,” Nick said. “Yeah, I killed him, but that was because he was trying to collect information on me. It was self-defense.”

n“Self-defense? The guy was just looking at your house! You punched his face in before he could even do anything!”

n“Yeah, like I said, self-defense!” Nick answered with annoyance. “He went against me, and I answered in kind.”

nThe rat scratched on the grate below it with annoyance. “Okay, fine! It was self-defense! Then, go out and make some enemies and self-defend yourself into five corpses!”

n“No,” Nick answered.

nSilence.

n“Why?” the rat asked.

n“I don’t want to kill people that haven’t done anything to me.”

n“I have morals, you know!” Nick shouted with a serious tone.

n“Morals,” the rat repeated with annoyance.

n“Yes, morals,” Nick answered.

n“Okay,” the rat said. “Then go purchase five corpses or something. Your employer looks like he has money.”

n“Can’t,” Nick answered. “We are not allowed to keep the corpses.”

n“Also, I heard that the entire city is basically looking for you, and if anyone found out that I purchased some corpses to hand them to you, the city would probably kill me.”

nThe rat took a deep breath.

n“Okay, okay,” it said. “Anyway, my offer still stands. If you are ever interested in some information, just give me some corpses. I don’t care where they come from. As long as they are human and have not been killed by Nurse Alice, I am fine with any.”

n“Anyway, good luck finding a Specter without me,” the rat said with a snort before it vanished back into its hole.

nWhen Nick heard that, he furrowed his brows again and scratched the back of his head.

nHe really didn’t like his current situation.

nJust now, the Parasite had given him a chance to find a Specter, but he had declined.

nIn the end, Nick could only sigh and accept his circumstances.

nOf course, as someone who had lived in the Dregs for his entire life, Nick was a very practical person.

nNaturally, he had considered the Parasite’s offer seriously.

nHowever, no matter how he reasoned with himself, Nick just couldn’t accept helping the Parasite.

nThe Parasite was a Specter that killed a great number of humans.

nEssentially, it was preying on the weak.

nOver the years, Nick had looked at the huge pyramid that symbolized the Inner City countless times, and whenever he saw the difference between it and the Dregs, he felt very similar.

nJust based on how the tax system worked, Nick could tell that the rich Zephyx Manufacturers in the Inner City were preying on the weak and poor people of the Dregs.

nThis created a certain hatred for people who preyed on weaker ones. 𝒍𝓲𝒓𝒆𝓪.𝙘𝒐𝓶

nIf everyone could just give a little of their belongings, there wouldn’t be so many dying people in the Dregs.

nNaturally, Nick knew that this was a very na?ve ideology. Something like this would never happen.

nYet, even if the ideology was na?ve, it was still what Nick wished for.

nNick couldn’t change the world, but he could live his own life after his own standards, at least.

nAnd Nick wouldn’t take advantage of the weak people.

nTaking advantage of the ones in power, like the Gangs, sure, but not of the weak ones.

nWould it be easier to just accept how the world was and go with the flow?

nOf course.

n‘But I don’t need things to be easy,’ Nick thought. ‘I’m strong enough to have morals.’

nNevertheless, Nick threw one last glance at the hole where the rat had just been.

nHe felt a bit of regret.

nSomeone with Nick’s knowledge and strength could probably find five corpses without being found.

nBut in the end, Nick just couldn’t do it.

nSo, Nick just continued walking through the alleyways.

nEventually, the metal below Nick’s feet became so unstable that he had to stop.

nBy now, Nick was pretty close to the huge wall around the city.

nRows upon rows of silver cameras lined the top of the walls, and they were looking in and out of the city.

nNaturally, several cameras were also pointing at Nick at the moment.

nHowever, that wasn’t anything unusual.

nAfter a bit, Nick just turned around and left this part of the Dregs again.

nNick looked for a different abandoned part and continued his search there.

nHours passed.

nStill nothing.

nNick returned home, ate something, and went to bed.

nThe next day, he continued searching.

nNothing.

nThe next day, he went and talked to different people all day.

nNobody had anything of value to say.

nNick also met an Investigator that day, who only laughed at Nick.

nThe Investigators had already found out that Nick was searching for Specters, and apparently, Nick had become a joke within their ranks.

nThey found it quite hilarious that some unknown guy from the Dregs was searching for Specters while he was up against several huge companies with hundreds of employees.

nNick didn’t talk to the Investigator.

nAnother day passed.

nAnother day passed.

nAnother day passed.

nNothing.

nNick found absolutely nothing.

nYet, Nick didn’t give up.

nHe still continued searching.

nThere had to be something, somewhere!

nIf Nick didn’t find something, his future would become grey and empty again!

nNick wanted to make something of his life, and for that to happen, he needed to find something.

nHe wouldn’t give up!

nNo matter how long it took!

nThis cont𝙘nt is taken from 𝑙𝘳𝑎𝒹.𝗇𝓔t

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