Ning wasn’t sure what to make of the man’s face when he asked him if he was a criminal. He had asked it offhandedly, but judging by the expression, it seemed like he really was one.

“Of-of course I’m not,” the man said.

“Dude! Who are you kidding?” Ning asked. “I should have known by how shady this meeting place even is. You’re asking me to meet by the side of a random house, and are worried that I was with the guards.”

“No, I’m not,” the man said. “Do you want the job or not?”

“What’s the job?” Ning asked. “What do I deliver?”

“No, I don’t think I want to give you the job anymore,” the man said.

“Hey! Come on, man. I need the money. As long as it’s not something bad, I’ll do it,” Ning said.

The man grumbled to himself for a moment and nodded. He then brought out something that he was hiding on his back. “You will need to get this to the next city. Just beyond the bridge, someone will be waiting for you. As long as you get it to them, they will give you something back, which you’ll have to bring here. As long as you do that, you’ll get paid,” the man said.

Ning reached out to the package, curiously and the man pulled back quickly. “What are you doing?” the man asked.

“I was just trying to see what it was,” Ning said.

“You don’t get to see what’s inside,” the man said.

“What?” Ning looked at the man. “How the hell am I supposed to believe that you’re not making me do something illegal if I can’t even check what it is?”

“You don’t need to see what it is. You just need to deliver it, alright?” the man asked.

“I don’t know, brother. You’re acting really shady right now. I’m starting to wonder if you’re even trustworthy in the first place,” Ning said. “I think I’ll give up on this job. It doesn’t seem like something that’s good for m—”

BANG~!

A massive explosion sounded from far away, forcing Ning to stop speaking quickly. He and the other man both looked toward the direction of the explosion.

“What was that?” Ning couldn’t help but ask. “it didn’t sound that far away.”

The man looked in the direction of where the explosion had happened and couldn’t help but frown. “Alright, listen to me. I don’t have the time,” the man said.

“Here is your payment, upfront,” the man brought out 10 Earth coins, presenting them in front of Ning.

“No, I’m not doing your work anym—”

“I don’t have time for this,” the man shouted, forcing Ning to take the coins. “You are right. I am a criminal, alright? But what I’m sending with you is not something illegal by any means.”

“I was going to do it myself but something’s come up and I can’t do it,” the man said. “Take this to the other city. There will be people waiting for you to take the item there. You will recognize them rather easily after using the keywords ‘loud silence’, so you won’t have to worry about not knowing who to give it to.”

“They will test the item and give you a package as well, depending on the result. Bring back the package to me,” the man said. “Do this for m—”

The man’s eyes moved all of a sudden to his left towards the river from where men started jumping out at him.

“The **?” the man shouted as he pulled out two daggers by his side. One of the daggers had a blade that glowed bright red, while the other one glowed a dull gray.

“How the ** did they recognize me?” the man shouted.

Ning looked to the side as well and saw nearly 6 different people in dark clothes coming towards them.

“Move and I’ll kill you all,” the man shouted at the newly arrived group. The group stopped and one of them go rid of the cloth around their face that was covering their identity.

The moment the cover came off, the man’s eyes went wide.

“Gerrin?” he couldn’t help but ask in surprise. His daggers lowered a bit as he let his guard down for a moment before quickly picking it back up.

“Hello, Carlos,” Gerrin spoke. Gerrin was a young man in his late 20s and had a rather handsome face.

“What are you doing here?” Carlos asked. “How did you recognize me?”

“Recognize you? Haha, we haven’t left you out of our sight since the moment you walked into the city. Your simple face change was not going to stop us from recognizing you at all,” the young man said, as his eyes drifted towards the package in his hand.

“I see,” Gerrin said. “So that’s the thing everyone is so after. Is it really what the rumor says it is?”

“The ** does that have anything to do with you?” Carlos asked.

“If I can get my hands on it, everything,” Gerrin said.

Carlos’ eyes narrowed. “Are you going behind the boss’s back?” he asked.

“Fuck the boss. If I can get that, who cares about some stupid old bastard that knows nothing but to sit around and order us,” Gerrin said. “I might as well kill him after I get that thing.”

“So confident, for someone that is at the death’s door,” the man said.

“Oh?” Gerrin was surprised. “And who’s going to kill me? You and that kid over there?”

“Heh! You overestimate yourself,” Carlos said. “I alone will be enough.”𝑜𝒱𝗅xt.𝒸𝑜𝑚

Carlos tossed the box to Ning who was just standing there. Ning grabbed the box and looked at the man.

“Take that to my boss in the next city. Listen for the keyword ‘loud silence’. Now go,” Carlos shouted.

“Kid, you better hand that over, or my men will fillet you like fish on a cutting board,” Gerrin spoke. The men behind him did start to pull out their weapons as well.

Ning looked at the two men and suddenly tossed the package the Gerrin. “I don’t want anything to do with this. So, just take it, and leave me alone.”