Large patches of missing teeth glistened on the ground, scattered like fallen pearls from a broken necklace.
Kairo barely spared a glance at the groaning Boss beneath him, his focus already on the glinting gold tooth lying in the dirt. The sharp edges caught the fading sunlight, a cruel reminder of the violent scuffle that just ended.
Money was tight, painfully tight, Kairo thought grimly.
"Arghh!~"Boss clutched his bleeding mouth, glaring at Kairo through the pain.
After glancing at the Boss for several seconds, Kairo suddenly kicked the Boss hard.
The Boss flew out from under Kairo's foot and collapsed beside his gang members.
"Get lost! And don't show your face here again!" Kairo's cold voice made everyone around back away in fear.
Even the Boss's crew helped him up and hurried away.
Kairo couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"Ha ha ha! Finally, some excitement after a whole year of silence."
He had spent that year isolated in the mountains, speaking very little. While he could endure loneliness, it didn't mean he wasn't frustrated.
Returning to his stall, Kairo tidied up the furs, waiting for customers.
Luckily, some rare furs sold well, earning him a profit of 140 million Baileys.
The rest were worthless scraps.
Noticing the late hour, Kairo decided to buy supplies.
He packed up the remaining furs and headed to the blacksmith shop.
"Hey! I want to make some iron tools!" Kairo called out as he entered.
A large man with a heavy hammer came out.
"What can I do for you?" The Blacksmith asked.
Kairo handed over carefully prepared blueprints.
The blacksmith frowned as he studied them.
"These designs are unusual, it's not like the farming tools or swords I normally make," he said.
"Brother, this will be difficult to make. Materials are limited, so it'll probably take about a month," he added.
"A month?" Kairo frowned.
"Make these parts first," Kairo said, "I'll take the rest to other shops."
He couldn't afford to wait more than a week.
The blacksmith nodded without argument.
Kairo paid a deposit and moved on.
There were only three blacksmith families in town, so he spread the work among them to get everything done within a week.
After placing his orders, Kairo walked back to the dilapidated thatched cottage he hadn't lived in all year.
It was far from the port and barely habitable, but better than the mountain.
He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, in a modest but spacious house:
"Boss, what do we do now? We lost face big time. If we don't put that kid in his place, the Wild Wolf Gang will be a joke!"
Several bruised and swollen gang members stood around, while their boss sat angrily on the sofa.
Bang!
"That kid's finished! Like I said, he's useless when God's not on his side!" the Boss spat through clenched teeth, his face twisted with rage.
"Have you found out who he really is?" the Boss asked a younger thug.
"I found him, I found him. The other party is an orphan living in a thatched cottage on the west side of town. Everyone knows about it, so it wasn't hard to find."
After hearing this, the Boss stood up, walked to a counter, opened a drawer, and pulled out a sleek pistol.
"I'm killing him tonight. Come with me!"
The Boss left with four or five gang members and the pistol, heading west.
After a while, they arrived at the dilapidated thatched cottage.
Through the moonlight, they saw Kairo lying inside, sleeping soundly in the drafty hut.
A cruel smile spread across the Boss's face.
This is just divine luck.
When they were still about 20 meters away, the Boss raised the pistol, aimed directly at Kairo, and without hesitation—
Bang!
The bullet fired.
Kairo, asleep, felt every hair on his body stand up. A vivid image of his own brain being pierced flashed through his mind.
Instinctively, he tilted his head.
The bullet grazed his scalp.
Startled awake, cold sweat broke out over Kairo.
"Who's there?!" he shouted loudly.
He rushed out the door and saw the Boss standing there.
The Boss was stunned, dumbfounded as he stared at Kairo who had suddenly appeared.
He clearly aimed at Kairo's head — so why did he turn his head at the last second?
Kairo immediately understood what had happened, and fury exploded inside him.
"You coward! You spared me in the daylight, but dared to attempt an assassination at night? You want to die!"
With a roar, Kairo charged, hitting the Boss square in the chest with full force. His arm passed right through the Boss's body, sending chills through everyone behind him.
The Boss tried to speak, but no words came out. He gasped for two seconds… and then collapsed, dead.
Kairo pulled out his bloodied hand and shook it off, disgusted.
He looked at the others.
Some gang members froze in fear, while a few smarter ones turned and fled.
The rest were the Boss's key men.
Kairo leapt forward and kicked several of them down hard.
He grabbed two by their ankles and dragged them back.
But as he touched them, their thoughts flooded his mind.
"It's over… I'm finished… Have mercy…"
"Damn! Let me go! I'll kill you!"
Kairo glanced at the struggling one.
He hesitated, then stopped and let him go.
Before the man could process why, Kairo crushed his sternum.
The man gasped in pain.
Another trembled beside him.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Kairo looked at him, reading the fear and the thoughts swirling inside.
"You're with the Wild Wolf Gang. Tell me, do you know where your Boss keeps the treasure?"
Kairo's tone was cold but curious.
He held them captive just to uncover the treasure's location, no matter how little.
Compared to Kairo, who was penniless, even a small sum was worth the trouble.
Several of the men exchanged nervous glances.
Finally, a boy with a bandage wrapped around his head raised his hand.
"Okay, I'll talk."
"My lord… the Boss, Boss took all of his money and kept in a safe at his manor. You can take it anytime."
Hearing this, Kairo grabbed the boy's hand firmly and pressed on.
"Is that true?"