Hank was about to rush out and drag Max back, but the group of three was already charging toward Max, brandishing sharp, dagger-like knives in their hands.
Knowing he couldn't pull him inside without the three also getting in, Hank gritted his teeth, clenched the handle of his knife and stepped out, wanting to fight them along with Max.
However...
Harman grabbed his hand, stopping him in place.
"What do you think you are doing?" Hank growled, really angry.
Did this old man want him to let Max die outside when they were responsible for bringing danger to him?
"Did you already forget what I told you a while ago? He can deal with the situation." Harman calmly said.
When they were just one street away from this place, he had noticed these three following them.
Realizing what their intentions were, he decided to face them. When he and Tom showed them they had knives and asked why they were following them, the trio suddenly attacked. While Hank managed to defend himself, Tom was stabbed on the shoulder.
Just when they thought the situation was going to become grim, the trio turned around and ran away.
Though relieved, they were confused by their actions. But thinking they might have gone insane like many others they saw on the way, and since they had disappeared from their sight, they decided to continue onwards and arrived in Max's neighborhood.
Unfortunately, Hank and others didn't know that these three had been following them for quite a while now and the only reason they left after wounding Tom was to make sure they would go wherever they were going while they secretly followed them.
After they arrived here and began knocking on the Martinez family's gate, these three suddenly appeared once again. However, they didn't attack them and just stood there, waiting.
Tom wanted to return, not wanting to cause Max any trouble, but Hank told him that doing so wouldn't be of any help.
They had already seen Max's house and seeing how they arrived here, seemingly confident that whoever lived here was still alive, after they left, the three would surely barge inside to try their luck.
After coming to this realization, they didn't know what to do. It was at this moment Harman told them that they only needed to bring Max out. Once he knew of the situation, he could definitely find a way to resolve it.
...
Hearing Harman's words, Hank hesitated, but in the end, he still stepped out, gripping the handle of his knife tightly.
Shua!
But right then, as the group of three rushed him, arriving in Max's vicinity, he saw Max pull out a kitchen knife from his pants. Then, seemingly with no difficulty, he grabbed the knife wielding arm of the man in the middle and slashed at his neck with his other hand.
Immediately, a fountain of blood sprayed out from his neck which he clutched tightly, but it made no difference as blood continued to pour out.
"Why... You killed... me...?" The man croaked out these few words, staring at Max in horror.
Watching this scene, his two companions had frozen in place like Hank and everyone else, chills running down their spines.
Thud!
The sound of the man falling to his knees snapped everyone back to their senses.
The remaining two guys' eyes reddened. Although they weren't related to each other, they shared a bond stronger than even blood brothers. So, seeing their brother being killed in front of them, murder flashed in their eyes.
Unfortunately for them...
While they had frozen in place following his attack, Max had not.
Shua! Shua!
By the time they regained their senses and prepared to attack him, he had slashed one of their necks and plunged his knife into the other's heart.
The look in their eyes transformed from murderous rage to horror akin to their companion's in the last moment of his life. What horrified them even more was that Max, like a cold-blooded assassin, looked completely unperturbed and met their gazes as he took their lives.
"You... monster..." One with a knife in his heart cried out before he and his companion also fell to the ground with two dull thuds, their lives spilling away.
Max looked at the corpses around him calmly. Then, he crouched down, wiped the blood-stained blade on their clothes before he stood up and swept his gaze across everyone on the street.
"Anyone who dares to touch my people or even have any sinister thoughts about anything remotely related to me... will suffer the same fate as these three." He announced, his voice cold.
Everyone, including Hank, Harman and Tom, shivered. As for the people on the street, they started to leave the place.
Max ignored them and was about to turn back when he heard a weak voice say...
"...Sir, do you want some help moving these bodies away?"
'Oh?' Surprised, Max turned around and saw a six-feet-tall skinny boy who looked a few years younger than him, covered in dust and grime. He looked no different than a malnutritioned beggar, on his last legs, but strangely enough, his eyes hadn't lost their light yet.
Max felt he looked familiar and soon recalled who he was, but he wasn't sure, so he asked, "Aren't you... Samson, Samson Smith?"
The boy nodded, "Yes, sir. I'm Samson. I used to be your neighbor."
Normally, in this situation, most would have been excited because since they were acquaintances, the chances for the opposite party to help them were increased. Samson, however, showed no such excitement which surprised Max.
Max looked at the corpses for a moment. He still had the [Corpse Decomposing Powder] left, so taking care of them was no hassle, but he didn't want to show he had such means. Besides, after seeing Tom, Hank and now Samson, a thought had appeared in his mind.
So, he nodded, "Sure. Take them away."
Samson nodded, walked over, grabbed a body by feet and began dragging it away.
"Inform me when you are done." Saying this, Max walked inside the villa.
Hank, Tom and Harman, after exchanging a glance between them, followed after him.
As Max walked toward the Martinez residence, he noticed a shadow on the roof. His pupils constricted slightly before he calmly raised his head and met Nia's gaze.
Though there was quite some distance between them, he could vaguely see her pale face and trembling eyelashes—clearly, his act of killing the trio had scared her.
Sighing in his heart, he entered the residence. Arriving in the living room, he gestured toward the couch, "Please take a seat." before taking a seat himself.
"Phew! That was brutal, man." Tom plopped on the couch and exhaled a deep breath.
Hank stared at Max nervously, but seeing Max didn't seem offended by his son's careless comment, he felt relieved and took a seat with Harman.
"How did you know I was here instead of my home?" Max asked, curious.
When he came over in the morning, he did so without telling Natalie, Sophie and Emily. So, it wasn't them who could've told them. Besides, he had glanced over at his house after taking care of the trio, but didn't see them, meaning they were probably unaware of Tom's group's presence.
So, how did they know?
Tom glanced at Harman and said, "You remember I used to mention the kind old man, he is him, Harman. He told us you would be here and he is also the reason we came over to meet you."
"Oh?" Max looked at the old man, surprised and confused.
Harman stared at Max for a few moments before he took a deep breath and said, "As to not waste your time, young man, let me tell you everything straight. In my life, I have only ever had dreams on four occasions..."
Max listened calmly, not showing any surprise or reacting in any way.
"...This morning, I had the fourth dream where I saw people dying miserable deaths. Tommy here, Hank, his family and my wife... all died."
As Harman said this, his expression was grim and filled with heartache.
After a pause, he exhaled, looked at Max and continued, "However, in my dream, I saw you... and I felt you had the means to ensure our survival. So, I had Tom and Hank bring me here."
"I understand." Max nodded, "But what I don't understand is... Why do you think I would take up your burden when my hands are already full with ensuring my family's safety?"
Tom's expression fell when he heard this. From his response, he realized, to his surprise, that unlike them, he believed Harman and just like the old man had said, he, indeed, had the means to ensure their survival... if he wanted to that is.
He wanted to tell him that he was his best friend, but something told him to keep his mouth shut.
Besides...
He looked at Harman.
Since the old man insisted on coming to meet him, he definitely had a way to make him agree because not one time he gave the impression that he was relying on their friendship.
Just as he expected, Harman said, "I have some information... I'm sure after hearing this, you wouldn't mind helping us."
"Is that so?" Max frowned in thought.
What information could he have that would make him take up on their burden? Did it have something related to his father?
"Alright. Lay it on me." Max said.
Harman nodded and said, "It's about your mother..."
BOOM!
An explosion went off in his mind and his heart started racing.
"My... mother?" He muttered, his gaze becoming vacant.
He instinctively knew the mother the old man was talking about wasn't Emily, but his real mother, Sarah, who had left them when he was just a kid.
John never told him the reason and every time he asked, he would become upset. So, after a time, he stopped asking and after he married Emily and some more time passed, his memories of her gradually turned blurry.
It's been years since the last time he thought about her, but now that he was doing it, those blurry memories returned and gradually cleared up. He remembered how she looked, how warm and comforting her presence was, how she would play with him, tell him stories at night and take him to the school.
Suddenly, he was missing her again.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Sorry, I spaced out for a bit. Please continue."
Harman nodded and carefully said, "Your mother is in the Governor's mansion, but she is in danger because today, right before the sunset, some people will attack the mansion and will kill everyone there."
'Governor's mansion?' Max muttered under his breath, his eyes darkening.
After a moment, he took a breath and looked at Harman, "Thank you for telling me this."
Harman nodded without saying anything.
Max then looked at Tom, who was sitting there, clutching his shoulder, "How is the injury?"
"Not too bad." Tom winced even as he said this. Max smiled before asking, "What about Aunt Marie, and Jasmine, how are they?"
"They are good. Thanks to Ol' Harman, we managed to stock up some supplies before shit hit the fan, so we have been good." Tom answered.
"That's good to hear." Max nodded before shifting his gaze to Hank, "Hello, Uncle Hank. Sorry, I couldn't greet you before."
"It's alright, Max." Hank forced a laugh. His mind was still reeling from the scene of him killing those three like it was his everyday job.
Max could see through him, but he didn't say anything about it and instead asked, "So, when do you plan to move here?"
"Huh? Here?" Hank asked.
"Yeah." Nodded Max, "Your current location is too far away from me to protect you guys. So, you need to be living closer to me, if you still want me to take care of your and the old man's families."
"I don't have a problem moving today itself, but I'll need protection on the way." Harman stated.
Max nodded and looked at Hank, who after a moment's silence, also said, "We can move whenever, but you'll need to accompany us because the danger will be more when his Mom and Jesse are with us."
Max nodded in understanding and stood up, "I'll tell you when I can help you move after returning. Until then, you can enjoy some sun in the garden in the back if you want."
"O-Oh, sure, we will do that." Hank nodded and their trio walked out of the residence. After they left, Max went upstairs and toward Nia and Juan's room.
Knock! Knock!
Lightly knocking on the door, he called out, "It's me."
Creak~
A few moments later, Nia opened the door.
"H-Hi, Max. What is it?" She asked in a subdued, timid voice while forcing a smile on her face which looked very unnatural.
Seeing this, Max sighed.