Skinny Monkey struggled awake from the intense pain, his head buzzing and vision blurry.
It wasn't until a glaring crimson caught his eye a short distance away that he suddenly sobered up.
It was Fatty's back of the head, now formless, red and white mashed together like a pulped dragon fruit, the viscous liquid mixing with dirt, slowly seeping into the ground.
"Ugh…"
Upon seeing the corpse clearly, a wave of fear surged through his entire body, making him vomit on the spot!
Immediately, he felt a chill behind him, and sharply turned his head, only to see a small, thin figure.
Orion!
The kid who, not long ago, had cowered in the corner, trembling from their bullying!
Now he stood there, his back to the alley's light, his face hidden in shadow, only his eyes glowing a terrifying red in the darkness.
"You, you…"
Skinny Monkey shivered all over, his teeth beginning to chatter uncontrollably as he pointed in Fatty's direction:
"What did you do? Did you kill someone?!"
"I'm going to find the Silvermane Guards…"
He shouted while scrambling backward with both hands and feet, trying to get up and escape.
Orion's gaze suddenly turned cold.
Silvermane Guards?
Heh heh.
In this Lower District where human lives are cheaper than dogs, would those people bother with the death of a street vagrant?
How ridiculously naive.
"Murderer, you're finished! When the Guards come, you'll spend the rest of your life in jail…"
Just as Skinny Monkey finally managed to get up and was about to turn around, he felt a chill on the back of his neck!
Orion had appeared behind him at some point, a brick with blood on its edge weighing in his hand.
Thud—!
Before Skinny Monkey could react, the heavy brick, whistling through the air, smashed heavily onto the back of his head!
A dull thud.
Skinny Monkey couldn't even let out a scream, his body stiffened abruptly, then softly toppled forward, his head hitting the cold ground with a thud.
Blood, like an open faucet, quickly spread from beneath his head, merging with the blood from Fatty, forming a pool of blood in the filthy alley.
[Villain Value +30 acquired!]
The notification sounded, but Orion didn't even bat an eyelid.
He coldly stared at the additional corpse on the ground, only his own heavy breathing remaining in the alley.
Having just killed two people, his hands were trembling slightly.
Not from fear, but from exhaustion, and the gnawing hunger that had begun to torment his stomach again.
Just as he was about to search these people for anything valuable, or even just a bit of food scraps.
A slightly trembling, yet remarkably familiar voice, came from the alley entrance.
"Orion, what are you…?!"
Orion's heart skipped a beat, his muscles instantly tensed, and he sharply turned his head!
In the light of the alley entrance, stood a small girl.
She was about his age, with messy dark blue short hair, wearing patched, dirty old clothes, carrying a similarly worn, deflated cloth bag, and her face was smudged with dirt.
It was Seele!
He knew this girl; she was one of the few people in the Lower District he could exchange a few words with.
Like him, Seele was a homeless orphan; she used to be at the Orphanage, but for some reason, ever since she met Orion, Seele had left that place.
Now, both she and Orion barely survived by rummaging through trash cans and picking up discarded waste.
They were competitors, but occasionally when they met at the same trash can, they would search together and share their spoils.
Orion found it harder for her as a girl, so sometimes when he found something slightly better, he would instinctively give her a bit more.
And Orion remembered very clearly that he hadn't seen her near the trash cans these past few days because she complained there was no food here, and had gone to Rivet Town next door to try her luck.
But now, how did she come back?
And, precisely at this moment.
Seele's eyes widened, staring in astonishment at the gruesome scene in the alley—
Two figures lying in a pool of blood, another slightly older boy unconscious, and Orion standing beside them, holding a blood-stained brick.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Orion and the three on the ground, her small face filled with shock and confusion.
Orion's heart sank.
She saw it…
What to do?
What would she do?
Report him? Tell those adults? Or… tell the Silvermane Guards?
Orion's mind raced, considering his options.
Kill her to silence her?
This thought flashed through his mind, but he forcefully suppressed it.
Not to mention his current exhaustion, even if he were in normal condition, he couldn't bring himself to harm Seele.
Seele stood frozen for several seconds, as if coming back to her senses, then quickly walked in.
She didn't question Orion immediately; instead, she walked around Fatty, whose head was split open, went to Tiger and Skinny Monkey, squatted down, and extended her slightly trembling fingers to check their breathing, then flipped open their eyelids.
Seele's brows furrowed even deeper.
After confirming that Skinny Monkey was dead and Tiger was only unconscious, she stood up and looked at Orion again.
"You… killed those two?"
Her voice was very soft, showing no particular emotion, but the eyes she turned to Orion were filled with a myriad of thoughts.
Orion remained silent, not denying it.
He knew that in this situation, any defense would appear pale and powerless.
Children in the Lower District are mostly precocious.
As an orphan living in this Lower District, Seele had seen darkness too often and possessed a maturity and keenness beyond her age.
Lying in front of her would only make himself look ridiculous.
Orion's silence, in Seele's eyes, was undoubtedly an admission.
She didn't speak again, just stood there quietly, processing everything that had happened before her.
A moment later, Seele spoke again:
"It was Tiger and their fault, wasn't it?"
"Those guys, relying on their numbers, often bullied people in this area and stole others' belongings."
"Last month, the lame old man from the next street finally managed to pick up half a bag of wheat bran, but they also snatched it and broke one of his arms."
"Doing such things, retribution will come sooner or later… I just didn't expect it to come today."