Chapter 126 - 126: The 3rd Side

Van looked at the Wall and the expressions of the people on the other side as it slowly closed. Although they were far, he could still make out their confused expressions. It was not as if he enjoyed fooling them, he just thought that he had to do what he did.

And so, with one final look towards the Wall, he rushed back towards the forest. The Locals on top of the Wall saw him going in with the others so he should be safe, but he didn"t really want to take any chances.

"Hm…" Van quickly dusted off the dirt on his clothes as soon as he reached the forest path. His uniform, though, was now completely dyed in red. Perhaps… it was time to let it go?

No… Not yet. He had no other clothes to wear anyway.

"...What are you doing, fish?"

Reed was actually about to leave, but when he saw Van running back towards the forest, he could not help but stop. Not only because Van didn"t go through the Wall and returned back to their side, but because of the unbelievable speed that he had shown.

He knew Van was fast since he already showed it on his first day when he killed one of the Prisoners...

...But for him to be this fast? He only almost saw a blur moving from the Wall to his location.

Just… who did the Circle send here? He thought.

"Mister Reed, you"re still here?"

Although Van was not really hiding his skills and powers, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable that someone saw him running like that. But then again, it doesn"t really matter now. He was not in the Academy anymore. Here, only power really mattered.

Authority? That can just be taken away in the blink of an eye if one was not careful. Lawless places still had laws, a bit ironic and archaic, but they exist.

"Well, I will see you back in the Encampment, Mister Reed," Van said before running away.

"W… wait!" Reed also rushed to chase him back to the Encampment, but alas, he found himself unable to do so. He had always prided his speed.

Until now, he was the fastest Enhancer in the Encampment. And except for Solomon, he was probably the highest level Enhancer here at level 54.

But in terms of speed, the boy is just…

"...Ridiculous."

***

Back in the Encampment, Boss asked some of the Prisoners to remove the mangled… scattered body out of the house. No matter how much she looked at it, the corpse did not look like a mother of any kind, or a woman for that matter.

"...This is one of mine."

Grant let out a tiny cackle as he scratched his ear, the numerous earrings pierced in his ears jingled. "Did that fish just kill another one of mine?"

Usually, by this point, Grant would already be blaming one of Rick"s people on the East side. But the one who did this was as clear as day. It was Van, made even more obvious by the blood that drowned his whole body when he showed up earlier.

There"s also the fact that this is the house he pointed to. "Ack!" Grant shook his red hair in frustration, the dry flakes of his scalp landing on his tattooed filled body.

"Oh, you found out already?"

A familiar voice then entered the ears of everyone nearby. They all quickly looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Van, who was supposed to be with the Locals, standing leisurely back in the Encampment.

"You… why are you back here?" Grant"s hands started to twitch as he wanted to kill the boy that just showed himself.

The other Prisoners could not help but feel confused as to why Van was even here. Some of them could only dream what the Pit was like on the other side of the Wall… but the boy actually returned here? Just what was he thinking!?

Boss, however, let out a loud burst of laughter as soon as he saw Van. "You"re a cunning little rat, aren"t you? I like it… I like it!" Boss" smile almost reached her ears as she looked at Van from head to toe.

"Do you like my gift?" Van said as he pointed at the mountain of food that they have just received.

"Heh. Just 1 day here and you"ve already proven yourself more useful than everyone else from this sorry lot." Boss giggled as she slowly approached Van and walked her fingers on his shoulders.

"Listen up, you useless tools!" Boss then clapped her hands as she called for everyone"s attention, "Half of the food you see today is because of this kid… this young man!"

The Prisoners all started to whisper and gossip with one another as they stared at the small boy beside Boss.

They all knew who he was even before all of this. With the grand entrance he had yesterday, how could they not?

And now, Boss herself was already vouching for him. It would seem that they had a new player in town.

"Now tell me," Boss continued her words as soon as the Prisoners quieted down, "What do you want in return for this? I can give you a place by my side if you want."

When Grant and Rick heard Boss" words, a frown quickly crept into their faces. Van just arrived here, and Boss was already asking him to stand by her side?

Wouldn"t that mean… that this young boy was already higher than them in the hierarchy?

Van, however, answered with a resounding "No."

"What, did he just refuse Boss" offer!?"

"But why?"

The voices of the Prisoners once again whispered into the air. Looks of disbelief, starting to build on their faces.

"Ho?" Boss raised an eyebrow as he looked Van directly in the eyes, "You"re refusing me?"

"...No," Van quickly shook his head, "I am underage. I can"t live in your house filled with all the naked people."

"..."

"Hahaha!" Once again, Boss burst out in laughter.

"Instead, will you please let me stay there?" Van then pointed towards the same house he pointed to earlier, where he killed one of Grant"s men.

It took a while for Boss" peals of laughter to linger in the air. But as soon as it was done, she immediately looked towards Grant, her stares almost piercing his soul.

Alas, Grant could only sigh and nod. Even if he wanted to express his grievance from Van"s actions, he could not really do anything for now since Boss was at his side.

"The house is yours then, Van. You lot, clean Van"s house!"

The Prisoners that Boss gestured to quickly scurried their way inside Van"s new house. Until now, Van still had no idea what Boss could do for the other Prisoners to be so obedient towards her.

"...Thank you," he said as he walked closer to Boss.

Boss, on the other hand, clicked her tongue as she looked at Van. "You really are a cunning little rat, aren"t you?" She repeated her words earlier as she slithered her fingers through Van"s face. Hushing the hair that blocked half of his face to the side, revealing the scar that littered across his left eye.

"Oh? You should cut your hair. You look way cooler with your scars showing," Boss said in a very seductive tone. "I might even have another use for you if you keep them."

Van quickly moved his head away and covered his face.

"...But if you don"t like your scars, I can remove them for you," and with those words, Boss started to walk away, her coquettish giggles ringing in Van"s ears.

With Boss gone, all the Prisoners" attention went to Van. Once again, their whispers and gossips filled the air. But Van did not seem to heed them any mind as he decided to help clean the inside of his newly… acquired real estate.

But before he could even take 3 steps, Grant blocked his path.

"That"s 2 of my people you have killed in just 2 days, fish." Grant looked Van directly in the eyes, his looks as if threatening to cut off Van"s head there and then, "If you also didn"t kill one of Rick"s people yesterday, I would think that you"re doing this on purpose."

Even with the obvious threat in Grant"s tone, Van did not shy away from his stares as he let out a tiny scoff of his own.

"Since your house is on my side of the Encampment, I need you to follow my rules."

"..."

Rick was also listening in on their conversation. Since Van decided to live on Grant"s side, Rick thought that their equal authority would be broken since Boss seemed to have taken a liking to the boy.

"...Your side?" Van slightly tilted his head.

"Yes," while Grant let out a smirk.

"I thought I was on Boss" side," Van said with a smile that could only be considered innocent.

Seeing the smile on Van"s face, the smirk on Grant"s face quickly disappeared. He was at a loss for words and could only watch as Van entered the house.

Rick, who was still watching on the sides, could not help but let out a tiny chuckle as he saw the baffled expression on Grant"s face. He thought that Grant"s side would become stronger than his, but he was wrong.

Considering the curious gazes and whispers that the other Prisoners were giving Van, it would seem that…

...Another side has opened up in the Encampment.

***

Somewhere in the Pit, all sorts of wildlife were crawling their way side by side. Not even minding that their prey and predators were beside them. Even the birds that usually hunted each other formed a formation for them to be able to fly faster.

Clouds of dust and dirt filled the air like smoke, and rocks bigger than even the houses in the Encampment rolled their way down as the mountain they once lived on for eternity started to crumble.

And soon, the cracks scattered and wormed like a spiderweb. But even as all of this chaos was happening, everything seemed in silence as a tall but skinny silhouette slowly revealed himself from the top of the mountain.

It was hard to see with the thick cloud of dirt and dust littering the air. But it would seem that with every inch of movement, it was as if the silhouette"s flesh and muscles tore, causing the air to snap like thunder.

And then, the silhouette let out a long and heavy breath. A breath that rippled in the air and quickly dispersed any smoke in the air. And as if the heavens themselves blessed the man"s awakening…

...The skies themselves cleared.