In the second-hand market area of Liming City, there was an unwritten rule: if you wanted to beg on a street corner, you had to pay your respects to the local boss first.
Local beggars banded together in organized groups to solicit money from passersby and were extremely hostile toward newcomers.
After all, the market was only so big; more beggars meant a serious decline in quality of life for everyone involved.
If one wanted to earn a living here in peace, they had to pay tribute to this small beggars' gang, slowly integrating until they became one of them.
Last time, 【Jerry】 and 【Tom】 hadn't known the rules. One was poisoned, and the other was stuffed into a sack and beaten senseless.
Now, 【Tom】 and 【Jerry】 were back for blood.
They weren't here to beg this time; they were dressed like normal people.
Their eyes pierced through the crowd, fixed on an iron door deep within the market. Behind that door was the beggars' den. 【Tom】 had spent a long time tailing an old beggar to figure out where it was.
The beggars weren't just a ragtag bunch; they were an organized syndicate. Some were responsible for scouting, some for playing the pity card, and others for driving away loners who didn't pay protection money.
The men who had beaten 【Tom】 that day were all part of this gang. 【Jerry】 suspected they were also the ones who had poisoned him. After all, he hadn't made enemies with anyone else; this beggars' gang was the prime suspect.
【Tom】 and 【Jerry】 didn't need much discussion to reach a consensus.
In the real world, you'd just endure this kind of trouble and move on—better to avoid a scene.
But this was a game world, and they were players. Why should they take it lying down after being hit by a bunch of NPCs?
【Jerry】 reached inside his clothes and felt the hilt of a dagger. He'd spent the entire morning handing out flyers to buy it. The blade was sharp. He'd never killed anyone before, neither in reality nor in the game.
But today, he wanted to try.
Besides, in a virtual reality game like this, killing and combat were bound to happen sooner or later.
【Tom】 pulled a roll of gauze from his pocket and wrapped it around his knuckles.
His weapon was a half-meter-long steel pipe with black grip tape at one end.
The two pushed open the iron door and entered a long, narrow corridor. Cardboard boxes and woven bags were piled on both sides. The air smelled sour and rancid, like unwashed bedding mixed with rotting leftovers.
At the end of the corridor was a large, empty room. Several blackened foam mats covered the floor. Many people in tattered clothes were sitting or lying down—some smoking, some playing cards, others resting with their eyes closed.
A faded poster of the God of Wealth was pasted on the wall. 【Tom】 took a few steps forward and scanned the room. “Who’s the boss here?”
The beggars playing cards looked up and recognized 【Tom】 and 【Jerry】 instantly. Their expressions shifted from confusion to mockery.
The balding man with a comb-over sitting in the middle threw down his cards and stood up, patting the dust off his pants.
“It’s you two? What, didn’t get enough of a beating last time? You dare come back?”
He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. Several beggars behind him also stood up, some pulling wooden clubs from under the foam mats, others grabbing beer bottles from the corner.
A man of few words, 【Jerry】 drew his dagger immediately.
The bald beggar sneered. “You think a knife scares us? Do you even know where you are—”
Before he could finish, 【Jerry】 plunged the blade into his chest.
The dagger pierced through the man's clothes with little resistance. The blade sank halfway in. Blood welled up along the hilt, warm and thick, dripping onto 【Jerry】's fingers.
“You people really are a pain. You ruined the mood of my begging career.”
He’d thought begging on the streets would be the simplest life, but even being a beggar involved social politics, disputes, and stress—just like a regular job.
【Jerry】's illusions were completely shattered.
The bald beggar's mouth hung open, his eyes bulging. His body slowly buckled, knees hitting the floor first before he collapsed face-forward. His fingers twitched, clawing shallow marks into the ground.
The room fell silent. Everyone stared at the spreading pool of blood. A young beggar dropped his beer bottle, which clattered and rolled into a corner.
【Jerry】 pulled out the dagger and took a step back. His hand was shaking. A few drops of blood had splattered onto his pant leg. Though his face remained an expressionless mask of coldness, his mind was reeling.
The sensation was too real. The sound of the blade tearing through fabric, the resistance as it entered flesh, the warmth of the spray, and that metallic, iron-like stench.
So this is what it feels like to kill someone?
It’s actually not bad.
One beggar’s voice trembled. “What are you doing? You killed him! Don’t think you’re getting away with this...”
【Tom】 didn't give him the chance to finish. He lunged forward, swinging the steel pipe into the beggar's head with a dull thud. The beggar slumped to the ground, blood leaking from his ear.
【Tom】 rushed in to finish the job, slamming the pipe down again and again. He didn't count the strikes; he only felt the weight of the steel in his hand. The beggar's head was twisted at an impossible angle, eyes still open, mouth bubbling with blood.
Invigorating!
The frustration from being stuffed in a sack and beaten was instantly wiped away.
“I knew it. Reciprocal sanctions are the most satisfying form of revenge,” 【Tom】 remarked, his strikes growing heavier.
The other beggars in the room finally snapped out of it. Some screamed and ran; one grabbed a shovel from the corner and swung it at 【Tom】; another kicked up a foam mat to block 【Jerry】's line of sight.
The beggars had numbers on their side. Even a pushover has their limits, let alone living people. Terrified and enraged, the beggars fought back with a vengeance.
A shovel caught 【Tom】 on the shoulder, feeling as if the bone had snapped. Even with pain blocking active, his body lurched from the impact.
A wooden club swept across 【Jerry】's shin. He stumbled back several steps, hitting the wall, before a beggar lunged at him, pinning his knife-hand down.
The group devolved into a chaotic brawl, with every dirty trick in the book being used. 【Tom】 and 【Jerry】 fought back desperately, but they were only two men.
A few minutes later, 【Tom】 was the first to fall. A beggar struck him on the back of the head with the flat of a shovel, instantly emptying his HP bar.
【Jerry】 was still struggling. His dagger sliced open a beggar's arm, but another grabbed him from behind in a chokehold. His HP bar hit zero.
The two corpses lay on the floor in contorted positions.
The beggars panted heavily, their faces filled with the dazed shock of survivors. The room reeked of blood and sweat, a stench like the back alley of a slaughterhouse.
A young beggar crouched in the corner, clutching his head. His voice was muffled. “What do we do? Someone’s dead! I just wanted to get some food, how did it turn into murder?!”
“They attacked us first. It was self-defense.” Another beggar leaned against the wall, his fingers trembling. His voice was full of uncertainty, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself.
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