CHAPTER 299: CHAPTER 299

Elsewhere in the City...Midnight...

Three goons sat near a small fire in the abandoned warehouse, as if they were there to feel the warmth from the fire.

Even in this world, there are the poor and homeless. Though the alliance tries to reduce this number, it was not always easy, especially when this world always takes away the people they love and leaves them broken.

They can’t keep a job for long enough to sustain themselves. The Alliance can’t always take care of everyone. If they try to do so, then their coffers would become non-existent in a few years. So, there are always people who roam the streets, making them their home.

Though such a percentage is usually lower in low-tier cities like Rock City, they are still present in some areas.

Some of the cultists mixed in that area as well, as these areas are less likely to attract attention from the alliance members.

Most of the alliance members are from powerful and great families, who look down on others. So, there is no chance they would like to step into areas where the homeless stay.

Also, no sane person would usually think that the cultists are among the homeless, as there were almost no crucial targets there. Most who stay there are broken people. Losing them would be bad on Humanitarian grounds, but the loss wouldn’t affect the alliance nor the city where it happened, not even to the slightest degree.

Just like how high-tiered cities are seen as the best places to create chaos to cause enough trouble to the alliance, ignoring most low-tiered cities, this was the same where the

This makes these areas the best areas for staying to avoid the alliance’s surveillance.

---

The three goons arrived here more than an hour ago, waiting for the signal to start the mission.

To them, being sent to a remote city like this was a punishment and an obstacle to progress, as even the cults do not consider the city important enough, and few missions are issued to be conducted here.

There were a few missions the previous year, but this year that number decreased.

The previous year was an anomaly; an SS-Rank Class Awakener appeared in this remote place. It was the sole reason why the top leaders of both Alliance and the Cults heard of a remote city like this.

So, for anyone who is sent to places like these, it can be considered a punishment.

When they finally got greenlit for a mission to cause chaos in the city three days ago, they were thrilled. Tonight is when their lives would change.

Everything was already planned, and as soon as the signal went on, they would act, or that was what was supposed to happen.

"We have been here for more than an hour. Where is the signal? Why has nothing started?" one of the goons asked, clearly impatient with the wait.

"Yeah, I feel we have stayed here too long. We are okay, but what about other groups? Some should be in areas where staying too long could attract attention from the guards. Maybe something happened, which stopped them from giving the start", another whispered.

"Should we leave here? What do you think, leader?" the first one asked.

The third person, whom the first one called the leader, scoffed, "I feel something’s wrong. Those five have a perfect record. They never failed a mission. Until three days ago, I didn’t even know those five were sent here. They have been here for months, which only made me happier than usual about this mission".

"The mission should be of importance if those five were involved, and that means the rewards would definitely be good. I was happy until now, but given the scenario, I believe something went wrong".

"So, I say, let’s split. It’s not like they would check whether we had done our part of the job for a mission like this".

The other two nodded as well.

The most important thing for survival in this world is to trust your instincts. If something felt wrong, then there is something wrong.

The signal for the mission start was delayed by more than half an hour. That was not a delay. That was trouble.

So, all stood and started walking in different directions, but they were out of luck. They didn’t even go out a few meters when attacks came from various directions.

The one called the leader escaped unscathed, but the other two were caught in the attack zone.

"Shit", the leader cursed, and looked around.

"Fuck, they found us", he cursed and started to run when he saw that the attackers were from the alliance. It can be seen from the badges they were wearing.

He didn’t even look back at his companions. At the moment, he couldn’t care. He understood that this mission was compromised, and escape would be the best scenario. For that to happen, he couldn’t begin caring about others, even if they were his team members.

For survival, friends and family don’t matter. If he had such sentimentalities, why would he have joined the cults, which are known to cause destruction everywhere in the world?

To people like him, power is all that matters, and to obtain that, they would do anything, sacrifice anyone. So, ignoring his team members is not an issue, but even such a thing was in vain.

There were six alliance members, and with two of his team already down, escape was never an option. He tried to escape using his best abilities, but got caught, even without the help of the other four.

Scenes like this happened across the Rock City, in almost every region. A lot of cultists were pulled out from the gutters in one night, either dead or bound in ropes.

The alliance made sure that no one escaped.

It was not just Rock City that experienced this; a lot of Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities faced similar situations, but not all cities were as lucky as Rock City. Not all cultists were captured, and the few that they couldn’t find created chaos in those cities.

---

Morning...

Early in the morning, Aaron woke up as he usually did.

His parents made him breakfast before they left for the restaurant. He too got ready, but as his shift would start at noon, he decided to stay home until then.

Since the awakening, he was always on the run for something. Only in the past few days since returning home did he dare to slow down.

He sat on the sofa and turned on the news, and what he saw on the TV surprised him.