After relaxing for some time in the dumpster, Zane finally stood with acceptance of his situation and life. He threw off the banana peels from his body and sighed.
"Well, can't say I don't feel sorry for myself, but shit this," Zane sighed again. "I'm completely clueless on what to do next."
He looked to his left. Straight ahead was very dark, but to his right, he could see streetlights and cars. So he walked that way.
"I still have a day before another trial. First, I need a good bath, money, and—"
As he was thinking of the things he needed, a black limo stopped at the end of the direction he was heading. Then, a fat man was pushed out.
Thud
After that, three men came out of the limo, one of them smiling with a cigarette in his mouth. "Pick him up," said the man.
The other two men did as he said and picked up the fat man in a black suit, then slammed him against the brick wall. He let out a painful groan.
"Lo... lo... look, I already told you people that I don't have any money."
"Eh? How stupid do you think I am? I mean, you think I'm stupid?" the man said, bringing the smoke against the man's face. "A mayor doesn't have money?"
Slap He got upset and slapped the fat man, making the fat man cry like a hopeless little child. "Check him for his credit card."
The two men did that, and after carefully searching the man, they found a credit card. But the fat man kept saying there was no money in it.
"Eh? Are you lying to me?" Slap "Now tell me, what's the pin to it?" the man yelled.
The fat man refused to say anything and then received another slap.
"Tell me the pin, or I'll shoot you."
Forcing the situation, the cigarette man really brought out a silenced pistol, aiming at the crying man's forehead.
"P... please don't kill me. It's... it's 456987," the fat man mumbled.
"Yeaaaa, I think I'll take the credit card off your hands," said Zane.
"What the hell?"
The three of them were surprised when Zane's sudden voice was heard. They didn't even realize a kid had been watching them all this while.
"Hahaha, you're very funny, kid. Are you doing this to post as memes on TikTok?" asked one of them, holding a knife.
But Zane didn't say anything. He remained quiet, staring at them with bold eyes. Even the fat man had his mouth open.
"Okay, kid, you don't talk? Now run along," the man with the knife said. But still, Zane remained there.
"I said run along!" he repeated, but when he got the same response, he got pissed off. He thrust the knife forward, but Zane aimed for his wrist and knocked the knife from his grip.
"Obviously, it's your first time in a real fight. You don't thrust short knives like that," said Zane. The knife fell into his open palm, and he gripped it tightly, smiling.
The three of them shared the same thought. Could Zane be one of those Awakened? He was around the age for the trials.
It wouldn't be a surprise if he was. When the knife had fallen into Zane's hand, the man stepped back a little.
"First lesson when thrusting a short knife: first, you shift it horizontally or vertically, then you aim straight and fast, like this."
Boom
Zane quickly closed the distance between him and the man. He slashed the knife just the way he described. The man, being wary, stepped back, but damn—Zane thrust straight and connected the short knife into the man's neck.
At first, it wasn't obvious that their man had died because Zane had done it so fast. The aftermath was a big man resting on the shoulders of a little boy.
But after a few seconds, Zane pushed the man's dead body off him, widening the eyes of the remaining two. Zane wasn't fazed.
This wasn't the first time he had seen his victims shocked, their lives flashing before their eyes as death stood before them.
"Go get him," said the boss with the cigarette and the gun.
But it was like his command didn't go through. The other man stood there, frightened.
As he turned to look at the fool—
"Hey! Come back here!" the boss yelled, veins visible on his neck. But it didn't matter.
The guy ran away, entered the black limo, and drove off. As the boss looked forward, wanting to aim at Zane—
"What the fuck?"
Slit
Zane was already in front of him, and the moment he turned, Zane slashed his neck.
"Seriously, you guys are real amateurs," said Zane. He picked up the credit card and the pistol.
He walked toward the fat man and helped him up before giving him the credit card.
"You're one of those Awakened facing the trials. Thank you, kid. I owe—"
"Can I ask you something?" Zane quickly interrupted the man.
"Yes, what is that?" the man asked.
"The pin you told them—was it the right one?" asked Zane.
"Sadly, yes. I was scared they would come back for me if I didn't tell them. There was actually five million dollars in it."
Zane chuckled, fazing the man with confusion. Why was Zane suddenly laughing at him?
"Actually, that's the only question."
Bam! Accompanying his words, Zane shot the man in the head. The elephant fell flat to the ground, and Zane took the credit card from the dead man's grip.
"I hope all humans in this strange world are this stupid. Hahaha, morons."
The Abyss was here.