"Our family has always been part of the Chernobog gang history, starting long before my family's generation."
A man wearing stab-proof armor was half lying on the sofa, holding a half-burned cigarette in his hand. His face was spattered with blood, as if he had just experienced a bloody battle. The man lowered his head and looked at his feet, his eyes blurred.
"There is no doubt that my wife and I are part of the Chernobog gang, were and are, even though we were driven into the ghetto."
"You are right, the slums are also part of Chernobog City." Leonid stood in front of him and nodded.
"Ha. But those gentlemen sitting in the office never think so." The man sneered and took a long drag on his cigarette.
Leonid watched him throw the cigarette butt on the ground, then took another one out of the box and handed it to him.
"Thank you, Leonid. You are still as generous as ever." The man took the cigarette, held it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. He took a deep breath and blew out several smoke rings.
"Especially to the dead."
Leonid just stared at him, unable to comment.
"Oh, I was just talking about my wife and I." The man leaned on the sofa and shook his body, as if looking for a comfortable position.
"We have a child, his name is Anton, and we love him very much. Of course, as members of the gang, my wife and I are very aware of the dangers of this industry, and we have decided not to let our children live such a life of escape."
"But encourage him to go to a big city and become a lawyer."
Leonid nodded.
"Indeed, in this unfair world, lawyers are always the best group of people."
"I knew you would think so too." The man smiled and took out a yellowed photo from his arms. Leonid lowered his head slightly and saw a boy standing in front of a pine tree with a perfunctory smile on his face.
"He doesn't seem happy." Leonid could easily see the boy's emotions in the photo.
"Yes, my wife's and my efforts seem to be in vain."
The man placed the photo on the half-broken coffee table next to him.
"Because we quickly realized..."
"He preferred fighting and brawling to studying law."
In the man's mind, fragments of memories from the past kept flashing back, and they were all about Anton. Anton skipped class for the first time, Anton got into a fight for the first time, Anton went to the hospital for the first time...
"That wildness was always in his blood."
"Seeing his behavior among his peers, I feel that he is destined to join the gangs in Chernobog. It seems that no matter how we try to stop him, he will join the gangs sooner or later."
"I have talked to Anton many times, and he told me that he didn't like everything we arranged for him, such as studying law, participating in charity activities, etc., but it seemed that other people enjoyed it. Anton did not like these. He Longing for another life.”
“Anton told me he couldn’t even explain what this life was like.”
"As he got older and more troubled, we tried to curb his desire to join the gang because he and I never had a good relationship over it."
"I can understand the rebellious period of children." Leonid thought of the red books his daughter had been reading and expressed his deep sympathy.
"I argued with him many times because of this matter, and even beat him several times, but Anton..."
The man blinked and turned away, not wanting Leonid to see his red eyes.
"I told him that I am your father and you must obey me in everything, but his resistance was louder than mine and even woke up the sleeping neighbor next door."
The man smiled, a tear sliding down his cheek.
"'No! I'm going to join a gang with my friends, and you have nothing to do with it!' I've had enough of your rules and your awful beetroot soup. I'll never listen to you again! "
The man said these words in an imitation of a child's voice. His voice was funny, but no one thought it was funny.
"After that quarrel, his mother and I thought about it for a long time and decided not to force him to accept our ideas, but to encourage him to pursue his inner thoughts."
"Long after that, I talked to him about it, and he told me..."
"'I am always keen on...causing destruction without any purpose. I will always create chaos unconsciously. Only in this way will I feel comfortable. I can't figure out why this is the case...'"
"...I recognize him, he was born to destroy." Leonid thought of someone in the "comprehensive improvement of the personal quality of gang members" movement, and coincidentally, his name was also Anton. As for why it left such a deep impression on Leonid...
Because that guy is really a genius.
He is proficient in all aspects of blasting technology, especially building blasting. He can use explosives to accurately blast a rectangular gap in a wall. He was once responsible for the destruction of many abandoned buildings in the Growler. He also played a role in the war between the big forces.
"Yes, for his hobby, Anton even went to get a degree in blasting engineering from Frunze College. It's just something neither his mother nor I expected."
The man nodded, his face full of pride.
"We decided not to force him to learn about the law, but to pass on all our years of experience to him. I taught him how to get the upper hand in street fights, how to manage his gang, and how to control fights. I always take action with force to avoid unnecessary trouble...I gave him everything I could teach, and the relationship between us is gradually getting warmer."
"We have always regarded him as our pride, we just don't want him to be tainted in those gangs."
"So...you let him join the Growlers?" Leonid was a little surprised. In this world, if your child insists on following his parents into the underworld, the best way is to join the gang where his parents belong, so that he can have support and have a better future.
But this man didn't. He chose to let his children join the Growlers, who were arguably his gang's rivals.
"Yes." The man threw the cigarette butt on the ground and refused the cigarette offered by Leonid.
"Leonid's name is known throughout Chernobog. Others call you 'Viper' and say you are ruthless and ruthless, but they also cannot deny your ability. Other forces are busy arguing about trivial matters. In a trivial matter, you stabilized the turbulent Howler, and also eliminated all other forces that could threaten the Howler in the Xicheng District. By the time those losers reacted, the Howler had become the boss of the Xicheng District."
The man coughed twice, raised his head and looked directly into Leonid's eyes.
"They had many chances to cradle you and your growlers, but those fools never took them."
"The Growler is what it is today. Those two guys are just the catalyst for acceleration, and your efforts, Leonid, are the most important."
"I am honored to hear these words from your mouth." Leonid naturally accepted the compliment from his opponent.
"I knew that the Howler would dominate Chernobog sooner or later, I just didn't know it would be so soon." The man sighed.
"But thankfully, my son joined you very early. Although we have failed, it will not affect him."
"It's true. Anton in the Growler...is very popular with the BOSS." Leonid thought of the group of Growler members whose life patterns were like robots. They work and rest strictly in accordance with Valentine's requirements every day, and their level of self-discipline puts even Leonid to shame.
That group of people was more like an army than a gang.
"Thank you for being willing to listen to a dead man's nagging." The man took out another photo from his arms and handed it to Leonid along with the one on the coffee table.
"That's a photo of Anton and I. I hope you can give it to him when you go back and tell him that I will always love him."
Leonid caressed the two pictures and held them in his arms.
"Definitely bring it."
Leonid looked at the man's body and lowered his head slightly. A few seconds later, he lit a match, threw it into the pile of corpses in the hall, opened the door and left.
This is Dongcheng District, a gathering place where gangs who fled the war rebuilt themselves in slums. From the intelligence obtained yesterday, Valentine learned that this place had become the stronghold of the integration movement in Dongcheng District, and immediately sent people to encircle and suppress it. Unexpectedly, Leonid met an old acquaintance here, and none of the cadres of the integration movement were there.
"Hello? Boss, I just finished cleaning up Dongcheng District, and I didn't see any trace of the integration movement you mentioned." Leonid finally called Valentine after listening to the incomprehensible music for a while.
"What? Not one? Didn't you see any red double helix logo?" Valentine on the other side of the phone looked in disbelief.
"No, this place is very clean. It seems to be just an ordinary gang gathering place. We didn't even see a useful crossbow."
So fucking poor...
Thinking that he had brought a team of nearly a hundred people to destroy the place, and that Valentin had made them sound serious, so he made a special trip for it. Leonid felt that today was April Fool's Day, and at the same time, he thought to those guys I feel sorry.
He could even imagine the desperate expression on the other side when he was surrounded by a hundred of his people.
But if I don’t come, I won’t be able to see this old friend.
"Are you sure there's nothing I said about the Integrated Movement?"
Valentine still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.
"No."
Leonid said firmly.
"That's okay." Valentine lamented. "Collect the team."
"..." Leonid hung up the phone and waved his hand to indicate to those guys who were still fishing that it was time to go home.
After training, the Growler members moved much more cleanly and quickly evacuated the slums in Dongcheng District, without even affecting other residents in the slums. Shortly after they evacuated, a figure appeared in front of the still burning building.
"Mephisto, this is the Kingslayer." The Kingslayer looked at the burning flames in front of him and took off his hood. Under the illumination of the flames, her figure was somewhat blurred.
"The stronghold we established in the slums of Dongcheng District was destroyed. Fortunately, we evacuated after the attack yesterday, otherwise we would have had a good fight today."
"I know, I will choose a new base, still in that slum."
Some dark male voice came into the ears of the Kingslayer, sounding like a wolf in the dark, which made people feel numb.
"You're going to see that guy today, right? If you have the chance, you know what to do."
The Kingslayer sneered.
"As a killer, I know how to kill better than you."
The flames danced, and the regicide instantly disappeared without a trace.
--------------Dividing line--------------
Chernobog West City, Growler Explosive Testing Laboratory.
As a gang... enterprise that relied on Originium, it is not uncommon to have such a laboratory, and this laboratory is also supported by the Chernobog government, because several blasting experts and many Originiums have been produced here. Explosives products can be regarded as a well-known scientific research institution in southwestern Ursus.
Anton Ivanovich Zaitsev, a new researcher at the Explosives Laboratory, is also one of the beneficiaries of the Growler's campaign to "comprehensively improve the personal qualities of gang members." He once contracted many bad habits as a gang member, but under the supervision of his "intimate elder sister" Xing Yihuang and his new boss Valentine, he successfully got rid of his bad habits and became extremely self-disciplined. He gradually became stronger, and at the same time, he was favored by BOSS because of his talent in explosions, and was recruited to work in the blasting laboratory.
As an Ursus with destructive blood in his bones, explosions are his favorite thing, and fighting may be exciting. Smoking and drinking may be fun, but in the face of an explosion, those things can be abandoned. For Anton, explosion is the ultimate romance. Nothing can compare to explosives with Source Stone powder added. If there is, it can only be explosives with the whole Source Stone added.
At this time, Anton was following his teacher to experiment with a new topic, how to improve the utilization rate of Originium in Originium explosives. If this topic can be broken through, it will be a great progress in explosives science. 500g of explosives will have the power of the original 1kg of explosives.
"Anton! Someone is looking for you!" A shout came from the door of the laboratory.
"Here we come!" Anton put down the notes in his hand and left the experimental platform after receiving the professor's signal.
At the entrance of the laboratory, he met Leonid.
"General Manager!" Anton nodded slightly to Leonid. Since Valentin took over the Growler, the top spot in the industry under Growler has also changed, and Leonid's position has also changed from the original chairman and president to the general manager and CEO.
"I came here today to tell you something." Leonid got straight to the point without any nonsense. He took out two photos from his arms and handed them to Anton.
"This is..." Anton took the photo and looked at Leonid with some confusion. The photo was familiar to him. It was of him and his father.
"Your father asked me to give it to you. You should know about the war between the Growler and the other four major forces some time ago."
Anton nodded.
"We met him today when we were cleaning up the remnants of other gangs in the slums of Dongcheng District. Unfortunately, I couldn't save him."
Leonid thought for a while and told the truth.
"I..." Anton was stunned. He quickly reacted and put the photo in his pocket.
"I have been mentally prepared for a long time... He is a bad guy and has a lot of lives in his hands. I hate him very much, but..."
"He is my father after all..."
Anton covered his face and sobbed softly.
"If you want to quit the Howlers, we won't refuse. After all, your father died at the hands of the Howlers."
"We will give you a generous pension, which you can use to support your mother or do other things. You will get this money whether you withdraw or not."
Leonid patted Anton on the shoulder.
"I am sorry for your loss."
"No, I won't quit." Anton raised his head and rejected Leonid. In his eyes, Leonid could see the weakness and persistence of a child.
"Whether it's for me or my father, I'm going to stay here."
"They want me to stay here and stay away from illegal activities. For their sake, I shouldn't leave."
"The right choice." Leonid nodded, turned and left. The old friend's last wish has been fulfilled. He still has many things to do and has no time to exchange feelings.
Anton looked at Leonid's retreating back and slowly unclenched his clenched fists.
