Ren and Lucia stood before the massive city gate.
Tall metal walls surrounded the entrance.
Armed guards stood everywhere.
Rifles.
Spotlights.
People lined up in a long queue while security checked bags and inspected everyone entering.
Ren's eyes widened.
His mouth slowly opened.
"...I knew this place had security checks before but this…"
He scratched his head, staring at the heavily armed guards.
"…Holy fuck."
"The security is really tight."
Lucia stood beside him, equally stunned.
Her mouth hung open slightly as she looked around.
"…How are we even supposed to get inside?" she muttered.
Ren crossed his arms.
Hmm…
How do we get in…
How to…
His thoughts suddenly stopped.
A loud shout came from the entrance.
"Why you damn bitch—!"
Ren and Lucia turned.
A man was dragging a woman by the hair.
She tried to resist weakly while he slapped her across the face.
SLAP!
"Not listening to me?!"
The woman fell to the ground.
One of the guards stepped forward lazily.
"If the goods get damaged," the guard said coldly,
"their value will drop."
The man quickly nodded.
"Y-Yes sir."
He pulled the woman back up roughly and dragged her toward the gate.
The guards let them pass.
They entered the city.
Ren watched silently.
His expression slowly darkened.
I can't believe it…
The world changed this much in such a short time…
His jaw tightened slightly.
But the shitty people of this shitty world…
…never change.
Beside him, Lucia grabbed his sleeve slightly.
Her face looked pale.
"…Ren."
Her voice trembled.
"What's… happening here?"
Ren glanced at Lucia.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were still fixed on the gate, fear clearly written across her expression.
…Yeah.
That's the expected reaction.
This kind of place would scare anyone.
Ren sighed quietly.
Then he stepped closer and suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Lucia froze.
Ren wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Hey…"
His voice softened.
"Don't worry."
He gently held her head against his chest.
"I'm always with you."
His tone carried a rare calm confidence.
"I'll protect you."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"I'm not letting you go anywhere."
Lucia stiffened slightly in his arms.
Her face slowly turned red.
"I—I'm not scared, okay…" she muttered in a shy, embarrassed tone.
Ren was still holding her.
He glanced down at her flushed face.
"Yeah, yeah… whatever."
His arms didn't loosen at all.
Lucia puffed her cheeks slightly but didn't push him away either.
Lucia looked toward the gate again, where guards were checking people one by one.
"It doesn't look like we'll have a problem getting inside," she said.
Her eyes shifted toward the weapons they carried.
"…But carrying these might be."
Ren nodded.
"Yeah."
"That's the main problem."
He shrugged casually.
"Let's just go and check first. We'll figure something out eventually."
Lucia looked at him again.
"…By the way."
Her eyes suddenly turned sharp and cold.
"Why exactly are we going there?"
Ren answered with a serious face.
"It's simple."
"You might not know, but there's a huge supply of food and other resources stored under the city."
Lucia blinked.
"…Really?"
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And how do you know that?"
Ren scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed.
"Haha… well…"
"An old friend told me about it."
Lucia stared at him.
Her expression slowly turned suspicious.
"…Is that the real reason?"
Ren immediately grabbed her hands.
"Of course!"
He smiled brightly.
"Why would I need another woman when I already have you here?"
Lucia froze.
Her face instantly turned red.
"I— I— don't flatter me like that…"
She stumbled over her words.
"It's… kinda embarrassing…"
Ren chuckled softly.
"But it's true."
Lucia looked away, still flustered.
Meanwhile Ren sighed internally with relief.
Heh…
I knew that would work.
After what happened…
She's definitely a lot softer toward me now.
Ren and Lucia stepped into the inspection line.
People moved slowly forward while guards searched bags and checked belongings.
A rough wooden table stood at the checkpoint.
Behind it sat a massive fat guard.
His belly hung over the edge of the table like a sack of meat.
His uniform looked like it was about to burst at any second.
Buttons stretched.
Cloth strained.
His greasy face twisted as he lazily waved the next person forward.
"Next!"
Ren and Lucia stepped up.
The guard slowly looked up.
His small pig-like eyes scanned Ren first.
Then Lucia.
Then back to Ren.
A crooked grin formed on his ugly face.
"Well well…"
"What do we have here?"
He leaned back in his chair, which creaked under his weight.
"Another stray dog trying to crawl into the city?"
Ren kept a calm expression.
"We just want to enter."
The guard snorted.
"Yeah yeah."
"They all say that."
His eyes narrowed mockingly.
"You got the entry fee, boy?"
Ren frowned slightly.
"Entry fee?"
The guard laughed loudly.
"HAHA!"
"Look at this idiot!"
"You really don't know?"
He leaned forward across the table.
"Nothing is free anymore."
"This is Black Lust City."
"You wanna enter?"
"Pay the fee."
Ren sighed and pulled out some cash.
He placed the money on the table.
"There."
The guard looked down.
Then he started laughing again.
"HAHAHAHA!"
He pushed the money back toward Ren with one fat finger.
"What is this garbage?"
Ren frowned.
"…Money."
The guard wiped tears from his eyes.
"Paper money?"
"You serious?"
He leaned closer with a smug grin.
"Listen carefully, country boy."
"Nobody uses that useless paper anymore."
"Only Gold coins work now."
Ren's expression darkened slightly.
"Gold coins?"
The guard nodded proudly.
"Yeah."
"New currency."
He tapped the table.
"Everything runs on it."
He pointed toward the market inside the gate.
"Food?"
"Ten coins."
"Depends on the quality though."
"Water?"
"Twenty coins."
"Valuables?"
He shrugged.
"Depends on what it is."
Ren clenched his fist slightly.
Ten coins for food…
Twenty for water…
This place really turned into hell.
Then the guard's eyes slowly shifted.
Toward Lucia.
His disgusting grin returned.
"Well…"
"If you don't have coins…"
His gaze crawled over Lucia shamelessly.
"…your girl could always pay another way."
Lucia stiffened.
The guard leaned back again with a filthy smirk.
"She's pretty enough."
"Should cover the fee just fine."
Ren's fingers twitched.
A dangerous aura slowly started building around him.
Lucia immediately grabbed his arm tightly.
"Ren."
Her grip tightened.
Her eyes silently warned him.
Not here.
Ren's jaw clenched.
The guard chuckled, enjoying the reaction.
"What?"
"Don't tell me you're shy now?"
Ren exhaled slowly.
Ren slowly stepped back toward the table.
His eyes were cold.
"How much?" he asked.
His voice carried clear irritation.
"And I mean for real."
There was something in his tone that made the air heavy.
The guard suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
For a brief second… fear flashed in his eyes.
But his arrogant attitude quickly returned.
He leaned back again.
"Hmm…"
He rubbed his chin mockingly.
"Let's say…"
"Five hundred coins."
Lucia's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"That's outrageous!"
The guard shrugged lazily.
"Hey."
"This is Black Lust City."
"Only people with momey come here."
His eyes looked them up and down with disdain.
"Not people like you."
Ren remained silent.
One thousand coins…
That means…
Food is ten coins…
Water twenty…
I don't even have that much food to trade…
Then a small grin appeared on his face.
"Oh right…"
Ren suddenly placed his bag on the table.
"You said valuables work as payment… right?"
The guard frowned.
"Yeah."
"So what?"
Ren unzipped the bag.
Then started pulling things out.
CLANG
CLINK
THUD
One weapon after another landed on the table.
Knives.
Machetes.
Iron bats.
Metal pipes.
Dozens of melee weapons.
Every single one stained with dried blood.
The guard's expression slowly changed.
"…The hell?"
Ren casually leaned against the table.
"So."
"How much would this cover?"
The guard stared at the pile.
Just who the hell is this kid…
These weapons…
They're all covered in blood.
He cleared his throat.
"…Still not enough."
Ren's grin widened slightly.
"Really?"
Then he casually pointed behind him.
"What about that?"
The guard followed his finger.
His eyes landed on the motorcycle.
His expression immediately changed.
"…Yeah."
"That'll cover it."
Ren nodded.
"Good."
The guard waved his hand.
"Alright."
"You can go now."
Ren didn't move.
Instead…
A cold smile slowly formed on his face.
"Yeah."
"We'll go."
His eyes turned terrifyingly sharp.
"But before that…"
He tapped the table.
"Give me the rest of the coins."
The guard frowned.
"What?"
Ren's smile twisted slightly.
"That bike is clearly worth more than your stupid entry fee."
He leaned closer.
"So pay the difference…"
"…you fucker."
The guard's face turned red.
"How dare—"
Ren's eyes suddenly turned ice cold.
"Really?"
The killing intent behind that single word made the guard freeze.
The guard quickly forced an awkward laugh.
"N-No sir!"
"Of course not!"
He waved his hands nervously.
"The remaining coins will be given to you at the second checkpoint."
Lucia tugged Ren's arm slightly.
"Ren…"
Ren stared at the guard for another second.
Then turned around.
"Let's go."
They walked through the gate.
The moment they passed inside—
The guard finally exhaled heavily.
"…Just who the hell was that guy?"