The garbage field where Gavo lived lay on the eastern fringe of this stretch of the underhive, bordering the nearby northern district.
The Wild Dog Gang was a top-tier gang in the north, with over ten thousand members. If one counted the subordinate gangs under their command, then at least several hundred thousand people could be directly mobilized by them.
In recent years, the Wild Dog Gang's control over the northern district had reached its peak. If this massive beast wanted to stretch its limbs further, then it could only extend its reach into more distant territory.
And this gang buffer zone was within the scope of their expansion.
However, when the arrogant wild dogs arrived at their so-called promised land, they had no idea that an even more savage predator had already set its eyes on them.
...
"Wild dogs will always be wild dogs. The bones in the northern district have already fattened up your mangy hides, yet you still drool over the territory of my Tearblood Gang."
He was a tall middle-aged man. The rich experience of his life had carved one shocking scar after another across his face, telling the story of half a lifetime spent fighting his way through the underhive.
A tattoo like a blood tear was branded beneath his left eye, which was filled with mockery and killing intent, declaring his identity as a strike team captain of the Tearblood Gang.
His left hand had been replaced by a massive iron prosthetic, and at this moment he was holding a modified logging gun, its black muzzle aimed directly at Gavo.
If caliber meant justice, then there was no doubt that this man was extremely just.
The relief Gavo had just felt instantly vanished.
She obediently raised both hands. There was a steady distance between her and the man, and he was obviously experienced.
If she acted rashly, then even with Tactical Retreat, she might still end up becoming hero fragments just like the bald man from before.
Very soon, more than a dozen fully armed fighters appeared behind the man, every one of them carrying firearms. Beneath each of their left eyes was that sinister blood-tear tattoo.
Seeing that, the last bit of hope in Gavo's heart finally died.
In the underhive, where grabbing a few suitable melee weapons was enough to stir up chaos, this level of firepower was simply dimensional suppression.
And that was exactly what made the Tearblood Gang so special.
They possessed a munitions factory converted from a scrap processing plant.
Unlike the Wild Dog Gang, which expanded through point-to-point net-casting management, the Tearblood Gang was an absolute elite gang.
They had only around ten thousand members, but every one of them was well-equipped. The strongest among them formed strike teams that fought across all directions for the gang.
When the Tearblood Gang did not have much combat demand, these fierce and battle-hardened strike teams would even be rented out to other underhive gangs, using terrifying firepower to bring destruction upon their employers' enemies.
And standing before Gavo now was one of the best among those strike teams.
The Weepers Strike Team.
The blood-tear emblem, which originally only strike team captains were allowed to bear, had been granted to every member of this squad.
And their captain, the man holding the logging gun, was the infamous Ironarm Griffin.
"Captain, these wild dogs really look down on us. This time they only sent a few little pups."
A scar-faced man with only one eye gave a low laugh.
"That's a good thing."
Griffin grinned, his mouth surrounded by thick stubble, showing uneven teeth in a smile so kind it looked murderous.
"It'll save us a lot of bullets."
The moment he finished speaking, more than a dozen crude-looking guns spat blazing muzzle flashes at once, and merciless firepower instantly tore one wild dog after another to pieces.
Gavo's heart pounded wildly, but she discovered that not a single bullet was fired at her.
More precisely, they had deliberately avoided Gavo, Mir, and Rabbit-Mouth.
Not long after, the grand underhive symphony formed by gunfire and the dying screams of the wild dogs came to a close. The sharp smell of gunpowder and the thick stench of blood spread through the area.
Gavo barely dared to breathe as she nervously watched Griffin approach her after lowering his weapon.
Griffin looked at the small figure before him with clear interest, and his hoarse, low voice came from a mouth carrying a trace of dangerous amusement.
"So you're the boss of the Children's Gang?"
"We've heard about you for a long time. You're the one who gathered all those homeless feral kids together..."
"What was that phrase the upper hive people used?"
"Oh, right. Nice to meet you."
Looking at the smiling man in front of her, Gavo did not relax her guard in the slightest.
Because under Emotion Visualization, she could see the deep malice in his heart.
Seeing Gavo's limbs tensed tight, Griffin shifted the logging gun to his organic left hand, then extended the iron prosthetic toward her in a gesture of invitation for a handshake.
Gavo's eyes narrowed slightly. Gritting her teeth, she cautiously reached out her slender hand toward him.
Her body was already wound tight like a compressed spring, ready to respond to any sudden change.
But to her surprise, he really did just shake her hand and made no other move.
Just as Gavo was feeling puzzled, a muffled groan of pain rang out from behind her.
Her body instantly stiffened. She subconsciously glanced back, only to discover that the man's subordinates had already forced Rabbit-Mouth and Mir to the ground.
And in the very instant Gavo's focus shifted, terrifying brute strength surged from the iron hand. No matter how strong she was, at only nine years old she could not possibly resist the hydraulic grip of an exoskeletal prosthetic.
Intense pain, along with a sharp cracking sound, instantly spread through her whole body.
[Your right hand is fractured. Seek treatment immediately.]
But the attack was far from over. While Gavo was briefly frozen from the pain, Griffin drove the logging gun forward with savage force.
With her hand pinned, that heavy thrust landed squarely against the fragile intercostal muscles and diaphragm at her ribs.
The terrifying impact crushed her lungs, making Gavo drop to one knee as she gagged and convulsed in agony.
[Your ribs are fractured. Seek treatment immediately.]
Griffin, who had been smiling just moments ago, changed expression instantly. The killing intent in his eyes scraped over her like blades.
"Those little brats abandoned by their parents are the lowest of the low, the scum among scum. They're our best source of fresh blood."
"You've got a lot of nerve. Some nobody like you actually dared to intercept this many brats directly..."
A cruel light flashed in Griffin's eyes.
In his view, the existence of the Children's Gang itself was a challenge to the rules of the Tearblood Gang.
The only reason it had been allowed to exist until now was because this garbage field was too remote and not worth mobilizing the Tearblood Gang over.
But now, with the opportunity of opposing the Wild Dog Gang, it was the perfect time to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, to make the people of the eastern district understand exactly what it cost to break the rules of the game.
Thinking of that, he slowly raised the logging gun, the dark muzzle pointing directly at Gavo's head.
Seeing this, Mir was furious to the extreme, because he understood clearly that Gavo had drawn the gun onto herself for his sake.
He wanted to shout that he was the one who had founded the Children's Gang, but with a knee pressing down on his neck, he could not force out a single sound.
Bang!
Under Mir's bloodshot stare, the merciless gunshot rang out.
(End of Chapter)
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