Free Web NovelChapter 480: Chapter 481 Next Time Please Cherish Life_1
Two hours later, as the sky grew dark, Aiden propped himself up with his cane and arrived at the southern end of the park as agreed.
The park’s north and south sides had now completely diverged, as if someone had deliberately drawn a boundary. Everything was normal near the plaza on the north side, with nearby residents taking their walks and engaging in leisurely chats, though now there were quite a few begging refugees; however, the small woods on the south side were largely avoided by the local residents.
The dimly lit path illuminated by the faint gas lamps led to a corner of the small woods, where there was a pond. This area had originally been intended for park-goers to picnic, but now it had become one of the settlements for refugees.
Tents were haphazardly squeezed around the pond, with only one streetlight shining over the area. From a distance, most tents were dark, with just a few weak lights flickering.
After being occupied by the refugees, the local residents hardly ever came close to this place, even more so after the concentrated reporting of refugee crimes.
But today, a well-dressed young lady appeared on the clearing at the edge of the small woods—Aiden, having transformed into the avenging goddess, looked around and quickly found the statue mentioned by the beggar.
The statue depicted a knight with a sword, holding his helmet upside down, filled with soil. It was originally designed as a small flowerbed, with the helmet serving as a flowerpot to plant various flowers.
Aiden guessed it must be an anti-war themed art sculpture, which was a pity given the current state of affairs; naturally, no one would come here to tend to it anymore. The helmet that the statue held was filled with dry, cracked soil, and the flowers and grasses that had been planted within had long since withered away, leaving only their dry, twisted stalks resembling sun-dried dead snakes.
Aiden felt a tinge of irony.
He looked around and saw no one, but the area illuminated by the streetlight was quite limited.
"Is anyone there?" Aiden called out.
As soon as his voice faded, a person emerged from behind the statue; it was the beggar from the morning.
"Haha, you really came, lady," the beggar’s face beamed with a smile, "I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."
"Take me to see that acquaintance of yours," Aiden said.
"Sure, follow me," the beggar gestured and picked up an old lantern from behind the statue.
Aiden followed him into the woods but then abruptly stopped.
"Wait a moment," Aiden called to him.
"What is it?" the beggar turned around.
"There seem to be quite a few people here," Aiden said, his face growing stern, and his voice dropping.
He had previously used the black magic "Night Vision," allowing him to see farther in the dark than an ordinary person could. Initially, he hadn’t seen anyone, but upon entering the woods, he had vaguely noticed several figures approaching from various directions, one blocking the path he had taken.
The beggar turned back, holding the lantern with a grin, "I’m sorry about this, but a few of my friends here heard about your situation and wanted to have a chat with you. I couldn’t refuse... after all, maintaining our territory requires everyone’s help." freёwebnovel.com
Similarly malicious laughter arose from all sides, and the circle tightened slightly. Aiden looked around and this time he could see clearer: there were a total of six people surrounding him, including the beggar, all refugees.
These people were likely the beggar’s companions, banding together in the refugee camp to form small gangs, to fight over resources like begging spots.
And now, they had set their sights on the "woman" who had been lured into their settlement.
"You are all this desperate?" Aiden asked coldly.
"A common request, please do some good," the beggar laughed shamelessly.
His joke resonated with his companions, who all laughed together.
Aiden sighed deeply, having anticipated that he might walk into a trap, but he hadn’t expected the one he guessed would be so mundane.
At this moment, beside him, the goddess of revenge was already holding her stomach, laughing hysterically, "Hahahaha, investigated all day, and ended up bumping into a pack of horny stray dogs."
"Looks like you’re quite popular in this guise," Aiden communicated with her telepathically.
"Need my help? I can make them start killing each other right now," the goddess of revenge offered.
"No need, I can handle this kind of trash by myself," Aiden surveyed the several people around them; they were equipped with simple weapons like ropes and sticks, but considering the numbers and the physical strength difference between genders, they already had an overwhelming advantage over a "normal woman" holding a staff.
"True, a gun alone would probably scare them enough to piss themselves," the goddess of revenge chuckled.
Aiden had been given a handgun by the secret police when he came to Sunset City through Heinz’s channels.
"I don’t use guns, if I pulled it out and they got scared..." Aiden replied to the goddess of revenge in his mind, "I wouldn’t get the chance to beat them up."
He looked at the beggar and said, "You should be smarter next time, who would be a common person doing investigations alone? Cherish your life."
Then, without waiting for the other side to recover their wits, he paused his staff.
The surrounding refugees were just about to move in closer, to completely trap their prey.
At that moment, a thick fog spread out, swallowing up the forest and also the light from the lantern in the beggar’s hand, which served as a beacon.
"Huh?"
"What’s happening?"
Everyone fell into confusion for a moment, while only Aiden, standing in the midst of the fog, swiftly picked up his staff, holding it like a sword in front of him, and walked towards the beggar with light steps.
The next second, the staff cut through the air and hit the beggar’s face squarely, shattering several teeth at their roots. The beggar let out a wail, the world spinning as he fell to the ground, his mouth filled with the taste of blood.
"Next," Aiden said emotionlessly, tapping his palm with the staff.
...
A few seconds later, after several screams rang out one after another, the fog gradually dispersed.
Aiden returned to his original spot, still leaning on his staff, in his other hand he held the dilapidated lantern, and around him was a circle of groaning refugees on the ground, each with a split jaw and broken teeth, who could only lie there dazed.
"I’m not in a position to hand you over to the police right now, but I have the ability to deal with you myself. Criminals have no rights, you should have thought it through before acting," Aiden spoke calmly, looking down at the beggar, "You’ve wasted half of my valuable day, but I don’t intend to take back the little money I gave you; consider it your medical fee. Next, I’m going to help you so that your future begging goes more smoothly—though, for a while, you’re probably going to have to walk with a crutch."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the beggar’s legs.
"Please! Don’t!! I-I didn’t lie to you!" the beggar pleaded, eyes wide, his speech whistling due to missing teeth, "I was wrong, I shouldn’t have had that thought... but what I said was true!"
