Chapter 51
The hospital in the lower district was as shabby as it could get. Every time the door to the patient room opened and closed, the cobweb-covered ceiling light creaked and swayed. If at least the price were cheap, there would be less to complain about, but even a place like this charged a hefty sum by the lower district’s standards.
Gabriel woke up from surgery with a face still numb from the anesthetic and looked at me.
"I only paid for one day of hospitalization. You're getting discharged tomorrow."
I told Gabriel. He had taken four bullets to the chest and abdomen. Fortunately, his life wasn't in danger.
"You don’t have to be so cold about it. I wasn’t planning on fattening up some money-grubbing bastard anyway."
"What happened?"
"I got a warning. Things are getting rough around here these days. Everyone’s started rallying for power."
"But you're not in a gang."
Gabriel was a freelancer who lived off violence. He fought in arenas and took jobs like a fixer when necessary.
"And that's exactly the problem. When things are peaceful, guys like me are left alone, but when a power struggle starts, you're either an ally or an enemy. They shot at me out of nowhere, telling me not to mess around. I don’t even have a clue who those bastards are."
Gabriel ground his teeth.
"Guess they weren’t trying to kill you. They didn't aim for your head."
I shaped my hand into a gun and tapped my temple.
"It was just a warning. For most people, getting hit like this is enough to make a comeback impossible. Or, at the very least, scare them into seeking protection from a gang."
"You should join a gang too. The way you’re going, I doubt you'll last long on your own."
It was my way of offering advice.
"I'd rather die. No way. That means working under all kinds of trash. Anyway, why are you here? Haven't seen you in months, and now you show up out of nowhere."
"I had business around here. I'll be back at this time tomorrow, so get the strongest painkillers you can and be ready."
"I just had surgery."
"That's why I said to take the painkillers. Got a problem with that?"
I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side. Gabriel scowled even harder as I stared him down.
"Fine, fine. A couple of gunshot wounds are nothing, whatever!"
Even as he grumbled, Gabriel would follow my orders. He valued loyalty and wasn’t the type to betray someone he owed. That’s why I kept 'investing' in him.
I left Gabriel in his hospital room and stepped outside. Armed guards were patrolling the hospital. He would be safe here.
'Find traces of Kinuan in the lower district.'
I had previously heard that Kinuan had been quite close with the 'former arena manager.'
'If I can figure out what Kinuan was doing in the lower district in the past... I might find a lead.'
I didn’t return to my lodging in the upper district. I planned to stay in the lower district for a few days.
As I exited the private hospital, I found myself in a busy commercial area. Since this was a medical district, most of the buildings were either hospitals or cybernetic repair shops.
'Kaiman Corp’s latest combat prosthetics, special sale! Genuine guarantee! You won’t find this price again! Additional discounts for full-body prosthetics!'
'Announcement from Welfare Center 7. Our friend, Revan Purin, passed away today. But Revan’s heart is still beating strong, and his lungs are completely free of tumors. Purchase fresh organs now to support Revan Purin’s surviving children.'
'We manufacture rainbows ourselves. Apricot to red-green shades only—cheap prices. Only contact if you know.'
Cheap holographic ads flickered as I walked, flashing across my face before passing through me. I frowned.
Everyone else moved past them as if the piercing lights didn’t bother them. Seeing this, I realized I really had been absorbed into life in the upper district.
Wooong!
A large hospital was using an old, rusted air vehicle for emergency transport from its rooftop. Gabriel and I had ridden in something just like that.
I walked through the lower district all night, taking in the sights. Moving through the city’s flow, I transitioned from the bustling commercial areas to crime-ridden zones and sometimes lingered in the border areas where the upper district loomed above.
And then… my footsteps halted in front of a run-down building.
'Orphanage 72.'
The place where I grew up.
The long, four-story building had peeling walls, exposing raw concrete underneath. Nearby, I saw a lot that doubled as both a playground and an open space. There was also a warehouse on one side.
Most of the lights in the building were off—it was late at night. The orphanage had strict communal living rules. If you got caught wandering around at this hour, you’d be punished. Of course, if you didn’t get caught, that was another story.
It hadn’t even been four years since I left the orphanage. But it felt like something from a distant past.
Life as a cadet had been that intense. A single day felt like three or four.
My memories of life at the orphanage were far from abundant. But compared to the street orphans who never even made it here, I had it better. At least the orphanage, though cramped, had a place to sleep. The food was lacking, but it existed. The bare minimum for survival was guaranteed.
I stood across the road, staring at the orphanage building.
Kiiing.
A truck pulled up in front of the orphanage. The front gate opened, and the truck drove inside, backing up close to the warehouse.
I quietly observed. Before long, the fat orphanage director struck a deal with the truck driver and received a credit chip.
'Embezzling again. That pig of a bastard.'
A familiar sight. The orphanage director siphoned off supplies meant for the children and sold them on the private market. The low-ranking officials who were supposed to monitor him took bribes and turned a blind eye.
Even if I interfered, nothing would change. At best, the orphanage director might be more careful for a few months. But unless someone kept watching, things would return to how they were. Even if things improved here, this was just one orphanage. I couldn't go around monitoring every single one in the Empire.
'The world doesn't change.'
The only thing I could change was myself.
I lifted my gaze to the windows. Some of the children had woken up and were peeking outside. The older ones, those who had grown sharp enough, would understand exactly what the director was doing—just as I had once figured it out.
But they had no power to stop the embezzlement. Even if they tried to fight back, the only result would be harsher punishments, several times worse. Or worse yet, they might be thrown out onto the streets and found dead a few days later.
The weak could not defy the strong.
I lowered my head, scratching my temple. After a brief moment of thought, I crossed the road and entered the orphanage grounds. The workers moving supplies from the warehouse and the open lot turned to look at me.
'A pointless act.'
I knew that. This wouldn't change the world. At best, it would let the children here eat well for a few months.
...And if that was all, then it was worth it. That was what I decided at that moment.
You've gone soft, Luka.
"You, what the hell do you think you're doing? Get lost!"
One of the workers moving the cargo glared at me. They weren’t fighters—just laborers hauling supplies.
Crunch!
I kicked the man's knee. It didn't just buckle—it shattered completely. Mechanical components burst apart, scattering in all directions.
"Oh, oh...?"
The truck driver and the workers stared at me. Some clumsily reached for their guns.
My hand twitched. I suppressed my combat reflexes. If I hadn’t, the man aiming at me would’ve had his skull caved in by my fist.
"If you don't want to die, put it away. If you'd rather lose a limb or two, be my guest."
I pointed my index finger at the man holding the gun, warning him. I knew it too—empty threats wouldn't work.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. I extended my palm, then clenched my fist.
"Ah..."
The man who fired the shot could only gape in shock.
I opened my hand. The flattened bullet fell to the ground at my feet. A weak pistol like that couldn't even penetrate my prosthetic body.
"Move."
I walked forward, passing between the workers and the truck driver. They didn't even dare to think about attacking me, retreating instinctively. A threat backed by action was effective.
"You, L-Luka?"
The orphanage director recognized me and let out an awkward laugh.
"It's been a while, Director."
"Truly, you've gr—Kaaack!"
I cut him off by striking his jaw from below. He rolled on the ground in a panic, as if he had bitten his tongue.
"You're still pulling this kind of crap? Haven't you hoarded enough money by now?"
"Why, why are you doing this, L-Luka? I treated you well! I even gave you extra rations later on!"
After my screening results came out, I was given special treatment. I no longer went hungry. Unlike the other kids, I had enough to eat.
"I appreciate that. That's why I'm not snapping your neck right now."
I smiled as I spoke. My chilling words made the truck driver and the workers prepare to flee.
I turned my back on the director and looked at the truck driver. My cybernetic eyes must have been glowing like they were piercing straight through them.
"I don't know what’s going on, but... we’re leaving."
"Smart choice. I came from higher up. You know what’ll happen if I find out this orphanage is still doing business with you, right?"
I raised a finger, mixing truth with deception.
I had no authority to stop them. I wouldn’t be able to keep watch over this place forever. But if they valued their lives, they’d tread carefully. It wouldn’t last more than a year at best.
The truck driver nodded and gestured to the workers. They quickly fled, leaving only the orphanage director behind.
"I-I was wrong! I made a mistake! Tell me what you’re unhappy about! I’ll do anything to make it right!"
Left alone, the director shouted, his face consumed by fear.
"I wasn’t looking for an apology or anything. I just happened to come by, got annoyed, and decided to step in. Pure coincidence."
I had no intention of looking after the orphanage I grew up in out of some sense of duty. Charity was best left to the whims and hypocrisy of the rich.
"This will never happen again. I... I truly regret it. Until now, no one ever stopped me or punished me. But now, I’ve been reborn. Thanks to you."
I listened in silence to the orphanage director’s pathetic rambling.
"…Make sure the kids eat well tomorrow."
I felt drained. He wasn’t even worth hitting or killing. Even if a new director took his place, nothing would really change.
I glanced up at the windows. Some of the children were watching. One of them even waved at me with bright eyes.
I turned my back and started to walk away from the orphanage. Stepping in like this felt out of character. I wasn’t the type to meddle.
Then, I stopped at the front gate.
Suddenly, memories of my starving childhood resurfaced. There were nights I had snuck out, rummaging through roadside trash bins just to find something to eat. Yet the orphanage director, the same man who used to pat my head, had fingers so plump that his joints seemed to fold into the fat.
Ah, now I’m really pissed.
"Luka?"
I turned around and approached the orphanage director.
Crack!
My fist sank into his face. His skull collapsed inward, molding around my knuckles. The pressure forced one of his eyeballs halfway out of its socket. His front teeth shattered entirely, and the broken shards of his nasal bone caved in, pushing inward.
I had held back. He wouldn’t die. If I had hit him seriously, his head would have burst open.
"Guuhhk… gugh."
Clutching his ruined face, the orphanage director let out a choking, blood-filled groan.
"Thinking about it, I guess I was angrier than I thought."
Leaving him in his wrecked state, I walked out of the orphanage. The street was silent.
Now, I planned to head back to the hospital where Gabriel was. I'd get some sleep there, then visit the arena with him.
I made my way through the empty night streets and returned to the hospital. Leaning back in the guardian’s chair beside Gabriel’s bed, I quickly fell asleep. Thanks to my training, I was usually good at getting deep rest. But tonight, I slept so well that it was hard to believe I was in a chair.
I woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while. Even seeing Gabriel’s ugly face first thing in the morning didn’t piss me off.
Yeah, I knew exactly why I slept so well. Beating the shit out of someone who pisses you off is good for your mental health. I couldn't deny it.