Chapter 0005: Welcome to Hell

"Thank you, Captain."

Ning Fan's way of addressing Lin Chuan had changed. "Please take care of me from now on."

Huizi, on the other hand, looked absolutely miserable. "Brother Chuan, you actually cut me for eight thousand Sola?"

"How could that be? Eight thousand Sola — enough to come between us brothers?"

Lin Chuan's expression was firm and unyielding.

Huizi felt a little warmth in his chest. "I knew it. Brother Chuan, you definitely wouldn't do something like that over a little money..."

"You also lost five thousand Sola to me on that bet!"

Lin Chuan reminded him. "Eight thousand plus five thousand — that's thirteen thousand total. That's practically the payout for a single Tier 1 High-Risk Commission! Think carefully, little brother. Was that slash worth it or not?"

"So, that eight thousand Sola — do I get any of it?" Huizi asked, his face flushed red.

Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow, visibly annoyed. "What's that got to do with you? This was a private job I took on my own!"

"Damn it..."

Huizi wanted to curse someone out.

But the person standing in front of him — he didn't dare.

Lin Chuan stopped paying attention to him and turned his gaze toward Ning Fan instead, studying him carefully.

He had accepted Ning Fan's request partly because of the money, no question about that.

But more importantly — if he had refused, Ning Fan would have genuinely gone to the Wind-Slayer Squad.

And those people from the Wind-Slayer Squad wouldn't have handled it with anywhere near the same care and precision as him.

This kid...

Sharp-minded, bold enough, and full of conviction.

Willing to give everything to get what he wants.

Someone like that — maybe he really was cut out to be a Walker.

Just needed some shaping.

"Go get some sleep. We leave the zone at seven tonight."

Lin Chuan sent Huizi on his way.

There was still a mission tonight. If Huizi went without sleep, heading outside the zone was no joke.

Huizi trudged home, shoulders sagging.

"You're not sleeping?"

Lin Chuan noticed Ning Fan hadn't left, and asked curiously, "Not tired?"

"I'm alright. Back at the Academy, going two weeks without sleep was pretty common."

Ning Fan scratched his head with a sheepish smile.

A flicker passed through Lin Chuan's eyes.

Academic scores didn't mean much in Walker circles.

But passing everything with full marks spoke for itself — it meant he wasn't just smart, he was also hardworking.

Both were necessary.

God only knew what Ning Fan had put himself through to earn those perfect scores.

"Kid, come sit with me."

Lin Chuan propped up the wooden board in front of the Hound Shelter and patted the fuel drum beside him.

"Sure!"

The two sat side by side.

Lin Chuan looked at Ning Fan's still-youthful face and asked quietly, "Isn't being alive good enough? Why does it have to be this? Being a Walker — you're eating every meal with blood mixed in."

"For money."

Ning Fan answered honestly.

Lin Chuan let out a small smile. "A top student straight out of the Academy — I'd have thought you'd give a less... pragmatic answer than that."

"What was I supposed to say instead?"

Ning Fan tilted his head. "To purge the dangers lurking beyond the zone, to protect the peace of F32, I pledge my blood and bones, and will not rest until death?"

"Isn't that the standard answer?"

"That's the standard answer for posturing."

Ning Fan looked in the direction of his home. "I don't have ambitions that grand, and I don't have the ability to carry everyone's hopes on my shoulders. All I want is for the people around me to live healthy lives. That's enough."

Lin Chuan didn't press any further. Instead, he reached over and gave Ning Fan's shoulder a firm pat.

"Everyone who became a Walker has their own story — and their own reason to keep going. You're not special in that regard."

Lin Chuan said, his tone serious. "Heaven won't go easy on you just because of your resolve, and the monsters out there certainly won't. So if you want to see your goals through, the only one you can rely on is yourself."

"Understood, Captain."

"No need for 'Captain.' We're all just stray dogs scrounging for food together. Same as Huizi — just call me Brother Chuan."

"Got it, Brother Chuan."

***

Six o'clock in the evening.

Seven people had gathered by the wooden board of the Hound Shelter.

Besides Ning Fan and Lin Chuan, Huizi had come back after waking from his sleep.

The other four — three men and one woman.

"Quick introduction — Ning Fan, a new pup I just recruited."

Lin Chuan announced to the group.

Ning Fan smiled humbly in response. "You're all veterans. If I do something wrong, I hope everyone will be patient with me. I'll do my best not to cause any trouble."

"Brother Chuan, when are we heading out?"

A woman in a black leather jacket spoke up, her tone flat and indifferent.

No one had reacted at all to Ning Fan joining.

"Once Yang Beihai delivers the goods, we move."

Lin Chuan's expression turned serious. "This commission is a Tier 2 High-Risk Mission. The payout is thirty thousand Sola. Same rules as always — before we leave, write down your family members' names and addresses. If anyone dies on the mission, their family gets five thousand Sola in settlement. As for those of us who make it back — including me — pay is based on contribution. Any questions?"

The others showed no particular reaction.

Ning Fan, however, felt a slight unease settle over him.

Before the mission even started, they were already talking death money.

Walkers — truly people who earned their living with their lives hanging by a thread.

"A Tier 2 High-Risk Commission?"

Huizi raised a concern. "Weren't we just making a delivery to F27? We've made that run over ten times. Where's the Tier 2 risk coming from?"

"Yang Beihai said this shipment is worth a lot. The reason he's offering Tier 2 pay is his way of telling us — the goods are worth more than our lives."

Just as Lin Chuan finished explaining, a low rumbling sound rolled in from the direction of the inner zone.

A vehicle came rolling toward them — a patchwork contraption of salvaged scrap metal loosely welded together.

Calling it a car would be an insult to cars.

But this was the Lower City.

Whatever the Path of Grace dropped down to them, they used.

No one understood how to squeeze the maximum value out of junk better than the people of the Lower City.

"Captain Lin! Thanks for taking this on!"

Once the vehicle came to a stop, a heavyset bald man jumped out, his face full of thick flesh. "Same deal as always — I'm lending you the vehicle. If it breaks down on the road, that's five thousand Sola, deducted from your commission when you get back."

"Fine."

Lin Chuan glanced at the vehicle. "Goods are inside?"

"They are."

Baldy's expression grew stern. "Captain Lin! This commission cannot fail. In all of F32, you're the crew I trust most. Don't go ruining your own reputation!"

"In this line of work, no Walker can ever guarantee a hundred percent success rate."

Lin Chuan's tone was cold. "What I can promise is this — as long as there's a single dog left breathing in the Hound Shelter, we will get your goods delivered."

"Good enough! That's all I needed to hear."

Baldy broke into a relieved smile.

Lin Chuan didn't linger on pleasantries. He swept his arm forward. "Alright, pups — load up! Time to go make some money!"

Ning Fan thought back to the conversation he'd had with Lin Chuan that afternoon.

Lin Chuan had told him that for this mission, it was entirely Ning Fan's choice whether to go or not.

If he wasn't mentally ready to step outside the zone yet, Lin Chuan could give him a little more time.

Ning Fan hadn't hesitated.

He'd been ready for a month already.

He climbed aboard with the others. Inside, the vehicle was far more spacious than its battered exterior suggested.

It fit all seven of them with room to spare.

***

Huizi took the driver's seat, started the engine, and pulled up in front of a massive iron gate.

"Brother Chuan, another mission?"

The guard at the gate greeted Lin Chuan with familiar ease.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ning Fan watched as Lin Chuan quietly slipped the guard a thousand Sola. The guard tucked it into his jacket with a grin, then gave the order for his men to open the gate.

A grinding screech of metal rang out as the gate crept open — just enough of a gap for their vehicle to pass through.

Outside the zone...

I'm finally here.

For Ning Fan, stepping outside the inner zone for the very first time, his heart was a storm of nervous anticipation.

Before him stretched a world of near-total darkness.

He hadn't even had time to adjust when a chorus of screaming and crying drifted in through the window.

"Help me! Please, someone help me! I'll pay a thousand Sola!"

Ning Fan froze.

He turned to look out the window.

There, a man with nearly all four limbs severed, drenched in blood, was dragging himself toward the gate with what little strength he had left.

Thump.

A large hand landed on Ning Fan's shoulder.

"Welcome to hell, little pup."

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Proofreader & Editor: Fat Goose 🪶