Chapter 89: Is That Really the Only Reason?

East City Used Goods Market.

This was one of the most chaotic areas of Grayrock City.

Disorganized stalls crowded the narrow streets, a cacophony of hawking, haggling, and arguing blending together.

The air was thick with the musty smell peculiar to secondhand goods, mixed with the greasy smoke wafting from roadside food stalls.

Amid the noisy crowd, a shadowy figure had somehow blended in—a person in a black robe.

The black robe’s appearance didn’t attract much attention.

After all, there were plenty of places to scavenge here, and all sorts of strange people roamed about. A black robe was nothing special; many had seen similar outfits before.

Alpha’s gaze swept across every stall, every alley entrance.

Because of what she had seen and heard this morning, a knot of frustration had been weighing on her heart.

So instead of following her planned itinerary—heading to the Adventurers’ Guild to pick up a quest—she came here.

After asking a few passersby on the road, she got the information she wanted—

Grey Finger was collecting protection fees in this area today.

Alpha followed the clues and soon spotted her target in front of a fruit stall.

Grey Finger was leaning against the wooden frame of the stall, holding a half-eaten fruit in his hand, chewing noisily, juice spraying everywhere. In front of him stood three underlings.

One of them, hands on his hips, was cursing at the fruit stall owner.

“It’s time to pay this month’s protection fee! Stop stalling, dammit!”

The stall owner was a thin, middle-aged man, his face pale, nodding and bowing repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes… right away, right away…”

Grey Finger watched the scene from behind, munching his fruit contentedly.

People came and went around them, but everyone deliberately skirted that area, not even daring to glance over.

Alpha’s appearance initially went unnoticed.

She was just an ordinary black robe in the crowd, walking unhurriedly forward.

Until she deviated from the crowd’s direction and walked straight toward the fruit stall.

Someone noticed her.

But didn’t think much of it—

Maybe they were together.

Until she stopped in front of Grey Finger.

Grey Finger sensed someone approaching, lazily turned his head, still chewing the fruit, and muttered indistinctly, “Who the—”

He didn’t finish.

Wham!

Alpha’s right fist clenched instantly. The New Moon mark on the back of her hand flared up, a flash of eerie blue light.

Bang!

A swift punch landed directly on Grey Finger’s face.

The next moment, Grey Finger’s head snapped violently to the right. Half his cheek visibly caved in. Chewed fruit pulp mixed with blood and a few teeth sprayed from his mouth, splattering on the ground.

The full-force strike of a Second-rank Warrior smashed solidly into Grey Finger’s left cheek. His eyes hadn’t even had time to close before he lost consciousness.

His body went limp, falling backward.

But before that, Alpha had already reached out her left hand, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him into the air.

Grey Finger hung from her grip like a dead dog, completely unresponsive.

The few underlings heard the commotion and turned around, only to see this scene. Their minds went blank.

Just now… what happened?!

How did the boss get beaten up?

Alpha turned her head toward them.

Her eyes, visible outside her mask, were as cold as a winter lake.

No anger.

No killing intent.

Only a bone-chilling… calm.

“Yesterday.”

Her voice was cold, like a knife.

“Which one of you threw a beggar girl into the gutter?”

Staring into those eyes, the underlings’ legs began to tremble instinctively.

That was the look of someone who had truly seen blood, killed people!

Gulp.

Someone swallowed, but no one dared to speak.

Alpha waited three seconds.

“No one steps forward?”

Her voice was still calm, but the underlings’ backs were instantly soaked with cold sweat.

“Then let me ask differently.”

She paused.

“If that person keeps hiding, I don’t mind—”

“Killing all of you.”

The moment the words fell, the underlings’ psychological defenses completely collapsed.

“It’s, it’s him!”

“It’s Tuomu! Tuomu did it!”

“That’s right, that’s right! It has nothing to do with us! Tuomu acted on his own!”

Several of them pointed almost simultaneously at the scrawny thug standing at the very back.

That guy named Tuomu’s face turned ashen, and he kept backing away.

“No, not me… I…”

But the others had already pushed him out.

Tuomu stumbled forward, tripped over someone’s foot, and fell flat on his face.

He scrambled to his knees, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed desperately to Alpha.

“Milord! Milord, spare me! I, I didn’t know that girl was your person! Please, let me go—”

Alpha looked at him.

That face was full of fear, tears and snot smeared all over. His kowtowing was frantic and violent, and soon the skin on his forehead broke.

“Let you go?”

Her voice revealed neither anger nor pleasure.

“Give me a reason.”

“Why did you do that to her back then?”

“You’d better tell me the truth.”

Tuomu’s body trembled violently.

He wanted to lie, to say someone put him up to it, to make up a reason that would let him survive—

But the instant he met those eyes, all his lies got stuck in his throat.

Those eyes silently told him: ‘Go ahead, try lying to me and see what happens.’

“I… I…”

His teeth chattered, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “I just… just thought it was fun… seeing her like that, I wanted to, wanted to—”

Alpha’s eyes turned even colder.

“Just… for fun?”

Tuomu was scared out of his wits, frantically waving his hands.

“No, no! And Grey Finger! Grey Finger ordered it! He said, said we needed to teach that girl a lesson, so she wouldn’t dare to swindle us again… I, I was just following orders, milord!”

He kowtowed desperately.

“Please spare me! Please—”

But Alpha didn’t listen to his explanation anymore.

She swiftly raised her leg and kicked Tuomu square on the chin.

The force of that kick launched Tuomu into the air, flipping him mid-spin.

Before he hit the ground, Alpha’s right hand had already released Grey Finger’s collar and grabbed the falling Tuomu by his.

Left hand holding Grey Finger, right hand holding Tuomu.

Both hung like dead dogs, heads drooping, completely unconscious.

Alpha stood there, looking at the two in her hands, an endless chill seeping from her eyes.

She had originally planned to take them to the Potion Shop.

Let Li Fu decide their fate herself.

Just like That Lord had done back then—handing the choice to her.

Let her take revenge herself.

Let her end that hatred herself.

Let her know that she had the power to change her own destiny.

But…

She remembered Li Fu’s face, covered in tears.

Remembered her repeating over and over, “I’m sorry.”

“Sister is too useless.”

Remembered Mia holding her sister, saying, “As long as I can be with sister forever, I’m satisfied.”

That was supposed to be a celebration of a sister’s birthday, yet she lost the bread that was the birthday gift, and nearly lost her life…

Alpha’s gaze went completely cold.

She suddenly tightened both hands and slammed the two heads together hard!

Bang!

A dull thud.

Blood splattered.

Both went limp at the same time.

Alpha let go, and the moment the two bodies began to fall—

She turned, a swift and vicious roundhouse kick.

Thump!

Like kicking two overripe watermelons.

For an instant, red and white splattered all over the ground.

The people around finally reacted, letting out terrified screams and scattering in panic.

The fruit stall owner sat paralyzed on the ground, trembling all over, forgetting even to run.

Alpha didn’t look at those fleeing people.

She pulled a silver coin from her pocket and tossed it to the fruit stall owner.

“Sorry for scaring away your business. This is compensation.”

Her voice was calm, as if stating something utterly ordinary.

With that, she turned and walked away.

That black robe passed through the chaotic crowd, through screams and fear, step by step, disappearing at the end of the used goods market.

Behind her, only two headless bodies and a mess remained.

Sunlight shone on the bloodstains, so glaring that no one dared to look directly.