"You mean old Johnny? He just can't get over it. A poor man wants to celebrate his grandson's birthday... He exposed his savings of many years for this. I declare that I didn't do anything to them, but showing off wealth in a place like this, officer, you should know that this is unwise..."
This guy is really talking a lot of nonsense, and his cunning eyes are looking around everywhere while he is talking. Lori couldn't help but tighten his grip on the pistol. He suspected that if he gave the dwarf monkey a chance, he would try to grab the gun without hesitation.
He didn't trust this guy. Strictly speaking, he didn't trust anyone in the corner tower.
"Who are you?" Lori asked, aiming his gun at him, "Why are you hiding in this place?"
"Poor fellows, sir..."
"Cut the nonsense!"
"I'm serious!? Oh my god, we have no identity, no job, all we want is a place to stay... and this place doesn't have anyone else, we're just staying here temporarily..."
"How many years have you been here?"
"Uh……"
"Answer me!" Lori glared and moved closer. He felt that he was about to lose his patience.
"Almost two years." The dwarf monkey replied quickly, "We are the Charcoal Gang, sir... Don't think that this is an illegal gang of a mafia nature. Really, we also have our own difficulties..."
Based on his description, Lori had a general understanding of the Corner Tower and the Charcoal Gang.
To some extent, Dwarf Monkey is right. The Charcoal Gang was not a gang from the beginning. It was just a mutual aid organization formed by a group of homeless people who had no place to live and gathered together to survive.
At the beginning, the atmosphere of this group was quite harmonious. They would help each other, share food and information, such as where temporary jobs pay the most today, and where temporary jobs pay the most and do not require ID.
But their living environment is still very harsh, all because of an unwritten rule: the Charcoal Gang prohibits anyone from applying for a new identity document.
Being a refugee does not mean that they will never be able to turn over a new leaf. Some refugees work hard, are appreciated and promoted, and then use their connections to get a new identity, and thus become citizens. In this way, they can walk openly in the sun, and even marry and have children locally, integrating everything they have into the city.
But without identity, none of this is true.
Take temporary recruitment of workers in factories as an example. Many factories have such a custom: when they cannot spare the manpower for the extra work, they recruit migrant gangs.
Anyway, there are always a lot of these guys squatting in the dark alleys at any time. They don’t ask for much because they know that their work in the city is illegal. They are well-behaved and willing to work, and can be hired with only a meager salary.
If they are lucky, they can get their wages as promised, but if they are unlucky, it is common for their wages to be deducted.
Who made them have no identity?
Having no identity and no registration is not a problem in some small cities, but in a big city like Wayne, once they are discovered, they will not only be heavily fined, but will also be expelled.
Of course they have to be expelled... Sarah sometimes arranges refugees to live in other places, but they have all been tested to make sure that none of them are contaminated by evil spirits. This unchecked population movement not only carries the risk of evil spirits, but also requires prevention and control of infectious diseases.
Lori knew about this practice, and he knew there was another cruel reason... because everyone felt that these refugees and displaced persons had more nightmares.
If it's just about living, there's plenty of space in the city. But if you also want to take nightmares into account, no one wants to live with a group of compatriots who may hatch nightmares at any time.
Port Wayne can accommodate a group of stray dogs, but it explicitly prohibits the gathering of stray people.
It sounded ironic, but Lori knew that this was the most reasonable management method.
The flower of nightmare is always born in the heart of the suffering. Even if you allow these guys to exist out of sympathy, one day one of them will become a monster.
By then, the entire area would be thrown into chaos because of a nightmare monster, and their lives would be in danger. Although being expelled would make life more difficult, it was better than death, right?
"How many of you are there?" Lori asked again.
The law is one thing, reality is another.
Although there are clear regulations in this regard, this phenomenon still persists. On the one hand, in non-central areas, they cannot spare enough manpower to search every alley and every empty house; on the other hand, for refugees, staying together in the city for warmth means they can live better than in remote small towns.
There are indeed local gangs in remote small towns. If there happens to be no church guarding the local area, those motley gangs of thugs can really be said to be capable of committing all kinds of evil.
In big cities, although they also have to worry and take various risks of being exposed, there are also more opportunities here. If they just seize one of them, their fate may be different.
Everyone thinks they are the lucky one and their hopes are placed on obtaining a new identity.
However, the Charcoal Gang prohibits members from obtaining new identities.
Lori was a little confused... What was the point of them insisting on living here?
Doesn't this mean there is no upward channel?
There is no hope or future, and there is the risk of being exiled. It would be better to live somewhere else.
Even if it is a second choice, a big city like Kuroki City, because it is not the royal capital, the environment there will always be more relaxed than Wayne Port.
"So this kind of unity soon collapsed." The dwarf monkey said very straightforwardly, "Everyone just wants to live a good life. That's why we gathered together to listen to them. They insist on cutting off our hope, so the only outcome is to break up."
"You guys broke up?"
"It's gone."
"But didn't you say you're still called the Charcoal Gang?"
"Yes...! But there is another gang, they call themselves the Xinhuo Gang, they live in the other area of this building."
The Charcoal Gang... The Fire Gang...
The names these guys picked are quite interesting.
"What's your name?" he asked the dwarf monkey.
"Charlie," said the Dwarf Monkey. "They call me Charlie the Monkey."
"So all the people in the Charcoal Gang are refugees?"
"Uh yes...!"
"Where did you come from to Wayne?"
"Uh... it should be somewhere a little to the southwest, right? I'm not very good at identifying directions, but I heard someone say this..."
Charlie hesitated a little, and the light in his eyes began to flicker.
But because of the darkness, Lori didn't notice it much.
He continued, "Southwest? It's all plains or wasteland over there. I haven't heard of any major disasters happening in the few cities there. Are you sure you heard it right?"
Disasters do not necessarily result in refugees, but refugees are definitely caused by disasters.
Only when a place suffers a serious disaster - whether it is a natural disaster or an evil disaster, and only when some local people are forced to unable to survive, will they leave the place where their parents live and wander in strange cities.
Lori asked this question out of habit, and he didn't want to get to the bottom of it. He didn't know that this question might actually bring him a fatal disaster.
"Oh... Sir..." Monkey Charlie changed his voice, sounding more humble and polite, "I don't think this is the place to have this conversation... How about I take you to our cubicle first?"
"Okay." Lori didn't think too much about it. He also thought the smell here was bad.
And didn’t he lose the murderer?
The other party fled here, which means he probably lives here. Then he is probably a member of two gangs. If we find their settlements and ask around, we should be able to find more clues.
Anyway, one thing is certain, the person he lost was not Charlie.
Charlie was too short... The man was about the same height as him, at least 175 cm, with broad shoulders and strong arms, which was very different from Charlie's profile.
With this thought in mind, he unconsciously relaxed his vigilance.
He didn't completely relax - but he really couldn't imagine that Charlie wanted to kill him the moment he turned the first corner!
"call!"
First, a handful of mud was thrown back at him, and Lori was caught off guard and blinded.
"You bastard!?"
He coughed and shouted angrily, aiming at the last figure he saw in his memory and pulling the trigger.
"boom!"
The gunshot echoed ferociously in the small space, and he heard the bullets ricocheting off the floor and walls, but there was no indication who he had hit.
Damn...what on earth does he want to do?
Lori couldn't understand why the monkey wanted to plot against him.
Don't trust his identity?
Or are you afraid that a group of people will be exiled and want to silence them?
But this kind of thing... If you are caught doing this kind of thing, you will be hanged! Is it really necessary to take such a big risk to stay in Wayne?
What on earth was this man thinking!
While he used his fingers to wet his saliva to wash his eyes, he turned around from time to time and aimed his pistol at any possible angle of attack.
But he didn't know much about the internal structure of the corner tower, and he didn't know that for a building like this that was abandoned before it was completed, its passages were not limited to the plane of the current floor.
After spreading the mud, Charlie the Monkey quickly ran into the corridor in front. He heard the gunshots behind him, and his heart tightened, but he also knew that there was no way back.
At this point, all they can do is kill this guy first. Even if he is really a policeman, the worst that can happen is that they can move to another place in the next few days.
Charlie jumped to the third floor through the corridor at great speed, then walked around the third floor and came to an empty small room.
There was a large hole in the floor of the small room, and he could clearly see Lori through the hole.
The poor guy was aiming everywhere like a headless fly. He would never have thought that the final blow would come from above...
Carefully and using all his strength, Charlie brought a large stone brick from outside the room, placed it at the edge of the cave, and waited for Lori to walk down.
Lori was completely unaware of the risks and was about to fall into a dead end.
Just then, Charlie heard a small noise behind him.
It is very subtle, like the whistling sound made by a breeze passing through a hallway, and you can't even hear it if you don't listen carefully.
This in itself was nothing, but he still looked towards the door reflexively.
Just this one glance almost scared him to death.
A familiar figure stood there, wearing only the remaining underwear. The flesh on his shoulders, arms, legs and feet had been eaten by maggots, leaving only a few pieces of flesh shriveled and attached to the bones.
The skinny face looked like a skeleton. Two blue flames flickered in the dark eye sockets, and he walked towards him with stiff steps.
This is... Old Johnny???
Didn't he he he he die a long time ago? ?
I saw him being kicked out with my own eyes, and I was even the one who took off his clothes!
What's happening here?
Even if that kind of monster was hatched, it shouldn't have taken so long, right?
Charlie was almost frightened to death. He stopped pushing the big stone brick and turned it around, staring at the visitor with great nervousness.
"It's not me...it's not me..."
He was sweating profusely, his lips moved rapidly, and words came out lightly.
"If it's really you...you should know you shouldn't come to me..."
"Your clothes are useless anyway... You are destined to die... It's just a matter of time..."
"The ones who really hurt you were Lin Lun and his gang... Did you hear that... Your grandson was also eaten by them..."
"Roar!!!"
Old Johnny's dried corpse let out a sharp roar, which not only alarmed Lori on the lower floor, but also frightened Charlie, who threw the brick in his hand away.
This thing was too heavy, and he was too weak, so he could only throw it less than two meters away, and it landed in the middle with a clang.
Charlie didn't expect this thing to cause any harm at all. He just hoped that it would hinder Old Johnny a little when he chased him. He fled like a nimble monkey and went around the bricks to the inside of the room.
"Roar!"
The mummy monster went around the bricks and grabbed him. He took the opportunity to go around to the exit of the room, turned around and sneered: "You are still so slow after becoming a nightmare. If you don't die, who will die, you old bastard!"
He wanted to run outside, but when he turned around, his face turned green.
The door frame location - there should have been a door frame there.
Although there is no door and it is just a decoration, it is at least the only escape route.
But at this moment, it was filled with a wriggling, pink flesh and blood tissue!
It was like some kind of pile of rotten meat, a collection of pieces of flesh! This monster completely blocked his way out! He couldn't just burrow into the meat!
"Oh my God!"
With a desperate scream, Charlie turned his gaze to the hole in the floor.
Even though there was a violent policeman down there who wanted to kill him, Charlie would rather deal with him than face old Johnny's dried corpse.
"Roar!" The mummy pounced on him again, but he dodged nimbly and the mummy missed again.
