Blood Nemesis-Chapter 229: Changes 2

The sun had gone down beyond the western horizon. Oliver used the darkness to cover himself as he swiftly made his way to the border between the inner and outer city, towards the red-light district.

The red light district was a familiar place for him, both in this life and in his previous life. After all, it was one of his safe havens where he could avoid the eyes of law.

A few minutes later, Oliver walked in and breathed the polluted air filled with the scent of cigarettes and cheap perfume as he made his way through the urban jungle to a shop in an alley.

Then he walked through familiar roads and appeared in front of the Grizzly Bar.

It was the black market hub, owned by the Grizzly. A friend of Oliver's.

Oliver befriended Grizzly a few months ago by eliminating the Tempus Cult, which the Mind Hunter, one of the S-rank prisoners of the Abyss, was in control of.

With the disappearance of Mind Hunter and Tempus Cult, business seemed to be booming.

Oliver found many people sitting inside the bar, sipping beer.

Covered from head to toe in black, even donning a mask, Oliver's presence alerted the people in the bar. But none of them moved an inch.

It was usual for some sensitive customers to wear clothing like that to cover up their identity.

Oliver casually walked through the entrance and made his way towards the door leading to the area behind the counter.

Usually, customers are guided in through the door by a bartender. But Oliver was someone who Grizzly valued.

He showed his phone, then used it to tap near the door to gain instant access to the area beyond.

Watching him do that, the bartenders returned to what they were doing.

Inside, the first thing Oliver saw was the illegal gambling den operated by the black market.

He ignored the drunk men and women throwing away their life savings while swiftly walking to Grizzly's office.

The office was dimly lit as usual.

When Oliver opened the door and stepped in, the first thing he noticed was the gold-rimmed glasses shining in the dark. The lustrous eyewear was firmly placed over the nose of the person he was looking at. And this person was calmly sitting on the other side of a table, flipping through some kind of important documents.

Grizzly, or otherwise known as Daniel, noticed his presence, flipped the set of papers in his hand, placed them on the table and lifted his eyes to meet Oliver's.

Suddenly, with jagged movement, he froze.

While walking in, Oliver had taken off the mask and the hood covering his head.

His appearance caught Grizzly off guard.

Lifting his glasses with a finger, Grizzly adjusted them slightly. Then he squinted his eyes to take a closer look. He wanted to make sure he was seeing it right.

"Pft…"

Unknowingly, the laughter he was holding in slipped out.

"Pfttt..mmmhh..ha…"

He couldn't hold it in after seeing the glistening bald head reflecting light.

"...What the hell happened to you, bald fiend…uh! Sorry. My mistake. It was supposed to be a blood fiend…pft…haha ha ha…"

Grizzly couldn't stop himself from making fun of Oliver. He giggled while trying to hold in the laughter.

After all, the bald head, shiny like a freshly polished chrome dome, paired with Oliver's serious expression, would have made anyone laugh. Grizzly was no exception.

"I also want to figure that out." Oliver gloomily walked over and replied.

"You don't know?" Grizzly was amused.

"No. Stuff happened, and I woke up, balding from head to toe. It's total hair loss. Even down there, I can't find any." Oliver tapped his pants as he spoke.

"Pft…"

Grizzly released another burst of air.

"Anyways…can you get me a place to stay for a few days, until I understand my condition?"

Grizzly adjusted his glasses again and smiled.

"Of course, I have the best place for you." He grinned and answered.

"What about the thing I asked you to do? Did the hacker friend of yours find the people I was looking for?"

"Elena is compiling the list. You said to be thorough. So, she is taking her time finding the son of the bitches. Once she is done, she will send you the information on the human traffickers who captured the children." Grizzly said, his tone betraying a hint of anger.

Although Grizzly was part of the black market, he didn't partake in the inhuman business of selling people. He didn't have to because there were plenty of other ways to make money. Human trafficking would only result in gaining the ire of law enforcement and heroes. It was just bad business in all senses.

The Tempus Cult, knowing this, still did it.

That too, while organising within the red light district.

So, Grizzly hated the damned bastards.

The people whom Oliver asked to find were the human traffickers related to them. Grizzly was all up for it, knowing that Oliver intended to eliminate them in their entirety.

"How long would it take?" Oliver inquired while sitting down on the chair in front of Grizzly.

"A couple of weeks…"

"Hm…okay. I want it before the second part of the Hero Academy Entrance test is over."

The second part of the test is a survival challenge. It will commence in one week and will likely carry on for another two weeks. There was plenty of time.

"Yeah, I will inform her of that."

"Hm…I will pay in full after the information is received…as usual."

"Okay, boss."

Grizzly and Oliver nodded at each other.

Oliver had never forgotten the faces of the children he saw in the research outpost and their last wishes. Even after becoming spectres, they wished for peace and happiness for their family, blaming themselves instead of blaming the people who murdered them.

Oliver could agree with them when they wished happiness for their family. But he couldn't agree with them blaming themselves.

After all, these children did nothing wrong.

It was the adults, the nefarious bunch of bastards who kidnapped and sold them that wronged them.

They are the ones who should suffer for the crimes they committed.

Oliver was hell bent on making them suffer.

Although the children were kind enough not to care about these kidnappers, Oliver was going to burn them alive if he had to teach them a lesson, even if that meant going against the wishes of the children.

'The children can be naive and kind. But I can't be like that.'

Oliver remembered the memories of the children transmitted to him and the pain they felt as the researchers injected them with unknown serum to turn them into monsters.

Despite being experienced in dying and suffering through all kinds of torture, it still gnawed at willpower.

'They destroyed the minds of the children through pain to turn them into mutated monsters.'

'I wish I could do the same to them.'

Oliver thought as he was brought to a living quarters on the far side of the red light district.

For the next few days, he intended to stay there and understand the condition of his body before leaving to take the second part of the entrance exam.