"There's a relative of mine in the gene registry. As long as you pay 100,000 fertilizer coupons, get your blood drawn, and have your genetic data recorded, you can freely enter and exit Zhongchao."
Li Qinwu frowned slightly.
"No hidden risks? No chance of being exposed later?"
Lieutenant Rudolph chuckled, almost amused.
"Hidden risks? You're overthinking it. The nobles in the upper levels want more registered citizens in Zhongchao. More citizens means more taxes."
He leaned back.
"If you can casually spend 100,000 coupons on an identity, it proves you're valuable—someone worth exploiting."
"As long as you keep paying taxes and don't get caught breaking the law… no one cares."
Li Qinwu clicked his tongue softly.
Typical Imperium.
Corruption wasn't a flaw—it was a feature.
Rudolph glanced at him.
"What, a free scavenger like you wants to settle down?"
Li Qinwu shook his head.
"No. I just need unrestricted access."
His gaze lowered as he smoked in silence, the military truck rattling along the uneven road toward the PDF camp.
Rudolph hesitated, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.
After a long pause, he spoke.
"…Help me with something, and I'll get you that identity."
Li Qinwu's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Deal. Who are we killing?"
He leaned forward eagerly.
"Say the word—even your regimental commander."
Rudolph stared at him, speechless for a moment.
Lawless bastard…
"It's not assassination," he said flatly. "It's about Joel."
Li Qinwu paused.
"Wasn't he crippled?"
Rudolph's expression darkened.
"He's paralyzed. The compensation he received won't even support his family for a month."
"No salary. Medical burden. Taxes unpaid."
He exhaled slowly.
"Soon… his entire family will be dragged down to the bottom nest."
Li Qinwu understood immediately.
"You want me to take care of them."
"And others like him," Rudolph added. "Wounded soldiers. Families with no means to survive."
Silence followed.
Li Qinwu frowned.
This wasn't a simple favor.
This was a burden.
At the bottom nest, survival itself was a luxury. Adding the elderly, the injured, and children…
That wasn't charity.
That was suicide.
He had no infrastructure. No territory. No protection.
Even his hideout—his only safe space—would be compromised.
He could dump them on the black marketeer temporarily… but that wasn't a solution.
People without work in the lower hive didn't live.
They waited to die.
---
Five minutes passed.
Rudolph's expression grew heavier.
Then—
Li Qinwu spoke.
"You don't understand the bottom nest."
His voice was calm, but cold.
"Less than ten percent of those sent down survive."
He described it plainly—
Gang warfare. Resource scarcity. Cannibalistic competition. The Chemical Cult. The Fertilizer Gang.
A world where hesitation meant death.
Rudolph's face darkened further.
He thought he was being rejected.
But Li Qinwu continued.
"If you hand them to me… I'll try."
He met Rudolph's gaze.
"But I might fail."
"I'm just one man. No territory. No real power."
"If things go wrong… they will die."
He paused.
"…At best, I can give them a quicker death. A clean one."
The words were brutal.
But honest.
Li Qinwu had already made his decision.
This wasn't charity.
This was recruitment.
He needed people anyway.
Might as well take control of the opportunity.
---
Rudolph closed his eyes briefly.
"…That's enough."
He exhaled.
"I understand."
"As long as they have even a chance… I'll take it."
The tension lingered.
Neither spoke again as the truck returned to camp.
---
At the camp, a medic drew Li Qinwu's blood.
Rudolph pocketed the vial.
"Stay here for two days. I'll handle your identity."
"It should be ready by tomorrow night."
Li Qinwu nodded.
---
He wandered through the camp afterward.
What he saw—
Was laughable.
Sleeping sentries.
Unattended heavy weapons.
Machine gunners playing cards instead of watching their posts.
If the enemy had any discipline at all—
This camp would already be ashes.
Li Qinwu shook his head.
"Even by Imperium standards… this is pathetic."
He returned to Rudolph's tent and slept.
---
Morning.
He was shaken awake.
Rudolph stood over him, expression grim.
"It's done. You're registered. You can now move freely in Zhongchao."
"No time to explain. Move."
Before Li Qinwu could fully wake, he was dragged onto an open-top vehicle.
Something was wrong.
"Joel," Rudolph said.
"Debt. Medical costs. Loan sharks."
"Bailiffs took his family yesterday."
"They're being sent down today."
Li Qinwu's expression hardened.
---
The vehicle sped through the city.
At the station, Li Qinwu jumped off—grabbing the driver's pistol in one motion.
"Hey—!"
The driver protested.
Rudolph stopped him.
He pulled out three full magazines and handed them over.
Then, after a moment's hesitation—
He removed his own sidearm and gave it to Li Qinwu.
"Bring him back."
Li Qinwu checked both weapons calmly.
"I said I would. I don't break my word."
---
They boarded the train.
Deep into the city.
No one questioned them.
A uniform carried authority.
A registered identity erased suspicion.
They passed through gene scanners without issue.
No alarms.
No scrutiny.
---
They ran.
Toward the massive elevator.
Time was running out.
---
They made it.
Doors open.
Prisoners filing in.
Thousands.
Rudolph's eyes scanned the crowd—
Locked on instantly.
"There!"
"Joel's family!"
He turned to Li Qinwu.
"I'm entrusting them to you."
---
Kill!
The doors slammed shut behind Li Qinwu.
Rudolph remained outside.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
Inside—
Chaos contained by fear.
Li Qinwu pushed forward, shouting.
"Joel! Look here!"
A family of five.
Broken.
Exhausted.
Joel—paralyzed in a wheelchair.
Lifeless eyes.
His parents hollow.
Younger brother crying.
His sister—gone.
Sold off. Separated. Unknown fate.
---
Joel heard the voice.
Slowly—
He looked up.
Hope flickered.
"Sir…!"
He tried to move—
But his father stopped him.
"Don't! The bailiffs—!"
A shock baton lifted nearby.
Joel froze.
Silence returned.
Tears streamed down his face.
---
Li Qinwu watched.
Then—
He moved.
Calm.
Deliberate.
A cigarette between his fingers.
Approaching the bailiffs.
---
He needed to extract them.
Not here.
Not like this.
There was a better way.
---
The elevator was divided.
Workers near the front.
Condemned at the center.
The staff would exit first.
Only then—
Would the real slaughter begin.
---
Li Qinwu's eyes sharpened.
Timing—
Was everything.