Harvey imdiately sensed sothing was wrong—his hands ca up empty.
"Gone?"
He quickly looked down, and sure enough, the safe was completely empty.
His eyes widened in disbelief. He reached inside, feeling around frantically, but aside from the cold tal interior, there was nothing.
"What the hell..."
"Where are my crystal cores?"
He turned to his subordinate.
The guy looked just as confused.
"I... I don't know! We just put them in there a mont ago—how the hell did they disappear?"
"Yeah, how the hell did they disappear?" Harvey was just as baffled.
This was so straight-up supernatural shit.
For a second, he even suspected he was under so kind of illusion. He focused his mind, rubbed his eyes, and looked again.
But the result was the sa—nothing. Not even a damn speck of dust.
Harvey's brows furrowed. He and his subordinate just stood there, staring at each other, frozen in place.
"What do we do now?" Outside, the crowd was getting rowdier, all demanding their crystal cores.
Harvey knew exactly what kind of people they were—smiling one second, pulling a blade on you the next. No hesitation, no rcy.
If he couldn't produce the crystal cores, those bastards outside would tear him apart.
"Screw it. This is an ergency. I'll dip into my reserves for now—we'll figure out what happened to the safe later," Harvey decided.
"Yeah, yeah," his subordinate nodded quickly. First, they had to deal with the mob outside.
Harvey moved to another safe nearby, punched in the code, and pulled the door open.
But the mont they looked inside, their expressions twisted in shock—like ducks being strangled mid-quack.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Harvey cursed instinctively.
This safe was empty too. Even his ergency stash was gone.
"T-This... Boss, this has to be so kind of sick joke!" His subordinate stamred.
Harvey's face darkened, his anger bubbling up like a volcano about to erupt. Two safes, both cleaned out—this wasn't a coincidence.
"Motherfucker! Who the hell stole my crystal cores?!"
"Boss, I swear it wasn't !" His subordinate blurted, shrinking under Harvey's furious glare.
Harvey's mind raced, but he trusted his guy.
"If I find out who did this, I'll fucking ruin them!"
But they had already wasted too much ti. The people outside were getting impatient. A group had already started making their way over.
"Harvey, what's taking so damn long? You're not trying to pocket our crystal cores, are you?" The leader of the group, a burly man with a nasty scar twisting across his face like a writhing centipede, stepped forward. His voice was laced with suspicion.
"Of course not!" Harvey forced a laugh, but his face was stiff. Then, gritting his teeth, he admitted, "The thing is... the crystal cores... they're gone."
"Huh???"
The scarred man's brows knitted together, his expression turning even more nacing.
The others around him also tensed, their eyes narrowing with suspicion. The air grew thick with tension.
Then, without warning, the scarred man stepped forward and grabbed Harvey by the collar.
"You trying to pocket our crystal cores for yourself?"
"I swear I'm not! They're really gone—if you don't believe , see for yourself!" Harvey protested, feeling completely wronged.
The scarred man wasn't buying it. "The crystal cores were locked up in the safe. How the hell could they just disappear?"
"I... How the fuck should I know?" Harvey was at a complete loss.
The man had no patience for excuses. "I don't care. Lost or not, that's your problem. You better pay up—now."
"But I don't have them! How the hell am I supposed to pay?" Harvey was just as frustrated.
To the scarred man, that sounded like stalling. "Still trying to bullshit ? I'll fucking cut you down!"
With one hand gripping Harvey's collar, his other hand reached for the kukri at his waist.
Harvey wasn't so pushover either—he was part of the Black Hand Legion. Losing the crystal cores had already pissed him off, and now he was being accused of stealing them?
His anger exploded. "Motherfucker! For all I know, you stole them! Boys, get 'em!"
He barked the order to his n and swung his fist.
BAM!
A dull thud echoed as the scarred man was sent flying twenty feet back.
His crew saw this and imdiately lost it. Hearing Harvey accuse them of stealing only made them more convinced he was the real thief.
"Kill this bastard!"
Blades flashed as kukris were drawn, reflecting the dim light off the walls. In an instant, they charged at Harvey.
But Harvey wasn't just so underground bookie—he ran this whole illegal fight ring. He wasn't just strong; he was an A-rank Strength-type Awakener.
With his n backing him up, the fight erupted into chaos.
The room turned into a battlefield—bodies crashing, fists flying, blades slashing. Shouts and screams filled the air.
Outside, the rest of the crowd was still waiting.
They started noticing the commotion.
"What the hell's going on in there?"
"No clue..."
"Sounds like a fight."
"For real?"
Before they could figure it out, a body suddenly ca flying out of the room, slamming into the octagonal cage with a loud CLANG. The man's neck twisted at an unnatural angle—dead on impact.
Then, from inside the chaos, soone shouted—
"Harvey's trying to keep all the crystal cores for himself!"
"What?!"
The crowd froze for a second. Then their expressions darkened.
The gamblers who had lost earlier had been sulking, but now? Now they were fired up.
If Harvey was hoarding the crystal cores, didn't that an the bets were void?
Didn't that an they could take back what they lost?
"Give us back our crystal cores!"
One guy didn't even hesitate—he pulled out a machete and charged straight into the fight, ready to grab whatever he could.
The others saw this and imdiately panicked.
If they didn't act fast, all the crystal cores would be gone!
Especially the ones who had won their bets—they weren't about to let anyone take what was rightfully theirs.
"I fucking won! Those crystal cores are mine! Anyone touches them, I'll cut you down myself!"
More people surged forward.
The fight spread like a virus, consuming the entire underground arena.
The once-rowdy spectators, who had been cheering for the fighters in the cage, were now tearing each other apart.
Screams, curses, and the sound of steel eting flesh filled the air.
Blades fell. Blood sprayed. Limbs flew.
The battle turned into a full-blown massacre.
The Black Hand Legion mbers were all ruthless bastards—once the killing started, they didn't hold back.
Not far from the chaos, Ethan stood watching, silent and amused.
No wonder these guys loved watching cage fights.
It was entertaining.
Bodies kept dropping.
Ethan stepped forward, casually collecting them as he went. s were so easy to manipulate. Just dangle a little greed in front of them, and they'd tear each other apart.
Now, not only were the crystal cores practically served up on a silver platter, but the people fighting over them were also dying off on their own.
A full-service operation. Efficient. Clean.
anwhile, Harvey was still in the thick of it.
His strength was undeniable. He wasn't alone either—he had more than one subordinate. Running an underground fight club ant dealing with cheaters and troublemakers all the ti. He was used to handling shit like this.
He had fought his way out of the small room and into the open arena.
Blood covered him, deep gashes marked his body, but his Strength-type physique kept him standing.
Ethan watched with interest.
He was betting on Harvey to survive this.
…
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