Chapter 3: Recruitment
With only two men remaining, the outcome was already clear when facing off against three opponents.
To top it off, they were already at a disadvantage even when there were five of them. Now, out of bullets and surrounded, their chances had completely vanished. Regardless of what they'd do, they can never win.
In the end, one died while the other four were subdued and tied to a pole nearby so that they could not cause further trouble to Kael and his group.
However, that doesn't mean that Kael, Lawrence, and Jayem are safe now.
"Come with me, quick!" Kael quickly waved his hand towards Lawrence and Jayem.
Although they still don't trust the unknown man who helped them, Lawrence and Jayem don't really have a choice.
Lawrence and Jayem simply looked at each other, nodding their heads, and as simple as that, they had a tacit understanding of each other's thoughts.
In their opinions, even if this unknown man does something that will endanger their lives, they're both confident enough that they can handle it. After all, they could easily take on five men, not to mention a single man. Even if they put into the equation that he is stronger than ordinary people, they still have the option to just run away.
As they ran in Kael's predetermined direction, he started explaining to Lawrence and Jayem their situation. "I don't know if you notice, but right now we are being followed by a drone," He pointed upward.
Lawrence and Jayem immediately understood the situation without needing more explanation. But the unknown man's explanation only made them more suspicious of him.
"Is he one of them?" Lawrence can't help but whisper to Jayem.
"I don't know." Jayem shook his head. Based on what he observed a while ago, this man was not part of this local gang, as he had just saved Lawrence without any hesitation. But there's no telling if he wasn't a part of another gang that is hunting them.
"You know that I can hear you, right?" Kael rolled his eyes.
"You were supposed to," Lawrence's eyes turned sharp. If they're not satisfied with this man's answer, then they'll make him regret trying to trick them.
"I'm not part of this local gang or any group, for that matter," Kael muttered, turning toward a concrete tunnel. "It's safe. We need to go through here to lose the drone."
Lawrence and Jayem simply looked at each other before quickly following. They still don't trust the man, so both of them prepared their weapons in case there's a trap inside.
"This tunnel leads toward a sewer, but this sewer's exit is still inside this junk shop," Kael started explaining as he climbed down a worn-out ladder. "But it should be enough to get away from the drone's watch. Our only problem now is the reinforcements they've sent."
Naturally, the gang would block all exits from their junk shop to prevent them from escaping. But he had already prepared something to help them escape.
"I almost forgot to introduce myself," Kael turned to look at Lawrence and Jayem, who were clearly hiding their weapons behind them. "My name is Kael Falsheart."
He put his hand forward to shake their hands.
Lawrence and Jayem both accepted Kael's handshake before going to the main topic.
"Why did you save us, Kael?" Lawrence finally asked the question that was bugging his mind.
"That's because I know the two of you," Kael didn't hesitate to reveal the truth. Needless to say, he doesn't plan on telling them that he returned to his past 20-year-old self.
In the next moment, Lawrence and Jayem drew their weapons.
"Hang on, let me finish," Kael said, lowering his hand in a calming gesture to signal them to drop their weapons. But it was clear they had no intention of doing so, leaving him with no choice.
He thought to himself, "This body might not be as strong as my future one, but it's definitely not weak."
After all, nobody is weak in Rustfall, as the environment of this place pushes the weak to eat the strong. That's right, not the other way around.
The weak people here would always target the strong people. Not because they overestimate themselves, but simply because they believe that defeating a strong person will be their one-way ticket out of this God-forsaken place.
Eating the weak to become strong is what wise people do, but most of the people in Rustfall are uneducated and shallow-minded because of the absence of education and school. They mostly rely on instincts and the experience they've gained growing up and surviving.
Honestly, he used to be one of those people. That is, until he entered Avalon. From then on, using only instincts and experience won't be enough to survive.
In the next moment, Lawrence and Jayem lost sight of Kael.
It was already dark outside the sewer, with night fully settled in. Inside the sewer, the darkness was even heavier, as there was almost no light source at all. It was the kind of place where losing sight of someone could happen in an instant.
They both know Kael took advantage of that.
"We shouldn't have followed him," Lawrence regretted his decision to follow Kael down the sewer.
"Let's quickly look for the exit," Jayem turned around. They were not that far away from the exit yet, so there's still a chance to turn back and escape the sewer.
Too bad, Kael expected them to do that.
*Bang!
Jayem fell to the ground as he was tripped by something. As he tried to get up, he realized that someone's foot was pushing him down from below his neck.
"Watch out!"
Jayem yelled out, but it was already too late, as a military knife appeared right in front of Lawrence's neck.
"If I wanted to, I could easily kill the two of you," Kael said as he took the knife away from Lawrence's neck and removed his foot from Jayem's back.
Lawrence and Jayem finally realized that Kael doesn't plan on hurting them. At least, not yet. After all, just because he showed that he could easily kill them doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't have any intention of hurting them.
"To continue with what I was saying," Kael walked in front of Lawrence and Jayem as if nothing had just happened.
On the other hand, the duo decided to follow silently. This time, he noticed that the two had sheathed their weapons, probably realizing that their weapons meant nothing against him. Unbeknownst to the two, he simply pulled a scare tactic against them. Deep inside, he wasn't one hundred percent confident he could defeat them, especially Jayem, but with the right condition, he could trick them into believing that he was stronger than they were.
"I know the two of you because you are quite infamous all over Rustfall," Kael explained. "Probably every gang in Rustfall is hunting you both down. You can rest assured, however, because I am not part of any group at all."
"You still didn't answer my question of why you saved us," Lawrence reminded.
"I plan to recruit the two of you," Kael finally revealed the truth.
"Recruit us?" Jayem turned to look at Lawrence, as he was doubting whether he had heard Kael clearly.
Instead, it was Kael who confirmed again. "Yes!"
"I won't ask why, since you've probably already looked into our past operations," Lawrence said, his tone steady. "What I want to know is—what kind of job are you recruiting us for?"
This wasn't the first time someone had approached the two of them with an offer of recruitment. In fact, they'd taken part in similar operations in the past.
"You'd understand this coming midnight. As for now, let's escape from this place first," Kael started climbing another ladder before opening the lid covering the top. "It wouldn't be long until they find out where we are, so we need to be quick, alright?"
"Understood!"
Both Lawrence and Jayem nodded in unison.
Soon, the trio stopped on a hidden corner. Kael suddenly grabbed a chair and inserted his hands in a gap.
In the next moment, he took out a few bottles with kerosene inside and a bunch of lighters.
Seeing the bottles and lighters, Lawrence and Jayem instantly understood what Kael was planning to do.
"Here," Kael distributed them to Lawrence and Jayem.
"Don't tell me…" Lawrence was feeling hesitant.
"Are you serious?!" Jayem looked around. "This might be a junk yard, but that doesn't mean everything here is junk. It would be a huge loss not only to this local gang, but to the entire Rustfall!"
Resources were already scarce in Rustfall, so burning down an entire junkyard would be a deeply regrettable loss.
"There should be another way, right?" Lawrence turned to look at Kael seriously.
"No, there's no other way. And besides, a huge change will be coming soon, so there's no need to worry about resources." Kael wasn't worried about that.
In the past, he would no doubt have hesitated just like Lawrence and Jayem. But with the upcoming opening of Avalon, they'll soon have a way to gather more resources without the need for any junk shops. In fact, as long as they have the skills and talent, they can easily become self-sufficient in Avalon.
"We'll trust you this time," Lawrence doesn't really have any other choice. After all, there's nothing more regrettable than losing one's own life. They can always regret burning a junk shop later, once they survive this place.