My Wife is a Hidden Big Shot-Chapter 232 - 226: The New Lord of the Eastern Highlands
Alvin Morgan carried Aurora Sinclair on his back and followed the members of the Skull Gang toward their territory.
He looked perfectly composed, as if he were an honored guest of the Skull Gang.
Arthur had been terrified, but seeing Alvin so composed, he suddenly felt a sense of peace.
The Skull Gang’s turf was a dilapidated courtyard on the west side of the slums.
There were a lot of people inside, most of them scrawny and gaunt. It was obvious they were just small-time thugs recruited from the slums.
"The boss is back..."
"Did he bring new cargo?"
The people inside wore obsequious expressions, their eyes glinting as they stared at the trio. It was as if they were looking at fat sheep, ripe for the slaughter.
The Skull Gang leader seemed to feel safe now that he was on his home turf. He let out a loud laugh, his expression twisting as he revealed his true colors.
"You’re that wanted Eastern Highlander, aren’t you!"
The color drained from Arthur’s face. He tugged on Alvin Morgan’s arm and whispered the translation.
The Skull Gang members had already surrounded them, their guns pointed straight at them.
"I kill you, I get 30,000 Maso Coins. I send her back to the Black Wolves, I get another 100,000 Maso Coins."
The Skull Gang leader was gloating, clearly pleased with his own cunning.
"I wouldn’t be so sure about that." A smirk played on Alvin Morgan’s lips.
Just then, a shadowy figure leaped up from behind him, weaving through the crowd. A chorus of agonized cries erupted in its wake.
The Skull Gang leader felt a chill on his neck. A strong stench of alcohol wafted from behind him, and he instantly froze, not daring to move.
"N-No... Don’t... You’ve got the wrong person..." But he quickly lost consciousness.
After Aurora Sinclair dealt with all the Skull Gang members, her body suddenly went limp, as if she’d been unplugged, and she collapsed to the ground.
Alvin Morgan rushed over and scooped her up. "How are you? Feeling weak again?"
"So hungry..." Aurora Sinclair replied weakly.
The little strength she had just managed to build up was gone in an instant.
The corner of Alvin Morgan’s mouth lifted. He placed her on a nearby chair and stuffed a gun into her hand. "I’ll find you something to eat in a bit."
He and Arthur tied up everyone on the ground and started ransacking the place.
"We’re rich!" Arthur exclaimed joyfully when he saw the guns on the ground.
Alvin Morgan glanced at the few skinny guys in front of him and said flatly, "Those guns are basically out of ammo."
"No way!" Arthur crouched down in disbelief and removed a magazine, but it was empty.
He checked several more in a row; they were all empty.
"Dammit! How can they be so poor?"
Alvin Morgan unloaded the guns from the heavier-set thugs and managed to find a few bullets.
"There’s not much to squeeze out of this place, so naturally, they aren’t wealthy."
Alvin Morgan glanced at the skeletal figures on the ground again, then deftly loaded his weapon.
"Let’s check inside."
They searched the dilapidated houses and found a few more weapons and two bags of Maso Coins. However, all the food they found was raw, except for two sausages that were ready to eat.
Arthur’s eyes were shining.
Alvin Morgan gave him one bag of Maso Coins and half a sausage. He gave the rest to Aurora Sinclair.
Arthur was so thrilled that he declared Alvin his boss on the spot.
***
After Arthur finished looting all the food and medicine from the Skull Gang, he walked out shouldering a large bag.
Alvin Morgan, carrying Aurora Sinclair on his back, glanced back and said flatly, "You’ll be an easy target like that. Keep the useful medicine and throw the rest away."
Arthur froze, his eyes filled with reluctance.
"We’ll buy more later."
Arthur waged a long internal battle before finally settling on a small pack containing just the money and some anti-inflammatory medicine.
To get to the abandoned mining district from here, they had to cross through the slums. The gun Alvin Morgan carried openly served as a deterrent.
The poorer the area, the more vicious and desperate the people become.
Arthur was from this place and had seen more than his share of its darkness and ugliness. He held his gun at the ready, extra vigilant, as he could already feel countless prying eyes on them.
"Arthur..."
Suddenly, a timid girl’s voice called out from nearby. Arthur looked over and saw Lisa, his old neighbor.
She was excited to see him. "Arthur, help me! My grandma is sick..."
"Keep up—"
Alvin Morgan didn’t break his stride, calling back coldly.
Arthur paused, gave the girl an apologetic look, and hurried to catch up with Alvin Morgan’s pace.
The girl’s expression shifted, and she screamed, "He’s over here! It’s Arthur! Catch him and you’ll find his sister—"
Immediately, the chaotic sound of footsteps echoed from all directions.
The blood drained from Arthur’s face, and he froze in shock.
He didn’t move until Alvin Morgan yanked him forward, and then he broke into a run, following close behind.
The slums were a sprawling labyrinth, and countless people with bloodshot eyes were now running toward them. A flicker of annoyance crossed Alvin Morgan’s eyes.
"Boss, this way—"
Arthur led them on a desperate sprint through the slums.
"Damn it! They’re working with the entire slum to catch us..." Arthur cursed as he ran, absolutely livid.
"Watch out..."
Alvin Morgan flung a dagger, burying it in a scrawny man’s arm. The knife in the man’s hand clattered to the ground.
Arthur viciously kicked the man aside, proceeding with more caution. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Dammit, the Eastern Highlands are just ahead..." Arthur’s face fell in despair as he saw the barbed-wire fence, but the vicious mob chasing them was closing in.
"Go." Alvin Morgan, still carrying Aurora Sinclair, was the first to scale the barbed-wire fence and drop down on the other side.
Seeing them enter the Eastern Highlands, the mob stopped in their tracks, their faces etched with fear.
Panting heavily, Alvin Morgan put Aurora Sinclair down, took out a water flask and took a drink. "Why are they after you?"
Arthur glared furiously at the lingering crowd outside. "It has to be Mia’s beast of a father," he snarled. "He must have paid them off. A bunch of ungrateful snakes! Ahm used to help them all the time..."
Alvin Morgan glanced at the skeletal figures outside and said indifferently, "In the face of starvation, humanity ceases to exist."
***
The Eastern Highlands bordered a water source, making the land much more fertile than the area outside. Many tents were pitched on the periphery, but they were all empty.
The trio slipped into one of the tents and changed back into the cloaks and masks worn in the Eastern Highlands.
Arthur asked nervously, "You two just escaped. Won’t you be discovered coming back so soon?"
Alvin Morgan smiled. "Don’t worry, they won’t find out."
He lowered Aurora Sinclair’s hood, revealing her silver hair.
"She will become the new Lord of the Eastern Highlands."
Aurora Sinclair looked completely bewildered. "..."
Shock flooded Arthur’s eyes.
Carrying Aurora Sinclair on his back, Alvin Morgan walked out openly and confidently.
The Eastern Highlands had a rigid class system where status was determined by Combat Power. Chameleons held the highest rank of all. Because their bodies could withstand the "Divine Blessing," they were also known as the Sons of God.
Divine Blessing was a drug secretly developed by the IBG Group to unlock human potential, and it was currently in its clinical trial phase.
Due to the Super Soldier defection incident in Veridia years ago, the international community had explicitly banned the development of such drugs. Therefore, they could only conduct their clinical trials in poor, underdeveloped places like this.
This was, in fact, the very reason they had come here.
"My Lord, are you injured?" Suddenly, a man from the Eastern Highlands ran over with several others in tow.
Aurora Sinclair nodded.
The man immediately called for people to bring a stretcher.
Alvin Morgan carefully placed Aurora Sinclair on the stretcher and followed them towards a dilapidated brick house.
To their surprise, it housed a modern elevator.
After witnessing so much poverty and backwardness, the sight of a modern elevator was truly startling.
Arthur nearly cried out in alarm when the elevator started to move.
The man, assuming Alvin Morgan was Aurora’s trusted subordinate, inquired, "Did My Lord also have a run-in with the Black Wolf Mercenary Corps?"
Alvin Morgan nodded.
The man’s expression soured. "When the Lord returns," he said angrily, "we’ll make the Black Wolves pay."
With a "DING—"
The elevator doors opened...
