"As you must know, Weavetech has an exploration workshop here in Forte Marie. We only hire the best of the best to work for us. If you join, you'll get a direct means to making money for yourself.

The Dual Moon institute can only help train you… but we can give you true experience," the younger Weaver explained to Enzo as they walked away from the campfire; it slowly faded away into the background.

Weavetech knew the slumrats better than anyone else could. They had branches in a lot of ruin cities and backwater towns. When it came to these stupid country folk, all they cared about was money (time).

And who could blame them? They had lived in poverty all their lives; the future wasn't something they cared about more than the present. This was a society Weavetech built , who better at exploiting it than them?

"I see, that actually sounds great." Enzo rubbed his chin; he could understand the appeal, immediately starting to make money, providing for the family, bringing them out of poverty and increasing their lifespan.

This was every slumrat's dream. it was his dream too when he first started weaving, and it still was. However… Enzo was no fool. What Mr White offered him wasn't just training, it was the freedom to become strong without chains.

He knew for a fact, the moment he accepted Weavetech's olive branch he would not only become a guinea pig, he would effectively become a slave.

"Yes, and we have a massive signing bonus: five years of lifespan… it'll help you clear out any debt you might have incurred during the period," the young man explained.

Actually the signing bonus was ten years for a weaver and twenty for a star weaver. What he had given Enzo was just a clear estimate for how much he detested him as a person and a lowly slumrat. Becoming a star weaver was only luck.

"Those are great conditions…." Enzo paused with a bitter smile, he then continued, "but I'm afraid I'd have to decline. I have already committed to the Dual Moon Institute."

He was lying, of course; this was the worst deal he had heard all this while. Weavetech was worse than he thought… they weren't only arrogant, they were greedy swindlers.

"Are you sure?" The young man's face suddenly turned ugly; a hint of panic and vexation grew on it.

His uncle had trusted this recruitment on him; if Enzo refused and his father heard about it from his uncle, he wouldn't be allowed to leave this ruined city for a few more years.

There was no worse fate to him than staying here for longer than he needed to.

"Yes, I am," Enzo responded with firmness; he couldn't lie, rejecting Weavetech felt good. Even though his father held no grudges, he hated them for the position they had left his family in for so long.

Telling them to go fuck themselves was a truly enjoyable feeling.

"Okay, make sure you don't regret it." He spoke with venomous intent, then turned around to leave Enzo standing on the edge of an age-old crater.

"Phew! Thought that would go much worse." Enzo said to himself; he wasn't particularly concerned about the kid's outburst,

he was just one person, no matter how strong Weavetech was, making unnecessary enemies because of one person was just stupid.

Especially since the Dual Moon Institute was already involved. They were a planet-level force from his research. Not as powerful as Weavetech but definitely capable of holding their own against a single branch.

After a few minutes of thinking Enzo finally decided to walk back in the direction of the campfire… but when he got there he met the fire quenched, the residue of its smoke snuffed out by a sticky liquid.

"Seriously?" Enzo smiled, shaking his head; using soup to quench fire sounded like something Roddy would do. But he was just a kid—what could he say? As Enzo walked closer to the house, however…things felt more ominous.

The withered tree he had played with when he was younger seemed to have fallen after all these years, and parted a puddle of chemical wastewater. Why was he noticing this just now? There were small signs of the ground cracking from tremors and the clouds were suspiciously darker.

His surroundings felt strange.

All of a sudden a stench drifted into his nose, causing surprise to turn into a deep, dark frown.

"Wahhhh!!"

"Wake up, dad!!"

"They took Mom! Wake up!!"

As soon as he entered the garage, he witnessed a scene that caused a feeling of dread to fill his heart in an instant, causing his eyes to widen in shock and disbelief.

His younger brothers were perched over a lifeless corpse riddled with holes on the ground, bloodied beyond recognition. The two were frantically trying to wake him up.

"Father…" Enzo's voice sounded soft; his eyes focused on the familiar face in front of him.

"Hm? Brother Enzo, they took Mom!!" the older brother Carlos walked towards Enzo with shaky hands and legs, pointing at the distance where the Weavetech employees had come from.

He was frantic; he had just watched his father get murdered in cold blood, but as the oldest one here, he had an obligation to respond to the situation appropriately. He didn't want to lose his mother too.

Enzo didn't need to be told twice, he already inferred what had happened. But he didn't react the way the younger ones did—he didn't cry, he didn't shake. What went through his mind right now was one emotion and one emotion alone:

Anger.

Without a second thought he summoned a black cloak that seemed to mimic the night, letting it pour over him like oil, then he fell to the ground sideways, merging into the shadow beneath him.

Those bastards from Weavetech had taken his childhood from him; they had nearly destroyed all his hope of the future. Now they had taken his father's life and kidnapped his mother.

All because of what? He refused to join them?

He wanted them dead, all of them.

For the first time since his first voyage, Enzo was going hunting.

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