Nick asked for a couple of names from Aria and cross-referenced them with the black book.
Sure enough, none of the people were in there.
They were honest and followed the law.
"You don't seem worried," Aria commented. "What's your plan?"
"Do you not know?" Nick asked.
Aria furrowed her brows. "I wouldn't ask if I did."
Nick calmly stood up from his chair and walked to the door.
"The fact that you can't see it shows that you don't see reality," he said.
"Excuse me?" Aria asked with annoyance.
"But I don't fault you," Nick said. "You've been in this city for too long, and the only things you had to fight were companies in the market and Specters."
Aria became very annoyed with Nick's arrogant tone.
Nick was barely 34!
Yet, he was talking to her, an Early Hero who was almost 200 years old, like she was a child.
"I'll show you," Nick said. "You don't need to worry. I won't need your protection. But if you want to see the truth of the world, I advise you to come along."
Aria couldn't stand Nick's arrogant tone, but she still wanted to see what kind of "truth of the world" Nick wanted to show her.
Not even Aria knew of what they could do against people who were following the law.
She couldn't think of anything they could do except enter negotiations with them.
She wanted to see Nick fail.
The two of them left the headquarters of the city and made their way to the upper layer.
The gate guardian was no longer present, replaced by two Veterans.
Her powers were more useful somewhere else.
Nick and Aria entered without changing out of their uniforms.
As soon as they arrived, the entire upper layer quickly took notice.
Many of them avoided looking at Nick and retreated into their houses.
Every time Nick appeared in the upper layer, something horrible happened, and they didn't want to be anywhere close to him when that happened.
However, many of the people also came closer.
Those were mainly the ones involved in the peaceful protest.
They had nothing to hide, which was why they were not afraid.
In just a couple of minutes, almost 30 people gathered in front of Nick and Aria.
"Alright," Nick said evenly. "We noticed your little protest. Who are your leaders?"
Aria didn't let it show on her face, but she wanted to sneer at Nick right now.
Sure enough, he was entering negotiations with them.
Or was he planning on threatening them?
That wouldn't work.
These people knew the law better than even Nick. They knew how to protest without breaking any of them.
Several of the people had smiles on their faces.
Some seemed polite.
Some seemed derisive.
Some seemed arrogant.
A couple of seconds later, three people stepped forward.
Those three controlled some of the biggest businesses inside Crimson City, and they were three of the few who followed the law while also earning a horrifying amount of money.
"We're glad to welcome you, Liaison," one of them said with a polite bow.
"It's you three?" Nick asked calmly.
"It's a group effort," another one of them said. "We were simply chosen as representatives of the group. We don't lead the group. Every member of the group is an autonomous individual with a shared goal."
Nick evenly looked at them.
"You think you're clever, huh?" he asked.
The present people were quite surprised.
This didn't sound like something coming out of the mouth of an important member of the government but something coming out of the mouth of a street hooligan.
"Sir, we are law-abiding citizens," one of the three said with annoyance. "We gave you proper respect, and we think it is only fair if you reciprocate in kind."
"Reciprocate in kind?" Nick repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I was planning on doing just that."
The next moment, Nick bent down and grabbed three stones.
Some of the people became nervous, but they still held strong.
They followed the law!
This was just intimidation!
They did nothing wrong!
"Sir, what-"
"Shut up," Nick said calmly, but his voice reverberated throughout the entire upper layer.
Silence.
Then, Nick looked at all the people in attendance.
"You forgot what the world looks like," he said.
No one dared to answer.
For some reason, Nick's aura was extremely intimidating right now.
"This is not a world of humans."
"This is a world of Specters."
"The only reason why you are even able to live in this beautiful garden of an upper layer is because Aegis and the Extractors keep the Specters away from all of you."
"Aegis and the Extractors are protecting you so that you can live without having to constantly fear the Specters."
"Aegis is the reason why you have a successful business."
"Aegis is the reason why you have autonomy."
"Aegis is the reason why you are alive."
"Going against Aegis means going against humanity as a whole."
"You are not humans."
"You are a cancer."
"You are damaging Aegis by merely existing."
"Today, I'll show you reality."
"All your money."
"Your political power."
"Your economic power."
"Your manipulation abilities."
"Your negotiation abilities."
"All of that is only worth something as long as Aegis protects you and allows you to play this little political game of yours."
"Aegis gave you your life."
Nick casually grabbed one of the stones and pulled his hand back.
BANG!
The head of one of the leaders exploded into a shower of blood.
Blood, pieces of bone, and brain matter splattered across the people around them.
"And it can take it from you just as easily," Nick said calmly.
The people looked with absolute shock as the headless body collapsed to the ground.
Aria took a deep breath in shock.
"Power!" Nick shouted.
"Our power is the reason why you live in bliss!"
"Without our power, you are just as helpless as a beggar from the Dregs!"
BANG!
Nick threw the second stone through another representative's head.
At that moment, panic set in.
"Do not dare to move!" Nick shouted in a threatening voice.
Everyone froze.
This was an Expert!
This was somebody who was over a thousand times stronger than a normal human, and that power could intimidate any normal human into compliance.
"I have one last stone," Nick said with a threatening tone. "Don't make me get a fourth and fifth one."
Everyone looked with absolute terror at Nick.
The last of the representatives knew what was coming.
She turned around, ready to run.
BANG!
The last stone was thrown, and her head exploded. Visjt n𝒐velbin(.)c𝒐m for new updates
Silence.
All the people were terrified.
No one dared to move.
"I'll repeat myself," Nick said. "Aegis is the reason why you are alive, and the only reason this city exists is to help Aegis in its fight against the Specters."
"Standing in the way of Aegis equates to standing with the Specters."
"If you are frustrated with my way of governing the city and believe I am wrong, you are free to leave the city. Nobody is keeping you here."
"From today onward, anyone from the middle or upper layer is allowed to leave the city and go someplace else."
"I'm not forcing you to live in this city."
"But as long as you do, you will support Aegis."
"I don't care about the laws."
"I don't care about morals."
"I don't care about ethics."
"I am here to turn this city into a place that is more beneficial for Aegis."
"I am a representative of Aegis."
"Aegis might be your shield, but only against the Specters."
"When there is a conflict between humans, Aegis will be my shield."
"Not yours."
"Aegis is the combined power of all of humanity."
"In front of that, you are helpless."
"You can complain, be frustrated, or kill yourself out of protest."
"None of that matters."
"In front of Aegis, you are powerless!"
"If you want to survive in human society, you WILL contribute to Aegis and help it in any way you can!"
"Anyone that refuses to cooperate will be executed."
Silence.
"Get back to work. I have the tax and revenue sheets from all your businesses from the last decades, and if I see any kind of funny business going on, the city will come for you."
"I expect similar tax sheets to the ones I received two months ago."
"That's all."
Then, Nick turned around and calmly walked towards the exit of the upper layer.
Aria was still nervous.
Nick had killed innocent people in public!
You couldn't just do that!
It was against the rules!
And that was when Aria realized something.
The rules.
The rules only applied to the players.
Sure, the rules should also apply to the game master and referee.
However, who was powerful enough to enforce the rules on the enforcers?
Who could control the one in control?
It still felt wrong to Aria to kill these honest civilians.
Yet, what did that matter?
While they were allowed to leave the city, not a single person would dare to do so.
And while they were in the city, they couldn't do anything against Nick.
They could try tricks on the government, but that wouldn't get rid of Nick.
And as long as Nick existed, everyone was stuck following his orders.
Unless someone more powerful than Nick decided to intervene.
Now, Aria knew what Nick had meant with the truth of the world.
Power.
In front of power, nothing mattered.
If one had power, one could do whatever one wanted.
And the power Nick had was not his own.
It was Aegis.
Aegis was his power.
And Aegis was the biggest power in the human world.
Therefore, everyone was helpless in front of it.
The only thing they could do was to try to assassinate him with a powerful Extractor.
And if that didn't work…
They had to follow.
Whether they wanted to or not.