Chapter 603

“Ah! This feels great.”

Brielle walked down the street with a smile.

The food she had tasted after so long at Old Man Klexi’s place had given her great satisfaction and fullness.

Thanks to Brielle, Zeon was also able to enjoy plenty of delicious food.

The place they were heading to was Zeon’s building.

They were going to check Levin’s office after a long time and also look around the underground city.

With an excited expression, Brielle said,

“The underground city must have changed a lot too.”

“You’ll be surprised when you see it.”

“Hehe! I’m looking forward to how it’s changed.”

Brielle’s steps naturally quickened.

A moment later, when they arrived in front of Zeon’s building, Brielle’s mouth fell open.

The exterior of the building had changed significantly.

“What? Did you rebuild it?”

“I know, right?”

The exterior was so clean that it would be believable if it had been newly constructed, and Zeon looked bewildered.

“Oh? It’s Sir Zeon.”

“Lady Brielle is here too.”

The Awakeneds guarding the building entrance recognized them and called out.

After greeting them, Zeon asked,

“The building exterior has changed again?”

“Ah, City Hall said it looked bad, so they renovated it.”

“City Hall?”

“Yes! They worked on it for a few days and changed it like this.”

“Huh.”

“They didn’t just fix the outside—the interior has also been reinforced extensively, making it much easier to defend.”

At the Awakened’s words, Zeon slightly frowned.

At this point, the building no longer felt like his, but more like a public facility.

Of course, that didn’t make him feel bad.

To begin with, he had no attachment to the building itself.

As long as those who needed it used it well, that was enough.

“Where’s Levin?”

“He’s in the Fixer’s office.”

The Awakened answered as he opened the door.

After thanking him, Zeon and Brielle went inside.

The changes inside the building were even more surprising.

Originally, the lower floors had been filled with shelves for storing supplies, but now none were visible.

Instead, numerous transport vehicles and buggy cars occupied the space.

Rather than storing items for the underground city here like before, they now transported them directly.

City Hall had designated this place as a key base and was managing it specially.

Only a select few could enter, but all of them were important figures of Neo Seoul.

Following Jin Geumho’s orders, they stayed here and meticulously managed everything.

Zeon shook his head slightly as he climbed the stairs.

“At this point, it’s basically half City Hall.”

“So do you feel like it’s a waste?”

“It’s not exactly a waste, but it feels a bit strange.”

“Instead, you have a stake in the World Tree village. Later, you can build a place there. I’ve already set aside the best land for you.”

“Thanks.”

Zeon smiled at Brielle’s reassurance.

In reality, it was unlikely that human-style buildings would ever be built in the World Tree village.

The High Elves preferred houses made from trees rather than human architecture.

He didn’t know how it was possible, but the trees growing in the World Tree village could change their form to suit the High Elves’ living needs.

Because of that, many High Elves lived comfortably inside living trees.

As Zeon and Brielle talked and climbed the stairs—

“What? What were you all doing until things got this bad?”

Levin’s shout burst out from inside the fixer office.

It was a tone they had never heard from him before.

Zeon and Brielle looked at each other.

“Something must’ve happened.”

“He sounds really angry.”

The two immediately entered the fixer office.

Inside, Levin, his face flushed red, was scolding Aaron and Dominic.

“You should’ve been managing the kids properly. Three of them went missing, and you didn’t even notice? Does that make sense?”

“Sorry!”

“We just thought they were skipping out again…”

Aaron and Dominic muttered excuses in low voices.

Levin glared at them with fierce eyes.

“Now that the office is established, you stopped paying attention to the kids? Three missing, and you didn’t even realize it? Fuck! We opened this fixer office to give jobs to those kids in the first place, didn’t we? And you’re telling me you didn’t even notice they disappeared until now?”

“Sorry! I’ve got nothing to say.”

“We’ll find out right away.”

“Don’t even think about coming back until you find them.”

“Got it.”

Aaron and Dominic hurried out of the office, too flustered to even acknowledge Zeon and Brielle.

Zeon approached Levin and asked,

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, hyung! Brielle, you’re here too?”

“Hi!”

“Sorry… you had to see that.”

“What happened for you to yell like that?”

At Brielle’s question, Levin shook his head.

“They said they didn’t even notice that three of the kids hadn’t shown up.”

“They might’ve just skipped work because they didn’t want to come.”

“You have to judge based on the person. Those kids all have families to support. They’re in no position to take even a single day off.”

“Ah, so…”

“Yeah! They work themselves to the bone just to feed their families. And you think kids like that would just stop showing up without a reason? That they’d just disappear?”

“Hmm.”

“It makes no sense. Something definitely happened.”

Levin answered with absolute certainty.

The biggest difference between him and Aaron and Dominic was experience and insight.

Having lived their whole lives in the slums, Aaron and Dominic naturally had a limited perspective.

On the other hand, Levin had followed Zeon and gained countless experiences.

He had been to places ordinary people didn’t even know existed, like the Primordial Forest and the World Tree village, and met many people.

Those experiences gave Levin sharp perception and insight.

Because of that, he could catch even the small details that Aaron and Dominic missed.

Zeon looked at Levin with a pleased expression.

He was glad to see the growth of someone he cared about.

Seeing Zeon like that, Levin said,

“Sorry, hyung! Please, have a seat.”

“Okay.”

“I was away too long—everything’s a mess.”

“Aaron and Dominic are doing well.”

“They are. But sometimes they miss important things like this.”

“No one can do everything perfectly. Don’t be too hard on them.”

“Alright, hyung.”

Levin nodded.

Looking around the office, Brielle said,

“Looks like you’ve been getting quite a lot of work.”

The walls of the office were filled with request papers from outside.

It was proof that the office was running actively.

At her words, Levin smiled brightly.

“Our name’s gotten out now, so we’re getting a lot of requests. The kids are happy too—they’ve got plenty of work.”

“That’s good.”

“At the very least, the kids working with us shouldn’t go hungry.”

Originally, the fixer office had been created to give jobs to the kids of the slums.

As the portal was installed in the slums, the floating population increased, and with it, more people needed their services.

Levin welcomed this situation.

The problem was that too much work had come in at once, creating gaps in manpower management.

Like this time—kids who absolutely had to show up for work didn’t, yet it had been brushed off as nothing.

Levin couldn’t let that slide.

That was why he had personally sent Aaron and Dominic, both his friends and managers.

Zeon asked,

“Any other problems?”

“Not for now. City Hall’s also quietly helping out.”

“Really?”

“They’ve been giving us a lot of requests behind the scenes, so work hasn’t dried up.”

Levin thought Seo Taeran was cunning.

After the portal was installed in the slums, she had been sending a lot of requests to his fixer office.

Most of her requests were about tracking suspicious individuals.

Identifying and monitoring people who might pose a threat to Neo Seoul or the portal in advance.

Originally, City Hall and Seo Taeran hadn’t considered the slums very important.

They didn’t have the manpower to actively intervene, and more importantly, it hadn’t been worth it.

But with the creation of the portal, the situation changed.

The portal, which allowed free travel to places like the mana stone mines and the Steel Fortress, removed the constraints of time and space.

It was, in other words, a strategic asset.

Naturally, it had to be specially managed.

Potential risks had to be identified and eliminated in advance.

For that, Seo Taeran made full use of Levin’s fixer office.

Hearing Levin’s explanation, Zeon shook his head.

“She really is sly.”

“Well, it’s mutually beneficial.”

“If she ever gives you unreasonable demands or dangerous missions, refuse them.”

“Of course. I hate the idea of sending our kids into danger.”

“Good. I trust you’ll handle it.”

Zeon smiled.

The clumsy boy was gone.

He had grown into a capable man with insight.

Someone who could be trusted with anything.

After that, Zeon, Brielle, and Levin continued talking for quite some time.

When the conversation finally died down, Zeon stood up.

“I should get going.”

“Already?”

“I want to check the underground city too.”

“Then you should go.”

“I’ll come too. I want to see Lemura.”

Just as Brielle stood up to follow Zeon—

The door suddenly burst open, and Aaron rushed in with a pale face.

“Something’s wrong, Levin!”

“It’s bad.”

At his urgent voice, Levin’s expression hardened.

“What is it?”

“You have to see it. Come with me.”

“Fuck!”

Sensing that something was seriously wrong, Levin cursed and followed Aaron.

Zeon and Brielle also gave up going to the underground city and followed them.

The place Aaron led them to was a secluded alley in the slums.

Compared to this place, the “ant hole” where Zeon’s house was located could be considered paradise—it was that much worse in environment and crime rate.

Because of the harsh conditions and constant crime, people died here every day.

That was why this place was called Dead Man’s Street.

Even people living in the slums avoided it—it was that terrible.

Levin and the others entered a shabby building on Dead Man’s Street.

Inside, there was no electricity, as if the lights didn’t work.

Because of that, it was dark, as if a ghost might appear at any moment.

Opening the door to a room inside, Aaron said,

“This is Veron’s place.”

Veron was one of the three kids who hadn’t shown up at the office.

As the door opened, a foul stench flowed out.

At the horrible smell, Levin and the others instinctively covered their noses.

“What is this?”

The moment they smelled it, it felt like their heads were splitting apart.

It was as if the smell itself was digging into their brains.

“Ugh…”

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

A groan and Dominic’s voice came from inside.

In the corner of the room, someone was crouched tightly.

Dominic was shaking him, trying to wake him up.

His body was emaciated, like he hadn’t eaten for ten days. His face was lifeless, and even his eyes had lost focus.

The terrible stench was coming from his body.

Levin muttered in disbelief,

“No way… Veron?”

The Veron he remembered was a cheerful boy.

Even while living on Dead Man’s Street, he had worked hard, believing he could one day move somewhere better.

That boy had now lost his light and was dying.

Levin grabbed him and shouted,

“Veron! What happened?”

“Dr… drugs. Someone gave Veron drugs.”

Dominic’s voice trembled as he answered.

A sinister light flickered in Levin’s eyes.

“Drugs?”