(Lian Li POV)
Stepping foot into the slums, I was hit with the odd sense of nostalgia.
It almost felt like returning home… Except that this home was the definition of hell and you had to fight tooth and nail to even survive to see the next sunrise.
As if to prove my point, three men surrounded me not five steps away from the entrance, all of them holding improvised knives with a hungry look on their faces.
"Hey there miss… It looks like you're a little lost. We can guide you out for all the money and food you have on you right now."
I didn't really feel like wasting time on them so I just waved my hand, blasting the one who spoke with a spear of lightning.
His head exploded into a fountain of gore before his body toppled backward, still twitching in its death throes.
The two thugs behind who were supposed to cut off my means of escape stepped backwards fearfully, until their own heads also exploded from my blasts of lightning.
Mmm… If I remember, these three had also extorted me when I was living here in the slums as well, but I had been completely powerless to stop them.
Killing them here now… Ohh~ There it was! The sense of satisfaction I was looking for! And I know exactly where to get more~
I continued my leisurely stroll through the narrow streets of the slums, something no resident of the slums will ever do.
Everyone who has lived here long enough will know that stalking through the shadows is the only way you should be moving around here, anyone who doesn't do that is either a newcomer or wished to die.
Thus, the people who were hiding in the shadows were all looking at me when they saw me walking down the middle of the street in the open.
I ignored the stares but sometimes one would think I was an easy prey and try to attack me. For those people, I held no mercy and simply killed them with a quick blast of lightning, relishing in that bit of happiness the action brought me.
That spectacle would send the others planning to do the same scurrying back to the shadows, but the slums was a big place and a new group of idiots needed to be dealt with at every turn.
Eventually, I reached the section of the slums where the only fully intact and somewhat well off looking building was located, the establishment functioning both as a casino and whore house.
From what I found out in the real world, the rich and influential people of the city would come here to sate their vices, be it in the form of coins, bottles or naked flesh. It was also the place where I had once been made use of and suffered considerably, which made it the prime target for me to enact my vengeance~
I made my way towards the back doors of the building, already knowing where it was from the countless times I had been brought here.
There were a few squatters sitting there, no doubt people who were hoping that the syndicate would dump their leftover food or scraps later on so that they could have a better meal than what they can scrape.
I stepped past all of them towards the single wooden door, ignoring the curious looks they were sending me. There, a single guard with an eyepatch over his right eye was standing guard.
Ah, I remember this person too. Ironic that they made the one eyed man stand guard outside to keep an eye on things.
"What do you want?" He muttered, watching me with his only eye. "If you're looking for leftovers, wait outside like everyone else."
"Oh, I'm not here for that," I explained, giving him a smile.
"Huh? Then what the hell are you doing here? Sightseeing? Get lost before I break your limbs."
"Oh, I'm actually here to do just that to the people here actually."
"Wha--"
I stabbed my finger into his remaining eye before he could finish his words, the man screaming out in pain as he tried to hit me with a blind backhand.
I caught it in my other hand and snapped his wrist, causing him to scream even louder.
A little annoyed by the sound, I proceeded to stab him in the throat with my fingers to silence him. Withdrawing both my hands, he thrashed around for a few more moments before finally dropping to the ground in a crumpled heap, dead.
I turned to smile at the other squatters and they immediately made a break for it, sprinting and pushing each other out of the way as they ran as fast as they could.
Well, they aren't my targets for now so I ignored them. Instead, I focused my attention on the door in front of me.
I tried the handle but of course it was locked, not that it matters since I simply ripped it off its hinges.
Behind the door were several other armed guards who had drawn their swords, presumably alerted by the screams of the guard I killed outside.
"You! Who are--"
His head exploded in a shower of sparks before he could finish his words. I was not here to talk so there was no need to let them do that either.
The other guards could only stare at the spectacle in shock before their own heads exploded from my lightning, splattering the wall with shades of red.
I moved past the guard room and glided through an open, iron door, my memories recalling this place to be the holding cell where they would keep their 'entertainment' for tonight.
Inside were three more guards with spears levelled at me, protecting a giant cage behind them that held at least twenty or so other slum squatters.
"Stay where you--"
A single lightning bolt pierced through his head before arching over to the other three, killing them the exact same way too.
With the guards dead, I headed towards the cage where the squatters were held, all of them now squeezed to the back of the cage to get as far away from me as possible.
I remember being there too, sitting in this very same cage as one of them.
Right now, I wasn't sure what I should feel when seeing them in this state. It felt similar to looking into a pen of chickens that were clucking around which amused me quite a bit.
Well, they aren't my main targets either so I turned back around before giving them a backward wave.
The people inside the cage were obviously confused by my actions until the entire cage glowed blue as a result of it being charged with lightning.
I found the screams that came from behind me quite amusing to be honest.
Now… With all the appetisers out of the way, it's finally time for the main course~
