Code Collector

Allen spent four more days at Bernard's cottage. He trained non-stop while the man supervised him.

Bernard also revealed that Jake sent him extra to train Allen, making Allen worry. Jake had been nothing but generous to him. If time comes and their acquaintanceship gets rocky, he's afraid he'll have the shorter stick.

He needed to even out his deal with Jake fast. Once he shows that he has a higher value than the man thinks, it will save him in the long run.

While he was planning on how to increase his value for Jake, he left the cottage and went back to camp. He had copied the Crown Breaker skill and learned techniques from Bernard. That's already enough for a five days worth of effort.

What he plans to do now was to continue spreading the rumors about The Wandering Trader. He still needs clients after all. His small plant, Hilda, was still on its early stages so he can't make use of her at the moment.

Allen reached the camp not a day later. He was sprinting through the woods since he did ran far from Camp Twyla. When he looked at the map, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"ID," the guard said. Allen looked at him in the eyes, his eyebrows meeting in confusion. "Show me your ID."

There was something odd about the man. He looked pale and by the looks of it, he was going to pass out soon.

"Sir, are you okay?" Allen asked as he took out his ID to show the guard.

"I'm fine," the guard said, but his facial expressions contradicted his words. He looked at Allen's ID. When he was satisfied, he let the boy inside.

"What in the hell happened here," Allen whispered to himself. He got inside the camp and saw more people in similar state as the guard.

Their skin was pale and their eyes were almost lifeless. Their skin was chaffed and some even looked really dehydrated.

Though not everyone looked like this, there was a lot of them who do, and that was enough to make him feel alarmed. It wasn't usually like this. There were some people who looked bruised and some has wounds on their faces, but never like this.

It was almost as if there was an epidemic in the camp. The thought of it was scary.

Allen walked into the city centre and found less and less people in the zombie state. He was curious as to what could've happened, but he barely knew anyone in town. So he went to the place he thought would provide him information.

'CLOSED FOR INSPECTION'

The sign on the slaughter house said. Allen scratched the back of his head. What could've happened here that made the slaughter house close?

He gazed at the other establishments, and they all showed the same sign. All the meat shops were closed. In the market place where the produce was sold, vegetables and fresh products were also banned.

A man was passing by, and Allen took the chance to ask him, "Sir, what happened here? Why are these shops closed?"

"Alleged food poisoning," the man replied. He wasn't one of the pale ones, but he looked like he could be. His features were neglected. It looked like he hasn't showered in days and the stub on his chin was getting wild.

"Food poisoning? On the fresh goods?" Allen asked.

The man sighed. "Remember when the girls were assaulted about a week ago? The suspect thought it would be nice to poison everyone in the camp so they'd stop the hunt."

It was like Allen's world froze. Someone was using his name as The Wandering Trader and they were trying to frame him. It must be the work of the twins, Allen just knew it.

"Okay, sir. Thank you." Allen left the man and went straight to the area of his apartment. He needed time to think. How will he bounce back if he's threatened like this?

He needed his reputation to serve justice and equality for all. With this incident, it was like he was the villain and he can't have that. He can't ascend if he can't move.

Allen was about to step inside his room when his name was called. He looked to the direction of the voice and Gary was running up to him. "Hey."

He couldn't move. Just a couple of days ago, Gary was angry at The Wandering Trader. His killing intent could be felt meters away from where he was.

Does he know who I am? Allen thought.

He had to shake the thoughts away, seeing the man get closer and closer. If things go downhill, he can always escape using his cloak. Then he'll live in the forest, hiding until he's strong enough.

"Where will you go?" his voice rang in his head. Allen's eyes widened and he gulped, nervous. "You don't have a place you belong to. But you can always make one. Get stronger and rule the world yourself. That's the easiest way out."

It was like he was in a trance. Allen was silent as he let the voice speak, telling him to commit things he didn't want to do.

"In this world, the weak has no place," the voice whispered. It continued to utter words that one by one started to make sense.

He just served justice. The twins did things that are inhumane. It was just normal to punish them for their crimes, so why is he in this situation now? He didn't do anything wrong. Instead, he did the right thing.

"Kill–"

"You like to space out, huh?" Gary said and waved his hand in front of Allen. "I'm sorry, but I have to talk to you."

The boy was silent for a moment. He didn't know how to respond. "A-About what?"

This was it. Gary is going to confront him about his identity. He didn't want to do it, but he had prepared his hands to summon his cloak and glaive.

"About what happened in the forest," Gary said, making Allen drop his hands in releaf. He sighed deeply, making Gary's eyebrows meet. "Is there something wrong?"

Allen shook his head, "Of course not. But what about it? I only took you to the hospital–"

Gary suddenly kneeled on one knee and lowered his head. He took out his shotgun and held it with both hands as if he was offering it to Allen. "My life is yours now. Sir, please use me at your disposal."

"What?!" Allen gasped.