Loren stepped out of the Interstellar Hunter Association’s main entrance.

He arrived on the clean, tidy streets of the Upper District.

Turning back to glance at the Interstellar Hunter branch building, he shook his head inwardly.

He never expected that someone had already paid hush money in advance, sealing off all information related to this matter.

Then again, with something as extreme as smuggled mecha appearing, Loren thought as he stood on the street.

The people behind this naturally wanted to prevent trouble before it happened.

“Seems I’ll have to use my own methods.”

Standing on the street, Loren raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.

“Fortune.”

He silently thought, “I want to find clues about this matter.”

Then, Loren broke off a branch from a roadside tree.

He casually tossed the branch into the air.

The branch spun several times in the air before falling to the ground.

The smaller end of the branch pointed in a specific direction.

A smile appeared at the corner of Loren’s mouth.

He bent down to pick up the branch, then walked in the direction it had indicated.

He’d need to use this branch again later, so he couldn’t lose it.

Loren followed the branch’s direction until he reached a crossroads, where he stopped and snapped his fingers again.

Then, he threw the branch for directions once more.

Although in the past, Loren hadn’t been keen on using this method because it was troublesome.

But now, with no information available, he had no choice but to use this approach.

Fortune often gave Loren pleasant surprises when he found himself in difficult situations.

After all, fortune never let people down and never deceived anyone.

Especially for Loren.

————

Two hours later.

After several rounds of fortunate “direction-finding” with the branch, Loren quietly arrived at a dark alley in the Upper District.

An expectant smile appeared at the corner of Loren’s mouth.

He had a feeling he was close to his destination.

Places filled with such darkness were rare in the Upper District.

Similarly, such places always gave Loren some surprises.

Because anything could happen here.

Soon.

Under fortune’s guidance, after the branch pointed the way once more.

The smaller end of the branch eerily pointed toward Loren himself.

Seeing this, Loren’s expectant smile became even more apparent.

“Seems we’ve arrived.”

Loren didn’t bend down to pick up the branch this time, instead scanning his surroundings.

He was finally about to uncover this secret.

At this moment, Loren stood in a dark alley.

This alley was far removed from the Upper District’s main streets.

Few people ever came here.

Because this was where garbage was stored.

After looking around, Loren only found one relatively large trash bin.

This was the only trash bin here.

The trash bin was about the same size as Tyrone’s armored pickup truck.

Judging by its volume, it could hide many secrets.

A pungent odor filled the alley.

Coming from the slums, Loren wasn’t too bothered by the smell of the trash bin.

Instead, he looked at the trash bin with keen interest.

An unconscious smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Will you crawl out on your own, or should I use my revolver to invite you out?” Loren asked, staring at the trash bin.

Through his psychic ability, Loren had detected someone hiding in the trash bin—a severely injured person.

The misfortune emanating from garbage was quite different from the misfortune clinging to a person.

A figure struggled to climb out of the trash bin.

His movements were very slow, each one pulling at his wounds.

After a long while, the slow-moving figure finally climbed out of the trash bin.

He slowly leaned against the trash bin and looked at Loren.

He smiled bitterly at this unexpected guest who had discovered him and slowly spoke:

“I never thought you’d still find me. I admit defeat, just kill me.”

The figure’s tone carried some resignation.

And a hint of relief.

Loren calmly looked at the figure, whose entire body emitted the foul stench of garbage.

Judging by the smell, the other person had been in this trash bin for at least half a day.

The filthy water in the trash bin had also soaked the wounds on his body.

Loren suspected that if he had arrived a few hours later, he would have found a corpse.

The other would have died from infected wounds.

“Choosing to hide in a trash bin while severely injured.”

“I think you must be guarding quite a significant secret.”

Loren smiled as he looked at the other.

“Sir, I wonder if I might have the honor of sharing this secret of yours.”

Hearing Loren’s words, the figure leaning against the trash bin brightened.

His face, covered in stains, also showed a hint of surprise.

Then, his expression changed, becoming resolute.

Completely different from the death-seeking look he had moments before.

It was a gaze filled with infinite hope and conviction.

“You’re not one of the people sent to capture me?!”

Not bad, Loren evaluated inwardly.

“I’m just an interstellar hunter with decent luck.”

“I happened to come across you while completing a commission.” Loren stated calmly.

The figure leaning against the trash bin pushed against the ground with his hands, shifted slightly, then leaned back again.

This movement tugged at his wounds, making his facial expression contort painfully.

He can still grimace like that, so his injuries must be lighter than I imagined, Loren assessed the other’s condition once more.

After adjusting his position, the figure slowly began to speak:

“I’m an investigator from the Federation Energy Department…” His words suddenly stopped.

“If you can still stay alive, then we’ll talk…”

Just as the figure was about to begin his account, he abruptly changed his tone.

The real unexpected guests had arrived.

“Found you. So you used the garbage smell to cover your tracks.” A cold voice came from the alley entrance.

Six shadowy figures appeared at the dark alley entrance.

Seeing that he was about to obtain the information he wanted, only to be interrupted, put Loren in a very bad mood.

Loren calmly turned around and set down the case in his hand.

“Whoever you are, you should die.” Loren said softly as he looked at the figures at the alley entrance.

The six shadowy figures at the alley entrance didn’t stop their advance because of Loren’s words.

Instead, they charged toward Loren’s position even faster.

As they got closer, Loren could clearly see the composition of their team.

Not six people, but five people plus a dog.

A very large dog covered with developed muscles.

There were many strange aspects about this dog, beyond just being covered in numerous muscles.

Moreover, it had two heads growing from its body.

On both heads, the canine teeth were huge and sharp.

While running, both heads’ large mouths continuously drooled.

Leaving two very noticeable trails in the alley.

“They’re the people coming to capture me. Be careful of that dog. It’s a product of Federation genetic experiments, a war weapon codenamed Hellhound.”

A warning came from behind Loren.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep