Soulless Players

Gerald gasped as he looked at the piles of banknotes in Philip's hands. It was his first time seeing such an amount in his whole life.

He had been living in the streets for as long as he could remember. The only thing he could touch was the pennies he had stolen.

It was not that he felt joy from stealing. In truth, he felt remorseful. But the more he succumbed to temptation, the more he suppressed his guilt.

He had no choice as he had no family to support him. It was either he died as a good person or lived as a lawbreaker.

Seeing the money presented to him, Gerald could not help but be surprised and wished he was as wealthy as Philip.

'No, I am just content having enough to eat three times every day. I need no more than that,' Gerald dreamed.

Philip smiled at Gerald's reaction. Even he was surprised by the money he salvaged.

'Steve was insanely rich,' Philip thought.

These bills were not originally his but from Steve. When Steve threw his briefcase filled with money on the train, he had also managed to catch some.

In addition, Steve hid a lot of money inside his clothes. All he had to do was steal them and leave his lifeless body behind.

"Why don't we work together? I needed information. You needed the money. This works well for both of us," Philip further tempted Gerald to place his bet on him.

Philip's trust in Gerald was not baseless. He was good at finding talents and knew Gerald was smart for his age. If Gerald had been blessed with a home, he would have been a great person in the future.

Not only that, Philip backed it up with his 'Golden Eyes' ability. He had seen Gerald glowing brightly compared to his peers, suggesting his potential was higher. If Philip guided him well, Gerald might blossom with whatever hidden talent he has.

Gerald darted at Philip in indecisiveness. Unlike Philip, he did not trust himself to do good. After all, not only he is an orphan, but is also uneducated. To be Philip's informant was a great and heavy responsibility.

However, while Gerald was hesitant, he could not manage to say no to Philip. He also has dreams of his own. He doesn't want to remain a pickpocket and live on the dirty streets.

He wanted a place he could call home and formed a family with other children.

Even though he was not confident, he still gambled and accepted Philip's offer. This was his only chance to change his destiny and improve the quality of his life.

"What do I need to do?" Gerald said with determination. Although his eyes were trembling, his voice had strength and power filled within. It was as if he would do anything to break free from his fate.

'Good,' Philip nodded and smiled slightly. He liked Gerald's strong attitude of wanting to change his present.

"Gather all the children around and feed them with this money," Philip said while handing him the bills.

"Once you obtain their trust, inform them about the plan of establishing an information syndicate."

Philip and Gerald discussed for a long time that Joseph could not help but be sleepy. Compared to the mature 13-year-old Gerald, he was only 7. Even if he listened to their talk, he would not still understand them.

Philip glanced at the time and seeing it was getting late, he halted their discussion and said, "Let's end here. Let's meet again seven days later. For now, focus more on gathering the children."

Philip stood up, fixed his clothes, and took the empty medicine bottle from his pocket. "Here, take this. If you need help, insert a note inside and throw it away. I'll come once I see it."

Although Gerald was confused, he listened and took the bottle from Philip.

"Then, see you when I see you,"

Gerald quickly bowed and shouted respectfully, "Thank you, sir!"

Philip waved his hands to shoo them away. He glanced at the time again and saw that it was 9:30 p.m. already.

"Hahh, I didn't expect our talk to take long," Philip looked at the dispersing crowd in the market. Some vendors were slowly cleaning and closing their stalls. And some had left a long time ago already.

'I have only 30 minutes left before the transformation ends.'

Philip dashed towards the inn where he was staying. A lot has happened today. He wanted nothing more but to rest on his soft bed.

However, when Philip was about to return to the inn, he heard someone talking about Steve. His head unconsciously turned toward their direction, wanting to know what they were chatting about.

Philip's surprise was understandable as Steve's name, Stephen Evans, was not indicated on the news. All the newspaper readers only knew that a child of the Evans Family had died from a terrorist attack. That was why, Philip thought that for someone to know Steve's name meant they were either from Loen's organization or from his family.

"What about the wanted posters? Have you finished spreading them around?" The man asked.

"Yes, sir. I also ordered my men to spread the terrorist face and name," said a familiar woman. She was the same lady Philip saw from the pasty store.

"Hmmm Good. Is there any news circulating about the young master Stephen? Like he was possessing firearms with him?" The man who wore a black frock suit and a white inner collar shirt probed.

"No sir. I believe all the people talk about was only the terrorist."

"Good. Continue what you have been doing," The man then handed the lady a briefcase.

Philip secretly spied on them. This continued until they stopped talking and dispersed.

'So that's why my involvement as Raven had spread quickly among the people. Someone is controlling behind the scenes,' Philip's eyes narrowed irritably.

Because of this, a lot of his plans were pushed back as he could not walk around without fearing someone would recognize him.

'This is somehow making me angry.'

His sight followed the woman hopping away merrily, her smile was wide as she whistled in delight. Evident from her action was the happiness of receiving the briefcase in her arm.

Philip was not an idiot. He knew what was inside the briefcase and thought evilly,

"Only those who are fools would take no revenge."

Philip secretly followed the woman who entered a narrow alley that was not illuminated by the light post. Her only source of light came from the small gas lamp she was holding.

As for Philip, he had nothing with him. He just trailed the woman in the dark with his eyes glowing gold.

The 'Golden Eyes' ability was not only useful for determining the value of an item. It was also helpful as a night vision. After all, everything was glowing. Philip did not need any lighting equipment.

When he saw the lady was complacent and ignorant of the danger coming to her, then he moved and…

CLACK!

The woman's eyelids closed. Shortly, she fell to the ground. Philip stood behind her, his hand raised diagonally as he whispered playfully,

"Neck slice!"

The woman instantly became unconscious. With Philip's physique at 45, it was to be expected for an ordinary person to drop from it.

Philip had already surmised that a healthy adult person's physique is around 18 to 25. Any men with more than that were professional boxers and soldiers, just like with his past life body. So it wasn't a surprise he could knock the lady with a 'simple' attack.

'I didn't kill her, right?'

After Philip checked she was still breathing, then he sighed in relief. He quickly took the briefcase and anything valuable the woman possessed.

Afterward, he departed, leaving the woman with the gas lamp slowly extinguishing near her.

***

"Jackpot! Jackpot!" Philip sang joyfully as he swung the briefcase back and forth.

However, his jubilant mood was abruptly interrupted when he heard an argument emanating from the inn where he was staying.

'What happened?' He dashed inside and met with a large group of onlookers and gossipers, including Maris' elder brother and a band of muscular men at the center.

Eager to learn more, he joined the curious crowd and observed the unfolding scene with interest.

"We told you to sign the document, right? So why are you still not doing it?!" One of the muscular men roared.

Maris' older brother, who was aggressively protective of her younger sister earlier, now appeared weak and cornered. His voice was filled with frustration and nervousness as he answered the man.

"I don't want to sell the business my father worked hard for…"

"Hah! Are you stupid?" The man slammed the reception table angrily.

"We have bought all the buildings around. Only yours is remaining! This is a huge project backed up by nobles, yet you're telling me you don't want to surrender it?"

Their argument continued with the men on the winning side. Maris' older brother was no enemy from the muscular men's threats. He was trembling while repeatedly refusing the men.

"What happened?" Philip asked another gossiper on his side.

"Well, I heard they are building a mall around this area. And this building is the only area that the Evans Family had not bought yet."

"They have been pressuring them for more months." The gossiper looked around and whispered secretly at Philip.

"I even heard that the owner of this place was killed because of their refusal. Tsk. I hope that kid just accepts and sells the building. After all, Life is more important."

Ting!

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[Chain Quest (1) Complete: Investigate Maris' father's death.]

Reward: 10 Experience points

[Chain Quest (2): Help Maris' family seek vengeance]

Reward: ???

______________

Hearing the system bell, Philip could only bow his head. He was deciding whether he would involve himself with their mess or not.