"Haa…haa"
A panting man ran through the alleyway.
*thump*
"Please don't kill me, I didn't do anything wrong.
Here, you can take all of my money.
Just give me a few minutes. I will send all of my money to you," the man pleaded, stumbling and falling to the ground.
But the other man, the one he was running from, didn't react the way he had hoped.
"I don't want your black money," said the man in a black mask that covered his entire face, leaving only his eyes visible.
*bang* *bang*
Two shots rang out, hitting the man's forehead. His body went limp within seconds.
"Finally, some rest~~~"
The man who had just committed the murder acted as if nothing had happened. But this was Kevin's reality. He worked in the underworld to make a living and, at times, had to take on hitman jobs.
He looked at the transaction message popping up on his phone.
Confirming the job was done properly, he walked away, taking a maze of alleyways and changing his appearance along the way.
Although the police wouldn't take any action, thanks to the weekly bribes they received from the organization, Kevin always made sure to erase his presence carefully.
After all, he had been to jail once for a fraud case he wasn't even guilty of. And now, when he was committing murders, he remained unconvicted and free.
"This much should be enough to live the rest of my life peacefully.
It's time to send a message of resignation to my boss," Kevin said, looking at his account balance.
Kevin hated his job, but due to circumstances, he had no choice but to follow through. Now that he had enough, he just wanted to cut ties with the dark part of his life.
Soon, a reply message arrived, confirming he was released from all duties.
Although it sounded sketchy how easily he exited the underworld, it really wasn't.
After all, he had never truly been part of it. He was what you might call a middleman, working for everyone.
What he did was take missions from an organization that worked for various underworld clients.
Thus, he didn't belong to any one group.
Throughout his 12 years in this life, Kevin had made sure to stay neutral-
not offending anyone,
avoid acts that harmed large numbers of people,
and only kill those who deserved to be killed.
*Ting*
A new message popped up on his phone, lighting up his face with pure joy.
It was a delivery confirmation, for an anime figurine he had ordered.
In the insane criminal world where he worked, these childlike hobbies were the only things keeping him sane. Without them, he'd have lost his humanity like so many others.
On the way home, he stopped to buy chicken fries and colas as a celebration meal.
Though already 28, Kevin hated alcoholic drinks that made him lose control of his body.
Having not lived an ordinary life since the age of 12, he never understood why people of his generation glorified such things.
However, he didn't care what others did.
What life had taught him was simple—
The most important person in your life is you, not anyone else.
He picked up his order from the shop and headed back to his bike.
But just as he was about to start it, he saw someone on the other side of the road—
his mother.
The cruel person before his eyes wasn't how he remembered her.
Her state was pitiful.
He didn't know what had happened, but it was clear: karma.
She looked homeless, wandering the streets like a madwoman.
But before the flicker of compassion in his heart could catch fire, she snatched a purse from a very elderly woman and ran, straight toward Kevin's side of the road.
A heavy-duty truck, one of those that only ran at night, came speeding down the road, horn blaring.
Kevin immediately realized the truck's brakes had failed, It was a common problem with such vehicles.
Emotion overwhelmed him as he shouted for his mother to stop.
But strangely, the driver, in a desperate attempt to save her, turned the truck slightly, causing it to tip and skid sideways down the road, heading straight toward Kevin and a man standing next to him.
"SH*T—"
Even before he could finish his words, the truck crashed into him.
It happened in seconds.
Though Kevin reacted, he wasn't fast enough to dodge. He felt a slight push on his back just before impact.
Now slumped against a wall, the truck just a hand's length away, Kevin clung to life.
There was no feeling in his body. His legs were gone.
Blood poured like a stream. He wouldn't survive the night, he was sure.
The sounds around him faded.
He forced his head to move, to take one last look around.
His mother was gone.
But near him were two corpses, both in a more brutal state than his.
One wore blue clothes with a white coat, stained completely red—likely a doctor from the nearby hospital. Maybe she was out for a short break.
The other was a woman in a business suit—her body in the worst condition.
Kevin was sure one of them had tried to save him.
His guesses didn't matter.
All three of them had met their destined end here.
Surprisingly, the one he was trying to warn, his mother was still alive, as was the truck driver, who was now being taken away by ambulance, fully conscious.
Meanwhile, Kevin was fading, losing consciousness with every thought.
In his final moments, he felt sorry. Sorry for himself, and the two who had died with him.
' What could I have done?'
Life has always been unfair and uncertain. That's how it was for him, and for everyone else.
He had many dreams he had hoped to start from tomorrow. But alas, now they would never be fulfilled…