Chapter 33: To the Hanging City
Terrence didn’t notice it immediately, but he had been staring at the driver with a noticeable trace of a grudge in his eyes.
"Did you two know each other?" Klein asked, adjusting his suit jacket as he guided Terrence toward the open door of the sedan.
Terrence clicked his tongue and gave a short, curt nod. "Yeah..."
Worry was glaringly obvious in the driver’s eyes. The man swallowed hard, clearly terrified that Terrence might report the previous day’s hit-and-run incident directly to Klein.
Seeing just how desperate the driver was not to be snitched on, Terrence let out a short exhale, deciding to let it slide for now.
"Never mind," Terrence said, turning his attention back to the blonde youth. "Do you plan to go to Hanging City right now? Will you be using this car to get there?"
Klein slid into the comfortable leather passenger seat, scooting over to make room. "Yes, this will do just fine. The road there is a bit rough, but it’s decent enough. If we leave now, we might even get there before nightfall."
Terrence sighed in quiet relief, settling into the plush seat beside him. "Good. Because I was originally planning to take public transportation. But thinking about it now, that would have been a massive waste of time and energy."
As he pulled the car door shut, Terrence immediately opened up the topic they both cared about.
"So then, what is our arrangement? Do you actually have a concrete plan for putting down the Lee Family?"
Hearing how direct and immediate Terrence was, Klein chuckled under his breath. He reached down and pulled a thick brown envelope from his side pocket, placing it squarely on the console between them.
"This is the document that will put down the Lee Family once and for all," Klein said, his tone turning serious. "It contains undeniable proof of their atrocities. Want to check it?"
Terrence stared at the plain surface of the brown envelope, but he didn’t reach out to touch it. He simply shook his head. He already knew their atrocities all too well. What mattered was that physical evidence actually existed now. Checking it wouldn’t change anything, and besides, he had his own methods prepared if this attempt failed.
"Where are you sending this?" Terrence asked.
"I have a sponsor waiting in Hanging City," Klein replied, leaning back against the headrest. "Do you know the Lin Clan?"
Terrence recognized the name instantly. The Lin Clan was the primary rival of the Lee Family, competing for dominance across various continental industries. Unlike the Lees, however, the Lin Clan maintained a strong reputation for fair treatment and ethical standards. They were known to pay high wages just to keep their employees satisfied, and they strictly avoided exploiting everyday consumers.
More importantly, the Lin Clan held direct, influential connections within the country’s central government—connections far more solid than what the Lee Family possessed.
It made perfect sense why Klein would seek their backing.
However, there was still something lingering in Terrence’s mind that bugged him.
"This grudge..." Terrence began, his voice quiet as the car began to move. "Can I ask what happened?"
Klein’s polite smile slowly faded away as his thoughts sank into the deepest, darkest parts of his memory. He fell completely silent while the car’s engine revved softly, accelerating as they passed through the giant border gates of Suran City.
"It was a rainy day when I finally awakened," Klein began, his gaze fixing on the passing scenery outside the window. "I was so excited... I wanted to share the news with my family immediately. At that time, my father was a direct subordinate—a personal guard for the patriarch."
Terrence leaned back into his seat, his gaze dropping slightly as a wave of quiet compassion laced his eyes. Klein’s voice trembled as he spoke, clearly recalling a painful memory that shared striking similarities with Terrence’s own past.
"My father was a deeply loyal man," Klein continued, his hands tightening into fists over his lap. "Even when he discovered that the Lee Family was running an illegal underground factory using young children—forcing them to produce shoes and tactical gear—he didn’t immediately report the exploitation. Instead, he quietly collected evidence, saving it for the day he would finally need to use it. But..."
Klein paused abruptly, his breath hitching as that specific horrific day replayed vividly in his mind.
"When I arrived home that evening... I only saw my father bathing in his own blood. There were unfamiliar men standing around him, watching him die. Our house was burned to the ground along with the rest of my family. The only thing left behind... was this evidence."
Terrence gave a slow nod. The memory was indeed painfully similar to his own tragic past, differing only in the specifics of how his own mother’s life had met its dark end.
"It’s okay. You don’t have to continue," Terrence said softly, wanting to offer a moment of quiet solace.
Klein blinked rapidly, tilting his head slightly as he looked over.
"Your eyes are getting wet," Terrence pointed out gently. "I don’t want to feel guilty for making you dig up such a harsh memory."
Klein let out a short, somewhat sarcastic smile at his own display of weakness. He slumped back into his seat and let out a long, shuddering sigh.
"It’s okay... I know I can trust you."
Terrence didn’t reply to that. The word ’trust’ felt far too heavy for him to carry casually. Even though they had only just met today, for some reason, he felt a genuine resonance with Klein’s story.
Deep down, Terrence finally realized that his family’s tragedy wasn’t an isolated incident. The Lee Family possessed a far darker background than most people knew, ruthlessly oppressing and executing the weak whenever it served their own greed.
’Such a shame that I saw that ’thing’ with mother,’ Terrence thought bitterly as an unwanted memory flashed in his mind—one he quickly tried to set aside. ’That’s something I don’t ever want to recover.’
The rest of their long trip relapsed into a heavy, quiet atmosphere.
Hours rolled by in silence until the luxury sedan finally began its steep incline, arriving at the dramatic edge of the massive cliff that marked the official entrance to Hanging City.