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The shadows were still quite far away, but as it kept hopping on roofs after roofs, it got closer and closer.
Max watched as they stopped on the nearby roof, looking down at the streets around them, seemingly waiting for someone.
Upon closer inspection, the shadows were two people. From how they effortlessly jumped from roof to roofs, Max figured that they should be Awakeneds.
Only Awakeneds would be able to do what they just did. Right now, two Awakeneds were in front of him!
This isn’t something Max always get to see. Thinking about it now, this was the first time he sighted two Awakeneds that he has no connection with.
But if Max were to guess, he would say that they aren’t that strong. From their faces and how they move, those two don’t look formidable in any way.
Recalling a problem that he had previously, Max focused on the two Awakeneds to try something.
Slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. This was something he would prefer not to see. Not seeing the familiar interface, Max confirmed it.
He couldn’t see their Status. Max tried it multiple times, and his skill was showing nothing.
This was truly problematic. It seems like he would have to consider being more cautious in the future.
Watching them from a distance, Max waited on their next move, wanting to see if they were the kidnappers from the reports.
The first time he read about the report, Max immediately knew there was something suspicious happening.
One kidnapping incident won’t be too questionable since it might just be some people exacting revenge on their enemy, but if it were repeating day after day, there definitely is something going on.
Of course, there is also the possibility that they aren’t the same people. Still, Max decided to follow them for the night to find out more about them.
There were currently two of them in his vision. Max didn’t exclude the idea of them having more helpers somewhere.
The first Awakened had a broad build, towering over the small guy next to him. When standing side by side, the small Awakened would only reach his waist.
Both of them stayed unmoving on one side of the roof like they were communicating. Max had no idea what they’re up to; he could only wait for them to move.
…
“Bear, did you see our target yet?”
“Why are you asking me? You should be the one looking! You have better eyesight than me!”
The guy with a massive frame nicknamed Bear responded. His eyes were not good enough to see faces clearly while they were on the roof; he is only good with brawls.
Looking at the areas of the empty street, the small-framed Awakened with a nickname Fox turned back to where Bear was waiting,
“Who should I even look for? The same as before?”
“What? You don’t even know that?”
“I didn’t hear anything. I was busy counting our money.”
Bear stared at him for a second before going deep in thought, recalling the words of their buyer last night.
“He said that we could catch anyone we find. Usually, we only take women because you know women would be more expensive, but last night, he said we should also take men, and they will pay the same amount!”
“Can you believe that? This will make our job easier! Who would have thought they would also take men as prostitutes!”
Fox had shining eyes as he smiled in excitement, showing his shiny white teeth,
“Did he really say that? They will take men and turn them into prostitutes?”
“Yes! And they will pay the same price! How great is that! It seems that they are really skilled. Every time they take the woman from us and bring her to a room, we could hear screams inside. They must be good at handling them.”
“Then, I’ll find us a good target; just wait here and be ready.”
Bear nodded as he stared at Fox, walking to the edge of the roof to find their next prey. This was how they spend their night every day.
They only have to take one person each night, and they would get paid a large amount of money, enough for them to live a few weeks in luxury with good food and liquors.
Bear could still remember the days when they had to risk getting caught stealing a tiny sum of money. At that time, they had to move to different places to lower the risk of being identified.
Their skills aren’t that strong either. Bear could only get a small boost in strength and speed that isn’t that effective against real Awakeneds they had encountered before.
Fox only has better eyesight, twice as clearer and sharper as ordinary people but he could only use it once a day at a maximum of an hour.
To avoid people recognizing them, they often change styles, sometimes with Fox wearing little girl’s clothes.
They also gave themselves a nickname based on their abilities to prevent people from knowing their identities.
Unbeknownst to them, their lame nicknames were starting to be heard by local forces from the number of thefts they have done.
Some authorities also know about them but chose to turn a blind eye, labeling them as harmless. If only the authorities know that they have already changed professions.
One day when they reached this city, after doing their daily rounds of stealing, they were approached by someone telling them that if both of them help with their tasks, they would be paid an enormous amount of money.
Now, they became used to it, taking one person from the streets in the most impoverished side of the city each day.
Since their victims were alone and there weren’t many people at night roaming around this area, they were able to get away with it.
As for what happens to those people they caught, they heard screams on the farthest rooms so it must be some prostitution happening.
Bear and Fox never bothered asking because they couldn’t care less, getting their hands on that much money with such an easy job.
“I got one! Come quick!”
On the vision of the small-framed Awakened was a man wearing a jacket, sneakily looking from side to side, feeling a chill run down his spine without any reason.
Once he saw there was nothing on his surroundings, the man tried to walk faster, slightly afraid of the silent, eerie atmosphere around him.
When he stepped forward, something fell on top of him, and not being able to react, he instantly got knocked out.
“We got him!”
Bear with Fox holding on to his neck, jumped down on top of the man, hitting his head and Bear trapping him in his thick arms.
Not wanting anyone to see them, Bear with Fox holding tightly on him and their victim unconscious on his arms, ran to a dark corner at the side of the street, away from any of the street lights around them.
The street had been robbed repeatedly that its condition became worse, without even a single security camera placed anywhere.
A dark shadow hurriedly traced their movements from the roofs, trailing them wherever they turned.
Max watched the whole thing happen and started following them, easily keeping up with their speed with his Level 20 Peak Rank 1 body.