As Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk got out of the house, Dudu had somehow got released from Nightmare's claw and was chatting lively with K.K. and Hecate, a petite girl in rat ears hat also stood among them. Upon seeing Kim Dokja's new outfit, Dudu showed a surprised expression and scanned him from head to toe, or to be exact, his cloak.

"Wow, she really likes you, doesn't she?~"

She didn't forget to glance at the sour face of Yoo Joonghyuk, while elongating her tone playfully. Hecate and Hella also ran forward and checked him carefully. Only after confirming that he wasn't injured anywhere that she start throwing her tantrum.

"Arrgh, I couldn't believe it!! how dare you pull that fake death without telling me !? Do you have any idea how sca- surprised I was? And you too Hecate! How dare you leave me behind like that!?"

"It's more efficient, you were too slow."

"Hah— ??!"

Kim Dokja intervened between the two before they attracted the attention of the residents around.

"Sorry, sorry, I will definitely tell you next time..."

"There is a next time !?"

Kim Dokja could only smile weakly while waiting for the little Sinner to finish venting her anger. This time he really did go too far, so he couldn't make any excuses. After Hella had calmed down, he turned to Dudu:

"Now, where is the corruptor you were talking about?"

"I've been waiting for that. All right, now we can start the Drifter Camp tour! The guide fee is only 30,000, and you get a song, Drifter Camp friendship , for an extra 5,000!"

Kim Dokja had nothing to say about her ridiculous pricing. However before he could react, Yoo Joonghyuk had already pulled him toward a stair:

"Let's go meet The Architect first, he'll know more."

Meanwhile, K.K. nagged at the pink-haired Sinner:

"Don't keep raising the price. My commission fee for tour guiding is only 600 DisCoins. You're asking for too much. And why do you think we even need a tour guide? "

"Because he is leading your Chief that way. Hey, are you seriously gonna take him directly to The Architect like that? Do you even see the dark circles under his eyes?"

Her last sentence successfully halted Yoo Joonghyuk's footsteps. He knew where Dudu was trying to lead them too. While heading to The Architect's place and letting Lavina take care of him was the best option, it would take longer to get there than Dudu's destination. Kim Dokja's hand laid coldly in his palm, reminding him of how much he still suffered from the suspended animation aftermath.

In the end, they still followed Dudu. The girl took them through layers of overlapping stairs, iron bridges, and elevators like a maze. The elevator went up for a few seconds, then slowed down with a series of creak sounds. As the door opened, a lively scene Kim Dokja didn't expect at all was presented in front of him.

There were cluttered but eye-catching homemade billboards, the indescribable taste of sweet and sour mixed with bitterness, and various sounds like a wonderful symphony. He had never imagined that the interior of this huge slum was so lively, let alone the capes who attacked him only a short time ago lived here. Dudu popped up next to him, she didn't hide her grin at all:

"Stunned? Hmph, this is only the surface of Drifter Camp. Don't touch anything. There'll be trouble if you accidentally trigger any mechanism."

"Mechanism?"

"That's right! DisCity looks down on Syndicate, and Syndicate looks down on Drifter Camp. But just look on both sides of the Rust, where else can you find a cooler castle? Behold!"

She pulled a lever, and with some clanks, a small railcar rolled over, hanging on the rail. Dudu pushed him into the car, and with another pull, the railcar kept moving forward. In the car, Kim Dokja could feel another pair of eyes - aside from Yoo Joonghyuk's, fixed on him. It was K.K.

"What's wrong?"

K.K. lowered her voice, as if talking about something top secret, although in this small space, that effort was predetermined to be in vain.

"Um... I heard the suspended animation takes a huge toll on your body, and the adjutant said that you have been in bad shape lately. So how are you feeling? Anything wrong? Please tell me. It's... part of the commission."

From Kim Dokja's position, he could see Dudu leaning her ears over here. The sight was quite cute, he had to admit. Recalled K.K.'s nickname in the MBCC, Kim Dokja smirked and imitated their voices, while acting in a pretentious manner:

"It hurts. Mommy, make it better~"

K.K. winced, like he just triggered some horrible memory of her, and turned away, ignored him. Kim Dokja laughed, while secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That should keep her from asking for a while.

His situation couldn't be described as positive. Just the distance from the bottom of Drifter Camp to here left him breathless. But instead of being burned up and sweaty like a normal person, his whole body seemed to hold no temperature at all. The cold penetrated into his bones, paralyzing over half of his body. The good thing was that his sensory nervous system seemed to be paralyzed as well, as he barely felt anything. But it was nothing compared to what he suffered before, and there was no time to waste.

The door opened automatically as the car stopped at its station, and Dudu jumped down excitedly:

"Here we are!"

Kim Dokja watched the sight unfold in front of him, thinking either his eyes were tricking him, or she and Yoo Joonghyuk were tricking him. He asked her back in perplexed:

"...Where?"

"Central Plaza! Grand Stall!"

"...Why are we in the most crowded place?"

Dudu sassily placed her hand on her hip and pointed at him as if it were something so obvious:

"Why? Are you scared that people will notice you? Or are you still thinking about work? Wake up! Do you not realize how horrible you look? You can't work like that!"

At this moment, Kim Dokja finally understood what the confusing conversation between Dudu and Yoo Joonghyuk was at the bottom of Drifter Camp. He turned to look at the semi-curly-haired man behind him with eyes of disbelief. Yoo Joonghyuk returned his gaze, with all the seriousness Kim Dokja had ever witnessed:

"It's mealtime."

"Yes, it's mealtime already! Can you really resist? Can you smell it? The sweet and sour taste, the sizzling oil, and the laughter of the diners who are chowing down gourmets..."

Ignoring Dudu's singing, Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed Kim Dokja's hand again and pulled him out of the cart:

"This is the best place to get info, anything unsettling will spread immediately. Right now, you need to focus on replenishing yourself."

"I'm not..."

Surprisingly, it was Hella who couldn't take it anymore. She snapped through his in-ear communication device:

"Arghhh, I can't do this anymore! I want some too! There's nothing down here. I'm hungry and I want some good food! Chief went up with just a cloak. Why do I have to chew on bland buns down here?!"

Hecate's usual calm tone followed her:

"The agent said that some people had already remembered our faces. Following Chief would cause trouble. There are three locals, so they won't look too suspicious. But if we all went up together, three strangers would arouse suspicions."

"But I want delicious food!"

"Be quiet. You'll attract unwanted attention. Here, have a bun."

With that, Hella's whimpering sound came from the other end of the communication, as if something was being stuffed into her mouth. Hecate's voice came up again:

"K.K., protect Chief. I can't stay by his side right now, and I would be upset if anything happened."

"Okay... If this's a part of the commission as well."

As they were talking, a tall man suddenly wrapped his arm around K.K.'s neck. The muscle on his arm bulging evidently:

"Hey... Isn't this Whitestone's K.K.? Good to finally have one of you back... Can you pay back the money you owe me now? Every time you guys have a hotpot, that scoundrel Bai Yi takes some meat from me and leaves an IOU. I have enough IOUs to make a book."

Another man also showed up, wrapped in layers of pink fabrics like some kind of nomad. People were gathering over here gradually, making Kim Dokja couldn't help but tense up a little. Luckily, most of their attention was on K.K.

"Your boss had too much to drink and made a scene in my clinic. She spilled a lot of drugs, and those were worth a lot... And the one with blonde hair got me writing notes so he could pretend to be sick..."

A granny suddenly grabbed the corner of K.K.'s coat, and the crowd instantly fell silent. K.K.'s gently held her hand:

"Auntie Margaret... What brings you here?"

The old woman squinted her eyes as if were trying to recognize her. Her hoarse voice, stained with time, asked:

"...You're finally back?... Who are you?"

"It's K.K., I'm back."

Dudu leaned over Kim Dokja's and whispered into his ear. Thanks to being got out of the cart late, they got quite a distance from the crow and were covered by the large shadow from a bridge above.

"Oh, that's granny Margaret, she has Alzheimer's. Everyone pretty much loves her."

Over there, Granny Margaret seemed to have remembered something, as she leaned forward to look closely at K.K.'s face. Her voice was filled with melancholic:

"K.K.? K.K."

"Yeah, K.K."

"....Pay back."

People burst into laughter and swarmed her again. Kim Dokja pointed at her, half surprised, half amused:

"Should we help her?"

Dudu already sat at the nearest stall and started stuffing food into her mouth. With the amount she was stuffing in, Kim Dokja didn't think she could answer him in at least two minutes or so. Joo Yoonghyuk led him toward another stall while replied:

"No need, they won't harm her. The priority now is you."

The owner of the stall seemed to know Yoo Joonghyuk, as she pushed a bag of veggies to him:

"Long time no see, Mr.Yoo! Here, have some mushrooms! They arrived just yesterday— Oh? Who is this?"

"No one. I need to borrow your kitchen."

"The one in the backyard."

Yoo Joonghyuk nodded at her and pushed the door open, leading them to a secluded balcony behind the house. The sound of cheers and laughter echoed through the walls, still quite clear but much quieter. Yoo Joonghyuk skillfully started a fire on the stove and took some ingredients from a nearby cabinet. As the scent wafted through the air, Kim Dokja chatted as he waited for the meal to be prepared.

"Did you borrow her kitchen often?"

"Sort of."

"Why? There are a lot of food stalls around here though?"

"They aren't tasty."

Kim Dokja recalled Dudu's delightful expression while eating, speechless, then remembered his restaurant and pushed all doubt out of his head. If anything, then this guy was no doubt the only one here have the right to say that.

The dish on the stove was quickly picked up, to his surprise, it was mushroom porridge. The first dish he ate when he woke up at The Garden restaurant was porridge, and now also the dish Yoo Joonghyuk made for him after a long time of not seeing each other.

There seemed to be ginger in the porridge, because in just a while, Kim Dokja felt much warmer. The two of them just sat quietly, ate quietly, and gazed at the crisscrossing maze of Drifter Camp. It was only now that Kim Dokja realized he had overlooked something.

Why is Yoo Joonghyuk here right at this time?

"Yoo Joonghyuk, does The Garden know anything about that monster?"

"No more than you."

Yoo Joonghyuk had no reason to hide this from him, given how much they had been exchanging information for the past few months. Kim Dokja fell into deep thought again, but not for long before a suspicious name drifted through the walls:

"Hey, isn't this the elites of Rustfire? You're later than usual today. Got into trouble?"

Elites of Rustfire?

Somehow, memories of the group of skilled Drifters this morning resurfaced. Kim Dokja looked at Yoo Joonghyuk with a questioning look, and at the same time, an ominous feeling arose in his heart. This feeling was quickly grounded when he saw Yoo Joonghyuk also frown. He confirmed Kim Dokja's speculation:

"It's the group that attacked you this morning."

Kim Dokja quickly focused on listening to the conversation at the Grand Stall. He could recognize laugh ​​of the muscular man selling skewers - Tally. And what remained was the voice of the man who pressed his head directly into the barrel of his gun. However, now that voice no longer had any hatred, it even sounded strangely young and lively, as if the one out there was just a teenager next door.

Tally called him Taran, wasn't he?

The direction of the conversation beyond the walls didn't seem to have any intention of mentioning him or the Sinners, causing Kim Dokja to silently breathe a sigh of relief. However, before he could relax, Tally's loud voice rang out again:

"Oh right! I forgot! Mr. Yoo is back you know. You always said you wanted to spar with him again."

"Really? Where is he?"

The joy in Taran's voice caused a premonition in Kim Dokja's chest to ring a warning bell. He glanced quickly at the area where they were standing. The balcony was too high and too small, the lighting was also unnecessarily good. As long as the door at the other end is open, people would be able to see the entire place. Kim Dokja wasn't worried about the others, but if it was Taran, it would be a different story.

Kim Dokja mask's main purpose was just to protect his face, obscuring his face was only a secondary feature, it couldn't completely hide the wearer's facial features. Taran faced him at an extremely close distance, definitely close enough to be able to see through some of the mask. His memories were still fresh, if the boy met him again at this distance, the probability of Taran recognizing him must be at least 80%!

Over the walls, Tally had already given out their location, and Kim Dokja could hear Dudu frantically yelling, trying to distract him somehow. However, with the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer, he knew for sure that her efforts were in vain. Kim Dokja leaned his head out onto the balcony, looking to see if there was a place he could hide when Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly pulled him back, pressed him against the wall, and held both his wrists up.

His broad form trapped him completely, facing his back at the door. Kim Dokja could clearly feel Yoo Joonghyuk's hot breath on his forehead, along with the younger man's strong heartbeat as his face was pressed against the man's chest. The heat transmitted from the other person made him briefly feel like he was being burned, but at the same time, he felt like a person on the brink of freezing, stumbling upon a warm, comforting heater.

At this moment, Kim Dokja deeply realized how low his body temperature was. The comforting heat emanating from the person before him tempted him to relax, but before he could, the door burst open, accompanied by the enthusiastic voice of a young man:

"Mr. Yoo! I heard you're b—!!!"

Dudu followed right after Taran, just right next to him to see the young man froze up on the spot, mouth wide open. A quick glance and she immediately understood why, so she pulled the petrified Taran away, swiftly shutting the door behind them, doing her best to keep her voice normal:

"Sorry for interrupting!"

When both of them returned to the Grand Stall, Taran was still unable to return to his original state, while Dudu struggled not to blow a celebrating song. Instead, she used both hands to cover her face with the suona and began to circle in place excitedly.

Did they do it? Did they really do it ?? Right in the middle of the enemy turf? Lmaoooooooooo—

A hand grabbed her and stopped her from circling like a merry-go-round, along with Taran's shock-but-had-somewhat-returned-some-senses face. His both confusing and serious expression calmed her down a little, and she started to rack her brain.

Ah right, now, how should she fabricate this to him?