*****“This…” The air seemed to become still for a moment after Elliot was done speaking, and for a moment, no one was able to react, staring dazedly at him. Immediately following this, however, all hearts collectively skipped a beat and an audible gasp escaped from everyone present.The landlord, most of all, looked utterly stunned, as though he had just witnessed the most difficult-to-believe thing in the world.His jaw slackened, disbelief radiating from his wide eyes as he pointed a trembling finger.Although he couldn’t see the speaker’s face clearly due to the darkness of the night, it didn’t matter.No one—absolutely no one—had ever dared to defy him before. Not in this neighborhood, where he had long sown the seeds of fear in everyone, so deeply that they had grown into an impenetrable forest. Yet here was someone standing against him, shattering that long-standing terror.Although he had been the one to challenge the speaker to step forward, he had done so only to mock

*****In Riverton City, rice was often seen as the humblest of foods, a staple so basic that nearly everyone could afford it—or so the outsiders believed.It came in many grades, catering with the consideration of every pocket: from the kind that cost hundreds of dollars per gram to the kind that did not even reach a dollar per kilogram.It is the most sought-after sustenance, and one of the most affordable that even many farmers choose to feed to their livestock as one of the cheapest, most efficient options.To the residents of this neighborhood, however, it was an entirely different story.Rice was not a staple that many disliked. It was a treasure, a distant dream. A luxury most of them had not tasted in years.That’s right.To these people, rice was a mythical luxury and many children often spoke of it in hushed tones, incorporating its taste into their dreams as if it were pure magic. Some even swore they’d trade their very lives for just a single day to savor it.To be

*****The neighbors, most of whom hadn’t eaten in days—some in days, and others in weeks, descended into a chaotic frenzy.They continued shoving, clawing, and striking at each other with raw desperation and this frenzy raged on for what felt like an eternity, a tangle of limbs and cries, as if survival depended on it.Eventually, it ended. But by then the ground was completely strewn with bodies, weak and bloodied.The once-unified neighbors, who had stood together crying for justice a moment ago, were now reduced to two skeletal figures of Elliot and his father, both standing, looking pale as ghosts, while the rest lay sprawled around them, all writhing and groaning in pure agony.It was clear that the poor crowds had used every single thing they had in this fight, all for the hope of securing a month's worth of rice and half a cow, and absolutely no one had yielded for the other. And the result was a complete defeat for them all.That’s right.Everyone, no matter what appear

***** The voice inquired coldly, greatly startling everyone and halting the police officers in their tracks. In the next second, all heads traced the voice, only to find Selene still crouched beside her husband, her body trembling with unrestrained fury. Right now, her crimson eyes which were completely focused on the landlord burned with hatred, her teeth grinding as though she couldn’t wait to crush him into dust with her sheer will alone. ‘This…’ the landlord’s heart skipped a beat at this sight and his eyes narrowed, but he was already used to a gaze like this, which only turns him on when it comes from the woman he’s interested in. A sly smirk quickly replaced his surprise and then; Yes?” he drawled, his tone laced with amusement and mischievousness. Hearing the response, Selene forced a deep breath, then sent a gaze filled with millions of unspoken words and emotions at her still-unconscious husband, she looked back at the landlord, and then clenched her teet

*****“This…”For a brief, agonizing moment, the scene outside plunged into an eerie stillness, the only sound in the place, being Selene’s heart-wrenching sobs, which continued piercing through the suffocating night, her cries pulling every eye toward her trembling figure.This silence seemed to drag on, heavy and uncomfortable for what felt like an eternity before eventually, the crowd began to shift their gazes—first to Xavier, then back to Selene, uncertainty and unease etched on their faces, until finally…“Sigh.”The neighbors, still sprawled in their blood and on their battered bodies, exchanged glances filled with bitter regret and helplessness, each person knowing deep down that no authority, not even a senior officer, would be able to challenge the iron grip the landlord held over this wretched place.As for Selene, not knowing what everyone where thinking, continued weeping desperately and louder, pleading for Xavier to help her.She had been convinced that Xavier wa