Poison City

“Well - this is not good. ” Marcus whispered to everyone as they approached the address on the slip of paper on foot.

“What? Why?” Elvin asked: “Looks like a nice enough community? Very tall buildings, very new, and they have security guard booths as well - they must be kinda safe right? We don’t even have fences like this.”

“No - it’s just - it’s too close to the unfinished apartments where I hid.” Marcus shook his head, and pushed the cheap looking sunglasses up his face: “But - yeah, I guess we should really keep an eye out.”

The community was indeed new. Elvin went up to the security guard booth to show them the keys to prove that they’re actually legit residents. He did not need to say too much, just a few greetings, a smile and an attitude like he had always lived there.

The apartment had obviously been cleaned, thoroughly as well. Before they even got to the door Marcus could smell the smell of detergent. Mixed in the chemical smell was also a touch of ashes and candles.

At the feet of some of the interior walls, littered dark burn marks on the tiles, carpet and drywall. Marcus slowed down a bit to take a closer look - they seemed to come from chemical burns instead of simple fire, for the surrounding area did not show any discoloration from heat. When he focused his Qi on his eyes, nothing suspicious appeared in his vision around these burns. This was not enough to lighten his alert or concern, but at least it won’t raise any more alarms.

He looked around the living room once more, with his vision at full force. To his relief, there was nothing worrisome. The only thing that was somewhat strange was the inexplicable glowing spots on the walls and the ceilings. It was as if some kind of sporadic blessing ritual happened here.

Between the living room and the balcony was a set of glass door-to-ceiling windows, and outside of which was another set of metal fences. Keryn was already examining them, for they appeared to be quite out of place. And judging from the welding marks on the side, they definitely did not come with the apartment but were installed by the landlord.

“So - what do you think?” Kevin asked Marcus.

“I think it’s safe.” Marcus nodded.

“Yeah, the door’s hardened as well.” Mick chuckled, pointing at the metal frame of the main door and metal plants in the corner.

“Okay.” Marcus checked his phone, it was already late in the afternoon. His appointment with Master Liaoran was in the evening. This left him one crucial thing to do next: he needed to handle whatever Captain Ko left for him, since the captain still had not made contact with them, or even answered their call from the landline.

The apartment looked clean, two already furnished bedrooms, one spare room with one inflatable mattress stashed in the closet. The original owner stocked the apartment with enough blankets, duvets and even an emergency medical kit. The fridge was not full but had some snacks and drinks inside. It was as if the owner already knew that people would be coming here to stay for short periods of time.

“Remember, keep an eye on the entrance of the community.” Before he walked out the door, carrying nothing but a kitchen knife, Marcus cautioned everyone: “They may search for us in this area. And they just might be looking for me in the area. So - please be safe. And also, don’t forget to call me if there’s anything.”

“That’s the Kshiti Temple out there, should we try to check them out?” Mick asked while pointing at the balcony.

“No - don’t - it’s too risky.” Marcus immediately shook his head: “Just follow your own advice, okay? Lay low, rest and wait. And try to memorize where the escape routes can be.”

“I’ll check those out. Since I’m the most forgettable one here.” Elvin mumbled.

“Dad, be careful.” Marcus nodded, before closing the door and waving at them: “Also, don’t hesitate to use the gun.”

Walking down the stairs, out of the community gate and into the street was as smooth as it could be. He would still have less than three hours before the sun would set, which meant he needed to go to the captain’s place right away, and maybe pray that no one would be scouting around the area.

It took him around ten minutes before he caught a taxi. Lucky for him, the driver preferred taking cash and would happily drive to the South-Western District.

Barely a moment after he sat down, a small pile of fliers at the back of the passenger’s seat caught Marcus’ attention.

“Revitalized Food Festival of Poison City - Come Pick YOUR POISON!” in bold, red letters, and fiery patterns around the edges.

“Sir, is this new?” Marcus asked the driver.

“The food festival fliers? Yeah, they’re new.” The driver chuckled: “Some guy paid me to have them in there, it’s like - next week, right? ”

“Yeah. Next week.” Marcus checked the date, it would be just five days from today, and the area - he could not recognize it: “Do you know where this will be? I don’t really recognize this address.”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s going to be in the Northern District, they opened up some rich guy’s mansion. I heard they are going to have raffles there as well, you can even win a new car! Pretty exciting, huh?”

“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled under his breath before looking up at the rearview mirror: “Can I take one?”

“Sure! Take all of it for all I care.” The driver chuckled: “If the guy comes again and see I’m out, he might pay me again, huh? Man’s gotta eat!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Marcus took two fliers and put them into his pocket.