A couple of minutes ago, late afternoon, a nearby local gang took notice of the abandoned warehouse. Before, it was considered to be an accursed place due to the random deaths that kept happening there.
But now that a new owner has bought it, no complaints seem to take place. The gang finally decided to check the place out. Most of the gang members were uneducated people. Their knowledge was merely a collection of ignorant ideas of the world.
It was the reason why many gangs were easy to manipulate with the supernatural. Especially when most of them dwell in the era of the Heavens Fall. The horrifying stories of the frontier were scattered throughout the Imperium.
Most people, especially the ones near the frontlines, lived in fear of the paranormal.
"Are you sure this place is safe?"
A gang member questioned while they started cutting the chain-link fence that surrounded the abandoned warehouse. The others looked at him as if he was stupid, while another one decided to explain.
"We have already explained this before. There's nothing bad going on in the abandoned warehouse. It's nothing more than false rumors. Besides, an old man just bought it, and there seems to be no complaints about it."
"Even if we are part of the Quartet, that doesn't mean that we will give up the chance to let our gang grow. The abandoned warehouse is the perfect place for us to set up our operation."
After giving his explanation, most of them snickered. They were excited to have such a large area for themselves. They were sure that they'd rise in the ranks of local gangs within the fortress city if they captured the abandoned warehouse.
"But what about the old man? What should we do when he finds out about us?" The gang member questioned, which made the leader of their group click his tongue in annoyance.
"What the old man does isn't our problem. What can he do about it? Report us to the authorities? Most people know that some of our earnings go directly into their pockets. No one will be able to mess with us, especially not a frail old man."
"Hehehe, I also heard that the old man has a beautiful granddaughter. I hope to meet her one day."
"""Kekekeke!!!"""
The others also chuckled with lustful expressions plastered on their faces. It didn't take time for them to finish cutting a small part of the fence. The group of thugs didn't hesitate to enter and began trespassing on private property.
They walked through the abandoned warehouse without a change in their expressions. They seemed to be confident and acted as if they owned the place.
"Didn't I say that I am right? Look at this place!" The leader of the group exclaimed while presenting his hands to the size of the abandoned warehouse. He could already see the future of his gang being built upon this very land.
"You have good eyes, boss."
"We were lucky to be the first ones here, kek."
"Let's start setting up our base and fortify the fences."
The thugs already viewed the abandoned warehouse as their new base of operation. It was the perfect land for them to grow to their maximum potential. Their group might rival other giant factions in the fortress city.
This light of thought made the thugs excited about it.
Anyhow, the abandoned warehouse was about 2 acres in size or 8,100 square meters. It was quite a big land on average to the size of an ordinary warehouse. However, there was also the land beyond it, which added an acre to the land of the abandoned warehouse.
It really was a vast plot of land, and it was understandable for greedy gangs to want it for themselves.
"Let's split up into two groups."
The leader of the gang said, deciding to split the group of 9 gang members into 3 groups. They needed to inspect the entirety of the area and see the entrances along with the exits before finalizing their claim over the abandoned warehouse.
"Also, be careful when investigating. It would be annoying if some of you get injured because of some random accident." The leader called upon two of his trusted members and went on to explore the south of the abandoned warehouse.
The others looked at each other and made the remaining group for themselves. The second group was tasked to inspect the east of the abandoned warehouse while the third group investigated the west. It shouldn't take too much time for them to complete the inspection.
As such, the gang completely went on their separate ways.
The second group walked through the eastern walls of the abandoned warehouse. From their expressions, they were clearly not taking the warehouse seriously. But from their burly appearance, which was uncommon in the fortress city.
Their arrogance wasn't unfounded.
"I hope that we won't waste too much time inspecting the place. We should just start already and make this warehouse our new base."
In the second group, a gang member complained. The two thugs heard his words and chuckled. They were also a bit annoyed to inspect such a harmless and abandoned place.
Even if there was some homeless unknown man living in the warehouse, they were sure that they would be able to handle it.
"What can we do about it? Our boss is a paranoid one."
"Correct, it's not an attitude a boss should have."
The remaining two stated their protest regarding the boss of their gang. However, before they could continue talking amongst themselves. They noticed an eastern entrance of the abandoned warehouse.
The abandoned warehouse was divided into multiple sections. It appeared to be a former armory with its vast size. Which explains its design. Some compartments needed to be protected from other items that might have been temporarily stored in the warehouse.
"An entrance... Should we enter?"
The burly thug, who recently complained about their boss, questioned while glancing at the other two.
"Well, the boss did say to inspect everything, so why not?"
"Let's just take care of it and meet with the others."
The two thugs, who were also buffed with muscle, gave their response. The burly thug then nodded and entered the eastern entrance of the abandoned warehouse. The other two followed him, and they finally saw the interior of the eastern section.
"This... It looks like the abandoned warehouse isn't entirely empty."
The burly thug squinted his eyes and remarked. The two also gazed forward and saw numerous dummies lying around. Most of them were broken into pieces as if they had been smashed by a wrecking ball.
It was quite a sight to see, though it made the second group of thugs cautious.
"The old man that bought this warehouse seems to be doing something. I wonder what he's planning to do with the abandoned warehouse." One of the two thugs questioned while staring at the broken dummies.
"I don't care about what that old man is planning to do. This is our warehouse now." The burly thug smirked and continued. "Besides, we need to rendezvous with the other two groups. I'm sure that they nearly concluded their inspection."
"Can't wait to bring my women here... Hehehe." A buff thug stated with lust emanating from his eyes. The other thug also grinned after hearing him as he also had the same idea.
"Those women of mine will also love this plac-"
The other buff thug was about to express while grinning. However, before he could complete his words. A pale hand appeared out of nowhere and punched his throat.
*Pam!* *Kek!*
"*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!* W-Wha-t the-" The other buff thug that got punched in the throat was shocked to see a young lady appear out of nowhere.
As he was about to respond, the young lady was like a snake and swiftly dislocated his arms in mere seconds. And without even waiting for his reaction, the young lady pounded at the other two.
The buff thug, who was beside the one that got attacked, managed to step back. Nonetheless, his actions were fruitless as the shadowy figure of a young lady emerged before his perception. He immediately noticed her fist heading towards his liver.
Without any delay or hesitation, he instantly positioned his arms in a defensive pose to protect his stomach. However, unfortunately for the buff thug, that wasn't the target of the young lady.
It was merely a bait.
*Bam!*
The young lady swung a high side kick towards the buff thug's neck. His undefended neck, unfortunately, couldn't dodge in time and was met with the lady's heel. It promptly threw him sideward to the ground with saliva all over the place.
He fell to the ground and lost consciousness, resulting in an echoing sound throughout the eastern sector of the abandoned warehouse.
*Thud!*
In meager seconds, the two buff thugs had been defeated by the young lady. The burly thug who was at the front looked at her with shock plastered throughout his face. He couldn't believe that his powerful companions fell in such an unsightly manner.
An expression of anger surfaced from his face as he shouted towards the young lady.
"Who the f*ck are you, b*tch!"
"Do you want to die by offending our gang!"
The burly thug warned, using his connections with the gang as leverage. He knew that most people would rather avoid the troubling members of the criminal underworld. So, with this in mind, he was confident that the young lady would release him.
Sadly for the burly thug, the young lady was already determined on the path she would take. Looking at him with an emotionless expression, the edges of the young lady's lips slowly rose.
"Trespassing in private property and trying to rob it from its owner."
"It makes me wonder. No one should be bothered if all of you disappeared, right?"
A dense bloodlust erupted in the eastern section of the abandoned warehouse.