The same went for everyone else. At first, their eyes had been filled with hostility. However, after hearing Dustin’s answer, they smiled welcomingly at him.
“If you had done an evil deed, you’d be dead by now. Fortunately, you were just avenging your wife, so you’re a real man!”
“It seems like Shadow Gang will have a new member!” Everyone in the cell studied Dustin carefully. Although they didn’t seem happy to see him, they didn’t seem as hostile anymore. “What are you guys talking about?” Dustin was confused.
“Over here, there are all sorts of guilds and gangs. Ours is Shadow Gang. Our rule is simple: settle scores fairly. You can ki ll your enemies, but you can’t hurt innocent people. If you’re caught, you’ll be heavily punished.” The bald man grinned.
“He’s right. We might not be good people, but at least we’re honorable men who won’t allow others to hurt innocent people!” The other men agreed. Dustin was surprised. It seemed like not everyone here was evil.
“You’re one of us now, kid.” The bald man threw his arm over Dustin’s shoulder as if they had known each other for a long time.
“Come on. I’ll introduce you. These guys here are Beardy, Limpy, and Scarface. And here we have-”
“Don’t let my limp fool you, kid! I ki lled dozens of corrupt government officials before being sent here!”
“I’m no slouch either! I came across of bu nch of dicks who were raping and kil ling women, so I castrated them and tore off their limbs!”
“That’s nothing compared to what I did. There was a gang of bandits that wiped out a village, so I took all of them out myself. Unfortunately, the police were in conflict with the bandits, so they blamed me for the village’s destruction.”
The men stopped being hostile and began boasting about their achievements.
“Interesting.” Dustin smiled. He didn’t expect to find such honorable men in prison.
“What’s going on? Is there a new kid?” a raspy voice asked from the corner of the cell.
Everyone immediately fell silent, respectfully. Dustin turned and saw a bony older man yawning as he sat upright on his mat.
The older man’s hair was unkept, and his face looked gaunt. His hands and feet were bounded with thick iron chains, and metal rods pierced into his shoulders. Metal rattled every time he moved.
“Hmm?” Dustin was surprised. He didn’t expect to run into a fully developed divine-level martial artist here. After all, this would mean that the older man was only a step away from becoming a Grandmaster.
“Did we wake you up, Mr. Adler? We’ll be sure to keep quiet, so you can keep sleeping.” The bald man smiled apologetically.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to do besides sleeping and eating anyway. It’s been a while since we had a newcomer. As the gang leader, I should welcome him.” The older man yawned.
“Hurry. Pay your respects to Mr. Adler.” The bald man quickly tugged Dustin.
“No need for formalities.” The old man waved them off before asking Dustin, “Did you offend some high-ranking official?”
“How did you know?” Dustin was surprised.
Although Julian said he was the one who made the report, Dustin was sure that Gavin had
something to do with this.
“Everyone here is a criminal who has ki lled at least ten people, but you’ve only ki lled one. You’ve clearly offended someone powerful,” the old man replied.
“May I know where this is?” Dustin was even more curious now.
“This is a place you can enter but never leave.” The older man sighed.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. Once you’re in here, you’ll never get out. It’s just like the underworld. That’s why it’s called ‘Azkaban”!”
