The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2207: Returning Home for Him (Part 2)

Like Hayes, Kang was an orphan, raised by the neighbors in his district. He considered them his family and their children his brothers and sisters.

But of the twelve brothers and friends from the same neighborhood who left with Kang, he was the only one who returned. Kang gave all his veteran benefits, including disability compensation, to the elderly who had lost their children. He kept only his medal and continued to live in poverty. The reason he always had that player with him was that whenever Kang was alone, he would think of the brothers who had died in battle. But he didn't have enough money to get drunk, so he could only use these prayers to numb himself, or at least have some sound to keep him from overthinking all day.

However, even in this state of near-poverty, he was targeted. The local thugs heard about his medal. Such things might not be rare in the Astra Militarum, but in the hive city, it was a rare item, with people in the mid-hive and upper-hive specializing in collecting them.

At first, they tried to break into his small house while Kang was out scavenging, but Kang was vigilant. Although he didn't carry the medal on him, he didn't leave it in an obvious place. After rummaging through everything without success, they decided to rob him directly, leading to the scene today.

Logically, these three thugs were nothing in the eyes of the old Kang, but in addition to losing a leg, his nerves had also been damaged in combat, causing him to twitch erratically. Plus, he had drunk a little alcohol today.

“…Otherwise, I would have broken their legs too…”

After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at a place called the Heap.

This was a dirty, gigantic garbage dump, filled with heavy, jagged debris that looked like hills piled up randomly with various metals, stones, or plastics. Due to the strong radiation that had existed in the past, the ground here was always soft, and steam and pungent vapors rolled through the ruins. Scavengers covering their faces with towels or rags could be seen passing through the garbage-covered area, all looking cautious.

Occasionally, giant rodents as long as an arm would run through the gaps in the ruins, even hissing threateningly at people as if to drive away intruders.

After searching for a while, Hayes and the others finally found what should be the location of the Pike's home. There was a short, dilapidated metal shack, with the roof and walls pieced together from large metal plates, almost identical to the surrounding environment. From a distance, one might think it was just another pile of garbage. The walls and weapons of the house were pitted and rusty, and the fluted pillars covering the vents were dilapidated.

Before they even got close, Hayes saw a hunched figure sitting in front of the open door of the house. She was too short and too old, like a child curled up in a ball. Her face was full of deep wrinkles. In the midst of the foul-smelling breeze, she sat on the ground, letting her messy hair flutter in the wind, her eyes straight and dull, her lips covered with white blisters, looking nothing but haggard.

Even when Hayes and the others approached, she didn't react. She just sat there blankly, as if waiting for someone.

Hayes walked forward and glanced into the house. It was dark and seemed empty.

If he remembered correctly, Pike should have a brother and a father. Could they not be home yet?

Then he squatted down, just about to speak.

Suddenly, her face lit up, and she grabbed Hayes's arm, muttering incoherently:

“Have you seen my children? I have two children and a husband. They're gone. Have you seen them? Can you help me find them…”

She tugged at Hayes's arm, pulling him forward forcefully.

Hayes's tears welled up quickly, and his two wives were also a little at a loss.

At this moment, the poor old woman suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching Hayes's arm tightly.

“Have you seen my two children? Have you seen my husband? Save them! Can you help me find them!”

Her sorrowful cries tore out from her hoarse throat. Kang couldn't bear to look at her and sobbed silently, covering his face.

At this moment, a figure peeked from a distance for a moment before cautiously walking over.

“Do you know Mrs. Ladi?”

Everyone turned to see a person with oil stains all over his face. His appearance was basically indistinguishable, with only a pair of eyes showing. He was covered in a tattered gray cloak, his back bent at a 90-degree angle by a package almost as big as him, and he was supporting himself with a metal stick.

“I'm Pike's comrade.”

“Ah, Pike, where is he?”

Hayes shook his head. The man immediately understood and sighed softly.

“It's so unfair. Mrs. Ladi and Mr. Julio were both good people.”

“What happened?”

“Alas, Pike joined the army to get medicine for Mrs. Ladi, but although Mrs. Ladi's health temporarily improved, she waited at the entrance every day for Pike to return. Who knew that not long after, her other child was hit and killed by a biker gang on the way to sell scrap metal! Those beasts! More than a dozen vehicles ran over him, and in the end, there was no human form left. Mr. Julio's health was already poor. He collapsed from grief on the way to collect his child's body. He was already gone when he was discovered. Mrs. Ladi has been like this since that day.”

As he spoke, the man put down his package and took out an aluminum box from it.

“There's nothing I can do. I can only bring food to Mrs. Ladi every day to see if she's okay.”

Hayes stood up, took two steps, and suddenly knelt down, kowtowing three times heavily to the man.

“Ah?”

“Thank you, this is what I'm doing for Pike.”

“Ah, no, it's just a small matter. I almost died in an accident once. Mrs. Ladi and Mr. Julio spent half a day rescuing me and helping me stop the bleeding. This is what I should do. I just really don't understand why good people always suffer. Pike was also a good young man. Every time he saw me carrying too much, he would help me carry it all the way home. Why…”

As he spoke, the man also shed tears, wiping his face with a sob.

“Mrs. Ladi sits in front of the door every day. Every time she sees me, she kneels on the ground and begs me to find her two children and husband…”

Hayes stood up, turned around, knelt in front of Mrs. Ladi, and held her withered face in his hands. The touch was like an old tree bark.

Then, he forced back his tears and squeezed out a smile.

“Mom, I'm Pike, I'm home.”

“Pike…”

Mrs. Ladi's eyes gradually widened. Hayes took out a crude, even ugly, black iron aquila pendant that Pike had left behind. This was Mrs. Ladi's birthday gift to her son when he came of age. Then Hayes hung it around his neck.

Seeing the pendant, Mrs. Ladi's gaze gradually changed from excitement to gentleness. Her cloudy eyes filled with tears, and her scarred, dry hands reached for Hayes's face.

“Pike, you've lost weight.”

Hayes held her hand, controlling his sobbing voice. He was just about to help her up when he noticed that Mrs. Ladi's feet not only had no shoes but were also covered with scratches from various sharp objects. Her entire foot was more shrunken than a normal person's, and even the big toe on her left foot was completely black and necrotic.

He could no longer control his tears and said softly:

“Mom, we're home.”