Chapter 28: Trouble Comes Calling

"Anyone who refuses to pay..." A sinister smile appeared on his face. "Get out immediately!"

Around Wesley stood four men dressed entirely in black.

Each one was even more burly than him, their physiques resembling small towers.

Clearly, Wesley was their leader. The four men in black coldly swept their gazes across the surrounding residents, their hostility completely undisguised.

Their muscles were already tense, and their hands occasionally clenched into fists, as though they were eager for someone to resist.

The moment Wesley’s words fell, the entire crowd erupted.

The expressions of countless poor residents changed drastically.

"What?! The land rent is being doubled?"

"Heavens! Is Landlord Sterling trying to leave us with no way to live?!"

"Damn it! The Sterling Family really are a bunch of vampires! They increase the rent almost every quarter, and now they want to double it?!"

"Is there still any law in Ashfall City?! You’re doubling the rent in one go, you might as well rob us directly!"

"Sterling dogs! Are you trying to drive us poor people to extinction?!"

"Pay the rent tonight? The usual rent collection day is three days from now! Why are you suddenly forcing us to pay today?!"

The slum residents were furious.

Some clenched their fists tightly, while others shouted angrily at the four men in black.

For these impoverished families, even the original rent was already a heavy burden.

Doubling it overnight was practically an unbearable blow.

Yet Wesley merely stood at the center of the crowd with an indifferent expression.

The anger and protests of the surrounding residents seemed to have nothing to do with him.

In his eyes, these people were nothing more than powerless ants.

As long as the Sterling Family gave an order, these people had no choice but to obey.

"Why am I forcing you to pay? Hehe..." Hearing the angry protests of the surrounding poor residents, Wesley couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on these people.

Instead of becoming angry, a cruel smile appeared on his face.

"Because I can..."

The moment his voice fell, he sent an eye signal and the four burly men in black standing behind him moved.

WHOOSH!

Like four wild black oxen charging into a herd, they suddenly rushed forward, their massive fists swinging toward the densest areas of the crowd.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Fists struck flesh one after another. Wherever their fists passed, screams immediately erupted.

"Ah!"

"Help!"

"Stop!"

The tightly packed crowd instantly descended into chaos.

People stumbled over one another as they desperately tried to escape, while the four men in black continued throwing punches without the slightest hesitation.

How could ordinary poor residents possibly resist a group of powerful Bloodline Fighters from the Sterling Family?

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people had been knocked to the ground.

Blood sprayed from their mouths as they lay motionless on the ground, their conditions unknown.

After this brutal display of force, killing the proverbial chicken to frighten the monkeys, the previously restless crowd instantly fell silent.

Not a single person dared to continue shouting.

The poor residents stared at the four men in black with fear in their eyes.

They had never expected the Sterling Family to attack without saying another word.

They had simply started beating people.

And they had shown no concern whatsoever for whether the people they struck were innocent.

Despicable. Yet despite their anger, none of them dared to voice it.

The Sterling Family was a famous landlord family in Ashfall City.

They owned an enormous amount of land.

Apart from the slum, which was located in a relatively poor area and mainly used to collect gold coin rent, the Sterling Family also possessed numerous fertile farmlands and beautiful estates.

Every month, these properties generated a massive amount of Origin Stones in rental income.

As a result, the Sterling Family was extremely wealthy and possessed numerous powerful Bloodline Fighters who had been carefully cultivated by the family.

Wesley, however, was merely one of the lowest-ranking collateral members of the family.

Because of the Sterling Family’s strict rules, he had been forced to train his fists and feet from a young age, which was why his physical body was considerably stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, his Bloodline aptitude was abysmal.

He was already eighteen years old, yet despite consuming sixteen High Grade Second-Tier Burning Blood Pills, he still hadn’t awakened his Bloodline.

There was no helping it. The difference between High Grade and Top Grade might appear to be only one grade, but the difference in medicinal effect was enormous.

Unfortunately, Top Grade pills had an extremely low production rate.

Only around one percent of pills could reach that level.

Such pills were incredibly difficult to obtain.

If Wesley could have obtained several Top Grade Burning Blood Pills, he would have had several more opportunities to awaken his Bloodline.

But that was simply impossible for someone of his status.

Precisely because of his poor aptitude, Wesley was frequently mocked and bullied by other direct descendants of the Sterling Family.

Over the years, the humiliation and resentment he accumulated had gradually twisted his personality, turning him into a violent and ruthless person.

And as one of the lowest-ranking collateral members of the family, he naturally couldn’t expect to receive any important positions.

Dirty work such as collecting gold coin rent from the slum, which generated little profit, would occasionally be handed to him.

To Wesley, however, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

At least here, he could vent some of the resentment he had accumulated within the family.

The slum’s location was relatively close to the enormous garbage disposal site in the northwestern corner of Ashfall City.

The wealthy families of Ashfall City generally disliked areas like this.

They believed that living near a place filled with filth and discarded waste would bring bad luck to their families and affect their fortune.

After all, who would willingly build a luxurious mansion beside a massive garbage dump?

If not for this, the Sterling Family would have long since developed this enormous piece of land into a prosperous commercial district.

Unfortunately, because of its location, they could only use it as a residential area for the city’s poorest inhabitants and collect a small amount of gold coin rent from them.

But even this seemingly insignificant rent became increasingly burdensome as the gap between the wealthy and the poor continued to widen.

For ordinary people without power or influence, resisting the wealthy Bloodline Fighter families was practically impossible.

A single decision from the high-ranking members of the Sterling Family could determine whether thousands of poor families had a place to live.

And now, even the most basic shelter these people possessed was being squeezed further.

The poor residents could only endure it.

Because in this world, the strong held the right to decide.

And the weak had little choice but to obey.

...

"Wesley Sterling, let’s talk this over properly. Don’t harm innocent people!"

Daniel, Ryan’s father, had fortunately escaped the earlier attack. However, after seeing so many innocent residents injured, he could no longer stand by.

He suddenly shouted from within the crowd.

Ignoring his wife’s attempts to stop him and the worried looks of his two children, Daniel quickly pushed his way to the front.

His face was flushed with anger as he glared at Wesley.

"Doubling the land rent all at once is simply too much! Even if you want to increase it, you should at least notify everyone in advance and give us some time to prepare the money!"

Recently, the prices of everyday necessities had been rising steadily.

For the Cole Family, eating meat had already become something they had to carefully budget for. Sometimes, it took an entire week before they could afford to put even a small portion of meat on the children’s table.

On top of that, all kinds of unexpected expenses seemed to appear one after another, draining their already limited savings like water flowing from a broken container.

Daniel was already struggling beneath the weight of daily life.

Now, seeing the Sterling Family’s people suddenly attack innocent residents without even distinguishing right from wrong, the anger that had accumulated within him for so long finally erupted.

It was simply too ruthless and unreasonable.

As Daniel looked around at the crowd, his thoughts drifted toward his wife, who worked tirelessly every day despite her worn and disheveled appearance.

Then he thought of his two children. Their pale, sallow faces. Their thin bodies. Their perpetually worn-out coarse clothes. The anger in Daniel’s chest continued to rise. It was like a volcano that had been suppressed for years, finally reaching its limit.

His chest felt so tight that even breathing became difficult.

The Cole Family originally had to pay as much as two gold coins in land rent every month.

Now, with the rent doubled, they would have to pay an astonishing four gold coins.

Daniel was skilled at repairing buildings and was considered to have a relatively decent income among the poor.

Even so, he only earned around ten silver coins a day.

And one gold coin was worth one hundred silver coins.

Even after adding Sarah’s daily income of three or four silver coins, the couple could only earn a little over four hundred silver coins in an entire month.

Just over four gold coins.

That might have seemed like a considerable amount to ordinary poor residents, but after accounting for food, clothing, household necessities, and the various daily expenses of a family, there was barely anything left.

And then there was Ethan’s medical treatment.

His condition required expensive medicine every month, placing yet another heavy burden on the family.

Even when the monthly land rent was only two gold coins, their finances were already stretched to the limit.

But now, the Sterling Family wanted four gold coins every month.

If that became reality, almost every coin the Cole Family earned would have to be handed over as land rent.

There would be nothing left. Nothing for food. Nothing for medicine. Nothing for emergencies.

Then what would they do? Starve? Or become homeless and wander the streets?

The thought alone made Daniel’s heart ache.

If they didn’t resist now, if they didn’t firmly refuse to accept this unreasonable demand, then his entire family would truly be pushed toward the brink of ruin.

And the Cole Family was already considered relatively well-off among the residents of the slum.

If even they couldn’t afford the doubled rent, then what about the countless families who earned far less?

The Sterling Family simply didn’t understand what it meant to be hungry.

That was why they could casually announce such an increase without considering the consequences.

Being exploited by those with wealth and power on ordinary days was already something the poor had become accustomed to enduring.

But now, even the most basic shelter they depended on for survival was being squeezed from them.

Their final place of refuge was being treated as another source of profit.

Who could possibly accept that?

"He is right! Even if you want to raise the rent, you should have notified everyone in advance!"

"Exactly!"

"Well said! The Sterling Family is clearly the one being unreasonable!"

"That’s right! The usual rent collection day is still three days away. Why are you suddenly forcing everyone to pay tonight?"

One voice after another rang out from the crowd.

Daniel’s words had clearly resonated with the residents.

The fear that had silenced them earlier was gradually being replaced by anger once again.

For the first time, the crowd began to stand together.

The poor residents, who had originally fallen silent, began echoing Daniel’s words after seeing him step forward to defend them.

The crowd gradually became restless once again.

"Daniel! Who the hell do you think you are, daring to tell me how to do my job?"

Seeing the resentment that he had finally managed to suppress beginning to rise again, Wesley’s expression turned ugly.

And now, this troublemaker had the audacity to step forward and challenge him in front of everyone.

Rage immediately surged through Wesley’s chest.

Without saying another word, he suddenly lunged forward.

His figure shot toward Daniel like an arrow released from a bow, and he poured all his strength into his right leg before viciously kicking Daniel in the stomach.

"Bang!"