NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Chapter 38 : It's because you're all so fucking rude.
The air was thick with metal and oil.
Zaun's nights always smelled like industry, but tonight—
Something else was in the air.
Lukas could feel it.
Something rotten.
Something coming.
---
He walked through the alleys, boots scraping against rusted pavement.
It had been a long day. A good day.
He had taken Powder and Ekko to see the factory.
He had given them hope.
For the first time in days, Powder had smiled.
For the first time in weeks, Ekko had believed.
And now?
Now, there was still work to do.
Blueprints to sketch.
Plans to refine.
And most importantly—
The future to build.
---
Then—
Voices.
Raised. Laughing.
Coming from just outside the factory gates.
Lukas slowed his pace.
His head tilted slightly.
He recognized that kind of laugh.
The kind that carried a sneer.
The kind that meant trouble.
His fingers twitched at his side.
Who the fuck was in his territory?
---
Five men.
Standing in front of Fontaine Futuristics.
Lukas didn't need to ask.
Chem-Enforcers.
His lips pressed into a thin line.
Of course.
It was only a matter of time before someone noticed.
Only a matter of time before good old Zaun came knocking.
---
One of them—a tall bastard with a scar running down his cheek— turned as Lukas approached.
He smirked.
"Oi, look at this. Kid's back."
Lukas kept walking.
Another one stepped forward.
Shorter. Meaner. Eyes sharp like a rat sniffing out an easy meal.
"You work here, kid?"
Lukas stopped just outside the gates.
His voice was even.
"You could say that."
Scarface nodded, arms crossed.
"Then get your boss. We got a message for him."
Lukas tilted his head.
"I'm the boss."
---
Silence.
Then—
Laughter.
Loud. Cruel. Mocking.
Lukas didn't blink.
He let them laugh.
Scarface grinned.
"Ain't that something? The boss is a goddamn child."
He stepped forward.
Looming.
Trying to be big.
Trying to be scary.
Lukas's eyes didn't waver.
The man leaned in.
"Alright, kid. You listen real careful now."
His grin widened, all teeth.
"This here? This is Renni's territory. And if anyone wants to do business in Renni's territory, they gotta pay the tax."
Lukas said nothing.
The man tapped his temple.
"You know how it works. Protection fee. You pay, you're safe. You don't?"
He shrugged.
"Shame if this place caught fire, huh?"
---
Lukas breathed in slowly.
The air was thick. Stagnant.
He knew this game.
It wasn't about money.
It was about power.
It was about who owned who.
And they thought they owned him.
---
Another enforcer stepped up, eyeing the factory.
"Y'know, I actually like what the kid's done with the place."
He whistled, nodding in approval.
"Real nice. Maybe we should just take it."
Lukas's fingers twitched.
The rat-faced one grinned.
"Or maybe we take him."
Lukas's eyes flicked to him.
"What?"
The man smirked.
"Renni's always lookin' for strong hands to work her factories. This one?"
He slapped Lukas's shoulder.
"Looks like he won't break easy."
The others chuckled.
Something inside Lukas went quiet.
Still.
His blood ran cold.
They thought they could take him.
Take his dream.
Like it was nothing.
Like he was nothing.
He exhaled.
His eyes lowered.
"…Someday…"
The laughter died down slightly.
The Chem enforcers frowned.
Lukas's voice was quiet.
Cold.
"Someday, people will ask me why I did it..."
"'Why did you kill those people Lukas'..."
The chem enforcers stilled.
Lukas raised his head.
Eyes empty.
Dead.
Unshaken.
Unforgiving.
He smiled.
A slow, sharp, humorless thing.
"And I'll say…"
His hand moved.
Fast.
A glint of metal.
A click.
A gun.
Pointed at them.
Lukas's voice dropped to a whisper.
"It's because you're all so fucking rude."
---
BANG.
One shot.
Straight between Scarface's eyes.
His body hit the ground before his brain even realized it was dead.
The others barely had time to react before—
BANG.
A second.
Through the throat of the man who suggested taking the factory.
He gurgled, clutching his neck, stumbling forward.
BANG.
The one who wanted to take Lukas?
His chest erupted in red.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping.
BANG.
The fourth never even saw it coming.
His skull snapped back.
His body crumpled.
---
Silence.
The last enforcer—
The only one still breathing—
Fell back onto the ground.
His arms scrambled against the dirt.
His breath came out in short, panicked gasps.
His friends—his crew—
Were dead.
All of them.
In seconds.
And standing over them—
Wasn't a kid.
Wasn't some upstart.
Wasn't some brat playing at business.
It was a monster.
A devil in human skin.
Lukas lowered his gun.
Then—
He stepped forward.
Slow. Methodical.
Boots scraping against the ground.
The enforcer flinched.
"P-please—"
Lukas crouched in front of him.
He tilted his head.
"Take me to Renni."