Hello everyone, I hope you are doing fine and well. I truly mean that.
I'm writing to explain exactly what happened over the past half year and why updates were so long, random, and frustratingly slow.
You see, my father was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). The unfortunate part was that we did not have enough money to get all the required medical tests and treatment. It was discovered that his lungs were filled with water, almost half a liter. He had severe coughing fits that lasted for minutes, constant fever, extreme exhaustion, and he was unable to work. He was so tired that he couldn't even sleep properly. Many nights, he had to sit on a chair just to breathe, drifting in and out of sleep from sheer exhaustion.
That was our reality for nearly six months.
Even after family support and help with the operation, I can say honestly that without that help, handling it alone would have been a death sentence for us.
Naturally, most of my focus during this time was on fear, constant fear that I might lose him. My friend had lost his father similarly just in December. The mental and emotional strain was overwhelming.
I started working on Webnovel not only because I had this vision for a long time, but also because I saw others there using Patreon, and I had hope, just a small hope, that maybe I could reduce the burden on his shoulders. And it did. I cannot express how much it meant to me, mentally and physically. Even a few hundred dollars makes a huge difference when you are running a household under medical stress.
Now, after the operation, there is a lot of relief. The TB treatment is still ongoing, but his breathing has improved a bit, and things are finally stabilizing a bit. He still can't work on anything and has coughs that pain him, but the treatment is going well.
For the first time in months, I have some time for myself again, a good thing, I can sleep at night, not just from exhaustion every day.
From now on, I can finally commit seriously. I will post regularly, work harder, and begin writing my own original fiction. I also have some good ideas planned. If you read my TWD fanfic, I hope you liked it. Sadly, it's only 5 chapters so far, but I will continue it, so don't worry.
...
Some of you have been here for a very long time. I completely understand and do not blame anyone who just quit due to my lack of updates. Your time should never feel wasted.
But some of you stayed. Some of you came back. You were here, and you didn't know my thing, and I didn't want to say at that time, and come off as some guilt-tripping guy, that was not me, I guess.
Still, you like the work to come here on Webnovel or paid, I truly cannot thank you enough.
Yes, this is fanfiction, but in these times, your support on Webnovel work meant everything. It reminded me that I can still do something meaningful, that my life is not as hopeless as it felt for years.
So yes, going forward, there will be original fiction, along with carefully edited and translated fanfiction.
Thank you, everyone.
I won't disappoint you any further.
.........
Chapter 7: The First Parent-Child Activity
The city, shrouded in eternal night, offered no hope.
Human organ trafficking was commonplace here. The powerful, unable to afford mechanical or artificial organ replacements, bought human organs to prolong their lives, trampling ordinary Mortals without consequence. Gangsters ruled through fear alone. On top of the highest skyscraper, Konrad stood at the apex.
Wayne watched his son, dressed in a child's trench coat. Six months in this world, and Konrad had been observing, learning. Now Wayne brought him out for practical action, a parent-child operation.
"This is a transit point for human organ trafficking," Wayne said.
Konrad gazed at the distant skyscrapers. Transactions illegal everywhere else were legal here. He loathed this world. Whether it was aversion or his inherently twisted sense of justice, he intended to act and change it.
This was his first mission.
Wayne wasn't in a hurry. He watched the Mortals below carefully.
"How do you plan to punish them?"
"I'll kill them all myself."
"Nope." Wayne's voice was sharp. "Look at those slaves. Look at those poor people who've lost their illusions about the future. You killing them yourself only makes you a hero. Letting the perpetrators die at the hands of the slaves, that's the choice for the future."
"Yes, Father."
Wayne crouched beside Konrad and began equipping him with defensive devices and weapons from the Dark Age of Technology.
"It's only been a week since the Library opened, and you're already eager to be a hero and test your strength. You're too impatient, young one."
"It's fine, I am grown enough."
"Oh, of course you doooo, so, Mister Grown-up Konrad. Your target is the mastermind behind human organ trafficking. Not these thugs or hooligans. Understand?"
"Mhm." The Primarch leaped down, crashing into the opposite skyscraper like a missile.
He smiled at the astonished people before him. "Hello, everyone!"
The first thug threw the unfortunate person beside him and charged at Konrad. The Primarch moved at a speed Mortals couldn't react to. He tore off the man's arm, and blood gushed out, drenching Konrad.
The thug wailed as blood loss took him, but Konrad paid no attention. He picked up the fallen knife, smiled, gripped it, and casually toyed with it.
The other thugs watched their companion wail, and they trembled. They looked at Konrad with fear, stepping back. "Who are you?"
"I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Konrad! Come, enumerate your sins!" Konrad charged at poor human traffickers as they retreated, fear gripping their entire bodies.
Moving at inhuman speed, Konrad faced four hooligans circling him. Others gathered in the distance.
He could feel the pain of prophecy subsiding, yet he saw their futures clearly. They'd dabbled in drugs. Despite their dark professions, they'd become increasingly impoverished. To use again, they'd resort to burglary. Eventually, they'd kill an innocent family just to get a fix.
Konrad looked at them with disgust. "Trash."
"Heh, how dare you—" The hooligan closest to Konrad reached out to slap him. The next second, his arm twisted 180 degrees.
He didn't even scream before his other arm was torn off. Adrenaline surged, pain subsided, and the hooligan retreated in fear, trying to escape. Konrad punched through his chest, ending it.
The others watched, retreating as pissed in their pants. Konrad saw children watching from afar. Their futures would become slightly more orderly because of this killing.
Konrad stretched his shoulders and lunged at the remaining three without hesitation, like a beast, tearing them apart, reducing them to fragments.
Blood covered the ground. Bodies became decorations. Konrad stood barefoot in blood, indifferently looking at mangled flesh. Even Konrad had to admit he somewhat enjoyed this moment. He enjoyed the pleasure brought by his killing.
Other passersby and hooligans swallowed hard, looking at Konrad with fear.
Konrad looked at the hooligans in the distance. Their futures had become more normal; at least they would abide by rules now in this territory. But their sins...they deserved death.
"So killing really can make you abide by the rules!" Various technological knowledge flashed through his mind. He smiled, realizing he could create weapons for himself.
"AHHH!" Others looked at him in fear. "Who exactly are you?"
Konrad scanned everyone around him, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I am the night. I am judgment. I am the law. I am Konrad!"
Hooligans from other factions looked at him, then turned to flee as Konrad, behind them, opened his eyes. Some of these thugs were involved in human trafficking, selling people from this world to other worlds for profit.
"Did I allow you to leave? Everyone of you deserves to die!"
Hearing his low words, the goons ran even faster; they ran for their life, but the next second, the inevitable happened. Konrad appeared before all of them.
"Do you think this is justice?" one hooligan asked. "Do you think you're a righteous messenger?"
"I am the law!" Konrad lunged at them, tearing bodies apart at a speed Mortals could never react to. The first hooligan's neck was clawed through, as one could even see 2 augements cable dangling from the missing portion. The second was lifted and smashed into the ground until his skull lay stuck on the ground, as Brain matter lay plastered on the road like paint. The third begged helplessly, didn't run, but begged for forgiveness. The fourteenth knelt, crying, swearing never to commit a crime again, even painfully ripping his implants to show his sincerity.
Until everyone died wailing, only then did Konrad stand at rest. He looked at his path of slaughter, dozens of people dead, and with his effortless act, countless tragedies were prevented. Children nearby who had witnessed this scene would know the consequences, and public order would improve as a result.
He'd casually torn apart human bodies only to prevent futures he'd seen, to stop them from harming more people.
Konrad felt he was not just. He was an unstoppable monster, not an enigma, created to judge sins.
However, he'd lost control. Wayne had told him several times to control his instincts, not unleash this power to kill indiscriminately. He should have let the unfortunate people kill these thugs, not indulged in slaughter until he forgot himself.
Now he wondered, What kind of stupid madman created a monster like him?
Just then, Konrad heard the footsteps. Turning around, he saw Wayne walk in slowly. His presence commanded attention. He was also covered in blood.
"Konrad, you've disappointed me."
"Father?"
"These thugs and hooligans are merely the bottom rung of human organ trafficking. You should wipe them out, not indulge in killing these insignificant people."
"I—"
"You let your nature control you. Is that right? You should control your nature, turn power into your own tool, turn instinct into a weapon. Don't let the weapon control you."
Wayne sighed, his gaze hardening. "I brought you out for practice. This time I'm giving you a failing grade."
He turned and casually threw a fat man to the ground. After realizing Konrad was indulging in slaughter, Wayne had captured the boss himself.
"This is the boss of human organ trafficking. He should have been your target from the start. If he escaped, human organ trafficking would resurface anyway in a short time."
"Why in a short time?"
"Because the source is still there. It's time for a lesson."
[End of Chapter]