With the addition of Jax and Barney, the Dire Wolves’ roster had swelled to seven members.

However, they were still three bodies short of the landlord’s mandatory ten-person minimum.

Gareth scratched his head, looking anxiously at Jax.

“Hey, Jax, my friend. How about you wait here for a bit? I’ll go wrangle up three more heads. Once we hit ten, we can sign the lease immediately.”

Jax didn’t strictly object to the plan, but he had zero intention of lingering in this wretched dumping ground a second longer than necessary.

“Actually,” Jax cleared his throat. “Does anyone know the address of this place you’re renting? I’d prefer to go scope it out first.”

Before Gareth could answer, Annie, who had been shrinking into the background, suddenly stepped forward.

“I can take them!”

Smack!

Before she could take a step, Kaleb slapped the back of her head. “Go where? You aren’t going anywhere. Sit the hell down.”

He shoved her roughly back into the dirt.

Gareth looked awkward, his mouth opening and closing as if to protest, but Kaleb clearly had no respect for his so-called leader. He dragged Annie back into the shadows without a second glance at Gareth.

“Ahem, well, that…” Gareth stammered.

Jax cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Just give me some proof I’m part of the team. And the address. I’ll meet you there.”

Defeated, Gareth nodded. He dug into his pocket and fished out two blank identity plates stamped with the Dire Wolves insignia. He handed them over.

“Just scratch your names on them later.”

Jax grabbed Barney and walked away, offering a lazy wave over his shoulder without looking back.

Once the newcomers were out of earshot, Gareth turned his gaze toward Kaleb, who was brooding in the shade of a large boulder. Gareth had been swallowing his anger for a while, but when he finally spoke, he forced a strained smile onto his face.

“Kaleb, come on. We’re all family now. No need for the temper, right?”

“I’m not trying to bust your balls, Gareth, but why are you recruiting trash?” Kaleb spat. “A beggar and a retard? Seriously? They’re just going to be dead weight.”

The comment seemed to strike a nerve with the others. Viper, leaning against a rock, plucked an unlit cigarette butt from the corner of his mouth and spat on the ground.

“Heh. Beggars?” Viper sneered. “Look at us, genius. What do you think we are? We’re worse than beggars.”

Kaleb glared. “Viper, what’s that supposed to mean? You looking for a fight?”

The tension spiked instantly. The two looked ready to throw down right there in the trash heap. Gareth stood between them, uselessly wringing his hands.

“Guys, please. We’re all just trying to survive here. Is this really necessary?”

“Shut up!”

“Shut up!”

Kaleb and Viper shouted him down in unison.

Gareth’s face flushed a deep, humiliating crimson. He let out a hollow, dry laugh. “Right… okay. I’ll, uh… I’ll go find those last three members. Be back soon.”

Head hanging low, Gareth fled the Boneyard.

Jax took Barney to Central Street first. He bought some dry flatbread, water, and basic supplies before heading toward the Seventh District.

The Dire Wolves’ base of operations was located deep within the Seventh, the most dilapidated slum in the entire Sprawl. It was where the poorest of the poor went to rot.

As soon as they crossed the district line, the sky vanished behind a chaotic web of clotheslines strung between the crumbling buildings.

Hundreds of rags hung overhead. Water was too precious to waste on laundry, so the residents simply hung their clothes out to air-dry the sweat and grime.

A sour, fermenting stench permeated the entire district. It hit Jax like a physical wall, making his stomach turn.

“Christ, it reeks,” Jax muttered, covering his nose. “Why the hell did I agree to join this crew?”

Buyer’s remorse was setting in fast.

But logic quickly overrode his disgust. If they didn’t secure housing here, they’d be sleeping in the Boneyard with the corpses, dodging city guard patrols all night.

“Forget it. A roof is a roof,” Jax sighed. “Smell be damned.”

Jax and Barney navigated the maze of alleyways, asking for directions until they finally located the address Gareth had given them.

The landlord was a morbidly obese woman in her forties. A dirty dust cloth was wrapped around her hair, and she wore cheap plastic sandals that were fighting a losing battle against her weight—her cracked heels spilled over the backs, grinding into the dirt.

She eyed them suspiciously. “You? You’re the Vice President of the Dire Wolves?”

The woman clearly didn’t buy that a man dressed in rags held any rank whatsoever.

Jax instantly switched on his charm offensive. He beamed a bright, friendly smile. “That’s right, Big Sis! Vice President Jax, at your service.”

She looked him up and down, snorting derisively. “Uh-huh. So, what do you want?”

“Haha, look at you, straight to business! What else would we be here for but the rental? Gareth told me all about you. Said you were the kindest, most helpful soul in the district! Here, here—”

Jax pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to her with both hands. “Have a smoke, on me.”

Internally, Jax hated dealing with people like this—snobbish, greedy, and petty. But he needed to move in immediately to start planning his fortress construction. With a simple-minded giant like Barney in tow, sleeping on the streets was a liability he couldn’t afford.

“Hmph.” The woman’s eyes locked onto the cigarette. Her demeanor shifted instantly. “Well, Gareth’s got a big mouth, but he’s not wrong. Come on in.”

She snatched the cigarette and gestured for them to follow her into the courtyard.

The “courtyard” was a suffocating box. The open roof had been sealed shut with heavy concrete slabs, blocking out every ray of sunlight. It was pitch black and felt more like a tomb than a home.

Barney was visibly rattled. Since entering the city, the giant had barely spoken, sticking to Jax’s shadow like a frightened child.

The fat woman’s plastic sandals slapped loudly against the stairs—thwack, thwack, thwack—echoing in the silence.

With no ventilation, the heat inside was stifling. Jax felt sweat trickling down his back within seconds.

The woman shoved open a heavy door.

“Here. This is it. Five bedrooms, one common area. One thousand Credits a month.”

She crossed her arms. “Payment is annual. That’s eleven thousand up front—I give a discount for the year—plus a six-month deposit. You paying, or is your President?”

Jax hissed through his teeth, his expression souring.

One thousand a month? For this dungeon?

And a six-month deposit? What exactly was he depositing against? The air?

Jax didn’t answer immediately. He stepped inside to inspect the “goods.”

“Bare walls” was an understatement. The place was a concrete shell. The floor was raw cement, not even a straw mat to cover the grit. The five “bedrooms” were just partitioned alcoves without doors. The “living room” was little more than a widened hallway.

The single window was boarded up with rotting wood, allowing hot, dusty wind to whistle through the cracks.

“So…” Jax turned back to her, keeping his voice smooth. “Big Sis, here’s the situation. We’ve been expanding the team aggressively, so liquidity is a little tight right now. How about this: let us move in for one month. We pay the first month now. Once we hunt some beasts and sell the Cores, we’ll settle the rest of the contract. Does that work for you?”

The woman’s face dropped. The friendliness vanished.

“Oh, I see how it is!” Her voice rose to a screech. “You trying to pull a fast one on me? Get out! Get the hell out! I have plenty of people lining up for this unit! You want to squat for free? Dream on!”

Her voice boomed in the confined space. Barney flinched, gripping Jax’s arm tightly.

Jax patted Barney’s hand reassuringly. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t retreat. He simply smiled wider.

“Big Sis, you misunderstand! It’s not that we don’t have money. We invested everything into outfitting the team for a high-value mission. This isn’t a gamble; it’s a guarantee. Tell you what…”

Jax stepped closer, radiating confidence. “As the Vice President, I’ll make you a personal promise. When we complete this mission and pay the balance, I will add an extra month’s rent as a bonus for your patience. How does that sound?”

Jax wasn’t old, but he carried himself with an unshakable, corporate-honed confidence that made the woman hesitate. She eyed him carefully.

Finally, the greed won out. Her eyes darted around as she calculated the extra profit.

“Words are wind, kid. I need that in writing.”

“Haha! No problem! Consider it done.”

The woman produced a crumpled piece of paper and a pen.

“You know, young man,” she muttered as she watched him write. “You’re a hell of a lot sharper than your President. How did a guy like you end up with a sorry bunch like them?”

She wasn’t stupid. Surviving in the Sprawl required a certain level of cunning, and she had developed a sharp eye for people. In just a few minutes, she had realized Jax was a predator, not prey.

What she didn’t know was that Jax was a transmigrator. In his previous life on Earth, he had been a corporate climber. Reading people, managing egos, and closing deals were basic survival skills in the office jungle. Compared to a board meeting, manipulating a slum landlord was child’s play.

Jax finished the note, feeling a pang of regret for the cigarette. That single smoke had cost him nearly a hundred Credits on the black market.

“To each their own, Big Sis!” Jax laughed, handing over the pledge. “Thanks for the help.”

She waved him off, folded the IOU into her pocket, barked a few rules about noise and waste, and lumbered back downstairs.

As her footsteps faded, Jax finally let out a long breath.

“Finally. We have a base.” He turned to the giant. “Barney, go pick a room. Looks like we’re bunking together for a while.”

With the stranger gone, Barney’s courage returned. He peeked into the alcoves, his eyes wide, before pointing to the largest one.

“Jax! I want that one!”

“It’s yours. Here’s the food and water. Eat up and get some rest. I have to go out for a bit.”

After settling Barney in, Jax headed back out into the heat, making his way toward the Central Square to wait for the others.