Kingston's words amused Matthew. Before Matthew could bring it up, he had already called himself ungrateful. While he claimed he had no gratitude, he said thanks after Matthew helped him.
As Kingston kept putting himself down in such a manner, Matthew found it tough to ask for Plague Compendium. He could only play along for now.
"Funny enough, I just love helping ungrateful people."
Kingston shot Matthew a strange look before pushing his electric scooter into the yard. After parking it, he walked inside his house.
Not wanting to head inside, Matthew sat in the yard, mulling over his plans for the night. Unfortunately, Kingston's place was too bearable to stay in.
When Matthew was still thinking, Kingston suddenly burst out of the house in a hurry, stopping in the middle of the yard and looking up at the sky to the west.
Steam appeared in the west over the rooftops, resembling a trail of white smoke rising into the air.
Kingston couldn't help but yell, "Dammit! The factory's up and running again."
Matthew also turned his gaze toward the sky in the west. That was where Lifehaven Pharmaceuticals was. It looked like they were still unfazed by the threats.
"How about you take me there again?"
Kingston nodded. "We've got no choice but to go. They have lost their mind because of money."
As Kingston spoke, he went to grab his electric scooter when the sound of screeching brakes came from outside. A series of hurried footsteps followed, and soon a group of people showed up.
Wielding thick steel pipes, they burst into the yard, encircling Matthew and Kingston.
Leading them was a man in his 30s with a buzz cut, defined eyebrows, and narrow eyes. It was Jermaine Page, the Fuller family's bodyguard.
Spotting the two people in the yard, Jermaine asked, "Which one of you is Kingston?"
Kingston glanced at Matthew. Seeing that Matthew wasn't stepping forward, Kingston hesitantly responded, "I'm Kingston. What do you want?"
Jermaine sized up Kingston. Noticing Kingston's gaunt face and sickly complexion, he felt Kingston was pretty weak and shook his head.
"You're not worth my time."
Besides acting as the Fullers' bodyguard, Jermaine was also a trained cultivator. He hit too hard in a sparring match and broke another apprentice's leg, so his mentor sent him out to gain some life experience outside.
As he entered society, he thought being a cultivator made him better than the average people. But when it came to making money, he realized his strength was worthless.
Jermaine had all that talent but couldn't make a dime. As for the cars and women he fancied, he needed money to have them.
When he was frustrated and drinking at a bar, Eddie got into a brawl and got hurt. He jumped in to stop the fight and ended up saving Eddie.
After that, he worked for Eddie as a bodyguard. During work, when Eddie's enemies came for revenge, he took them out without breaking a sweat.
Realizing how capable Jermaine was, Eddie rewarded him with a car, a house, and a high salary to keep him around.
After going through several battles, Jermaine looked down on regular folks even more.
Even the muscular guys among the ordinary people, like gym trainers, were as weak as children in front of him. It only made him more contemptuous of everyday people.
Jermaine couldn't be bothered to deal with someone as weak as Kingston, so he instructed his men, "Take him out."
About a dozen men immediately closed in on Kingston and Matthew.
Upon seeing this, Kingston shouted in panic, "Who are you guys? We've got no grudges, so can't you at least tell me what's going on?"
Jermaine took out a pack of cigarettes. After pulling out one of them, he casually remarked, "You're not an idiot. Don't you realize it's about Lifehaven
Pharmaceuticals?"
Kingston obviously could tell the troublemakers came because of Lifehaven Pharmaceuticals. But as they closely surrounded him, he didn't stand a chance. With Matthew not stepping up for him, Kingston had no choice but to keep stalling. "Didn't Julian promise to halt production? Why did he still send you here?" With a cigarette between his lips, Jermaine mumbled, "Julian's a nobody. He's not even worth my time. The person you've crossed is a big deal and is way more powerful than Julian. You're out of luck messing with him."
Kingston glanced at Matthew from the corner of his eyes. Even at this point, the latter still didn't budge.
Watching the enemies draw nearer with their steel pipes, Kingston grew even more nervous and kept asking, "D-do you work for the Fullers?"
Jermaine nodded. "That's right. Tough luck for you. We came to Lambda City for something else, and you just happened to get in our way."
Just then, the attackers with steel pipes were already less than six feet away from Kingston.
Terrified, Kingston retreated a few steps. "The Fuller familyâ"
It was his last desperate attempt to buy more time.
Jermaine bluntly interrupted, "Shut the hell up! You're by the death's door already. Why do you have so much to say?"
He stopped Kingston's babbling and shouted at his men, "What's wrong with you guys? Are you looking to get beaten up? What's with all the dawdling? Get a move on."
As Jermaine urged his men, they immediately charged at Kingston.