Chapter 322: Chapter 14 Divine Birthday
In Lorenzoâs life, which isnât particularly long or short, heâs seen many strange and bizarre things.
The things heâs witnessed, humans absolutely couldnât believe.
Weird objects that evoke fear, mysterious peculiarities that ordinary people canât look at directly, battles far more tragic than what humans know.
But at this moment, nothing is as thrilling as what he sees before him.
Lorenzo had imagined what it would be like to open the door; perhaps Mrs. Van Rudd preparing food, or maybe Hig sitting in the corner staring at the fire... In any case, it would never be this scene.
The small living room was filled with old wooden boxes, stamped with the emblem of a lion. Some boxes had been pried open, inside glimmered with a metallic sheen and a hint of gunpowder scent.
The familiar Mrs. Van Rudd sat on the sofa, holding a rifle that had been out of production for many years, with bullets scattered at her feet and many other weapons around.
"Wait a minute, isnât this opening method a bit off?"
Lorenzo was taken aback, thinking of stepping out to reopen the door, but Mrs. Van Ruddâs gaze caught him, preventing him from moving rashly.
"Uh... good evening."
Lorenzo said awkwardly.
This feeling was peculiar. No matter how skilled one is outside, capable of slaying demons handily, coming home to see your mom holding a rolling pin, youâd still instinctively shiver... wait, this is my landlord?
His hand couldnât help but reach into his pocket to see if he could scrape together rent.
"Lorenzo? I thought you died outside."
Mrs. Van Rudd glanced at Lorenzo, appearing unaware of the terrifying deed she was doing, then lowered her head to continue polishing the gun in her hands.
She knew Lorenzoâs background and that he was a desperado, so Mrs. Van Rudd never asked what Lorenzo went out to do, instead, as long as he came back alive, it meant someone had died.
The model of those weapons was very old, ones that served during the Radiant War, and now they should belong in a museum.
Lorenzo swallowed, and it seemed that Mrs. Van Ruddâs thoughts werenât on him, which emboldened him.
"Maâam, what exactly are you doing here?"
Mrs. Van Rudd shot Lorenzo a glance.
Lorenzo quickly crawled over, carefully avoiding stepping on the weapons on the floor.
"So... youâre really planning on launching a rebellion on such a fine day?"
He seemed fearless, whispering instigations into his landlordâs ear as he lay beside the sofa.
Recalling Mrs. Van Ruddâs previous dissatisfaction with city governance and her fiery temperament, coupled with the weapons scattered everywhere, Lorenzo could already imagine the script of an elderly woman, overwhelmed by her pension, resorting to robbery.
"Honestly, Iâve been irked by those bastards for a while... I can drive you, how about a 30/70 split afterward?"
Lorenzo said animatedly.
Mrs. Van Rudd paused her work and looked at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Robbing a bank, right?" Lorenzo pointed to the weapons on the ground, "A bank doesnât even have a few divisions; you and I teaming up, a male and female thief duo!"
Mrs. Van Rudd seemed even more perplexed.
"Did you hit your head during those days you went missing?"
"Huh? Then what are you doing here?"
Not robbing a bank, then why was Mrs. Van Rudd preparing so many weapons? Today was Divine Birthday, surely she couldnât mean to set off fireworks with them.
"I finally got in touch with some buyers. I intended to sell these things, but theyâre all damp; Iâm just searching for anything usable."
Mrs. Van Rudd said irritably.
These were the arms she had spirited away post-retirement, stored in the basement. Old Dunling was inherently damp, and without proper storage, most of these items were now unusable, leaving Mrs. Van Rudd utterly disappointed.
"And then?" Lorenzo asked.
"Thatâs it." She replied.
She pried open another wooden box, and after unwrapping the oiled paper, loaded bullets into a gun, firing at the wall under Lorenzoâs watchful gaze.
"Bullseye!"
The old lady exclaimed joyfully, then moved this box of bullets to another pile, jotting down numbers in her notebook.
Lorenzo found his thoughts hard to untangle, seeing the target almost blown to bits; how many times had the old lady done this?
Or was it that tenants resembled their landlords?
"No rangers showed up?"
"Itâs noisy on the street, no one cares." Mrs. Van Rudd replied. "By the way, Lorenzo, youâve returned at the perfect time."
Mrs. Van Rudd suddenly stood up, seemingly tired as well, stretched and walked toward the kitchen.
"Whatâs up?"
Lorenzo asked cautiously.
"Today is Divine Birthday... Hig!"
Mrs. Van Rudd blurted out suddenly, so loud that it startled the upstairs occupant. Lorenzo heard the thuds above clearlyâit seemed his roommate had fallen out of bed.
Soon after, Hig ambled downstairs. It had been so long that Lorenzo almost forgot he had such a roommate.
Higâs appearance had changed significantly. Although he still looked a bit sickly, he had gained a bit of color in his face. Lorenzo was a keen observer, especially given his frequent shenanigans in the Lower City District, heâd long detected Higâs use of hallucinogens, but now it seemed he had it under control.
Even though they lived under the same roof, they didnât interact much since both clearly understood they werenât cut from the same cloth.