Chapter 9: Those who Break the Darkness of the Night
Let’s move back in time a little.
That night, Hiroki was having his customary evening drink.
[Kuuhh———–! Beer after a hard day’s work is the best!]
Today’s trash hauling was a good workout for Hiroki.
Because of the increase in garbage Hiroki is receiving, he began using a large, wide shovel, one that’s normally used to shovel snow, but it bent under the weight of the garbage.
Thinking of that shovel again, Hiroki ponders if he should specially order a sturdier one from the metal worker where he ordered his conveyor.
After he arranged some snacks from the large refrigerator he had recently bought, Hiroki sat down on the sofa with a can of beer in his hand.
[Now then. I wonder what kind of appetite the hole has today……
Hiroki’s latest hobby is to watch as the garbage was being swallowed by the hole while drinking.
He has already installed a large TV-cum-monitor in his room so the infrared camera he installed earlier for nighttime surveillance.
As he stared at the hole swallowing the garbage, Hiroki somehow feels as if his stomach is getting filled up as well.
Hiroki wondered though…… Has he become crazy?
[……Well, I’ve heard that there are people in the world who eat their food while watching videos of cats and dogs eating food, so I guess this is normal.]
Humans could possibly have an instinct where they feel satisfied by feeding something.
The only difference is whether that something is “a dog or a cat”, or well, “a hole”.
However, Hiroki’s moment of repose was interrupted by a tactless buzzing sound.
[What? The alarm? Did another deer get in here again?]
Since the yakuza attack, Hiroki had installed his own security system at the waste disposal site and his home.
There were several reasons why Hiroki hadn’t signed a contract with a security company even though he had the money to do so: He still had the mindset of a pleb, there was an alarm system among the recycled parts he excavated, and he had enough knowledge to install a simple alarm system.
However, the biggest reason is that Hiroki basically has no expectations of others.
Even if he signed a contract with a security company, they wouldn’t be able to take down criminals, and since he was in a remote area, it would take time for them to arrive.
Hiroki thinks that it would be more efficient if he just does it himself.
The alarm system, which had been installed by an amateur and was second-hand, had many false alarms, but tonight, it seemed like it really had done its job.
Soon, several figures appeared on the monitor that was showing the hole.
[Who the heck are these people……?]
Basically, there shouldn’t have been anything but garbage in the waste disposal area.
So, if they were robbers looking for money, they would have come directly to Hiroki’s house, but it didn’t look like they were aiming there.
From the looks of it, they looked surprised to see the garbage being swallowed into the hole, and standing near the hole, they seemed to be arguing about something.
But just from looking at the image alone, Hiroki couldn’t make out what they were saying.
[What a blunder…… I shouldn’t have been so stingy with the surveillance microphone.]
Looking at the people caught on the camera, Hiroki grumbled. Should he go out of the room now and get rid of them?
[However….. I’ve had a few drinks already, and standing up from this comfy seat sounds troublesome……]
Even through the monitor, Hiroki could tell that their movements looked amateurish and their sense of danger wasn’t stimulated at all, so he just watched their silent argument in a daze.
[Ohhh. Are they going to start doing something?]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Let’s move the time once again back, just as Hiroki saw the figures on the monitor.
Alighting from the car, the unlucky guy was losing his presence of mind.
He hadn’t realized how draining it would be to travel within the darkness of the countryside with no lights or even the illumination of the moon.
It felt suffocating for him to travel with the balaclava on. Wearing it makes him feel like he’s being choked.
Aside from the unreliable night lighting at the dumpsite, there wasn’t a single streetlight around, and thus, the man could barely find his footing with his phone.
Perhaps, because he hadn’t been getting enough exercise lately, it felt like his legs won’t respond to his thoughts.
The scums who had been dropped off at the same time as him seemed to be in a similar situation.
According to their prior discussion, some of the members were supposed to circle around the waste disposal site, but not one of them seemed to be able to do that anymore.
Like a school of fish waiting to be eaten by their natural predator, they somewhat gathered around and walked towards the night light shining within the dumpsite.
[……That sure is high.]
[That looks…… difficult to climb……]
When they finally reached the waste disposal site, they were at a loss at the sight of the high walls surrounding it.
It looked like something an amateur would make, made out of galvanized iron sheets, but the wall, which served to cover what was inside it, was approximately about 4 meters high.
[Should we go around to the entrance?]
[If we do that, they’ll discover us! Use your head!]
They whispered such things to each other, but it doesn’t seem like they’re able to find a break in the deadlock they found themselves in.
[For Pete’s sake, let’s just tear this up. It’s made of galvanized iron, so we can peel it off if we flip the edges, right?]
[I see…… You’re smart!]
[Obviously! I’ll have you know, I went to high school for six months!]
The low level of content exchanged by the scums gave the unlucky guy a headache.
Making loud noises at night, it’s as if they have no idea how conspicuous they are now.
[Oi……]
Before the guy could tell them to stop, the highschool dropout and the dumb woman vigorously peeled off the galvanized iron wall.
After making a loud rattling sound, a gap barely wide enough for someone to enter.
[Nice job!]
[Oohhhhh———!]
[Oi, don’t try to get ahead of us, that’s unfair!]
And so, one by one, the other optimistic bunch dove into the gap in the wall.
Looking at them, the unlucky guy could only shake his head. His head starts to ache again, thinking how he’s grouped up with a bunch of idiots……
He hesitated for a few moments, but in the end, the amount of money he owed the tortoiseshell glasses pushed him towards his doom.
“I’ll do this. I’ll grasp luck myself! I’m not like these scums!”
Psyching himself up with determination, in the end, he vigorously passed through the gap in the galvanized iron wall.
As he passed through the wall, he felt the jagged corner of the galvanized iron on his balaclava.
At the same time, the second-hand motion sensors that Hiroki had installed along the galvanized iron wall sent the information about the “group that intercepted the infrared rays” through the alarm system.