Kill the Sun Chapter 4 - 4 – Zephyx

Shortly after, three individuals emerged from the throng of people.

Each was a tall, powerfully built man, and all three were dressed in identical attire.

Their clothing resembled black military uniforms accented with grey sleeves.

This was the signature uniform of the Insurance Gang.

"Welcome," the Insurance Gang's leader greeted them, offering a courteous smile.

In response, one of the five city agents simply held out a hand, gesturing for what was owed.

"Of course," the leader replied.

Moments later, he produced a suitcase, flipped it open, and presented it to the agent.

The case was filled with neat stacks of paper credits.

The city agent spent several minutes meticulously counting the currency.

"474," he declared, his voice sounding metallic and distorted.

Upon hearing this, the Insurance Gang leader grew visibly anxious, and his polite expression faltered.

"I beg your pardon, but the count should be 482," he countered. "Would you mind checking again, please?"

"474," the city agent stated firmly once more.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

The Insurance Gang leader glanced at the subordinate to his right and gave a sharp nod.

The man quickly pulled out a few additional bills and handed them over.

After counting them, the city agent gave a nod of approval.

"482."

The leader of the Insurance Gang nodded in return.

A moment later, the three men stepped to the side.

"Step forward one by one. Don't even think about trying to trick us," the Insurance Gang leader barked at the crowd.

Soon, everyone wearing black pins moved toward the front, passing by the three gang members.

The Insurance Gang checked each person and retrieved the black pins as they went by.

Ultimately, 479 individuals passed through.

The three members of the Insurance Gang then joined the line, bringing the grand total to 482.

Following this, four of the five city agents moved toward the less congested marketplace and ordered everyone to approach one at a time. The final agent stayed in the rear, keeping a watchful eye to ensure no one attempted to slip away.

One by one, the people in the marketplace filed forward, each surrendering a bundle of credits.

Nick stood up and navigated through the press of bodies.

Before long, he found himself standing before one of the individuals wearing a gasmask.

Nick turned over his stack of bills and walked past them, blending in with the other residents of the marketplace.

After a few minutes, only about 800 people remained in the area.

When no one else came forward for several seconds, the fifth city agent moved to the front.

"Last call," they announced in a distorted tone. "Anyone who hasn't stepped forward will be marked as unable to pay."

Not a soul moved.

"Very well," the man shouted. "As per usual, refrain from sudden movements and do not act aggressively. These mosquitoes are subordinates of the Blood Mosquito Specter; they will only take the amount you owe."

Fear and tension gripped the remaining crowd.

Suddenly, the drone of the mosquitoes grew louder as they surged forward.

The insects fanned out over the crowd and began to feed on the people's blood.

As time ticked by, bloated mosquitoes flew off to be replaced by hungry ones.

Some people wept or struggled to breathe, while others ground their teeth and whispered prayers.

A few had become numb to the ordeal through repetition.

After roughly two minutes, the entire swarm retreated to the five masked figures.

The people in the crowd looked visibly drained, their complexions turning pale and thin.

Finally, the mosquitoes swarmed through every building in the marketplace to confirm no one was hiding.

With their task finished, the five agents turned and walked away toward another street, leaving the marketplace behind.

The ordeal was finished.

This ritual took place on the final day of every month.

Once a month, every inhabitant of Crimson Fungus City was required to pay a 100-credit tax to the city.

The tax had to be paid in its entirety; partial payments were strictly forbidden.

Those who paid were left in peace, but those who could not pay were forced to settle the debt with their blood.

A team accompanied by massive swarms of large mosquitoes patrolled the Dregs monthly. If a citizen failed to pay the credit tax, the swarm would descend upon them.

The mosquitoes would continue to feed until they had extracted a total of two liters from an adult.

For children under 14, the requirement was 50 credits or one liter of blood.

Children younger than six were exempt from taxes entirely.

While losing two liters of blood wasn't typically fatal—and the mosquitoes were remarkably precise at avoiding unnecessary injury—it was a heavy toll.

Recovery from such a loss usually required six to eight weeks.

Consequently, if a citizen failed to pay the tax again the following month, their life would be in grave danger.

Earning 100 credits in a single month was nearly impossible for the average resident of the Dregs, but saving that amount over two months was often doable.

Because of this, roughly half the population paid in blood one month and in credits the next, cycling back and forth.

Naturally, many had tried to resist the tax collectors, but the outcome was always the same.

They ended up as bloodless cadavers.

In reality, the collectors weren't leading the mosquitoes; rather, the collectors were there to support the mosquitoes.

The human agents served only two purposes.

They managed the currency collection.

And they prevented the populace from panicking in the presence of the swarm.

If the mosquitoes chose to, they could slaughter every inhabitant of the Dregs in under ten minutes.

Considering there were over 2,000 people living in the Dregs, that was no small feat.

It wasn't that a single mosquito was overwhelmingly powerful, but rather that there were millions of them, each larger than a giant hornet.

Only about a hundred mosquitoes followed each collector at any given time, but millions more would manifest if the situation turned dire.

Furthermore, these insects were the minions of a formidable Specter known as the Blood Mosquito.

The rat Nick had encountered two years prior was likewise a minion of a powerful Specter called the Parasite.

Certain Specters possess the ability to dominate animals or manifest their own creatures to control. These minions share their senses with the Specter, allowing it to communicate and intervene through them.

While the vast majority of Specters are hostile to humanity, a few have chosen to cooperate and assist human society.

The Blood Mosquito was among those who cooperated.

The Parasite was not.

The Blood Mosquito derived its strength from human blood. It could easily send lone mosquitoes to feed on sleeping victims, but if it became too aggressive, the high-level Zephyx Manufacturers would hunt it down.

To avoid this, the Blood Mosquito opted to assist humanity, finding Crimson Fungus City to be an ideal location.

The city was named after the Crimson Fungus, the most powerful Specter held within the city's most renowned Zephyx Manufacturer.

Unlike most high-tier Specters, the Crimson Fungus lacked intelligence.

It was essentially a massive fungus kept within a specialized containment chamber.

Much like the Blood Mosquito, the Crimson Fungus grew stronger by consuming human blood.

In exchange, it generated electricity and, more importantly, Zephyx.

Zephyx was a versatile resource used for almost everything.

It could be converted into power, heat, or mechanical energy with extreme efficiency.

Furthermore, Zephyx could enhance the abilities of Zephyx Extractors and was essential for forging weapons capable of fighting Specters.

The presence of the Crimson Fungus was why the Blood Mosquito had settled here.

The Blood Mosquito assisted the Zephyx Manufacturer in the blood collection process, keeping a portion for itself as a fee.

The rest of the blood was fed to the Crimson Fungus to produce Zephyx.

The Zephyx Extractors would then harvest the Zephyx, retaining a small amount as their wages.

The Zephyx Manufacturer used the bulk of the harvest to expand their corporate power or trade with other settlements.

However, to grow and increase profits, the Zephyx Manufacturer required even more potent Specters.

And to secure those Specters, they needed more capable Zephyx Extractors.

This was the path Nick intended to take.

Becoming a Zephyx Extractor represented the only way to gain power and escape his current circumstances.

Nick was determined to leave the Dregs behind and finally secure a better life.