Chapter 3: PRISONERS AND WITNESSES

Ethan looked back after getting out of his house. It was a big house, wholly made of stones. Then he checked the surroundings and saw the other buildings were made of wood and hides. They don't look as sturdy as his home, 'So, this is the advantage of being the fortress master.' He thought.

Ethan followed Muller while scanning his surroundings. They walked through a narrow passage beside an open ground where the guards clad in metal armor held the prisoners and then climbed a few stairs. There was a huge throne made of well-carved stones and metal on a stage-like platform.

'Damn, this looks like some cult, and it's awesome. A personal throne for me. Hahaha!!! It's going to be fun as long as they don't find out my identity,' Ethan sat on the throne while enjoying the situation, 'Now, let's see... I have to punish those two. What kind of punishment should I give them?' He thought.

There was a massive crowd around the open ground, cursing the prisoners. Some of them were hurling stones at them. It was kinda chaotic around the area.

Muller stood on the right side of Ethan, and a dark skin, muscular woman, was standing on his left. After searching his memories, he remembered her name, 'Allison. She looks stronger than Muller. Humm!!! With her and Muller helping me, I will have no problem mastering this new body...' He thought.

Muller's job is to oversee the resource department and base defense. He had been working in that position when the old fortress master was in charge, and after Boss took over, his job didn't change. He used his authority to secure a job for his daughter, which he is regretting now after the theft incident.

Allison is the commander of the main troops of the Drogos fortress. In the past, she was one of the slave fighters of the previous fortress master, who used to put her in a ring to fight cutthroats for resources. After the takeover incident, Boss freed her and offered her the job. She is one of the few lucky survivors of the nuclear accident who had experienced the horror of nuclear waste.

Ethan raised his hand in the air with bloodshot eyes. He was sick of the continuous screaming and yelling of the crowds, "Enough!!! Why the f*ck are you bastards shouting for? Huh? Is there a show going on that I don't know of?" He yelled.

Everyone stopped shouting and looked toward Ethan with fearful eyes. Then they lowered their head and slowly moved back from the open ground.

'That worked!!! I have the power!!! Hahahah!!!' Ethan was satisfied with the crowd's reactions. He wanted to look and sound as intimidating as he could. And he succeeded in doing that. He had never felt so powerful before, 'Old man and a kid. Let's hear the details first.' He thought.

"Which one of you saw them stealing with your own eyes? Let me be clear, not running with the resources, or you found some with them, but who saw them steal?" Ethan asked with a serious expression. His eyes were on the two prisoners who were trembling in fear.

One of the guards came forward. He was so skinny that he could hardly walk properly with the armor he was wearing, "I... I saw them around the storage house... Last night around 10 pm and caught them red-handed, Boss. I recovered all the food and water they stole." He said with a wicked smile while rubbing his palm, like one of those scammers trying to scam the target of their cash.

'Who the heck in their freaking mind made this skinny stick a guard? Anyone can tell he is lying his ass off,' Ethan thought.

Since Ethan was an underground fighter in his world, he had to deal with all types of scammers and sly people for illegal betting to earn money. He knew at a single glance that the guard before him was telling lies.

"What's your name?" Ethan inquired.

"I am Matthew. I am in charge of distributing resources," The guard replied without changing his expression.

'What the f*ck? Was this body's owner retard or what? That thin stick, tripping on his leg, distributes resources to others!!! This bastard is a scamming shithead,' Ethan was shocked after learning about Matthew's job, 'Bastard... Just wait. I will show you real hell very soon.'

[Flashback] [Ethan 26 years old]

Ethan had a bad past with scammers and liars.

It happened when Ethan was still a newbie in the underground arena. His new manager informed him about the bet and told him that he would earn more money for enduring each round without attacking.

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At the start of the ninth round, Ethan got angry and smashed his opponent so hard that he was forced to retire with a broken nose and a few ribs. When he went to collect his betting money, he was told by his manager that the deal was not to attack and endure, and he betted the money for 10 rounds. Since he attacked his opponent and made him retire before that, the deal was canceled, and he won't get any money.

That night, Ethan didn't do anything and went out with a calm expression and made his way toward the manager's house. He knew the manager's house. After all, he was the one who introduced Ethan to the underground arena.

Ethan broke into his manager's house and stole all the cash from the safe. Then, he took kerosine from the garden store room, set the house on fire, and left the area before anyone could see him.

Ethan didn't stop there. Since he was a professional hacker, he hacked into his manager's bank account and transferred all the money to orphanage funds.

There was a commotion for a few days as the manager told the police that Ethan was behind the arson and the account hacking incident. The authorities checked CCTV cameras from the surroundings and found no trace of Ethan in that area. So, the case was dismissed before it could start.

However, Ethan wasn't done with the scammer. He exposed all the illegal transactions the manager did in his life. After a thorough investigation, he was sent to prison for a lifetime as the evidence showed various crimes, starting from fraud and drugs to murder, committed by the manager.

The last time Ethan heard, the manager went insane, unable to bear the loss, and took his own life in the mental asylum.

[Present Time]

"Alright, Matthew. Come, stand on the left. You are a potential witness, after all. Ok, anyone else?" Ethan inquired.

Ethan found the situation amusing because three more guards came forward and said the same thing as Matthew, but none of them saw the prisoners entering or exiting the storage house.

'Ahh!!! I see what's going on here now,' Ethan thought.

Ethan got the gist of the situation. Matthew must be related to someone important within the fortress, and that's how he got his job which he is unworthy of. Those three guards must be his bootlicker and wanted to gain some attention from everyone.

'You bastards want to gain attention and be a hero. I will give you all the special attention that you have been yearning for,' Ethan thought with a smile.

Ethan signed Allison to bring her ear in front of him. He roughly explained his theory about the theft to Allison and asked for her opinion. She told him that she also thinks that the prisoners are innocent. After a bit of discussion, he ordered her to capture those four witnesses on his signal.

"Now then, shall we hear our prisoners' side of the story? Open their mouth," Ethan ordered with a stern look at Matthew.

Matthew didn't have the chance or courage to question the Boss's decision. He hurridly opened the prisoner's mouth. Ethan noticed that the three witnesses were rubbing their sweaty hands on their sleeves And, they looked nervous.

However, things got more interesting when he heard the prisoners' side of the story.

"We did it. We stole food and water from the storage house," Both the prisoners confessed their sins without any delay.

"Hahahaha!!!" Ethan burst out in laughter, holding his head, "I expected nothing less..." He yelled with a happy expression.

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