"That woman told me to hand over the video, saying she'd give me a large sum of money."

I wanted to refuse, as revealing her hypocrisy meant more to me than money.

But I knew very well that if I refused on the spot, that woman would never let me go.

If it came down to brute force, I was no match for her. I pretended to agree and asked how much she could offer?

The woman agreed to give me two hundred thousand US dollars and asked me to go back to her place to get the money.

I was drunk but not a fool; the moment I entered the house, they would definitely make a move against me," Benjamin Nasie said with a sneer on his face,

"I refused to go inside with them and demanded the money be brought out.

The woman went inside, made a round, and came out to tell me there wasn't enough cash at home, and asked me to wait at her place while someone was sent to get the money.

This was her third invitation to get me into the house, and I knew she was intent on killing me.

There was no way I was falling for that."

"I knew I had to set conditions to take the initiative.

Told her, to get the video back, she had to prepare four hundred thousand US dollars, to be paid at an agreed location tomorrow night.

Sure enough, when she saw that I was actively demanding money, she relaxed.

We were at a standstill for about an hour, but she finally agreed to my proposal and even took a photo of me, jotting down my driver's license number.

She warned me that if the video got out, it wouldn't just be me involved; my family would be too.

I was both furious and frightened.

I didn't care about myself, but I didn't want to drag my family into it.

So, I decided to compromise.

With this four hundred thousand dollars, I could afford to move to a different city, find my family, and start over.

I had hope once again."

As he said this, Benjamin Nasie's hands trembled, "Give me a cigarette."

Little Black lit a cigarette and handed it to Benjamin Nasie.

Benjamin Nasie took the cigarette, took a drag, and gave Little Black a sidelong glance, "Thanks for the smoke, but I don't like you."

Little Black flipped him off, "Fuck, I don't like you either. You think you're the original inhabitant, bullshit.

My ancestors arrived on this land two hundred years ago."

"Both of you shut up." Luke interrupted their argument and continued asking, "Did you get that four hundred thousand dollars?"

Benjamin Nasie glanced at Little Black and snorted, "I only got two hundred thousand.

On the night of March 30th, I went to the agreed spot, and so did Black Egg.

He handed me a bag, heavy, and I had mixed emotions at that moment.

Upon opening the bag, it was filled with green bills; I swear... I've never seen so much money in my life.

But when I counted it, there were only two hundred thousand dollars.

I only asked Black Egg why it was half of the agreed four hundred thousand.

Black Egg pulled out a silenced pistol and told me to hand over the video and take the money and scram.

I knew I'd been cheated.

These damned politicians had tricked me again.

I wasn't content.

But under the threat of a gun, I still handed over my phone.

I asked Black Egg where the remaining two hundred thousand dollars were?

He told me there were only two hundred thousand, that the amount was more than enough and that I shouldn't be too greedy.

Black Egg took the phone, told me to turn around, and put my hands on my head.

I was furious.

But I did as I was told.

Still not trusting me, Black Egg backed away, gun at the ready.

That idiot tripped over a tree root.

I immediately drew my gun and fired.

Black Egg returned fire.

We both got shot; I lost a finger, and Black Egg took a bullet to the chest.

Right then, I knew things had gone south.

My chance to start a new life was gone.

In a rage, I beat Black Egg; he was the one who ruined me, completely taking away my family and hope."

Luke pressed, "Where's Badman Pole's body?"

"I cut off one of his fingers and buried him at the exchange site."

"Where exactly?"

"At the corner of Park Street, in the green belt. I was in a hurry; the grave isn't deep, should be easy to unearth."

"Why did you cut off his finger?"

"While I was digging the pit, Black Egg's phone rang, and it was under the name Layli Harry.

I knew this wasn't over, and if Black Egg didn't show up, Layli Harry would definitely know something had happened."

She wouldn't let me go, she might even call the police.

"If I wanted to live, I had to take her down too." Benjamin Nasie clutched the burning cigarette butt in his hand, snuffed it out,

"I knew Layli Harry was a big deal, and once I killed her, the police would definitely chase me like mad dogs. I was afraid the police would find me, so I thought of using a severed finger to stage a fake death.

Since the finger was already severed, it was a good time to make use of it.

I used a knife to cut off the gunshot wound on the severed finger, so it looked the same as Black Egg's finger wounds, and I began my plan.

I had no criminal record before, and the police didn't have my DNA samples, so just a severed finger wasn't enough to find me.

But if the police did find me, it meant they already suspected me, and this severed finger might become the key evidence of my fake death."

Luke said, "Just a severed finger isn't enough for the police to confirm your death."

"Exactly, so I made other preparations. I cut off the fingers of Black Egg and Santos, both of whom had been killed. Once the police found their bodies, they would instinctively think I might also be dead.

Moreover, there was a large amount of blood in my house, all of it mine.

As long as the police couldn't find me, after some time they would naturally conclude I was dead.

I could then move to a different city and continue living."

Luke inquired, "We did find a lot of blood in your house, enough to kill an adult. How did you manage that?"

"You're right, bleeding out all at once would indeed cause too much blood loss.

But I bled three times.

The first time was after I killed Santos, and I thought of faking my own death. It was my backup plan.

The second time was when my finger got injured.

The third was when I left home."

Luke shook his head, "With such brains, why didn't you use them for honest work?"

Benjamin Nasie looked somewhat dejected, "I've always been smart, ever since I was a kid.

But society doesn't need smart people, it needs cogs in the machine.

Being smart allows you to see the essence of things, but you're powerless to change them.

Capitalists set the rules of the game; they need you to work honestly, create wealth, so you can exchange it for a little bit of living supplies.

Unless you're a genius, being smart actually makes life harder compared to the less intelligent.

They are more easily resigned to their fate, content with their circumstances.

Like Santos, he was an idiot, but he was more competitive at work than me.

My intelligence couldn't break the rules of the game, which made it more painful.

Santos's hard work could create wealth for the capitalists; that's the reality."

"How did you kill Layli Harry?"

"I revised the plan, prepared to go home and cut off Santos's finger, but the bastard was frozen, and I cut one off only to find the cut mark was clearly different.

Luckily he had more than one finger, so I had the chance to trial and error.

I put Sanchez's body in the car, turned on the heat in the Mercedes, and soaked his hands in warm saltwater. By the time the car reached Layli Harry's, the fingers had started to thaw.

That woman was so happy to see the car, she even ran out into the yard in her pajamas to greet me.

I guess if Black Egg had successfully retrieved the video, the two of them would have celebrated by playing poker. Truly disgusting.

I kidnapped her into the house, demanded to know why she went back on her word and reduced the ransom to two hundred thousand US dollars.

She denied it and asked me why Black Egg hadn't come back?

I no longer believed her and just shot her.

Afterwards, I searched the house for the remaining two hundred thousand dollars but still didn't find it.

These damn liars. They really love to lie."

Luke finally understood why Santos's body was buried near the Mercedes, "Layli Harry didn't lie to you, she really did prepare four hundred thousand dollars."

Benjamin Nasie sneered, "It seems that Black Egg really didn't die unjustly. Layli Harry also deserved to die; she brought these people to the city, it's her own doing."

Luke said, "Your fake death scene with the severed finger and bloodstains indeed interfered with the investigation, making it impossible for the police to issue a direct warrant for your arrest.

If it weren't for killing the dog owner Haiyan Zhang, we would have had a hard time catching you. Why were you so impulsive?

What great grudge did you have against her?"

Benjamin Nasie sighed, "Last night was the first time I met her, there's no deep hatred to speak of. Thinking about it now, there indeed wasn't enough reason to kill her.

I was impulsive."

Luke corrected, "The first time you killed Santos, maybe it was out of impulse.

But the deaths of Badman Pole and Layli Harry made you accustomed to killing, releasing the repression and the demons inside you.

You lost control!"

"Maybe.

But I don't think I was wrong. Don't you think they deserved to die?

This city needs cleaners, needs people like me to maintain it.

Look at what those immigrants have brought to this city?

Those despicable car thieves, idiots who sell their labor cheap, and those low-quality bastards, they've ruined this once peaceful city.

They've also ruined me.

I hate them.

I'm the real victim here!"