The next day, my team of conscripted workers met with Bee, donned the suits I provided, and set out to clean up the Docks. A lot of homeless people and drug addicts were living there, and they all needed to be evicted so they wouldn't pose a threat to my business. Since these people had nowhere to go, the replicators had cleaned up a couple of buildings overnight, making them livable. At least the living conditions there were no worse than the shacks the homeless had been living in.

Now, the Undersiders were using Bee's insects to locate people and inform them that this territory was now under the control of Black Cloak, and they were prohibited from staying. This first encounter was just a warning, but next time, my workers would start forcibly evicting people and 'escorting' them to their new residence. Those who resisted would receive a therapeutic biting from fleas, lice, and ticks to improve their cerebral circulation.

However, all of this was essentially just a warm-up, because our real target was the Merchants. This gang of drug traffickers was still thriving despite Bee's efforts. So, in the evening, when the Undersiders were a bit worn out from chasing homeless people back and forth, I presented them with a new task.

This time, I appeared before them in my 'human' form, but in a protective suit that covered my entire face and body. I brought six automatic rifles with me, based on Ancients technologies. Unlike firearms, they were almost silent, and the initial bullet velocity was over two kilometers per second.

"Well, how are you doing? Take these gifts." - I handed out the weapons to my subordinates.

I wasn't afraid of being shot with these rifles because each one had a friend-or-foe identification module and wouldn't fire at allies. Besides, my suit could protect me from much worse.

"Why do we need these?" - Tattletale asked, her bad feelings already starting to surface.

"For hunting the drug dealers, of course" - I happily confirmed her worst fears.

"Hunting?" - Bee, also known as Taylor, exclaimed.

"Exactly! When you were chasing the bums today, did you notice how many of them were on drugs?"

"Almost all of them. But that's not a reason to kill them!"

"But it is a reason to eliminate those who sell drugs to everyone, including children. A significant portion of all the homeless have hit rock bottom due to the drugs sold to them by the Merchants gang. You probably didn't notice, but today you encountered about two dozen members of this gang, and they didn't try to shoot you only because you didn't attack them. These scums have plenty of weapons and even more drugs, which they sell almost wholesale for pennies. So tonight, we're going to the Merchants den and will shoot them like rabid dogs."

"I won't shoot dogs" - Bitch misunderstood my words.

"I'm talking about rabid dogs that can't be cured. If you don't shoot them, they'll bite healthy dogs and infect them. Such 'kindness' will only make things worse, and many more dogs will die of rabies. So, now we're going to shoot all the Merchants. And don't worry, your suits can protect you from any danger."

I looked at the disorganized line of heroes, dressed in coal-black suits, or rather spacesuits, with bright LED lights. The camouflage was non-existent due to the lights, but the suits looked impressive.

"But... but... I'm not a killer!" - Taylor made one last attempt to excuse herself.

"Really? At least three dozen people have died from your bees' stings."

"What? No! Nooooo" - she whimpered.

"Yes, yes, and yes! And believe me, each of those bastards deserved to die. And now, enough with the whining. Grab your weapons and start shooting everyone. Move out! Bee, this especially concerns you. How can you call yourself a hero if you haven't shot a single drug dealer yet? And if you resist, I'll shoot you myself for aiding the Merchants. Because those who aren't with us are against us!"

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After this 'motivational' promise, we moved toward the Dealers' den. The Undersiders, of course, were not enthusiastic, but they didn't dare contradict me. Taylor was in a daze, trying to comprehend when her beloved daddy had turned into such a terrible monster.

In reality, this entire operation to neutralize the Dealers was carried out mostly by replicators. I 'dressed' them in suits similar to ours and sent them to surround the area. Not a single person able to escape this trap alive. Additionally, special jammers blocked all types of communication, so no one could report the ongoing massacre.

We arrived at the location and gathered a couple of hundred meters from an unremarkable warehouse building.

"In that building right now are all the Merchants leaders and their most powerful fighters. Your task is to kill every single one of them. There are no innocent people there, and if any are found, the rifles won't shoot them. Grue, cover the area with your darkness. We can't let them escape. Move out!"

Grue didn't dare disobey me and flooded the surrounding world with darkness. Then we moved forward, and I shot everyone who crossed my path. Usually, one bullet to the head was enough. The Undersiders preferred to just follow me, pretending they couldn't shoot their targets in time.

Indeed, the 'cream' of the Merchants gang had gathered here. Due to today's 'homeless eviction' event, the Merchants decided to gather a larger crowd and organize a counter-'action.' That's when I caught them. The bandits tried to shoot back, but mostly they just wandered in the dark and could only shoot their comrades.

The entire area was shrouded by Grue's power, but it didn't affect us because I perceived the surrounding world directly. This information was digitized by my neural network, and then the data on the location of obstacles and targets was displayed on the tactical screens of the suits, positioned before our eyes on the face shield.

Though the darkness muffled all sounds, and the shots from my rifle were almost silent, Skidmark sensed our approach and tried to use his 'superpower' to knock me off my feet. But before he succeeded, I shot him in the head, which he naively hid behind a concrete wall, thinking it would protect him.

Squealer tried to escape in her monstrous vehicle, but I shot her in the back, and armor-piercing bullets pierced her armored truck like paper. Moist had enough time to prepare and assemble a body of a trash golem, hiding in its center. Surprisingly, the material's durability was quite high, so even armor-piercing bullets didn't reach him. But then I used an under-barrel grenade launcher, which in a few shots scattered the entire trash body around the area. And with the last shot, I blew the cape to pieces.

"Now, each of you must shoot at least one drug dealer" - I issued a quest to my minions. - "Those who fail will be shot by me. And keep in mind, there are few drug dealers left, not enough for everyone. Those who hesitate or sympathize with these scums will share their fate."

With the right motivation, people couldn't refuse to complete this task. However, it wasn't that hard. The world around was hidden in darkness, and the 'targets' were displayed on the screen rather abstractly, more resembling opponents in a computer game. No blood, guts, or brains splattered on the walls. Bee, Darkness, Tattletale, and Regent each shot at the highlighted targets once and then calmed down. Bitch, however, set her 'dogs' on the Merchants, making them literally tear apart the last dozen survivors.

"Mission accomplished. Grue, you can turn off your fog of war. Upon returning to base, each of you will receive a couple of thousand dollars for petty expenses. You've earned no more. But Bitch will get five thousand."

Grue dispelled the darkenss, and the shocked Undersiders saw a scene drenched in blood. Dismembered corpses lay here and there, some literally torn to pieces. The group immediately doubled over with retching, and Grue covered the area with shadows again. Of all the Undersiders, he was the only one who had seen the entire massacre from the start.

After this finale, we headed 'home,' and the replicators began cleaning up the area. Nothing should indicate that a bloody massacre had taken place here. Ancient technologies allowed for the destruction of all organic traces and the disposal of bodies, leaving only a set of mineral substances.

After such a demonstration, none of the Undersiders could even think about resisting me. Even Taylor couldn't muster the courage to call the PRT or the Protectorate. Besides, I gave her a personal lecture on topic 'Purging human society from undesirables.'

The next day, the real cleanup of the Docks from all sorts of lowlifes and renegades began. I enlisted not only the capes for this task but also the dockworkers. The latter were to patrol the area and report any intruders to the cleanup team, represented by the Undersiders. And to ensure no one harmed my workers, I also dressed them in black suits and gave them weapons. Most importantly, among these dockworkers were replicators in the same armor, successfully mimicking as humans while overseeing security.

The mass 'exodus' of the homeless from the docks naturally attracted the attention of the PRT, and they sent Wards to patrol. The Protectorate heroes were at an 'official reception' at the time and couldn't be distracted to address this 'insignificant problem.'