Global Survival: I Have Endless Skeletons-Chapter 183: The Hollow Trust

Elara stared at her brother in shock.

Her eyes widened as if she had just seen a ghost. For a long moment, she could not even breathe properly.

Her mind struggled to accept the scene before her.

Is it possible that I’m dreaming? she wondered silently.

Have I been so exhausted lately that I’ve started hallucinating?

Even after reaching out and touching him, she still found it difficult to believe that the person standing before her was truly her brother.

Her weak brother... had returned from the Abyss in less than fourteen days.

How was that even possible?

She had personally watched him walk into the Abyss.

She remembered that moment vividly, the heavy atmosphere, the soldiers guarding the entrance, and the fear gripping her heart as she watched him disappear into the darkness.

To be honest, she had already lost hope of ever seeing him again.

Everyone knew how terrifying the Abyss was.

Even those who awakened powerful professions and possessed extraordinary talent rarely returned.

Most of them spent months struggling through the first floor before they could come back safely.

Some never returned at all.

Yet her brother, who had awakened the necromancer profession, considered one of the weakest professions, had come back in less than two weeks.

It simply didn’t make sense.

Is it possible... she wondered.

Maybe he never actually entered the Abyss. Maybe he just hid somewhere near the entrance and waited until it was safe to come back.

Her thoughts continued to spiral as she stared at him with disbelief.

"What are you thinking?" Thoren suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

Elara snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him again, her eyes still wide with confusion.

"D-Did you really enter the Abyss and come back?" she asked again, unable to stop herself.

It was probably the tenth time she had asked the same question.

Thoren could not help but chuckle.

He already expected this reaction.

After all, even he would have had trouble believing such a thing if their roles had been reversed.

"I told you already," he said with a faint smile. "I did."

Still, Elara’s expression showed that she remained unconvinced.

Inside the now-empty restaurant, the two siblings sat facing each other.

The other customers had long fled after witnessing the terrifying slap earlier.

The manager had wisely decided not to interfere.

With the restaurant quiet, Thoren began asking questions about everything that had happened during his absence.

Elara slowly explained the situation.

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

A week after Thoren left for the Abyss, the Hollow Trust had broken their agreement.

Originally, the organization had promised to give their family some time to repay the debt.

But after Thoren disappeared into the Abyss, their attitude completely changed.

They began pressuring their parents to repay the debt immediately.

At first, they only sent messengers.

Then they started sending gangs to threaten them.

Under the relentless pressure of the Hollow Trust, both of their parents eventually lost their jobs.

Among ordinary citizens, the Hollow Trust was a terrifying organization that no one dared to oppose.

Their influence extended across several districts, and even some local officials avoided confronting them.

As Elara continued speaking, her voice became quieter.

"They even tried to kidnap me several times," she said softly.

"But I was lucky... I managed to escape every time."

Thoren’s expression gradually darkened.

Elara continued.

"Their men came to our house many times," she said. "They destroyed our things... broke the windows... and threatened our parents."

Her fingers trembled slightly.

"One time... they even tried to take Mother away."

"They fought with Father when he tried to stop them."

Her voice cracked slightly as she remembered the scene.

"In the end... Father and Mother had no choice."

"They agreed to work for the Hollow Trust to repay the debt."

Silence filled the restaurant.

Thoren clenched his fists tightly.

The veins on the back of his hands bulged slightly.

A cold killing intent flashed across his eyes.

For a brief moment, the temperature inside the restaurant seemed to drop.

Elara suddenly shivered.

An overwhelming sense of danger washed over her, as if death itself had brushed against her skin.

Her heart pounded violently.

For a split second, she felt as though she might die at any moment.

But just as quickly as the feeling appeared, it vanished.

Elara blinked in confusion.

She looked around the room, trying to understand where the terrifying feeling had come from.

But everything seemed normal again.

Thoren had already stood up.

"Let’s go," he said calmly.

He began walking toward the exit.

"Brother, wait!"

Elara quickly stood up and followed him.

"Where are you going?" she asked anxiously.

Her face was filled with concern.

"Brother, don’t be impulsive. Let’s talk about this carefully."

However, Thoren did not answer.

He simply continued walking.

When Elara stepped outside the restaurant, she suddenly froze.

Her footsteps stopped abruptly.

Her eyes widened in shock as she finally noticed the military convoy parked outside.

Earlier, she had been too shocked by Thoren’s sudden appearance to notice anything else.

But now, her jaw slowly dropped.

Several armed soldiers stood guard near the vehicles.

Their expressions were serious, their rifles firmly gripped in their hands.

Elara’s heart began pounding violently.

It’s over... she cried silently in her heart.

She thought the soldiers had come to arrest her brother.

But to her shock, Thoren casually walked toward the convoy as if it belonged to him.

He opened the jeep door and stepped inside.

Then he turned back and looked at his sister, who was still standing frozen in place.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Come over."

"H-Huh?"

Elara pointed at the soldiers nervously.

"T-This..."

"Don’t worry about them," Thoren said calmly. "Get in."

"I don’t have much time."

"A-Ah... okay..."

Still confused, Elara slowly walked toward the jeep.

Inside the vehicle, she sat stiffly, barely daring to breathe.

This was the first time she had ever ridden inside a military jeep.

Her nervousness was obvious.

Moments later, the convoy engines roared to life.

The vehicles quickly departed from the restaurant, leaving North Docks behind.

In front of the Hollow Trust headquarters, a group of rough-looking men stood outside the building.

Most of them had strange tattoos covering their arms and necks.

They smoked lazily while chatting among themselves.

"When are we getting our next job?" one of them asked impatiently.

He took a deep drag from his cigarette.

The others did not respond immediately.

Instead, they looked toward the building entrance as if waiting for someone.

"This month’s quota hasn’t been met yet," another man said. "There should be plenty of work soon."

"We just need to be patient."

"You’re right," another man laughed. "Our last job was easy anyway."

"That family was completely helpless."

"Hahaha!"

"If they weren’t so poor, I would have looted everything in their house."

One of the men clicked his tongue.

"My eyes were on that girl," he said. "But it seems the boss already had plans for her."

The group burst into loud laughter.

They were nothing more than low-level thugs in society.

But the thrill of preying on the weak gave them a twisted sense of satisfaction.

Listening to desperate pleas, watching helpless families beg for mercy.

It entertained their cruel minds.

Suddenly, the sound of engines interrupted their laughter.

A military convoy stopped directly in front of them.

The thugs immediately fell silent.

Before they could react, a young man stepped out of the central jeep.

Silver hair.

Deep blue eyes.

His calm gaze swept across them.

Suddenly, the air twisted.

Whoosh!

Two figures clad in long black robes suddenly appeared beside him as if they had emerged from thin air.

"W-What—?"

One of the thugs trembled as he pointed at them.

The others stood frozen in terror.

The soldiers alone were enough to frighten them.

But those two mysterious figures appearing out of nowhere completely shattered their courage.

Thoren looked at them indifferently.

There was no emotion in his eyes.

He turned slightly and looked toward his sister.

"Are they part of them?" he asked calmly.

Elara was too shocked to speak.

She simply nodded slowly.

Receiving the confirmation, Thoren turned back toward the group of thugs.

His gaze was cold.

To him, they were already dead.

He spoke a single word.

"Kill."