[Eden City - Industrial District Temporary Casino]

Wherever cheap labor accumulates, a slew of small industries related to daily life is bound to sprout.

Entertainment projects are severely lacking in Eden City.

Ordinary citizens under the pressure of high-intensity work and crime.

The dopamine rush from gambling is even cheaper than illegal chips and contraband drugs.

The little girl sat in front of the steps.

She looked up, her expression still wooden, holding an empty candy box and saying nothing.

In the distance was a stall for synthetic food.

She showed no signs of hunger, nor did she show the slightest ripple towards the hustle and bustle around her.

Until the Ghoul noticed her.

He was probably a newcomer to Eden City, whose moral baseline hadn't completely dropped, lacking experience, and watching her for a long time from a deliberately dark corner.

Even without thinking hard:

What valuable implants could be on this little brat? Her organs might not even be fully developed.

The Ghoul stood in front of the girl.

He blocked the light from the industrial district crevices and the girl's fragile, dumbfounded figure.

However, the next second.

Another person stood behind the Ghoul, almost overlapping with his shadow.

"Ugh..."

John strangled his throat, dragging him to the corner like handling waste.

He didn't consciously avoid the crowd.

The gray zone of the industrial district, ordinary citizens were used to it.

John was about to twist the Ghoul's arm off when he noticed the little girl who had been dazing was staring at him.

He hesitated for a moment, whispered by his ear.

"How much do you think you're worth?"

The Ghoul trembled all over.

Just feeling the arm with his neck, he could imagine what a tough character was behind him.

John received a sum of money.

The Ghoul scrambled away from the scene.

Bystanding citizens averted their gaze, whispering slightly regretfully.

John sat beside the little girl, speaking calmly.

"I will kill your father, but I don't want to kill you. Is there anyone else in this city who likes you, like your mother?"

"Dead."

The little girl's voice was very low, a bit hoarse.

She neither cried nor choked, just answering with her frail body, nearly hollow eyes, and equally bland voice.

John asked again.

"What's in the box?"

"Money, food, left by mom."

"Used up?"

John seemed to have figured it out.

The girl pursed her lips, turned to look at a steel structure house, and at the corner of the building, a police hovercar happened to glide past.

She withdrew her gaze again.

John sat back, supporting himself, trying to see the sky from her perspective—adults were too tall, precisely blocking the sunshine, while she bathed in the bright spot with dust flying around.

"Would you like to live with a stranger?"

John explained. "Ah, not me, outside the city, with the Wanderer."

The girl remained silent for a long time, curling up again, holding the box tightly.

Her eyes turned complex again, seemingly trying hard to understand the meaning of this sentence.

John waited for a while.

He asked the last question.

"Was it really your birthday yesterday?"

The little girl said nothing.

"Alright then."

John stood up, dusted himself off.

He walked towards the container the girl had looked at earlier, which indeed was a place for illegal gambling.

He exchanged the money from the Ghoul for chips, then swaggered through the thick smoke.

Sangbu had never won so much money.

He was so thrilled that he even forgot today was his doom, naively believing the Reaper would keep time and he could flee with the money before the countdown ended.

The people beside him gasped.

Sangbu nervously stared at the gambling table, only to find the round's results hadn't been revealed.

He sighed with relief.

But the next second, the whole world went black.

John showed everyone by gouging out his eyes with a knife, precisely slicing off one ear amidst the splatter of blood, then the joints of the limbs, and finally the neck...

He threw all the chips on the table.

Then he stared at the rushing Black Gold Gang members, as expected, after all, this was the West District.

The scene manager recognized John.

But he seemed to be a minor boss from Bone Shards, and in uncertainty, he could only make frantic calls.

John casually found something to pack the body.

Dragging it like heavy luggage, he grabbed a handful of cheap candies from the counter as he passed the chip exchange counter.

He called Jilead's underling, asking for help clearing the aftermath, promising a reward afterwards.

After finishing all this, John went to wash his hands.

The blood residue was severe, and his clothes were also stained.

He sighed, returned to the doorway steps, and put the candies he grabbed earlier into the metal box.

John picked up the little girl and placed her in front of the motorcycle.

He seemed like a calm human trafficker.

The hostage cooperated throughout, exceptionally thin, as if she could be blown away by the wind at any time.

A few dozen minutes later.

[Eden City - Whistle Community]

John brought the child to Qiao.

He smoked for a long time. "The one I lost was a boy, you brought me back a girl?"

"Should I take care of it? I can do the job."

John sat beside him, arms crossed as he spoke.

Qiao frowned, turning his head to look at him.

"Did you used to talk like this, such a jerk?"

"..."

Qiao stepped forward to check the girl's condition, noticing the cheap candies in the metal box.

"Shit, these have stimulants."

She tried to snatch them.

The girl, who had remained silent, squatted down, holding on even tighter.

Qiao stood up, thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Whistle Community doesn't welcome white people, even kids, the environment inside for growth is not good."

"Outside the city is a nice place, well-educated, equipped with everything, even a home-like warmth."

John chimed in at the right time.

"If you go back now, you can make Nando lose face in front of everyone and get a hug... Of course, it's up to you to consider."

He gave the little girl one last look and left.

[Eden City - Oil Drum Street]

A familiar time at dawn.

Nando called again.

John spoke first: "Is your biological clock messed up?"

[The day-night reversed mercenaries, can you tell me that?]

Nando retorted with a smile, then said seriously.

[I have to thank you, John, Qiao just brought a child home, the girl is very quiet, almost a female version of Dijie. Qiao should've let go of the knot, that's the most important!]

"Seems like yesterday was her birthday."

[I heard from Qiao, that child now only talks to him, ignores everyone else, but that's okay... Damascus will take good care of her, at least give her a lively birthday.]

[Picture]

Nando sent a party photo.

[Would you like to come over and attend?]

"No, I'm busy."

[Any words to pass on to the child?]

John was illuminated by the firelight.

In front of him was a burning oil drum, the fat sizzling inside, emitting black smoke, mingling with the aroma of fuel and meat wafting towards Eden City's dawn.

"Just say..."

"Happy birthday, I lit a candle for you."

[Task: Happy Birthday (Completed)]

[Reward: Remuneration (Consumed)]

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