death of hope

Chapter 1041 "Psionic Storm" (114) Seeing Injustice

On Sunday, the sky remained overcast, and it was still raining in Shin-Sapporo.

Commuters hurried by under transparent umbrellas, roadside stalls erected colorful tarpaulin tents, and holographic advertisements rippled under the raindrops.
It has both a down-to-earth feel and a high-tech vibe, with retro disco music paired with pop songs, perfectly matching the atmosphere of a 'cyberpunk city' described in a travel brochure.

Leon Vilnius stood on the overpass, looking down at the traffic jam at the intersection, the taillights of cars casting dazzling neon streaks, the Marlboro cigarette dangling from his mouth damaging his lungs.

But he had completely transcended it and didn't care anymore.

They shed the base desires of fame and fortune, cast aside the airs of the Vilnius aristocracy, and retained only the most precious aspects of humanity.
The most sincere love between people
Let fate decide everything.
Everything is ready; let's get to work tomorrow.

·
On his way to buy cigarettes, Li Ang saw a group of gang members with 'dragon over the shoulder' tattoos surrounding a fortune-telling stall run by a Gypsy illegal immigrant girl, demanding protection money.
Before the girl even opened her shop and had earned a single penny, a beating began, with wooden knives and baseball bats raining down on her.

If it were Li Ang two weeks ago, he would have been just like any other indifferent passerby, pretending not to see anything and walking around them from a distance.

It's foolish and not worth ruining your chance to return home for a complete stranger.

But Li Ang was different today. He stopped and thought:

(If Yuna had my power, what would she do...?)
The answer is obvious.

·
Li Ang moved against the flow of fleeing people:

"Dude, stop hitting him."

The gang members turned around; "Naughty bastard! Mind your own business! Who do you think you are?!"

“Just passing by,” Li Ang said, hands in his pockets. “If we keep fighting, someone will die.”

“This filthy Gypsy is an illegal immigrant, and the security cameras didn’t capture it. Even if we beat him to death, no cops will bother us.”

“I didn’t see the camera, but I saw it, and if I saw it, I had to do something about it.”

"The great cause of the nest!" the leader shouted as he charged at Li Ang; "Who the hell do you think you are, trying to show off your abilities?"

·
The instant his opponent swung his baseball bat, Li Ang's counterattack was as swift as lightning. His punch, delivered after the opponent's movement, struck the ribs with penetrating force that went straight to the liver, causing the opponent to roll his eyes back in pain and crouch down, cursing.
"Ouch...it's broken...it's broken!"

"Cut him down! Charge, shoulder to shoulder!"

Gang members drew their samurai swords and swarmed forward, but Li Ang contemptuously pulled out his mechanical baton, pressed a button, and deflected it.

"too slow."

The baton's shaft is made of aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, making it lightweight, agile, and easy to wield. Its martial arts techniques were learned from a Southeast Asian short stick master, combined with Li Ang's top-tier static talent and honed physical fitness.
Every attack he made was a precise parry of the samurai sword, striking vital joints and knocking them all down in less than ten seconds.

Li Ang, who once led three hundred sailors to board a Spirit Clan pirate ship and killed a high-ranking Spirit Clan wizard in a one-on-one duel, would find dealing with these petty thugs akin to a complete annihilation.
"Wow...that's strong...I give up..."

The gang leader held his broken arm and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Hey Zei, who the hell are you? Which street do you hang out on? You're so tough, you must be some gang's top enforcer, right? Tell me, so I can understand why I'm getting beaten up?"

Li Ang casually lifted his suit jacket, revealing the Sakura Corporation badge pinned to his shirt and the laminated employee badge hanging around his neck.

"What the heck... a corporate dog? A corporate warrior?!"

The gang leader was terrified, his face turning ashen. He scrambled to his feet and limped away, his underlings helping each other flee in a panic. No matter how ruthless a gang was, they couldn't afford to mess with a giant corporation that was richer than a country.

·
"Big brother!"

The Gypsy girl suddenly knelt down at Li Ang's feet:
"I've been in Shin-Sapporo for a year, and this is the first time I've met such a kind person!"

Li Ang frowned: "Get up. No one in this world is worth your kneeling."

"Business has been terrible lately, I've gone hungry nine times in three days, and I really can't afford to thank you, brother... I only have this wretched life left... If you really can't help me, could you find me a hotel..."

"No need."

Li Ang interrupted the other person and examined him.
The girl was emaciated, with empty eyes and a hoarse voice. It seemed that she had already cried all her tears and could no longer even grieve. She just hugged her arms and trembled numbly.

·
"Illegal immigrants usually bring their families to set up stalls, how come you're just one?"

"That's a long story..."

Tell me about it.

“My dad said I was a bastard born from an affair, and he would beat me to death every time I came home drunk. My mom, relying on her beauty, married a wealthy old man in the village and didn’t want me anymore…”

Other relatives all said they wanted to adopt me, but I'm not stupid; they were all thinking about selling me to human traffickers…

I smuggled myself into this planet alone by sneaking into a shipping container, and somehow ended up here. I make a living by reading fortunes for passersby with a tarot deck I found in a junkyard…

·
"Hey…"

Li Ang sighed and muttered to himself:
"We're the same..."

"Big brother... what did you say?"

"It's nothing."

Li Ang helped the girl set up her stall and picked up the scattered tarot cards, placing them on the table:
"Give me a fortune reading. No need for nice words, just tell me the truth."