American homeless people, surviving in the city

Chapter 153 Exploring the Past

"...The Rainbow Body...? Sigh..."

Sylvia pondered the word, remained silent for a few seconds, and then sighed, "Sigh, even though I know their names, I still don't know where they came from or why they've targeted my family."

"If only we could escape..."

She muttered softly, her voice growing softer and softer, as if she were lost in thought.

Lin Qi didn't know what to say either. Now, the two of them could only use their last bit of strength to lie here, barely managing to keep themselves from passing out by talking... At this point, nothing they said would make any difference.

Whether they survive or not depends entirely on whether reinforcements or cultists find them first.

After a moment of silence, to break the tense atmosphere in the cave, Sylvia spoke again: "And you, Mr. Lynch?"

"I've already formally introduced myself, shouldn't you introduce yourself too? I've seen you collect welfare meals before, and I've also seen you cleaning up crime scenes in that apartment building, but I still feel like I don't know you well enough."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi merely gave a bitter smile. He closed his eyes and shook his head indifferently: "Hey, what do I have to know? To be honest, I'm just a homeless person living on the streets of America, at the very bottom of society. Because I have no food, I wander around the streets every day, surviving on handouts."

"However, I wasn't lying when I said I was a crime scene cleaner last time. In order to survive on the streets, I have connections with the police and gangs, and I make a little money by working for them."

"Clean up crime scenes is one of my jobs. The reason I know about the murders and disappearances committed by the Rainbow Body Gang is because I have connections with people on the street, the police, and gangs."

"Um?"

Sylvia scoffed, clearly somewhat skeptical: "Really? I can't tell at all that you're a homeless person."

Putting aside the abilities I've witnessed along the way, just your willingness to save me even without knowing my background, and the unwavering will you've shown throughout, makes it utterly unbelievable that you're just a homeless person.

"Even if you were originally a homeless person, with your ability and will, you would definitely get out of the streets and return to normal society very soon."

"...Even if you flatter me like that, my answer won't change." Lin Qi smiled bitterly. "No matter what, I'm just a homeless man. Maybe I can get rid of this identity in the future, but at least I haven't been able to do it yet."

"...Could it be that your profession is something you can't reveal publicly, so you use the identity of a homeless person as a cover?" Sylvia was still enthusiastically letting her imagination run wild. "For example, I've heard that hitmen often call themselves cleaners as a cover for their identities. They carry a cleaning cart wherever they go, using it to transport their killing tools and to discreetly transport corpses..."

"Your idea is brilliant, but unfortunately, that's not my situation." Lin Qi was speechless; this guy's imagination was just too rich.

However, Sylvia's speculation did indeed intrigue Lynch. He couldn't help but fantasize about how wonderful it would be if he were a killer who came and went without a trace, instead of a homeless person struggling to survive in the city.

If that's the case...

Sylvia, however, didn't think as much as he did. After Lynch refuted her guess, she simply chuckled twice.

After a brief silence, she spoke softly: "...So, do you mind if I ask a question? Life as a homeless person must be very hard."

Lin Qi hadn't expected her to pay attention to this issue; he had thought that Sylvia, as a wealthy young lady, wouldn't be interested in the lives of homeless people.

However, since she asked, he readily agreed: "Uh... at first I really didn't adapt well. I was covered in chilblains, had no money, didn't know where to stay, and even faced extortion from gangsters from time to time."

"But soon, with the help of some kind people, I quickly learned how to survive on the streets. How to find a place where I wouldn't be disturbed to pitch my tent, how to find food trucks to eat from, and how to deal with gangsters."

"In short, if you don't waste your meager savings on things that only bring temporary pleasure, like those drug addicts and alcoholics, it's not that hard to survive on the streets."

"...But it's just about surviving, you know? I did manage to do some things through my own abilities and earn a little more money, but for the vast majority of homeless people, just being able to survive on the streets is already a huge achievement."

"The vast majority of homeless people don't survive long on the streets."

"...is that so?"

As Lynch calmly recounted the life of a homeless person, Sylvia didn't say much, only sighing silently.

After a while, she sighed and said, "Everyone is having a tough time..."

"Who can argue with that?"

Lin Qi sighed noncommittally.

He thought the topic was over, but to his surprise, Sylvia only remained quiet for a moment before curiously asking, "I have another question—I'm a little curious, how did you become a homeless person on the streets? Do you mind if I ask this?"

For Lynch, answering this question seriously was quite troublesome. However, he had a common answer: "...Simply put, I have amnesia."

"I have no memory of what happened before I became homeless. I only know that one day I woke up and found myself lying on the street with no clothes on me and no money at all."

"I don't remember anything from before."

Upon hearing this, Sylvia suddenly exclaimed again, "What? You've lost your memory too?"

"What do you mean, 'You've lost your memory'?" Lynch felt a little strange upon hearing Sylvia's words.

"No, what I meant was..." Sylvia murmured, but Lynch could hear that her voice suddenly became even softer.

In the darkness, he felt something warm suddenly grasp his hand.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I just suddenly feel like I really understand how you feel."

Sylvia's voice was exceptionally soft: "Do you know? I also suffered from amnesia once."

"I can totally understand how terrifying it is to wake up and feel like the world is completely unfamiliar. And to wake up on the street after losing your memory..."

"I completely understand how helpless you felt at that moment!"

Hearing Sylvia's exclamation, Lynch was filled with surprise.

...She also suffered from amnesia?

His heart skipped a beat, and he wanted to press further, but he heard Sylvia sigh, her voice suddenly hoarse as she cut off the topic: "...Ah, never mind. Well, let's leave this topic here for now."