I revived the Demonic Sect in North America

Fiona stared blankly at Li Ang.

Looking at the unwavering determination in the boy's eyes and the sense of responsibility that transcended his age.

Tears blurred her vision again.

But this time, the tears were not from despair, but from being moved.

It's clear that Li Ang has grown up.

He's a responsible man now.

Thinking of this, Fiona felt a strange emotion stirring within her.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and nodded gently.

"Okay, okay, Li Ang. I believe you."

Fiona raised her hand to wipe away her tears:

"But you must also promise to tell me about any plans you have. And don't do anything dangerous on your own again, okay? Remember what you said, we're family!"

Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders, and immediately promised:

"Of course, I promise!"

After chatting for a while, Li Ang had to hurry home to shower and change clothes so he could go to school at dawn.

Fiona fumbled in her hospital gown to pull out her coin purse, took out two twenty-dollar bills, and forcefully stuffed them into Li Ang's hand.

"Take this. Call a taxi back."

Li Ang looked at the forty dollars, his heart heavy.

Taking a taxi in the US is extremely expensive; not only is the fare taxed, but you also have to tip the driver.

Taking a taxi home from the community hospital late at night, forty yuan is barely enough.

But for Fiona, that's her food budget for two days.

Li Ang stuffed the money back under Fiona's pillow:

"Sister, keep this money, you need it more..."

"Take it!"

Fiona stated unequivocally:

"The subway at this hour is full of drunks and homeless people. It's too dangerous for you to go home alone. Absolutely not!"

"Don't be nervous, my dear silly sister. Don't forget, before you adopted me, I grew up on the streets of the South Bronx (a notorious impoverished area in the United States)."

Li Ang softened his tone and affectionately patted Fiona's head:

"This is New York, after all, the most developed city in the world. There are police officers patrolling the station 24 hours a day. Besides, look at me—"

He tugged at his faded old T-shirt and jeans, and laughed:

"I look like a poor student, with no more than fifteen dollars on me. Nobody would be interested in me."

Fiona wanted to persist, but Leon didn't want to continue the tug-of-war with her.

He leaned down and gently hugged Fiona, then quickly kissed her forehead.

Without further hesitation, he turned and quickly left the ward.

As Li Ang stepped out of the hospital, the rain had stopped, and the cold wind of the early morning made him shiver.

Actually, Li Ang had just lied to Fiona; he had no intention of taking the subway at all.

The subway fare to get home from the community hospital starts at $2.9.

Li Ang is currently preoccupied with Fiona's medical bills and is unwilling to pay them.

He didn't dare to do what his friend did and buy things for free, because if he got caught evading subway fares, it would leave a lifelong stain on his credit record and affect his future college applications and background checks.

Li Ang didn't want to disappoint Fiona.

Fortunately, it was less than ten kilometers from the community hospital to his home, so Li Ang decided to run back.

The Bronx was quiet in the early morning, with only Leon's footsteps echoing in the empty streets.

Occasionally, you might see a few night taxis drive by, their headlights piercing the night before quickly disappearing into the intersection.

Li Ang dared not slow down.

Firstly, I wanted to get home as soon as possible to change my clothes, fearing I would miss my early morning classes at school.

Secondly, the streets of New York at night are indeed not safe.

The Bronx, in particular, is the poorest borough in New York City.

The area is predominantly inhabited by Black and Hispanic people, with a diverse mix of races and only a small number of middle-class residents.

The entire administrative district suffers from extremely high unemployment, overcrowded housing, inadequate infrastructure, and a persistently high crime rate.

What Li Ang saw and heard along the way was exactly as Fiona had feared.

The streets are filled with drunkards, prostitutes, drug addicts who are like walking corpses, or homeless people lying down and urinating wherever they please.

The air was thick with the smell of marijuana leaves and the pungent stench of urine.

If it were the first time seeing such a street scene, it would indeed be quite frightening.

After running for nearly an hour, Li Ang's breathing remained steady and even.

After turning the next corner, the iconic gray stone building of the Bronx Police Department came into view.

Across the street from the police station, a 24-hour 7-Eleven convenience store's lights stay on all night, like a lonely island in a dark ocean.

A familiar figure emerged from the convenience store, carrying a steaming cup of coffee, the walkie-talkie on his shoulder crackling intermittently.

It was none other than the beautiful policewoman Karen Jackson.

Karen looked up and saw Li Ang running up to her.

She blinked, thinking she was hallucinating from staying up all night.

"Hey, Li Ang, is that you?"

Li Ang gradually slowed his pace, taking small, quick steps as he crossed the road towards Karen, waving as he did so:

"Wow, Miss Karen! It's nice to see you again. Perhaps I should say good morning?"

Karen was initially surprised, then, as if struck by a thought, her ears turned slightly red, and she asked:

"What are you doing here? Did you come here specifically to see me?"

Li Ang shook his head and smiled:

"No, Miss Karen, I just got back from the hospital and was going home to change my clothes before going to school. I just happened to be passing by the police station."

"Oh, I see..."

Karen realized she had been presumptuous and quickly and awkwardly straightened her bangs.

However, the next moment, she exclaimed in surprise:

"Wait, Li Ang, you said you ran here from the hospital?"

"Yes, Miss Karen."

"It's more than eight kilometers from the hospital, right? You ran all the way here? You can run like that!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Karen. I was the starting quarterback on my school's football team in junior high, so my physical fitness was pretty good."

Karen was even more astonished:

"Wow! Chinese-American? The starting quarterback for the school football team? That's so cool! Are you still there?"

Li Ang shrugged and smiled calmly:

"That's no longer the case. My physical development can't keep up with my teammates, so I can only be a substitute."

"Okay, that's how Asians are..."

Karen realized her mistake as soon as she spoke and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, Li Ang..."

"It's alright, Miss Karen, what you said is true."

"But I really shouldn't have said that. Um, I meant to ask, so you chose to run home to improve your fitness?"

Li Ang showed no embarrassment and calmly said:

"Well, you could say that, but the main reason is to save money. You know, compared to Washington or Chicago, New York subway tickets aren't exactly good value for money."

Karen fell silent; she hadn't expected this answer.

She is a kind girl who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and Li Ang's honesty makes her feel sorry for him.

Karen hesitated for a moment, then turned and opened the convenience store door, the bell on the door ringing crisply.

"Come in. I'll offer you something to eat and something hot to drink."

"Really? Thank you so much, Miss Karen!"

Li Ang's eyes lit up, and without the slightest hesitation, he readily agreed.

The two walked into the bright convenience store, where the warm air was filled with the aroma of coffee and hot dogs.

Karen walked to the counter, nodded to the drowsy night shift clerk, and then turned to Li Ang, saying:

"Take whatever you want to eat, it's on me."

Li Ang glanced at the dazzling array of sandwiches in the refrigerated display case and exclaimed in delight:

"Wow, that's cool, Miss Karen, you're such a kind person!"

For some reason, Karen always felt particularly pleased when Li Ang praised her.

She pressed her lips together slightly and said calmly:

"Don't mention it. After all, if we hadn't taken down that underground club, you wouldn't have lost your part-time pay tonight. Consider this my way of compensating you on behalf of the NYPD."