The male supporting character was actually myself.

Remember what we learned on the battlefield—division of labor and teamwork.

Ed took a couple of gulps of wine, muttered curses, and went out the door.

“Come on, Daniel, you need to learn how to inspect goods.” Joyce tilted her head, gesturing for him to follow.

Jiang Chen sat there without shaking his head and smiled, "What you said earlier is very true: division of labor and teamwork. Obviously, I'm not good at handling those goods."

You'll have to worry more about the business.

"Which aspect do you want to be in charge of? I'll have someone show you around."

He stood up, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and smiled at Joyce, who was about to leave, saying, "I want to help you expand your territory; you be the head of the family."

“I understand. You still want to be a brave warrior.” Joyce pursed her lips without objecting. “Take a look around our territory for the next couple of days, and we’ll talk again later.”

The little white cat felt that its CPU was completely insufficient to run after entering this mission world.

They knew every word, but what they were saying seemed a little hard to understand.

"Host, what should we do now?" it asked, bewildered.

Jiang Chen had already taken the script into his hands and was carefully reading it. After completing the previous task, only one sentence was updated: "One week later, in order to rescue the protagonist Joyce, the host died in a chaotic battle."

"At least they told us the reason before, but this time they didn't even explain what the plot is about to happen." He looked at the script's exploration progress of eight percent, closed the script, and replied in a low voice, "Of course, we should explore the plot first."

Unlock characters and figure out the general situation.

Only in this way can we know what will happen a week from now.

"Oh," the little white cat said, completely bewildered, "Where do I begin?"

“Of course, it’s this bar.” Jiang Chen smiled slightly. “For the next mission world, let’s choose a modern one. You haven’t played games in a long time, have you? You can try an adventure puzzle game, just like this mission world. It’s quite fun.”

The fluffy little ball blinked its big eyes and nodded, "Okay, host!"

The Blue Shell Bar wasn't open for business yet in the morning.

The waiter on duty, Merritt, was a tall, thin man in his early twenties with a sallow complexion and sparse chestnut curly hair. He had a large Adam's apple and a deep voice. At that moment, he was wiping the table with his hands, which had slightly protruding knuckles.

"Good morning, Mr. Owen." Merritt had obviously washed up and looked much more refreshed.

He greeted Jiang Chen respectfully, his eyes cautious and careful not to look directly at him. While busy, he apologized to him, "I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't know you would be here so early in the morning."

After all, I've never worked the early shift before.

I went to bed too late last night and overslept.

I was a little nervous when I saw Mr. Irving, so I didn't recognize you at first glance.

I promise I will never do it again.

Jiang Chen sat down at the bar and chatted casually with the newly unlocked young man for a while.

Chapter Nine: The Blonde Girl Appears

Like many young people who yearn for gangster adventures, Merritt had heard the heroic stories of the Owen family since childhood and wanted to join them, but Joyce was strict and picky in choosing his subordinates.

He had some asthma; and he was the only male in his family—his father had died on the battlefield, leaving only his three older sisters and mother.

Merritt clearly doesn't fit the criteria for joining a gang.

Undeterred by the rejection, he compromised and applied for a job as a waiter at Blue Shell Bar.

Although he wasn't a member of the gang, he was already very satisfied to be able to see the dashing Mr. and Ms. Owen up close every day, serve them drinks, and occasionally exchange a few words with them.

From the conversation and the duty roster posted behind the bar, it's clear that Joyce is a cautious person.

If Ed hadn't gotten drunk and made those arrangements last night, Merritt, who isn't affiliated with the gang, wouldn't have had any chance to come into contact with the new "goods."

Even though he was on duty today, all he knew was that Mr. Owen had some things to take care of early in the morning.

This way, message leaks can be controlled to the greatest extent possible.

After leaving the Blue Shell Bar, Jiang Chen wandered around and chatted with many workers and residents.

They all treated the man from the Irving family with a respectful yet slightly fearful attitude, but it was clear that the Irving family had a very good reputation in the area.

There was even an elderly woman who kept using the term "good man," and Jiang Chen could tell from her body language that it was truly from the bottom of her heart.

"Oliver's got some skill." After walking around for a while, Jiang Chen's leather boots clattered on the cobblestones as he said softly, "The sentries weren't lying; they really didn't notice the other side infiltrating."

The fake police in the Finnan port area had no idea about this.

The only thing that can be confirmed is Oliver's identity.

A former special commissioner of inspection, now investigating the loss of smuggled arms.

I'd guess he plays for the current leader of Amherst County.

The little white cat's brain was overloaded, and dark circles were appearing in its two big eyes. "Host, the characters are too complicated, I'm a little dizzy. You go ahead and do your work, I'll take a nap..."

In the late afternoon, Ed stormed in, pushing open the door and yelling at April, "What are you two up to behind my back now?"

What was Mrs. Smith's letter of introduction?

What kind of household cleaner;

Bella... what a load of nonsense!

Can anyone tell me what happened?

Why is there a pretty blonde girl outside saying all sorts of strange things to me?

The hidden office where underground horse racing betting was located suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.

The women were sitting around the desk in the finance office, calculating the accounts;

Benson, along with his trusted henchmen, is accepting bets.

Jiang Chen was busy tallying the number of bets placed on each horse that day;

Joyce was arranging how to control the horses, choosing which one to win and which one to lose.

This is a technical job; it needs to be arranged to look natural and realistic, and also has a rhythm that can drive bettors to place crazy bets.

You really can't do this job without some talent and brains.

Judging from the accounts, Joyce did a good job.

“Oh, damn it!” April gestured with a hint of exasperation as she put down her cigarette and explained to the onlookers, “I need to hire a cleaning lady for your three brothers’ place so that your rooms look presentable.”

Mrs. Smith introduced me to a very reliable girl.

It must be that girl named Bella Wasor who applied for the job.

I need to go check it out.

If you pass the assessment, she will be responsible for cleaning the three of your living rooms.

Joyce shrugged and continued to look intently at the documents in his hands.

Everyone else got back to work, but Ed grumbled unhappily, "Why didn't you tell me? Am I really the head of the Owen family?"

“That’s women’s business.” April rolled her eyes and straightened her luxurious fur coat, retorting with dissatisfaction, “She’s just a cleaning lady, Ed, do you really care?”

The last cleaning lady, Maggie, cleaned your rooms for ten years. Do you know when she started work or what her responsibilities were?

Lily propped her chin on her left hand, tilted her head and looked at her older brother, saying, "Perhaps it's because this Miss Bella is very beautiful, otherwise why would you care so much, brother?"

Ed widened his bloodshot eyes, "For God's sake, Lily, don't be so blunt."

"Just as I expected." Lily shrugged and continued writing the accounting statements.

The spacious office was filled with a relaxed atmosphere, and even Joyce smiled and shook her head, "A pretty cleaning lady..."

But when April brought in a girl named Bell Wasor to introduce to the three brothers after dinner, Joyce couldn't laugh.

"Oh no, we're doomed!" the little white cat muttered under its breath, "It seems like the type that the host likes, but your two older brothers probably like it too."

A beautiful girl with long, fluffy, golden curly hair stood at the door.

Her large, lake-blue eyes looked serene and peaceful;

Her small, pert nose looked as if it had been sculpted.

Rosy lips are like delicate rose petals glistening with morning dew.

She is tall and slender, with a perfect figure. Even in a simple and elegant blue dress, her refined气质 (qi zhi, a kind of inner elegance or grace) shines through.

Especially when the bright lights shine on her, her golden hair shines slightly, and paired with her smiling face, she looks like a beautiful oil painting.

"A cleaning lady? April, you've decided to keep her?" Joyce was clearly surprised by the woman's beauty, her gaze lingering on her face for three seconds without looking away.

He then nodded in agreement.

"When did you start working again?" Ed glanced at his two brothers, stroked his dark brown mustache, and asked with interest.

Bella's voice was soft and charming, "Every day from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.; from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.".

I rented a small room not far from here, and I promise to clean it on time so as not to take up too much of the gentlemen's time.

Aunt April gave them a brief introduction, showed Bella around the rooms, explained some precautions, and then left with her.

“I won’t deny April’s judgment, but…” Jiang Chen stared at Joyce’s face with a cigarette in his mouth and said seriously, “She is definitely not an ordinary person.”

“She came from the upper class, was well-educated, and spoke like a wealthy young lady from the capital.”

Joyce was clearly intelligent, but he didn't take it to heart. "Daniel, since the war began, many people who were once high and mighty have fallen from grace."

Those once proud young masters and ladies, as proud as peacocks, lost their privileged families overnight due to war and internal strife.

They have no choice but to earn money to support their families.

I was thinking about finding a tutor for Edmund a while ago.

She can play the piano and dance the elegant waltz, and speaks with a strong metropolitan accent.

Relax, Daniel. This isn't a battlefield; there aren't that many spies here.

In my opinion, she's just a down-on-her-luck young woman trying to use her remaining, pitiful connections to find a stable job.

The setting in Chapter Ten

"How pitiful." Ed rarely showed a look of pity, then left with a cigarette between his fingers and a bottle of liquor.