On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

When she led Liao Ji to the entrance below the walls of the Black Hole settlement, the girl pointed to the large, dark crowd queuing to enter the checkpoint and said sarcastically with a sneer:

"If it were to become Black Hole City and be brought under the unified management of the Holy Kingdom Church, how could these gangs still openly collect tolls like they do now?"

Following Yilin's words, Liao Ji carefully observed the entrance to the fortress and found that the so-called inspectors did not have any uniforms. Instead, their attire was similar to that of the scarred man and his gang in the secret room. They wore leather jackets, with ammunition gleamingly hanging from their waists, and large tattoos visible on their exposed arms and shoulders.

With cigarettes dangling from their mouths, they chatted and laughed, urging those wanting to enter the settlement with their guns.

As long as you honestly pay the money, they will give you a token glance and let you through. If you hesitate or see that there is a lot of money involved, they will immediately stop chatting and surround you in groups of three or five.

With just a few burly men with guns standing in front of them, most civilians who wanted to enter the settlement, no matter how unwilling they were, had no choice but to obediently comply. Those who had made a profit from going out fared even worse; they had to hand over 30% of their earnings before being allowed to pass.

However, Liao Ji also noticed that there were two checkpoints: one for pedestrians and the other specifically for motorcades.

Compared to the unreasonable behavior of the pedestrians, who were demanding tolls as Irene had described, the passage for the convoy was much more restrained, with some vehicles even being let through without being questioned.

Seeing that Liao Ji had noticed the other road, Irene sneered: "Hmph, after all, those who can afford cars are either rich and powerful or members of their own gang. Of course, these cowardly bullies wouldn't dare to rob us openly."

Liao Ji nodded and looked away.

Now we're facing a problem. If it were the kind of gathering place I had imagined before, it wouldn't be a problem. But now, to get into the gathering place, I have to get past the gang. Although they seem nonchalant, I should be able to just pay them a fee and be done with it. But if they discover Irene's identity, that would be a real problem.

I could see Liao Ji's worries.

To this, Irene, standing beside him, wore a smug expression.

The girl patted Liao Ji on the shoulder lightly.

"Alright, old fogey, stop looking. Do you think I'm the kind of person who would willingly let these bastards—gangsters—rob me every time I come in and out? We scavengers naturally have our own exclusive passages for entering and leaving our settlement."

This is truly an unexpected surprise.

Liao Ji's eyes lit up immediately, and he gave Yilin a thumbs up: "I didn't expect you to be so capable!"

"Hmph, I've got plenty of skills!"

A few minutes later.

A secluded alleyway in a cluster of black dens.

The well cover on the ground shook for a moment, and the screws that should have been on it had long since disappeared. Soon after, with a "bang", the well cover was overturned, and two figures climbed out one after the other.

"So." Liao Ji, who had just emerged from the sewer, loosened his grip on his nose and was finally able to use his hands to scrape off the paste-like grime stuck to the soles of his shoes with a roadside stone.

He couldn't help but ask the girl beside him, "Is this the special passage for you scavengers?"

"Otherwise, do you expect us to dig a tunnel out of our own?" Irene shook off the rotten apple peel hanging from her shoulder, as if she had done this many times before.

Fine.

Liao Ji mentally retracted his previous comment praising the girl for being quite capable.

"Let's go quickly, the clinic is over there, about three or four blocks away from here." Irene said, about to set off, the girl was very anxious because it concerned her mother.

However, the young man behind her grabbed her arm.

"what!?"

"Are you planning to go directly to your mother like this?" Liao Ji asked rhetorically.

"I," Irene only remembered this when I was told that she couldn't show her face casually right now, at least not so openly.

Because they couldn't afford to go to the church-run hospital, the mother had to stay at a private, unlicensed clinic for treatment. The clinic was in a gray area, crowded and chaotic, and there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any informants from the Kaleva gang there.

If Kaleva discovers that the brothers they sent out to find the "heritage" are still missing, while he, the "guide," has secretly returned first, then things will be in big trouble.

"The better you hide, the later the gang will investigate. That time difference is enough for us to pick up your mother and run away from here."

"So don't worry, time is on our side. I'm sorry, but if your mother has a very acute and serious illness that could worsen at any time and be life-threatening, then we can set off right now without any objection."

Faced with Liao Ji's questioning gaze, Yilin shook her head.

"No, although my mother's illness is serious, the doctor at the clinic told me that as long as we raise the money for the surgery, she can recover quickly after the surgery and it's not life-threatening yet."

After listening, Liao Jing clapped her hands and said, "Then we're even less in a hurry. So, let's find a place to change our clothes and disguise ourselves, preferably in a way that makes us unrecognizable at a glance."

"Alright, alright." Irene thought the young man made sense; getting away from the gang was the priority right now.

But next

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's continue leading the way!" This time, it was Liao Ji who started urging them on.

The girl looked completely bewildered.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Our family!" Liao Ji blurted out with an expression that said, "Is this even a question?"

"."

Irene: "?"

Chapter 15 Past

Slum area.

Located south of the Black Hole settlement, the streets are full of potholes and murky water every few steps. When Liao Ji passed by, he could smell the stench of socks that had been worn for weeks, but judging from the expressions of the people there, they seemed to have long been used to it.

The roadside trash cans looked like they had been overflowing for some time, with flies and mosquitoes buzzing around them. Yilin told Liao Ji that usually a garbage truck would come to collect the trash only once every two weeks. This was because an epidemic had broken out in the shantytown a few years ago, and the cycle was shortened to avoid a similar situation from happening again. Otherwise, they might not see a garbage truck for a whole month.

However, even in poor areas, there are different levels of housing. What you see most often are densely packed shacks, just a few wooden poles and a tattered cloth. When Liao Ji passed by, he could see through the gap in the curtain that the space inside was only a few square meters, but it could squeeze in a family of three or even more.

A slightly better option is to live in a mud-brick building, which looks like a mud brick from the outside. Although it is still simple, it is definitely much better than a shack in terms of shelter from the wind and rain.

Finally, the most "luxurious" residence in this poor neighborhood is a small building that can barely be called an "apartment." Each building is about three or four stories high, but each floor has no fewer than a dozen residents.

The exterior walls and paint of the apartment had long since peeled off, and the ladder used for climbing the stairs was rusty and creaked when stepped on, making Liao Ji very worried that it might collapse at any moment.

Fortunately, Yilin's house wasn't high up, just on the second floor. For some reason, seeing Yilin still taking out her keys to open the door with its old-fashioned lock, Liao Ji even felt that the young girl was living too well.

It's absolutely true that happiness is relative.

Click.

With the sound of the key unlocking the door, Yilin reluctantly opened the door for Liao Ji. This was the first time she had brought a man home from outside, and although she was forced by circumstances, she still felt...strange.

"Sorry to bother you."

On the other side, although the girl had said beforehand that no one was home, Liao Ji still gave a perfunctory greeting before stepping into the house.

In Liao Ji's imagination, a scavenger's home should be a place filled with clutter, dirty and messy, with no place to even step. He was also prepared for all sorts of strange smells in the room.

However, the actual situation is not so much completely different as it is utterly the opposite.

"Um... should I change into slippers?" Liao Ji hesitated to leave as soon as he entered the room. He looked at the clean and tidy floor and the two pairs of slippers neatly arranged at the door.

Even though the slippers looked very old, they were still slippers! Liao Ji felt that in this poor area, the mere act of changing shoes before entering a house was astonishing and out of place.

"Whatever you want, my mom's not here anyway." The girl passed the shoes over without changing them, and combined with what Irene said, it was clear that this good habit was a rule set by Irene's mother.

After changing into slippers, Liao Ji gave the house a quick look around. He estimated that Yilin's house was about 30 or 40 square meters, but despite its small size, it had everything one needed.

The most obvious example is that this tiny 30-40 square meter space actually has two bedrooms and a living room! This is clearly not the original design of the house; many partitions were added later. It's easy to see that the homeowner didn't dislike the place, but rather thought about how to make the home better through meticulous design.

"It's a small place, so you can stay in the living room. I'll go in and change my clothes, and then see if I can find you something."

After greeting Liao Ji, the girl walked into the inner room, but soon, Yilin poked her head out again.

"Don't do anything strange!"

Liao Ji shrugged, speechless: "Do I look like that kind of person?"

"picture!"

While the girl was getting ready in the inner room, Liao Ji, who had nothing else to do, looked around the room.

The sofa with frayed seams, the worn-out tables and chairs, the faded tablecloths, the old light bulbs swaying overhead, and the kitchen faucet with intermittent water flow—many pieces of furniture looked beyond secondhand; in Liao Ji's opinion, they were the kind of furniture that even scavengers on Earth would disdain. All of this was enough to show that Irene's family was indeed in dire straits.

On the other hand, from the slippers that came into the house to the fact that Liao Ji's fingers ran over the old and dilapidated furniture, there was not much dust. The garbage bags that were neatly placed in front of the door and carefully tied with ropes were in stark contrast to the filth and disorder of this poor area before. This was at least a reflection of an optimistic attitude towards life.

Finally, Liao Ji's gaze moved to the wall in the corner of the living room.

There were many certificates of merit displayed there.

[Academic Progress Award], [Third Place in the Black Hole Mathematics Competition], [Excellent Moral Character Award], [Star of Creativity], [Outstanding Reserve Nun], [Passed the Elementary Mechanical Examination], [Model of Civility Award]

The recipient of the award was naturally a young girl—or rather, according to the time indicated on the certificate, she was still a little girl named Irene.

This really impressed Liao Ji and changed his opinion of Yilin a lot. After all, this was not peacetime. Unlike the highly dubious awards on Blue Star, these were all genuine. Judging from the signatory organizations, there were schools under churches and training organizations from abroad.

It is evident that Irene received a very good education in her childhood, but...

Liao Ji glanced at the date on the last certificate of merit and then compared it with the calendar in the room. A full six years had passed. If we were to use the Blue Star's calculation method, Yilin would have just graduated from elementary school back then. It felt like the story had come to an abrupt end.

The kind of behavior that involves displaying award certificates on a wall is only seen in parents, and specifically, parents who are very proud of their children and have high expectations for them.

Liao Ji looked at the most eye-catching photo next to the wall of awards, which was also the one that attracted his attention the most.

Was that a family photo?

In this precious photo, Liao Ji saw Yilin as a child, with a baby face, chubby and fair-skinned, her lips curving into happy dimples as she faced the camera, looking incredibly cute.

A woman with long brown hair is holding the little girl's hand from the right; she is clearly Irene's mother.

The woman wasn't wearing anything fancy or adorned; her upper body was simply clad in an old-fashioned linen shirt. Even with such simplicity, if Liao Ji were to describe her, she would definitely outshine many female celebrities on Earth.

Especially with her mature charm as a wife, coupled with her beautiful face and shapely figure, Liao Ji felt that Yilin's excellent genes played an indispensable role in her success.

The only thing that Liao Ji found hard to explain was...

So, do all wives like to tie their hair into a single ponytail and let it drape over one shoulder? It certainly makes them look more gentle and virtuous, but...

Madam, your hairstyle is really dangerous!

Liao Ji felt he might have found the reason why Yilin's mother was seriously ill.

At last.

Shifting our gaze to the little girl's left, logically, this should be Irene's father, but strangely, starting from this side, the photo looks like a large piece has been forcefully torn off.

Speaking of

Since he started interacting with the girl, Irene has mentioned "mother" many times, but she has never mentioned "father" even though he seems to be right in front of her. There are only two pairs of slippers at the door.

So