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

Thanks.

"Then the next step is... Hmm! Found it! Luckily, I didn't lose it."

Liao Ji felt his pocket, and then, under Brian's puzzled gaze, pulled out a silver-white business card.

That is

The Knights' calling card! It was from that time!!

Brian recognized it immediately; it was the "Sea Sand" incident from earlier that afternoon. Back then, Liao Ji had asked the knight team leader for his business card in front of everyone. Brian remembered that the captain had refused Liao Ji, but Liao Ji was very persistent and turned to another young knight next to him for his business card. This time, he succeeded.

So what does he want now?

"That's all for now, Uncle. I have to go. I'm leaving Irene in your care. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, tell her not to run around or come looking for me. Just keep sleeping. And you too, Uncle. In short, leave Aunt Nolan to me."

As he spoke, Liao Ji began dialing the number on the business card while pushing open the door and leaving.

But when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped as if he remembered something, then took out another cell phone from his pocket and waved it at Brian. This was the one that Liao Ji had previously stolen from Artur, a gangster at the factory.

“I almost forgot, Uncle, I recorded your speech to Aunt Nolan. So, Irene did do something stupid. You can discipline her, but don't scold her too harshly, and you're absolutely not allowed to lay a hand on her! Otherwise, when the tables turn and I play your heartfelt speech for them, I can't say what Irene will do to you.”

"And that's how I left."

Leaving behind a greasy, middle-aged man with a contorted and ugly face standing blankly behind the door, Liao Ji began to descend the stairs. At the same time, the person on the other end of the phone he was dialing finally answered.

"Hello? Hello! Is this Mr. Tamick?"

Chapter 43 Could you please take in... a nun?

Dusk Cafe.

This is one of the few stores in the affluent area of ​​the Black Hole district that can operate 24 hours a day.

The clock on the wall now shows two in the morning. Apart from a staff member who keeps dozing off, there is only a young man sitting by the window, drinking hot chocolate under the dim light.

Unfortunately, this peaceful scene didn't last more than a few minutes before it was shattered by the sound of a car speeding by from the distant street, followed by a screeching sound of brakes that was unusually loud in the desolate night.

The coffee shop door was pushed open again, and this time quite roughly. The clerk at the front desk was startled but dared not utter a sound because the person was wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Order.

The knight glanced around and spotted Liao Ji, who was deliberately sitting in a conspicuous spot. He strode over quickly and plopped down opposite the young man.

His face was as gloomy as it was at that moment.

"Captain Dulin, I remember calling Knight Tamik, right? How come it's you who's here now?"

"Stop talking nonsense to me. At 1:17 a.m., the Knights received an anonymous tip from a resident that a large amount of brownish-red mist was spreading in the southeast corner of the Black Hole, suspected to be a serious outbreak of turbid pollution. At 1:39 a.m., the Knights arrived and confirmed the death of Kaleva leader Falm. Along with the entire secret factory, almost all the gangsters inside were dead."

"The Knights found the only survivor at the scene, a gangster named Artur. After the nun kept helping him calm down, we learned from him that there were only two murderers who caused all this, and they were a very young man and a very young woman."

Taking a breath, Dulin stared intently at the young man opposite him who was still drinking hot chocolate, and continued:

"However, this afternoon, the pollution incident at the Hai Sha Bar involved a very young man and woman as the prime suspects. Mr. Liao, what are your thoughts on this?"

"I think this is probably the difference. We're all young people, but how come others are so capable of eliminating harm for us ordinary folks, while I can only report to the Knights for help after my family members are arrested, only to be falsely accused and interrogated as a criminal? Sigh."

Liao Ji sighed deeply, as if even the heavens were indignant on his behalf. A "tick-tock" sound came from outside the window, which soon turned into a "whoosh" of the curtains in the night.

It's raining.

"Family members arrested? Hmph, I'd like to hear if anyone in our little Black Hole is so blind as to be blind."

Du Lin thought the young man opposite him was playing riddles with him, going in circles, until he heard the next two words from Liao Ji's mouth.

"church."

The knight captain frowned for a moment, but when he realized from Liao Ji's serious expression that the other party was not joking or teasing him, Du Lin changed his previous gloomy and domineering demeanor and fell silent.

Liao Ji felt much more relaxed about this, knowing that he had indeed found the right person.

"That's great. As expected of Captain Dulin, judging from your expression, I don't need to say anything more. You seem to have pieced together the whole story."

"Please do me this favor, otherwise... well, I can understand why we killed those two young men from Kaleva. We can't help it, at our age, we're easily impulsive and act rashly. What do you think, Captain Dulin?"

Faced with Liao Ji's speech, Du Lin remained silent, as if he was hesitating and struggling. But just like the rain outside the window that was getting heavier and heavier, some things are beyond anyone's control.

The knight captain took out a pocket watch from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a photo of a couple. Dulin stared intently at the right side of the photo, at the gentle and virtuous blonde woman, then closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

"There is a restricted area in the church, the second basement level of the library, where no member is allowed to enter. Once, a young knight disregarded the order and sneaked in. He discovered that it was connected to an abandoned sewer, leading to a larger underground space, where there were many monsters, many terrifying monsters."

“The Knights leave the church to patrol at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. every day. Usually, a quarter of them stay behind, but due to the recent surge in cases, it is estimated that this part of the guard force will be temporarily reassigned due to manpower shortage.”

"Remember, the manpower transfer is only for this week."

After saying all this, Du Lin didn't care what other reactions Liao Ji might have, and got up and left.

But as soon as he stepped out of the coffee shop, Dulin discovered that a young knight was already waiting for him there.

After Liao Ji looked over, he narrowed his eyes and recognized that it was Tamik. The young knight who had arrived was carrying three umbrellas.

三把

The coffee shop door opened again, but this time it was done very politely. Tamik quickly ran up to Liao Ji, straightened up, and bowed deeply to Liao Ji in apology.

"I'm so sorry! I had some urgent business to attend to, so I couldn't come to answer you in person, Mr. Liao. My teacher, cough cough, Captain Du Lin didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

Seeing the young knight's cautious probing, Liao Ji smiled and said, "How could that be? Captain Dulin is a very good and responsible person. He has already solved my problem."

"Oh, that's good, that's good. Anyway, I'm really sorry. The Goddess teaches us that we must lend a helping hand to those in need, but I broke my promise to Mr. Liao Ji. This is my dereliction of duty. If you ever encounter any difficulties again, Mr. Liao Ji, I, Tamik, as a knight, assure the Goddess that I will put aside everything else and do my utmost to help you!"

"Thank you. I believe the goddess will be very happy to have a believer like you," Liao Ji said sincerely.

"You flatter me. I have to go now. Oh, right, this is for you!"

Tamik brought three umbrellas, one for himself, one for Dulin, and the last one for Liao Ji. It's clear that the young knight's words, meant to lend a helping hand to those in need, were more than just empty slogans.

Tamik only left the cafe after Liao Ji took the umbrella.

Through the window, Liao Ji could see that Captain Dulin, standing at the entrance of the coffee shop, was giving the young knight who had "acted without authorization" a severe dressing-down, probably because he was furious that the knight had actually come over to see such a "dangerous person" as himself.

With Tamik nodding repeatedly in apology, the two got into the car and quickly left.

Liao Ji touched his nose in response, wondering if he really looked like a bad guy.

Having gotten what he wanted, Liao Ji naturally had no reason to stay in the coffee shop. He opened the umbrella Tamik had given him and prepared to walk towards the church. Although Dulin had kindly given him two time points, Liao Ji couldn't wait any longer.

but

Liao Jicai had just come out of the coffee shop and hadn't walked far when he saw a thin figure shivering and huddled up next to a trash can in a corner of the road under the gray moonlight of the rainy night.

She trembled all over, hugging her knees and burying her head in them, as if trying to warm herself in the cold night. Unfortunately, the rain relentlessly lashed at her, taking away her meager warmth, and a gust of cold wind made her shiver uncontrollably.

tramp.

People like this are not uncommon, not only in the Black Hole, but even on Blue Star where Liao Ji was before. So after glancing at them, he continued walking forward.

Unfortunately, Liao Ji's pace slowed down, until finally, the young man stopped.

Liao Ji then turned back. Perhaps influenced by the young knight in the coffee shop, he sighed and placed his umbrella next to the huddled figure beside the trash can.

It's worth mentioning that, as the distance closed, Liao Jicai was somewhat surprised to find that although the other person's clothes were soaked through by the rain, it wasn't hard to tell that they were...

nun's habit?

Although he found it strange, Liao Ji didn't say much. After putting down his umbrella, he turned to leave.

but.

Unbeknownst to Liao Ji, the instant he turned around, out of sight behind him, the homeless woman—or rather, the homeless nun—by the trash can raised her head from between her deeply buried knees.

The young man's umbrella sheltered her from the rain, and she gave him a bright, happy smile, a smile that seemed both smug and proud.

However, these are all fleeting.

The next second, the little homeless nun transformed into a pitiful figure, shivering from the cold, and quickly stepped forward, grabbing Liao Ji's clothes with her dirty, trembling hands.

"Mr."

"Could you please take in a nun?"

Chapter 44 Rain

Feeling a not-so-strong but unusually persistent grip coming from the hem of his clothes behind him, Liao Ji was forced to stop and turn around again.

In fact, he had a hundred reasons to ignore it and just walk away.

But what can be done?

That's exactly what they hit the nail on the head; it might be the only reason that forced me to stop.

After all, she had once been a homeless nun herself, and she had said something similar to him.

But Liao Ji clearly remembered that the little nun back then was in a much worse state than the one now. She was barely clothed, emaciated, and on her last breath, starving. The reason was that on the way to escape the monsters, she had shared all her food with others, constantly overdrawing her own energy to heal others.

As a result, those "others" did indeed successfully escape to shelters in big cities, while she could only stagger and collapse, barely alive, at the entrance of a small, newly established settlement halfway through her escape journey.

I'm feeling a bit sentimental about what I'm seeing.

Liao Ji brought his thoughts back to reality.

He didn't immediately refuse or give a reply, but instead scanned her up and down, taking a second look at the nun who was sleeping next to the trash can.

Although the nun's habit was dirty and wet, it was at least intact, with no visible patches.

Her face looked pitiful and helpless, but her actual complexion wasn't bad. If the dust and mud stuck to it were properly washed off, Liao Ji believed that she would reveal a fair and delicate complexion.

Life has indeed improved five hundred years later, but not to this extent.

Liao Ji commented that even if Yilin had come to play this role, she would have looked more like a homeless person scavenging for food than the nun currently in the role.

"What's your name?"

“Mammalia,” the nun answered weakly.

"If you really are a nun, why have you become like this? Why don't you go to the church? In the Black Hole, or even in the entire Holy Kingdom, nuns should be considered one of the best-paid professions, right?"

When Liao Ji immediately turned the tables and began interrogating and questioning her, Maria seemed a little scared and pitifully shrank her neck. Unfortunately, this approach didn't seem to have any effect on Liao Ji.

Seeing that the young man was about to turn and leave if she didn't speak up, Maria hurriedly explained:

"It's because of me; my beliefs differ from those of the church."