Sparrow Goes Online
Although the first set of Sparrow was given to someone else, creating a second set was not difficult. In fact, based on Alexei's suggestion, some improvements and upgrades were made.
After completing the task, Henry immediately ordered the Sparrow Spy Drone to target his intended target: the troublesome kid who always caused trouble for him and Kitty. Then he witnessed a story he had never anticipated...
The New York sewers operate under a different set of rules. Here dwell all sorts of people and non-people, all struggling for survival.
Don't be fooled by United States's generous welfare policies, which provide unemployment and homelessness benefits; at least those benefits require government recognition as "people." Yet, in this land of democracy and freedom, there are beings who aren't even considered "people"—they live in the sewers.
The child, who had left the affluent East 49th Street neighborhood, walked several kilometers and crawled down into a sewer drain where the manhole cover was missing.
The lighting below was extremely poor, with many areas completely dark. If it weren't for the night vision and thermal imaging capabilities of the Sparrow Drone, it would have failed this test.
But the child skillfully avoided every obstacle or thing that might trip him, and kept moving forward.
His actions were like those of an innocent child who grew up in a happy family and was pampered, jumping in puddles in the rain while wearing a raincoat. Even though it was something meaningless in the eyes of adults, it could still make him laugh out loud.
What If...? this scene weren't in a sewer, if he hadn't stepped into a cesspool, and if he weren't alone, it would be a beautiful sight.
As he moved into a larger area, he began to see some human activity, including dim lighting. The visible walls also displayed graffiti-like patterns, the content of which were meaningless.
When he saw a piece of graffiti, he quickly squeezed through a gap in the iron fence and entered another area.
"Old man, I've finished my work for today, hurry up and give me my money!" the boy shouted at a person in a cardboard box shack. "And you still haven't given me the money I paid for being a witness and calling the police to put that guy in jail."
"Damn kid, how many times have I told you? The job's been canceled. Nobody's going to pay you for what you did." A limping old Black man emerged from the cardboard box shack, cursing under his breath.
"You said that What If...? I do well enough, the boss might give me an extra bonus. I've already done so much, without being able to do anything else to earn money. If you don't pay me, I won't have anything to eat."
"You'd be better off starving to death sooner, that would make things easier for you. Get lost, and don't bother me again. You're just like that other jerk, always coming up with ideas that no one else has said and trying to force people to accept them. Nobody buys that, whether on the street or here."
As he spoke, the lame Old Black was about to crawl into his cardboard box shed. The boy, displaying his indomitable spirit, grabbed him. Unexpectedly, the Old Black turned around and kicked him hard, sending him flying. You couldn't tell at all that he was lame.
The child, who had fallen to the ground, took a heavy kick to his soft belly. He groaned and couldn't get up for a long time.
Old Black didn't even glance at the person who kicked him, and scurried into his den without looking back. Meanwhile, other areas heard the commotion and could be heard rustling, clearly indicating that they were all watching.
Knowing that collapsing in such a place meant there would be no chance of waking up again, the child struggled to his feet and walked in another direction.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, squeezing through many small holes that were only big enough for a child to pass through, the mischievous child came to a very narrow passage.
There's no water flowing through here, so it's relatively dry. And it looks like someone has been diligently maintaining it, so it's fairly clean.
The only light came from a faint refracted light source through a metal sheet, enough to barely make out objects.
A Black girl was already there, sporting dreadlocks, smiling as she welcomed her companion back. "Putz, you're back."
"Sorry, Skye, I couldn't get the money or the food from Old Willy. That old man keeps denying it." Although he said sorry, the brat was still laughing.
The Black girl smiled and said, "It's okay, I have some food here. I've already eaten, you can have some first." As she spoke, she took out a piece of bread, not much bigger than a fist, and handed it to her.
The mischievous child's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Where did you find such a wonderful thing?"
"Eat it, don't worry about it."
He took the bread and was about to take a bite when he noticed the Black girl staring at him intently. He quickly asked, "Can I share half with you?"
"No need, I've already eaten, that's why there's only a little left."
"Then I'll eat it."
The Black girl said, "Eat, eat. Get some rest after you finish. And listen to my advice, stop staring at that guy on East 49th Street."
"I've heard that all the bounties related to him have been withdrawn. No matter how much you do, Old Willy won't give you any more money."
Putz said dejectedly, "But that's the most lucrative job we can do. Maybe if we do one big thing, we can earn enough to live a normal life back on the streets."
"But you've come back empty-handed for several days in a row."
"Okay, I'll see how it goes. You should get some rest. You still look very weak. Are you still recovering from your cold? Did the medicine I stole not work?"
"It worked. I took it and I feel much better. But in this godforsaken place, how could I possibly recover so quickly?"
"Too."
The two children lay together, nestled under some old newspapers, keeping each other warm. They casually tilted a metal plate to turn off the light.
In the darkness, a child suddenly said, "I'm still so hungry, Skye."
"I'll have the energy tomorrow, let's go to Hell's Kitchen and figure something out. It'll just be playing hide-and-seek with the Irish Mob, but that'll be easier than dealing with Boreas King's beggars."
"This is the only way."
"Putz, can you tell me about your previous foster family who treated you so well?"
Haven't I said it many times already?
I want to hear it.
"Okay." The child, in his still-childish voice, recounted some everyday trifles. But even these trivial matters, which would be insignificant to most people, were dazzlingly bright to the two children.
The day ended in such a peaceful dream. But the next morning was not so pleasant; the little nest the two children had built was suddenly torn down!
The people who started the attack didn't just demolish the house; they also grabbed some unknown child by the foot and dragged them out. A piercing scream echoed in the semi-enclosed space of the sewer.
One person was dragged out, and the other did not escape the same fate.
When the two children were dragged to an open area, they realized that the group targeting them was another group of children, only they outnumbered them.