INTERVAL · Interlude [Don't Cry]

[Part 1: Rules]

Twenty years ago, the Cult Leader of the Little Brotherhood, Mr. Lawrence Madison, boarded a pirate ship and began supplying tryptophan chemical semi-finished products to the local gang in Forty-Eight District, the "Unborn Alliance," starting from the lowest rung.

[Unborn Alliance] is a traditional Japanese gang in Forty-Eight District. The name "Musei" means "to die with honor, not to live with shame," and it is used to implement the samurai ideology in gang culture, cultivating one fearless criminal after another.

Mr. Lawrence was still young at the time, quick-witted and efficient, and was well-liked by the cadres. Soon, this young man rose through the ranks and became a key member of the Unborn Alliance.

At the same time, the Little Brotherhood also extended an olive branch to him, bribing this talented young man with money to turn him against his own side and directly enter the social circles of the Madness Butterfly Sect.

July 17, 2006--

--It was a rainy season. For Eleventh District, the environmental pollution from primary and secondary industries required a large amount of condensate water circulation system to clear the smog. This godforsaken place was raining almost all the time.

The young and promising Mr. Lawrence has just gotten off the train and is on his way to visit the local nightlife leaders and promote products at local bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues.

He brought with him an incredibly potent aphrodisiac, the Fire Fox. If this deal goes through, like his future son, he'll receive a pledge of allegiance and officially join the Little Brotherhood.

Different times and different people, but they said the same thing.

Mr. Lawrence said to his accompanying helper Milik.

"Land! Land! Land is the source of wealth!"

He pointed to the industrial area surrounding Sweet Lake City in the distance, and the dormitories for tens of thousands of workers.

"All productive activities are based on the soil. Whoever owns the land owns everything— Milik, do you know that? It's a supreme power! It can decide how people live, how they love, how they hate, and how they die."

At this point--

Lawrence was completely unaware that his good brother Milik, who had gone through thick and thin with him for more than two years, had become a spy planted by the [Unborn Alliance].

Once Lawrence sells the twenty kilograms of tryptamine in the box, it will mean that this ambitious young man has betrayed the [Unborn Alliance], betrayed his parents who gave him life and raised him, and turned to the Little Brotherhood.

Lawrence's biological parents will be executed by assassins from the Unborn Alliance, and Lawrence himself will die during the transaction.

Milik didn't respond—he was simply filled with worry.

"Dude, are you really going to join that Little Brotherhood? Take my advice."

Lawrence rolled his eyes, but quickened his pace, heading towards the entrance of Yellow Bull Town, Hundred Households Street Eleventh District.

"If you can't keep up with me, then don't go any further."

This future tycoon has a clear mind and speaks logically and coherently.

"[The Unborn Alliance] is just like any other war guild, nothing more than a dog raised by the Madness Butterfly Sect. A dog wants to steal from its master? Dream on! This multiple-choice question is so simple! Yet you can't choose? Or is it..."

Milik immediately interrupted, "The brothers of the guild want to kill your parents! Lawrence! Sir Lawrence Madison!"

The loyal worker screamed hysterically.

"I told them this morning that I would bring you safely back to White Dragon County! I want you and your family of three to live a peaceful and happy life! Your mother made this for me!"

As he said this, Milik took out a scallion pancake from his bag, a dish made by Lawrence's mother.

"Do you know that if you go any further ahead, you'll reach hell?!"

"What are you trying to say?" Lawrence glanced at Milik, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "Do you think I care about my parents?"

"Madison." At that moment, Milik seemed to misunderstand what his good buddy was saying.

Lawrence: "The guild must have known about my defection all along. Those two burdens will only weaken me—they know nothing, understand nothing."

Milik: "You don't even care about your own parents?"

"Yes. Useless things should be thrown in the trash," Lawrence said. "How much money do I have to spend to protect them? I'm a drug dealer, you're his henchman, why are you acting so weak? My good brother, is someone offering you a higher price to buy my head?"

Milik shook his head vigorously. "No! No! I just received orders that if you really leave the Guild and the War Gang, I have to bring you back."

"Don't be fooled by this kind of obligation," Lawrence patted Milik on the shoulder, earnestly advising, "You are very valuable to me. We've been through thick and thin together. Anyone else would betray you, harm you, or take advantage of you, but I won't—my incompetent father only talks about friendship, my foolish mother only makes you bread, but what I'm giving you is real money."

Milik wanted to refute it, but he couldn't; he couldn't find any logical flaws.

Lawrence continued, "What can they offer us? A worthless inheritance? Or some unnecessary trouble? I saw it all clearly when I embarked on this path, Milik Ed!"

It was a powerful, resounding shout—

"--I want to be superior to others! I want to take shortcuts! Lady Luck favors the brave! Whether good or bad! In fact, as long as you are brave enough, she will grant your wish! There's an old Chinese saying: 'Murderers and arsonists wear golden belts!'"

Immediately afterwards, Mr. Lawrence leaned close to his good friend's ear and whispered something.

"But there's a saying, 'Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important.' Unfortunately, I'm not a kind person, so I don't need to hear that. My moral standards are very low, and I'm aware of that. Are you, a drug dealer's henchman and my little bodyguard, going to act like a good person? Going to abide by the Eastern concept of filial piety?"

"I'm just me," Milik stammered. "I... I want to..."

"Are you thinking," Lawrence's eyes burned, "That I was so cruel to my own parents, who knows if one day I might do the same to you?"

Milik nodded, but dared not speak.

"Of course! I left my parents at the church to make them lower their guard, allowing me to bring this box of things to Eleventh District —this is an opportunity I gained by betraying my parents." Lawrence threatened coldly, "Milik Ed! If one day you become indecisive and weak, I will absolutely abandon you! I will use you as a bargaining chip for survival! So I won't allow you to become weak! Don't betray me!"

At that moment, Milik Ed gave almost his entire being to this man.

He knew that some people were born knights, and some were born warhorses.

A man like him is destined never to be a knight; he can only be someone's slave.

But to Milik, these harsh and vicious words brought a strange sense of peace, as if they possessed Magic Power.

That's a set of values held by criminals, the ironclad rules of the dark world.

The more one can recognize this law of lawful evil, the greater the chance of climbing to the top of the pyramid.

That very evening, Mr. Lawrence Madison suffered a major setback in his career.

The brothers of the [Unborn Alliance] not only knew that he was going to Eleventh District to expand his business, but also that he would escape to the Little Brotherhood. So they spread the word, telling other competitors to go to Sweet Lake City to spy on him. What they couldn't get, the Little Brotherhood couldn't get either; that was the rule.

A large number of assassins entered Yellow Bull Town, intending to kill this unruly child.

It's important to understand that the War Gang has a complete promotion system for talent acquisition. Lawrence's collusion with the Little Brotherhood is like slapping the War Gang leader in the face, as if he's trying to switch from a mercenary company to a Religious order company, which is essentially his own business.

If other members were to follow suit and set such a bad precedent, where would the reputation of the [Unborn Alliance] be? It would be better to disband on the spot and simply merge into Little Brotherhood.

Lawrence Madison found this stretch of road extremely difficult.

Unfortunately, he lost his parents; the Madison had already been killed by the mob the moment he set off, becoming sacrifices for his betrayal of the blood pact.

Fortunately, he had a good brother named Milik who was a good fighter. From Yellow Bull Town to Sweet Lake City, they fled and killed each other, traveling more than 140 kilometers.

The torrential rain helped Lawrence escape, as if this man had incredible luck. Even the heavens couldn't bear to let him die. A flash flood and mudslide blocked the mountain road from Sweet Lake City to the nameless satellite town and also destroyed the railway from Southsea County to Yellow Bull Town.

For a while, the pursuers lost reinforcements, and their vehicles were unable to reach this remote rural village.

Mr. Lawrence, looking disheveled, carried Milik as the two went to the health station for help.

Here, he met Sunny Booker, Hasben's biological mother.

It was still pouring rain. There was a well for drawing water at the back door of the clinic next to the church.

Miss Sunny has very keen hearing. Although the director had said that when working the night shift, one should not pay attention to any strange noises, as they might be the work of ghosts, and that it would be fine to just ignore them.

But Sunny could still hear Lawrence's cries for help amidst the rain.

She opened the back door and saw two bloodied figures, Mr. Lawrence's terrified eyes, and the heavily injured Milik.

She then pulled the two people into the house and performed first aid.

There were no unnecessary words, and no unnecessary haggling.

The nurse, Sunny, almost never asked for medical fees and treated the two injured people for free.

[Part ② Surname]

Mr. Lawrence was seething with hatred. He probably guessed who was hunting him down and knew he had done something he shouldn't have.

However, he could not resist the temptation and could not give up the power and status that were so readily available.

While she was thinking about these things, Sunny had already finished bandaging Milik and removed the knife and shrapnel from his body.

"Sir? Sir? May I ask what's wrong? Why are you here?"

Sunny has beautiful red hair and is Scottish.

Lawrence had not yet undergone the baptism of the Blood Ceremony, and his Germanic black hair was very conspicuous.

"I"

For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

Immediately afterwards, this criminal genius fabricated a lie.

"I'm from the 1773 Arcane Library; my advisor asked me to mentor this person."

He picked up the suitcase containing tryptamine chemicals.

"I brought this to Eleventh District to deliver it to the logistics station, but on the way I was attacked for some reason. My classmate protected me..."

Sunny immediately pulled Lawrence into her arms.

"--It's alright, it's alright, it's alright."

At that moment, Lawrence's heart seemed to melt.

He could feel Sunny's heartbeat, immersed in the smell of rubbing alcohol and soapy water.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to think that this wasn't so bad.

It seemed that staying in this desolate market, in this nameless town, was a good option.

After a long while, Sunny finally let go of the "terrified" young man. She opened the box to check the medicine and solemnly spoke to Lawrence.

"Tryptamine is an extremely dangerous substance; it can control a person's mind. Your mentor is definitely a criminal; he wants you to smuggle drugs! Do you know that?!"

Lawrence pondered for a moment, his mind in turmoil.

Milik struggled while unconscious.

Sunny then said, "Give me the thing. I want to hand it over to the director for processing and report it to Guangling Zhixi."

At this very moment--

Lawrence made his choice.

He grabbed a cane, knocked Miss Sunny unconscious, and then looked at Milik.

He looked around for a long time, then stared at the security camera in the hospital's public corridor before running to the power distribution room to turn off the power.

This action directly led to the deaths of two critically ill elderly people in the clinic during the cold season due to sudden cardiovascular symptoms caused by low temperatures.

"You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have done that, Madison."

Milik regained some of his strength; he leaned against the hospital bed, his body bearing multiple gunshot wounds.

"She was very good to us. Madison, you shouldn't have done this. You should repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. Lawrence. Lawrence Madison."

At this moment, there are still four hours until the King of Cinder returns.

Lawrence, his eyes red, first felt frustrated and angry, then roared at Milik.

"Can you even walk?! Stop fucking talking nonsense!"

Milik: "How can I walk? Do you have Universal Elixir? I can't walk anymore."

"This godforsaken place is so dilapidated and poor! Where am I supposed to find you Universal Elixir!" Lawrence cursed. "And what nonsense were you spouting just now!"

He pointed at Sunny, who was paralyzed on the hospital bed, and shouted at Milik.

"Are we really going to listen to this woman? Hand over the stuff to her? Do you want to die?!"

Even if only one percent of that amount were used for sentencing, it would be enough to make Lawrence eat several peanuts.

Milik: "Why don't you run?"

Lawrence glanced at the rain outside the window. He could hear no sound and see no scenery; it was perfect weather for an escape.

His mind was in complete chaos, a very, very chaotic state, and even cigarettes and candy couldn't stop his wild thoughts.

You want me to leave? To leave you here?

Milik: "Otherwise what?"

Lawrence: "You were protecting this woman just now, did you fall for her? Are you going to spend the rest of your life with her here?"

Milik: "That's not what I meant. I just felt you shouldn't have attacked her; she saved my life."

Lawrence: "Great! That's wonderful! Are you and her going to have a few more big, healthy boys?! Come celebrate my birthday?! Milik!"

Milik: "Mr. Madison, please don't mock me."

Lawrence: "What if one day I'm on the wanted list? You'll have to use this lead to sell to the cops for money?!"

Milik: "No, no, no, no. I didn't. I never said any of that."

Even the dying Milik Ed made his choice. When the knight fell from his horse in a sorry state and was about to starve to death, the first thing to become food was probably the warhorse.

He first pulled out the IV line, then struggled to cut open the stitches on his abdomen.

Lawrence was still staring fearfully down the hospital corridor when he heard the pattering sound of blood, mistaking it for the sound of rain.

After finishing his cigarette, he finally returned to his room, where his beloved Milik could no longer utter a sound.

He just lay there, motionless.

Lawrence was on the verge of collapse; he knelt by the bed, at a loss for words.

He was almost driven to a state of frenzy, with a more intense nervous activity than any drug in the world.

He didn't want Milik to die; he just wanted to say something, to satisfy his vanity, or the pride of wielding life and death power, or simply to remind his companions that this was the only way for them to be safe and continue living.

Now, even more problems lie before him: how to explain himself to the [Unborn Alliance]? Where should he go? Where should he run to regroup and start anew?

He made his choice almost immediately.

He ran away with the box. As long as he had the box, the twenty kilograms of the semi-finished Fire Fox would be enough to get the Little Brotherhood to accept him.

Two weeks later, when he returned to the mountain village—

--The military and police have concluded their investigation and expressed deep regret over Milik's death. They were unable to ascertain the victim's true identity.

Miss Sunny stood there, stunned, watching the scene unfold beside Milik's grave. She was just a nurse, and this was the first life to slip through her fingers.

She didn't know what kind of demon she had accepted that rainy night, only that there were two injured people, one named Milik Ed and the other named Lawrence Madison, names she heard in her delirium.

At this moment, Mr. Lawrence had become a businessman and a successful person.

Under the patronage of the Little Brotherhood, he became a salesman and, relying on the influence of the Madness Butterfly Sect, entered the social circles of the upper echelons of Eleventh District.

He brought money with him, intending to build a good tomb for his brother and, incidentally, take care of the woman who had saved his life.

But Sunny recognized the devil at a glance—

Lawrence Madison could hardly comprehend the woman's barbaric insults.

He didn't kill him; Milik committed suicide.

But how could Sunny not guess the truth?

The IV line had been removed, and there was a knife wound on the abdomen.

These things all seem to tell a silent story— Lawrence Madison was a ruthless devil who committed murder, drug trafficking, and all sorts of evil deeds.

This was the last good thing Lawrence Madison did, and also the last bad thing.

He used Fire Fox to drug and rape Miss Sunny, but ultimately failed to kill her. After testing the effectiveness of the new product, he left Eleventh District in a huff.

Until today--

The Cult Leader sat in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection.

She still uses Madison as her last name when naming her children.

"I don't understand, I don't comprehend it."

"This is her curse upon me!"