Act. 11: Happy · Joy

Foreword:

Tomorrow will always be a miracle for the world.

[Part 1: The Devil's Contract]

It is a Canaanite life form --

--Flowing in Hasben Madison's blood, surging in every vein.

As he falls asleep, the sweet and fragrant scent seeps into his brain along with the cerebrospinal fluid, creating new information within the delicate and complex neural network.

"Kid, hand over your body to me."

A sweet female voice called out to Hasben from the depths of his being.

It sounds a lot like a mother's voice, and also like G117's voice.

That was the Canaanite life's seduction of Hasben Madison, a poison that ordinary people could hardly resist.

It almost activates the thalamus center, using the brain to secrete various hormones for reward behavior.

The function of drugs is very similar to the behavior of Canaanite life today, except that the carnivorous Canaanites did not exhaust their resources.

The human brain is extremely complex, the result of hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Even when Canaan was manipulating Jacqueline Sirius's mind, they didn't choose to directly destroy Jacqueline brain.

Tryptophan-based drugs are extremely damaging to the human brain because they open the ultimate gate to "pleasure." Once in paradise, any emotional stimulation, musical appreciation, food and entertainment, scenery or smells from the mundane world can no longer move the recipient's heart.

At this stage, it can be said that the drug addict using hallucinogens is already in an inescapable hell, reduced to an empty shell.

The Canaan life form carefully controlled the brain signal switches of Hasben Madison, fearing to damage this high-quality brain of over 1,700 milliliters. It hoped to use these signals to create "lottery tickets." When Hasben learned to scratch off the lottery tickets and slowly handed over his limbs to its control, it would successfully possess him and be reborn as a human.

It had previously tried many methods, such as torture.

"The burning sensation, the suffocating feeling of drowning, the excruciating pain of falling from a great height, the pain of cramps and peeling skin, the itching of swollen muscles and allergies—none of these pains can defeat you."

"This terrifying will to survive surprises me, Mr. Hasben."

"Now I want to reward you. As long as you give your body to me, every moment, every minute, every second, I will make you feel this blissful paradise."

Why are you still attacking me? Why are you still rejecting me?

At Hasben's head, a weak bioelectricity formed an unbreakable defense, like a feeble hand repeatedly keeping the Canaanite life in the cerebrospinal fluid outside the thalamic consciousness center.

The brain's neural activity is composed of very sophisticated electrical signals, and whenever the Canaanite life attempts to guide Hasben's thoughts and actions, it is interfered with by the divine power of the [Spark Queen].

"How cruel reality is, Mr. Hasben."

The Canaanite lifeforms have fully read Hasben's memories.

--While the Universal Elixir was rebuilding the poor young man's body, and while Hasben was weakened to the point where only fragments of his skull remained, these evil alien beings had already read his secrets and his memories.

"Your beloved mother was drugged and raped, you have drug dealer blood flowing in your veins, and like that father, you're attracted to red-haired women. Controlled by your genes, you're a slave to fate."

The sound in his mind resonated like a great bell, a powerful sound that bypassed bone conduction or the cochlea and acted directly on the auditory nerve. Even if Hasben didn't try to listen, he couldn't suppress the impact of this signal energy flow.

"The girl you're pursuing is Ming De killing machine. She's infamous in Guangling Zhixi and would probably never even look at a nobody like you, let alone the child of a criminal."

"You want to protect her? Are you kidding me? Do you really think you're someone important?"

"She didn't even look at you properly when she saved you, and when she killed you, it was only to gain your father's trust—only you foolishly threw yourself into her arms, willingly offering your fragile neck to her."

"If it weren't for me, you would have been dead long ago."

"I can create a special space in your mind's center, like a dream, where you can live and be with your loved ones forever. Whatever feeling you desire, I will give it to you."

"The entire process is painless, and your life will always be at its peak—the moon will always be full."

"I've already said all that! You fucking have to answer me!"

"You could clearly say something! Why are you yelling at me with your filthy, vulgar soul power?! You could at least curse at me! This is making me really embarrassed!"

"Hey, kid."

"Actually, you could discuss the terms with me."

"For example, you take the small role, and I take the big role? You take turns on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and I take turns on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, how about we take turns controlling this body?"

"I've already made a lot of concessions. Last time we discussed this, I was only thinking of giving you double weekends. Don't push your luck."

"You're infuriating! Are you fucking mute? Even a mute person would at least make some babbling sounds! You..."

Hasben spoke up--

Specifically, it refers to fragments of words that emerge from the language center.

"I'm sleeping. We need to conserve energy while we sleep, Canaan."

Canaan: "Thank goodness! What a genius! What an artistic answer! I'm so happy! It's great that you can talk to me!"

Hasben: "Give up on that idea."

Canaan: "I saved your life! You ungrateful wretch!"

Hasben: "Thank you, but it's impossible for me to repay you with my body."

Canaan: "Why?! I'm so wronged! I'm really wronged!"

Hasben: "There's still work to be done."

Canaan: "You want to kill your own father? I can help you! Is it true that once you've done this, you'll be willing to offer your body to me?"

Hasben: "Like you said, upon learning Glory's true identity—I shattered all illusions. But you're wrong. My unfinished mission involves more than just killing the Cult Leader."

Canaan: "."

Hasben: "My mind has never changed. I want to propose to her, and even if I'm rejected, I'll have no regrets even if I die."

Canaan: "Oh! Oh oh oh! Yes!"

Hasben: "The distance between Eleventh District and Forty-Eight District is more than 1,300 kilometers. The fact that I was able to get here so quickly, with both my body and mind in perfect health, is probably all thanks to you."

Canaan: "That's right! That's right! That's right! Traveling day and night! Physical and mental health! I want a powerful body!"

Hasben: "I'm curious, Canaan. The way you were so angry just now, it seemed like you were terrified that I would stay silent."

Canaan: "."

Hasben: "Based on the Abyssal Railway's investigation and research on Canaanite life forms, you should be a complex Gestalt community with different ways of thinking and different rationalities."

Canaan: "."

Hasben: "So, you've already devoured your brothers and sisters? You've taken away their essence, leaving only the strongest and most violent you."

Canaan: "Kid, I'm angry. You're next."

Hasben: "I promise you, if you help me complete my mission and kill the warden..."

Canaan: "After proposing to female prisoner G117!"

Hasben: "I'll give my body to you."

Canaan: "It's a deal!"

After Hasben finished speaking to Canaan, he opened his eyes.

"Sleep time is over, it's time for me to wake up."

The seemingly calm Clearwater Bay appears unchanged, but undercurrents are surging and a storm is brewing.

Violent riots in Sanhe Town are becoming increasingly frequent. After the Lizardmen of the Star Realm Gang withdrew, local community groups began to formulate new rules to divide the profits in the drug trafficking and retail industry.

The Little Brotherhood inevitably clash with these stray dogs. The lizardmen's opinion leaders vanished overnight, but the existing drug manufacturing workshops and employees will not simply disband. These manufacturers will reorganize their channels and plan new distribution routes.

It's like the products from the fourteen neighborhoods in the first district of Sanhe Town were originally Lizardmen goods, but were rebranded and sold under the Star Realm Gang's military intervention. Now, it's just a change of brand name; the production and sales locations remain unchanged. Little Brotherhood wants to interfere, it will inevitably have to pay an equal price.

Previously fragile trade friendships were built on personal connections and actual combat. Since the Little Brotherhood had no personal connections with the people of Sanhe Town, their only bargaining chips at the negotiating table were guns and ammunition.

[Part ②: Background Investigation Report]

The Cult Leader's plan to take over Sanhe Town was to use the name of the Little Brotherhood's agents to transfer new profits to all the workshops and retailers in Sanhe Town, and to establish new rules, so as to achieve the goal of making money off this land without bloodshed.

Now that the White Paper Fan is dead, we need someone with strong negotiation skills to take over.

Duran became the best candidate. The Soul Power of [Timeline] could almost guess the preferences of the negotiating partner and the general structure of profit sharing. Nothing would end in a bloody battle and a lose-lose situation.

As for the cause of White Paper Fan's death--

Lawrence Madison didn't think much of it.

It wasn't that this meticulous and cautious Cult Leader had suddenly lost his mind.

The reason is simple: matters have priorities. Sanhe Town has lost its master. If we delay dealing with this matter, someone else will get there first, and another Star Realm Gang will emerge.

The power struggle between the governor and Lawrence never ceased. Whenever the Little Brotherhood tried to take action against the area around Trinity, these wretched lizard bugs always managed to find solid evidence to demand justice from the governor.

It was often in this context that Lawrence felt most powerless and resentful.

They're all out there making a living through shady dealings, armed thugs, bullies, and drug lords who never listen to the law or follow the rules.

But one must speak of social etiquette and worldly affairs in front of the rulers, and play the roles of the submissive and the righteous.

Now that the Lizardmen's gang leader has died suddenly, if the Little Brotherhood had acted even a fraction of a second slower, the governor would likely have immediately installed a new gang to continue their rivalry with the Little Brotherhood.

If the governor succeeds, Lawrence will still be a lamb to the slaughter, forced to compete with other gangs for land auctions and pay exorbitant taxes just to run his own business, regardless of where people work, where they give birth, or where money flows in the two major areas of people's livelihood: real estate construction and road planning.

Taking over Sanhe Town wasn't about expanding trade or opening a branch; it was about directly shattering the governor's illusions.

Lawrence's yearning for the land was almost ingrained in his soul.

This is a signal: once he seizes this market, the drug trade in Forty-Eight District will be entirely in his hands. The moment he achieves a monopoly, he will no longer be the humble supplier haggling over prices.

This land is home to more than 1.6 million people, and one in ten of them is a drug addict.

When drug traffickers hold the lives and minds of these people in their hands, it means that Lawrence Madison possesses the powerful force of collective karma, enabling him to decide who becomes governor according to his personal will.

--Drugs made this once sparsely populated place rich, and skyscrapers rose up in the city. After the primary and secondary industries completed their historical mission, the prosperous tertiary industry, with its bright lights and bustling nightlife, took over.

Lawrence Madison has achieved what he has today because he deeply understands that the human brain is weak and succumbs to the rewards of various neural signals.

To expand and strengthen this business, taking over Sanhe Town became the most important thing in Lawrence's mind. As for whether to investigate White Paper Fan's death or whether it was necessary to reopen the case, those were matters for later.

Human energy is limited. In the Cult Leader, even if the recording was edited and modified, and Glory, a newcomer, was not trustworthy, the fact that White Paper Fan was colluding with the Consul's youngest daughter and even the entire Van Persie family could not be denied.

If Glory is a smiling tiger, at least she's still working for the gang.

Van Persie is the evil dragon blocking the path to power and wealth. The White Paper Fan that helped the evil dragon turn around and devour its master is a great thing that Glory blew his head off.

According to the Cult Leader's habitual way of thinking, those who Little Brotherhood usually didn't have very clean backgrounds. Even if they were talents from rival gangs, he didn't refuse them if they abandoned their evil ways for money or friendship and wanted to work for Cult Leader. In the eyes of this drug lord who sold his parents for his future and betrayed his brothers for survival, everything could be measured by profit.

Glory may not be trustworthy, but to simplify things, as long as S272 is controlled, and they are coerced and lured with money and power, they can definitely be firmly under control. After all, Flavia and Duran are living examples.

This method of deconstructing problems is what earned the Cult Leader his current status. It is also the book he wrote to investigate the backgrounds of the powerful and influential in Forty-Eight District.

Right now, at this very moment.

Hasben Madison wakes up in his hotel room to find another, more complicated and deadly investigation into his past in Forty-Eight District.

He rolled off the sofa, feeling surprised and wary of the unfamiliar surroundings, only to see a familiar face.

S272 blinked, squatting beside the sofa, still clueless about what had happened.

" --Hasben! You're finally awake!"

"How did I get here?" Hasben looked up, observing his surroundings. "I clearly remember getting off the train, finding a fast food restaurant to eat at, and then planning to rest for a few hours, but I ended up falling asleep at the table."

A Xing explained, "That's Silver Bay's territory. You're obstructing their business, so the newsboy will take you to the manager. Logically, you should pay them for their lost wages."

"Oh," Hasben suddenly realized, then asked, "Then why?"

Before he could finish asking, A Xing continued.

"You kept calling out Glory's name in your dreams, over three hundred times, so Mr. Leslie carried you here."

Hasben blushed, thinking that perhaps it was an illusion caused by the structure of Canaanian life that made him talk in his sleep.

After a moment of silence--

He then asked.

Where is Big Sister?

A Xing shook her head, pursing her lips with a helpless expression. "I don't know either. My older sister hasn't taken me out to play for the past ten days or so. Besides coming back to sleep, she's always in the study next door fiddling with notes and drawing maps—all very mysterious."

Hasben immediately got up and went to the study. A Xing tried to stop him because Xue Ming had said that no one was allowed to enter the study.

But she couldn't stop him; her frail body was no match for Hasben.

Hasben was almost stunned when he burst into the study.

It was a small cubicle of no more than four square meters, but it was filled with all sorts of letters, notes, pictures, and texts.

The bookshelves, which were originally crammed full of books, have been replaced with file folders. On the wall facing the main entrance is a map showing the main city roads of Forty-Eight District. On the large map, different colored backgrounds mark the spheres of influence, personnel composition, and management authority of the Little Brotherhood.

Under the leadership of the cadres were staff groups similar to guild organizations. For example, the Xiaoximen District was responsible for sixteen bars, three opium dens, and one dance hall.

The staff at one of the bars came from three different settlements in the Xiaoximen area. Following the file numbers, Hasben went to the bookshelf and found all the employees' information, including where they lived, their usual working hours, preferred clothing, and main foods.

Besides the personal information of drug dealers and related personnel, these background investigation reports contain another layer: the weapons logistics routes of armed personnel, the weapons manufacturers and sources of firepower in Forty-Eight District, and ammunition depots.

Hasben read. These densely packed words might seem meaningless to A Xing, but from the perspective of the Rangers Centurion, they almost confirmed the operational conditions for a localized armed conflict.

According to the annotations on this document in my hand, titled "[Five Fingers Bar, a Drug Retail Venue in the Xiaoximen Area]".

The building's three-view drawing shows fire doors, fire escape routes, load-bearing walls, a marble reception desk that could serve as a bunker, and a fountain-landscaped platform that could be used as a temporary moat.

After entering the bar, the dance floor is flanked by staff access passages. The tables, chairs, and sofas are not suitable as cover. The partition walls are decorative items that can be destroyed with a single shot. The soundproofing ceiling has artificial smoke devices hidden in the interlayer, and the fire hydrant pipes are also located here, allowing for rappelling raids.

After passing the bar, you enter the kitchen and staff break room. The locations of the dormitories and storage rooms, which are arranged in two rows, are clearly marked. The external terrain connects to the garage passage, which is the Vital Point for transporting drugs and weapons. The bar's security personnel mainly use this passage for transportation.

Outside the bar, in the parking lot, there are three Little Brotherhood arrange for the bars' managers to use Bentleys. The license plate numbers and parking spaces are clearly marked, and even the time periods for each car to be at the bar are noted.

This is the information Xue Ming has gathered over the past few days.

At this moment, Hasben Madison finally understood Ming De's favoritism towards the Big Sister.

The strength of this [War King] does not lie in her combat ability, her martial arts or shooting skills, her mixed martial arts ability or the power to disintegrate her body. These are not the reasons for her to be isolated from the craftsmen, explorers, and hunters and crowned separately, nor are they the capital for her to become the [War King].

Hasben looked at the hundreds and thousands of file folders, the floor almost entirely covered with attack route and tactical maps.

Over the course of more than ten days, Glory personally visited every major battle zone in Clearwater Bay, gathering all the necessary geographical and personnel information. It was as if she was observing her opponent's physique, analyzing muscle structure, understanding the essence of power, and ultimately finding the [Gate of Death].

The offensive deployment guidelines for [Five Fingers Bar] also include a brief and concise explanation.

[--The nearest food market is 722 meters away. The kitchen's reserves can provide enough food for 18 people for three days, three meals a day. There are no medical supplies, and the White Lady's products and Universal Elixir leave them with only one chance to buy life. The amount of ammunition is unknown. It is recommended to block the access routes, use tear gas to surround them for 16 hours, destroy their will to fight, and then launch a strong attack. See the appendix for any hostages.]

Hasben turned to the appendix.

The leader of the Five Fingers Bar is the bar owner's cousin. Both live in the Xiaoximen villa area. The bar owner looks fierce, but he listens to his cousin in everything. In case of a violent conflict, they go to villa number 214. This cousin has a father and a daughter; he lost his mother in childhood and his wife in middle age, both dying from drug abuse.

Aside from collecting gold watches, he had no hobbies. His daughter was a drug addict, disobedient, and had joined the "Telephone Gang," a branch of the Little Brotherhood. This daughter was seeing a Hispanic young man in the "Telephone Gang" and helped him steal gold watches from their home to sell for money and live a carefree life.

[If the siege fails and the drug dealers take hostages, retrieve the gold watch from the old house in the villa area and deliver it inside along with food. The bar owner and his cousin, the manager, will surrender upon seeing the gold watch.]

Hasben's young mind was deeply shaken.

Just like Xue Ming's investigation of the surrounding neighborhood buildings before entering Jiang Borg's Terror Artist's shop, on this day, before people engage in a life-or-death struggle, they will break down this information one by one, turning it into a winning factor in the battle.

Xue Ming had been by Lawrence Madison's side for far too long. So long that Black Gloves might inadvertently reveal his HC card PIN to this reliable older sister, including who his men were, where they went, and even a few of his underlings.

Just as Hasben reviewing the operational guidelines...

The Fly Man, carrying a large cake gift box, knocked on the hotel room door.

"Miss Stass! The Cult Leader me to deliver a gift."

A Xing stayed in the hotel for half a month, completely bewildered. All she did every day was watch movies and eat snacks. Xue Ming didn't take her out for any fresh air. When she heard the Fly Man's call, she closed the study door and told Hasben to hide. Then she immediately went to open the door.

The Fly Man lifted the cake and hunched over to deliver it to A Xing.

"Please take this carefully. The Cult Leader is very satisfied with Glory's performance. There's an HC card hidden inside the cake, containing 45 million Hui Stone Currency. It's a reward for you sisters."

A Xing: "Oh! Okay!"

The Fly Man said with a smile, "Don't waste food."

Meteor readily agreed.

"No problem! I'll eat it all!"

Meanwhile, Xue Ming and Duran meet again at the riverside promenade.

More than half a month later, Duran looked haggard, his mental state weakened by the torment of house arrest, and he lived in constant fear. Now that he was free to move around, he had to continue his verbal battles with drug dealers and retailers, negotiating whether to split the profits 50/50 or 30/70 with guns at his side.

Xue Ming patted her best friend on the shoulder and simply said one sentence.

"Wait until tomorrow, things will be better tomorrow."

Duran: "She's still making drugs, Flavia is still making drugs. I'm worried, I'm worried she won't be able to get ashore."

Xue Ming emphasized Plato's famous quote.

"Tomorrow will always be a miracle for the world."