Complex Humanity

Old Pan decided to give up resistance and confess for leniency. The moment Yiven raised his gun with murderous intent, he knew that there was no room for negotiation. The nameless man's style had no concept of presumption of innocence; those who refused to cooperate were dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.

"Here's what happened. I don't know what went wrong with this accountant; just because we couldn't agree on a few words, he threatened to pull out a gun."

Jiang Xueming interrupted, "That's not what I want to hear. Yiven is dead. This has nothing to do with you—do you think you're so close as brothers that you have to defend this corpse?"

"Yes, yes." Mr. Pan panicked, cold sweat pouring down his face. He quickly said, "Father, I have an old ledger."

"This ledger was left behind by Lawrence Madison when he was alive. It's always been in my possession, and it contains many records of lending and debt collection. These include the Daphne family. The reason I captured Ammona is because Daphne still owes me money."

Jiang Xueming: "Her father owes you money for drugs?"

Mr. Pan nodded. "Yes."

Jiang Xueming: "You want the two sisters to pay off the debt?"

Mr. Pan: "No, no, no, no."

Jiang Xueming: "Tell me the truth."

"Uh..." Mr. Pan glanced at his family outside the window, then at the guests in the courtyard, and finally confessed, "I didn't have that idea. Daphne couldn't possibly repay that money. So I thought I could use this bad debt to blackmail her into working for me."

"She was very skilled, but timid. She had a younger sister to take care of, so she didn't dare to steal frequently and openly."

"I thought that if I could capture Ammona, I might be able to force her to work for me and cause trouble at the station. That way, the police at the station would turn a blind eye to my appetizer business. It's a kind of exchange: I guarantee the safety of the station, and the militia will guarantee that my business will not be disturbed."

Jiang Xueming: "You're very shrewd. As far as I know, apart from the questionable origin of the chemical raw materials, the products you're selling are basically harmless."

"Of course," Mr. Pan said, embarrassed. "I dare not follow in Lawrence's footsteps. I have a family, and I want to live peacefully in the City of Tears."

"Those with stable assets have stable minds, that's true." Jiang Xueming then asked, "Why are the militia causing you trouble? You risked being shot to threaten a young girl into doing things for you—what did they do to you?"

"I come from the War Gang," Mr. Pan explained. "There are always gray areas in the underworld. This has nothing to do with the Madness Butterfly Sect. It's like the relationship between Armadillo Hunters and newsboys. As long as there are new passengers, this group will always exist. I've rendered the company's products harmless, but I can't render my origins harmless—if I want to gain a foothold in the Lower City, I have to fight Silver Bay. Violence is my lifeline, and the militia will definitely come after me."

Jiang Xueming understood Mr. Pan's difficulties.

--The City of Tears was never a peaceful place to begin with; it was even more chaotic than some remote villages and towns with simple and honest folks.

As a border area adjacent to London, this region sees more than 5,000 new passengers passing through each year. It is surrounded by 21 satellite towns and has a population of 16 million, making its human activity area equivalent to more than half of the United Kingdom.

It is a three-dimensional, multi-layered city. The upper district is the residential area where politicians and dignitaries live, while the lower district is the industrial area where various industries are located. Due to the scarcity of groundwater resources, most of the domestic water used in the upper district is used for industrial purposes in the lower district. This alone, the huge class difference and sense of division, will breed countless violent crimes.

The Sky Station of Tear City is an extremely important transportation hub in the underground world, as well as an entrance and exit to the mortal world. If it weren't for these two crucial conditions, it would have long become a paradise for the Madness Butterfly. It is heavily guarded and is the second home of the Lapis Lazuli Guards. The "Chastity Operation" that Tear City conducts from time to time is also to eliminate monsters in the law enforcement team who have privately drunk the holy blood.

If the Nine Realms is the imperial city of Ming De, it is another mirror image of Hong Kong International Harbor.

So the City of Tears is like an Indianized United Kingdom, a place teeming with hybrid monsters. From top to bottom, the Sky Station closest to the Imperial War Museum ships is the Brahmin area, followed by the offices of parliamentarians, governors, and other powerful officials. Then comes the Upper City—which has the peephole left by King Arthur and Merlin. It is this glimmer of light that keeps the Upper City safe from the Vita Imprint.

The city's builders kept digging deeper and deeper, creating new residential areas layer by layer. This glamorous Dadu became a beacon of civilization, and the siphon effect drew talent from the surrounding areas to the center, ultimately resulting in its present appearance.

Mr. Pan said, "If you can understand my difficulties, I..."

"I understand, but I don't support you doing this." Jiang Xueming shook his head. "Give me the ledger."

Old Pan immediately got up, went to the bookshelf to search, and took out two thick stacks of account books, which recorded debt matters from dozens of Forty-Eight District and 47th districts in the old era.

Jiang Xueming casually tossed the account into the fireplace, without even bothering to check it.

Seeing that the accounts were being destroyed, Lao Pan showed no sign of regret. He was frighteningly calm, a very rational person.

Jiang Xueming: "These things don't belong to you. If you insist on reaching for them, then you must be prepared to be smashed to pieces."

Old Pan asked, "How long will I be locked up?"

Jiang Xueming: "That depends on your boss's opinion."

The leaders mentioned here are the regulators of the two major departments in the City of Tears: the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the DHH (Department of Human Health Services). They are the top officials of Sky Station.

Pan Peter provided nearly a thousand jobs on Santa Monica Avenue and King's Gang is located, and with the logistics and warehousing upstream and downstream, supported more than two thousand families. Moreover, none of his four pharmaceutical companies had any violations or illegal records, and he held nearly a hundred patents. There was suspicion of using prohibited substances in the chemical raw materials, but the factories themselves were operational and could produce finished products— Xue Ming's understanding in this regard was that the FDA and DHH were turning a blind eye to this, after all, many prescription drugs were also sold in Chinese pharmacies, and these prescription drugs could also become poisons. As long as the spices that Old Pan sold didn't become drugs, that was a good thing.

At first, Xue Ming he wasn't there to hold a funeral for Lao Pan, and this wasn't a joke. It's just that Yiven, this serval, couldn't shake off the bad habits of the old-fashioned gangs, and was willing to shoot and kill at the slightest disagreement. This was a serious crime that Xue Ming couldn't tolerate—even his nameless bandit-hunting had to follow a procedure of catching thieves and seizing stolen goods.

Jiang Xueming found it very strange, really very strange--

What kind of madness had driven Peter Pan to take such a risk as to use violence to force a young girl to do his bidding?

This was a very risky move. Originally, Peter Pan could have easily cleaned up his act and settled down to be a proper boss. In the eyes of these kinds of people, nothing is more important than "safety." Is it really that the brains of these hybrid monsters are not working properly? If the congressmen knew about this, the FDA and DHH would abandon Peter immediately.

The CEO's estate and factory land were both approved by the FDA. If the political circles of Tear City find out about this scandal, the power the FDA doesn't want will naturally be claimed by someone else, and the official position the FDA doesn't want will naturally be filled by someone else. After a series of maneuvers to cut their losses, Mr. Pan will have to go back to his hometown to serve his sentence, and maybe he can even go to Hedland to seek enlightenment.

Can't this dog-headed man understand such a simple truth?

Jiang Xueming frowned and remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a curse.

"Why are you, an adult, arguing with a child?"

There might be only one reason, just one reason.

Peter cared so much about Daphne because the young girl hadn't done what he wanted. Humans are strange creatures; when they lose their rationality in the heat of the moment, their self-destructive urges become particularly strong.

There are so many newsboys and talented people lining up to give Pan Peter his resume in the entire City of Tears, but Old Pan is fixated on Daphne and willing to go to jail for Ammona. There must be a story behind this.

I, Lao Pan, became nervous. "I said, 'You should just treat this story of the nameless hero as a joke.'"

"Huh? What did you call me?" Jiang Xueming's eyes widened.

Old Pan: "Oh no, Father."

Jiang Xueming: "Hmm."

"This story begins with Brother Cock's eyes," Old Pan recounted, recalling the old days. "I used to work for Lawrence Madison."

"This big boss isn't a member of the Immortals Alliance. Since he couldn't get the support of the Immortal Pill, he wanted to create one himself."

"He didn't have the formula for the elixir, so he assigned his subordinate gangs to search for it while also ordering us, the technical backbone of the chemical plant, to conduct research for him. I was one of the psionic chemical researchers."

"My team leader had made a technical breakthrough on this project, but he said, 'This thing can't be given to Lawrence. With Lawrence Madison's ambition, even if he gets the power of the elixir, the governor won't be able to control this monster. The entire district will be devastated.'"

"I followed this project for more than six months, and in the end, I watched all my hard work go down the drain. I was unwilling to accept it, so I secretly kept a sample, thinking that if one day I could get the elixir, maybe I could turn my life around."

"Later, the truth came out, and the team leader was killed by Lawrence. His daughter then became my adopted daughter—the little girl you saw in the courtyard."

"Cock, Yiven, and I escaped together, but we couldn't get far. Lawrence is a god-like figure; his soul power is simply too strong. I couldn't escape his intelligence network at all."

"Once again, I had to refine pills for him, but according to the team leader's research, elixirs require a large amount of primordial essence. Once the balance of the Chaos Egg, Holy Blood, and other chaotic spiritual entities is broken, it becomes a useless pill. At that time, the team leader had two methods to prepare the catalyst. I used the medicinal guide method to prepare elixirs for Lawrence —which required the flesh and blood of a psionicist."

"Ammona's mother was a psychic with remarkable psychic talent. Although she worked as a dentist, her abundance of spiritual energy was rare among the local population. That's how Lawrence started to take notice of the family."

"Under the lure of drugs, Daphne's father quickly sold his wife, but when it came time to prepare the drug, Brother Cock had a change of heart—he secretly let the woman go. I gouged out one of his eyes and assured Lawrence that I could find a substitute, which saved my brother's life."

"We were planning to use Daphne and Ammona to make medicine, around November, when the War King came to Bailong County. Several green wine workshops were shut down. You know what happened next; I lost my job."

"After the expedition began, I traveled a long and arduous journey, bringing Daphne with me to the Tear City. I arranged for her to make a living as a newspaper boy, taught her how to survive, and found a school for Ammona —I told them that their mother was still alive, but they didn't believe me."

"This girl has been stealing from my warehouse for six or seven years. She punctured my truck tires, threw sewage at my company gate, beat up my son at school, and even sent reports to Qingjin and the militia, asking them to investigate my background, my environmental work, and my sanitation permit."

"Thanks to all this nonsense, I've become a law-abiding citizen—I can barely lift a knife anymore, and I just want to fight this brat. I'm not reconciled. I did so much for her; if it were anyone else, she would be dead by now, her body eaten by wild dogs, turning into a pile of dog poop on the roadside."

"She said I caused her family to be destroyed, is that true, Father?"

This pointed question was thrown back at Jiang Xueming, and he didn't know how to answer it.

If Lawrence had obtained the elixir, the War King's operation to capture this "God" would have been even more difficult.

It just so happened that Cock the Mouse had a moment of weakness and released Daphne's mother, at the cost of an eye.

Mr. Pan's chemical team leader suddenly betrayed him, turning the tables on Lawrence and resulting in Lawrence's utter destruction.

These people were initially Lawrence's henchmen, cogs in the chemical industry of the drug empire. They were also parasites that sucked the blood of the Daphne family. Humans are complex, with duality and even multifaceted nature.

Jiang Xueming thought for a moment and finally replied, "That's true, Pan, but you're not the culprit. The culprit is Lawrence Madison."

"I get inexplicably angry whenever Daphne is mentioned." Mr. Pan's eyes were dark and his head was lowered. "I can tolerate FDA inspectors who can point fingers at me and yell at me. I can laugh obsequiously and then act like a waiter, like a lapdog, personally picking out drinks and pouring them for them at the hotel front desk. But I can't stand Daphne."

"I spared her life. I brought these two orphans, who had no parents, into the civilized world. I gave them so much."

"I've thought about it, trying to make it up to her. Before, Lawrence Madison was the one eating our flesh and drinking our blood. Now no one's bullying us."

Why did her hatred last so long?

"Why."

"Is it possible?" Jiang Xueming attempted a psychological analysis. "Daphne sees you as another father figure. The role of the father has always been missing in her life—and you happen to overlap with that role."

"She channeled all her hatred for her biological father onto you, and there's another point..."

Jiang Xueming paused for a moment, then decided to end the topic.

"Pan Peter, you can use violence to protect yourself in the City of Tears, but you can never use violence to hurt a thirteen-year-old child. You lost control; you were overcome by anger."

Mr. Pan didn't say anything more. He just lowered his head, looking at the luxurious manor and the wealth and happiness he had slowly accumulated. It all felt like a dream. There was a strong sense of unreality in it.

He stretched out his hands, ready to be handcuffed, a movement he seemed to have practiced very well.

The priest remained silent for a long time.

When Peter looked up, the priest was gone.

Six hours later, Daphne, carrying her younger sister Ammona, boarded the return train and left the troubled Tear City.

They wanted to go back to Bailong County, to visit their hometown.

Daphne didn't know what the priest was talking about or what he wanted to do; she only knew that the King's Gang's Gang was a powerful and influential secret society that she couldn't shake.

The streaming TV in the carriage was broadcasting a news flash.

Peter Pan Peter, dressed in prison clothes, stood before the cameras, facing public scrutiny.

Daphne's heart suddenly felt empty; she didn't even know what crime to accuse the bulldog of. She just listened blankly as the news anchor rattled off charges such as "organizing gang crimes."

Jiang Xueming quickly sent out an express mail, and after doing all that, he returned to the prison before dawn.

Peter joined the detention cell as a fellow inmate.

Xue Ming said, "Don't smoke, I can't stand it."

Mr. Pan: "Yes, Father."

This email traveled over 400 kilometers to a small village in District 23. Based on Daphne and Mr. Pan's description, Xue Ming ran all over the dental clinics in the City of Tears and visited more than 100 households in six hours before finally finding a relatively reliable name.

Her name was Dadaniya, and she was likely the mother of Daphne and Ammona.

She possesses psychic abilities, previously worked in Bailong County, and is currently likely making a living in the surrounding area. She changed her identity card to evade Lawrence's pursuit. She is around forty-two years old and has given birth to two daughters.

When it comes to finding people, the anonymous person is probably the most skilled in the underworld; these characteristics are enough to pinpoint their location.

Seven years later, Dadaniya finally received news from her family. When the anonymous express letter was delivered to her elderly mother, she was so moved that she burst into tears. She had long believed that her two daughters had died at the hands of her poisonous husband. After escaping the hellish place of Bailong County, she remarried and never wanted to mention the past again.

This time, Daphne and Ammona were able to reunite with their mother on the platform.

With numerous FDA and DHH members demanding a pardon for the guarantor, the City of Tears' inquisition couldn't crack the tough nut of Penn Peter.

They lacked some witnesses and physical evidence, especially the two crucial links in the chain of evidence involving Cock and Yiven. The reality was that the King's Gang had over a thousand mouths waiting for the CEO to come back and feed them, so they could only be sentenced according to the minimum sentencing standards. This time, Peter completely said goodbye to the past—the Bulldog understood that if he didn't confess to the priest, his life might end up like Yiven's, forever confined to that confessional.

Day three.

Jiang Xueming walked out of the military post on Santa Monica Street, looking refreshed.

He arrived at the card room with his breakfast in his hands, only to see Mr. Cock scurrying upstairs, cursing and swearing.

Good morning!

"Why is it you again?" Cock only knew that a bloodbath had occurred at the manor and his good brother Yiven was dead, but how he died and who killed him were questions that Boss Pan refused to answer.

"I'm waiting for my email!" Jiang Xueming was waiting for the new gun from the Dead Puppet Agency. "There's a community mailbox downstairs, what a coincidence!"

Cock didn't want to waste any more time talking to this strange priest and immediately got to work.

Xue Ming watched the logistics progress for more than half an hour before seeing the strong-armed boy run over.

"Boss? You receive emails too?"

"Hey!" the burly man chuckled. "I thought I'd give it a try, so I sent a letter to my wife's family address and she replied immediately!"

Xue Ming: "Oh, that's good news!"

His arms were so strong his mouth stretched all the way to his ears.

"Father! You're right! She really is too proud to speak first!"

Xue Ming craned his neck, becoming a frenzied gossip-loving group leader just like Xiao Qi, since his matter hadn't arrived yet anyway.

The burly man opened his mailbox, searched for the mail, and was suddenly a little disappointed.

"I wrote such a thick stack of papers, why did she only send me one sheet?"

Xue Ming: "Why don't you take a look first?"

Upon opening the envelope, the two found a sweet-sounding insult.

"Aisha's getting married? I'm going to be a grandma? Fuck you! Why are you only telling me now? Call this number! Send another letter and I'll break your legs! Do you know how far the post office is from my house, you idiot! I love you!"