"Are you going to get up or not? Honestly, how much longer are you planning to lean on me?"
"The people who grabbed you. Wait, were they after you or me? Whatever, they've all been scared off now. Haha! They looked big and tough, but once one of them got killed, the rest got scared and ran. Li Ke was right—they're a bunch of rabble."
Jinx looked at the little squirt cowering on top of her and waved her gun.
Hearing Jinx say that, the little girl immediately backed away and stood up.
She clasped her hands in front of herself and lowered her head, but still sneaked a glance at Jinx. When she saw Jinx looking back at her, their eyes met. Her amber eyes narrowed, and her body trembled. She immediately looked away and lowered her head again.
Seeing her like that, Jinx let out an exasperated snort.
"You're lucky you ran into me. If it had been someone else... Well, never mind. I don't even know how to finish that sentence. Why aren't you playing along? When someone talks to you, you're supposed to respond. Respond! You really have no manners."
Jinx stood up, tapped her gun against her head twice, then turned her back to the little girl and waved. "Anyway, good luck, little squirt~"
The little girl watched Jinx's bouncy figure walking away. After hesitating for a moment, she pulled her hat down.
Then a voice rang out from the alley ahead.
"Huh? Why are you following me?"
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Little squirt, don't you have a home?"
At the Mid-level Plaza, Li Ke was gathering information and thinking about how to make some money. He looked over the crowded Business Point, then spotted a figure staggering in the distance. He recognized that figure immediately.
Li Ke froze for a moment, then hurried after them.
Pushing through the crowd, Li Ke made his way toward the person. The farther they went, the deeper they ventured, until they left the busy area and the center of the Mid-level Plaza behind.
A little while later, Li Ke followed them to a place that looked like an abandoned Junkyard. Several children were rummaging through piles of garbage. They were short and painfully thin, and Li Ke frowned at the sight.
He walked deeper into the Junkyard and around a corner, where he spotted several figures at the far end.
A man with a metal jaw and hair standing straight up like a hedgehog was choking another man.
"Cough... Boss Mark, I really didn't steal your money." The man struggled desperately in his grip, a terrible wound visible on his arm.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Malson. I took you in because you seemed clever, and I trusted you to look after my money. Is this how you repay me?" The hedgehog-haired man raised his hand. His right wrist and forearm had been cut off, and a rusty Steel Saber had been attached in their place. He pointed the blade at the man's throat.
"I—I couldn't help it. The Sump was in chaos. I really did everything I could."
"If you really did everything you could, you wouldn't be here!"
"That was all my fucking money! My money, understand? Who the fuck knows if you used it to buy yourself another day of life."
Mark spat in Malson's face.
Malson's eyes rolled upward as he struggled to breathe.
But the next moment, Malson began coughing violently. He doubled over against the wall, clutching his throat and coughing. Thinking Mark had let him go, he struggled to raise his head and thank him, only to see the scene before him with one eye bigger than the other.
"Shit! Open fire!"
"Who the hell are you? You dare mess with the Ci Mu Gang!"
A tremendous commotion erupted. Half of Mark's upper face had been blown away, and he was flung backward, landing heavily in a pile of garbage without moving. Of the three underlings, one clutched his shin and screamed in pain, while the other two fired in a panic.
Gunshots rang out, tongues of flame spitting from the barrels. But the next moment, the head of one of the Ci Mu Gang members holding a pistol jerked back as if something had shoved it, slamming into the wall. Half his face was driven into it, and blood mixed with splattered White Matter coated the bricks.
A scream rang out. Before long, the gunfire stopped, and everything fell silent.
Malson's body trembled. He hung his head and coughed, then heard steady footsteps approaching him.
Damn it, had the Alchemical Baron's people caught up with him again?
But hadn't they already taken all the Ci Mu Gang's money?
Why were they doing this?
Malson felt despair.
The Ci Mu Gang was a small gang in the Black Alley. They strutted around like they owned the place, but compared to the real gangs and the "businessmen," they were just one of the bigger ants in an ant colony.
The Sump had descended into chaos. The gangs and the Alchemical Barons had people all over the place, and even the Black Alley had become a wasteland. They claimed they were looking for someone, but how could anything good come of those bastards barging into your territory?
This is such fucking bullshit.
Maybe that bastard Li Ke was right. Zaun had changed, and gotten even more messed up.
But weren't we already messed up to begin with?
As Malson thought about it, he decided this was as far as his life would go. But then he felt someone lift his arm, and he found himself leaning against a frail body.
"What are you thinking about so hard?"
A somewhat familiar voice rang out. Malson turned his head and saw a familiar face.
"You—Li Ke? My God, what are you doing here?"
"Malson, you look like you've been having a rough time."
Li Ke looked at Malson and smiled.
On the first floor of the house, Malson sat with his head bowed on a hole-ridden sofa, his arm now wrapped in bandages. A kid in a hat sat beside him.
Like him, she didn't dare speak. She sat obediently on the sofa with her hands on her knees.
Li Ke glanced at the little girl. Her hat, which looked just like Teemo's, stood out. Then he looked at Jinx.
"You went out to have fun, fine, but why'd you bring someone back?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Why'd you bring someone back too?"
"That's Malson. Don't you remember him?"
"Malson? He looks a little familiar." Jinx shrugged. "As for her, she's the one who insisted on following me, okay?"
"..."
Sitting beside Jinx, Li Ke was at a loss for words.
"Forget it. Let's just leave things as they are for now. We still have plenty of money, and there are two of them—one's a kid, so they can't eat that much." Li Ke thought it over.
At most, Malson would stay for two days. Li Ke had no intention of letting him stay longer.
As for the little girl, now that Jinx had brought her back, was Li Ke supposed to send her away?
Send away a kid who looked no more than eight years old?
Li Ke didn't think he could do it.
He'd wanted to help all the kids he'd seen in the Junkyard earlier, but he'd held himself back.
Even so, Li Ke was still a little unhappy with Jinx for bringing someone home like she was carrying back a little animal.
People weren't animals, much less pets. Since Jinx had brought her home, she had to take good care of her.
"You brought her home, so you're responsible for her, Jinx. You need to take good care of her."
"Take care of her? You've got to be kidding! I don't want to. It's too much trouble. I don't want to look after a kid." Jinx protested, crossed her legs, and started swinging her braids.
Watching Li Ke joke around with Jinx, Malson finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Forget about that, Li Ke. Why is she..." Malson glanced at Jinx, then continued, "Why is she here with you?"
"Hm?" Jinx, who had been lounging lazily a moment earlier, immediately stood up. Her expression turned hostile as she looked at Malson.
What did he mean by that? Wasn't I allowed to be here?
"That's a long story," Li Ke said with a smile.
Before you continue