Am I the Prettiest?

Deep in the Black Alley, amid the bustling crowd, Li Ke carried Jinx on his back. She had buried her little face against his shoulder, but that long blue braid alone made her impossible to miss.

In the middle levels of Zaun and elsewhere, the residents might not know who Jinx was. But the people living in the Sump, especially around the Black Alley?

Heh. They knew all too well who Jinx was!

Silco had kept her well hidden and rarely sent her out on jobs, but her fearsome reputation was no less than Sevika's—in fact, it was even worse.

Sevika was ruthless. If a deal couldn't be settled through negotiation, she'd resort to violence. Over the years, plenty of dockside gang leaders and Sump merchants had died at her hands. But compared to Jinx?

There was no comparison. This little miss was the type to kill someone over the slightest thing, even after a deal had already been settled.

A madwoman was even more frightening than a brute, because you could never guess what she was thinking.

And everyone in the Black Alley knew just how much Silco doted on her. People living here had often watched Jinx stand outside the Fugen Tavern and point at Sevika's nose while yelling at her. Even when Sevika was shaking with rage, she didn't dare fight back.

And now, seeing her fast asleep on the back of a young man with black hair, they were more than a little shocked.

"Fuck, am I seeing things? Is that Jinx?"

"It is. Hair can be misleading, but that slender body and that aura? Those don't lie."

"How did he pull that off?"

Li Ke ignored the stares around him, supporting Jinx's round, pert little bottom as he headed for the territory that had once belonged to Finn.

He didn't need to hide Jinx from the Sump residents anymore. He had the strength to stand up to them now.

Silco had also handed that territory over to Li Ke, expanding the Lian Hua Gang's power.

Once the Wildfire Gang joined them, the Lian Hua Gang and the Wildfire Gang together would make Li Ke the second most powerful force in Zaun, just beneath Silco.

The Alchemical Barons?

Heh. They were just useless thugs who'd hired a few dozen goons, opened some factories, and then fancied themselves kings.

As for why Silco had given the territory to Li Ke, there was no other reason. Although Sevika had been the one to kill Finn in the end, Silco had no intention of taking Finn's territory for himself. It wasn't just because he'd agreed with Li Ke to expand the Lian Hua Gang. It was also because doing so would stir up "public opinion."

That was right. Whether they were Alchemical Barons or people living in the Sump, once they found out what had happened that day and learned that Finn hadn't attended the barons' meeting the day before, they'd all guess that Silco had been behind Finn's death.

But Silco wouldn't admit it. Did anyone really dare to go around blabbing that Silco had done it?

Unless Finn came back from the dead, named Silco as his killer, and stirred up public opinion, no one would dare come forward and accuse Silco of wrongdoing at a time like this.

What's more, Finn's territory had now been handed to a newly risen gang. The Lian Hua Gang, or whatever they were called.

The news was that Finn had been killed by members of this gang, making it a clash between a gang and a baron. But everyone knew that the Lian Hua Gang had some hard-to-explain connection to Silco.

"Mm..."

"How long was I asleep?"

Yawning, Jinx pushed herself upright. She shifted from lying across Li Ke's back to straddling it, bracing one hand on his shoulder as she rubbed her eyes with the other. Still groggy, she asked, "Are we going back?"

"You slept for about two hours. How do you feel?" Li Ke asked with a smile when he heard her sleepy voice.

Jinx stretched her arms and legs like a cat. Her long braid dangled down to Li Ke's ankles, nearly touching the ground. She nodded. "Pretty good. But I think someone pinched my nose while I was sleeping. So annoying."

"That's because you fell asleep face-down on the sofa. Your face was buried in it, so of course you couldn't breathe properly."

"Is that so?" Jinx asked in surprise.

"Of course."

"Where are we going now? This doesn't look like the way back to the Lian Hua Gang." Jinx glanced around. Whenever she caught someone looking at her and Li Ke, she glared right back. The people she glared at immediately looked away, avoiding the gaze of Zaun's crazy little demon.

"We're heading to the new territory we just established. Vi and the others are already there, and Ekko's waiting for me, too," Li Ke replied.

That morning, Zeri had brought Ekko the news, and he'd agreed to lead the Wildfire Gang into the Lian Hua Gang.

As he thought about it, Li Ke hitched Jinx up a little higher with the hand supporting her bottom. Since she hadn't asked to get down and walk, he wasn't going to suggest it himself.

Besides, Jinx wasn't heavy. Carrying a girl who weighed a little over a hundred pounds was no burden at all for him.

And when he was close to Jinx, he could smell an aroma he really liked: laundry detergent, motor oil, and an indescribable, milky-sweet scent.

Mixed together, they didn't smell strange at all. In fact, Li Ke loved the smell.

Was it because it belonged to Jinx?

Li Ke wasn't sure.

But the scent made him feel at ease.

"Li Ke, I hate Ekko." She suddenly wrapped both arms around his neck and rested her head against his, her voice muffled.

"Why?"

"Because he hates me, too. If he hates me, then I hate him." Jinx said it as if it were only natural. "He thinks I've changed, that I'm not normal anymore, and he's come after me again and again. The first time I saw him, I didn't even recognize him. Otherwise, I never would've attacked him. We used to play together all the time when we were kids. I'm not that crazy, Li Ke."

"He recognized me, but he pretended not to. Is it just because I'm with Silco now?" Jinx sounded angry.

"Vi and Ekko, they're the same. They keep saying they like me and care about me, but as soon as they find out I'm with Silco, they start being afraid of me and hating me. But they could've just asked me to leave Silco." Her voice turned dejected.

This was Jinx's first time seeing Silco in a month, ever since she'd left him. Before that, she'd never been away from him for so long.

Did she miss Silco?

She did.

Did she know what had happened between Silco, Vi, and Ekko?

She did.

Jinx understood it all. She understood a lot of things. She'd been especially clever ever since she was little.

Over the years, she'd also known that Silco had killed Vander. No—I should say that Silco and I killed Vander. But Vi abandoned me, and then Silco came to me. So what else could I do?

Vi leaving had shattered her. Her desire to survive had driven her instinctively toward the nearest person, seeking an adult's protection.

I... I just wanted to stay alive.

Back then, Powder didn't understand any of that.

But when it came down to it, she really had been the one to make the first mistake. Thinking of that, Jinx grew gloomy again. Li Ke could clearly sense her unhappiness as he carried her.

Because her Emotion Points were shooting up like crazy.

"Do you think it's Vi and Ekko's fault?" Li Ke asked after a moment's thought.

Jinx suddenly opened her mouth, lowered her head, and gently bit Li Ke's neck. Then she ran her tongue over his neck twice. The wet, soft touch made Li Ke shudder, and an indescribable tingle shot up his spine.

He took the hand supporting Jinx's bottom away and reached up to cover the spot she'd licked. It was warm and a little damp. Turning his head, Li Ke saw Jinx's face clouded with worry.

She gripped his shoulders to steady herself, looking so adorable with that troubled little face.

Li Ke looked at her and realized she seemed much more normal now. He hadn't seen her go crazy in quite some time.

But it wasn't surprising. She had Isha, Vi, and Li Ke now. The people she cared about were all by her side, so of course her emotions had become more stable.

"You're picking on me," Jinx said.

"I'm just asking." Li Ke was speechless.

"Actually, I know. I know I've done a lot of things wrong, and it's not their fault. But... I just want them to accept me and care for me like they used to. But they've all changed!" Jinx looked at Li Ke, her bright blue eyes blinking as she went on. "Everyone says I've changed. Bullshit! They're the ones who changed!"

"If they accepted me and cared for me like they used to, I'd be the same little tagalong as before, following them around and doing what they said."

"But you saw it, didn't you? They're all afraid of me. Especially Vi. She says she loves me, says she stayed in the Lian Hua Gang for my sake and promised to protect me. But when I secretly went to see her last time and stood by her bed watching her sleep, she woke up and got so scared."

"God, she even shrank into the corner of the bed! Am I really that ugly? I'm so pretty!"

Jinx let out a shriek and grabbed the hair above her forehead, shaking it back and forth.

"Li Ke, am I the prettiest?"

"Yes," Li Ke answered seriously.

He'd seen Jinx with her hair down, and he'd seen her asleep. He'd seen her quiet and still, without any exaggerated expressions. Li Ke could say with confidence that she really was the prettiest girl in Zaun.

Especially when her blue hair fell loose and messy, and she sat there in a sleepy daze. Li Ke found it hard to describe Jinx like that.

But... ethereal, fragile, melancholy—perhaps those were the best words for her?

"I still don't want to see Ekko."

"That's fine. If you don't want to see him, we won't."

"Don't you have something important to discuss with him? Aren't you trying to recruit the Firefly Gang?" Jinx blinked.

"It's fine. We'll have another chance later. He's already agreed, anyway." Li Ke changed direction and stopped heading for the territory that had once belonged to Finn.

Instead, he headed toward the Lian Hua Gang's territory.

Jinx suddenly flopped onto Li Ke's back, resting her little chin on his head. "Silco isn't all that bad, really. No—he's bad, super evil. He's killed a lot of people. But, Li Ke, he's genuinely good to me."

"I'm not stupid. I can tell who treats me well and who treats me badly."

"He really does treat you like his daughter. Don't worry, Jinx. Silco won't be our enemy. Nothing will happen to him."

"I wasn't even thinking about that."

Li Ke carried Jinx, step by step, back to the Lian Hua Gang.

Jinx lay against his back, her face tucked into the hollow of his shoulder.

Suddenly, she shifted and rubbed her forehead against his shoulder.

"You're different."

"What?" Li Ke heard Jinx's voice and asked her.

His hearing was excellent, after all.

But Jinx didn't say anything. She only rubbed against Li Ke's shoulder like a cat.

You're different.

Really.

Li Ke.

All they want is Powder back. They all hate Jinx.

Silco loves Jinx, but he hates the weak and useless Powder.

But—

You're different.

You only want me.

She lifted her head, narrowed her eyes, and clung tightly to Li Ke.