The Saint's Heart

"I don't have contracts related to the laborers, but regarding other matters, some families in Yuguang who can no longer survive choose to sell their sons or daughters to Yaoguang."

"To prevent them from running away, those human traffickers only pay half the money upfront, while the remaining half is tied to a contract to be paid out three years later."

"Yet, when the time actually comes, very few people ever manage to collect that blood money."

"Three years ago, I used the Union's name to negotiate with the Council above. I begged them to put up a portion of the funds, and with the Union covering the bulk of the rest, we bought these IOUs from those families at half their value so they could at least get something back. It's always easier for the Union to collect on these IOUs than it is for the individuals themselves."

"However, those traffickers all have powerful, high-status corporations backing them, so in the end, most of the money can't be recovered. All those contracts and IOUs are right here."

As Li Ming spoke, Li Wei opened the ledger, which had a contract tucked into almost every page.

He finished the summary: the total amount of these outstanding debts came to over 12 million!

Counting from the beginning, over the past two or three years, a total of more than 400 people had been sold to Yaoguang, with each person still owed an average of over 30,000 in unpaid blood money.

Li Wei counted the dense stack of IOUs and contracts, then looked up at Li Ming and asked.

"How many major sources are behind this human trafficking in Yaoguang?"

Li Ming thought for a moment before answering.

"There were originally four, but one went bankrupt and left Sun City in the last two years, and its share was carved up by the other three. Now, only these three remain. Those traffickers are basically their subordinates."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei set down the ledger. He didn't intend to take Li Ming's money; he only intended to strike a deal.

"I can help you, but I don't want your money. We can make a trade: I'll help you collect these debts, but we must sign an agreement beforehand. We split the recovered money fifty-fifty. Out of 12 million, I take 6 million."

Li Wei stared into his eyes as he spoke.

This made Li Ming frown, looking at him with a face full of confusion.

"These are basically bad debts by now. How are you going to collect from them? They won't give you a single cent!"

Li Wei tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly.

"You don't need to worry about how I collect. You must have your own channels for information in Yaoguang; just leave me a way to stay in contact with you so I can get the money to you once I have it. Oh, and give me a summary of all the information on those three human trafficking companies before I leave tomorrow."

Li Ming didn't agree immediately. He just locked eyes with Li Wei. Having witnessed that slaughter in the rainy night with his own eyes, he had actually guessed what Li Wei intended to do.

"I don't understand. You could have done this without these IOUs and contracts, and there was no need to split it with the Union."

Li Wei had already stood up from his chair by then, showing no intention of explaining further.

"You don't need to understand. You can think it over tonight. If you agree, draft the contract and hand it to me tomorrow when we meet, along with the information on those three companies."

He walked toward the door, and just as he was about to push it open to leave, he seemed to remember something. He turned around and waved his hand with a smile.

"Ah, almost forgot. Feng Zi told me to be polite. Good night, sleep well."

Staring at the door as it closed again, Li Ming felt that he wouldn't be getting a real good night's sleep tonight.

He stared at the ledger in his hands, unable to fathom how Li Wei could possibly extract money from those soul-devouring capitalists without resorting to force.

But if he had already planned to use force, what was the point of these IOUs?

Not to mention the fact that he wanted to sign a contract to split the money fifty-fifty.

Li Ming sat in his chair, frowning in thought, ignoring his wife when she came out, worriedly telling him it was time to rest.

He thought until the small hours of the morning, finally letting out a long sigh.

The deeper he thought about it, the more complex his feelings became.

The only reason he could think of for why Li Wei would do this was that he had his own principles.

This bio-human, who had been kept in captivity by Tian'en Company for seventeen years, wanted by the Council and smeared with filth, and now loathed by all the laborers in Yuguang, possessed the heart of a saint!

Even after suffering so much persecution and misunderstanding, he still sympathized with the bottom-tier laborers of Yuguang. He wanted to do something for them, to reclaim the wages they had traded their families, their lives, and their freedom for.

That was the only explanation!

And thinking of this made Li Ming feel even more pained.

He clenched his fists in anger!

Why was it that even a bio-human, born only to be an experimental subject and subjected to so much misunderstanding and persecution, knew how to sympathize with laborers who were already struggling just to stay alive?

Yet those nobles in Yaoguang, living in luxury and splendor, would rather pour milk and bread into the gutter than show even the slightest bit of pity for the people living in the same city?

He couldn't figure out this question; he hadn't been able to figure it out for half his life.

Li Ming could only take a deep breath, pull out a sheet of paper, pick up a pen, and begin drafting the contract for the debt recovery split.

2nd District, early morning.

A thick, white smog had shrouded all of Yuguang.

The news of The Bishop's murder had spread like wildfire through this dilapidated land. Even the usually quiet mornings waiting for the train were filled with more cursing and sighing than usual.

The laborers of Yuguang hated Li Wei to the bone.

On almost every platform, one could hear voices railing against the bio-human with the serial number 626.

This made Feng Zi, who was walking through the smog, grit her teeth from the moment she stepped out. Every time she heard someone curse Li Wei, she wanted to grab them by the collar and punch them hard in the face!

Li Wei, however, seemed completely indifferent. He was even listening with interest to see what kind of nasty words those people could come up with.

Whenever he heard a curse word he hadn't encountered before, he would even click his tongue in praise of the "scriptwriting team's" extensive experience, wondering how they could possibly come up with such lines.

While grabbing Feng Zi's arm to prevent her from actually losing her temper and picking a fight, Li Wei also glanced at the quest information in his mind that had already undergone a change.

[Triggered Quest "Visit": Find and visit a girl from Yuguang. If her situation is dire, bring her back.]

[Quest Reward: None]

Such a change did not come as a surprise to him; Li Ming had, in all likelihood, agreed to the deal between them, and a deal was naturally just a deal, not to be counted as a quest reward.

So, the quest reward now could only be a single word: "None."