A Saint's Heart

"I don't have any contracts related to laborers, but Yuguang has some families who can no longer make ends meet. They choose to sell their sons or daughters to Yaoguang."

"To prevent people from running away, the traffickers only pay half up front. The other half is written into the contract and due three years later."

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

"Three years ago, I negotiated with the Council on behalf of the union. I asked them to contribute some money, and the union covered the bulk of it. We bought those IOUs from the families at half their face value, so at least they could get some of their money back. Then the union went after the traffickers for payment. It was always easier for us to collect than for the families to do it themselves."

"However, the traffickers all have the backing of large, highly influential companies. Most of the time, we can't collect in the end. All the contracts and IOUs are here."

As Li Ming spoke, Li Wei opened the ledger too. Almost every page had a contract tucked inside.

He had also tallied everything up. The unpaid debts came to a total of more than twelve million!

Counting from the earliest date to now, over the course of two or three years, more than four hundred people had been sold to Yaoguang. On average, each person was still owed over thirty thousand in payment for their sale.

Li Wei counted the densely packed IOUs and contracts, then looked up at Li Ming and asked,

"How many companies in Yaoguang are the biggest players in this human trafficking?"

Li Ming considered it for a moment before answering.

"There used to be four, but one went bankrupt and left Sun City in the past couple of years. The other three divided up its business. Now there are only those three left. Most of the traffickers work for them."

After hearing the answer, Li Wei put down the ledger. He didn't intend to take Li Ming's money. He only planned to make a deal with him.

"I can help you, but I don't want your money. We can make a deal. I'll help you collect these debts, but we'll sign an agreement first. We'll split whatever we collect fifty-fifty. Of the twelve million, I'll take six."

Li Wei held his gaze as he spoke.

Li Ming frowned, looking at him in utter confusion.

"These are basically all bad debts. How are you going to get them to pay? They won't give you a single cent!"

Li Wei tapped the table with his finger and said calmly,

"You don't need to worry about how I'll collect. You must have your own sources of information in Yaoguang. Leave me a way to stay in touch with you. Once I get the money, I'll need some way to get your share to you. Oh, and compile all the information you have on those three companies involved in human trafficking. Just give it to me tomorrow before I leave."

Li Ming didn't agree right away. He simply held Li Wei's gaze. Having witnessed the fight in the rain that night, he had some idea of how Li Wei intended to do it.

"I don't understand. You could easily do this without the IOUs and contracts. You don't need to split the money with the union, either."

By then, Li Wei had already risen from his chair. He didn't seem inclined to explain himself.

"You don't need to understand. Think it over tonight. If you agree, draft the agreement. When we meet tomorrow, give it to me along with the information on those three companies."

He headed for the door. Just as he was about to push it open and leave, he seemed to remember something. Turning around, he smiled and gave a little wave.

"Ah, I nearly forgot. Feng Zi told me to mind my manners. Good night. Sweet dreams."

As Li Ming watched the door close again, he knew there was no chance he'd be getting a good night's sleep.

He stared at the ledger in his hands, unable to figure out how Li Wei could get money out of these bloodsucking capitalists without using force.

But if he had already decided to use force, what was the point of asking for the IOUs?

And why bother signing an agreement and splitting the money fifty-fifty?

Li Ming sat in his chair, frowning as he pondered it. He didn't even respond when his wife came out and worriedly told him it was time to rest.

He thought about it until well past midnight, then finally let out a long sigh.

The more he mulled it over, the more complicated his feelings became.

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

This biological human, raised in captivity by Tian'en Company for seventeen years, wanted by the Council and smeared with false accusations, hated by the laborers of all Yuguang—he had the heart of a saint!

Despite suffering so much persecution and misunderstanding, he still sympathized with Yuguang's lowly laborers. He wanted to help them and get back the wages they were owed—the wages they should have received in exchange for their families, their lives, and their freedom.

That was the only explanation!

And realizing this made Li Ming feel even more pained.

He clenched his fists in anger!

Why was it that even a biological human, born to be nothing but a test subject and subjected to so much misunderstanding and persecution, knew to sympathize with laborers who struggled just to stay alive?

Yet those pampered, resplendent dignitaries in Yaoguang would rather pour milk and bread into the gutters than show even the slightest bit of compassion for another group of people living in the same city.

He couldn't understand it. He had spent half his life trying, and still couldn't understand.

Li Ming could only take a deep breath, pull out a sheet of paper, pick up his pen, and begin drafting the agreement to split the recovered debts.

2nd District, morning.

Thick white smog had already blanketed all of Yuguang.

News of the Bishop's murder was spreading like wildfire through this desolate place. Even the usually quiet mornings spent waiting for the train now rang with curses and sighs.

Yuguang's laborers hated Li Wei.

At almost every platform, people could be heard cursing that biological human, Patent No. 626.

From the moment she stepped out into the smog, Feng Zi had been grinding her teeth in anger. Every time she heard someone insult Li Wei, she wanted to grab them by the collar and punch them hard in the face!

Li Wei, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered. He even listened with interest to see what kinds of nasty things people could come up with.

When he heard profanity he'd never heard before, he even clicked his tongue in admiration at the scriptwriters' wealth of experience. Who would've thought they could come up with lines like that?

As he held Feng Zi by the arm to keep her from losing her temper and starting a fight, Li Wei glanced at the updated mission information that had appeared in his mind.

[Mission triggered: "Visit": Find and visit a girl from Yuguang. If she is in a bad situation, bring her back]

[Mission reward: None]

The change didn't surprise him. Li Ming had most likely agreed to their deal, and a deal was just a deal—it couldn't count as a mission reward.

That meant the mission reward could only be one word: "None."