The True Knight

Don Quixote turned his head, looked at Jose with a complex expression, and ultimately chose to keep his mouth shut, refraining from lecturing him.

Jose and his wife were illegal immigrants who could no longer survive in Mexico, so they had smuggled themselves into America and eventually made their way to New York.

During the day, Jose mixed cement at construction sites, and at night, his wife went out to solicit customers on the street. When business was good, they could save nearly 300 dollars a week.

However, ever since Jose's wife accidentally became pregnant and her belly grew larger by the day, their weekly savings had dwindled.

For Jose and his wife, it did not matter whose child it was; having worked in this line of business, they did not care about such things.

What mattered was that they needed the child to be born with American citizenship so they could shed their status as illegal immigrants.

If Jose did not get the money today, they would have no way to pay next week's rent, and Jose's wife would be forced to go out again while heavily pregnant—a prospect neither of them wanted to see.

Just as the two were speaking in low voices, Li Wei and Leto walked out of the corrugated iron shack one after the other.

"Come over here," Li Wei said to Don Quixote. "Mr. Leto is very generous; he intends to pay everyone's wages for this week out of his own pocket."

"Li Wei, how did you do it?" Don Quixote asked, dumbfounded as he watched Leto order the security guard to retrieve money from the safe. "To snatch cash back from the hands of a miser like Leto—in his eyes, that's more important than his own mother's life."

"We'll talk later," Li Wei said, standing next to Don Quixote. "Let's wait until the workers actually get the money in their hands."

After all, he had not yet tested the effective duration of the cognitive distortion caused by Eloquent Speaker, and he felt a bit uneasy inside.

When his skill had been at the level of Clumsy Eloquence, the influence exerted on Leon did not seem to be permanent; otherwise, Li Wei would not have been exposed the last time he sold gold coins.

Fortunately, it seemed that as long as no one came along to challenge the notion, the effects of Eloquent Speaker would persist, which put Li Wei slightly at ease.

Just as Don Quixote and the workers received their wages and walked out of the construction site, Li Wei suddenly saw the mission panel pop up again.

[Mission: Upholding Justice completed]

[You have successfully reclaimed justice for the laborers and avoided any violence or bloodshed.]

[Reward: 0.1 free attribute points issued]

[No one was injured in this incident; your cleverness deserves a reward]

[Extra +0.1 free attribute points]

[Mission reward: 0.2 attribute points issued]

[Free attribute points: 0.2]

Li Wei's eyes lit up. He had not expected that, aside from the first mission, he would trigger an extra reward again! This brought him one step closer to reaching 3.0 in a single stat.

However, now was not the time to add points. After walking forward with the group for a while, Li Wei told Don Quixote how he had "persuaded" Leto.

"...That's basically it," Li Wei said, spreading his hands. "I told him that once he paid it out of pocket, it would resolve a crisis for the company, and he could be reimbursed later, so he agreed."

"Tch, I never thought that miser Leto would actually pay us in advance," one worker said excitedly. "I finally don't have to go test those drugs."

Li Wei smiled and nodded.

The money was indeed paid by Leto, but as for whether the company behind him would reimburse him, Li Wei did not know, nor did he care.

"Everyone," Don Quixote took the opportunity to cough. "I have an announcement to make."

Jose, knowing that Don Quixote was escaping his misery today, looked at him and patted his shoulder with envy.

"I've found a new job and am moving to Bay Ridge," Don Quixote said to his fellow workers. "Coincidentally, my nephew is about to start school. I propose that I treat everyone—how about we go grab a drink now?"

Since Don Quixote had good news and was offering to pay, most people naturally agreed. A crowd of over a dozen people followed him to the cheapest bar they could find.

It was 3:45 PM, and the "Happy Hour" when beer was discounted ran from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, so the group had to wait at the door for 15 minutes before going in to order.

The group ordered some mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and cheap Bud Light, then sat at three tables to drink and chat.

"Everyone! Listen to me!" Don Quixote stood up, his sun-darkened face glowing with the stimulation of alcohol. "After this week, I'm moving to Bay Ridge! I've found a new job!"

The workers erupted in cheers. Although Bay Ridge was not a place where every inch of land was worth gold like Manhattan, it was the closest thing to a middle-class neighborhood that these blue-collar workers living week-to-week could imagine.

"That bitch of an ex-wife couldn't crush me! That bastard Leto couldn't kill me in a cement trough!" Don Quixote roared. "He didn't have the ability to withhold our wages! And today, it's all thanks to my nephew—Li Wei!"

Don Quixote then grabbed Li Wei, who was sitting beside him, his voice growing increasingly high-pitched:

"Do you see him? Not only did he get our hard-earned money back from a miser like Leto!" He looked down at his coworkers with red eyes. "He is a true genius! You semi-literates probably don't know, right? Ha! He's going to Yale! And he will definitely go to Yale! He will enter Washington in the future and give orders from an office there!"

"Also, I wouldn't be able to move away from here without my nephew's help," he wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve. "Nephew, I am proud of you!"

"To Li Wei!" a bearded worker shouted, raising his glass.

"To today's wages!"

"To sitting in an office and giving orders!"

Li Wei smiled and raised his glass in response, joining the drinking session with the workers.

Jose sat in the corner watching Li Wei, a trace of envy flashing in his eyes. He lowered his head to take a sip of his drink, calculating how long the money in his hand could sustain him and his wife.

The 1,000-dollar weekly wage solved his immediate crisis, but it was still only enough to barely keep them alive.

Suddenly, he felt the sofa beside him sink—Don Quixote had sat down next to him and clinked his glass against his.

"How much longer until your wife gives birth?" Don Quixote asked. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"According to the timeline, it should be next month, but the doctor... I haven't seen one yet."

Jose shook his head. Both he and his wife were illegal immigrants, and their English was poor; they were afraid to go to the hospital for fear of being caught and deported by immigration authorities.

"I see..."

Don Quixote placed his glass on the table, pondered for a moment, and took out the wages he had just received.

He was white and had legal status, so he earned 200 dollars more per week.

He first counted out 300 dollars, then added more until it reached 600.

After hesitating, he rolled up the entire 1,200 dollars and stuffed it into Jose's hand.

"Take it, don't let anyone else know," Don Quixote whispered. "Buy your wife some nutritious food. Don't let her body suffer anymore during this time."

"You're still young," he patted Jose's head. "You're only 22; you will definitely make it through this."