First Meeting with Kilman, Bait Set

After getting up early and spending the whole day busy, everyone settled on a plan for tomorrow and went home to sleep.

Su Yi saw that he had not used any of his Bandwidth today, so he activated Matter Encoding to heal his old burns and the scrapes he had picked up today.

Select an area, choose a module, copy, replace.

The whole process flowed effortlessly, leaving Su Yi marveling at it.

"This talent is incredible. I wonder what special effect the next level has."

He used it fourteen times and healed every burn and scrape on his body.

"As expected of a true god's bloodline. There isn't even a cooldown!"

"A zero cooldown is dangerous design, you know!"

After joking to himself, Su Yi deliberately left the unhealed wound at the corner of his brow alone.

Those two wounds would come in handy tomorrow.

Free of injuries and feeling light, Su Yi drifted through the Void Abyss as he slept.

With the power of the Ember Branch, he leveled efficiently, gaining half the experience needed for level eight in a single night.

After waking and carrying out his usual Self-Gratification, Su Yi arrived at the company early.

As the company's general manager, Su Yi no longer had to clock in, but getting up early had become a habit.

To his surprise, everyone else had arrived before him.

Sefni still wore the same plain, simple clothes. Her hair was pinned up neatly, giving her a mature, capable air.

"Do you need to wear an exoskeleton?" Su Yi asked as he put his on.

Sefni shook her head. "It would only get in my way."

After a pause, she asked, "I went over your plan again. Most kids from the lower levels are quick-witted, and plenty would sell out anyone who fed them."

"Playing the kindly old man might not work."

Su Yi smiled. "But if I win over their leader, he can help me keep those little wolves in line."

Su Yi knew full well how many people at the bottom put survival before everything else and could see no further than their next meal.

But Kilman was different. Every player had seen his character and ideals for themselves.

His more than sixty years in power, along with the way he treated his benefactors, friends, and family, had proved what kind of man he was.

On the way to the Orphanage, Su Yi sent messages to Winter and 108. It was time to put on a show.

The Orphanage stood at the edge of the Borderlands' old warship district.

It was run by the Kalbanyan Couple, who had lost their child, and housed a dozen or so orphans in their teens.

Three months ago, short on money, the couple had borrowed five Void Abyss Coins from the company, to be repaid in a week.

But when they were ready to repay the loan, Mad Dog interfered. Jack Kalbanyan suddenly had an "accident" and "broke" his leg one night.

Repayment of the five Void Abyss Coins was delayed again and again. By now, the debt had grown to fifteen.

Although the company had changed direction, Su Yi had kept these debts on the books. He could afford the loss of just over three hundred Void Abyss Coins.

And Su Yi needed to find people here he could put to work.

Helping them in their hour of need, while appearing to do good without seeking credit, would be enough to win over Kilman while he was still a boy.

When Su Yi and Sefni arrived at the Orphanage, built from piles of scrap wood and waterproof tarps, they found the dozen or so orphans waiting with determined faces.

Armed with wooden swords, branches, and rolling pins, they blocked the entrance.

"Company dogs! Get lost!" shouted the boy at their head, who looked seventeen or eighteen.

The boy was thin but tall, already six feet, and towered over the other children.

He had striking blond hair and blue eyes.

Several scars marked his handsome face, lending him a fierce edge.

[Name: Kilman Kalbanyan]

[Faction: None]

[Rank: None]

[Void Abyss Projection: Not unlocked]

[Level: 2]

[Health: 320]

(He despised the company dogs who had trapped his parents in debt!)

Su Yi smiled inwardly. Found him!

Of the whole group, Kilman alone carried a "knife" ground from a rusty scrap of iron.

Behind him stood a girl with a ponytail. The burn on her left cheek was red, swollen, and oozing pus. She looked a little frightened, but her gaze was firm.

Looking farther back, Su Yi saw that although the children were a little frail, they were well fed. None looked gaunt or sickly.

Just then, a thin woman in her forties hurried out. "Sir! Sir! Could you give us a few more days?"

"My husband's leg is almost healed. He'll be able to work again soon!"

Another middle-aged man struggled out on a crude branch crutch and pleaded, "Yes, sir. The children are innocent. Please, have mercy!"

Sefni could hardly bear the sight. She looked toward Su Yi.

Su Yi felt a pang too.

Having grown up with a decent modern education, he found it hard to watch.

Kilman rushed over. "Dad, Mom! You don't have to beg him!"

He stepped forward. "We owe money, right? I'll work for you! Leave my parents alone!"

Three other children, around fifteen or sixteen, ran up as well. "We will too!"

Su Yi gave a vicious grin. "Fine! I'll have someone come take all of you away in a minute!"

Kilman's eyes widened. "Let them try!"

At their moment of despair, the heroes appeared.

Winter came running over. "Stop! If you've got a problem, take it up with me!"

The children turned, then broke into excited shrieks.

"Whoa! It's the Human Alliance Heroes! Winter and 108!"

"So that's 108? He's huge! When will I be that strong?"

Su Yi roared, "What the hell are you to stand in my way?"

Then, before the children's eyes, Winter and 108 beat Su Yi so badly that he fled with his arms over his head.

Kilman turned to Sefni. "Ma'am! Run! They drove the company dog off!"

He had taken Sefni for a poor woman forced to sell herself.

Sefni said nothing, looking too frightened to speak.

By then, the other two had chased Su Yi away.

"108 is unbeatable!"

"Winter is so cool!"

"Long live the Heroes!"

The children shouted with excitement.

Word of Winter and 108 had spread recently.

Kilman looked delighted. "I'm going to see how badly they beat that company dog!"

Knowing the area well, Kilman slipped through a hole in a fence and soon found the two parties in a secluded corner.

He meant to remember how wretched the company dog looked so he could tell his younger siblings.

To his surprise, the people who had just been fighting were now perfectly civil to one another.

Then he saw Su Yi hand thirty Void Abyss Coins to the Hero named Winter.

"The hundred I gave you earlier should still be enough to settle these poor people's debts, right? Donate these thirty to the Orphanage in your names."

Kilman froze. "What's going on?"

To him, thirty Void Abyss Coins was a fortune!

108 said, "You could give it to them privately. You don't have to make yourself the villain in all this."

Su Yi sighed. "Once you take certain paths, there's no turning back. If I gave it to them, they'd think it was a trap and refuse."

"Even though our company has changed, and I handed those debt-collecting thugs over for you to kill..."

"Prejudice isn't so easily erased."

"So I plan to follow Miss Barrett's example and build a hospital here to treat these children."

Winter took a deep breath. "On behalf of all the poor people whose debts you've quietly paid, thank you!"

"We've kept a record of every payment. I believe that one day, everyone should be singing the praises of your kindness and character!"

Kilman's eyes went wide as he listened. Utter disbelief filled his face.

"How... how is that possible? This money... this money came from that vicious company dog?!"

Kilman's mind was a mess. His entire view of the world felt as though it had collapsed.

As far as he knew, everything about the company was evil! It all had to be destroyed!

Those damned nobles were no different. They had to be destroyed too.

And the Heroes of the Human Alliance stood for light and justice.

Wait. That man... isn't he the one who saved those children yesterday?

Kilman had excellent eyesight. Watching from the outskirts yesterday, he had seen that astonishing, heroic act.

It couldn't be...

Then he heard 108's deep voice. "How are your injuries? You gave us a real scare saving those kids yesterday."

Su Yi laughed. "It's nothing serious. Look, the wound's almost healed."

Winter said earnestly, "Be careful from now on. You only have one life."

The two of them truly cared about Su Yi's safety.

After all, if anything happened to such a generous patron, finding another one would be hard.

Kilman's eyes widened. He leaned out slightly and caught a clear glimpse of the unhealed wound at the corner of Su Yi's brow.

"It really is him! But... how...?"

Kilman was utterly lost.

How could such a great, selfless Hero... be a company debt collector's lackey?!

His thoughts in turmoil, Kilman slipped away before anyone noticed him and sank into deep contemplation.

A faint smile touched Su Yi's lips. The plan had worked perfectly.

Winter and 108 looked pleased too.

Their reputations had just gone up another ten points.

Unfortunately, the patch adding individual NPC affinity would not arrive for another two Earth days, or twelve in-game days.

So neither of them knew how much affinity they had gained this time.