“Fairy-Eyed” probably never expected that the savior she thought Lu Liang was—someone coming to rescue her—would turn out to be a bully who was only after money.
She looked at Lu Liang with a wronged expression, her Fairy-Eyed eyes brimming with tears, each blink squeezing out a large, crystal-clear drop.
But “Fairy-Eyed” didn’t dare refuse. While Lu Liang was beating up the other two, she stood quietly to the side, not even daring to open her eyes.
After a brief struggle in her heart, “Fairy-Eyed” carefully took out a crumpled wallet from her pocket and said cautiously:
“Can you just take the money and not do anything else?”
Hmm?
Lu Liang was momentarily stunned, wondering what “anything else” referred to.
He noticed a hint of fear and resistance in Fairy-Eyed’s gaze, and only then did it dawn on him that those two earlier might have been up to more than just robbing money.
To be fair, although “Fairy-Eyed” only revealed her eyes, just with those captivating, mesmerizing eyes, she was probably not unattractive overall.
No wonder she was facing such troubles.
Lu Liang nodded and responded straightforwardly:
“Don’t worry, I only take money, no touching, I won’t do anything else… What? Is this all the money you have?”
He rummaged through the crumpled Small Cloth Bag and found only a few 5 and 10 yuan bills, adding up to less than a hundred yuan in total.
“This is all your wealth?”
“N-No… really no more.”
“Fairy-Eyed” took a few fearful steps back.
“Huh… I’ve run into a poor ghost.”
Lu Liang took a deep breath, put the bills back into the Small Cloth Bag, and casually tossed it back to Fairy-Eyed.
“Fairy-Eyed” quickly caught the bag, her eyes moistening as she gently wiped them. Her gaze was veiled by a thin curtain of tears, like a frightened little deer, evoking pity.
“Alright, you can go now.”
Lu Liang waved his hand, signaling Fairy-Eyed to leave:
“Since you’re poor, I won’t take your money. Go back up the well entrance and get home early.”
Seeing how pitifully little money she had, and that she hadn’t reported him earlier, plus her appearance that didn’t look like someone involved in the Dark World, Lu Liang decided not to make things difficult for her.
Fairy-Eyed nodded, puzzled but grateful:
“Thank you.”
After Lu Liang inspected his equipment once more and turned on his flashlight, ready to explore the Subway, Fairy-Eyed was still a short distance behind him, looking at him timidly.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you leaving?”
Fairy-Eyed shook her head, fearful but resolute:
“I want to earn money.”
Earn money?
Lu Liang glanced at Fairy-Eyed.
Just you?
The Scavenger job isn’t something anyone can do.
Walking through the Dark World, once discovered by a Magical Girl, you’ll end up in prison.
To put it bluntly, it’s not uncommon for underperforming Magical Girls to get caught and turned into performance stats.
If you want to do this job, you have to be ruthless; otherwise, you’re just fish on a chopping board.
And Fairy-Eyed clearly wasn’t the ruthless type. If Lu Liang hadn’t arrived in time, she probably would’ve already suffered a humiliating defeat.
Lu Liang pondered for a few seconds and then suddenly asked:
“What’s your name?”
“Bai Wanqing.”
“Fairy-Eyed” startled, then hesitated as she answered.
“Bai Wanqing… you’re not suited for this line of work. Go back.”
“You… can’t you not send me away? I won’t walk the same path as you, okay? I just want to earn money.”
Bai Wanqing took a few steps back, scared but stubborn.
“Why?” Lu Liang was a little confused. He didn’t look like someone easy to mess with.
“I… I don’t have enough tuition. The teacher said if I don’t pay, I can’t attend class.”
Lu Liang suddenly understood. Seeing that she, like himself, was scavenging to pay tuition, a feeling of sympathy rose in him:
“Alright, I won’t send you away. But if you encounter any danger, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Lu Liang switched on his flashlight, illuminating the dark Subway.
“Thank you.”
Bai Wanqing watched Lu Liang’s back and softly said thanks.
Following the Subway tributaries, the long, dark corridor stretched ahead like a man-eating beast with its bloodthirsty maw wide open, silently lying in wait for passing Scavengers.
Swish!
Lu Liang struck something small rustling in the darkness with his blade, hitting it until it couldn’t move. The flashlight illuminated the creature.
It was the Insectoid Monster-Man that Lu Liang’s Information Broker had mentioned. It was indeed small and delicate, resembling a cicada with human-like limbs, but definitely not as many as the broker claimed.
“Damn that Information Broker, lying to me again.”
Lu Liang cursed quietly. Suddenly, he felt eyes watching him from behind.
Turning around, he saw Bai Wanqing curiously looking at the Insectoid Monster-Man in his hand.
Noticing his gaze, Bai Wanqing quickly looked away and pointed to the path they came from, whispering:
“There’s only this one way. When we reach the fork, I won’t follow you anymore.”
“Hmph.”
Lu Liang knew she meant she wouldn’t walk the same path as him and found her seriousness a bit endearing and cute. He suddenly felt like teasing her:
“Look.”
Lu Liang shook the Insectoid Monster-Man in his palm, indicating for Bai Wanqing to look.
Curious, Bai Wanqing examined the creature carefully, inexplicably feeling a bit reluctant:
“It’s so pitiful.”
Pitiful? What’s pitiful about it?
Lu Liang chuckled dismissively.
In this line of work, you can’t afford to be soft-hearted.
He glanced at the creature and was suddenly stunned, then found Bai Wanqing was right—the monster did seem somewhat pitiful.
The Insectoid Monster-Man, as if sentient, shielded its eyes from the harsh flashlight with one hand, while with the other it opened a tight seam on its chest cavity, pulling out a shiny object.
Lu Liang looked closer and saw it was a one-yuan Coin.
Where on earth did this little thing find that?
While Lu Liang was distracted, the monster painfully raised the Coin high, as if aware that its fate was in Lu Liang’s hands, and let out low, submissive insectoid chirps.
“So you want to bribe me with this Coin to let you go?”
Perhaps because Lu Liang was now part Monster himself, he somehow understood the meaning behind the insect chirps.
The Insectoid Monster-Man chirped louder, lifting its arm even higher, holding the Coin right before Lu Liang’s eyes, signaling him to accept it.
Lu Liang took the Coin, examined it carefully, and upon seeing it was an ordinary Coin, disappointedly pocketed it:
“Any more?”
The monster hurriedly reached into its chest cavity and pulled out another Coin, offering it to Lu Liang, who accepted it in turn.
After five Coins were given one after another, when Lu Liang asked again, the monster gently shook its head and opened its empty chest cavity, indicating there were no more Coins inside.
Lu Liang nodded.
Then, under the hopeful gaze of the Insectoid Monster-Man, Lu Liang knocked it unconscious with a single strike and placed it into a prepared bag.
Today’s earnings: +105 yuan.
“Ah.”
Beside him, Bai Wanqing, having witnessed the whole scene, let out a blank, sorrowful cry. She had thought Lu Liang would release the monster after taking the money.
Lu Liang’s explanation was—
“Foolish little bug, if I catch you, the money’s mine!”
“See?” Lu Liang waved the bag in his hand:
“To do this job, you have to be ruthless. If you can’t, I advise you to go back soon.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of flapping wings suddenly echoed in the darkness, and an Insectoid Monster-Man bumped into Bai Wanqing’s head with a puff.
She touched her forehead. The insect didn’t hurt her through the head covering but left her a bit stunned.
Rubbing her forehead, Bai Wanqing looked to see what it was and, upon realizing it was an Insectoid Monster-Man, nervously looked at Lu Liang and handed the creature to him.
“Lucky.” Lu Liang muttered quietly, then shot Bai Wanqing a sharp look:
“Why give it to me? Keep it yourself. Do you think I’m going to fight you for it?”
“Oh.” Bai Wanqing only then accepted the monster but didn’t seem very comfortable touching it, always a little hesitant.
At that moment, the rather dumb Insectoid Monster-Man woke up and, like the one Lu Liang caught before, opened its chest cavity and pulled out a Coin, offering it to Bai Wanqing as a bribe.
“Sorry, I can’t take this.”
Bai Wanqing apologized to the monster, carefully putting it back into her Small Cloth Bag.
The whole conversation was clearly overheard by Lu Liang.
A strange feeling suddenly rose in Lu Liang’s heart. It had been a long time since he’d met someone so honest and pure:
“Hmph, idiot.”