"Whoa~ So... this is a slum? It's a little... a little... hard to imagine..."
Jessica walked cautiously through the slums of Lungmen. As a young lady from an incredibly wealthy family, born to surpass 99.9999% of her peers worldwide, she had never been to a slum. She couldn't imagine that a corner of a financial metropolis as renowned as Lungmen could hide such a large, dilapidated area.
"That's rich girls for you."
Lucas Reeve teased her jokingly. He had long known that Jessica's background was anything but ordinary; the term 'rich girl' couldn't even begin to describe her. In fact, using such a word would only make Jessica sound 'poor' and low-class.
"Ah, ah, ah~"
Jessica's face flushed red.
"Don't make fun of me... Mr. Reeve. Although my family has... a little money, I've always thought of myself as a child from an ordinary family."
"....."
This heartfelt, humble brag was so potent it left even Lucas Reeve, in his soul state, speechless.
When other people claim to be from an ordinary family, it usually means their house is just a bit bigger; it's a boast, they know deep down they're rich but say otherwise.
But Jessica...
She genuinely believed she was from an ordinary family, just like everyone else.
"Over here, over here~"
Exusiai, who was leading the way, seemed to frequent this kind of place. She navigated it with ease, as if she were coming home.
Along the way.
The group of Jessica and the others was quite conspicuous.
In a slum where the average person was sallow-faced and dressed in simple, ragged clothes, the sudden appearance of several glamorous, beautiful young women was like lambs falling into a pack of starving wolves. It made many drool with greed, but... when they saw the red-haired, haloed angel at the front, their hearts skipped a beat. They cursed the 'red-haired demon' under their breath and turned to leave.
"Sora, they seem really scared of Miss Exusiai?"
Jessica whispered into Sora's ear.
"That's normal."
Croissant, carrying a bag with a sullen look on her face, explained. As a 'worker' who was good at shopping and often spent more than she earned, this free commission was truly breaking her heart. She felt like she'd taken a huge loss—not only did she miss out on the commission fee, but she also lost the money she could have earned from a part-time job during this time. It wasn't just working for free; she had effectively lost two sources of income.
"After all, our Penguin Logistics business is quite extensive. Many gray-area commissions require us to travel through this area. Over time, that girl Exusiai's not-so-great reputation spread. Names like the 'Red-Haired She-Devil' and the 'Angel-Demon' are quite famous."
Walking ahead.
Texas and Franka were exchanging information.
Texas: "According to our Penguin Logistics investigation and the basic intelligence provided by the L.G.D., we have tentatively identified a person behind the scenes."
Everyone's phone buzzed.
In the group chat, Texas had sent a photo of a middle-aged man with a rather sinister look.
"Name unknown, mostly referred to as 'Mister.' He appeared in the Wastes of Lungmen about a year ago. During his most active period, the notorious gangs of the Wastes had not yet emerged, but when he disappeared, this gang gradually appeared. In his early trades with foreign powers, the transaction lists included multiple batches of new weapons. The possibility is very high..."
"How do you know all this in such detail?"
Liskarm, beside them, couldn't help but ask.
It was truly the right call to find Penguin Logistics, one of Lungmen's local powers. It would have been difficult for her and Franka, two outsiders, to investigate this clearly on their own.
"Lungmen's gray areas are like a spider's web, crisscrossing everywhere. As long as something is done, even the slightest trace left behind can be found. The L.G.D.'s intelligence might not be up to snuff, but that doesn't mean our Penguin Logistics isn't."
The Wastes.
An area even more chaotic than the slums. Crimes that were rare even in the slums were commonplace here. Gangs and mafias were rampant, and internationally wanted criminals with high bounties could be seen everywhere. It was a hell for ordinary people, but a paradise for 'bounty hunters.'
Well... at least that's what Franka thought. In a place like this, casually taking down a minor gang leader could probably fetch a bounty of several hundred thousand at the police station.
If the slums at least had occasional L.G.D. patrols, the Wastes were a true no-man's-land. It wasn't that the L.G.D. didn't want to manage it, but the cost was too high. Plus, the Wastes were located deep within the slums, so even if they wanted to intervene, their reach wasn't long enough.
This place naturally became a haven for many international criminals and underworld forces.
Of course.
There was a rumor in Lungmen that there was a true ruler in the slums, the King of the Slums! And the reason this King of the Slums let the Wastes be was purely to let these gangs play among themselves, as long as they didn't affect the civilians living their normal lives.
Whether this was true or false, and whether the King of the Slums even existed, was unknown.
--Half an hour later--
In the depths of the Wastes.
A series of intermittent knocks sounded on the door of an ordinary-looking, rundown bungalow.
The woman inside cautiously opened the door.
A sweet-looking, red-haired angel girl was standing at the entrance with a wide grin, the halo above her head brighter than the gray sky outside.
"Hello, ma'am. Penguin Logistics and Blacksteel Worldwide are conducting a joint water meter check. We'd like to have a word with your 'Mister.'"