Chapter : 76

Seemingly realizing that Yan Yunqing had noticed him, the child who had been hiding in the corner hesitated for a moment, then waved at Yan Yunqing.

Oh? No more secret stalking this time?

Yan Yunqing's interest was piqued. Curious to see what these kids were up to, he walked towards them.

This time, the one following him was the sturdiest of the group of children. However, that was only in comparison to the other scrawny kids. If compared to an ordinary child of the same age, he could only be considered of normal build.

"What are you planning this time?"

Fudi glanced around warily, then said to Yan Yunqing, "Nika wants to find you. She sent us out to see where you were and to notify her once we found you."

As he spoke, Fudi complained, "I didn't see you all morning. I ran all over the Free City before finally finding you here."

Yan Yunqing looked up at the sun directly overhead and fell silent.

Could he say that he had just woken up?

That would make him seem very lazy.

"Nika? That little crybaby from yesterday?" Yan Yunqing asked, "What does she want with me?"

"Nika is not a little crybaby!" Fudi retorted, "Nika is the bravest and most amazing person I've ever met. Her mind is smarter than all of ours!"

Yan Yunqing asked in return, "How old are you? How many people have you met?"

Fudi was at a loss for words, stammering. He really hadn't met many people, but Nika was indeed the smartest among them.

"Anyway, anyway, Nika is just amazing. You're not allowed to say bad things about Nika!"

Yan Yunqing nodded, "I see, so Nika is your boss? Was she the one who planned for you to steal my money pouch yesterday?"

However, given the little girl's physical condition yesterday, she clearly didn't become the boss through sheer force.

To make all the children obey her and defend her from the bottom of their hearts, it seemed that little girl really had something.

Fudi's pupils quaked: How did this person guess in an instant that yesterday's incident was planned by Nika?

Terrifying!

Such an adult was truly cunning and terrifying. Fudi felt that Yan Yunqing was utterly untrustworthy, but Nika had already made her decision, so Fudi couldn't say much.

It wasn't as if these children had trusted Nika and listened to her from the very beginning.

But in many crises, it was Nika who came up with a way to save them. That was why these children were willing to follow Nika and would not question the decisions she made.

"Anyway, just come with me!" Fudi said fiercely.

Yan Yunqing raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it your boss who's looking for me? How did it turn into me going to find her?"

Fudi was stunned for a moment. Right, Nika seemed to have said that after finding this person, she would send a message to her and she would come over.

He was caught in a dilemma. This person was already here, should he run back to find Nika? But what if this person disappeared again after he left?

Yan Yunqing watched this big fool struggle with a leisurely air: this kid doesn't seem very bright.

Fudi struggled back and forth, and finally, his eyes lit up when he saw another child on the side of the road. He quickly waved at the other child and made a hand gesture.

The child across the street seemed to understand what Fudi was trying to express. He glanced in Yan Yunqing's direction, nodded, and then ran off without a trace.

Yan Yunqing saw it all. He remembered this child; he had seen him on the street yesterday as well. It seemed he often appeared in this neighborhood, but he hadn't paid attention to what the other child was doing.

Observing now, Yan Yunqing was surprised, "You even have dedicated intelligence personnel? A patrol team? You even have hand sign codes. Don't tell me there's some power behind you?"

Yan Yunqing was purely joking. If there was another power behind this group of children, they wouldn't all look sallow and malnourished.

It couldn't be that another world had a Beggars' Sect, could it?

Fudi glanced at him warily a couple of times, "No, I don't know what you're talking about."

Yan Yunqing shrugged, not planning to get any more information out of Fudi.

After a short wait, a few children ran over from not far away. One of them was the little girl he had met yesterday, Nika.

Her complexion still looked terrible, but it was a bit rosier than when she was having an attack, at least not so scary.

Nika ran over and, without a word, first bowed to Yan Yunqing.

Yan Yunqing was so startled that he took a step back, moving aside a little.

He wasn't the child's elder; he didn't want the bow to shorten his life.

"Big brother!" Nika's eyes sparkled when she looked up, "Jeff drank the potion you gave him yesterday, and he's much better today. He'll be able to stand up and walk soon!"

Yan Yunqing was taken aback, "Jeff?"

Who was that now?

A child next to him explained to Yan Yunqing, "Jeff is our big brother. His leg was broken by the Black Snake's people some time ago. He's had a fever these past few days. Mr. Paul said that if he doesn't get treated soon, he might die."

As he spoke, that child lowered his head in embarrassment, stammering, "Yesterday we wanted to steal your money pouch to raise money to treat Jeff... I'm sorry, we won't steal your money anymore."

Yan Yunqing didn't have much of a reaction to this. In any case, these children didn't actually manage to steal his money, did they?

"So, why were you looking for me today?" Yan Yunqing looked at Nika and asked the reason why he had followed them.

He felt that these children, especially Nika, wouldn't have other children search the entire city for him just for a simple apology.

Nika looked at the surrounding environment, took two more steps towards Yan Yunqing, and said in a low voice, "Big brother, we can help you with what you want to do."

Yan Yunqing: ...?

Yan Yunqing raised an eyebrow, looking Nika up and down. He had just arrived in the City of Freedom. After just a few encounters, this child could already tell what he wanted to do?

Could it be just a wild guess, a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse?

No, it was also possible that she was just trying to sound him out.

Yan Yunqing smiled, "What is it? How come I don't know what I'm here to do?"

Nika looked at Yan Yunqing steadily, "Big brother, you should be going to that place, right?"

She reached out her hand and pointed downwards.

The direction was underground. In the Free City, there were no other options, only the legendary super casino located under the Free City—Mandiper.

Yan Yunqing's eyes flashed. This Nika had actually guessed his purpose for coming to the Free City? He had only arrived in the Free City yesterday and hadn't even started looking for the entrance to Mandiper today, yet his purpose had been seen through by this child?

What was going on? Could it be that there really was another power behind this group of children? And this power had been watching him, and even knew his purpose for coming here... Was it because they knew this was his test question?

Could it be the Church...?

Nika said sincerely to Yan Yunqing, "Big brother, we can really help you."

Yan Yunqing looked at Nika deeply for a few moments, "This is not the place to talk. Take me to a place where you think we won't be eavesdropped on."

Nika breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again, "Then can big brother come to our place? No one will go there to eavesdrop, and there are many children guarding the surroundings."

Yan Yunqing had no objections and nodded, "Okay."

Nika cheerfully approached Yan Yunqing and pointed in a direction, "It's over there, we'll lead the way."

As she spoke, she reached out, wanting to take Yan Yunqing's dangling hand, but Yan Yunqing dodged it sharply.

Nika was stunned for a moment, but she didn't show a hurt expression. Instead, she naturally retracted her hand, as if she had never tried to take Yan Yunqing's hand.

The children lived in the slums of the Free City. Unlike the street where Yan Yunqing's previous inn was located, the buildings here were tall and every household was close together, leaving almost only a passage that one person could pass through. Looking up from the narrow passage, one could only see a sliver of the sky.

The entire slum was dark and damp, with household garbage and sewage visible everywhere. Although it only occupied a small area, it housed countless ant-like people.

The expressions of the passers-by were filled with a vacant, mechanical sense. Indifference was written on almost everyone's face.

Like an anthill.

Yan Yunqing looked at this slum that resembled ruins in astonishment. In comparison, the unremarkable street where he lived was a place only the rich could afford to live in here.

If Yan Yunqing had seen this place first when he transmigrated, perhaps he wouldn't have thought he had transmigrated into "Demon King," but into a future wasteland world, because this slum looked similar to the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong on Blue Star.

With the stature of Nika and the other children, they moved unimpeded in such narrow paths. They flexibly shuttled through the passages piled with clutter and even led Yan Yunqing down a small path.

Yan Yunqing looked at the wooden plank under his feet, which was only as thick as a thigh, and seriously doubted if it would break if he stepped on it.

Nika and the others had already easily stepped on that plank and jumped over a sewage pit.

This sewage pit was a full three meters wide, and a foul stench wafted up from below. Yan Yunqing even suspected if this was a septic tank.

Nika looked back and saw Yan Yunqing looking at the plank. She pushed Fudi next to her, "Go get the board Jeff made before."

Fudi mumbled, "Got it."

He ran off without a word and came back a moment later with an iron plate. This iron plate was much wider, a full half a meter wide, and wooden strips were nailed underneath for support.

Fudi tremblingly dragged the iron plate and placed it over the sewage pit with a thud, replacing the narrow wooden plank the children had walked on before.

Nika waved her hand, "Jeff made this specially. Big brother, you can walk over on it. Don't worry, you won't fall."

Yan Yunqing was still not at ease. He really didn't want to accidentally fall into a stinking ditch that was suspected to be a septic tank.

That disgusting feeling was something that even using the Cleaning Spell ten times in a row could not eliminate psychologically.

Yan Yunqing simply took out his magic staff from his backpack and cast a Lightness Spell on himself, something he had gotten from Lilian.

Nika's eyes lit up even more as she looked at the magic staff in Yan Yunqing's hand. So this big brother was a mage?

Yan Yunqing easily walked across the stinking ditch and was led back to their home by the children.

A place that Yan Yunqing could never have imagined before, a house made entirely of discarded trash.