Eli was nearly done with his deliveries for the night when he spotted someone slumped outside a shuttered convenience store. A teenage boy—fifteen, maybe sixteen—sat curled up beside a torn backpack, his hoodie pulled low over his face. Next to him, a cardboard sign read:
"Ran away. Just need food."
Most people passed without a glance. Eli slowed his scooter.
"You alright?" he asked, keeping his helmet on.
No answer. But when he cut the engine, removed his helmet, and crouched, the boy finally looked up. His eyes were puffy and red—either from tears or the cold—and his lips were chapped. He looked exhausted.
"You hungry?"
The boy nodded once, cautious.
Suddenly, a flicker in Eli's vision.
[System Task: Unknown Person in Need]
Reward: None
Punishment: None
Time Limit: None
Eli frowned. "No reward, no punishment, and no deadline?" he thought. "Why even show up?"
But his hands were already moving. He handed the kid a still-warm box of fried rice. "Here. I'm Eli."
The boy took it with both hands like it was gold.
"What's your name?" Eli asked.
A pause.
"Jin."
"You wanna tell me what happened?"
Jin kept eating, barely meeting Eli's eyes. "Home... wasn't safe. I can't go back."
The way he said it—low, flat, but trembling—told Eli everything. This wasn't just teenage rebellion. Something had gone wrong.
"Tell you what," Eli said softly. "It's late. You can crash at my place tonight. Tomorrow, we figure something out."
Jin hesitated, eyes darting to the road behind him. Then, slowly, he nodded.
Eli's place was humble. A mattress on the floor. A second-hand couch. Faded posters and flickering lights. But it was warm. Safe.
"You can put your stuff by the couch," Eli said, digging for a spare blanket. "Bathroom's there. Shower if you want it."
Jin mumbled, "Thanks," without making eye contact. His eyes kept scanning corners, like he expected something to jump out.
Eli made instant noodles for them both. They ate in silence.
"You can have the bed," Eli said later. "I'll take the couch."
That night, while Jin slept, Eli stared at the ceiling. The system panel was gone, but something didn't sit right. Who was Jin running from?
The next morning, they rode Eli's scooter through the cold morning streets. Jin was quiet the whole way. At the station, they walked up to the front desk.
"Excuse me," Eli said. "I think I found a runaway."
The officer looked at Jin, then glanced at the wall of missing children posters. His eyes widened. "Wait here. I'll get someone."
A pair of detectives soon led them into a private room. They questioned Jin first, then Eli. Standard stuff—where Jin was found, what he said, if there were signs of injury.
Then, the door opened again.
A man and a woman, both in their forties, rushed in. The woman was crying. The man looked angry—but was trying to mask it as concern.
"Jin!" the woman gasped, moving toward him.
But Eli saw it. Jin flinched. Not a tiny twitch, but a full-body jerk. Like he'd been hit before.
The parents kept talking—"Thank you so much!" "He ran off without a word!"—but Eli was watching Jin.
Jin wouldn't look at them. His gaze stayed rooted to the floor. When the man stepped closer, Jin's hands curled into fists.
Eli stepped in. "Hey, mind if I get a goodbye hug?"
Jin hesitated, then nodded.
As Eli leaned in, he caught a glimpse beneath the boy's hoodie. Bruises.
His stomach dropped. He met Jin's eyes, and the boy's lips trembled.
Eli turned to the detectives, voice steady. "This kid isn't safe. You need to check them out. Now."
The father's fake smile vanished.
"What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything," Eli said, stepping between Jin and the man. "But I saw the way he flinched. You don't get bruises like that from running away."
The detectives exchanged a glance—and one of them pulled the parents aside.
Jin gripped Eli's sleeve.
—
The tension in the police station was thick.
After Eli voiced his suspicions, one of the detectives pulled Jin aside again while the other spoke in hushed tones with the parents—who were suddenly far less cooperative. Their concern slipped into defensiveness. The father's voice rose "this is ridiculous" But it didn't matter. Jin wasn't going home that night.
Later, after hours of paperwork and whispered conversations, a young female officer named officer lia approached Eli as he waited in the lobby.
"Mr. Eli?" she said, holding a clipboard. "Jin's going to be placed under temporary protection while an investigation is opened. But he's refusing to go with social services."
Eli stood up. "Is he alright?"
"He asked for you," she said gently. "Said you were the only one who listened."
Eli blinked, surprised. "I'm not family."
"No," she said. "But you're safe. And right now, that's what matters."
She then handed Eli a form and said "you are not under obligation to say yes, but it will mean a lot to him if you did".
After reading the contents of the form Eli sat there in silence taking it all in turns out that Eli is now Jin's guardian. Without hesitation Eli signed the form.
Eli stared at the signed form long after the officer left.
Guardian.
He wasn't even sure what groceries he had left, let alone how to raise a kid.
But Jin had asked for him. Not for safety, not even for help. Just… him.
—-
Back at the apartment
That night, Jin didn't speak much but for the first time, he didn't sleep with his shoes on. Eli handed him a steaming bowl of noodles.
"You don't have to talk," Eli said. "But you're safe here."
Jin looked at him. "Why are you doing this?"
Eli stared into his tea. "Because someone once helped me when I had nowhere to go. I remember what it meant."
Jin didn't say anything for a long while. But later, when they turned off the lights, he whispered from across the room:
"Thank you."
Not to long after Jin fell asleep The system popped up
[Task completed level as now increased to level 2]
[More information about level to here]
Seeing this, Eli was now excited, he could not wait to see what rewards he could now earn, so he quickly clicked the 'more information' button
But when he saw what level 2 entails Eli became very disappointed.
[New System Feature: +100 yuan baseline reward for all future task rewards. And +1000 yuan in punishment for each task failed .]
Eli blinked. "That's it?"
A kid's life saved, a family exposed and the grand upgrade was a just for 100 yuan bump? He slammed the panel shut with a grunt.
"Stupid thing," he muttered, rolling over on the worn out couch.
As he lay on the couch, Jin's steady breathing could be heard . Maybe that was the real reward Eli thought to himself