Half a minute later, only two people remained standing: Simon and the little girl.
The girl, Milian, looked at Simon with eyes full of shock and longing.
"Do you know where the black market is?"
Milian nodded vigorously.
"Lead the way."
She hesitated, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "...What's the reward?"
"I can kill someone for you."
"Alright, then help me kill my mother."
Simon looked down at the thugs he had knocked down, walked over to the man named Funi, and kicked him.
"Uh... friend, you killed Old Timmy, that's not good!" The other party actually still managed a grin. "Don't agree to Milian's request. Her mother is a good person. You should go kill her father; that guy is even worse than Old Timmy!"
Simon rubbed his temples. "In your area, how do you go about finding a missing person?"
"Missing person? Uh, hehe, of course, as long as you have money, even a dead person walled up can be found."
Funi stood up. "You're very powerful. You can make a name for yourself here, as long as you have enough people and enough guns!"
"You never seem to get angry?"
"Of course! My nickname is 'Good-Tempered Funi,' haha, who in District 847 hasn't heard my name!" He said, then kicked the thugs who were still lying on the ground playing dead. They also groaned and stood up, positioning themselves behind Funi, not daring to look at Simon.
"It seems I'll have to stay here for a while. Excellent." Simon stared at a black stain on the ground, its shape resembling a wailing person.
"Oh, boss, you're our boss now! As soon as you go out and beat up a few small gangs around here, you'll immediately gather a large group of good men!" Funi said with a fawning expression.
"He's not your boss." A familiar voice came.
It was Skerry, and beside him stood a man wearing a gentleman's hat.
"Why did you come here playing hero? Ah, let's go." Skerry shrugged at Simon.
The thugs instantly trembled when they saw the man in the gentleman's hat, holding a cane. "Boss Hales!"
"Get out!"
The thugs fled in a hurry, and even Milian slipped away with her head down.
Skerry patted Hales's shoulder and said to Simon, "This is an old friend. You haven't forgotten him too, have you!"
"I did forget, but it's good to get reacquainted."
"Hales, you're still so unique."
Simon shook hands with Hales.
"They're very afraid of you."
"Yes, as long as you have enough manpower, enough guns, no one won't be afraid of you." Hales's lips curved into a mocking smile.
Skerry handed Simon a brick-like mobile phone. To be honest, Simon paused for three full seconds before taking the device, which looked more like a brick than a machine. "How do these things still exist now?"
"Internal use, to prevent eavesdropping."
A voice came from the phone's receiver, a female synthetic voice, "Master Hales, please answer the call."
"I am Hales," Simon replied. He had heard this woman's voice in the simulation room.
"You have arrived at the bottom level of Second Paradise. An assassin master once disappeared here, and no one knows why. Unfortunately, she was very important to our entire organization... crackle..." A strong electrical current sound rang out, and then a male synthetic voice suddenly replaced the original one. "Hales, you don't belong here. You need to leave as soon as possible."
"Who are you?" Simon's expression changed.
"Your file does not exist. You are a blank slate." The other party's voice was still gentle, but this was a programmed setting. Essentially, hidden behind this voice could be a cold machine, or perhaps a malicious schemer.
"What do you mean?" Simon stepped back a few paces, moving away from Skerry and the other man.
"Come to the Temple of Second Paradise. I can help you leave. It will be good for both of us."
"Are you one of them?"
"The other party has hung up... beep beep beep..."
Simon put down the brick-like mobile phone.
"Hmm. Excellent."
"Settled? Let's go. Let's check out Hales's mansion!"
"You two go ahead. I have something to do."
Simon turned and left.
"Hey!"
"Is he always this unique?"
"Unique? It just makes me more worried."
...
Simon caught up with the fleeing Funi.
At this moment, he and his subordinates were squatting by the roadside, eating a bowl of hot and sour rice noodles. When he saw Simon, he was so scared that he spilled his noodles.
"Boss, please spare us! It's not that we're disloyal; it's just that Boss Hales wants to kill us or do whatever he wants, and we wouldn't dare resist!" Funi immediately prostrated himself on the ground.
"I'm quite familiar with him. He won't make things difficult for you."
"Oh, in that case, that's great... But you're not trying to trick me, are you?" He hesitated, stood up, then knelt down again midway. "Please don't scare me, Boss!"
"Do you have a way to get to the upper levels?"
"You want to smuggle yourself up?" As he spoke, the surrounding crowd suddenly fell silent for a moment.
"Just tell me what connections you have."
"Alright, come with me." Funi led Simon into a dark corner.
...
Central Elevator.
This place is directly managed by the United Company and leads directly to the upper levels.
Besides being heavily guarded, it is controlled by an automated defense system. In their words, "not even a fly or a bacterium can pass without authorization."
"Although that's what they say, the system has actually been hacked many times," Funi said, wearing a thick hazmat suit. "Wait for me a moment; I'm going to find Big Black Crow. Her skills are the best, and with her help, it'll be easy."
After speaking, he lifted a floor panel and disappeared inside.
Simon surveyed his surroundings. This place was incredibly intricate, more bizarre than a madman's dream.
In places where the light couldn't reach, through broken windows, it seemed people were peering out.
After a long wait, Funi's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Hey, Boss, she agreed! We'll wait for the next group of people and set off together." Funi took off his helmet, revealing a sweaty face.
"What reward do you need?"
Funi was startled, then smiled even more cheerfully. "Oh, of course, even though you're the boss, we still have to make a living, after all..."
He pursed his lips. "I need you to protect me to meet someone."
"Alright."
...
Big Black Crow was a stout Slavic woman, looking more like a peasant than a top assassin. She had a cigar in her mouth and reeked of alcohol, making Simon doubt her abilities.
A group of stowaways, hidden in a container, were transported to the Central Elevator by a carrier vehicle. All the while, Big Black Crow was typing code on an electronic screen.
They passed through layers of checkpoints this way. At one point, people were coming and going outside, seemingly conducting random inspections, and their particular container was searched.
The result was surprising: the inspecting soldiers clearly knew Big Black Crow. They slipped a small notebook to her, and Big Black Crow made an 'okay' gesture. The soldiers were very satisfied and even personally closed the container door.
"As long as there are people, there are no eternal walls," Funi whispered mockingly. "These people are also exiled here; many things they need have to be handled and transported by us..."
Simon said, "I'm not interested."
"Alright."
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