"Huh?? Why are there so many people where Miss Rope lives?"
Sora walked over, holding Lucas Reeve. Rope's place was just a small, one-story flat. Now, the outside was surrounded by people. They were pointing, whispering amongst themselves. Some were scared, some thought it was a pity, some were angry, and others were just numb.
"Um... excuse me..."
Sora walked over and tapped the shoulder of a relatively friendly-looking young man in the crowd.
"Excuse me, did something happen in this house? Why are you all gathered here?"
The young man whispered truthfully, "It's the slum gangs, of course. But, there's something strange. Under normal circumstances, these gangs don't just come looking for trouble in the slums. After all, we have the legendary King of the Slums protecting us. These gangs aren't allowed to hurt ordinary people. I don't know how the young girl in this house offended them. But, I think she's out of luck. This group is the type to eat people alive and not even spit out the bones."
"I've seen the girl from this house a few times. She's quite pretty. If she's lucky, she might be allowed to live, get thrown into *that* kind of place to 'receive guests.' If she's unlucky, she'll probably die without a complete corpse... sigh..."
After hearing the young man's description, Sora and Lucas Reeve immediately frowned.
"Sorry, please let me through."
Sora squeezed through the crowd and, under everyone's gaze, walked toward Rope's house.
Inside the house.
Rope was currently being pinned against the wall by a burly man in black, his hand choking her neck. The feeling of teetering on the edge of suffocation was excruciating for Rope. There were many burly men in black in the room, rummaging through the small space, seemingly looking for something. In just a short while, Rope's room, which had been rundown but relatively tidy, was now a complete mess thanks to the violent ransacking by these brutes.
Rope was terrified.
She didn't recognize these vicious men in front of her. They were in suits, clearly not a slum gang. Rope had grown up in the slums; the slum gangs couldn't afford suits like these. The reason she was scared was that these men had come looking for something: a packet of dark blue, almost black, powder.
Rope remembered this powder. She had lifted it off a suspicious-looking person a few days ago. When she discovered it was a powder, she was so scared she thought it was *that* kind of stuff. Although Rope was a thief, she still had her principles. She immediately turned it over to the Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.) that very day, giving it to an officer she was relatively familiar with.
Rope thought that was the end of it.
After all, no one had come looking for trouble all these days. She never expected someone to actually show up. And they'd even managed to investigate and find out *she* was the one who stole it.
"Where is the powder!!"
The skin on the burly man's face was flushed red from agitation. It seemed that powder was extremely important to him.
Rope knew that this man probably wouldn't kill her right away. Since this powder was so important to him, if he killed her, he might never find it. Rope was also inwardly thankful that she had handed it over to the L.G.D. If she had kept it at home, it would have definitely been found by now during the ransacking. And if it had been found, given how vicious they looked, they would have killed her to silence her, nine times out of ten.
Rope forced herself to calm down and look for a chance to escape.
However, the man in front of her was genuinely strong. Even with the agile movements Rope prided herself on, she couldn't get away. She had been caught easily.
These... just who were these people...
"Are you going to talk or not!!"
The burly man holding Rope, in his anger, slammed her hard against the wall. The back of her head hit the wall with a *thud*. Instantly, her vision swam, but the man's strength was controlled precisely. It left Rope in dizzying pain, but it wasn't enough to make her pass out.
"I really don't know!!"
Rope habitually showed weakness to her enemy.
Although she really was much weaker than these enemies, she acted even more frail, like an ordinary little girl, and just started crying. She only hoped this would make them lower their guard just a tiny bit. Just a tiny bit was all she needed for a chance to run.
Rope didn't want to die.
She had only just found a new hope to live yesterday.
Yesterday, following the note Sora left, Rope had snuck into the common districts. In the corner of a building, she really found an office called Rhodes Island. The staff there were very kind. When they learned she was there to buy Oripathy suppression medication, they were all stunned at first, then went to the back and actually got one for her. Just like the note said, they really only charged her eighty yuan...
This...
It was like a dream for Rope.
As for whether to inject it.
Rope had hesitated for a good while.
But, after thinking about it, she gritted her teeth and, with the help of the doctor lady there, injected it into her arm. Afterward, Rope sat nearby for an hour to observe any changes in her body, and incidentally, enjoyed an hour of air conditioning.
To her pleasant surprise.
After injecting the medicine.
Rope could clearly feel a change in herself. Her original symptoms had improved a little. Although it was just a little, it made Rope so excited she was speechless.
In an instant.
Rope seemed to have found new hope for her life.
And precisely because of this...
Facing these men, she wanted to die even less... She had to find a way to live!!
Rope didn't dare say she gave the powder to the L.G.D. If she said that, she would lose her value and would most likely be killed. But if she didn't say, she might be able to live a while longer, giving her more chances to escape.
"Boss, we can't find it."
The underlings, who had completely wrecked the house, ran over to report to the burly man.
The burly man's face was grim. He glared viciously at the weeping Rope. He really wanted to kill this little thief right now. But the thought that he would die without a burial place if he couldn't find that powder made him forcibly suppress his killing intent. He just needed... he just needed to find a way to make this little thief tell him where the powder was, and he would kill her immediately to vent his hatred.
"Lungmen might have already noticed us. We have to leave, Boss."
"Hn!"
The tower-like man nodded. He grabbed Rope's long hair and rabbit ears with one hand and dragged her away across the floor like a sack of goods.
"Take her back and torture her. We must find a way to get the whereabouts from this little thief!"
"Yes!!"
Rope was starting to despair. She had been looking for an opportunity this whole time but couldn't find one. This man was strong, much stronger than her. Her little tricks might work on ordinary people or regular officers, but they were useless against a brute who crushed her with pure strength.
No!
I really don't want to die...
I want to live...
Rope struggled desperately. Right now, she was desperately hoping for the appearance of the Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.) people she usually hated so much.
"Stop!!"
Suddenly, a delicate voice came from the doorway.
This voice...
It's her!!
Rope endured the sharp pain of her ears being pulled and glanced at the door out of the corner of her eye.
It's Miss Lemuel!
Why is she here! What is she doing here! Can't she see how many people are in this room!! Is this upper-district lady out of her mind?!
"Get out of here! Miss Lemuel!!! What are you doing here!!"
Rope shouted with all her might.
Although she was despairing, she was also somewhat moved.
She never thought.
In the end, the one who stood up for her was Miss Lemuel, the one she had almost stolen from. Right now, Rope just hoped she wouldn't drag Miss Lemuel into trouble because of her.
"I'm not leaving!!"
Sora looked at the dozen or so burly men in black inside the room and walked right in. She felt no fear in her heart, her gaze firm.
"Who are you people! Let go of Rope!!"
"An acquaintance?"
The burly man had no intention of dealing with Sora.
"Take her too..."
"You dare!!"
When Rope saw these people were going to grab Sora too, she quickly yelled, "She's a noble lady from Lungmen's upper districts! I know you're not from Lungmen. If you take her, the people in the upper districts will find out immediately! You won't be able to escape!!"
"Tsk..."
Suddenly.
A fourth voice rang out in the room.
"Sora, close the door."
"Okay."
Sora quickly turned and closed the open door.
Everyone looked in confusion at the teddy bear in Sora's arms, which had just spoken. Their faces showed surprise.
"You're from Siracusa?"
Lucas Reeve said slowly.
The burly man's expression, however, changed drastically.
"Let me guess where you're from. Famiglia Venezia? Calabri? Or Apulia? Wolf Fang is gone. Sicily is on the rise right now; they wouldn't send people to Lungmen looking for trouble."
To have their origins exposed so quickly, the burly man was furious. He didn't care why a doll could talk. So what if it could talk, so what if it was a monster? A doll this small, he could tear it apart with two fingers.
The burly man stretched out his large, clearly practiced hand, intending to grab Lucas Reeve.
However.
A sharp, giant bear paw, wreathed in ghostly blue flames, grasped the burly man's hand. This bear paw was even larger than the man's hand. Compared to it, the man's hand looked like an infant's.
"!!!!"
A question mark flashed across the man's forehead, and terror flooded his eyes.
Lucas Reeve squeezed slightly.
The man's hand, like foam, fractured easily under the bear paw's grip.
And then.
The ten or so underlings behind the burly man stared forward, their eyes wide with terror.
A giant bear, over three meters tall, covered in ghostly blue flames, with a ferocious and savage appearance, had appeared before them all.
"..."
"!!!!"
"Monster!!"
Lucas Reeve's left paw, as if squashing an ant, pressed down lightly. The lead man slammed face-first into the ground, his head embedded in the floor. He wasn't dead, but the bones in his face were broken, and he had passed out.
As for the remaining dozen men in black.
Lucas Reeve fought them effortlessly, but he had to go easy to avoid crushing these ordinary people to death. In just a short moment.
The dozen or so men in black were scattered haphazardly around Rope's small room.
Sora quickly helped Rope up from the floor, stroked her head, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood seeping from her rabbit ear.
Being carefully tended to in Sora's arms, Rope thought, *Am I... saved?* She looked at the giant bear to the side, which was currently stacking the dozen burly men on top of each other. A trace of fear welled up in Rope's heart. This giant bear... *was* Miss Lemuel's toy bear??
How is that even possible?
She was no match for these men at all, but the giant bear crushed them easily. Then what about crushing her? It probably wouldn't even need to move. A sneeze might be enough to wipe her out.
"I'm sorry... Miss Lemuel. The other day... it was my fault."
Sora gently rubbed Rope's head.
"It's okay. Also, just call me Sora. Sora is my real name. Lemuel is my friend's name. I'm used to using it as an alias when I'm out."
"Miss Sora..."
"Mhm!"
Sora used her handkerchief to wipe the blood from Rope's ear, while Rope sat obediently on the ground. The dozen or so burly men from Siracusa also lay "obediently" on the floor, motionless. Lucas Reeve, bored, was busy "piling high" next to them.
Suddenly!
The sound of sirens wailed outside.
Rope let out a huge sigh of relief.
For the first time in her life, she felt that the annoying sound of sirens was actually this beautiful.
"Listen up, foreign forces inside!! Disarm and surrender immediately!! Surrender obediently! I'm counting to ten! If you don't come out, we, the Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.), will breach immediately!"
Officer Ch'en's loud voice came from outside.
"One!!"
"Ten!!!"
She had clearly just shouted "one," but the door to Rope's room was violently broken down. Lucas Reeve had already returned to his doll size and was lying obediently on Sora's lap.
"*Hiss*... These officers don't play fair. They play dirty."
Lucas Reeve couldn't help but complain inwardly.
A group of fully armed officers rushed in, ready to arrest the people inside. However, the next second, they all froze.
Huh??
Where are the foreign forces?
The only people in the room were two young girls sitting on the floor. And next to them, a dozen burly men were stacked on top of each other like building blocks.
Officer Ch'en, also in full gear, rushed in and froze on the spot when she saw this scene.
"..."
At this moment, the entire room fell into an eerie silence.
What on earth happened?
Why were two little girls sitting there, while a group of burly men were piled up, seemingly unconscious?
"O... Officer Ch'en."
Rope immediately tensed up when she saw Officer Ch'en.
"We meet again, Rope."
Officer Ch'en said with a stern expression.
"Miss Sora? What are you doing in the slums?"
Officer Ch'en recognized Sora. After all, among the several troublemakers from Penguin Logistics, Sora was the most stable one. And she was also a famous Lungmen idol.