"Ahhhhhh!!"
It was all because the teddy bear, which had been facing Sora, suddenly seemed to come alive. It bizarrely turned its head, its beady eyes staring at Rope, seemingly full of cunning. The toy bear that had looked so cute during the day suddenly pulled a stunt like this, completely shattering Rope's composure.
Her back was ice-cold. From her spine to her skull to her heels, every part of her body was radiating cold. Her heart pounded like a giant bell, *dong, dong, dong*, as if it was about to leap out of her chest.
Rope, who had been bent over, was so scared she fell right on her butt.
Her hands on the floor and her legs bent, she half-crawled, half-scrambled backward, retreating to the corner at high speed, trembling.
Rope's scream also startled Sora, who had been fast asleep.
Sora woke with a jolt and sat up, thinking there was an enemy.
However.
Looking closely by the moonlight.
Rope was currently huddled in the corner, helplessly hugging her knees and shaking.
"????"
Ten thousand question marks flashed over Sora's head.
She got up and walked over, wanting to ask Rope what was wrong. But as soon as she picked up Lucas Reeve and approached, Rope started screaming frantically.
"Don't come closer!! I was wrong!! I shouldn't have tried to steal from you, *sob*!!"
Rope was really scared to death.
That scene just now was arguably the most terrifying thing Rope had seen in her entire life. Even seeing someone burned alive, or someone exploding with a *bang* from an Oripathy outbreak—none of it was half as scary as that teddy bear suddenly turning its head.
It was like... the zombies you see in Columbian movies. The ones that can be killed with weapons aren't actually scary. What's scary is their strength and numbers. If there was only one, give any ordinary person a gun, and they wouldn't be afraid.
But this kind of monster, one that defied comprehension, was what was truly terrifying.
A zombie is at least a physical entity, something people can understand. But this... this was just pure, incomprehensible horror.
How could Rope not understand now? Why all seven or eight of her attempts on the way had failed. She was always just a split second away from success, but the wallet would always seem to slip out of her control, sliding from her grasp.
In the afternoon, Rope might have been confused, wondering if her skills had gotten rusty.
But thinking about it now.
It must have been the ghost inside this teddy bear toying with her! It knew all along she wanted to steal, but it was just playing with her, treating her like a clown, a toy. It and this Miss Lemuel were just watching for fun, just like how the noble lords enjoy watching the Infected fight each other. This young lady from the upper districts must be one of those thrill-seekers, using the unimaginable power she possesses to come to the slums to find entertainment.
Thinking about it carefully, that had to be it.
After all.
If she were just a defenseless young lady, why would she be bored enough to come to the slums? Even if she was really looking for inspiration, she would definitely have bodyguards. How could she come alone?
Rope knew...
She had screwed up. She had run into someone truly tough.
This kind of thrill-seeking noble lady was even scarier than a violent lord. A violent noble lord would, at most, beat you half to death and be done with it. But this kind of thrill-seeking noble lady would literally torture a person to death...
"What are you talking about, Rope? Stealing?"
Sora confusingly felt her pocket. Her wallet was still there. Sora was in a state of complete confusion; she had no idea what had just happened.
Seeing this, Lucas Reeve transmitted Rope's intentions for approaching Sora into Sora's mind.
After understanding everything.
Sora wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled reassuringly.
"Rope, don't be afraid. It's not a ghost... It's just my Originium Arts."
Sora grabbed a random excuse. After all, on Terra, anything could be explained with Originium Arts. Just like in his past life, "when in doubt, quantum mechanics," on Terra, it was "when in doubt, Originium Arts."
After learning it wasn't a ghost, but Originium Arts, Rope let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, a ghost was beyond comprehension, unimaginable. But Originium Arts made it perfectly explainable. Still, her heart was tight.
"You knew all along I wanted to steal from you, didn't you, Miss Lemuel!"
Sora smiled and shook her head.
"Actually, I didn't know before. Bailey just told me."
Sora looked at the teddy bear in her hands.
"Bailey just told me he doesn't think you're a bad person, so when you tried to steal earlier, he just interrupted you and didn't do anything more."
"Is that so?"
Rope tried to shift her body. Much of the terror in her big eyes was now faked. For a small, weak girl like her, only by putting on an adequate disguise could she make a stronger person lower their guard. And only if they lowered their guard would she have a chance to escape.
"Mhm... Of course."
Sora nodded.
However, the next second.
The power that Rope had been building up in her legs suddenly exploded. Like a rabbit, she *swished* past Sora, dove straight through the window, and then skillfully threw out a grappling hook from her back. Like Spider-Man, she swung between the buildings and quickly left.
How could I believe that nonsense!!
Rope would never believe that someone could still have such a friendly expression after being stolen from.
It must be a dagger hidden behind a smile!
Besides, Rope had grown up in the slums. It was fundamentally difficult for her to truly trust anyone. After all, the people in the slums schemed and backstabbed so much just to survive. If she were too trusting, she would have been swallowed up by these slums and turned into dry bones long ago.
Ugh!!
This is a huge loss! A huge loss!!
Not only did I not get the money, but I also lost my home! Although there was nothing valuable in the house, there was still some furniture I'd scavenged from the L.G.D. a while back. That furniture was treasure to Rope.
Rope's little trick couldn't fool Lucas Reeve.
If Lucas Reeve had wanted to, Rope would have had no way of escaping that room. Not only were her thieving skills good, but her proficiency with the grappling hook was also this high. Like Spider-Man between the buildings. Not bad.
"Bailey... Miss Rope... she..."
Lucas Reeve said: "It's because she doesn't trust you."
"Why... I didn't intend to harm her, and I didn't mean to blame her."
"But she won't believe it."
"A child who grew up in the slums isn't as naive as a child from a greenhouse. If she were naive and trusted people easily, I doubt Rope would have survived this long."
Lucas Reeve didn't say the next part.
Not everyone was as naive to the point of being silly like Ceobe. Of course... not many people could beat Ceobe either. If Rope also had Ceobe's astonishing combat talent and physical gifts, she probably wouldn't be living in such dire straits. She would have become one of the big bosses of the Lungmen slums long ago.
"How pitiful, Miss Rope..."
Sora really felt for Rope.
Sora used to think her life was very tiring. As an idol, she had to show her brightest smile to everyone. No matter how unhappy she was inside, she had to pretend to be happy and sunny. However, compared to Rope, her life was far too fortunate. And Rope was one of the Infected whose living situation was slightly *better*. After all, Rope at least had a skill to ensure she wouldn't starve. What about the other Infected who didn't have that ability? Their lives were simply unimaginable.
Sora thought for a moment and decided not to stay at Rope's place.
She took a few Lungmen Dollar bills from her wallet and placed them under Rope's pillow. She also took a small notepad and pen from her pocket and wrote something. As she was about to leave, Lucas Reeve thought for a moment and had Sora add one more sentence before they left.
Rope hadn't actually left. It looked like she had run far away, but after getting far enough, she had circled back from another direction. She hid in the corner of a building directly opposite the window, secretly watching. She saw Sora seem to put something under her pillow, then leave something else, and then leave.
But Rope didn't dare go over immediately. She was afraid it was a trap. She had to stay vigilant.
Ten minutes... thirty minutes... two hours...
Not until the sky began to lighten.
Sora didn't come back. Only then did Rope cautiously walk back to her home. She tentatively climbed through the window, her muscles tensed, ready to flee at the first sign of a trap. However, after waiting a moment, she even went to the door and found no one waiting in ambush.
Rope let out a small sigh of relief.
She then grabbed the pillow.
Her eyes lit up.
Under the pillow, several blue bills were neatly laid out. Rope counted them. There were ten in total, equal to one thousand Lungmen Dollars. One thousand Lungmen Dollars was truly not much for Sora, who had an annual salary of over a million. But for Rope, who never knew where her next meal was coming from, it could guarantee her food for more than half a year.
Rope was stunned. She didn't understand. Why... why did she try to steal from her, but the other person left her a thousand bucks when she left? Why...
Rope then picked up the note under the money. The handwriting was neat. Luckily, Rope had taught herself a little in the past and could barely recognize the words. She had suffered from being illiterate before, stealing valuable things but throwing them away because she couldn't read the words on them.
On it was a message Sora had deliberately left for Rope. The emotions were very sincere. After reading it, Rope couldn't help but purse her lips. How could she not understand? She had misunderstood her. That girl really didn't have any ill intentions... How could there be such a good person in the world...
She couldn't help it. Her hand tightened slightly, crinkling the note. When she realized, Rope quickly and carefully smoothed it out, rubbing it hard with her hand, hoping to flatten it again. And just then, she noticed there were words on the back.
[I know you have Oripathy. At an organization called Rhodes Island in the Lungmen common districts, they have medication to suppress Oripathy. It's not expensive. One bottle only costs 80 yuan.]
After seeing this.
Rope's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe it.
That rumor was actually true? And... one bottle only costs 80 yuan?!! Although eighty yuan was still not a small amount for Rope, for such a precious medicine, it was truly cheap. Only eighty bucks... She used to think one bottle would cost at least ten thousand...
Rope clenched her hand, carefully stuffed the Lungmen Dollars into the innermost pocket of her clothes, and then ran outside.
Two days later...
Sora also finished her inspiration-gathering trip in the Lungmen slums. She felt her mind was now full of inspiration. Maybe she could write some good lyrics.
"I wonder how Miss Rope is doing?"
Sora stretched.
Lucas Reeve said: "Want to go back and check? We know where she lives, anyway."
Sora shook her head. "I don't think we need to, Bailey. I'm afraid we'll scare her if we go back. The thousand bucks I left should be enough for her to buy the Oripathy medication many times, right?"
"Mhm."
"Uh... maybe we should go say goodbye..."
Halfway there, Sora thought about it and chose to turn back.
But when they arrived at the place where Rope lived, they found a group of people crowded around the house, pointing and gesturing.