On the other side, Jeanne was currently walking through the dilapidated streets of the slums as if she were merely out for a stroll. She intended to explore this place on her own; perhaps she might stumble upon some necessary information.
As for Lemuen, she would remain at Penguin Logistics today to reunite with her sister. According to the hints provided by her Revelations, Jeanne was certain that acting alone today would be the better course of action.
For some reason, this time the Revelations did not directly inform Jeanne of the target's specific details. Instead, it provided clues much like a criminal investigation, leaving her to find the answers herself. It was as if, upon arriving in Lungmen, her Revelations had increased the difficulty of these matters. It was no longer a case where she could obtain an answer just by thinking about it; rather, it gave her the corresponding problem-solving logic and required her to solve the issue herself.
Fortunately, this restriction did not manifest in trivial matters like pathfinding or calculations, so it could still assist her in daily life.
"While I could more or less imagine that the public security here was chaotic, isn't this degree of chaos a bit excessive?"
Jeanne spoke her thoughts aloud, unable to help herself as she casually tossed aside a large, unconscious Ursus man. She looked at the enemies littering the ground because of her attacks.
They were clearly still on the outskirts of the slums; logically, it shouldn't have reached this level of disorder. Yet, she had already encountered six groups of muggers, each time being blocked by a crowd of people.
"Do I really look that easy to bully?"
Jeanne let out a helpless sigh. Was she really that lacking in deterrence? When she walked through the slums in Ursus with Talulah, no one had dared to block their path.
The onlookers nearby didn't dare say a word. Only after Jeanne had departed did these people dare to come out and scavenge the belongings from the unconscious men. These types, who specialized in robbing "curious babies" visiting from the outside, were generally the lowest-level lackeys of various factions. Because they dared not provoke anyone important, they could only engage in this sort of business.
Only this time, these people had well and truly kicked a steel plate and broken themselves. No one expected that this seemingly delicate and weak 'little' girl was actually someone who could dismantle a building on a whim.
"Isn't this Chekhov? Last time he said he was mixing with big shots; why did he run back to do this line of work again?"
One person recognized the large Ursus man Jeanne had tossed to the ground and turned to ask a companion who was currently looting valuables.
"Who knows! Maybe he was tossed away after being used. Haven't you seen enough of that? No need to ask."
The person beside him was indifferent. Did one even need to worry about such things in a place like this? Forget coming back to the robbery business; even if someone were found hanged here one day, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"True. But that woman's strength is no joke! Though she looks like some young miss from a wealthy family; she actually could have killed him but didn't."
As Jeanne delved deeper into this area, the darkest side of Lungmen was revealed to her without reservation. Although Jeanne saw few people on the streets, she could feel gazes watching her from the shadows, scrutinizing this person who looked so out of place.
"Please, give us some money... we haven't eaten for several days."
At that moment, a group of ragged 'little' children immediately surrounded Jeanne, pleading for her to show some kindness for the sake of them being children and give them some money.
Immediately, countless gazes from the surroundings fixed on this spot, observing Jeanne's next move. What she did to these children would dictate their next actions. If Jeanne directly drove the children away or used force against them, these people would scatter like startled birds, regardless of the children's lives.
However, if Jeanne intended to show kindness and give alms—the moment she dared to reach for her wallet, they would swarm her, surrounding her to beg for mercy. They had ten thousand ways to make a kind-hearted 'little' girl part with her money, and even ensure she came back frequently to give more. They knew this type of person all too well.
"Don't crowd me! I didn't bring much money today... Alright, I have some spare change and food here, you take it..."
Jeanne looked at the children surrounding her. She knew what she might face by showing this kindness; she and Talulah had experienced it back in Ursus. At that time, Talulah had used her Originium Arts to ignite flames that circled in the air, scaring away everyone who crowded in.
As for now, Jeanne had her own ways to escape safely. Plus, these children truly looked quite pitiful, and Jeanne couldn't bring herself to maliciously drive them away. Looking at them again, many had bits of Originium on their bodies that glinted with a black luster under the sun. It seemed these children might not even have parents.
Jeanne pulled out some bread from her satchel. This was bread she had bought in Ursus as emergency rations for the journey. Before Jeanne could even hand it over, the bread vanished from her hands. In the next instant, the children scrambled to divide the loaves, devouring them ravenously.
Jeanne remembered this bread was called leba? Regardless, it was a very hard bread, though it could still be torn apart directly; it wasn't so hard that it had to be soaked in water to eat.
Before long, the children finished the bread and looked at Jeanne with eyes of various colors. They didn't speak; they just crowded there, waiting for her. The onlookers nearby were so excited their eyes were practically popping out. They watched Jeanne's hand move toward her satchel, waiting for the moment the Lungmen Dollars appeared. They didn't care about the bread; they could get that elsewhere. What they truly cared about was the money in Jeanne's hand!
Although Jeanne didn't look like an incredibly wealthy socialite, her face alone seemed to have "kind-hearted" written all over it—the type who would give all her money to the poor.
"Hey! My bag!"
Just as Jeanne was about to pull out her only remaining spare change, a grappling hook flew over and snatched her satchel away, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
Although she didn't see the thief's face, her eyesight allowed her to catch a purple silhouette fleeing rapidly ahead, flipping up and down over the rooftops using a hook-and-line.
Jeanne tossed the few coins in her hand onto the ground and vanished into the crowd in the next instant. By the time the onlookers saw Jeanne again, she was already a distant figure rapidly pursuing the thief.
"My God! Is that the person we were planning to trick? If we really had a conflict, with our bodies, we'd be hammered into pancakes. That's not impossible, right?"
The people hiding nearby came out to scramble with the children for the few coins. One man saw the deep footprints Jeanne had stamped into the concrete ground and let out a gasp of shock. What kind of power could press such deep pits into the ground at the moment of jumping? If that foot kicked a person, it wouldn't be hard to kick their guts out.
On the other side, the thief felt something chasing her. When she looked back and saw Jeanne, she was nearly frightened out of her wits. It was her first time seeing someone so fast—someone who could instantly catch up to her while she was skillfully utilizing the terrain to flee. Did this person really not worry about stepping into thin air and falling?
Looking at the satchel, it wasn't even a luxury item! It looked like it was sewn from some beast hide, and the craftsmanship was visibly crude to the naked eye. This thing wouldn't even sell for a single Lungmen Dollar on the black market; it could only be sold as cheap pelt. And the pelt wasn't even that good—it clearly hadn't been maintained.
Reporting the case to the Lungmen Guard Department would be more practical than chasing her! There were no valuables inside at all—besides ID and bank cards, there were only a few bottles of water. If you didn't have cash, the LGD would probably even grant you a certain amount of Lungmen Dollars, and IDs could be replaced immediately...
"Thud!!!"
Accompanied by a cloud of dust, Jeanne charged in front of her with terrifying speed. However, what surprised the thief was that there wasn't a trace of displeasure on the face of the person she had robbed.
"Your speed isn't bad. But unfortunately, it's me you've run into."
"I'm done for..."
Hearing Jeanne's words, the thief lady revealed a look of despair. She only prayed that Jeanne would be a bit lighter with the beating and not hit her in the face.