Kaka pulled An Ming clothes and kept crying.
An Ming squatted in front of her and stroked her head.
"I'm here, don't be afraid anymore. Calm down and tell me what happened?"
The director was also like a waiter. He brought a cup of hot herbal tea from somewhere and handed it to Kaka. After Kaka carefully tasted the hot tea for a few sips, he suddenly found that the glass of water was sweet, so he drank it in big gulps.
"Don't be anxious, drink slowly to avoid choking." An Ming patted her back.
After Kaka took a few sips of herbal tea, she finally regained her breath.
"Brother An, thank you."
Kaka looked at An Ming and smiled shyly. An Ming touched her head again, and his eyes unconsciously moved to her little feet without shoes. The little feet are now covered with wounds, and the thighs and calves are also red and purple. The combination of new and old wounds makes it distressing to look at.
"What happened?" An Ming frowned.
Hearing this question, Kaka seemed to remember that she had something urgent to do, and she quickly pulled up An Ming's cuffs.
"Brother An, it's bad! Everyone has been arrested!"
The people Kaka was talking about were children from the slums protected by An Ming. But since being protected by him, not many people should dare to provoke them.
"Who would do such a thing?" An Ming asked.
"I don't know, those people rushed into the house and asked us to sign some strange contract. When we said no, they used a big net to catch us. Because I was very small, my eldest brother and eldest sister hid me in Big Brother An In the arranged secret room, when I came out again, everyone else had been captured!"
Hearing the word "contract", An Ming knew exactly who the prisoner was. He thought he could just rescue those children, but he didn't expect those guys would be so bold.
"When was that?"
"...About seven or eight days ago. After everyone was arrested, I have been looking for Brother An, but I can't find anyone anywhere. I thought they even captured Brother An."
Kaka looked at An Ming face, and instead of blaming him for disappearing for no reason when the children needed it most, he felt relieved that An Ming had not been taken away.
"I... I was delayed on something." An Ming couldn't help but lower his eyes.
In fact, a week ago, the school held a graduation practice for third-year students. He has been doing farm work on a farm not far from here this week and just came back today.
"Brother An, I know this is very willful. You have already saved us once. But I still want to beg you, save them!" Kaka pulled An Ming and prayed.
None of the three people present spoke. Erica and the director looked directly at An Ming, as if waiting for his answer.
An Ming sighed and turned to look at the director.
"Director, it seems the action has to be moved forward. I'm going to the casino now to have a look."
The director scratched his head after hearing An Ming unfrank reply.
"Okay, okay, I'm responsible for contacting the backup personnel. But are you sure?"
"No. The only option is to attack by force. If that doesn't work, we can also detain them for fifteen days on the grounds of illegal imprisonment and use this time to investigate the building."
"But it's dangerous to go in alone. You can only be the vanguard in this operation, just you."
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
Hearing that An Ming had no intention of looking back, the director sighed deeply.
"...I write all the reviews, right? Okay, okay, you brat. It's really annoying to pick you back."
"Director, thank you."
An Ming thanked the director and quickly entered the room to change out of his student uniform.
But Erica, who stood aside and watched the whole process, felt a little uncomfortable.
Judging from their conversation, those who captured Kaka's friends must be quite powerful and even have the support of federal officials behind them if they dare to arrest people in broad daylight. And An Ming just talked about performing a mission in a roundabout way, but in terms of the result, he needed to go in single-handedly to save people.
This is too different from my own treatment.
"big liar."
She couldn't help but murmured softly.
But as luck would have it, this sentence was heard by Kaka on the side. She knew that Erica was looking in the direction An Ming was leaving, and she immediately glared at Erica angrily.
"Brother An is not a liar!"
Seeing such pure anger directed at herself, Erica was a little at a loss.
"That's not what I meant," she defended.
"What does that mean? Brother An has never lied to us!"
"...You like him very much?"
Seeing Kaka making trouble with such pure emotions, Erica didn't feel much disgust in her heart, but instead felt a little more curious. She wanted to know what kind of image An Ming, who had recently declared "I just want to live," had in this child's mind.
"I like it! We all like it!" Kaka nodded without hesitation, "He is our hero!"
"hero?"
"Yes. We are all homeless children, and there are many, many children like us in this city. Many of them have signed contracts with that strange uncle, saying that they can compete in competitive games. You can get a lot of money if you survive. But those people are dead. Brother An also participated in the game. He knocked down the monster and injured the unbeatable 'champion'. Not only that, he also helped. Everyone escaped and found a home for all of us. Every child knows this! Brother An is the hero of all of us!"
Seeing Kaka pure admiration, Erica felt mixed emotions in her heart.
The An Ming in this child eyes didn't look like the same person as the cold-blooded killer she saw from the information, or the self-protective An Ming who had quarreled with her in the car not long ago.
She also knows that people are very complicated, but can anyone really be a cold-blooded executioner and at the same time be admired as a hero by innocent children?
Before she could come to a conclusion, An Ming had already changed his clothes and walked out of the room. He took off his student uniform suit and put on a black coat that looked like a windbreaker with a rain hood on it. Even his pants and shoes were black, and his hands were covered with black leather gloves that fit tightly around his fingers. If no one had told her in advance that it was An Ming, Erica would have thought it was a snitch coming from somewhere.
The time is getting late and the sun is getting darker. Erica was still Huang Hu when she picked An Ming up from school, and now even the traces of light on the edge of the sky are gradually disappearing. The sky is a faint blue, and the clouds and sky are layered with colors ranging from dark red to dark blue, just like the weird paintings written by an artist.
Erica once heard that the dusk near night is also called the "evil hour" in some places. It is the boundary between life and death. After this time, it represents the dark night when ghosts are prevalent. Therefore, people can often see so-called inhuman things at dusk.
Erica is a thoroughgoing rationalist materialist. She does not believe in ghosts and gods. But at this time, she had to say that she had completely blended into the dusk background, and An Ming, who was exuding a chilling air, looked like a ghost.
"Kaka and Erica stay here, please take care of them, Chief." An Ming simply commanded.
"Wait." But Erica interrupted him, and seriously approached An Ming and added decisively, "I want to go too!"
Seeing Erica aggressive momentum, the ghost boy in the night could only look at the director helplessly, hoping that the other party would order Erica to stay. The director simply shook his head, implying that it was impossible to refuse.
An Ming sighed.
"He's going to die," he said.
"I know, but won't Senior die?"
"Isn't this nonsense? Of course I will die too."
"But, isn't this somewhat contradictory to what senior said not long ago, 'You want to live'?"
"So you're struggling with this matter." An Ming couldn't help but regretted saying too much, "Forget it, come with me. Don't regret it if something happens."
As soon as An Ming finished speaking, Erica clenched her fist as if in victory.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
"here it is?"
Erica followed An Ming and looked around.
"Black Pottery Street."
An Ming simply answered with a name.
After preparing the mobile equipment, An Ming immediately took Erica and quickly left the management office, crossed several streets and finally came to this "Black Pottery Street".
This dilapidated old street located west of Morrow Street has no official name, but locals habitually call it Black Pottery Street.
There is a trend in the big cities of the Federation. The more economically developed areas are, the closer they are to the west, while the closer they are to the east, the more desolate they are. But Moro Street in Hebier is an exception. Because it has vast pastures and is close to the inland sea, the animal husbandry and fisheries in this place are very developed and provide support for the economy.
As a result, Black Pottery Street, sandwiched between the Economic Circle and Morrow Street, became the poorest area in the city.
As soon as Erica entered Heitao Street, she clearly felt that the air had changed, as if she had entered a greenhouse that had not been opened for a long time in winter, and the whole room was filled with turbid air.
Not only is the air smelly here, but the buildings are also dilapidated. Different from the ancient but humanistic streets of Moro, the buildings here are like refugee camps that can only be seen in small southern countries. The outer edges of the houses are covered with visible cracks, and even the walls are incomplete and look like they will collapse at any time. .
Erica, who was walking beside An Ming, looked at these houses with wide eyes. She had never thought that there was such an area in the Federation. Children walked through the streets wearing shabby clothes, their skins covered with mud and black sand, and some were only wearing rags that barely covered their bodies. They lowered their heads without caring about the eyes of passers-by, and waited for the next moment to fall from the sky with dull eyes. of alms.
An Ming and Kaka ignored the children begging on the roadside, turned into an alley, and then turned into another alley when the belt was open. With nine twists and turns, Erica felt like she was walking through a maze.
"Do you know the content of our mission?" An Ming said suddenly.
"Mission?" Erica tilted her head in confusion.
An Ming sighed.
"Let me explain it from the beginning. Although I want to help Kaka, nominally we are performing an administration mission this time. The mission initially started with the consecutive kidnappings on Heitao Street. The person who was kidnapped was a household on Heitao Street. Children of ordinary households, but because it was a request for assistance distributed by the Investigation Bureau, the 208th Bureau did not pay much attention to it. "
"The child is missing?"
Erica looked back, and just in time a ragged child came into view.
"Don't think too much. It's normal for children to go missing in Heitao Street. People die here every day, sometimes adults and sometimes children. The disappearance of just a few refugee children is not a big deal to the above. These children are If they are not the nobles of the capital city, their lives are worthless."
An Ming didn't look at the children begging on the roadside, as if there was no emotion in his eyes. He glanced at Erica slightly, paused for a moment and then continued.
"But who knew this small case would catch a big fish."
"Big fish? Some kind of big crime gang?"
But An Ming shook his head.
"For this kind of border city, gangs and smuggling are commonplace, and they are not big fish at all." An Ming pointed to the roof of the black building in the distance, "Do you know the Black Pottery Casino? That is what we are preparing to do now. The destination is just two streets away from Heitao Street."
"There is a casino in such a remote place? People here can't even have enough food and clothing to live, so how can they still gamble?"
Erica couldn't understand the logic of this at all.
"Actually, the more remote the place, the more popular casinos are. Although refugees don't have much money, alcohol and gambling are the only ways to pass the time and gain happiness. The latter may even make them rich overnight. However, The Black Pottery Casino is different from the small casinos provided to slums. It is a large casino. The decoration inside the casino is magnificent. From the outside to the inside, it can be seen that investors have spent a lot of money here. A casino for the rich."
"Why don't rich people open casinos in rich areas? Is there any point in building them specifically near slum areas?"
Erica blinked, not understanding the deeper meaning.
"Generally speaking, this is true. But the Black Pottery Casino is a bit special. The reason why it is opened here is actually to make it easier to obtain 'employees'. In addition to operating the casino, the Black Pottery Casino also provides some kind of special services. You know pet supplies Will the store have a pet viewing area? It's similar to that. The former only provides pet viewing services, while the service provided by the casino is to watch humans."
"Human?" Erica was stunned.
"That's right, there is a huge arena underneath the Black Pottery Casino. Here the nobles spend a lot of money and watch the human beings fight with blood."
There is also a huge building underneath the Black Pottery Casino, which is covered with black pottery from the inside out. The black pottery craft was discovered by a missionary hundreds of years ago. The most powerful black pottery artist in later generations was born in the Second Empire of Lancelot. His name was Montrose, and he was known as the best artist in history. It's a pity that he committed suicide with satisfaction after completing the last sculpture for God in his life, and left a suicide note saying that he was following in the footsteps of God. From then on, no one can reproduce this craftsmanship. The owners of the Black Pottery Casino moved an existing all-black pottery building underground to use as an arena. In that arena, those half-grown children fought and slashed with metal swords, causing blood to splash on the battlefield.
"Why does this kind of thing still exist now? It is simply against human ethics and unreasonable!"
Erica suddenly felt a little nauseous, and she cursed in a high-pitched voice.
"It is said that in ancient times, people would build a circular Colosseum with piles of bricks and stones, and watch naked warriors fight to the death with beasts in the Colosseum. Those people came for blood and violence, and they spent a lot of money in search of short-term excitement. The Black Pottery Casino is an arena rooted in modern times."
An Ming shrugged, his eyes full of ridicule.
"Isn't it ironic? A hundred years ago, its owner was a devout believer who prayed devoutly for the peace of the world every day. A hundred years later, its new owner turned it into a bloody exhibition machine, showing off human beings' despicable desires."
Erica covered her mouth slightly, seeming a little uncomfortable. An Ming also wisely did not continue talking about that topic.
"In short, if there is a demand, there will be a market. And it does not actually violate federal law. Federal law does not prohibit private fighting and gambling, especially in Hebier City. Not only is it not stopped, these matters are still under the federal government It was achieved with the help of the government's funding, and the wealthy people spent a lot of money in pursuit of excitement, and then the casino owners and the federal government took the profits. With the profits, the federal agency personnel will naturally make it easier for the casino operations."
Erica finally understood the deeper connection. But this made her even more confused.
"But since there is no crime committed in the casinos and federal law cannot control them, what exactly are we investigating?"
Although she was dissatisfied, Erica knew that she was still a public servant, and the starting point of everything was to serve the federal government.
"Have you forgotten what department we are in?"
An Ming looked at Erica with the eyes of a student who was not thinking.
"The Authority is...killing monsters!"
Erica snapped her right hand into a fist and tapped her palm.
"That's right. The casino boss used to be in peace, but now he has crossed the line. The boss touched the taboo that cannot be moved, and he reached out to touch the inhuman monster." An Ming showed a sarcastic smile, "I guess it may be because of the customers He had become tired of repeated human fights, the number of spectators was decreasing, and his income was declining, so he began to take desperate risks, wandering on the edge of the law, and focused on the untouchable chalk beast. "
Erica was a little surprised. Anyone born in the Federation knows the tragedy of the Hundred Years' Civil War. Now that we know it, will anyone be stupid enough to get involved with that kind of monster?
As if he guessed Erica's thoughts, An Ming just shrugged.
"Power and money can make people lose their way, not to mention that the profits are not only a hundred times, but may be thousands of times. But he is not stupid either. At the beginning, he only caught some relatively weak chalk beasts and let them compete with the warriors in the arena. In order to reduce costs, he also went to Heitao Street to find half-year-old children to sign contracts, saying that if they won, they would get a few bags of gold back. For the sake of the gold, the children who were used to poverty easily signed with the boss. They sell their bodies and use their lives to make money for themselves. They will go into the arena with inferior iron swords to fight against almost invincible monsters. If they win, they will get money and lose their lives. "
"Senior, why do you know so much in detail? If that's the case, why don't you just get a search warrant?"
"We tried, but he seemed to have spies in the Bureau and the Bureau of Investigation. Every time we made a big move, he would know about it in advance, and everything would be hidden by the time we broke in. Until last month, I We infiltrated the arena disguised as a refugee child and actually obtained some materials that could be regarded as evidence. But just when we were about to pursue the investigation, they were interrupted by the Bureau of Investigation and asked the Bureau to suspend the investigation. "
Erica showed a bitter expression. Although the current society is strict enough towards chalk beasts, the Federation is not monolithic, especially the noble class, they don't care about ordinary human lives at all. What's more, the poor children on Heitao Street are not human beings at all in their eyes.
"So, our original plan was to close the net in a week." An Ming ended with these words.
After hearing this, Erica finally connected everything.
The children Kaka mentioned were probably the ones An Ming rescued when he sneaked in. He even thoughtfully found a place for them to stay. But a week ago those poor children were caught again. Erica could probably imagine that the casino owner might just want to take revenge on Senior An Ming when he made this move. It's a pity that the senior himself is not among those people.
After walking for almost thirty minutes, An Ming finally slowed down. They arrived in front of a huge building.
The dark brick building stands at the intersection of the empty Heitao Street. There is no second building within a few dozen meters, just like an isolated island in the city. The dark red light at dusk makes the dark building even more weird and evil.
However, the inside of the house is in contrast to its appearance. Every window in the building had thick curtains drawn, but they still couldn't block the light in the room. Standing a few meters away, you can hear constant noises coming from the house. Some people are excited about gambling, and some people are shouting crazily. These noises flowed out of the room along with swaying classical music.
After An Ming took a deep breath, he put a hood on himself, touched his front pocket, carefully approached the door, stretched out his hand and knocked a few times.
But no one answered the door.
Logically speaking, such a casino should have guards outside the door, and waiters inside the door to open the door, so as to receive visiting distinguished guests as quickly as possible, or to drive away homeless people who should not show up.
But now there was nothing, only the laughter and laughter that kept coming from the room.
An Ming ignored etiquette and pushed open the double doors with all his strength. Instantly, a pungent smell wafted out of the house.
An Ming couldn't help but frown.
"We're probably too late," he said.