Nighttime

East Borough, Black Palm Street.

On summer nights, even the wind carried some heat. Wearing a full set of workers' clothes, Aetris's head was covered in sweat. He couldn't help but reminisce about his days at sea. Although it was also very hot and humid, he could easily bare his shoulders. It wasn't like Backlund, where even in East Borough, the act of completely taking off his clothes would attract attention.

After an unknown period of time, without a map, he relied on his intuition to arrive at a familiar crossroad. This was the place he had stepped on a few days ago.

There were very few street lamps here, and only one or two could be seen from afar. If it weren't for the fact that the dark clouds hadn't covered the crimson moon tonight, he believed that many roads would be so dark that he wouldn't be able to see clearly.

As he walked, he suddenly heard a curse from ahead.

"Get up! All of you, get up!

"You can't sleep here, you b* tch!

"The streets and parks are not a place for lazy dogs like you to sleep!"

Stunned for a moment, the corresponding words "Poor Law" popped up in his mind, and he understood what was going on. When he was a police officer in the past, he often did similar things during night patrols. Back then, he thought it was nothing and that he did it to protect the laws of the kingdom…

However, ever since he ventured out into the world outside Backlund and truly experienced the lives of the poor at the bottom—to the point of waking up to the sting of batting sticks while sleeping in the park—he began to doubt the legitimacy of his previous actions. He often thought… Is that really correct? Why would the Senators of the two Houses formulate such an unreasonable law?

He had once asked this question to his guide in the Beyonder world, Mr. Strongest Hunter Anderson.

Mr. Anderson sneered and replied, "Because those councilors can represent the interests of the nobles, the interests of the factory owners, the interests of the Church, and even the interests of the emerging classes. However, none of them are truly the lowest of the low. Of course, they won't speak for them."

After that, Mr. Anderson told him that theses on sociology and politics could even fill up more than ten large bookshelves at Lenburg University. However, no matter how clear the discussion was, it was useless. After all, in this world, those with power had the final say.

At that time, Aetris expressed his yearning for the University of Lenburg. Unexpectedly, Mr. Anderson laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up on the spot. Then, he threw Aetris a test paper and told him to stop dreaming if he didn't score above 85 points.

That "dream" ended completely because Aetris didn't know any of the questions on the test paper…

At the memory, Aetris shook his head to get rid of the jumbled thoughts. Then he got his bearings and headed for the right street.

The streets of this area were controlled by the Pauleys, who managed a large number of street girls who pulled in patrons at bars and the edge of the road to do unspeakable things.

This district was considered a "bustling" area in East Borough. All kinds of buildings were relatively better, and the streets weren't that dirty. The air was filled with the smell of oyster soup, fried fish, ginger beer, and other food drinks left behind by street vendors, as well as the fishy smell of fish and aquatic products.

Not in the mood to observe the place, Aetris hurried to an old apartment building. Just as he was about to enter, he suddenly saw a thirteen-year-old girl walking out of Broken Axe Lane on the other side of the street. She was wearing a dark yellow dress that had been sewn countless times, and she was holding a vocabulary book.

Behind her was a young girl who was slightly older, about 17 or 18 years old, also wearing an old dress. She chased after her younger sister, complaining that she was walking too fast and not waiting.

However, they soon saw Aetris standing in front of the apartment. The older girl's face immediately darkened as she shouted, "Why are you here again? You're not welcome here!"

At this moment, her sister tugged on her sleeve and turned to look at Aetris. "Sir, I know you're a noble gentleman, but you've brought my father's belongings back as you promised. Now that you've fulfilled your promise to him, please stop disturbing our lives, okay?"

Aetris forced a smile and said in a low voice, "I just saw that you haven't moved out of East Borough for so many days. I wanted to ask if you have any difficulties… Is it because you don't have enough money? After all, I owe Sam…"

"Sir, this is East Borough," the younger girl said, emphasizing her point.

After a moment of silence, he understood. This was East Borough, the most chaotic place in Backlund. If this family of women were to suddenly move, even a fool would know they had gotten an unexpected windfall. It was impossible for him to provide protection at all times… Perhaps the money he had given them previously would harm them instead.

"Sir, we are already very grateful to you. At least Mother doesn't have to be so tired anymore… So, don't disturb us anymore, okay? Your arrival will only make us more dangerous." The younger girl emphasized again, her voice low.

"Alright…" At last, Aetris nodded helplessly. Then, he handed her two letters and said, "If you encounter anything you can't solve, take this letter to the police department in Cherwood Borough to look for Sergeant Faxin. He'll provide some help when he sees the letter… As for the other letter, if there's something even Sergeant Faxin can't handle, take it to Detective Hero Bryan. I believe you've heard of his name."

"Hero Detective Bryan?" The two girls didn't want to take the letter, but they changed their minds when they heard the name. They said in disbelief, "You… You know Detective Bryan?"

"Yes, I know him… You look like you admire him." Aetris was a little surprised. He felt it was better to mention a name than to explain further.

"Detective Bryan is our 'hero' from East Borough. He was the one who rescued Sister Janice from the gang-controlled company on the neighboring street," the thirteen-year-old girl replied with sparkling eyes.

"Aunt Kelly and her family were rescued by him and Miss Arbitrator. He's a true hero," the older girl said excitedly.

That fellow Ebner is really famous! I'm so envious…

While thinking this, Aetris took the opportunity to chat with the two girls. He was relieved to learn that they had just returned from the church's night school.

Even so, the two girls remained wary of him. Aetris had no choice but to regretfully leave the dilapidated apartment filled with moist water vapor and foul odors. He decided to help them when he found a suitable way to repay Sam for saving his life.

The younger girl watched him leave and sighed. "Actually, this gentleman is a good person. Mother just doesn't want to interact too much with him…"

"I know, but so what? The news he brought made my mother sad! Besides… I won't admit that that person is my father!"

…

After bidding farewell to the two girls, Aetris turned back to Black Palm Street and entered the temporary residence he had rented here. He changed into a more convenient outfit for walking in the night before heading toward another gang-controlled block.

There was his hunting target.

…

Late at night.

Click.

Ebner, who was sound asleep, suddenly heard a small voice.

He immediately jolted awake as he casually turned on the gas lamp in the room and rubbed the Ring of Light, prepared to activate it at any time.

Wu!

At that moment, a cold wind blew past without warning. The light from the gas lamp suddenly turned dark green.