“Hey!
You there, did you steal my two thousand lungmen dollars?!” Lungmen, Yan.
The slums.
As the most chaotic area of the bustling Lungmen, incidents of disputes and picking fights like this are countless every day.
A Zalak (Rat) man with mouse ears, a quite sturdy build, and several scars on his face grabbed the collar of a Vulpo (Fox) girl who looked slightly malnourished, petite, and had a pair of fox ears.
Having lost money with no one else around, the girl passing by seemed extremely suspicious.
Even though the girl hadn’t even come close to him, as the boss of the street, this Zalak man didn’t care about that.
Despite living in the slums and being unlikely to have a normal growth environment, this Vulpo girl had still grown up to be quite beautiful.
She had waist-length chestnut hair with a touch of silver-white at the ends, tied in a high ponytail with a ribbon.
Her red eyes were currently filled with innocence.
Behind her, three full fox tails swayed slightly.
The fluffy, smooth fur, which had been meticulously groomed, showed that the girl cherished her tails quite a bit.
Like her hair, the chestnut tails also had a touch of silver-white at the ends.
Facing the aggressive questioning and the lackeys who had already surrounded her behind the man, the girl revealed a very kind smile, showing a bit of playfulness and cuteness.
“Oh my, oh my, don’t be so excited, mister~” As a girl of the vulpo race, the word “vixenish” seemed tailor-made for this species.
Although the girl’s appearance leaned toward the cute type, her soft, sweet tone with a hint of natural charm truly raised her charm level by several notches.
And the girl was very aware of her charm level.
Struggling to make a living in the Lungmen slums, while having too high a charm level could sometimes cause trouble, most of the time, it could definitely resolve trouble easily.
At least it allowed the Zalak man in front of her to calm down a bit and let go of her collar.
The girl unhurriedly straightened her clothes.
On the side of the hem of her black crop-top jacket, an exquisite little Fuyuki was fastened as an ornament.
Following the girl’s movements, it made a pleasant “Ling~ Ling~” sound.
“Did you accidentally lose your money, mister?
Please don’t worry, just follow the path you came from and look for it carefully,” the girl continued.
Then, the girl generously pulled out two hundred-denomination lungmen dollar bills from her inner jacket pocket and forcefully stuffed them into the man’s hand.
“On this street, I don’t think anyone would have the guts to steal your money, Brother Shu, would they?” She even flattered the Zalak in front of her in passing.
Having hung around the slums for years, although she didn’t come to this street often, the girl still knew more or less which streets had which troublesome bullies.
And the “Brother Shu” in front of her did indeed match her knowledge.
Seeing the Fox-eared Girl being so “sensible,” Brother Shu’s attitude softened.
One of Brother Shu’s sharp-eyed lackeys suddenly gave a quiet signal.
“Brother Shu, look at her waist!” What the lackey was pointing out to Brother Shu was the Fuyuki at the girl’s waist.
“A three-tailed Vulpo, a Fuyuki hanging at the waist…” Only then did Brother Shu recall some rumors.
A master of Wind-manipulation Arts who played with them quite skillfully, she was a presence in the Lungmen slums who was quite capable of fighting.
It was said that previously, a boss of a street to the north had taken a fancy to the girl’s beauty and led over a dozen people to corner her, attempting to violate her by force.
The result was one dead, and the rest severely injured.
Since she was the defending party and the other side’s behavior was extremely heinous…
Even though a life was lost, to put it realistically…
this was the slums, and such things happened almost every day— The girl only spent a few days eating pork chop rice in the Lungmen Guard Department’s cells before being released on the grounds of self-defense.
This person he had casually grabbed was no nobody.
“You…
you are Fuyuki?” Good grief!
A-Shu didn’t want to actually gamble his life here.
This lady in front of him truly had lives on her hands!
“Oh…
am I really that famous?” Fuyuki covered her mouth, her eyes showing a hint of surprise.
But the three tails behind her suddenly spread out forcefully, as if giving a slight warning to the opponent.
“W-we’re leaving!” Clutching the two hundred lungmen dollars Fuyuki had stuffed into his hand, A-Shu didn’t know whether to take it or not—what if he offended the girl and she retaliated?
He had heard that some big shots were just that fickle!
A-Shu could only grit his teeth and leave with the two banknotes.
A moment later, only Fuyuki remained on the street.
After a brief silence…
“Pfft!
Haha…” Fuyuki finally couldn’t hold it in and chuckled softly.
Giving the other party two hundred lungmen dollars wasn’t because Fuyuki was generous.
In the slums, as long as one still kept a certain baseline, being able to fight didn’t necessarily mean one could get food; the girl’s life was still a bit tight.
But the reason she was so generous…
was because Fuyuki had actually picked up two thousand lungmen dollars.
Don’t expect Fuyuki’s moral standards to be very high while struggling in the slums; returning lost money depends on the person.
Furthermore, in a general sense, Fuyuki was no longer considered a kind soul.
In this situation…
it’s definitely a case of the thief stealing from the thief!
“Looks like I can have an extra meal tonight!” The three fox tails swayed gently with a certain rhythm; it was clear that Fuyuki’s mood was very pleasant.
Different from her wind-manipulating Originium Arts.
Being able to always pick up “high-value” items seemed to be a natural instinct that Fuyuki possessed.
But the definition of “high-value” was very broad.
Picking up money today showed that money was something quite important to that A-Shu.
But sometimes, this mysterious sense would also guide Fuyuki to pick up worn-out rag dolls, stopped pocket watches…
things that should be regarded as “trash” in most people’s eyes.
So an occasional flash of inspiration didn’t mean Fuyuki could definitely eat without working.
However, these items…
to the original owners, should be quite important things.
“If I could go to the lower city to help people find lost items, maybe I could make a fortune just like that.” Fuyuki sighed as she walked along the road.
Being able to live a slightly, just slightly more leisurely life was the dream she could think of now.
But unfortunately, even such a dream was somewhat out of reach.
She wasn’t even sure how much longer her life would last.
The three tails behind her swayed slightly again.
This wasn’t natural.
Although Fuyuki had heard that there were indeed Vulpos with multiple tails.
But hers was a “lesion.” oripathy.
The culprit that made her life so terrible.
As an Infected, Fuyuki possessed the ability to release Originium Arts with her bare hands, but this wasn’t a good thing either.
To put it bluntly, the Infected used their own bodies as the casting units for Originium Arts.
The more they cast, the more it would only accelerate the worsening of their condition, eventually leading to death and turning into dust from an active Originium explosion.
Then infecting the next unlucky person.
As long as one comes into contact with active Originium, if one is not careful, there is a high probability of becoming an Infected for various reasons.
Because of this strong infectivity, the Infected are very unwelcome in Lungmen.
Of course, in any place on this earth, it’s basically the same, even worse and more terrible.
Being able to live peacefully in the slums was already better than many places on this earth.
Fantasy is beautiful, but one still has to eat.
“Hum-hum~” Miss Vulpo, in a good mood, came to a stall she liked very much.
Usually, it was hard to come here for a full meal.
Dong’s Fishballs.
Although the signature fishballs were indeed a masterpiece, in this place of Lungmen, those who sell balls would more or less carry some other products.
“Brother Jye, the secret menu, Tumor-beast balls!
I want 3 servings today!” Fuyuki generously laid out several cash notes and said with a smile.