“Thank you for your business, here are your three servings of Tumor-beast balls.” The young man looking after Dong’s Fishballs spoke in a flat tone, looking quite unmotivated, but the work in his hands never stopped.
Lungmen’s Tumor-beast balls don’t have too many seasonings added during the cooking process itself; what you eat is the crisp and springy texture of the ball itself.
After boiling and pairing it with a little special sauce, it becomes an exquisite delicacy.
Fuyuki could only come to treat herself occasionally when she was a bit better off.
However, there weren’t particularly many delicacies in the Lungmen slums that Fuyuki kept in mind, so over the years, she could definitely be counted as a regular at this stall.
“Mmm~” She picked up a ball with a toothpick and popped it into her mouth.
As she chewed, a rich meaty aroma accompanied by a little juice exploded in her oral cavity.
Fuyuki’s fox ears would even twitch occasionally along with her chewing movements.
With three whole servings of balls, Fuyuki naturally wouldn’t keep standing to eat, so she walked toward the seats behind the stall.
Mobile stalls wouldn’t carry too many tables and chairs, but there were still places for customers to rest their feet.
And today, it seemed Fuyuki wasn’t the only one in the mood to enjoy delicacies at Dong’s Fishballs stall.
“Eh?
Uncle Lin is here too?” Fuyuki gracefully shared a table at an empty seat in front of a Zalak old man with a higher degree of beastification.
The old man Fuyuki called “Uncle Lin” was basically a regular here as well.
Even if he wasn’t patronizing the business, he would often stroll over here.
Over time, Fuyuki, who also patronized this stall year-round, became familiar with this Uncle Lin.
The mouse-like face looked somewhat kind, yet also possessed a natural air of authority.
“Oh?
It’s Little Girl Ling.
I haven’t seen you in a while, have I?” Uncle Lin teased Fuyuki, unhurriedly eating the scaled marbles in front of him.
“Sigh, money’s been tight lately~” Fuyuki shrugged with a hint of helplessness.
Medicine that can suppress oripathy is not cheap.
In the slums, just doing odd jobs is definitely not enough for daily medication.
It was lucky that Fuyuki could occasionally rely on her innate scavenging luck to supplement her income with some unexpected earnings, which barely allowed her to pull through.
Uncle Lin sized up the Vulpo Girl before him while eating his scaled marbles.
Fuyuki did the same, eating her favorite food while occasionally chatting idly with Uncle Lin.
This Uncle Lin was no ordinary person.
Fuyuki’s outward personality seemed a bit carefree, but her mind was actually quite sharp; those fox ears on her head and the fox tail behind her weren’t just for show.
For people she encountered year-round, Fuyuki would naturally keep an eye out and investigate them a bit.
This was a lesson she had learned countless times in the slums.
“Rat King.” In all of Lungmen, from the Governor Wei Yenwu at the top to the beggars in the slums at the bottom, even if they hadn’t seen him, they would know this title.
The Rat King, Lin Gerui.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was the actual controller of the Lungmen slums.
The Lungmen slums could at least ensure that most of the Infected could live a relatively normal life, and the Rat King’s contributions were indispensable.
It didn’t take much effort to find out Uncle Lin’s true identity.
Because the Rat King didn’t care about such things at all.
And to Lin Gerui, the Little Girl Ling before him was a rare talent.
She was bright and clever, and her ability to assess situations and adapt was not weak; she only lacked proper education and some experience.
Unfortunately, as an Infected, her degree of infection was likely already quite deep.
At such a young age, to have a level of strength that could be considered very good among youth without hard training—even if there were factors of her own comprehension—everyone living on this land understood what the main reliance was.
In current Lungmen, even if Fuyuki grew enough to do some work under Lin Gerui, she probably wouldn’t have long to live.
But if such a talent were to fall just like that…
A pity, a real pity.
Lin Gerui, who had a daughter late in life, had a daughter not many years older than Fuyuki.
Even though Lin Gerui had seen many storms, he felt some regret for a girl about the same age as his daughter perishing like this.
But if she just needed better treatment, there wasn’t a lack of other methods right now.
Lin Gerui pointed out a clear path for Fuyuki.
“Uncle Lin…
you’re saying…
a medical enterprise called Rhodes Island possesses top-tier medical technology, while their fees are relatively cheap, and you can even work for them in exchange for treatment?” Fuyuki’s expression became slightly strange as she cautiously looked at Lin Gerui opposite her.
“Um…
Uncle Lin, you aren’t tricking me, are you?
Which enterprise doesn’t want to make money?
What benefit does this Rhodes Island get by doing this?” Indeed, what was the benefit?
Even the Rat King of Lungmen, having lived most of his life, had truly never seen such an enterprise.
This medical enterprise called Rhodes Island, even if it hadn’t been established for long—seemingly only a few months—these currently favorable rumors had indeed given it a certain amount of fame.
Of course, on the surface, the existence of Rhodes Island was little known.
Its popularity was only within quite specific groups.
However, the most terrifying thing was…
with the Rat King’s discernment, his current judgment was—these rumors were true.
A medical enterprise possessing a land vessel, traveling to various regions to treat and save people.
And recently, their vessel would be making a brief resupply in Lungmen.
Fuyuki could take that opportunity to get in touch with Rhodes Island.
Sending Fuyuki to Rhodes Island also carried the possibility of pushing her into a fire pit, if that enterprise was not up to any good.
But Lin Gerui only provided Fuyuki with this information.
As for whether to go or not, that was Fuyuki’s own business.
Fuyuki was someone capable of making her own decisions and taking responsibility for them.
Lin Gerui believed his eye for people wasn’t that bad.
“In any case, thank you, Uncle Lin!
I’ll give it some serious thought.” A short while passed, and Fuyuki finished her meatballs.
After hearing the information Lin Gerui provided, Fuyuki had things on her mind.
She stood up, thanked him, and then took her leave.
“Mm.” Lin Gerui nodded.
Then, his gaze sharpened.
At this moment, the one standing before Fuyuki was that “Lin Gerui.” He spoke word by word, unhurriedly.
“Little Girl Ling, if you go and things don’t feel right, then come back.
At least here in Lungmen, even if your illness can’t be cured, I can still provide a place to shelter you from the wind and rain.” The weight of these words was quite significant.
Fuyuki also knew that this so-called “place to shelter from the wind and rain” was also an implicit promise the Rat King made to her.
The corners of her mouth curled slightly into a faint smile as she chuckled.
“Since Uncle Lin has said so, then I’m definitely going on this trip.” Going to Rhodes Island would result in only a few outcomes.
If Fuyuki didn’t come back and could live a healthy life for a long time, it would mean this Rhodes Island had real substance.
If it were the opposite, or even a worse situation…
then as the Lin Gerui.
Lin Gerui would naturally find a way to seek justice for the residents of the Lungmen slums.