Although Chi Yun Su said that, in reality, she still had ‘Guo Ruofan’ carry the empty, deflated bag. The two quickly left the house together and then ‘awkwardly’ watched as the other Black Port residents were still packing their things.
Their outsider awkwardness was on full display.
The older sister glanced at ‘Guo Ruofan,’ who was a head taller than Chi Yun Su, but said nothing. However, some of those who had been observing Chi Yun Su earlier withdrew their ulterior motives because of this.
An outsider with a companion and an outsider without one were two entirely different concepts.
Chi Yun Su waited for nearly two hours. As the dust and smoke from the distant conflict drifted closer to them, the first group of people who had finished packing finally prepared to set off.
They carried large and small bundles, more than Chi Yun Su had expected.
Upon closer inspection, Chi Yun Su quickly realized that most of the items seemed to be the ‘household appliances’ she had created over the years.
Recalling what the older sister had said earlier—’the seller ran away, and there’s nothing left to stay for in West District Two’—Chi Yun Su felt an indescribable emotion.
After a moment of silence, Chi Yun Su casually asked the older sister with curiosity, “Sis, what are all these things? I don’t think I’ve seen them before.”
“None of your business,” the older sister snapped impatiently, as goodwill was already scarce among Black Port residents. “I told you to follow, not to stand around here. Go to the back.”
Chi Yun Su stammered and, under the subtle gazes of others, obediently followed the older sister’s instructions, pulling ‘Guo Ruofan’ by the wrist and heading toward the back of the group.
Faced with such compliant and well-behaved individuals, the hidden glances grew more hostile. The rules of Black Port were simple and brutal: the strong ruled, and being meek and obedient here would only backfire.
And what Chi Yun Su needed was to be bullied. Otherwise, once they reached District Three, she would have to continue following this group, which would be even more troublesome.
Sure enough, on the way to District Three, these Black Port residents frequently assigned Chi Yun Su ‘troublesome tasks,’ deliberately sending the two to deal with small groups trying to take advantage of the chaos to rob them along the way.
Of course, whether it was the former or the latter, Chi Yun Su played the part of a tearful, fragile girl, always leaving it to ‘Guo Ruofan’ to handle.
Feeling like he was the only one at a disadvantage here, ‘Guo Ruofan’: “…”
However, ‘Guo Ruofan’ could see Chi Yun Su’s intentions. Though unhappy, he didn’t say anything. Knowing that Chi Yun Su wanted to appear weak, he didn’t show off his strength during confrontations and even acted mercifully.
Thus, after more than a day on the road, Chi Yun Su overheard the others discussing behind their backs how to sell both of them off.
No surprises there.
This was Black Port, after all.
The older sister who had allowed Chi Yun Su to follow didn’t get involved, but it wasn’t out of kindness. Instead, she brought up another matter.
“People in Black Port aren’t worth much. Let’s focus on how to sell these things as quickly as possible,” the older sister said, patting the ‘household appliances’ Chi Yun Su had made, which were piled behind her. “Once word gets out that the seller has run away, these things won’t be easy to sell.”
Recalling the emotions she had felt more than a day ago, Chi Yun Su: “…”
So this was why these people had decided to leave as soon as they heard the news.
Typical Black Port residents.But thinking about how shameless she herself was, Chi Yun Su felt psychologically balanced. She decisively stepped on the target beside her, making a cracking sound.
“Who’s there!” Those people immediately became alert and picked up their weapons, only to hear Chi Yun Su’s furious and panicked shout, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“You actually want to sell me and Ruofan! You’re so evil!!” As Chi Yun Su’s sharp voice fell, she kicked the door open, grabbed a large bag of dust she had prepared earlier, and flung it at the people inside. Coughing sounds immediately erupted one after another.
“Ruofan, let’s run!!” After deliberately taking revenge, Chi Yun Su grabbed ‘Guo Ruofan’ and continued shouting loudly before sprinting away.
Rushing outside, they saw the entrance completely deserted, along with people from the third district who had heard the commotion and were peeking out to see what was happening.
The Black Port people who had suffered a silent loss: “…”
Chi Yun Su and ‘Guo Ruofan’ made a lot of noise as they fled. Others, confused by the scene, didn’t bother to stop the two.
After all, the two of them appeared to have nothing on them, and their only backpack was so light it almost floated away.
After taking a slight detour, the Cleaning Company was still quite conspicuous in Black Port, and Chi Yun Su quickly reached the area by running in that direction.
During the day, Cleaning Company employees on rotation would come out to trade with Black Port residents.
Black Port residents couldn’t always find what they needed in the garbage heaps, and trading with other Black Port residents was never as safe as trading with the normal people from the Cleaning Company.
Moreover, the items brought out by Cleaning Company employees were fresh goods from outside, not dirty things dug up from the garbage heaps. So, although the exchange prices near the Cleaning Company were quite steep, the trading market there was still quite popular.
Upon ‘escaping’ to the entrance of the trading market, Chi Yun Su’s eyes lit up at the sight of the Cleaning Company employees in uniform making extra money on the side. She rushed forward as if seeing family, speaking incoherently in her excitement: “Brother, please save me. They want to sell me. I don’t want to stay here anymore. Please take me out. This place is so scary. I was wrong. I’ll never come here again.”
The Cleaning Company employee she appealed to felt speechless inside. However, seeing that Chi Yun Su and her companion were young, wearing clothes that looked somewhat expensive, with clean identity proofs on their wrists, and an aura completely out of place in Black Port, he realized they were likely newcomers to Black Port. As a result, he didn’t treat Chi Yun Su and her companion too poorly.
“Once you enter Black Port, it’s impossible to leave,” the Cleaning Company employee said with a hint of pity.
He had seen many criminals from outside come to Black Port and regret it deeply, but once you were here, you were here. In reality, this place was a more chaotic prison than any actual jail.
“Please, help us think of a way. I graduated from Long River Industries. I’ve never committed a crime. I can work for you for free. Give us a chance,” Chi Yun Su pleaded urgently. She shoved the backpack from ‘Guo Ruofan’ into the Cleaning Company employee’s hands, glancing back from time to time as if there were truly wild beasts chasing them.Upon hearing that Chi Yun Su was a graduate of Long River Industries, the Cleaning Company employee’s eyes flickered—that university ranked within the top ten in the Long River Galaxy. Facing someone educated, the Cleaning Company employee’s attitude softened further, especially since Chi Yun Su claimed to have never committed a crime.
Looking at Chi Yun Su’s youthful face, he believed it. Only then did the Cleaning Company employee open the backpack Chi Yun Su had handed to him. Seeing the two stacks of money inside the flat bag, his grip on it tightened, and his eyes couldn’t help but light up.
These were all the highest denomination bills. Combined, these stacks amounted to over a hundred thousand, equivalent to two or three years of his income.
The Cleaning Company employee was thoroughly tempted, though he gave Chi Yun Su and the other person a strange look.
What kind of proper outsider comes to Black Port carrying nothing but a backpack full of money?
Did they think Black Port was some tourist destination?