When Elizabeth walked into the banquet hall wearing a street-style blue denim jacket, a variegated plaid shirt and black leather pants, and holding an electronic sword, she immediately became the focus of the audience.
Everyone dressed in luxurious garden-style evening gowns looked at her with smiling faces as if they were watching some special performance.
This is the Muse Museum in the Garden District, and tonight there is a strange auction organized by the bank.
The so-called strange auction means that the auction items are related to strange objects, exotic species and cultural relics from ruins.
Elizabeth received the invitation and came to take a look because she wanted to see if there was any information about the source code.
"I don't drink, so don't worry about me." She refused the wine tray with red wine and cocktails handed to her by the waiter, not caring at all about the looks from the people around her that seemed to say, "What a rebellious guy."
She is now a licensed hero and has permission from the Union Zone, so she doesn't need to pretend to be happy to give these people face.
There was laughter and laughter in the spacious banquet hall. Half of the guests were young blood-eaters, including potential heirs, and the other half were "defective products" who came to join in the fun. They were not extraordinary people, but they knew all this.
"Elizabeth!" A young man came up in a hurry and said flatteringly: "You are so beautiful tonight."
Asake Raku, a member of the Asahoshi Mitou family, a "defective product", has always been her eager suitor.
"Yeah." Elizabeth nodded silently, not wanting to pay attention to the other party, but she also remembered the master's guidance, "Make a lot of friends." This sentence is not only limited to the streets, but should also be applied inside the bank.
She has been walking around Kabukicho these days, but there has been no breakthrough yet.
Fortunately, the street fight that night had a positive impact, and the red-haired Liz would not be rejected directly.
It is not easy to make friends within the bank. It is difficult for established blood-eaters to change, but "defectives" such as Qian Xingle and James Amick, every person with special disabilities, and those who have not yet made extraordinary choices
The descendants of...
Elizabeth felt that she could fight for anything and establish a good relationship first.
"Good evening, do you know there will be source code competition tonight?" she asked, actually it was her first time to participate in such an event.
"Ah." Qian Xingle didn't expect that Elizabeth not only responded to him, but also took the initiative to ask questions, and she was immediately happy, but...
"I don't know." He apologized helplessly. As a defective product, he was just an idler here. "But I heard that this is the result of the bank's recent raids on the wilderness. Several tribes were destroyed and confiscated.
Got some treasures.”
The New World Bank has some departments that are independent of various consortiums, and among them is the Extraordinary Mobile Task Force.
They move around in the wilderness, hunting alien species, looking for strange objects, and raiding wilderness tribes that pose a threat to the bank.
This kind of thing has a certain degree of randomness, because the powerful wilderness tribes are often very hidden, and each tribe almost poses a threat to the freight system in the north outside the city, and from time to time they will do one or two jobs to make a living.
Banks usually allow those tribes to exist, firstly because they can't fight them, and they don't know where to look, and there are more after fighting them; secondly, they have the advantage of raising them, allowing the lambs to grow into fat sheep before harvesting them.
"Elizabeth..." Qian Xingle stopped talking and noticed that she was slightly frowning her beautiful eyebrows.
Think about it, Elizabeth is so close to the streets, how can she be happy that a wilderness tribe has been wiped out?
There is only a thin line between the streets and the wilderness, and they can often be confused.
"A lot of people died," Elizabeth asked softly. They were all people with flesh and blood and stories.
Her heart ached slightly, and when she looked at the people around her toasting and laughing, she felt like she wanted to leave the show.
"It should be." Qian Xingle neither wanted to say that, nor did he want to lie to the goddess in his dream...
At this time, Elizabeth's blue eyes suddenly narrowed slightly, and she saw a young man wearing a black men's kimono walking towards him, Harafuji Yosuke.
I heard that he had been in seclusion for many days because of "self-crime" and that he had gotten into some trouble because of Taro Hoto's death.
But looking at it now, Yosuke Harafuji has a smile on his face, as if nothing happened. He didn't even have an open quarrel that night at the Katsu Shou Boxing Gym.
"Elizabeth, I'm going to look elsewhere first..." As soon as Asake saw Yosuke Harato, the leader among Santo's peers, he hurriedly bowed slightly and nodded to him, then backed away.
He is a defective product, a miserable defective product, and has no place in front of the potential heir to the Harafuji family's overdrive.
If Yosuke Harafuji comes to talk to Elizabeth, he has to go away. This is common sense and a rule.
"A lot of people died." Yosuke Harafuji took over the words, but he heard what they just said.
"Two tribes, one is called the Ronin Society and the other is called the Forest Patrol Group. They are two stubborn diseases operating in the wilderness. They have committed several crimes in the freight area this year, causing great losses to the bank. They are addicted to robbery, so they also
bring about destruction.
"These treasures that the bank is bidding on tonight are actually the bank's own belongings, they just got them back.
"Elizabeth, in order to eliminate these two tribes, our bank colleagues also suffered casualties, so respect them."
Yosuke Harato raised the red wine glass in his hand and looked directly at Elizabeth with a smile, "Why, aren't you happy that the bank has recovered its losses? Those wilderness tribes are all a group of bandits who deserved to die, don't you think so?"
Elizabeth had a sullen face, knowing that she couldn't talk nonsense or scold the other person.
The situation has changed. After the boxing incident, Yosuke Harato called her to apologize and so on, but after the castle festival and the Kabukicho riots, the relationship between her and Mitō became openly confrontational.
Yosuke Harado will no longer come here to make excuses, but will directly attack her, that is where his interests lie.
The reason why she was not punished by the Union District was because she always spoke from the perspective of the bank's interests.
Harato Yosuke took advantage of this and said these words to provoke her, hoping that she would succeed with her words and fail with them.
Everyone around can hear it, there are too many ears here.
"I'm sorry for Sophia." Elizabeth could only change the topic, but this was indeed what she wanted to say for a long time, "Sofia thought she and you were good friends, but she disappeared like that. I didn't see you doing anything.
What's going on?"
"Sofia, my dear Sophia." Yosuke Harafuji sighed softly, as if he was filled with regret.
"She is not dead, there is no doubt about it. She also betrayed Taro. Who else could she be? She was controlled by someone. Maybe she died and turned into an evil spirit to seek revenge. Liz, you can
Be careful, the person she hates the most is you."
Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She didn't know whether she was happy or worried, "Do you have a clue?"
"Someone must have betrayed Taro, or... was it you?" Yosuke Harafuji said, "You were very active that night."
"Yosuke Harafuji, watch your words." Elizabeth said sternly, "Who doesn't know about the conflict between Taro Hoto and you? That person must be you. You have done enough damage to the bank's interests recently."
She knew from Seth's information that perhaps Taro Hoto said something before he died. The Haruto family and the Hoto family had a quarrel recently. Who is afraid of whom when talking about such unclear things?
"I'm just kidding you." Yosuke Harado decided not to talk about this topic. "Don't let our sadness for Taro and Sophia put you off. They are not the protagonists tonight."
He looked at the luxurious audience and said, "Recently, banks will conduct raids on the wilderness. The streets are dishonest and it's not easy to attack, so they just attack the wilderness. This is called knocking the mountain to shock the tiger, and many savages will die."
Elizabeth ignored the other party's provocation and walked away elsewhere.
But Yosuke Harafuji's words came later: "Elizabeth, there are many kinds of life, and not just the kind of life on the street is worthy of being called life. I think we can live a more real, deep and meaningful life.
"The streets will not understand your thoughts. It is the garden that makes you, not the streets."
Elizabeth didn't answer, she didn't belong here, she didn't belong in this banquet hall filled with the smell of blood.
She has no thoughts, all she has is humanity.
And her humanity can be connected with the streets, and with Lorna Lude.
Lorna Ludd, if you were here, you would definitely scold me and beat me up. I want to be as wild as you.
"The user's unhappiness has increased, activate the teaser mode." Jianbao suddenly said, "Looking at it on the bright side, at least you won't be deceived by Yosuke Harado like Sophia, even though you are the kind of person who will be fooled.
People who have been deceived.”
"Jian Bao..." Elizabeth said helplessly, "This is not funny at all."
She continued walking, looking for Qian Xingle, and chatted with him.
There are not many people here who are so annoying.
Not long after, the auction bidding officially began. It was obvious that the truly valuable things were sent to the joint area for processing, and what flowed into this occasion were just some so-called trinkets.
Most of them are some exotic materials and equipment, as well as a few rare objects and cultural relics of little use.
But those vases, statues, and the auction host made it clear that they did not have source codes and were just antiques.
Elizabeth did not participate in any auction, and her money will be used to fund activities and relieve street children.
And think about it, how could the master be so vulgar?
Whether it is source code, personality raw data, or zodiac constellation data, a new program like the one described by the master cannot be bought with money. Only masters or strange people can create it.
Without this goal, Elizabeth stood in this bustling banquet hall, feeling more and more uncomfortable and worried about the wilderness tribe.
…
Under the starry night sky, the campfire illuminated this wilderness tribal land.
People were laughing and laughing, gathering around the bonfire with the guests who came today.
Boxer sat aside and played the guitar, and there were also members of the recovery group playing tambourines, harmonicas and other instruments.
Kaao Sakai happily performed the six steps of kabuki by the campfire. She had practiced it for a while before. It was arranged by Ayone's mother. If she couldn't be a supernatural actor or actor, she would become a kabuki dancer.
Her exaggerated and funny steps and gestures caused everyone in the revival meeting to laugh and applaud.
"This is my sister, my sister!" Sakai Shukichi raised his glass and cheered to others. He was almost drunk. The pure wilderness home-brew beer that can only be drunk in the wild is really too wild.
"Hahaha!" Lorna laughed happily, sat on the floor, and drank a lot of beer, but she was not drunk.
Gu He sat on a low stool next to him and was also very happy to be infected by the atmosphere here.
The wilderness tribes do not have long-term settlement locations, they all change places after a period of time, and the same is true for the Pioneers of Recovery. This camp is composed of RVs and tents, and is more like a gypsy than a low-tech tribe.
Even the stage prepared for performances is just a relatively large three-sided tent.
Their vehicles were all highly modified, and Gu He even felt like he was in the spiritual network when he looked at them.
The Pioneers of Recovery is an organization mainly composed of extraordinary people from the Eleventh House profession. There are many actors, painters, hunters, as well as their families and friends here.
Children were running around, and in their childish smiles there was an innocence different from that of street children.
Gu He had not seen this kind of smile for a long time. These children were living well.
Lindsay was also sitting on the floor by the bonfire, hugging her new brown-haired black mixed-race girlfriend, named Morissa.
Morissa is beautiful, has a good figure, is as enthusiastic and cheerful as a gypsy, and has the avant-gardeness of an artist.
She is an extraordinary painter in the Resurrection Society. When they came before, she let them look at her paintings, including the latest masterpiece, a nude sketch of Lindsay. Lindsay said just look at it, it doesn't matter.
At that time, I couldn't understand everyone's expressions, but I was greatly shocked.
Another situation is that Vivian is also here. As soon as Gu He comes, she teases: "He, have you seen it?"
Gu He knew what she was talking about, but he hadn't seen the personality raw image yet.
"Next, welcome our next friend, Lorna Ludd!"
Chiba Gibson served as the host of this bonfire party. She wore denim clothes common in the wilderness and had Chiba Wings on her back. She flew into the air from time to time, and the firelight made her face even more beautiful.
"Lorna, Lorna!" everyone shouted.
"Here we come!" Lorna jumped out with a smile, drank wine, posed her body, and asked the people around her: "Live one day at a time, live one day at a time if you are not dead, and fall down if you die, what kind of life is this?"
As she spoke, she asked herself questions and raised her fist high: "The life of a street dog!"
Everyone burst out laughing, and Lorna spun around a few times randomly. There were no dance steps at all, but she had a bold and unrestrained beauty.
The wires between her black hair were swinging messily, and she jumped and said: "Those bank dogs think that we street dogs are all a bunch of unhappy losers, don't they? That's wrong, we are a bunch of happy losers!"
The laughter in the camp became louder, Gu He also laughed, and Boxer sang a song.
Lorna danced and sang, and also shouted at the top of her lungs. She wanted to have a good time tonight and leave things in the city in the city.
Here, she was freed from the bank's control and seemed to be temporarily freed from those burdens.
Elizabeth Sterling, you're going to envy this, I know you are.
"And our good friend the Cowherd, Gu He!" Chiba Gibson shouted again, and everyone immediately looked at Gu He who was sitting there drinking wolfberry water. There was a shout, and many women whistled.
Morrisa is not the only passionate woman in the Awakening tribe.
Why should we emphasize the Cowherd... Gu He had no choice but to stand up. Although he was not good at dancing, he still had to jump up and down on occasions like this. He just twisted his body and moved his hands casually.
The reflection of the bonfire made Lorna even more beautiful, and she jumped over to lead him.
But at this time, Vivian stood up and jumped into the field, vying to pull Gu He over.
"Hey." Gu He was not as agile as Vivian, the second programmer operator, but Lorna was the most capable of fighting among them. She grabbed him and refused to give in.
Vivian just deliberately made trouble and hugged him directly, but it only made the atmosphere here even more intense.
Lindsay didn't care at all, she hugged Morrisa and whispered intimately, as if no one else was around.
Perhaps because he saw Gu He's embarrassment, Chiba Gibson suddenly dived from mid-air, and when Lorna and Vivian were not paying attention, he grabbed Gu He with both hands and flew into the night sky.
The bonfire on the ground jumped up, and everyone laughed and shouted, but they couldn't catch up with her speed.
Vivian could only look up and smile, Lorna jumped away, but she just couldn't stand Vivian.
"Wow, He Sang!" Sakai Huaqing jumped up and waved excitedly, greeting Gu He who was being carried higher and higher in the night sky, "Can you see me over here!"
Oh my god, flying cows are flying in the sky, help!
Gu He is not afraid of heights, but the current situation is scarier than riding in a hot air balloon. If he falls, it will be over.
He had no choice but to hug Miss Chiba's back tightly from the front, like a koala, too close to her body to care. He refused to relax at all, looking at the ground getting further and further away, and the entire tent of the Resurrection Tribe.
You can see clearly with the RV.
"Don't look down, look at the starry sky." Miss Chiba said, "Don't be afraid, it will be fine if you hold me tight."
Gu He took a deep breath, looked up, and suddenly found himself among the vast stars, fading into insignificance.
Miss Chiba is still flying higher, and he may never forget this scene for the rest of his life.
The night breeze brought coolness, and while he was still holding her tightly in his hands, his heart gradually relaxed. It was so beautiful.
He thought he should already have the data on the movement of the zodiac stars.
"Gu He, what Lorna said just now made me think." Miss Qianye also looked at the starry sky, the silver wings on her back were flapping slowly, "Live one day at a time, live another day, street dogs are like this, and wild dogs are like this.
, what kind of life is this?”
In this environment and beautiful scenery, Gu He felt something in his heart and wanted to take this issue seriously.
He was silent for a while and then said: "The lives of many people."
"Yes, many people," she said, "live such a life."
"Miss Qianye, I scolded you in the fish pond that day. I'm sorry." Gu He said again, which was a belated apology. "At that time, I just didn't want Miss Caiyin to take over the job, and I didn't know you... I don't even now.
Very understanding."
"I know." Miss Chiba whispered, her eyes like stars, "Most people are not understood. It would be great if everyone was a star, shining in the dark."
"Who said it won't be the case now?" Gu He said thoughtfully and gained something, "Everyone I know is like this. It's just that there is too much light pollution in the city, which usually blocks everyone."
Chiba Gibson smiled and flew higher, toward the stars, freeing himself and everyone on him from the shackles of the center of the earth.