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*****
"Well? How is it?"
Oren looked at everyone somewhat nervously, waiting for their evaluation.
Gwen and Little Lamb were both busy chewing.
(￣～￣)
In the next second, much to Oren's pleasant surprise, the two of them nodded at him simultaneously and praised, "Not bad!"
"Phew!"
Oren let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as though he had received a massive boost of encouragement.
"I'm heading out now!"
Gwen quickly finished the last of the fried dough sticks in her hand, gulped down a glass of soy milk, and grabbed two boiled eggs before sprinting toward the door.
Little Lamb curled his lip and grumbled, "She clearly said she was going to play with me today."
"She has some urgent matters to attend to," Mike said calmly. "Today, let Oren play with you instead."
"Him?"
Little Lamb squinted his eyes at Oren, his pupils darting around as he thought. Suddenly, he nodded and gave a bright, mischievous smile. "Alright then!"
Oren nodded in agreement. "Leave Lamb to me."
"Wait a second, what did you just call me?"
Little Lamb looked at Oren with puffed-out cheeks, looking quite indignant. "You have to call me Uncle! Uncle! Do you understand?"
Oren: "..."
"But you didn't exist in my world."
"But I exist here! You call my Dad 'Grandpa,' so naturally, you have to call me Uncle!" Little Lamb stated his case with righteous conviction.
Oren found himself unable to argue with that logic.
Just then, Mike flicked Little Lamb's forehead lightly. "You are indeed Oren's uncle, but as an uncle, you shouldn't make things difficult for him."
"Make things difficult?"
Little Lamb looked at Oren, tilted his head in thought for a moment, and then conceded to Oren. "Fine, it was this Uncle's fault!"
Thinking about it, Oren was indeed much older than him. If the roles were reversed and he had to call someone much younger 'Uncle' in front of a crowd, he would probably find it awkward too. Thinking of this, Little Lamb nodded to himself secretly.
Oren didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he watched the boy.
Little Lamb giggled. His body slowly rose from his chair, floating into the air until he was slightly taller than Oren. He patted Oren on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I won't make things hard for you anymore. From now on, I'll take care of you!"
Oren opened his mouth to speak, but finally just nodded. "I understand."
Little Lamb grinned, looking more and more satisfied with this "big nephew" of his.
Meanwhile, Gwen, having rushed out of the house, was already heading toward their secret base.
Last night, they had discussed the current clues until very late and had made significant progress. Today was the day they would take action.
"We should be able to find new leads," Gwen muttered to herself, popping a whole egg into her mouth.
"Cough!"
She began to cough violently, pounding her chest with force. Her neck strained as she struggled to swallow the egg, finally letting out a long breath once it went down.
"Phew!"
She almost thought she was going to become the first superhero in history to be choked to death by a hard-boiled egg.
Boarding the bus, Gwen felt drowsy. Her head bobbed up and down as she dozed off while the vehicle moved toward her destination.
Halfway through the journey, she felt something was off.
Someone was touching her backpack.
A cold sneer formed in her heart. Just as Gwen was about to apprehend the person, a crisp thwack echoed through the bus.
"Ah!"
With a sharp cry of pain, the hand that had been reaching for Gwen's phone suddenly let go.
Gwen moved with agile precision, catching her phone before it could fall, and quickly turned to look.
She saw a thin, scruffy man clutching his wrist, his face contorted in pain.
Opposite him stood a man in a well-tailored suit wearing dark sunglasses, silently retracting a white blind cane.
A cane?
A blind man?
Gwen blinked, momentarily stunned.
"You damn blind man! Mind your own business!" the thief cursed. The moment the bus came to a stop, he scrambled out the door in a panic.
Gwen narrowed her eyes, memorizing the man's face, before turning to the blind man in the suit. "Thank you."
To be able to accurately strike someone's wrist without the use of sight... this blind man was anything but ordinary.
"No need to thank me," the man said with a gentle smile. "It was probably an unnecessary move on my part."
Judging by how quickly she had caught the phone, he suspected the thief would have fared much worse if he hadn't intervened.
Gwen paused, and regardless of whether he could see her or not, she nodded to him and sat down.
What an interesting person, Gwen thought to herself.
The man smiled slightly, his estimation of the girl rising. She didn't offer him her seat—was it because she sensed his stubborn pride, a pride that rivaled any sighted person?
She truly was a girl with sharp perception.
When the bus reached her stop, Gwen stood up to leave. Before stepping off, she said to the man, "Goodbye. Oh, and my name is Gwen."
"Matthew."
Gwen noted the name in her mind, gave him a final nod, and quickly disembarked.
For some reason, even though she knew he was blind, she felt as if he were observing her in a very peculiar way.
A very strange blind man indeed, Gwen thought once more as she hurried toward the base.
She pushed open the door to the apartment and walked inside.
"Gwen, you're here!?"
Peter appeared before her instantly, a mop still in his hand.
Seeing this, Gwen's eyes crinkled into happy crescents. She nodded at Peter and asked, "Thanks for the hard work. Are the others not here yet?"
"It's no trouble. This is our base, after all; we should keep the environment clean."
Peter smiled. More importantly, this used to be Gwen's home... he was cleaning it specifically for her. At that thought, Peter's face flushed slightly, and he quickly lowered his head to continue mopping. "Not yet, they should be here in a while."
"I'll help."
Gwen picked up a rag from the side and joined Peter in cleaning the place.
By the time they were nearly finished, the sound of the door opening echoed, and Mary Jane walked in. She gave them an apologetic smile before joining the effort.
Just as the three of them finished cleaning, two streaks of fire suddenly appeared outside the window.
Tap, tap!
The sound of someone knocking on the glass rang out. Mary Jane hurried to open the window, letting the two of them inside.
"Morning, guys!"
Harry called out a greeting as he hopped off his flight glider.
"Yo! Have you guys eaten?"
Luke was munching on a sandwich as he greeted the trio, casually handing one to Harry.
Gwen's eyes narrowed, a hint of danger flickering in her gaze.
The two boys shuddered instinctively and silently held the sandwich out toward her.
Gwen snapped irritably, "Who wants to eat your breakfast!"
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"You guys are being way too conspicuous. If our base gets exposed, we'll have to move!" Gwen said coldly.
Peter nodded in agreement. "True. It's broad daylight out there, and there are a lot of people around."
Harry shrugged dismissively. "If it's discovered, we'll just move. I'll find a new one."
"Harry," Mary Jane couldn't help but interject. "What Gwen means is that doing this during the day makes it easy for all of our identities to be compromised."
"Exactly!"
Gwen strode up to Harry, staring him directly in the eye. "This isn't about whether you can buy another house or not. It's about exposure. Do you understand?"
Harry swallowed hard and nodded frantically.
Gwen was terrifying when she was like this.
"Don't be so loud and flashy next time," Gwen warned once more. Seeing Harry nod, she finally moved her gaze away, satisfied.
Harry exhaled and shot a fierce look at Luke. Why didn't you say anything to help me back there?
Understanding Harry's look, Luke spread his hands and sighed.
He didn't dare! He had known Gwen the longest, and he had been disciplined by her more than a few times since they were kids.
Seeing how obedient the two were, Mary Jane let out a low chuckle.
Gwen was the most authoritative figure among them, not just because she was the captain, but because throughout their long time together, she had long since beaten the others into submission.
"Alright, hurry up and eat your breakfast. We need to prepare for the mission in a bit!"
Gwen urged them along before walking to the conference table. She and Peter began organizing the data they had gathered the night before.
A moment later, Luke and Harry joined them, and the group began their discussion.
Looking at the sky outside, Robin sighed. She patted her cheeks to wake herself up, got out of bed, and walked out of her room.
She went to the door opposite hers and checked on her mother. Seeing that she was still asleep, Robin felt a wave of relief.
"It's better to sleep. When she's asleep, it doesn't hurt as much," Robin murmured.
She walked into the kitchen and quickly prepared a nutritious meal for her mother. After eating some canned food herself, she carried the dinner into her mother's room.
"Mom, it's time to eat."
She gently woke her mother and brought the food over.
Her dark-skinned, skeletal mother looked at the meal and asked weakly, "What about you?"
"I've already eaten! I'm stuffed!" Robin smiled, revealing a row of bright white teeth.
"Don't always eat that canned stuff... it has no nutrition. Cough, cough!"
Robin's mother looked at her with eyes full of heartache.
"It's fine, I'm in great health!" Robin giggled, striking a bodybuilding pose and patting her arm. "Look at these muscles!"
"You... Cough, cough!"
Robin's mother couldn't help but smile, though it triggered another fit of violent coughing.
Robin hurried to pat her back. Once her mother calmed down again, she patiently began to feed her. Spoon by spoon, she fed her with great care.
Her mother watched her, her eyes filled with both guilt and love.
A few minutes later, after seeing her mother finish the entire meal, Robin flashed a happy smile.
"Mom, you did great today!" As she spoke, she helped wipe her mother's mouth.
"Alright, you get some rest. I have to go out now."
Robin gave her mother another smile and tucked her in.
As Robin was about to leave, her mother suddenly grabbed her hand. "Robin, you're working too hard. Don't go out tonight."
To pay for her treatments, Robin was working three jobs a day.
"It's okay!" Robin said reassuringly. "I'll have enough money for your treatment soon! You have to keep fighting with me!"
Robin looked at her mother comfortingly. This was her only family.
Cancer, even now, was considered terminal on Earth. But she had heard that there was medicine on Planet Kent that could cure it. As long as she saved enough money, she could get her mother the help she needed.
Especially since she had recently found a very lucrative job. At that thought, her spirits lifted.
"Robin, you should have been chasing your dreams of being a singer, but now..." her mother said guiltily.
"I'll get back to that once you're better! Rest now, I have to go or I'll be late."
With that, Robin gave her mother a soft kiss on the forehead, left the bedroom, and hurried to her own room.
"I need to bring tonight's merchandise..."
Robin whispered to herself. She pulled a box from under her bed, took out a small vial, and left the room.
This item was her hope. Although it was dangerous, for her mother's sake, she had long since decided to risk everything.
Patting her cheeks one last time, Robin left the house.
"It's very dark tonight. A perfect night for a transaction. My skin provides natural camouflage, hehe!"
Robin walked carefully along the street, making jokes to herself to ease the tension. After all, she was still a novice; she had only been in this business for half a month.
However, even just half a month's income was equivalent to more than two months' worth of wages from her other three jobs combined. That was exactly why she was willing to take the risk.
Humming a song she had written to encourage herself, Robin arrived at the rendezvous point.
Her transaction locations were never fixed. She would choose a spot on the fly and then notify the buyers of the location. To stay safe, she never stayed in one place for more than fifteen minutes. Once time was up, she would move and send a new location.
This significantly reduced the danger.
After picking an inconspicuous corner, she pulled out her phone, posted her location in the chat group she had created, and started her timer.
Very soon, the first buyer appeared.
It was a young black man who looked to be around her age. He was tall and well-built. After purchasing the drugs, he looked at her with a predatory glint in his eyes, as if considering whether to rob her.
She felt afraid inside, but she forced herself to look undaunted, even returning a provocative stare.
Ultimately, the man's eyes flickered, and he turned to leave.
Robin sighed in relief. She knew the effects of these drugs very well. People would think twice about the consequences of angering her, as she currently represented the supplier. Even if they weren't afraid of her, they had to consider the people standing behind her.
Therefore, she had a certain level of protection. Of course, if things ever got truly desperate, she wouldn't hesitate to swallow the drug herself.
Looking at the cash in her hand, Robin gave a happy smile and continued waiting for customers.
The moment thirty minutes passed, she moved immediately.
One, two, three...
Just as she decided to stay in this latest spot for half an hour before heading home, a new buyer approached.
The man was tall and wore a deep hood that completely obscured his face. She didn't mind; many buyers were like that.
"I'm here for the medicine."
"Medicine? What medicine? I don't sell medicine!" Robin looked at him warily.
"Amie told me. She said you have a very potent medicine here."
The man lowered his voice.
Hearing Amie's name, Robin relaxed. She nodded to him and reached into her pocket.
Just as she was about to pull the item out, the man in front of her let out a low chuckle.
"Target located."
(End of Chapter)