Darkstone Code

Preton has a wealth of experiences and is very smart; otherwise, he wouldn't have come this far. And ultimately, he didn't fall because of his own wit, but rather lost to the consort of the Goddess of Destiny.

Yet, it's undeniable that he is a capable and clever man. If his opponent weren't Lynch, or if it wasn't a Federation desperate for a victory, a different person or a different country might have led to a different outcome.

He looked at the girl in front of him, heavily made up, trying to appear more mature, but she certainly wasn't very old.

Women can hide their true age and appearance in various ways, but there's no way for them to hide their hands.

When looking at a woman, just look at her hands, and you'll know approximately her age and health condition.

This is a very young girl, and youth means excitement, which is the best elixir for older men.

Just as Preton was about to decline, he suddenly thought of something, "I don't like playing outside!"

Cheap pleasures have cheap ways; the girl quickly reacted, "I have a place, not far from here!"

"Take me there!" Preton didn't ask about the price, and without exaggeration, any woman in the flesh trade would not be beyond his means.

The girl found this man's request odd. Most people looking for fun focus on the cost rather than where to do it.

Some men even prefer the thrill of such public places, using dirty words to humiliate her, sometimes hitting her, leaving her exposed at any moment.

Those people like these kinds of things, everyone is a pervert; it's her first time hearing someone not liking it in the streets.

After a brief moment of shock, she instinctively glanced back at the dark alley, but a force quickly pulled her attention back.

"If I were you, I wouldn't let your little partners disturb our game. I can give you fifty bucks."

Preton is a villain, a bad guy; he knows how to motivate a girl. Fifty bucks, at this time, is not a small amount; it can even provide a relatively decent living condition for a family over half a month.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then seized Preton's hand, "Follow me..."

They wandered between light and shadow, and soon arrived at a basement not far from the station.

The room exuded a rotten stench, littered with trash, and the moist gym mats possibly stolen from the school became their sleeping spot.

Kicking away the garbage underfoot, when reaching the "bed," another peculiar smell emanated from nearby walls, corners, and even the sponge mats—a residual gene scent.

Disgusting room!

Preton only casually glanced around, the girl had swiftly completed the prerequisites of the game, kneeling on the mat, looking up at Preton...

At dawn, Preton was already awake from sleep. Despite the disgusting stench here, the youthful body invigorated his spirit.

The moment he opened his eyes, his hand felt under the mat for his bag. Inside, there was not only money but also weapons.

His movements to get up also startled the girl. She looked at him as he sat up, took out the bag, and from it, pulled out a twenty-buck old bill, "Go out and buy some food, I'm hungry, then we need to talk."

The girl nodded, dressed quickly, and left. Watching the door close again, Preton suddenly came up with new ideas.

His previous idea was to find a relatively secluded, unnoticed place to hide for a while. But even in secluded places, dangers always exist.

Renting a house, buying a property, new neighbors—people always tend to pay more attention to those who suddenly appear in their lives, which is dangerous and might increase the risk of being caught.

But everything that happened last night gave him some inspiration; he could use this girl's identity to hide well among the locals.

Even if his whereabouts might be exposed, people would first check some hotels, rental houses, and possibly hidden places. No one would search Lower City apartments or someone else's home for a fugitive.

He could perfectly avoid the initial search, find an opportunity to leave, or continue hiding; this girl is the breakthrough.

Outside, the girl was stopped by her little partners, among whom a somewhat handsome boy complained, "You shouldn't have locked the door; we slept outside all night!"

The girl paused; she remembered not locking the door. That basement had always been open for anyone to come and go, but she didn't argue—perhaps it was that man who locked it.

He grumbled quietly, but his attention soon shifted, "How much did he give you?"

Another young big boy leaned over too, "Was it ten bucks?"

The girl hesitated slightly and told a lie, "Twenty bucks, and I still have to buy him breakfast."

She took out the twenty dollars she had on her, and her so-called boyfriend grabbed them, "Twenty bucks, you must have pleased him well, see if you can make him stay a few more days. If he's willing to spend more money on you, we can get more money."

The girl reached out to snatch the money back, but the boy pushed her away. She had a troubled expression, "He asked me to buy him a breakfast. At least you have to give me money for a hamburger or a hot dog."

The boy shrugged indifferently, "I know you and... slept together, you can give him a good job in exchange for a breakfast." The guy he mentioned was the one selling burritos on the street, who also sold hot dogs but not hamburgers.

When some girls were extremely hungry or wanted to improve their meals, they would find him. Both sides would get what they wanted.

Sometimes people hated this economic recession to death, but there were some who loved it to death. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone had no job and was going hungry, how could those young girls so easily lie on those dirty beds?

"Listen, it's already hard enough for me to take you in, don't cause yourself trouble, okay?" He shook the bills in his hand, "This is what I deserve!"

The girl watched the backs of the two big boys leaving in a daze. A few seconds later, she smiled disappointedly. Maybe this is life.

She arrived at the corner of the street, next to a burrito stand in operation, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "…Hi, can I get a burrito? I really need it now!?"

…Turned back and glanced at the girl, "Ninety-nine points…"

The girl looked somewhat sad. She might be rebellious, might be self-indulgent, might be… but she never thought she would be helpless over a breakfast. "Listen, this might be a bit embarrassing, but I don't have money right now, and I need it!"

She turned around on the spot, with her short skirt and tube top showing there was really no place to hide any money, "I'm begging you."

This involved fifty dollars, she had already lost twenty, she didn't want to lose another fifty.

The burrito seller's eyes lingered on the girl for a moment, then he lowered his head and began to prepare, "You have a few minutes…"

About ten minutes later, the girl returned to the basement. She handed the enticingly fragrant burrito to Preton, looking like she was salivating, her eyes locked onto the burrito.

Preton glanced at her, "Didn't you eat for yourself?" He didn't ask for change, but instead asked with concern.

The girl first shook her head, and then nodded, "No… Yes, sir, I have eaten."

Preton, while eating the burrito, said, "I've run into a problem, and I need a local to help me hide from my enemies. I can see you're a good girl, maybe you can help me."

The girl listened and slightly shook her head, "I can't help you, sir. I can't even take care of myself, I can't help anyone."

Preton didn't immediately refute or reject; he just softly asked, "Where are your parents?"

"They've been divorced for a long time."

"Who do you live with?"

"The judge said before I came of age, I couldn't be assigned to my father, so I live with my mother."

"And you…" Preton looked around the environment, silently inquiring something.

Maybe it was for the money, maybe this brief time encountered too many things, she had nothing left that could be called "self-esteem" to keep her last dignity.

She now has a desire to confide, "My mother got married, you know, sir, in this society a woman can't survive on her own. She must find a man to live."

"He's a bastard, he'll hit her, sometimes he'll hit me, even…" The girl chuckled bitterly twice, "He even wants us to sleep in the same bed, and then I ran out."

"Then I met another group of bastards, sir, I can't help you."

Hearing the girl's tragic background, Preton didn't have much emotional response. He had done too many bad things and had seen things worse than what happened to the girl.

He just maintained proper silence and then said, "If given a chance to make that man die, what do you think?"

The girl still shook her head, "If he died, what about my mother?"

"As long as there's money, there's no problem that can't be solved in the Federation!" Preton patted his small cowhide bag, "Three thousand, five thousand, ten thousand, twenty thousand or a bit more?"

"What you need isn't a man but money!"

The girl stared at Preton as if distinguishing whether he spoke the truth or not. After a while, she softly asked, "Your troubles can't be solved with money?"

Preton didn't shy away from this question, "But you can!"