Because of Qin Zuo’s reminder, Xiao Lin got ready to head back before the sky was completely dark. The merchant group that they pretended to be had to stay in Wildfire Town for a few more days until America’s Judge Academy came. Based on the results of previous discussions between the two parties, the rendezvous point was Wildfire Town. It went without saying that the Americas were unwilling to go to a town supported by Dawn Academy, but they clearly had no other choice.
Wildfire Town’s streets were very deserted in the evening. Most shops were closed except for some brightly-lit pubs. That was also one of the biggest differences between a colonial city, as night markets did not exist in Planet Norma.
As a result, Xiao Lin quickly heard the clear voice of a sharp dispute and a crying plea in a remote alley not far away. Passers-by who occasionally walked past the street glanced pitifully in the dark alley before mumbling something that Xiao Lin did not understand at all. Finally, they speeded up their paces and hurried past at once.
The natives in that world did not seem to be in the habit of being busybodies or being good Samaritans. In the first place, Xiao Lin was in a completely unfamiliar town and he was there specifically for a mission. He therefore did not want to involve himself with side issues, but a burst of urgent footsteps and angry shouts had moved closer to him barely after he took a few steps.
Before Xiao Lin could react, a dirty-looking girl had already darted out of the alley. She was pursued by a muscular man and looked rather weak, staggering and falling to the ground after only running a few steps. The man obviously has a certain foundation in terms of strength, and he rushed over to grab the girl in a swift dash.
The man snatched back the purse-like bag that the girl was holding tightly in his palm, and cursed aloud. Since his words had some local dialect, Xiao Lin could only understand stuff like ‘You thief’.
It turned out to be capturing a thief.
Xiao Lin understood that, but the man soon vented his anger and began kicking the girl fiercely after regaining the purse. The girl could not fight back, so she could only cover her head and curl up on the ground. Xiao Lin marveled at how the girl did not make a single peep throughout the ordeal, despite the man’s immense strength. One would practically think that she was not afraid of pain.
From Xiao Lin’s perspective, however, he happened to be able to see the girl biting her pale lips using what little light was present there. There also an unconcealable expression of hatred in her eyes.
Xiao Lin acknowledged that he was moved by compassion, especially since the girl seemed to be about ten-years-old. Regardless of her misdeeds, she would definitely not survive the night after facing the man’s punches and kicks.
“Stop it,” Xiao Lin yelled as he walked, but the man turned a deaf ear to it. The man did not understand it of course. Just like the crappy Chinese spoken by those peddlers on the street, Xiao Lin’s Normese was even crappier.
Xiao Lin repeated his words more slowly when he walked closer. On that occasion, he was sure that he spoke in proper language, but the man simply raised his head, glanced at him impatiently, and dropped a sentence that Xiao Lin also understood.
“Don’t be nosy!”
“You’ve taken back your stuff, so just let her go,” Xiao Lin patiently persuaded.
“Talk nonsense again and I’ll beat you up too!”
“Oh, well, forgive me then.” Words seemed incapable of truly expressing one’s intention in that world. Xiao Lin nodded, then raised his fist and slammed it directly on the man’s right cheek. The man was not a weak person, but he was caught off guard, and the attack only made him stagger a few steps back.
However, the short amount of time was enough for Xiao Lin to support the girl who fell on the ground. At that moment, he also realized that the girl had quite a delicate face, and the reason she looked rather thin was probably due to malnutrition. Her clothes were dirty and they were mixed with this mud and blood. She seemed to be a little confused, and the hatred in her eyes had not completely subsided yet. When she saw Xiao Lin, she whispered a couple of indecipherable sentences.
“Can you run?” Xiao Lin asked.
The girl kept silent and lowered her head slightly.
Xiao Lin discovered that her right foot was bare. It was autumn in Planet Norma, and the small town did not have flat roads like they did on Earth. Although the path was a street, there was still quite a lot of stones and gravel on the road.
In the end, Xiao Lin could only sigh. He saw the fierce man running over and picking the girl up by her legs. After taking a deep breath, he activated his Miracle state instantly and converted all his attributes to agility. Then, he executed his Phantom Step, and within a few minutes, the muscular man was left far behind.
It was only when Xiao Lin approached the merchant group’s residence that he deactivated the Miracle state. He placed her down again only to find that she was looking at him with a weird look. Xiao Lin could not help but blush.
By his own admission, Xiao Lin was actually feeling a bit overwhelmed. The normal routine for heroes who saved a damsel in distress would be to beat the bad guys away, but unfortunately, Xiao Lin understood that there was a great difference in strength the moment he attacked and punched the man. If push came to shove, Xiao Lin might still come out victorious if he relied on his talent and the Miracle state, but Xiao Lin’s purpose of coming to Wildfire Town was not to fight or make trouble.
As a result, there was no other alternative, Xiao Lin could only choose to turn around and escape, though he was lucky that he could be confident in his speed.
“Being a thief is never the right thing to do, but it’s the man was also in the wrong for beating you up like this.” Since he had already rescued her, Xiao Lin felt that it should end there. Nevertheless, he felt that he still had to educate her a little before he left.
The girl continued to keep quiet and the puzzled look remained in her flickering eyes. Xiao Lin thought she did not understand, so he repeated it twice in Chinese and Normese. Since Dawn Academy was Wildfire Town’s benefactor, there were many Chinese-speaking locals there.
The girl’s blankness left Xiao Lin feeling as though he was preaching to deaf ears. The language barrier was a problem indeed. He shoved his educational lectures back down his throat and waved his hand. “Ahem, the point is, hurry home before that guy chases you. And don’t steal stuff anymore.”
Xiao Lin fished three 100-dollar New Dollars from his pocket and stuffed it into the girl’s dirty little hand. She did not refuse, but the look in her eyes became even stranger. Xiao Lin looked down at her little bare foot and showed seven more 100-dollar New Dollars to her after mulling over it for a moment.
When he wandered around Dawn City, he discovered he had quite the purchasing power. At the very least, the girl should be allowed to buy a pair of shoes, or so he thought. As a nouveau riche, he did not really care about the money.
After doing all of that, Xiao Lin turned around and left without even waiting for the girl to say a word of thanks. Deep down, he felt a certain sense of merit and accomplishment.
Half an hour later however, Xiao Lin reached the entrance of the hotel where the merchant group was staying. Upon turning around, he smiled bitterly when he saw that the little girl had been following him, though she did so while deliberately keeping a certain distance.