Merit Book·Xinghai

"Ulves' daughter is named Brie, and she has been sitting on the stage at Gardenia Street in Baihua since three years ago. We have found 22 people who have met her. She is pretty, but she is more relaxed, so the market is okay. There is no sign of being forced, not controlled by drugs or force, and she comes and goes relatively freely. Half a year ago, she died of illness because of illness."

Wind Howl is no longer what it used to be. As long as there is a little wind, countless people are willing to provide information to them.After half a day, Germaine found out the ins and outs of the matter, and came back to report to Rong Yuan.

Although Bai Le was intimidated by Rong Yuan before, he ran back after being stunned for a while. He didn't look at Rong Yuan's expression, and sat on the sofa swaggeringly, with the attitude of a master - this was his house in the first place .

After listening to Germaine's words, he nodded seriously, and said, "Since this is the case, it's just bad luck that she died. Why did the old man get into trouble with Baihua?"

"When the only daughter dies, no matter how open-minded a person is, he can't let it go completely. Ulves said in Baihua before that his daughter was a good child, and it was Baihua's fault that she became like that. German said: "Besides, if the girl hadn't been sold to Baihua, she might not have died."

"Oh, and then? What did he do?" Bai Le asked with great interest.

"Assassinated three important cadres of the Hundred Flowers Society, made a big fuss about their main store, and set fire to it. Because of the timely rescue, it is said that only a few people were slightly injured, but the house was basically burnt to ruins." Jie Mando.

"Good job!" Bai Le exclaimed, "I didn't expect that old man to be so fierce! Haha, in this way, Baihua will suffer! Hey, that's right," he turned to Kadi again, "If this is the case, Don't bother them, it sounds like Hanyue is quite pitiful! Hahaha..."

Cardi said blankly, "I've already been there."

"Haha...Gah?" Bai Le's laughter stopped abruptly, and he said in surprise, "Go? Then why didn't you tell me? What happened?"

"Don't mention it." Kadi said depressedly: "Not even a fight. I guess they got the order a long time ago, the shops are closed, and there is no customer. Once we go, their own people will also run away, leaving only a few We smashed a few tables and chairs and some decorations, and thought it was boring, so we came back."

Bai Le's face also collapsed.Speaking of which, subduing the enemy without fighting sounds very powerful, but what's the fun in that.They did it to vent their anger, not to the tables and chairs.This result made Bai Le's teeth itch, and he immediately forgot what he said just now not to trouble them, and said angrily, "It's unreasonable! Bring someone, and we'll trouble them again tonight! I will personally lead the team today!"

"Since they all hid yesterday, they have already made concessions, and they have lost all the face they can lose. Are they going to fight you openly tonight?" Germain said coldly.

"And," Kadi added pitifully beside him: "The old regiment leader knew what happened last night, and called all of us to beat the board. It was a real fight, boss, the old cane used, My ass still hurts now!"

"Hiss—" Bai Le gasped, and moved his butt uncomfortably.

"The old leader asked me to convey a word to you." Kadi continued to add, imitating Bai Xiang's rough voice, and said with a bit of anger: "Little brat, your skin is itchy, right? Forget what I told you. Did you say something? During this period of time, please restrain me a bit, and no more casualties are allowed! Do you understand? If you still can't remember, I will come and teach you in person!" Then his face changed, Looking at Bai Le lovingly, he said with sugar in his voice, "Be good, son. Even if you have a big grievance, you can bear it for a while. After this time, Dad will give you whatever you want." Buy it for you, huh?—ah!"

At the end of Kadi's speech, Bai Le, who couldn't bear to jump up, grabbed his head and hit it directly on the wall with a "bang". The muffled sound made people's hearts jump. He knelt down against the wall, covered his head and said aggrievedly: "The old regiment leader asked me to tell you verbatim, why did you beat me?"

"Don't imitate my father's tone!" Bai Le said angrier than him.

"What does it mean to get through this period of time?" Germain noticed a certain meaning in Cardi's relayed words, and asked, "Which period of time?"

"It's nothing." Bai Le stammered, his expression suddenly gloomy.

Mia listened for a while—they came back after going to the surface to bury the body—seeing that they seemed to have completely ignored the fact that Ulves was killed, she couldn't help asking: "What about Bai Hua?" , they killed Ulves...don't care?"

Everyone looked at him together, even Zhihuo and Okotto's eyes were filled with disapproval, Miase shrank, then raised his head suddenly and said: "I know, I know whether it's me or Ulves, I don't have the right to ask you to avenge us, and I know that I can only talk and can't actually do anything, but...but..." Miyaqiang held back her tears and asked, "Baihua is in that kind of business , how could it be a clean place? Mr. Rong, I heard from the children that Elysium City is a hell that eats people, but you destroyed it by yourself and saved them all. Then why...why would you allow Baihua to Does the place still exist?"

She finished speaking in one breath, her chest rose and fell rapidly, and there were accusations and regrets on her face, but more firmness.

Several men looked at each other, and finally Germain held his forehead and said, "Okay, Miss Mia, I think you have a little misunderstanding because you don't understand the situation here."

"You have to know that in Prison Star, etiquette, righteousness, integrity and shame are not the most important things, and living is the most important thing. Most people only pursue two things in their lives--eat enough and wake up after falling asleep. In Under such circumstances, many people would be happy if they could exchange their bodies for a comfortable and superior life than most other people. Most of Baihua's 'Masters' and 'Misses' came from this way."

Zhihuo lowered his head uncomfortably, stretched out his hand to brush the broken hair by his ear, and took a peek at Rong Yuan.

"So, there are actually a lot of people doing this kind of business in the city - more than you can imagine, not just Baihua's family." Germaine continued: "Many people started their business after hanging a sign on their windows. Of course, the business is much worse. This kind of thing, both parties are voluntary, so there is no defense, no prohibition, even the emperor can't control it, and can only let nature take its course."

"Then... didn't they force people to sell it?" Mia said stubbornly, "You also said that Brie's girl was sold there."

"Well, although there are few people who would rather starve to death than compromise, they are not without it." This time, Kadi said, "However, Hundred Blossoms can stand out from countless secret doors and become the largest, the best business, and the most influential. It’s not without reason that it even became one of the Big Four in Central City.”

"In the past Big Four, Bajun relied on the accumulation of background, we roared and fought, Mingzhao Academy relied on connections, and Baihua was able to gain a foothold not at all because he had the most handsome men and women, but the rules."

"Baihua doesn't force people to sell. This is well-known. When encountering clean people, not only will they not use means to force them, but they will also provide them with a job, such as chopping firewood, boiling water and washing clothes. money, and they can leave."

"Huh? But..." Mia was confused and asked, "Is Baihua still a good person?"

"Ha." Bai Le chuckled lightly, mockingly, and said, "Let's put it this way, for example... You were sold to Baihua and refused to sell yourself, so I finally arranged a laundry job for you. You wash every day You wash at night, you sleep for less than three hours a day, your back hurts from exhaustion, your hands and feet are numb, and the steamed buns you get at the end are not enough to fill your stomach, and it is nowhere in sight to save enough money for redemption. At this time, you find that those who are in the private room The waiters serving tea and water, and sometimes chatting with customers do not have to sell their bodies, but their work is much easier than yours, and they get more money. Do you envy and envy? Do you think it is unfair? No Would you like to change jobs?"

He asked three times in a row whether it would be possible, and Mia wanted to insist on saying "no", but she imagined such a scene and felt that she might not be able to hold on.

"Then, after being embarrassed for a while, the supervisor agrees to your request, but he will also tell you that sometimes you have to suffer some grievances in the box. You have to learn to be patient, or you will return to your original position." Kadi He also found a place to sit down, crossed his legs and said, "You started working as a waiter, and found that the job is much easier, but the customers sometimes move their hands and feet, touch their hands, hug their waists and so on. But I don't want to go back Bear hardships, and secondly, the guests don’t dare to really offend Baihua, so it’s considered reasonable, and there are tips, so you can bear it.”

Germain took it on, his tone became much gentler, and he said with a smile: "The bottom line of a person is constantly lowering. First, the hands, then the waist, and then other parts of the body. The clothes are getting less and less, and the tips are getting lower." More and more. But you will gradually become more dissatisfied, because those who are not as beautiful, smart, and capable as you, just because they are willing to sell their bodies, can get far better than you by several times or even Dozens of times the income, you can boss around and even beat and scold you at will. In that environment, you will feel that what you have to insist on before becomes ridiculous, anyway, it is only a little bit away, as long as Take a step back, and you can live a more glamorous life like them."

Cardi finally said: "It's just a method of boiling frogs in warm water. People who have been in the central city for a long time know it, but there are still many people who hold the idea that they will never fall, and fall into it step by step. After so many years Come on, there are very few people who can really persevere. Baihua has two shops dedicated to TIAO teaching newcomers, those who are rebellious, disobedient, and clean and self-respecting will be sent there. People who don’t like this kind of tune go there on purpose, and after a long time, people become what they want. It can be said that unconsciously, it will happen naturally.”

Mia was already dumbfounded.

Should Baihua's routine be blamed for being too deep and insidious?But every turning point and every change are chosen by those people themselves; should they be blamed for not being able to insist on themselves?But what's wrong with pursuing a better life?

"Mia, you still don't see too much." Okotto also said, "Some parents treat their children as cash cows, and husbands trade their wives for some bad wine or local cigarettes. That's called cruelty. In contrast , Baihua is already unimaginably gentle."

Mia bit her lip and said, "I still can't accept that this kind of dirty place, no matter how beautiful the skin it puts on itself, shouldn't exist in the first place."

Bai Le spread his hands and said, "No one asked you to accept it! It's already there."

Mia looked at Rong Yuan asking for help.

"Existence is reasonable." After pondering for a moment, Rong Yuan said, "Someone once said that there are two oldest professions in the world, one is a prostitute, and the other is a killer. They exist because they are needed. Than A killer who takes the lives of others, and a person who trades her body hurts only herself. You will feel that this is dirty because of the influence of the concept of chastity. However, in order to survive, selling the body, selling the wisdom, selling the force, in essence There is no difference. In the final analysis, the body is a person's innate property and private property, and how to dispose of it is naturally the person with the most power to decide." He looked at Mia and said, "You don't need to accept it. Existence, but there is no need for you to add your own views to others."

Mia bowed her head in silence.

After everyone else left, Bai Le moved closer to Rong Yuan, winked and said, "So? You must have other plans, right?"

"Huh?" Rong Yuan made a nasal sound, looking noncommittal.

"The Rong Yuan I know is a person who can't hold a grain of sand in his eyes." Bai Le said triumphantly with a look of seeing through the mystery: "You should be true when you say you don't care about others using their bodies as bargaining chips, but I I don't believe you can get used to a place like Baihua. Tell me, what's your plan? How can I cooperate?"

With great anticipation, he imagined how he and Rong Yuan would be invincible in a hundred flowers, and his face turned red with excitement.

"No plan." Rong Yuan took out the book, and said as if the topic was over, "I really don't plan to do anything."

"Isn't it?" Bai Le was very disappointed, and provocatively said, "You don't really think that Baihua is that clean, do you? Baihua also does a lot of bad things secretly! Besides, how many people are played to death every month? do you know?"

"Where's Hu Xiao?" Rong Yuan asked back.

"what?"

"Wind Howl is warlike—then when you were fighting, didn't there be any dead people?"

"This..." Bai Le's eyes rolled around and he was speechless.

"Adults should be responsible for their own choices, even if they are wrong and stupid." Rong Yuan lazily said, "For you and Baihua, I'm not interested in identifying who is guilty and who is innocent. Someone has to make a judgment."

"Someone? Who?" Bai Le was at a loss.

"You will know." Rong Yuan said vaguely, looking down at the book.

"Damn, you're being tricked again! I hate you for being like this!" Bai Le said angrily.He lay down on the sofa, with his legs resting on the coffee table, his hands behind his head, his eyes staring at the white ceiling, wondering what he was thinking.Ten minutes later, he suddenly said seriously, "Hey, Rong Yuan, I have something to tell you."

Rong Yuan didn't speak, but Bai Le knew he must have heard it, and said after a while: "Dad asked me to follow you well. He said that you have a way to leave Prison Star. For the sake of past affection, you will take me along with you." superior."

With a "crash", Rong Yuan turned a page of the book.

"But I know that this is the condition he put forward to do things for you, right?" Bai Le said: "When he left home for the last time, I was only 16 years old. After all these years, he still regards me as that Children who haven’t grown up keep everything from me.”

"So?" Rong Yuan asked.

"So... I want to ask you, can you change someone?" Bai Le said.

"Instead of your dad?" Rong Yuan looked up at him.

"No." Bai Le shook his head and said, "If you want to keep me here, he will definitely try his best to come back no matter where he goes. But I don't feel at ease if I keep him, after all, the old man is already so old, who knows There are still a few years to live, and I have to accompany him."

"Then who do you want to replace?" Rong Yuan asked.

"What do you think of Germaine and Cady?" Bai Le asked nervously.

"two?"

"Hey, if you can bring one, then it's not a big deal to bring another two, thirty or fifty, right?" Bai Le leaned over and said with a playful smile.

Rong Yuan closed the book, glanced at him, and asked, "Do you want to bring another thirty or fifty? Do you think you can change so many by yourself?"

"Don't scare me! To leave here, you will definitely need a spaceship, right? Even a small spaceship can accommodate an extra 200 people, reducing the quality of life at most, right?" Bai Le said, "I've seen through you." "There are 320 children in the group downstairs. You are raising them, and you plan to take them away together. Am I right? How can you take care of so many children by yourself?" ? Definitely need manpower, right? Mia and the others, let alone whether they can be trusted or not, are obviously far from capable. But! Loyal, careful, capable of fighting, and obedient, I have such talents Ah! I have dozens!"

Rong Yuan looked at him quietly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

Bai Le swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and continued: "Then what, you don't have to worry about taking the criminals out. The big thieves of the older generation who were with my father have basically passed away over the years, Germaine and the others, most of them Dad and the others were born after they came to Prison Star, and they don’t have any criminal record in the outside world. Uh... There are one or two people recruited from outside, but their character is absolutely trustworthy, I promise!"

"How many people in total?" Rong Yuan asked.

"130 and three." Bai Le said without thinking. Obviously, this matter had made him think about it for a long time.

"I'll take them away, you stay?" Rong Yuan asked again: "Compared with here, even a relatively remote habitable planet outside can be regarded as heaven, don't you want to leave?"

"Of course I want to." Bai Le said without hesitation, with a toothache on his face, he said, "I miss Death Star! And my account in "The Era of Great Magic" was always at the top of the rank list back then. San’s master, master master, master master! How many girls are crying and wanting to marry! Also, there are grilled fish in the cloud restaurant, chilled Hanxiangguo, [-]-layer ice cream, just thinking about it makes your mouth water! besides……"

Bai Le began to count all the delicacies he missed, and when he counted to No. 20, a stream of crystal-clear saliva flowed down the corner of his mouth. He sucked it back with a "chiliu", wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and sighed regretfully : "Oh, the more I talk, the more hungry I get, but unfortunately I can't eat anymore..." He looked at Rong Yuan, blinked his eyes several times, and then remembered the topic they had just talked about, and continued: "Then what, I really want it I really want to go back, so you see, I have been thinking about it for many days before I finally made up my mind! I don’t play games, I don’t eat those things, I’ve been here for so many years, but there’s only one father. If I leave this time , that is truly farewell."

"Don't you regret it?" Rong Yuan asked.

"No!" Bai Le thought for a while, and added: "Never!"

"I'm asking..." Rong Yuan said slowly, "Did you regret it all these years?"

Bai Le was taken aback.

"You attempted an assassination back then, plus the chaos you created for the assassination, the circumstances are not serious. At most, you will be sentenced to the Blue Prison Star, and you can be released after serving more than ten or twenty years." Rong Yuan looked at Bai Le He said: "Considering your young age, I, the client, also gave up pursuing the case and fought hard. Maybe the sentence can be halved. But you asked to come to the Red Prison Star for so many years, don't you regret it?"

Bai Le was surprised: "Hey, is the sentence so short? I thought it would be 200-[-] years!"

Rong Yuan: "..."

Bai Le's face turned serious, and he said, "It's definitely a lie to say that I haven't regretted it. Over the years, I sometimes think, if I hadn't come to this ghost place, what would happen now... There is nothing here. There are countless delicious and fun things, you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, and you don’t need to put a knife next to your pillow for self-defense when you sleep at night, and you don’t need to pretend to be a wolf with a big tail to scare you People, don't worry that people around you will turn against each other at any time."

"But do you know? Rong Yuan, sometimes I'm actually very glad that I'm here. The uncles and uncles who came in with my father are basically dead, and some of them died suddenly without illness or disaster. If I hadn't come here, my dad might not be able to survive now. This ghostly place...is not a place for people to stay! But in fact, dad has lived longer than anyone else, and he is old and strong, and he can fight again 100 years! For me, that's enough."

"So, no regrets!"

Rong Yuan stared at Bai Le, he didn't expect that Bai Le, who had direct thinking and simple personality, could see through this layer.

Many people think that Bai Le is an idiot who is still foolish all day long and has no ability. It is only because of having a good father that he can live so comfortably in Prison Star.But in fact, among the father and son, the one who really relied on was the son Bai Le, because of him, Bai Xiang did not lose hope of survival, and Wu Xiao became one of the four prison stars.

"Haha, are you startled by me? Didn't expect me to be so smart, right?" Bai Le ruined his image for a second, and concluded his statement: "So, I won't go back! You take the others away, okay No? A word!"

"no!"

"Ah? What? Why?" Bai Le asked with wide-eyed eyes.

"Taking you away is indeed Boss Bai's condition, and it's the only condition, but I didn't agree." Rong Yuan said: "I made a deal with him for other things."

"What... what?" Bai Le asked blankly.