Mia nodded but quickly shook her head. In the junkyard, food was the most scarce resource. The refugees, who lived by scavenging, were always on the brink of starvation.
Su Xiao pulled out some compressed biscuits from his pocket, which he always carried as emergency food. He had noticed that there was a forest in the distance of the junkyard, and with a gun in hand, he didn't have to worry about food.
Mia hesitantly took a piece of the compressed biscuit. She had never seen this kind of food before. Under Su Xiao's guidance, she carefully unwrapped the biscuit and took a cautious bite.
"It's delicious!"
The girl, who had been hungry for a day, started to devour the biscuit eagerly.
"You’re Mia, right? Take me out of here, and these biscuits are all yours."
After finishing her biscuit, Mia stared at the remaining pieces in Su Xiao's hand, swallowing hard.
"Okay, but you can't hurt me."
Su Xiao didn't respond but instead rummaged through the old house, with Mia following closely behind.
"Where are you going? You're not a resident of the junkyard, are you?"
Suddenly, Su Xiao stopped, a cold glint in his eyes. He threw one biscuit onto the ground and stomped on it, crushing it.
"Take me out of here, and don’t ask anything else."
If Mia showed any strange behavior, Su Xiao would aim his gun at her forehead.
Mia was startled by his action and took a few steps back.
"Okay... okay."
Mia dared not say more and quickly walked ahead.
"Take me to the entrance of the Goya Kingdom."
Su Xiao kept a wary eye on his surroundings, occasionally spotting greedy looks from the refugees. Once they noticed the gun in his hand, their greedy gazes quickly vanished.
Recalling the information he had gathered from anime, Su Xiao began to think about his next move.
The so-called junkyard was actually a large dump, created when the Goya Kingdom dumped a lot of household waste outside the city.
Those refugees with fierce looks were originally residents of the Goya Kingdom. They were either criminals or had offended nobles, which led to their banishment here.
The decaying garbage produced a toxic smoke that spread throughout the junkyard, constantly eroding the lives of the refugees.
The most obvious sign was that Su Xiao's health had dropped from 100% to 98%.
There were no doctors or food in the junkyard; crime and disease spread here. It was a lawless place where everything was determined by strength.
With Mia leading the way, Su Xiao quickly left the junkyard and arrived at a high wall.
The wall, built from black stones, stood tall, with a small city gate coming into view.
"This is as far as we can go. The Goya Kingdom has laws; refugees cannot enter the city. If caught, they will be executed."
While Mia spoke, her eyes were fixed on the compressed biscuits in Su Xiao's hand.
He tossed a biscuit to Mia and ignored her further. Mia ran off, leading him only because of the temptation of food, nothing more.
The city gate of the Goya Kingdom stood wide open, guarded by several soldiers.
This was just a side gate, meant for dumping garbage.
Though the guards appeared lazy, a cold glint occasionally flashed in their eyes. These guards likely killed often, dealing with refugees trying to enter the city.
Su Xiao hid nearby, not rushing to enter the city, as he waited for the right moment.
Confronting those guards directly was impossible; the residents of this pirate world had unusually strong physiques. Mia had managed to recover quickly after he had hit her, which made Su Xiao cautious.
He guessed that the guards' attributes were at least above ten, possibly even higher.
An hour passed, then two, and by the third hour, it was noon. The temperature rose quickly, and it became hot. Finally, the opportunity Su Xiao was waiting for appeared.
A cart full of household waste rolled out from the city, a foul smell wafting far away. The guards didn’t even glance at the cart and instinctively stepped back.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, do you need a routine inspection?"
The driver stopped the cart, somewhat fearful of the guards.
"Get out of here; it stinks!"
The guards waved their hands in annoyance, showing no intention of inspecting the cart.
Seeing this, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow and quickly followed the cart.
Once the cart drove deeper into the garbage mound, it found a spot to dump its load. The previously timid driver suddenly revealed a knife at his waist. In the junkyard, the law was survival of the fittest.
Lighting a cigarette to mask the smell, the driver began to clean the filthy cart with a shovel.
While the driver was busy sweating, Su Xiao silently approached him from behind like a wild cat. Just as he was about to knock the driver out, he accidentally stepped on a half-broken glass cup.
With a sharp crack, the driver jolted.
Su Xiao was startled too; the junkyard was covered in a deep layer of garbage, making it very soft underfoot, so he hadn’t noticed anything.
But with no choice now, Su Xiao lunged forward.
The driver was no saint either; he turned and pulled out his knife, stabbing directly at Su Xiao.
The driver’s fierce expression made Su Xiao realize that the man wanted him dead.
Su Xiao's gaze turned cold. In this world of missions, it was either you die or I die. Being merciful to an enemy was being cruel to oneself.
He raised his flintlock and aimed it at the driver's head.
If a regular person had a gun pointed at them, they would stop or back off immediately. But this driver was different; he lunged at Su Xiao even faster.
With a blank expression, Su Xiao pulled the trigger. The hammer struck the flint, creating sparks that ignited the gunpowder. In the small space, a large amount of gunpowder ignited, releasing a powerful force.
With flames and smoke bursting forth, the bullet shot out of the barrel.
"Bang."
Smoke rose, and the sharp smell of gunpowder spread. A lead bullet struck the driver’s head, and his forward momentum stopped abruptly. He was thrown back two meters, twitching a couple of times before dying.
[Hint: You have killed a black market merchant.]
[Your talent "Soul Eater" has activated, permanently increasing your mana by 5 points. Current mana: 65 points.]
[You have obtained a treasure chest (white).]
[This is your first kill. Storage space has opened (2 cubic meters). After returning to the reincarnation paradise, you can use paradise coins to upgrade the size of the storage space.]
The hint from the reincarnation paradise made Su Xiao realize that this was not just a driver but a black market merchant, likely using the driver’s identity to conduct some trade in the junkyard.
After the merchant died, a wooden box floated above his corpse, white in color and only the size of a palm.
Su Xiao tried to grab the floating box. Although it was small, it felt heavy in his hand.
[Treasure chest (white), yes/no to open?]
Su Xiao did not open the treasure chest but instead stored it along with the old flintlock in his storage space.
With a thought, the old flintlock appeared in his hand. Su Xiao was pleased with the newly appeared storage space; it was a very practical feature. If used well, it would greatly help him complete his tasks.
It wasn't safe here, so Su Xiao chose not to open the treasure chest. If it opened and blazed with golden light, he would be in danger. Right now, his priority was to enter the capital of the Goya Kingdom.
He took off his shirt and changed into the black market merchant's clothes.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao threw himself onto the ground, soaking in the filthy water. The stench was overwhelming, and his clothes and face became covered in mud, making it hard to see his features.
Sitting in front of the cart, Su Xiao awkwardly handled the horses as they moved toward the city.
At this moment, he held a knife, the same one the black market merchant had, but it was a bit different from what he had imagined.
(End of Chapter)