Once, I wanted to be a good person

However, at this moment, the old man reached out and pressed down on the blue crystal.

Miao Miao looked at him, a little lost.

His eyes flicked to the ends of his thin sleeves, and he tutted and said, "The price increased. It costs 1,600 Rini now."

"You…" Tears were already welling up in Miao Miao's eyes.

However, at the thought of having to complete Mr. Devil's mission, and that there was no second shop nearby where she could buy crystals, she had no choice but to take out another 100 Rini.

Seeing this, the wretched shopkeeper chuckled and reached out to take the money, but took the opportunity to touch her hand.

Miao Miao was shocked and quickly retracted her hand. Only then did this old man not take advantage of her.

Seeing her look like a frightened rabbit, the shopkeeper smiled wretchedly. "Hehe. Look at you. You're so timid."

"Here, this is for you."

With that, he picked up the bag with the blue crystal on the table, held it up, and gestured at Miao Miao.

Miao Miao eyed him warily, then moved forward cautiously.

Then, she grabbed the blue crystal by the corner of the plastic bag while the older man wasn't looking.

Seeing her like that, the old man didn't care. Instead, he laughed proudly, as if it was such a joy to harass Miao Miao.

Miao Miao felt wronged, but there was nothing she could do about the old man.

Thus, she had to pretend she couldn't hear the old man's laughter. She carefully picked up the bag and seriously examined the crystal inside. Once she was sure it was real and that there was no problem with the imperfections, she put the remaining 100 Rini on the ground, gripped the crystal, and quickly ducked her head, and left the shop.

Behind her back, the older man rubbed his chin and looked at her wretchedly. "Tsk, tsk," said the old man. "She's a little dirty, but she looks so young."

"I should tell Ah Da and Ah Two not to kill her once they're done. I'll ask them to bring her back for me to play with."

With that, he lowered his hand, hummed an ugly tune, picked up a rag, and began wiping it on the old glass on the counter.

"When doing business…"

"Running a business at no cost makes the most money."

"This is especially the case in the slums. There are always a few idiots every year who've worked hard for years and saved up a little money but have nothing to fall back on."

"They are not repeat customers, so there's no possibility of a second transaction."

"It won't make much of a difference even if they die."

"Such people are the best targets…"

"It makes sense for someone who can open a shop in the slums to occasionally work with gangs and gangsters to make some extra money, doesn't it?"

The law of the jungle had always been the most blatant at the bottom.

…

After leaving the sundry shop, for some reason, Miao Miao felt a little suffocated and had an ominous feeling.

She looked down at her "shadow" for some reassurance.

However, her "shadow" didn't respond, which only made her more apprehensive.

Therefore, she didn't dare delay. Clutching the crystal tightly, she lowered her head and walked quickly towards her house.

She turned down two streets and crossed a small bridge. Then, she was not far from her house.

Looking at the familiar scene, Miao Miao felt a little less uneasy, so she continued walking forward.

However, just as she stepped into an alley, she suddenly felt the scene in front of her turn dark.

She looked up to see one of the three ruffians who had followed her yesterday standing grimly at the end of the alley.

Miao Miao's heart tightened.

Her hands clenched involuntarily. Then, she looked down, turned, and tried to retrace her steps.

However, at this moment, she suddenly realized that there were two more figures at the entrance of the alley. It was the other two ruffians.

Looking at the three people who obviously came with ill intentions, Miao Miao clenched the blue crystal in her hand tightly, and her heart began to beat faster and faster.

She turned slightly so that her back was to the wall. She stepped back carefully and said timidly, "What are you going to do?"

"It's daytime."

At Miao Miao's words, the three ruffians looked at each other, then burst out laughing and said, "Chick. What's wrong with it being daytime?"

"Can't we do something during the day? Hahaha."

"I'm telling you, don't get your hopes up."

"We brothers in charge of this area."

"Today, you have to leave behind the money. You need to stay behind too. Leave the crystal too."

"You're unlucky to have encountered us brothers."

With that, he lunged forward.

Seeing the ruffian's actions, the girl turned in fear and tried to run. However, for some reason, as soon as she ran, she felt her legs go numb and go limp. She staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, the ruffian was also upon her at this moment. His rough hand grabbed her wrist.

Feeling that inescapable force, she stared in horror at the ruffian's ugly face. Her mind went blank as waves of despair washed over her.

"Mr. Devil, help me…"

"Mr. Devil, please, help me…"

In her despair, the girl's tears fell as she kept calling out to her "master"…

Meanwhile, the ruffians didn't know who Mr. Devil was. They just thought she was asking her friend for help.

Furthermore, seeing her pitiful look, the ruffians were excited and laughed even more wildly.

The girl's wrist was grabbed, and her small body curled up into a ball. She tried her best to squat down and closed her eyes in despair…

At that moment.

The laughter suddenly stopped.

The air became incredibly quiet for a moment.