Chapter 42: Pie from the Sky

At noon, just around eleven o'clock, when people were returning home from work, a crowd of middle-aged women gathered once again at the entrance of the old villa of Madame Kashi. They were chatting animatedly, surrounding Madame Kashi. "Have you all heard? It’s about the FBI! Such a disgrace!" "I knew that person looked familiar!" "I thought so too. Isn't he the one who came looking for Dora last time?" "Exactly! It’s him!" Yuna, carrying a basket full of bread and jam, overheard their conversation and joined in, "I saw it at noon! Wasn't he taken away by some special task force?" "Sigh, it was only after watching that we realized how disgusting he was! I felt so bad for that little girl!" "And that police officer who testified, such a good kid!" "This Decker is truly despicable! Suppressing his peers!" Yuna looked at them, "Now you know, the things you said to Irene last time." "Haha, we were just misled by that villain!" someone said with an awkward laugh. "Exactly, Grandma Dora’s needlework is so good, and she’s always accurate in finding people and things!" Just then, Irene returned, carrying some things. "Irene’s back?" Yuna greeted with a smile. "What’s going on?" Irene asked with a smile. "Nothing much. They just wanted to chat with your grandma and do some work, but they felt too embarrassed to come in!" Irene smiled, "Our doors are always open for business, come in anytime." This kept them busy until one in the afternoon. After Irene and Emma finished cleaning the kitchen, Irene went back to her room. She sat on the bed and received a message from Hausman. It was a message from the buyer, indicating that the Scorpion Mercenary Group could proceed with the operation. Irene smirked, opened the door, and found Emma. "I'm going out for a while. During this time, you must take good care of Grandma," Irene instructed her. "Listen to your teacher. If I find out you’ve caused trouble when I return, you know what will happen." Irene returned to her house in the southern district. She took out a bottle of hair dye and made some preparations, transforming herself into a completely different person. Humming a tune, Irene left, taking a deserted path. In A City. In front of a vending machine on a commercial street. Despite being a commercial area, the streets were littered with cans, plastic bottles, and various paper scraps and garbage. A woman named Nina, wearing a cheap gray T-shirt with her hair dyed blonde using a low-quality dye, exposing chestnut roots at the top, stood there with only a few coins left in her pocket. Nina was thirsty and hungry. If she didn't want to starve on the streets, she had to find a job. Fortunately, she noticed a white recruitment flyer behind the vending machine. The flyer offered very generous conditions, clearly stating that a medical organization was recruiting volunteers to participate in a "somewhat risky but not fatal" drug trial for three months, with room and board provided and a monthly stipend of four thousand Q yuan. This job offer seemed like a charity, with no requirements for education, physical fitness, or even qualifications, the only requirement being "not disabled." The woman calling herself Nina stared at the flyer for a few seconds, then smiled a cold smile that didn't match her appearance and demeanor. She tore off the flyer and followed the address to an old, slightly dilapidated building in the suburbs of A City. There were quite a few people in line there. Soon, a staff member came out to maintain order and handed each person a form. Nina looked at the sections for "relatives" and "home address" and "honestly" wrote "none." After collecting the forms, the staff told Nina to wait in another room, and they would announce the results later that day. She found a seat and sat down, feeling bored. It was a large room with at least forty or fifty people. There were simply dressed housewives, sharply dressed business people, skinny elderly folks, and obviously street kids. Among them, one person noticed Nina as she walked in. A man with red hair and a tall, muscular build, wearing a cheap gray T-shirt that couldn't hide his perfect chest muscles, stared at her. Under the lights, the woman's curled lashes fluttered, and the graceful curve of her cheekbones seemed to glow. The man couldn't resist and approached her, "Hello, my name is Manners. Perhaps we will be colleagues in the future." Nina gave a half-hearted smile, her expression indifferent. She shook his hand, "Nina." Nina toyed with the bottle of water in her hand, her large, beautiful eyes glancing at Manners, who sat beside her. Like countless other times he had struck up conversations, Manners casually draped his arm over the back of Nina's chair, "Do you also enjoy volunteer work? I..." Before he could finish, Nina interrupted, "No, not at all." Manners felt a bit awkward. Just then, the staff came in to announce the results of the selection. The people were divided into several groups, boarded buses, then a ship, and finally reached their destination. A private island within the borders of Country C. In a large room with white walls on all four sides in the southern building. The staff hadn't even separated men and women into different rooms; many women huddled together, their gazes filled with fear when looking at the men. It wasn't their fault. Manners sat quietly, observing the scene. The selection criteria for the recruits seemed strange, leaving behind drug addicts and degenerate gamblers. However, not all the women were scared. Manners's eyes landed on Nina. She still wore a nonchalant expression, her eyes calm as she met his gaze. It was as if she didn't understand English and couldn't comprehend the obscene language. The door opened, and several burly men in black suits entered. They handed out hideous orange outfits to everyone. Nina frowned in disdain. These were even uglier than prison uniforms. They informed the recruits that to enhance their physical condition quickly, they would start exercising the day after tomorrow. Everyone was a bit surprised. After speaking, the men dropped off several cardboard boxes and immediately left, locking the door behind them. "Fuck! They locked the door! This is illegal detention!" A young black man pounded on the door and shouted angrily. "I knew these black bastards were illiterate. Maybe you can't even spell 'confinement'?" a white man sneered. The young black man, enraged, lunged at the white man, and soon, what started as a one-on-one scuffle turned into a brawl between blacks and whites. Manners took the opportunity to sit beside Nina, slipping his arm around her curvaceous waist, only to have her twist his wrist. What the...? He couldn't break free? With a swift move, Nina pushed him away, making Manners land on his backside as she calmly stood up and grabbed several bottles of water and bread from the boxes. Manners's expression shifted several times, and Nina, sitting with her leg crossed, looked down at him. Eventually, Manners got up, grabbed a few more loaves of bread before the fighting group noticed, and sat back down, this time several meters away from Nina. It wasn't that he was being a coward. Manners, having lived on the streets and encountered countless dangerous individuals, sensed an aura of cold darkness around Nina, making him feel she was a thousand times more dangerous than any of those he had met before. His instincts, which had saved him countless times, once again sounded the alarm. This woman was not to be messed with.