Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Hypersomnia

The governors of State A and State C both wanted to meet the youngest LV5 in history—perhaps hoping that, given her young age, they could win her over to gain greater support and ensure their re-election.

All were sternly refused by Okulet on her behalf.

Some people higher up were calling for Mi Xiaoliu to return the Shrimp Tail Island, which was a very reasonable request.

With the colonies shrinking drastically, a piece of land still considered fertile was particularly valuable. Its return was a matter of time anyway, as for how to stabilize it in place again, that was a problem for the higher-ups to solve.

Before that, the equipment inside should first be picked over by Heli.

As for what to do with what she didn’t want—that was another matter. Okulet couldn’t guarantee that once the equipment was handed over, it would benefit humanity rather than fall back into Easter’s hands.

He had called Heli while on the island, but since she hadn’t really been to the Second Division much—it was too big and unfamiliar to her—plus Okulet didn’t know the technical jargon, and the machinery was complex and visually repetitive, they hadn’t managed to remove much equipment.

Looks like he’d need to find another opportunity to bring the island out again for Heli to choose from. The problem was that Heli’s background couldn’t stand the light of day.

Maybe he should secretly find a vacant area of ocean—but islands typically weren’t floating on the surface, they were usually connected to the seabed. Last time worked because the coastal waters near the Metropolis were relatively shallow.

After wrapping up all the cleanup work, Okulet went to the prison to visit Nikita and learned about the resentment in his heart—thus he forgave him… Forgive my ass.

With a blank expression, he left him with just one line: “Hope you rot in the bottom of Arkham,” which was already his greatest mercy.

There was no reason to remain in the Metropolis, so naturally it was time to head back and deliver the “Star” to Heli for research.

“Misha,” Okulet called softly to Mi Xiaoliu.

There was no response—she lay quietly in her seat, asleep.

Okulet reached out to shake her.

But he was stopped by Gloria, who shot him a glare.

Okulet frowned, but didn’t explain.

Ever since the Supreme Heaven incident, Misha had been increasingly drowsy. Perhaps using the blue flame had intensified the black element in her.

After flying for a full day and night, the four of them returned safely to Fanzui City, where the quality of life instantly dropped compared to the Metropolis.

Alongside them as they exited the airport, the thief girl looked around blankly at this new city.

Yes, she had tagged along on her own. As for Gwen, she had left quietly after accompanying Mi Xiaoliu for a week.

After having her voluntarily sign a contract, the old man brought her over.

The Lasvedo family didn’t lack servants, and they had heard that Mi Xiaoliu rejected people from their sister-in-law’s side.

There were some things Okulet really wasn’t suited to do—like helping with baths and scrubbing backs.

Fanzui City was incredibly far from the Metropolis. Maybe they would never go back again.

The thief girl looked around curiously like a wide-eyed tourist.

Naturally, this attracted the attention of some of Fanzui City’s “local specialties.”

Someone accidentally bumped into her and repeatedly apologized.

The thief girl waved it off, accepting the apology.

After they separated, each pulled the other’s wallet from their pocket and counted their earnings for the day.

Not bad—this backwater town at least had people who still carried cash. In the Metropolis, everyone just used their phones and wallets were practically extinct.

During their days in the Metropolis, it hadn’t been all fun—Mi Xiaoliu had used her pocket money to buy some gifts to bring back.

She gave Heli a fig sapling.

Heli was a bit confused.

Probably because she had seen her digging up flowers and plants from the meteorite crater earlier and assumed she liked this sort of thing.

“Tomorrow I’ll start a garden downstairs and plant it there,” Heli thought. “But if it actually bears fruit, it might get picked by the neighbors. After all, most of the people living here are students, and across the street are those unreasonable uncles and aunties.”

Just yesterday, an old lady tried to play matchmaker and recommended a limping ex-convict as a blind date for her. Said that someone like her—divorced with two kids—should be grateful to get someone of that caliber.

“If you want to eat figs, you can just buy them online,” Heli said, ruffling Mi Xiaoliu’s hair.

Mi Xiaoliu looked up at her and pointed to the sapling: “Build a dam.”

Heli: “??”

Mi Xiaoliu worried you’d be crushed by a tree.jpg

“……”

Next came the gift for Circle (Quanquan).

Mi Xiaoliu placed some chopped bamboo in front of it, squatting down to watch.

“Meow?”

Circle (Quanquan) looked up, confused.

Mi Xiaoliu thought the reason Circle (Quanquan) hadn’t grown into a panda yet was its diet. Pandas eat bamboo, after all.

After dragging Mi Xiaoliu into the bedroom to make her do homework, Heli looked toward the girl who had followed them back.

She wasn’t shy at all—rather, she was already subconsciously checking if Heli was wearing anything valuable, out of occupational habit.

“What’s your name? What’s your education level?” Heli asked.

“My name’s Ji Yueqiu. I’m 21. Middle school diploma. No family…”

That was quite rare. Normally, espers were required to finish college to ensure their abilities didn’t go out of control.

“You can do household chores, right? Cooking, laundry, all that? If you do well, I’ll pay you.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. You don’t need to touch underwear and such. Xiao Mi and I can take care of that ourselves.”

After all, those probably had traces of toxins.

Heli more or less understood what the Lasvedo patriarch had in mind. A girl who dropped out of middle school and lived on her own would certainly know how to do housework. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t great with kids—Xiao Mi was already 13.

The only downside was the middle school dropout part… That probably meant she wouldn’t be able to tutor Xiao Mi in schoolwork.

Still, even though she owed them, this was a legit job—much better than stealing. The fact that they hadn’t handed her over to the cops was already immense mercy.

Just cleaning, cooking, feeding the cat—basically a housekeeper job. Very easy.

Taking care of a little loli wasn’t too bad—at least she wasn’t some moody rich girl.

@Gloria.

Her background was clean, at least on the surface, and she hadn’t deliberately approached Mi Xiaoliu. As for why she became a thief… it wasn’t because she was destitute to the point of begging. 

She had worked at a jewelry store for a while. At such a luxury shop, if you performed well, with commission, you could even earn just over ten thousand a month.

A girl stepping into society, full of longing for adult life, met the darker side of the world with an immature heart.

Nowadays, society is increasingly full of hostility, and everyone likes to vent their frustrations on others.

As someone at the bottom, you were born to swallow your anger. When a customer gave you a hard time, you had no choice but to grin and bear it.

Snapping back might feel good in the moment, but who could guarantee you wouldn’t lose your job for it?

Bottling up frustration and then bringing it home, only to want to vent it on others.

Parents, friends, or a few rounds of gaming where you curse at your teammates—and in today’s age of advanced internet, you can even just randomly comment on a short video and call the creator an idiot.

Then, naturally, the video creator wouldn’t be happy seeing that. If they depended on video content to make a living, they’d have to swallow their anger too, to avoid creating a “black history” that could ruin their future… but even they would need a place to vent their own anger…

Before stepping into society, everyone thinks the world should be reasonable. Just like no one expects that a lady standing at the counter with a sincere smile, wearing gold and silver, could suddenly scowl and rudely dismiss the product you recommended.

You kindly remind her to be careful, and she twists it into you suspecting she can’t afford it. Then suddenly the whole “waiters look down on people” discussion is brought up.

She might even drag in her rich husband to act like a smug protagonist from an urban drama, slapping money in your face. If you’re unlucky and it’s some nouveau riche, maybe you’d even get slapped—after all, they have plenty of money to cover it.

That was Ji Yueqiu’s real experience.

“Two days later I ran into that dumb bitch again. I got so pissed I stole her bag. Her ID and cards were all inside—I set it all on fire, hahaha.”

Ji Yueqiu was lying on Mi Xiaoliu’s bed, watching her do homework.

It was then she realized—why work some crappy job? Isn’t it much more satisfying to use superpowers to get revenge on society? People who look down on others just because they have money deserve a lesson.

“Dumb bitch,” Mi Xiaoliu repeated the new phrase she had just learned.

“Master, you can’t say that!”

“Mm.”

“Yes, she’s a dumb bitch. Let me tell you, Metropolis is full of brain-dead rich people. Don’t turn out like them when you grow up. When I was eating instant noodles at the store, someone actually asked me why I wasn’t eating something better. I said I had no money. Then he asked why I didn’t work harder to make money. I said I was working hard. Then he asked why I was still eating instant noodles…”

Halfway through her rant, Ji Yueqiu noticed the little goofball had somehow fallen asleep on her homework.

“Was my story really that boring?”

Frustrated.

She pulled a blanket over Mi Xiaoliu and went out to buy groceries and prepare dinner.

Adjusting to the new environment wasn’t hard—if anything, Fanzui City’s cheap prices shocked her.

After dinner, Mi Xiaoliu took out a new cat toy Heli had bought for Circle (Quanquan). The previous donkey toy was useless, after bringing it home, not only did it fail to teach Circle (Quanquan) how to talk, it just mimicked Circle (Quanquan)’s meowing.

Among these toys, Circle (Quanquan) especially liked the catnip ball, licking it like a lollipop.

Mi Xiaoliu curiously took out a sealed catnip ball.

Unwrapped it and took a lick.

Not tasty.

Okulet snapped a picture and sent it to his wife, chatting with her message after message, raising his eyebrows.

Then came nighttime. Okulet quietly used the key Heli gave him to unlock Mi Xiaoliu’s bedroom door, cautiously turning the handle.

Moonlight spilled through the window, faintly illuminating Mi Xiaoliu sleeping with a pillow in her arms.

She had fallen asleep earlier than usual today.

Okulet didn’t go inside, but the woman accompanying him did.

The Chairwoman, taking advantage of Mi Xiaoliu’s sleep, gently embraced her and patted her head.

She had to be careful not to wake her, or else she’d give the girl a fright.

No longer satisfied with just checking in remotely via her phone.

[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]