"Hiss... it's a bit cold..." When the sky was just getting light, the hardworking worker Leon got up and yawned on his way to work. After being blown by the cold wind of late autumn, his mind became a little clearer. Leon subconsciously shrank his neck and wrapped the big scarf knitted by Anna around again, and then he unconsciously remembered what happened last night... He didn't give an answer to the question raised by Melanie in the end, but vaguely said something like "you will understand when you grow up" and barely fooled her. Even if he told Melanie, she might not understand it at the age of a few years old. But the less ordinary people know about the "other world" such as the Cleanup Bureau and anomalies, the less likely they are to encounter them, so naturally they should hide it if possible. However, although Melanie's question ended here, it seemed not to be completely meaningless. At least it answered a small doubt for Leon - what did the director lose. ... According to the information given by [Materialistic Soul], people who possess the abnormal [Love without Memory] will definitely lose one of the three items of "parental love, child love, and partner love". Now it seems that she should have lost the love from her children, and judging from her performance yesterday, she should like children very much. After all, although the Veteran Alley where her family lives is not a slum, it is not a good location. In addition to various noisy and dirty companies, there is a prison with many serious criminals. The number of residents is not large, and there are even fewer children. Naturally, there will be no small shops selling candy.
So the milk candy wrapped in colored paper that she bought for Melanie and the others can only be sold in a department store four or five blocks away. She is willing to walk such a long way to buy candy for two children she just met. Naturally, she is not someone who hates children. Well...For people who like children very much, it is okay not to have their own children. If you have children, they will be constantly forgotten by their own children. Maybe it is really a cruel thing. After shaking his head with some sympathy, Leon was about to speed up his pace to the Cleanup Bureau, and then take the black goat to visit the nurse who was suspected of having "abnormality", but he was stopped by a sweet and greasy smell. A cart with benches and tables, a huge tin hot water boiler and a copper faucet, a charcoal stove with bright red flames, and a few sets of low tables and benches made of sawhorses... In the aroma of coffee that filled his nose, a small space tightly wrapped in old canvas, which was not disturbed by the cold wind of late autumn and was full of warmth, suddenly caught his eye. Coffee stall... Looking at the warm stall that seemed particularly tempting in this gray and cold morning, Leon couldn't help but stop. After hesitating again and again, he was still defeated by the tempting sweet smell, shrank into the range of the tent, and found a table near the inside to sit down. "Boss, a cup of coffee and two slices of thin bread." "Okay!" Take out a cup with a broken handle, shake in coffee powder with your hands and feet, then wrap your hands with a rag, unscrew the copper faucet that emits white smoke and pour in hot water, pinch the stirring stick with three fingers and turn it twice, and a cup of steaming black liquid is placed in front of Leon. "Customer, do you want to brush butter on the 'two thin breads'? If you are interested, I also have ham slices here, which were just fried before the stall opened this morning, and are still hot." "Uh... How much does it cost to add ham slices? Is it expensive?" "Not expensive, not expensive, very cheap!" After wiping his hands on the black apron, the boss who looked to be in his early fifties smiled honestly and raised a black finger. "One copper wheel without ham slices, two copper wheels in total if you add them!" Two copper wheels... One copper wheel for adding a slice of ham? Why don't you go and grab it? I can buy a whole one at the department store for less than a silver wheel, okay! Speechlessly looking at the seemingly honest but actually cunning coffee stall owner, Leon couldn't help but curl his lips and said: "Forget about the ham, just brush the bread with butter... remember to brush it thicker!" "Okay!"
The additional item failed to be sold, and the boss's honest face did not show disappointment. Instead, he took out a long piece of toast with a smile, cut off two thin slices with two knives, dipped it twice with a brush that was too small for oiling leather shoes, and threw it on the stone slab on the charcoal stove to roast. Shit... This business is too bad for you to do. Looking at the two slices of bread that were too thin to put into LanX beef noodles, Leon couldn't help but cry out that he was deceived, knowing that he might have met a master of overcharging people. But after all, he was here, and he couldn't bear to leave the blazing fire in the stall, so he didn't raise any objections in the end. Instead, he picked up the hot coffee and sipped it carefully. Hmm... It's so good... I feel like I'm alive again... As his hands were warmed by the cup and his empty stomach was warmed by the coffee, Leon couldn't help but squint his eyes in satisfaction, and the dead profiteer boss also brought up the "LanX bread slices" in due time. "Customer, your meal is ready, thank you for the copper wheel." Looking at the almost "translucent" bread slices on the small plate, Leon finally paid honestly, but he was still a little dissatisfied in his heart, and couldn't help but mocking: "Boss, you are so good at cutting bread, you must have made a lot of money, right?" "Haha, it's okay, just barely enough to make a living." It is estimated that there are many customers like Leon who say weird things. The boss was not angry when he was ridiculed. Instead, he pointed at the stove behind him with a smile and said with a smile: "Look at my stove, it is burning the best charcoal fire, and it is always filled. It ensures that no matter when guests come, the coffee brewed will be the hottest. The money for the charcoal fire is also a cost!" This is true... but with your reputation for selling a piece of ham for a copper wheel, and your bread-cutting skills that are comparable to Master Lan If you can double your money back, you will definitely earn a lot from it. "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. For morning commuters like you who go to work in the municipal district, what matters most is not the benefits, but the actual temperature." It seemed that he wanted to develop Lyon into a mature customer. Seeing that he didn't seem to care about his words, the boss pointed across the street and explained patiently: “The coffee here may not be sweet enough or strong enough, but the temperature is definitely the best, and the fire is also the hottest, and it can be heated all the way to the outside of the tent. Even to make it easier for you to avoid getting burned when warming your hands, I even use thickened ceramic cups here, instead of thin iron cups that can only be held once and have to be put down after being burned. I guarantee that no matter how you come, you will be Can leave warm from the inside out. Otherwise, you see, there are so many stalls over there, why do I have the most people here? That's because what I sell you is much more than just a cup of coffee, and also a piece of warmth on a cold morning. Do you think this is true? " "Oh, by the way, don't tell anyone else what I'm telling you!" It seemed that he suddenly realized that his words had revealed a lot of "business secrets". The silly-looking boss quickly waved his hands and said shyly: "I plan to pass this small coffee stall on to my daughter in the future, so that no matter how she lives outside, she can make a living when she comes home. If others learn these tricks, then she will have Trouble!" "..." I believe you! You are such a shrewd person, how can you just talk to people about anything? Apart from anything else, your coffee is not sweet at all, but I just followed the sweet smell, so there must be some tricks in that pot of yours. If I really do what you do, I'm afraid I'll have to pay for it. Good for pants! Tsk... But having said that, even though you are very stingy when selling things, after all, you have put so much thought into it, so you really deserve the money you earn! Frustrated by the coffee stall owner's value-added business, Leon couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. He quickly finished the bread and drank the coffee, then stood up and hurriedly left in the direction of the cleanup bureau. And not long after he left, a baby-faced girl wearing a professional skirt followed the sweet scent of the street and came over. After seeing the honest-faced coffee stall owner, the girl's watery eyes couldn't help but light up, and she hurried over, grabbing the owner and complaining:
"Dad! You are in good health, why did you sneak out of the stall again? Mom was so angry when she found out!" "Hmph! Why should she be angry if I set up a stall?" After hearing what the baby-faced girl said, the kind and honest boss just twisted his nose, turned into an unreasonable and stubborn old man, and asked angrily: "What? You don't like my little coffee stall? Let me tell you, if it hadn't been for this little coffee stall, our family of three would have starved to death. How would our family be where we are today?" "Oh! No one looks down on your stall! But do you have to set it up today?" Looking at her father who suddenly had an awkward moment in front of her, the baby-faced girl said helplessly: “Our gas company’s pipeline burst, and we just paid out a large sum of money. Then something happened to our water company, too. It was a time of trouble. Mom is so angry that you are still running around at this time, not taking care of the company's affairs, but you actually ran out to set up a stall so early in the morning..." "What's there to do? Earn what you should earn, and pay what you should lose! What's the point of fooling around? Also, do I have to take care of a stall that only lasts two hours a day? If the company is gone, can't I transfer it? " The coffee stall owner became even more angry when he heard this, blowing his beard and glaring: "Besides, I said at the beginning that these municipal projects should not be touched! Although we can make money quickly and stably by doing this, and we basically get a large sum of money into our account every year, the power of the main issue is not in our hands. In the end, we can only make suggestions but not decide what to do. Is this okay? I knew from the beginning that with the way those grandsons did things, something would happen sooner or later! It's better to continue working in our department store honestly. Although the risks are high and the profits are thin, at least I can keep an eye on it and solve it easily if something goes wrong. But your mother is stubborn! Unless it's because of our family's reputation, people have to be more restrained when doing things. They just focus on getting in, and I can't even hold them back! The results of it? In order to save some money on filtration, those grandsons poured the excrement water from the Tama Sewage River directly into the public water pipes! The medicine for treating diarrhea in the whole king was sold out! They restrained themselves! ***It’s so shameless! " After muttering a few curse words, seeing that the temperature was slowly rising after the sun came out, and the customers were almost gone, the coffee stall owner raised his hand and knocked on the stove, extinguished the charcoal fire, put away the tent cloth, pushed the cart and walked away angrily with his daughter. , and continued to ask as he walked: "What happened to the gas pipe break? Did you apologize to them properly and compensate them?" "Give it, give it! There's just one family who doesn't seem to want it. They said they weren't seriously injured. Just pay for the bandaging for them." "They don't want it to be his fault, but if something goes wrong with our company, compensation must be paid... By the way, what's the name of that family?" "I can't remember my last name clearly... Ah! Lane! Yes! Leon Lane! Although he doesn't have much money, he always smiles gently and is a good man who is very gentle to his sister!" … "You ask about the new guy in our bureau? His name is Leon, Leon Lane." In addition to the father and daughter at the coffee stall, there were two other people talking about Leon's situation at this time. "Ryan?" Hearing this familiar surname, the little woman in the golden mirror blinked, took a bite of the sponge cake in her hand, and asked curiously: "A member of Duke Lionheart's family? Don't you hate nobles very much? Why did you admit him into your maiden bureau?" "It's just the same last name. It's actually two words." After briefly explaining Leon's surname, looking at the woman who put down the cake in the golden mirror and chewed the pastry tart, the red-haired director couldn't help but frown and said:
"Why are you asking him? Want to poach someone?" "That's a bit of an idea." After admitting her plan without hesitation, the little woman in a black and white skirt picked up a torte ring, licked the sweet almond powder on it, and then said with a smile: "I have read the file you reported. This is a [forced intelligence acquisition] ability that is higher than that of the Great Devil. It is amazing if you use it well. What director can't not worry about it?" "..." Looking at the suddenly narrowed eyes of her best friend in the mirror, the little woman ate the cake ring in one bite, then picked up a small piece of camellia pancake, brushed strawberry jam on it, and explained: "But don't worry, I really don't want to poach him this time, but I want to make a small deal with him...Has the abnormality of the hospital director been taken out?" I see...are you thinking about that anomaly that absorbs patients? After looking at the sculpture of a lion pulling a dung ball on the golden mirror, the red-haired director thought for a moment, and a flash of understanding suddenly flashed in his eyes. Within the jurisdiction of the Lions Bureau where Beverly is located, there is a port occupied by out-of-control infected people. Nearly ten thousand residents in more than ten nearby villages and towns have been forcibly given some kind of disease that cannot be eradicated. As long as the out-of-control infected person When the Infested dies, everyone dies with them. Although the people from the Lion Bureau responded quickly enough and blocked the port in time without causing greater trouble, there was really nothing they could do against the out-of-control Infectors who kidnapped nearly 10,000 people, and it was difficult to use their trump cards for such a medium-sized incident. , I had to let it go for the time being. But it’s different now. The hospital director who was killed by Leon had the ability to absorb patients, and he happened to be the nemesis of the out-of-control infected person. According to the rules of the Cleanup Bureau, those who completed the cleanup task would have priority to apply for extraction. The powers that come out of the anomaly. So she suddenly contacted herself through the [Celestial Sphere Mirror] today, not because she wanted to connect with her best friends after a long absence, but because she wanted to communicate with herself in advance and ask Leon not to snatch this abnormal object from her... After staring at the good sisters who were eating cheese pudding again in the golden mirror, the red-haired director blinked his charming fox eyes and said with a somewhat embarrassed expression: "This... I understand that this thing is very important to you, but during the cleaning process, Leon witnessed the power of the out-of-control impregnator with his own eyes, and he was also very interested in this abnormal object, so..." "Tsk! Stop talking nonsense!" She couldn't be more clear about her best friend's character. Beverly on the other side of Jin Jing rolled her eyes and said angrily while chewing coconut pine bread: "Tell me directly, how much money do you want to borrow from me this time?" "Oh, this isn't about money." The red-haired director waved his hands and said with a smile: "Leon, a newcomer who just joined the company, completed his first task with great difficulty, and finally obtained his first abnormal object. If something of such a commemorative significance is taken away by you just like that, and you don't give him a good thing, can you feel comfortable? " "..." When she heard this, looking at her best friend's malicious fox eyes, Beverly's body stiffened slightly on the other side of the golden mirror, and she felt that the orange cream pie in her mouth no longer tasted good. After finishing the snacks in her hands in two or three bites, Beverly showed off the aura that a director of the Lion Cleanup Bureau should have. She reached out and slammed the table, widened her eyes like a lion and asked angrily: "Hurry up! What do you want?" "I want you to give him the witch's broom." "Bah! You're dreaming!"