Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 192 Annie's Adventure

Lost in her memories, Annie's young face showed a hint of fear. What happened that day was like a nightmare she didn't want to recall.

'Annie~~ What brings you here? Your sister is a bit busy right now~~~'

Her face flushed, Hena pushed open the wooden window and looked at the little girl standing outside.

'Sister Hena~~~~Mom~~~Mom~~~I'm in so much pain right now.'

Hena looked at the anxious little girl, pushed away the outstretched furry hand, and a dozen seconds later, she pushed open the door and came out, wearing a thick blanket coat.

Has your mother's illness flared up again?

Annie, her eyes brimming with tears, nodded firmly. Hena, leaning against the doorframe, tilted her head and thought for a moment before turning and walking back into the house.

'Wait here for your sister~~'

A short while later, after a strange noise, the door was opened again. Hena, whose blush had become even more pronounced, casually tugged at her collar and handed a small purse to Annie, who was waiting outside.

"Here, take this and go buy medicine for your mother. When your mother feels better, remember to come visit me. I have a favor to ask you."

As a child living at the bottom of the slums, Annie naturally knew what her sister Hena did. Initially, when Annie couldn't pay back her debts, Hena wanted her to join her in doing the same thing, but later, for some reason, she gave up the idea. Even so, as Annie's debts grew, Hena would still lend a helping hand whenever she needed it, which made Annie extremely grateful. She believed that Hena must be a very good person.

Anne nodded heavily after receiving the money, then quickly ran towards the main street. Several hours later, after seeing that her mother's pain had been relieved, Anne added two more pieces of wood to the fire, said goodbye to her mother, and went to Hena's house.

Thump thump thump~~、

Seeing that there was no sign hanging on Hena's door, Annie knew that Hena's work for the day was over and she was probably resting.

After knocking on the door, Annie stood obediently at the door for a few minutes. Then, Hena, looking sleepy and wearing a simple cotton and linen dress, opened the door and came out.

'Is it all over? Is your mother feeling better now?'

Anne nodded obediently, and Hena stepped aside, revealing the door behind her.

"Come in and talk~ Oh dear, I had to pick up a few extra customers for you today, and I'm so tired I haven't even had time to tidy up the house."

Anne, who followed Hena in, looked at the messy clothes in Hena's room and found an empty stool to sit on.

"Speaking of which, Annie has had a tough two years. Those damned goblin merchants—your father fell from such a height, and they wouldn't even pay a penny. But your mother, really, seeing your father on his last legs, still borrowed money from loan sharks to buy those ridiculously expensive magic potions to try and save him."

The petite Annie didn't dare to speak casually, after all, no matter what, this Sister Hena had helped her a lot, and besides, Sister Hena was just pitying her.

As a streetwalker, Hena's life wasn't easy. Most of her customers were workers from the neighborhood. Hena knew very well that people like her who did sex work would eventually have to give up. Perhaps when she got too old to even open her legs, all that awaited her was to die slowly in loneliness.

That's why Hena showed such concern for her former friend's child. To her, the well-behaved, sensible, and obedient Annie was also her future support. She knew deep down that Annie was a good child.

After taking a few puffs of her cigarette, Hena stopped her rambling. Humans are emotional beings. Sometimes when they are too tired or feeling frustrated, they want to find someone to confide in. This way, after releasing the pent-up feelings in their hearts, they can continue to live in this world.

She mentioned her sister, Annie's mother, again. When Annie's father was working at the dock, he fell from a platform seven or eight meters high. Everyone knew he probably wouldn't live long. But Annie's mother, that stubborn woman, still chose to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to buy magic potions to treat his injuries. In the end, she spent the money, but after drinking the potions, he only lived for a few more days before dying.

Unable to repay her debts, she had no choice but to pawn herself off to those drug dealers who lent her money. She ended up in this half-dead state, dragging along such a pitiful little girl who should have been playing happily at this carefree age, but now she has to shoulder the burden of life all by herself.

'Alright, alright, let's not talk about your deadbeat father and your sickly mother anymore.'

Seeing Annie's head drooping lower and lower, Hena quickly stopped her babbling. Through their long time together, Hena knew clearly that Annie was a fragile and sensitive little girl.

Tell me what your sister wants you to help with.

Hena brushed her stray hair behind her ear, extinguished the cigarette burning between her fingers in the ashtray, stood up, walked to the cabinet next to her, took out a piece of black bread, and tossed it to the little girl.

"Eat up, don't worry about your mother. I'll bring her some food later. If you don't eat enough, you won't be able to complete the task I asked you to do."

Hearing Hena's words, Annie nodded obediently and began to chew the black bread in her hand in small bites. Although the black bread was extremely dry and hard, it was still a rare delicacy for Annie. After all, she usually had to rummage through the trash can and pick up some rotten vegetable leaves that others didn't want to eat at the roadside vegetable market.

"You eat, and then listen to your sister tell you, you've met Uncle Johnny, right?"

Annie, who was happily munching on her bread, saw her sister Hena asking her a question and quickly nodded.

"Johnny hasn't come in ages, damn it. He said he'd come marry me once he made a fortune this time, and that I'd never have to do this kind of work again. He said that once we have a kid, we can live the life we ​​want."

"But ever since that night, he said he was going to do something big, and five or six days have passed, and he hasn't shown up. Nobody knows where he went."

My sister even asked around, and they said they hadn't seen him at his usual work location either.

As she spoke, a look of dejection appeared on Hena's face. For streetwalkers like her, they also longed for the warmth of a family and for someone to rely on.

Despite constantly talking about how great Anne's parents were and how foolish Anne's mother was, it was impossible for Hena not to be tempted when a man was willing to promise her a home.

"So, my sister hopes you can help me find him and see what that heartless guy has been up to."

Although Hena spoke fiercely, the worry in her eyes was undeniable.

Anne nodded quickly after hearing what Hena said. She could do such a small favor herself, after all, Hena had helped her so much in the past.

'Okay, Sister Hena, where should I go to find Uncle Johnny?'

Seemingly overly agitated, Hena took out another cigarette, lit it, and scratched her hair in frustration.

Thin wisps of smoke drifted through the room again. The smell of the cheap tobacco was not pleasant; it was only slightly better than burning dry leaves.

"That guy was lying in bed telling me he'd found a good job recently, at a farm south of the garbage dump. Ugh..."

What kind of farm was it exactly?

After taking a deep drag on her cigarette, Hena struggled to remember that they had both taken some ecstasy pills that night and gone too far with their games, leaving them exhausted and unable to keep their eyes open afterward.

"Oh, right. The farm south of Garbage Hill that old Kevin used to run, you know that farm, right?"

He said he needed to renovate something, and he'd have to haul things over there. The pay was very generous, and the job would be finished soon. Then he could come back with me and live a simple life with thirty gold coins.

Hena's expression turned mournful as she spoke of this, as if she had been abandoned by a heartless man.

"Go to that farm for your sister. If possible, try to find out where that heartless guy took the money. Even if he's dead, at least we should hear from him."

With Hena's request, Anne embarked on a journey to find her. For Anne, this was not an extremely difficult task, since her mother had fallen ill and Anne had had to shoulder the burden of supporting the family on her own.

Faced with the problem of how to get enough to eat every day, Annie, who was too thin and had no place to work odd jobs, had no choice but to take the easy way out.

Unexpectedly, the little girl displayed extraordinary talent on this path. One day, while rummaging through food scraps in a trash can, she was spotted by a stray dog.

Faced with the attack of the wild dogs, Annie quickly hid herself, relying on her talent for stealth. From then on, Annie felt that her life had become easier, at least she would no longer be discovered when taking things.

South side of the garbage mountain

With the help of the darkness, the little girl Annie arrived at the edge of the farm without encountering any trouble. The entire farm was pitch black, with no light in sight.

Looking out in the moonlight, the entire farm was quiet, without a single living person or any signs of construction.

With no other option, Annie headed toward the tallest building in the middle of the farm. Saying she headed there might not be the right direction; "lurking" would be a more accurate description. Although her movements and posture weren't quite standard, the effect was about the same.

As Annie got closer to the huge wooden warehouse in the middle, she finally heard some sounds, like the howls of wild beasts.

Curious, Anne climbed up the warehouse roof along the drainage pipe and saw a scene through the skylight that she would never forget.

A furry werewolf was communicating with an old man wearing a hood, but because they were quite far apart, the sound was intermittent.

'Damn it, that thing... I don't even know if it's coming...'

'Lord Helsing will give him his...'

'This group of people will be dealt with this month...and then...'

Just as Anne was trying to hear more clearly what the people below were saying, the old skylight, due to long-term exposure to wind and rain and lack of routine maintenance, was damaged.

A gap appeared where Annie's palm was pressing, and under the continued pressure of Annie's palm, it broke directly. In the quiet night sky, the sound of the tile breaking was particularly jarring.

The werewolf, who had been listening to the hooded old man's teachings below, suddenly raised his head, his dark yellow pupils looking up at the skylight.

After exchanging a glance with the werewolf below, Annie felt a chill run down her spine, and her body reacted instinctively, faster than her brain.

By the time the werewolf climbed up the pillar to the roof and broke through the skylight, the petite Annie had already disappeared into the dark night.

Annie, who had been running in the night for an unknown amount of time, stopped only after the goosebumps on her skin subsided.

Annie, who was running so hard she was out of breath, only then realized that she was soaked in sweat.

"So what happened next?"

The crackling sound of burning wood in the shack, along with the faint smoky aroma mingling with the smell of leftover food in the soup pot, created a warm, homey atmosphere.

Under Haven's semi-coercion, Annie drank two more large bowls of cream of mushroom soup, her belly becoming round and full, she had never felt so full before.

"And then? Then Annie escaped back. Annie originally planned to go and check on the situation in the next few days, since she hadn't replied to Hena yet."

But Mom's condition has been getting worse these past few days, so Annie hasn't been able to go.

After listening to Annie's description, Haven stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. If what Annie said was true, then he would need to adjust his subsequent itinerary.

"Where is that place? Can you take me there?"

"Sure, Master."

As soon as Anne finished speaking, she seemed to remember something, turned to look at her mother who was fast asleep beside her, and showed a struggling expression on her face.

Seeing the conflicted look on Annie's face, Haven instantly understood.

"wait for me a while."

Seeing Haven emerge from the shack, Anne followed him out out of curiosity.

Standing up, Haven took out something resembling a firecracker from his pouch and fired it into the sky.

A few minutes later, a small squadron of griffin riders flew over.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

(End of this chapter)