NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

"for you."

He strode back into the alley, and the lieutenant casually spread out his hands, placing the dazzling gold beads in front of the girl, and instructed her:

"My time is almost up, so I have to go back now. Could you go to the night market and buy me a mini-computer and a fiber optic cable? The rest of the money is yours, okay?"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing Phoenix's words, the black-on-black girl, still in a state of excitement, suddenly rolled her eyes and tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Lieutenant, you wouldn't be thinking of tampering with the surveillance cameras in the cell, would you?"

"Ah."

When asked by Kansi, the man was quite direct, nodding on the spot to indicate that he did indeed have this plan.

Then, he saw the girl happily scoop all the golden beans into her palms, her pretty face flushed with excitement at tonight's bountiful harvest.

"You should have said so earlier. I could have done this for you."

"?"

"If the lieutenant wants to go out for an extended period of time in the middle of the night, I can go to your cell and help you deceive the nighttime surveillance cameras. There's no need to go through the trouble of hacking into the network with a microcomputer."

"???"

"Then all these gold beans are mine, Lieutenant."

"..."

"second lieutenant?"

As Cancy questioned him, Phoenix looked up at the second-floor window of the nightclub, then glanced at the gold beads in the girl's palm. After a moment of silence, he answered with a complex tone:

"Then I'll give you all of them."

The three from the rehabilitation center

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Chapter 149 If you don't mind

"One grain is worth one gram, and one gram can be exchanged for 2,400 credits on the black market. In other words, one gold bean can buy a mobile phone."

Then, three more gold beans will be allocated, four for each person, and fifty beans can be divided among twelve people, leaving two beans remaining..."

On his way home, Phoenix listened to Cancy counting the gold coins in her hand like a miser, until his ears were practically calloused, before finally unable to resist asking:

"Are you short of money in prison?"

"what?"

The joy of counting money was successfully interrupted by the lieutenant's words. Kancy, who was still immersed in happiness, finally realized that her behavior along the way seemed to be inconsistent with her character.

"It's not that I'm short of money, I just don't need the money myself."

The girl stuck out her tongue and carefully explained her recent money-grubbing behavior.

"There are also prisoners in the rehabilitation center who have received lighter sentences or whose time incarceration is about to end."

Some of them have no relatives or friends in the Ark. If we don't find a way to provide them with some initial funding to start their lives, they will eventually be caught and sent back to the rehabilitation center because they can't find work in a short time and are forced to meet their most basic living needs.

So all this money of mine is for their use.

Cansey's explanation was undoubtedly beyond Phoenix's expectations, and by a whole lot more.

However, the lieutenant did not find Niki's plan reasonable. On the contrary, he felt that it was not very meaningful and even a bit too saintly.

"If I remember correctly, petty theft should be handled in the ACPU detention center."

Those who end up in rehabilitation centers must at least have been convicted of malicious assault. Frankly, these people don't deserve your sympathy; they deserve their fate.

"That's too absolute. According to the lieutenant's logic, wouldn't the lieutenant not be worth anything either?"

Upon hearing Phoenix's clearly biased and emotionally charged thoughts, Cansey immediately seized upon the flaw in the man's words with lightning speed.

"Does the lieutenant think he is guilty?"

"..."

Wow, this runaway girl has quite the eloquence and quick thinking.

As if he had spotted some rare species, Phoenix was not annoyed by Cancy's rebuttal; instead, he revealed a greedy look, like a wolf eyeing a sheep.

It's a talent.

It's important to know that none of his inner circle of officials who were supposed to "clean up the court" were truly competent diplomats. Anis, who was good at arguing, focused her skills on sharp tongues rather than engaging in serious debates with others.

Cansey's unintentional display of a keen eye for wordplay undoubtedly struck a chord with the talent-seeking lieutenant who was short of manpower.

Given the talent the other party has shown, with a little nurturing, they might be able to handle many minor negotiation meetings for me in the future.

"According to your statement, assuming that you are indeed funding people who have been wronged, then this would contradict what you said before."

How could people who haven't actually committed any serious crimes possibly end up in a situation where no one is willing to help them out with even a few thousand yuan after their release from prison?

Strictly speaking, Phoenix's statement actually deviates somewhat from the point of view.

The discussion shifted from whether "wrongfully convicted individuals exist in rehabilitation centers" to "whether wrongfully convicted individuals receive financial assistance after their release from prison."

...This is a classic case of shifting the goalposts, a sophistry that is common both online and in real life.

However, to the man's great surprise, Kancy, who was supposed to be just an escape expert, quickly realized that the topic had gone astray after hearing his sophistry.

"Ha~ Lieutenant, you also think there are innocent people in the rehabilitation center, right?" The girl smirked slyly. "Then I'll sponsor the innocent people, I sympathize with the innocent people, don't you think Lieutenant should support me?"

"!"

This girl actually managed to steer the conversation back to her original point!

He's talented!

"Then why don't you consider sponsoring me, showing me some sympathy?" Phoenix's ability to stall was successfully ignited by the other party's rhetoric, and he retorted without hesitation:

"What, you feel I wasn't wronged?"

"Eh?!"

Caught off guard, Cansey's heart skipped a beat when he heard the lieutenant's words. He immediately recalled the lieutenant's peculiar sense of direction, his violent fighting skills, and the rumors the nurses had told him...

"Someone as capable as the lieutenant... probably doesn't need my financial support."

As the girl spoke, she awkwardly took out four gold beans from her palm, and judging from her expression, she seemed a little unwilling.

"Even if you need my financial assistance, I will only give you four grains, treating everyone equally."

"No, no, no. Money is not a problem."

The person, who had practically no money in their bank account, first blatantly lied with an air of grandeur, and then shamelessly added:

"I need more people, would you consider sponsoring some of them for me?"

"people?"

Kansi was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Lieutenant~ I'm just a Nikki~ Although I've helped a lot of people, I know very well that they may not repay me in some big matters. If you want to use me to build connections, it's not really worth it."

"That's it."

After all this buildup, the unscrupulous man finally revealed his true colors, proposing to the little fox:

“If you don’t mind, you can actually consider sponsoring me with your own money.”

Kancy: "...?"

Kancy: "Huh???"

Chapter 150 This problem is very easy to solve.

The unexpected invitation left Kansi, who had lived in the rehabilitation center for many years, feeling bewildered.

After a moment, once the feeling of confusion dissipated, what followed was an intense sense of vigilance.

She's just a Nikki.

To put it bluntly, she was nothing more than an experimental subject who knew nothing but how to escape from prison.

They neither engaged in social work on the Ark like Diesel, Polly, and others, nor did they ever fight on the surface against Leitch.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the only thing she can genuinely help the commander with is escaping from prison.

However, the Ark only has a limited number of "escape" locations that it can actually use.

—Rehabilitation Center, ACPU Detention Center, the wall separating the Ark from the outer edge of the district.