NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

“I’m going back to the Ark tonight. There’s a serious criminal named Niki in the Rehabilitation Center who’s very good at handling interpersonal relationships. I’m planning to bring her over to help you out.”

Chapter 288 Will You Come With Me?

Rustling...Russling...

In a desolate suburb of Ark, a young girl with electromagnetic shackles on both hands was seen carrying large and small bags of luggage, turning left and right furtively in a sparsely populated residential area, looking nothing like a law-abiding citizen.

A few minutes later.

Confirming that no one was following him, the escape artist lifted the manhole cover, climbed into the sewer, turned on his headlamp, turned off his olfactory module, and began to re-count his cargo.

"Mark's Perpetual sausages, Danny's erotic magazine, David's mint soap..."

...and Jason's TT Star Girls poster, Bill's ultra-thin cup, Kennett's Sudoku book.

"Yes! Everything should be there."

After repacking the goods and feeling a sense of accomplishment, Kansi finally strode off towards the rehabilitation center, completely satisfied.

Nowadays,

It's a good day.

It was the fifth anniversary of her settling in the rehabilitation center.

So, to properly celebrate his "birthday," Kancy decided to improve the lives of the brothers and sisters in the rehabilitation center for free today.

You should be generous to your good friends; you shouldn't be too stingy with strangers you don't get along with; and as for those you've had conflicts with, giving them a small gift as a token of appreciation won't hurt you too much, and you might even be able to improve your bad relationship with them.

If there's someone who's really clueless and insists on making things difficult for themselves, Cansey wouldn't mind giving them a little sociological education.

then,

When she stepped back into the underground tunnels of the rehabilitation center, traversed the rugged and complex network of passages, and finally returned to the familiar underground meeting place, the scene that greeted her left her speechless.

Snapped!

The playing cards were slammed hard onto the bedrock, making a crisp, loud sound.

"To four."

"I'm sorry."

"Can't afford four of them?"

Hearing someone play poker and fail to beat even a pair of fours, Jason, who only had one card in his hand, didn't feel any joy. Instead, his smile faded, his brows furrowed, and he said with displeasure:

"Xiao Fei, you've lost nine games in a row, and now you're not even betting on a pair of fours. Are you deliberately losing to us?"

"No no."

The man called "Xiao Fei" chuckled and then casually spread out his cards.

— Pair three, add a sharp card.

This type of hand isn't too outrageous in the eyes of frequent card players. For small hands like a pair of threes, you either try to play them at the beginning or simply save them for the end as a "getaway hand".

In fact, Jason's own hand was exactly the same as "Little Fei's".

—A pair of fours, plus a King.

As for why Jason played a pair of fours first, it wasn't because he had accurately predicted that "Little Fei" had a sharp card in his hand.

He simply wanted to let this newcomer have a taste of success. After all, the guy had been losing since he joined the game, and if he kept winning like this, wouldn't it be like cutting off his lifeline?

But who would have thought that the pair of fours he deliberately played would, by some twist of fate, actually shut down the young man's hand on the table.

"Xiao Fei, you're really unlucky, how did I manage to guess this correctly?"

Jason craned his neck, staring at the three cards in someone's hand, his vivid expression perfectly conveying the meaning of "not knowing whether to laugh or cry".

Having spent over ten years in the rehabilitation center, plus the previous thirty-odd years, this was the first time he had ever seen such an unlucky guy with such bad luck in gambling.

No matter how they play, they lose; it sounds like a top student who always gets a zero on exams.

However, just as these gamblers were laughing and making sarcastic remarks, at the tunnel entrance, Kancy was staring intently at Phoenix's profile with her big, bright eyes.

he……

Why is he here again?

Could it be that he actually has a penchant for going to jail?

"few……"

Before she could finish speaking, perhaps worried that her identity as a lieutenant would be exposed, the perceptive girl quickly changed her words:

"Um... Xiao Fei, come with me for a moment."

Cansey was just being polite, but he had already hurriedly put down his luggage, strode forward, ignored the stares of his fellow inmates, grabbed Phoenix's arm and dragged him toward a tunnel path.

……

"Lieutenant, what are you doing here again?!"

Inside the alley, Kancy struggled to control her voice as she questioned the uninvited man's intentions. Her expression was angry, and her tone urgent, as if she feared this jinx would once again ask her for help with this or that.

The reason he wasn't exposed last time was because he had a connection with the CEO of Gokuraku Jodo...

"Will you come with me?"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing Phoenix's blunt and almost absurd question, Cansey, who was completely unprepared for it, opened his mouth wide, squinted his eyes, bent his neck forward, and lowered his head slightly.

Does the lieutenant know what he's saying?

If Ms. Ingrid finds out, I'll be dead!

Just as Kansi's thoughts were turning into a jumbled mess, the man's next words were like a terrifying sound effect from a horror movie, scaring Kansi's face to death. She could only stand there dumbfounded.

“I lack management personnel, and there are many vacant positions available, such as the Urban Planning Department, Public Security Department, and Human Resources Department. You can choose any of them.”

Without giving Cansey any time to process his emotions, Phoenix continued to paint a rosy picture, saying, "Didn't you say you liked the feeling of being valued and indispensable to the team?"

How many people can a rehabilitation center have?

I currently have over 100,000 people who need to be accommodated, and there will be 200,000, 500,000, or even more in the future.

So, how about it? Interested in giving it a try?

Chapter 289 A Place Full of Talents: Rehabilitation Center

At this moment, Jason is destined to never know that he is experiencing the most glorious period of his life.

He won money from a young man's pocket, and he affectionately called the young man "Xiao Fei".

Not only that, when Jason saw the girl return to the tunnel meeting place, looking dejected and her watery eyes filled with worry, the man with four lives on his hands immediately frowned, stood up from the bedrock, walked to the newcomer, and said:

"Xiao Fei..."

A few syllables instantly tugged at Kansi's eye.

Although Phoenix's infamous reputation wasn't as widespread among the common people of Ark City as the adult short story "Second Lieutenant x CEO".

But she was, after all, a master of escape with a wanted status. Even buying a bottle of water on the Ark required going through the black market. Therefore, she was somewhat aware of distorted rumors, in addition to the content of the conversation in the tunnel just now...

These days, you could probably count the number of people who dare to call Lieutenant Phoenix "Little Phoenix" on one hand.

Uncle Jason and she might be the only two record holders.

"fine!"

Before Jason could begin his lecture to the younger inmate as a senior fellow inmate, Kancy quickly moved aside, barely blocking the two men. He then winked playfully at the older man and explained:

“He didn’t do anything to me, Uncle Jason.”

I was just thinking...

Hmm…

If I need to leave for a period of time in the future, will it be very inconvenient for you in terms of daily life?

"leave?"

Kansi's probing was like a petrol bomb, instantly igniting the emotions of the dungeon members at the assembly.

"No, why would you leave when everything was fine?!"

In the corner, Bill, whose hobby is trying out all kinds of ultra-thin cups, was the first to stand up. Among the people present, he had the thickest skin, so he often asked questions that were inconvenient for everyone to ask.

"Kansey, you don't actually have your eye on this new guy, do you?"

You need to calm down. He's in jail just like us. He has no status, no looks, and he's not even as good-looking as the sardines in our rehabilitation center.

"Tell me, risking being wanted and arrested by Ark, you suddenly want to elope with this unlucky guy who can't even win a single hand of poker. What are you after?"

"Who eloped—!"