American homeless people, surviving in the city

Upon hearing Charlotte's answer, everyone present fell silent, even Raul, who had been laughing and joking, stopped smiling.

Charlotte herself, on the other hand, remained unfazed, maintaining a polite smile on her face.

"No... there's no need for this. It's my fault. We were just looking for a place to stay, and on our first meeting, I told everyone things that upset them..."

"But there's no need to worry about us. Little Annie is very strong. Although she doesn't like meeting people, she has always been working hard in her studies and is also very good at drawing..."

Hearing the West sisters' individual stories, Lynch was deeply moved and couldn't help but ask:

"For the past few years... have you been raising your two younger sisters?"

"right."

Charlotte patted her chest proudly: "We've been homeless for about four or five years now, living off the odd jobs I do here and there, and occasionally receiving some welfare subsidies."

"But lately, the benefits I can get are getting less and less... Life's tough these days, sigh..."

Lin Qi: "Excuse my bluntness, but I'm still a little curious, what exactly happened to you three sisters?"

"It's common to see people living on the streets because of debt, marital problems, or illness, but I've never seen a family like yours before."

Charlotte's expression visibly worsened when the matter was brought up.

She patted Emily on the shoulder, gesturing for her to go back to the RV to rest, then hesitated for a few seconds before slowly saying:

"Well... it's not like this is something that can't be talked about, but I've said it all today. You mustn't mention this again in front of Emily and Anne, especially Anne."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Charlotte then continued, saying:

"Our family's past isn't exactly a good story; it's just a bunch of old, trivial, and messy things that happened."

"My bastard biological father was a womanizer. When he was 15, he went on a trip to Texas and fell in love at first sight with a female farmer who was 13 years older than him. The two of them secretly met and soon I was born."

"Not long after, the farmer's husband discovered that I was not his child. He then angrily sued my father. After a series of rulings that I don't know the specifics of, I was awarded to my biological father."

"But to be honest, all of this happened before I could remember, and I don't really have any real feelings about my biological mother. It's just that from the time I can remember, everyone around me has been telling me that my dad is a bastard, and he doesn't deny it himself."

"Later, my father used his sweet talk and his fairly pretty face to seduce a middle-class widow who had just lost her husband. Not long after, that widow became my stepmother and gave birth to Emily and Anne, my two younger sisters."

"My stepmother is a kind person. Although she is not very bright and is somewhat cold towards me, she has never mistreated me. She treats me and her two biological children almost equally. She paid for my high school education and Emily's junior high school education. Although Annie was born deaf, when she was born, my stepmother and we didn't care about this. Instead, we cherished her even more and hoped that she could grow up well."

"If things had continued peacefully like this, we would have been a decent family, albeit a bit eccentric."

"But soon, my father's bad habits relapsed. He drank and gambled every day, didn't go out to work, and even abused me and my stepmother. My stepmother insisted on not calling the police—that's where I say she's stupid. She could have lived a comfortable life as a widow with that inheritance, but she was completely fooled by my father."

"Until five years ago, one day I came home from get off work—I had already graduated from high school, but hadn't gone to college and was learning to repair cars—and when I opened the door, I saw that bastard be beating my stepmother and Emily."

"He was abusive in his domestic life, but that time it was particularly bad. My stepmother was beaten until her head was bleeding, and Emily also had several wounds on her body."

"I was furious and wanted to rush up and fight that old bastard. But my stepmother grabbed my hand, put a key in my hand, and begged me to take Emily and Anne away from this monster."

"That key is the key to this RV."

"I did as I was told, and left that house with Emily and Annie, and never went back. Later I also found out that my stepmother had left some money and a cell phone in the RV beforehand. With that money and the money I earned from working part-time along the way, I was able to support the three of us and even pay for their continued schooling."

"But to be honest, the money I earn from working is really not enough for me to buy a house and settle down—sometimes I can't even afford the insurance. That's why we've been homeless all this time."

Charlotte ended this story with a sigh.

But soon, she switched back to her carefree, uninhibited smile:

"Alright! Let's leave the past behind. Now, besides praying that my old bastard dad dies soon, I'm too lazy to think about anything else!"

"I wouldn't have talked about this past event if you hadn't asked!"

"Alright, alright! Although the weather in this ditch isn't great, today is still a good day. Thanks, Brother Raul, for leading us to this wonderful spot!"

"Thank you, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Gleason. I hope we can get along well in the future!"

Charlotte reached into her jacket and, as if by magic, pulled out a beautiful glass bottle filled with amber-colored liquor:

"Weren't we supposed to be having a party tonight? On this rare nice day, since it's so cold in Seattle, we should at least have something hot to drink!"

"This is a bottle of twelve-year-old bourbon whiskey, one of the few good things my bastard dad left in the RV and forgot to take."

She chuckled, "I haven't been able to bring myself to drink it, but it's worth it today. In this cold weather, we need to get everyone something warm!"

"I'm prepared too!" Raul quickly raised his hand and pulled out several lunchboxes from his tent.

"Because I knew there would be a lot of people tonight, I specially went to my favorite Indian restaurant and ordered several servings of curry and South Asian dishes!"

"Well, it's been sitting out for a while, and it's gotten a bit cold..."

"It's alright," Gleeson continued. "We have pots and pans, folding tables and chairs, and a portable gas stove in our car that we can use for heating."

Seeing everyone else become lively, only Lin Qi remained, staring at the completely innocent-looking Raul:

"You organized a dinner party tonight, but didn't even tell me what to prepare?"

Raul scratched his head: "I only decided on a whim this afternoon. Boss, you haven't been back all afternoon, so I couldn't let you know..."

Lin Qi laughed, then helplessly pulled a few bills from his pocket:

"Alright, I've made quite a bit of money today anyway. Here's $50. Go quickly to that convenience store on the corner and buy some ready-to-eat sandwiches and hot dogs, along with some chips and a drink."

"Try to spend it all; the rest is your tip!"

"I got it!" Raul gave a perfunctory salute, grabbed the money, and dashed off. In the blink of an eye, the pale yellow raincoat disappeared into the distance.

Everyone sprang into action, and the camp quickly became lively.

Although the cold drizzle continued, the lighting of the portable gas stove created a warm, misty atmosphere under the awning.

......

However, in the icy rain under the cover of night, various factions in Seattle still harbored their own ulterior motives.

Not far from the small campsite in the greenbelt on Ninth Avenue, in a dark, tin-roofed shack...

DeSean, a tall, obese Black thug, and his Latino underling Martin were plotting how to rob Lynch of another sum of money.

"You said he often hangs out on Third Avenue?"

DeShawn clenched his fist tightly, a sinister grin spreading across his face:

"Alright, let's stake out there tomorrow and make our move as soon as he shows up!"

"Exactly, exactly! Who told him to use such an expensive new phone!" Martin chimed in.

......

Meanwhile, in a remote ranch on the outskirts of Seattle, within a radius of dozens of miles, there was no one to be seen.

In the basement of the ranch owner's house,

Several people dressed in strange ethnic costumes stood in the room, whispering among themselves:

"Tell me, how did our prey find us this time?"

"Although she didn't show any obvious signs of alertness, her driver suddenly started driving in a very erratic way, which clearly meant she had noticed us."

The man at the head of the crowd, wearing a woolen cloak with intricate patterns embroidered on the silk of his collar and cuffs, said coldly:

"It's not clear yet, but someone must have leaked the news."

"Be extremely careful in future operations. If you discover who leaked the information, punish them with the most severe punishment!"

"No matter what, the plan must be carried out; we cannot allow these unexpected events to delay the 'ritual'!"

......

The perspective shifts back to downtown Seattle, to a brightly lit burlesque club.

The burly man who was intimidated by Lynch's bluff last time, "War Elephant" Sanjar, squeezed through the crowded and bustling crowd in the club and entered a VIP box.

Inside the private room, a thug was reporting to the leader of the Razor Gang, the short-haired blond "boss," about his surveillance of Lin Qi that day:

"...In conclusion, his life is far more comfortable than that of the average homeless person. He has connections with normal people other than the homeless and even knows the police."

"Although I haven't seen him make a move in the past two days, I've also never seen anyone else dare to attack him!"

"Therefore, I suspect that he is indeed very likely the East Asian martial arts master who left the horse caravan!"

The blond leader swirled the martini in his glass, not immediately making a judgment, but instead looked at Sanjar, who had just entered:

"Elephant, you've been in charge of negotiations with the stallion gang lately. What's been going on with them lately?"

Sanjar frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Boss, I just wanted to report this to you. Recently, the friction between the Gongma Gang and us on the border of our respective jurisdictions has become increasingly intense. Their leader called me half an hour ago, expressing his desire to decide the jurisdiction of the southern part of the city center through a boxing match."

"That martial arts master has already run away, how dare they still be so arrogant?" The blond leader frowned slightly.

"This... perhaps they've found new thugs again," Sanjar guessed with a troubled expression. "After all, we haven't been able to find a top-tier thug, which puts us at a disadvantage in this area."

The music outside the private room was deafening, but inside, the blond boss remained calm.

After a brief silence, the blond leader slowly spoke:

"Those beasts from the male horse gang ruthlessly exploit the wallets of local scavengers, beggars, and stepdaughters in various neighborhoods. If they cause trouble, they send their hired litigants to disrupt the courts. They are too adept at this process."

"If they really get their hands on the South District, even if we manage to take it back later, there probably won't be much profit to be made there."

"But it's not a good idea to keep going on like this... Their proposal is indeed an opportunity for us."

Sanjar cautiously began to speak:

"Boss, you mean...?"

The blond leader downed his drink in one gulp:

"Let's go, let's go meet that 'runaway martial arts master' tomorrow!"