At the street corner not far away, two corrupt cops waited until Wayne and the others had completely disappeared before examining Little Joey's body.
The officer wearing goggles rummaged through the corpse's pockets and pulled out a bag of colorful pills along with two rolls of cash. He whistled appreciatively and said with a grin:
"Not bad, these are all fresh goods. They'll fetch a good price... including him."
The tall officer who had nearly suffocated the homeless man earlier took the offered roll of cash, frowning as he said:
"Was that homeless man really Bruce Wayne? How did he end up like this?"
The goggled corrupt cop shrugged:
"This is America, anything's possible. The usual stuff - debts, divorce, unemployment, drug abuse. After all, he's been washed up for years... Better call the Corpse Collector."
As they returned to their car, the tall corrupt cop looked at his partner, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"Remember my hometown Utah? I know a big shot there who's always had a thing for Bruce Wayne. He's been looking for former child stars like him. I think he'd be interested in Wayne... Let me make a call."
...
In the alley at the street corner, the two black men looked at Wayne with gratitude in their eyes.
Particularly the one with braids who had just used his asthma inhaler and was still catching his breath. Tears welled in his eyes as he wiped blood from his face, trembling as he moved to hug Wayne:
"God, thank you, brother. You saved my life. I was really suffocating back there. You saved me, and I treated you so poorly earlier..."
"I'm sorry, I apologize for my initial rudeness..."
Wayne instantly saw a line of text flash above the man's head:
[Loyalty: Life-and-Death Friend]
Wayne hugged him back, saying:
"Cough... Homeless folks should help each other out, right? Cough..."
The bald man was simultaneously crying while straightening his broken nose bone. He extended his fist toward Wayne:
"Brother, I'm Mike, he's David. Are you really Bruce Wayne? I watched that 'Golden Childhood' show when I was a kid. Back when my dad was still around, he used to say Bang Jack was such a good kid."
Wayne bumped fists with him, covering his mouth as he coughed violently:
"Yeah, that's me."
Mike hesitated for a few seconds before saying:
"Hey brother, you look pretty sick. If you don't have a place to rest... I don't know how you ended up here... but if you're willing, maybe you could stay with us."
Wayne nodded:
"I'd like that, brother."
"Awesome! I've got a celebrity friend!" David shouted with laughter.
The two led the way, quickly guiding Wayne along the street. Soon they arrived at a brightly lit, bustling avenue where trucks loaded with frozen fish were slowly passing by, with a market visible in the distance.
Wayne couldn't help but stare in surprise.
Just a few blocks away from Seattle's main attraction, the world-famous Pike Place Market.
This street was pleasant, with Seattle's hipster vibe and the charm of a tourist area, even someone playing violin on the roadside.
Yet only a few blocks away, it was a dilapidated scene of homeless encampments and litter everywhere.
Two completely different worlds.
Walking south for a while, passing through the bustling tourist area, they finally arrived at a neighborhood quite different from the earlier hustle and bustle and glitz.
There were even Chinese character signs appearing.
The number of homeless people on the streets increased, and more people stood frozen in strange poses like sculptures along the roadside.
From time to time, an ambulance or police car, or sometimes both, would appear by the roadside, lifting a homeless person lying on the ground into the vehicle.
Wayne even spotted the Corpse Collector from the East University he had encountered earlier.
Clearly, on this cold rainy night, the bodies were piling up.
"God, we may have lost many street friends tonight," David said, shaking his head. "Abusing Enhancement Drugs is just too terrifying."
Seeming to sense Wayne's surprise, Mike turned to him with a smile:
"Bro, we're good people. We never use Enhancement Drugs, only smoke weed. Hope you can keep up that good habit too."
By now, Wayne was gradually accepting the West University's definitions of "good people" and "good habits," nodding in agreement.
After what felt like an eternity, Wayne was walking on fumes.
They passed through a Chinese-style archway inscribed with "Chinatown" and arrived at a park with a red Chinese-style pavilion. Around the street corners of the park, there were many homeless tents.
The two found a locked black tent in a corner of the park, unlocked it, opened the door, and said to Wayne:
"Welcome to our humble abode."
Wayne peered inside to see the tent was surprisingly tidy, with tarps and a few blankets spread on the ground, and no strong odors.
These two street friends were unexpectedly clean.
It seemed they only went downtown to "forage," while this Chinatown area was their actual home.
Looking at the two smiling faces, Wayne felt a momentary sense of déjà vu, like Timon and Pumbaa.
Inside the tent lay a middle-aged man who, hearing the commotion at the entrance, turned to look at the three and said:
"Mike, you're back... cough... cough cough..."
[You have discovered the dwellings of the Lower Nest Goblin Tribe. Staying here for one night will grant you a reward.]
Mike explained:
"This is my uncle, Raymond. He's sick, he has a fever..."
As he spoke, Raymond coughed even harder, coughing up a trace of blood.
He seemed even sicker than Wayne, with a rattling sound in his lungs audible with each cough.
Wayne greeted Raymond and, without hesitation, crawled into the tent. The little dog, Wick, happily followed him inside.
After walking for so long, he was still weak and needed to rest as soon as possible.
With the Dungeon System's friendliness backing him up, he could temporarily trust these two.
Thinking this, Wayne pulled out the cephalosporin, popped out the last two pills, swallowed one himself, and handed the other to Raymond, saying:
"Take it... cough... It's antibiotics... should... cough... help."
[You have consumed enhancement medication, negative status continues to alleviate]
Seeing the capsule in Wayne's hand, the others were momentarily stunned.
Mike took it and helped his uncle Raymond swallow the pill. After making sure the older man was asleep, he sighed and said:
"Thank you, Wayne. He's been taking painkillers, but they don't seem to work. We wanted to see a doctor, but the earliest appointment is four months from now... He doesn't meet emergency criteria either, and doctors would just prescribe more painkillers..."
Wayne waved off the thanks and fell into deep sleep. He didn't know how long he'd been out when noisy voices woke him.
"We haven't seen any white kid. What's Bang Jack? Some kind of pizza? Sorry, I'm not into pizza." That was Mike's voice.
"Listen, this is our community, brother. You can't just barge in here questioning people." David's voice sounded particularly agitated. "But don't worry, if we actually see who you're looking for, I'll give you a call."
Wayne frowned deeply, his hand closing around the dagger in his pocket.
The voices outside quieted down. After several minutes, the tent flap opened and Mike and David crawled inside, putting a finger to their lips.
They waited until all sounds outside had faded before Mike told Wayne:
"Brother, Big Daddy's people are looking for you. He's a lieutenant for the East Side Brothers. But don't worry, we'll keep you hidden."
Wayne nodded slightly, understanding this was still about Old John's debts.
Though he'd chased off two gang members yesterday, other homeless people had probably seen him when he sold Old John's body.
But since he'd managed to survive extreme circumstances and now had the system's support, these problems were manageable.
[You spent the night in a Lower Nest Goblin's dwelling, EXP +20]
Wayne checked his status panel.
[Class: Adventurer (Novice, Career Path Not Selected)
Title: Court Rebel (Higher chance of gaining favor from dungeon streets)
Stamina: 0.3/0.3
Intelligence: 1.2/1.3
Spirit: 0.4/0.6
HP: 10/60
EXP: 86/100
Skills: Minstrel Performance (Novice 10%); Familiar Stranger (Passive 40%); Tactical Dagger Use (Specialized); Compound Creation (Novice 70%)
Companion: Wild Hound (Level 1, 40%)
Status: Severely Debilitated]
His EXP had increased by another 20 points. He was curious what would happen when the experience bar filled completely.
His stamina was now full, but his body's baseline was so poor that maximum stamina was only 30% of a normal person's—equivalent to an eight-year-old child.
After a full night, his spirit had only recovered by 0.1, and his HP had barely reached 10.
The Severely Debilitated status was causing major setbacks. He needed to continue medication and recover his health first.
But he'd run out of antibiotics.
Fortunately, he'd acquired the Compound Creation skill from Little Joey's corpse yesterday, along with some memory fragments that would come in handy.
Wayne took out some cash and handed it to Mike, saying:
"Cough... Brother, do me a favor—buy me a pack of fish medication from the store."