Chapter 78: The Reason for Money
"We're human, not gods."
"Since we're human, we'll inevitably make mistakes, be indecisive... everyone goes through this stage, including me."
"So I understand you. It's not your fault. If a girl can't even cherish her family, that's the real mistake."
Jack spoke calmly, with no blame or complaints, just a comforting smile for Yun You.
In that moment, he seemed to shed the guise of a cunning and greedy mercenary, becoming a gentle brother quietly soothing his little sister's inner wounds.
"Mhm..."
The little girl answered softly, feeling a warmth inside her.
She was an only child and never had a brother, but she felt that this was perhaps the care a brother would give—mild, calm, yet warm.
However, Yun You had rarely experienced care from anyone other than her family, nor was she accustomed to it.
Thus, the little girl just nodded lightly and moved away from the topic.
"Let me help you rest for a while."
She supported Jack as they leaned against the wall, walking toward the room.
With the corridor gone, the original villa stood fully revealed.
Unlike the corridor, which was a mess of blades and explosives, the villa where the three lived was still intact.
If it weren't for the few bloodstains on the floor, outsiders might truly believe that nothing ever happened here, let alone a brutal fight.
"How's Frost Moon?"
Yun You asked quietly as they walked, "Wasn't he staying downstairs with you?"
"Yes."
Jack nodded and replied softly, "He's fine, staying guard downstairs."
"At that time, he entered Cyberspace with me, and we both got trapped in the Illusion Realm."
"But you know, he's a hacker cyborg. There's hardly anything in his brain that can be called 'emotion,' so even if faced with the most troubling situation, he can easily smash through it."
"So it only took him five seconds to break out of the Illusion Realm, twenty times faster than me."
Hearing this, Yun You's interest was piqued.
"I can understand Frost Moon's five seconds, but Jack, did you really break the Illusion Realm in just a hundred seconds?"
"What did Jack see?"
"..."
Hearing the little girl's question, Jack fell silent.
He initially planned to make up an excuse or laugh it off, but seeing Yun You's serious little eyes, the mercenary knew she truly wanted to understand the answer.
Casual deceit probably wouldn't work.
So in the end, Jack had no choice but to answer softly, "Alright, alright... I'll confess honestly."
"What I saw was the scene where I killed my partner."
"I relived that dramatic moment, personally burying a childhood friend as close as a brother to me, burying a twenty-year friendship."
"Just like I answered the zombie's question before, I betrayed my brother."
When he said this, Jack didn't show much sadness or regret, only a hint of sigh in his tone, as if lamenting the unpredictability of life.
This was somewhat abnormal. After all, according to Jack, a twenty-year friendship had fallen apart, so how could there be no regret?
But Jack indeed didn't regret it, as if going through it again, he would still do the same.
"320,000 Silver Cannons, that was the fortune we parted over."
"Back then, we took on a rather lousy mission—to assassinate a contractor for 320,000 Silver Cannons."
"The mission guide said this person not only withheld wages but also exploited workers, charging exorbitant agency fees, painted as quite evil... And the one who posted the mission was also a worker exploited by him, who couldn't endure anymore, so they scraped together money to have him killed."
"Seeing such a mission, we, who always talked about being 'knights,' of course took it on, and we successfully caught that contractor."
"But just when we were about to act, my brother suddenly found out that the information provided by the employer was false."
"This contractor might be average in private, but at least he wasn't as bad as the mission guide claimed, just an ordinary foreman, identical to other foremen of this era."
"And the one who posted the mission wasn't a worker either, but a competitor of this contractor, who wanted to kill the contractor because he snatched his bid."
"In other words, it was all for profit, with no damn distinction between justice and evil... That contractor, by our past standards, didn't deserve death at all."
"So..."
Jack sighed and murmured, "My brother wanted to let the contractor go at that time and instead sought out the one who posted the mission for revenge."
"But I disagreed."
"Because I needed those 320,000 Silver Cannons."
"As for what happened after, even if I don't say it, Chica, you should be able to guess."
"My brother desperately blocked me, and I, for money, killed him along with the contractor..."
"In short, that's what happened."
Jack pointed to himself with his blackened arm and gave a bitter smile, "That's why when I first met Chica, I said mercenaries are the lowest profession in the world, and I'm not a good person."
"Greedy, vicious, wicked beyond belief, that's a mercenary, that's me, Jack Carlos, the chaotic mule of Moscow."
Listening to Jack's story, Yun You was somewhat surprised.
She had mentally prepared for the 'evil' of mercenaries, but what Jack revealed was indeed an undeniable pure evil that could not be whitewashed in any way.
Yet Yun You was curious about why Jack wanted money so badly.
"From what I've observed for so long, Jack, you don't seem like a greedy person."
The little girl looked into the mercenary's eyes—his blood-red pupils seemed quite terrifying, but at that moment, they were incredibly pure, not making Jack feel tense or scared.
"I want to know why you needed money so badly?"
"Is it for some special reason? If so, once we're out, maybe I can help you."
"Tell me, we're companions, and companions should help each other out, right?"
Seeing Yun You so earnest, Jack was slightly taken aback, and then he helplessly lowered his head.
With things said to this extent, continuing to hide it indeed seemed inappropriate.
Therefore, after a brief inner struggle, Jack Carlos ultimately revealed his deepest secret to Yun You.
"I... actually have a sister."
"She's about your age, fifteen, named 'Soya,' a quiet and polite little girl too."
"But unlike a lively and healthy girl like Chica, my sister was born sick, similar to Aurora, just even more severe than her genetic illness."
"Her illness is called blood disorder, commonly known as 'Blood AIDS.'"
"She inherited this disease from our father, who was always messing around."
"Since birth, my sister has struggled with this incurable disease, confined to isolation wards..."
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