Top edge chapter 10

The hotel corridor was covered with thick sound-absorbing carpets, and walking barefoot on them felt comfortable.

The lobby floor was smooth marble, cool to the touch, perfectly soothing for the body after the explosion.

The ground outside the main entrance was clean and tidy, even the rough asphalt felt good to walk on.

But when their vehicle arrived at a dirty and chaotic street after several twists and turns, Shen Siwei opened the passenger door, looked at the half-eaten hamburger on the ground, and fell into silence.

Klet slammed the car door shut and walked towards the apartment without paying attention to Shen Siwei. Probably hearing no movement behind him, he stopped and turned to look at Shen Siwei, saying, “Do you want me to carry you?”

Of course, Shen Siwei didn’t need that.

He stepped on the ground barefoot and casually asked, “Aren’t there any AI janitors here?”

“They broke a long time ago,” Klet said, and suddenly a little boy carrying a backpack appeared in the hallway.

Seeing Klet, the little boy immediately ran over and greeted him, “Klet!”

“Knock,” Klet rubbed the boy’s head and pointed to the half-eaten hamburger on the side of the road with his chin, “Pick up that trash.”

“Okay!” Knock nodded and took out a garbage bag from his backpack. Then he looked at Shen Siwei on the side and blinked, asking, “Who’s this handsome brother?”

Klet glanced at Shen Siwei and nonchalantly said, “Haven’t you watched the news?”

His tone didn’t sound like he was talking to a child. The rough and deep voice lacked a bit of patience, obviously treating Knock as a little buddy.

“He’s a negotiator!” Knock’s green eyes suddenly lit up. “It’s the first time I’ve seen a Marg person!”

Klet carelessly reminded, “Normal Marg people are taller than him.”

Shen Siwei: “…”

“Negotiator,” Knock’s eyes sparkled. “Can I shake hands with you?”

Previously, when Shen Siwei walked out of the central train station, there were also commoners who wanted to shake his hand on both sides of the road. At that time, he ignored them all. But now, facing the adorable little boy, he used his left hand to grip the edge of his cloak and cautiously extended his right arm, “Sure.”

Knock excitedly shook hands with Shen Siwei, and a look of confusion suddenly flashed across his face. He looked at Shen Siwei’s exposed arm and bare feet, and asked Klet in a strange tone, “Why isn’t he wearing clothes, big brother?”

“Go pick up the trash quickly.” Klet pressed Knock’s head with his large hand, redirecting his gaze to the half-eaten hamburger. “Adult matters are none of your business.”

“Tch.” Knock pouted dissatisfiedly but obediently went to the street.

Shen Siwei’s gaze remained on Knock.

He saw the little boy picking up the trash on the road one by one, then throwing the garbage into a nearby trash can, rummaging through it, finding some electronic parts and putting them into his large backpack.

“He’s an orphan,” Klet’s voice brought Shen Siwei’s attention back. “He makes a living by collecting junk and helps clean up garbage on the side.”

Shen Siwei could roughly guess why Knock was collecting junk.

There was no place for children to go to school in the Tree of Life, nor was there any corresponding social welfare. These unwanted newborns could only survive in the dark side of society.

“How old is he?” Shen Siwei asked.

“Twelve or thirteen?” Klet estimated, “He’s considered one of the older ones among the newborns.”

Shen Siwei thought that the birth of newborns had happened in the past two years, but he didn’t expect that they had appeared more than a decade ago.

Suddenly, as if triggering some switch, Shen Siwei’s nerves started to jump.”Knock didn’t seem to be the first little boy he had seen.

“‘Negotiator?’ klet walked into the elevator ahead, his tone impatient as usual. ‘How long are you going to stand there?’

The apartment was not a smart apartment, and it had an old-fashioned feel throughout.

“The security at the entrance was practically nonexistent, and garbage sorting relied on individual awareness. Even the elevator moved so slow.

As they exited the elevator, klet walked ahead and opened the door. ‘There’s only one bed in my place. You can sleep on the sofa tonight.’

“‘No way.’ Shen Siwei bypassed klet and walked into the room like a male cat claiming territory, taking the lead. ‘The sofa is yours, the bed is mine.’

Shen Siwei’s identity was a nobleman from Marg, or rather, a negotiator who came for negotiations. Any person with a little common sense wouldn’t let him sleep on the sofa.

But klet clearly disregarded common sense. He leisurely closed the door and said, ‘Are you sure you want to get on my bed? Although you’re not my type, I can reluctantly change my preferences.’

“Shen Siwei: ‘…’ he is really annoying.

“Not wanting to waste any more words with klet, Shen Siwei walked straight to the window.

Across the window, there happened to be an advertisement for adult products, with low-quality neon lights that almost blinded people.

While Shen Siwei closed the curtains, klet also turned on the lights in the room.

The square room was approximately forty to fifty square meters, cluttered with all sorts of odds and ends. Although it couldn’t be considered tidy, it exuded a strong sense of life.

It was obvious that this was not a temporary dwelling klet had found after leading the refugees’ attack.

This was his true ‘home.’

Shen Siwei unabashedly surveyed the entire room, and his gaze finally fell on a pale yellow stone on the coffee table.

If he remembered correctly, the stone was quite valuable.

“‘Wasteland Wolf’s Stone,’ klet explained, assuming that Shen Siwei didn’t know.

“Shen Siwei responded with a casual ‘oh,’ but he had figured it out in his mind.

A night in the presidential suite at the Kriston Grand Hotel costs tens of thousands. Shen Siwei was curious why klet would be willing to spend such a large sum of money. He thought klet was putting on airs, but he didn’t expect this leader of the refugees to be much wealthier than he imagined.

Just the Wasteland Wolf’s Stone alone was worth more than a natural diamond, something that even some wealthy people couldn’t buy.

Not to mention the other  valuable items in this small room, each of them appearing difficult to obtain.

Shen Siwei was genuinely curious, but he feigned being uninterested.

He took off his half-wet black tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt and walked into the bathroom, saying, ‘I’m going to take a shower, make yourself at home.’

Earlier, klet was drenched by the sprinkler system while retrieving the face mask for Shen Siwei.

When the tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt was worn on him, you could see the distinct muscular lines. But when he took off his clothes, his robust muscles were fully exposed to the light.

Shen Siwei had seen the naked bodies of many members of the action team, but no one was quite like klet. He resembled a slumbering beast, with every muscle seemingly containing boundless power.

A large tattoo covered his broad back, and Shen Siwei faintly saw some iconic scenery outside the Tree of Life, but before he could examine it closely, klet had already entered the shower.

The square room had no partitions whatsoever, and the bathroom was located in one corner of the room, with a transparent glass enclosure, only the middle part being frosted.

So when klet entered the stall and turned around, he saw Shen Siwei’s gaze fixed on him.

“‘There will be a charge for any more staring, negotiator,’ klet said nonchalantly as he loosened his belt.

Shen Siwei wasn’t intentionally trying to peek, but when klet turned around, he inadvertently noticed a blurry face tattooed on klet’s clean chest.

The face was divided in half, with one side on the frosted glass and the other side behind it. Shen Siwei subconsciously wanted to see it clearly, but klet caught him in the act.

Feeling uncomfortable, Shen Siwei withdrew his gaze and looked at the single bed in the other corner of the room. After some hesitation, he still sat on the sofa.

— One person was showering, one person was undressed, and the presence of the bed seemed somewhat inappropriate.

There were also some small items piled up on the sofa. Shen Siwei suddenly thought of knock, the little boy who scavenged for trash.

Why did he feel like he had seen other little boys like him before?”Ever since the signing of the “Declaration,” Shen Siwei hadn’t seen a newborn baby in a long time, let alone a young boy of that age.

He closed his eyes and tried hard to recall,  when the communicator beeped with a notification.

【Moran: Why did you change your address? Are you still in danger? Is the surrounding area safe?】

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted, and Shen Siwei glanced at klet, who was still showering, and only answered the last question.

【Shen Siwei: Safe】

Anticipating that Moran would call next, Shen Siwei inexplicably felt resistance, and considering the current circumstances, he added another sentence.

【Shen Siwei: Unable to talk】

Moran quickly replied to the message.

【Moran: Okay, don’t force yourself. Take care and rest.】

Force himself?

Shen Siwei couldn’t help but feel puzzled. He wasn’t in danger, so why would Moran give such a reminder?

If he had to say, his mind was just a bit chaotic at the moment, and there were things he wanted to understand.

Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness engulfed Shen Siwei.

He narrowed his eyes and vigorously shook his head, trying to resist, but his consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred.

After a moment, Shen Siwei collapsed onto the sofa, completely falling asleep.

klet didn’t bring any clean clothes into the bathroom.

He walked out of the compartment naked, thinking that the grumpy negotiator would complain again. However, he was surprised to see him sleeping soundly on the sofa.

“Weren’t you going to occupy my bed?” klet couldn’t help but find it amusing. “A little cat pretending to be a tiger.”

After changing his clothes, klet used a towel to dry his damp hair. He walked to the side of the sofa, intending to remove Shen Siwei’s mask and take a look.

But as soon as his fingers touched that metallic thing, Shen Siwei frowned, turned over, and the mask couldn’t be easily taken off anymore.

A pair of gracefully long legs were exposed outside the cloak due to his turning. klet’s gaze slightly narrowed, and then he waved his large hand, covering the legs with the cloak again.

Walking out onto the balcony, klet lit a cigarette, casually watching the dazzling advertisement for adult products, and then dialed Malken’s number.

“Boss, I’ve investigated it. There are only a dozen guests in the hotel, and none of them are suspicious.”

“What about the hotel staff?” klet asked.

“There are fewer than ten staff members, and none of them are suspicious either.” Malken paused and added, “However, there was a period of missing surveillance footage in the hotel. It’s highly likely that someone from outside broke into the hotel.”

“Isn’t Christon’s defense system the highest level for civilian use? How did they lose the surveillance footage?” klet questioned.

“I couldn’t hack into it, but that doesn’t mean professional hackers couldn’t.” Malken replied.

klet exhaled a puff of smoke in silence, then spoke slowly, “Understood, continue the investigation.”

“What about the negotiator?” Malken asked.

“We were mistaken before. He was probably really just watching the news,” klet explained. “He has no combat capability, so it’s best for him not to stay here. Tomorrow morning, I’ll send someone to escort him away.”

klet said that Shen Siwei isn’t his type because his fetish is black hair and black eyes.