Chapter 94: Barret’s Adopted Daughter

Facing the incoming club, Aiden didn't even think to dodge. He casually reached out and, under the leader's cruel grin, caught the club.

The leader's expression immediately turned to shock. He tried to yank the club back, but it didn't budge. He instantly realized this man was no pushover, he'd kicked a steel plate.

As he hesitated whether to call it a misunderstanding, Aiden raised a foot and kicked him flying, right into that alley by coincidence.

"Ah-ow!" the leader cried out miserably.

The remaining gangsters who saw this all swallowed nervously and took a few steps back, giving Aiden a clear path.

"Smart move," Aiden grinned, tossed aside the club, and turned to leave.

"Ah!"

Just then, from the alley where the leader had rolled into, a tender, childish scream rang out. A dust-covered little girl ran out.

Right after that small gang leader also came limping out, then shouted toward the subordinates frozen in place, "What are you still standing there for? It's her! Quickly grab her, don't let her get away!"

Only then did those few subordinates react and chase after her.

The girl didn't run a few steps before falling. She tried to get up, but maybe she was too tired, she tried several times and didn't succeed. She could only turn around, supporting herself with both hands on the ground, and kept moving backward.

But how far could she move like that? The girl could only watch as the thugs got closer and closer to her.

Seeing that she was about to be caught by the thugs, the girl helplessly covered her eyes.

But before the imagined scene of being caught by bad people could appear, the girl heard several dull thuds, then a few sounds of heavy things falling to the ground.

The girl peeked through a small gap between her hands that were covering her eyes, her lively eyes sneaked a look, and she saw that all those thugs had fallen to the ground. The only one still standing was actually that stranger uncle she had secretly peeked at earlier.

"Can you stand up by yourself? Or do you need me to help?" Aiden frowned as he looked at the dust-covered girl in front of him and asked.

He had ultimately gotten himself into trouble.

The girl moved away the hand covering her eyes, shook her head, then supported herself on the ground, trying to get up.

This time, she succeeded and stood up straight. Just as she was about to say thank you to this young and handsome uncle in front of her, she heard the sound of dense footsteps behind her.

The girl turned her head and saw a large group of thugs holding sticks. They were also coming to catch her.

The girl immediately ran toward Aiden, but hadn't run a few steps before she fell again.

Looking at those thugs rushing toward the girl, Aiden sighed, stepped forward, scooped up the girl, tucked her under his arm, then turned around and ran.

There were too many thugs, at least one or two hundred. Although he was confident he could beat them all, that would waste some time.

Moreover, someone who could command that many thugs definitely had some abilities, and maybe even had ties to Shinra. For now, he didn't want to provoke them.

Aiden's speed was very fast, in the blink of an eye, he had shaken off those thugs.

But he didn't stop immediately. He continued to run wildly with the girl through several more streets, finally stopping in an alley.

Just after putting the girl down, she held onto his leg and started vomiting. After all, Aiden was a human, not a car with suspension, after all that running, it would be strange if the girl didn't throw up.

Seeing the girl vomiting like a mess, Aiden felt a little embarrassed. He took out a bottle of water from his storage space, unscrewed the cap, and handed it over.

"Rinse your mouth." Aiden said gently.

"Thank you... uncle." The girl gave her thanks, took the bottle, rinsed her mouth, then hugged the bottle and took a small sip to calm her still wildly beating heart.

After the girl rested for a while, Aiden finally asked, "Why were they chasing you?"

As he asked, Aiden also looked the girl over, covered in dust from head to toe, her face also covered in grime so her features weren't clear. But her facial outline was delicate. If she grew up, she'd definitely be a great beauty. However, Aiden thought the girl looked like a beggar, normally such children wouldn't live long enough to grow up.

"They were chasing me because of my dad." The girl hugged the water bottle and took another sip before continuing, "They want to catch me and use me to threaten my dad."

"Threaten your dad?" Aiden was a bit curious. "Is your dad some incredible figure?"

"No, my dad is just a volunteer police officer." The girl thought of her father's side job and a proud smile bloomed on her face, it was clear she was very pleased with what her father did.

"Just a volunteer police?" Aiden was a bit puzzled. He searched his memory, but really couldn't recall such a powerful person in the slums.

After all, back when he played this game, it was for Aerith and Tifa. He only knew the general storyline. He didn't pay attention to the details, or rather, wasn't in the mood to care.

"Hmph, don't look down on volunteer police. My dad is really liked by the civilians. He always does his best to help others. He's the best person in the world." The girl was a bit unhappy with Aiden's reaction and started praising her father.

"Sounds really admirable." Aiden had respect for good people. He immediately straightened up and said seriously.

"Of course!" The girl proudly lifted her head.

"But in the end, your dad is just a volunteer police. Even if they catch you to threaten him, what can he do?" Aiden continued asking.

"That, I don't know." The girl shook her head. "No one told me."

"Alright then." Aiden shrugged.

"By the way, should I take you home?" Aiden looked at the girl and asked. Anyway, he was already in trouble, might as well be a good guy to the end.

"Ah, uncle, you'll take me home?" Hearing this, the girl immediately pounced onto Aiden, rubbing her dirty little face hard on his pants, "Uncle, you're so nice. Just like my dad!"

"That's nice to hear." Aiden patted the girl's head but then quickly pulled his hand back. This kid had probably been running outside for several days, she was filthy.

"But before I take you home, I have to take you for a bath. You're way too dirty." Aiden looked at his now dusty pants, simply picked the girl up again, and asked, "Are you familiar with this place? I'll take you to find an inn."

"I've never been to this district. I was chased here." The girl shook her head and said.

"That's troublesome." Aiden sighed and carried the girl out of the alley.

Halfway through, Aiden remembered something.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The girl smiled sweetly at him and said, "Just call me Marlene."

"Marlene!" Hearing this name, Aiden first froze, then his pupils shrank suddenly.

His limited memory of the side plot made him remember. A former member of Avalanche named Barret had an adopted daughter, named Marlene.

To confirm if it was true, Aiden thought for a bit and asked again, "What's your father's name?"

"Barret Wallace," Marlene said in a crisp and clear voice.

'Well damn, it really is him.'

That former Avalanche branch leader, a key supporting character in the story.

Aiden stayed silent for a long time, then finally sighed, carried Marlene, and started looking for an inn on the streets.

———

Midgar was a highly developed city.

Of course, the so-called "developed" only applied to the upper districts. The lower-district civilians mostly struggled just to stay fed, and their quality of life was pitifully low, being able to fill their stomachs was already considered good.

As for all of Midgar, basically everything revolved around the upper districts, after all, it was controlled by the Shinra Company. Everything was essentially in service of the rich.

So, Midgar was a very punk city.

Highly advanced technology, but bottom-tier living conditions for the people. The whole city had no government, everything ran under the control of giant corporations.

So if Midgar wasn't cyberpunk, what was?

Aiden walked with Marlene for a long time but couldn't find a decent inn. A few places looked okay from the outside, but inside it was all shady business, a bunch of unpleasant stuff.

With no choice, Aiden could only wander the streets with Marlene. He even considered, if they really couldn't find a place to stay, maybe just finding a relatively clean alley to get through the night.

"Poor little Marlene, looks like we'll have to sleep on the street tonight." On a remote street, Aiden said to the girl in his arms.

"Whatever, anywhere's fine. I'm already sleepy anyway." The little girl had been running for a long time and didn't care. She rested her head on Aiden's shoulder and changed into a more comfortable position as she spoke.

Used as a bed, Aiden helplessly shrugged, then walked a bit more before sitting on a bench by the roadside.

This street was relatively lively. Even late at night, people occasionally passed by. He even saw someone in a traditional robe, like a priest, walk past him.

So, while lightly patting Marlene's back, Aiden started thinking about one thing. That was, what did the religious believers in this world believe in?

Whether in the games he'd played or the anime he'd seen, religious buildings always appeared. But there was never any real writing on what faith these people followed.

'Maybe Ancients? Or Jenova?' Aiden started imagining randomly.

No wonder people say religion and philosophy are the best sleeping pills. After a while, Aiden also got sleepy, his eyelids started drooping. He took out a coat from his system storage space, draped it over the now-sleeping Marlene, and then slowly closed his eyes.

But just as he was half-asleep, a painful cry suddenly rang in his ears.

His nerves instantly tightened. He opened his eyes, gun in one hand, Marlene in the other, eyes sharply looking toward the source of the sound.

Then he saw, not far from him, a middle-aged woman kneeling on the ground, hugging her foot and gasping in pain.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Marlene's sleep was also light. She was awakened by Aiden's movement, rubbed her eyes, and asked.

"An auntie fell, maybe twisted her ankle." Aiden frowned and said.

Hearing this, Marlene perked up. As kind-hearted as her foster father, she jumped down from Aiden's arms, looked around, and asked, "Where is she?"

Then she also saw the woman who had fallen.

Marlene hurried over, trying to help the woman up. But being so young, she couldn't lift an adult. She could only turn her head back pitifully and look at Aiden.

"Uncle…"

Aiden sighed helplessly, got up, and walked over to help the woman up.

"Thank you." The middle-aged woman raised her head, revealing a still-charming face, and thanked Aiden.

Aiden waved his hand, motioning not to be so polite, then helped the woman over to the bench and squatted down to check where she was injured.

Very quickly, Aiden finished checking. The blonde woman had only twisted her ankle, it wasn't a serious injury. She'd recover after resting a few days.

However, for now, she wouldn't be able to walk easily. Her ankle was visibly red and swollen.

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