After finishing his last glass of beer, Durin pulled out four copper circle coins, left the tavern from Third Avenue, and spent an hour returning to his residence.
As he was about to take a shower, Durin noticed that his neighbor, Miss Amy, happened to be returning from outside at the same time.
She had dry, brownish-yellow short hair and a very ordinary appearance. Coupled with slightly darkened skin, she would blend into any crowd without standing out at all, completely lacking any distinctive features.
Her thin body was wrapped in old clothes that had been washed so many times their original color was unrecognizable. Perhaps the only thing that made her memorable was a tear mole under her left eye.
When leaving the tavern, Durin had specifically glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 7:10 PM. He estimated the current time to be a little past 8:00 PM.
Durin hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak up and ask, "Uh… Miss Amy, have you found a job yet?"
Miss Amy, wearing a mask, subconsciously looked up, her face showing disappointment, and she shook her head, responding weakly, "No… no."
Suddenly, she looked up and bravely asked, "Mr. Durin, can you… can you lend me one silver lun coin? I… I'm still short a bit."
"This…"
Durin was stunned, his face showing hesitation.
Although his total assets were 14 silver lun coins and 22 copper circle coins, to be honest, he wasn't very familiar with his neighbor, Miss Amy. So, he was still unwilling to lend her the money.
Given the harsh environment in Zaun, lending her this silver lun coin would be like throwing it away, with virtually no chance of getting it back.
Looking at the hesitant Durin, his neighbor, Miss Amy, lowered her head, deliberately unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, and whispered, "Mr. Du, as long as you agree to my request, anything is fine…"
Durin paused, then after a moment of silence, whispered, "How about this, Miss Amy, I'll lend you 20 copper circle coins. Consider it payment for the dinner you treated me to last time. You can pay me back whenever it's convenient for you. As for the rest, you can ask others."
Durin softened his heart a little. He didn't expect to get back the 20 copper circle coins he lent out.
"Thank… thank you." Amy lowered her head, took the 20 copper circle coins from Durin's hand, and somewhat awkwardly re-buttoned her shirt.
"It's nothing. I'll go rest now."
Durin only sighed at this, silently lamenting the hardships of life.
Then he lowered his head to take a shower, and after finishing, he wearily returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
…
Just as Durin was in a daze, he suddenly heard a quarrel coming from outside his room.
"Listen! I can lend you money, but you need to sleep with me."
"I… I… no!"
"You bitch, don't think I don't know what you were talking about with that kid Durin just now! Damn it, do you think that kid is good-looking and deliberately stuck to him?!"
"I didn't!"
The quarrel outside grew more intense, leaving Durin sleepless. He frowned, got out of bed, picked up the page hammer from the table, strapped it to his waist, and then pushed open the door and walked out.
He saw a hunched old man, only reaching Durin's chest, wearing a greasy, shiny shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed in ages, dark with grime.
The man had messy, greasy short hair, a faint red flush on his face, and a pair of shifty rat-like eyes darting around, as if calculating something. Beneath his two wisps of graying mustache, a foul-smelling mouth was spread in a grin, and two buck teeth seemed unable to tolerate such a truly lewd face, popping out of his mouth. A strand of bright white goatee, however, seemed to be regularly groomed, shining with a greasy luster.
Durin didn't know the lewd old man's name, but he knew he was also one of the neighbors. He usually did disreputable work, like digging for strange mushrooms in the Undercity, and occasionally scavenging for scraps in abandoned junkyards.
All the money he earned each month would be spent on women and pills, such as visiting brothels to find cheap prostitutes to satisfy his physiological desires, and then buying hallucinogenic pills from drug dealers to feel euphoric.
This lewd old man was forcefully gripping Amy's left hand, pulling and tugging.
"I'm not borrowing money! Let go of me!"
Amy tried to break free from the lewd old man's grip, shouting anxiously.
"No! You don't have a choice, you must borrow money! Don't forget what happens if you don't have money for rent!" the lewd old man threatened grimly.
"You…"
Amy instantly fell silent.
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