Chapter 95: Chapter 78: Halloween Cold Rainy Night

The temperature outside had already dropped below 10 degrees Celsius. With the rain, the wind chill would likely make it feel close to freezing.

He closed the door.

After returning to his room, he received a text from Anya. She said it was a real shame that it was raining and that Auntie Kaja was keeping a close eye on her (a message accompanied by an emoji of a princess locked in a dungeon), so she probably wouldn’t be able to go out today.

Though Li Wei felt a little disappointed himself, he told her to get some rest and not let the Halloween ghosts get her.

Anya: They won’t, because I’m a cute ghost.

Just as Li Wei was texting with Anya, the doorbell suddenly rang.

’People are still asking for candy this late?’ Li Wei walked downstairs in surprise, opened the door, and saw them. "Good evening... kids."

They were a group of kids, only six or seven years old, wearing the cheapest plastic Superman capes from the supermarket. The rain had rendered their masks semi-transparent, plastering them to their small faces, which were blue with cold.

They clutched chipped plastic buckets, their voices as faint as a mosquito’s hum. "Trick or treat."

Li Wei looked down at them.

These children didn’t have the smiles of the middle-class families from Bei Ling Ridge, and the shoes on their feet were tattered and worn.

"Where are your parents?" Li Wei asked.

"Working... Sick... Don’t know..."

"Can we have two portions?" a little girl asked, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes. "One... one is for my dad. He hasn’t eaten today."

Li Wei took a deep breath.

"Come on in," he said. "It’s a little too cold outside."

Li Wei’s natural gas boiler and radiators made the house toasty warm. The heat dried the mud on the children’s shoes, leaving a trail of little footprints on the floor.

Seeing that they had dirtied Li Wei’s floor, the children huddled together nervously by the door.

"It’s okay," Li Wei said. "Come in, warm up for a bit."

First, he boiled a kettle of water. Then, he had Don Quixote help him bring up two cases of whole milk and two tubs of protein powder from the basement—he had just restocked yesterday.

"Drink some water and catch your breath," Li Wei said. "Just eating candy at night isn’t going to help."

"S-sir," a little boy said timidly, "we don’t have any money..."

"Fack..." Li Wei groaned. He wasn’t even sure what he was swearing at. Turning back to the kids, he said, "It’s alright. I’m not taking your money."

He took out his shaker cup, poured in seven or eight scoops of protein powder, mixed it with milk, and then poured a full, large cup for each child.

"Go on, drink up. It’s chocolate flavored," he said, handing the shakes to the kids. "After you finish, you can have something else to eat."

He picked up his phone, searched for nearby restaurants, and chose the cheapest value meal from McDonald’s: the McDouble. For only 5 USD, you got a main dish, a small order of fries, and a small drink.

[You have received a quest: The Eight Virtues of a Knight]

[The common folk are plagued by suffering and pain. They plead for a Knight’s salvation from hunger. Number Helped: 0/50]

[Quest Reward: Spirit +0.1]

"50?" Li Wei was stunned for a moment.

’It looks like this quest is impossible to complete,’ he thought. But it didn’t matter to Li Wei. It was just a dozen or so McDonald’s meals.

After finishing their shakes and sitting in the warm house for a while, color started to return to the children’s faces, and they began to look sleepy.

The order, for which Li Wei had paid a 15 USD delivery fee, finally arrived.

"Take these, two meals for each of you," he said, handing out the combos to the children. "If you have family back home, take one for them."

"God will bless you, sir..."

"Thank you for your generosity!"

The children chattered excitedly as they surrounded Li Wei, bowing their thanks before disappearing into the cold, rainy night. Li Wei’s system panel instantly jumped from 0 to 9.

’Looks like three of the kids’ parents will get through the night because of this meal,’ Li Wei thought.

After closing the door, Li Wei went back to texting Anya, telling her what had just happened.

Anya: That’s so sad... I’ve never seen anything like that.

Li Wei: I gave them two McDonald’s meals each. Hopefully, it makes their night a little easier.

Anya: Give me your bank account number. I want to pitch in.

Although Li Wei didn’t want her to spend money, the thought of her making over 2 million USD a quarter made him immediately send his account number to Anya.

A few seconds later, a full 10,000 USD was deposited into Li Wei’s account.

Li Wei: ?

Li Wei: This is enough to buy McDonald’s for the whole neighborhood.

Anya: It’s no big deal. You went to a lot of trouble, too. Just keep the rest and treat me to ice cream next time.

Li Wei looked at his account balance and suddenly had a strong urge to loudly refute Emma.

’Russians don’t go Dutch. Russians just treat you.’

Li Wei cleaned up the countertop and went upstairs.

A while later, the doorbell rang again.

Li Wei went to the door again and saw more than ten teenagers, slightly older than the six and seven-year-olds, huddled and shivering under the eaves.

"Mister..." Seeing Li Wei open the door, the Latin American boy in the lead spoke up. "We just ran into some little kids. They said you’re giving out food here. Is that true?"

"Just a second," Li Wei said, heading back inside with his phone. "Come in and have some water first."

He again opened the McDonald’s app, but this time, instead of placing an order, he called the store directly. He ordered 200 Double Cheeseburger meals, with sodas and fries.

"You must be crazy, sir," the employee on the other end of the line said. "We only have six people working right now."

"I’ll give an extra 50 USD to each employee as a tip," Li Wei said. "I need it delivered within 40 minutes."

"One hundred USD," the manager said. "The quantity you’re asking for is too large."

"Just 50 USD," Li Wei was frugal where he could be. "There’s another McDonald’s one mile away."

Li Wei turned around and looked at the teenagers in the house.

"This is for today only," he said. "If you know anyone else who’s cold and hungry today and can get here within an hour, I’ll take care of them."

He paused for a moment. "I’m no saint, and I’m not Jesus. This is as much as I can do. If you call over all your friends and too many people show up, I won’t be able to help."

"Understood, understood, sir," a teenager said. "You’re truly an angel."

Another teenager gave Li Wei a quick bow and had already run out the door.

The news spread faster than the rain through the poor districts of Eighth Avenue and Sunset Park.

In addition to the young children, more older kids, and even some young Black men and Latin American immigrants in worn-out work clothes, appeared under the eaves. Most of them, due to poverty and their status as illegal immigrants, received no social assistance on a holiday like this.

The manager himself drove over with the 200 meals. After he opened the trunk, the greasy aroma of the fried food made the eyes of the waiting crowd practically glow green with hunger.

The quest panel updated rapidly:

[35/50]

[48/50]...

[Quest: The Eight Virtues of a Knight has been completed.]

Finally, when no one else came to the door, the number stopped at [157/50].

Far exceeding the number required by the system.

Li Wei took a deep breath, firmly closed the door, and began to clean up.

[Reward: Spirit +0.1 has been granted.]

[Your compassion is now known to all. As you have far exceeded the quest’s requirements, you are granted an additional reward: Free Attribute Point +0.1]

"I actually turned a profit on this," Li Wei muttered while mopping the floor. "Buying all those meals cost less than 3,000 USD..."

The time gradually approached midnight, and the rain had nearly stopped.

Don Quixote was already fast asleep.

Unlike Don Quixote, Li Wei was now fully geared up, wearing a Spider-Man mask over his head.

The atmosphere outside today seemed perfect for triggering a quest, and he wasn’t about to miss this once-a-year opportunity.

After a final glance at Don Quixote’s room, Li Wei pushed open the door and stepped out.