"Merlin, stay at our house."

In the afternoon, Meilin accompanied her cousin and brother-in-law out of the restaurant. Meilin's red eyes held Meilin's hand. She said to her lost brother:

"Don't live outside, you can live with us."

Ben, who was standing beside Mei, kept nodding.

Although the scene at the first meeting was not friendly, Mr. Ben is a truly kind person, a reassuring person. Merlin noticed this while eating.

No wonder my beautiful cousin will eventually marry Mr. Ben, who is not handsome or rich.

"Or don't want it."

Meilin held her cousin's hand and said to Mei:

"I have an apartment on the hell's kitchen myself, and I have adopted a child. The most important thing is that I may be on a business trip to Europe tomorrow, and I don't know when I will be back."

He said to Mei apologetically:

"I will visit you when I come back."

"Oh well."

Mei and her husband looked at each other, and she nodded with regret.

When Meilin was about to leave, Mei suddenly stepped forward and hugged Meilin. Just like when she was a child, she gently patted Meilin on the back and said to him:

"Then you have to take good care of yourself, my brother."

"Um."

Merlin felt this sudden concern and the surging feelings that prompted him to nod seriously.

A few minutes later, he waved goodbye to his cousin and brother-in-law, and with the satisfaction of being filled with emptiness, Merlin started the car. He hummed a song and turned the steering wheel, and drove towards the direction of Hell's Kitchen.

The things that make people happy are over, and next, it’s time to do things that make people less happy.

"squeak"

With a light sound, Fury's classic Ford sedan, which was well maintained, was parked at the entrance of the St. Agnes Orphanage.

Merlin lowered the car window and looked at the orphanage in front of him. There was a quaint angel sculpture at the door and the crosses dotted around him, which all meant that this was a religious place.

This orphanage is completely different from the orphanage Merlin imagined.

It covers a large area, next to Hell Kitchen’s famous Church of St. Matthew and St. Agnes Monastery, which occupy almost a third of the block.

Moreover, when Merlin lived in Hell's Kitchen before, he had heard of the history of this church and monastery. It is said that it was built during the Civil War, and it has been more than a hundred years since now.

It is said that these three church buildings belong to a religious organization called the Sisters of the Holy Grace. The organization is headquartered in Europe, but has church properties all over the world. It was a very pious and huge organization. I heard that this organization was established in the Middle Ages.

Now, St. Matthew's Church and Monastery are run by a priest named Paul, a well-known theological master who often holds believers' mass in the church. Even in the chaotic Hell Kitchen neighborhood, Father Paul is a highly respected elder. He is happy to help those in need, regardless of whether they have done evil or not.

Merlin had met the priest several times before. Although he had never chatted, just from his appearance, the priest was indeed a kind person worthy of respect.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

Merlin was stopped by the orphanage security guard, who was wearing a baton and asked in a polite but alert tone. Merlin took out a formality from his pocket, handed it to him, and said:

"I am Eric Stevenson's guardian, and I'll take him home now."

"Oh, it's the parents of that bad guy."

After checking Merlin's documents, the security guard then felt relieved. He smiled and said to Merlin:

"Please wait here, I'll call Eric out now. You may not know yet that the bad boy was injured a few days ago, but it was not serious."

"oh?"

Merlin frowned and he asked:

"How did Eric get hurt?"

The security guard replied with a hint of gratitude:

"When the child was out, he was involved in a gunfight. A group of gangs robbed the store. It is said that four people died on the spot. He was so lucky that he could survive."

"A gunfight?"

Hearing this, Merlin shook her head helplessly:

“It’s really a feature of Hell’s Kitchen.”

Merlin waited outside the door for a few minutes and saw Eric, accompanied by security guards and a nun, with bandages on his arm and bleeding-relieving bandages on his face, being sent out.

The boy was wearing a baseball cap on his head, a hooded coat, and a small box, which looked decent. However, from his stronger body, it can be seen that this guy probably has not suffered in the past few months.

When he saw Merlin, Eric, who was talking to the nun, immediately put down the box and waved at Merlin hard. This action might have touched the wound, causing the little guy to grin again.

After saying goodbye to the nun, Merlin placed Eric's box in the trunk of the car and sat in the driver's seat. Eric sat in the back seat. After the vehicle started, Merlin closed the window and his gentle expression became serious.

He looked at Eric from the rearview mirror and he asked:

"I originally wanted to scold you because you changed three host families in 6 months, and it was obvious that you were making trouble on purpose. But seeing how you look now, I guess there should be hidden information here, right?"

"You're still smart! Merlin."

Eric stood up with a chuckle and lay behind Merlin's driver's seat. He lowered his voice and said to Merlin:

"Someone has discovered our secret and they are still hunting me."

"Um?"

Merlin narrowed her eyes and said:

"But you didn't bring the stuff with you, right?"

"Well, I followed your instructions and hid it."

"That's good! Now sit down and let's go back and talk."

"Buzz"

Fury's car let out a low roar, and the speed suddenly accelerated, rolling up the fallen leaves on the ground. Under Merlin's control, the car quickly drove to the front of the house that Fury prepared for him.

The house is a bit old, but it's pretty good. It comes with a garage and lawn, and there should be a yard at the back.

Merlin parked Fury's car in the garage, took Eric's salute, and the two opened the door, stood at the door, looking at their new home.

"Uh, don't you even have furniture?"

Merlin looked at the extremely simple living room in front of him, which was only three chairs and a dining table, which disappointed him.

He originally thought Fury would prepare everything for him.

Now it seems that Fury probably just sent someone to pay the rent.

“It’s pretty good.”

The boy Eric, who was standing next to Merlin, didn't care about the emptiness. He walked into the house and turned to Merlin and said:

“It’s much better than my home in Auckland.”

"You're easy to satisfy."

Merlin snorted, reached out to grab Eric's head, and made the boy's combed hair messy. He put his luggage away, then closed the door, took off his coat, and hung it on the hanger.

Merlin opened the refrigerator and there were a few bottles of water. He picked up one, twisted it away, and leaned against the wall at the edge of the living room. He looked at Eric and asked softly:

"Tell me, what's going on?"

“Is there anything to eat?”

Eric sat in the chair, staring at Merlin with his eyes wide open, and he said:

"I'm very hungry, and I'm talking while eating, okay?"

"I just ordered the pizza and it was delivered in a while."

Merlin pulled away the chair and sat next to Eric. He looked at the black boy in front of him and said seriously:

"And I think you should worry more about your life-threatening gunshot wounds than eating?"

"Well, they came for me."

A trace of nervousness flashed across Eric's face and he said to Merlin:

"Yesterday afternoon, Sister Perl and I went to buy things for the orphanage. As soon as we entered the store, three people rushed in, holding weapons. If Sister Perl had not asked me to escape from the back door, I would have been caught by them. I ran back to the monastery, but Sister Perl was shot and is still in the hospital."

"They weren't going to rob, they didn't take the counter money at all, but took my backpack."

Eric looked at Merlin, and he shrank his body in fear, and he said:

"Those people came for our vibrator."

"Shh!"

Merlin put his fingers beside his mouth and made a ban on Eric, and he whispered:

"Speak softer, let me first talk about what happened to your previous boarding trips? Why did you run away on purpose?"

"Because they've been chasing me!"

Eric explained to Merlin:

"After you left, I was sent to an old couple's house. They were very nice and I liked them very much. But on the seventh day of my stay, I found that at night, there were always people wandering outside the yard. At first I thought it was a thief, but until my room was 'customed' twice, I knew that it was definitely not a thief."

The black kid raised his head and said:

"Which thief doesn't go to the bedroom to steal things, but keeps searching for my house? Fortunately, after I arrived in New York, I hid the things, otherwise I would have been stolen that time."

"I deliberately quarrel with the old couple and was sent back to the St. Agnes Orphanage, where I want to go."

Eric shrugged at Merlin:

"I just hid the thing there."

"Don't tell me this, Eric, that's your thing, your secret."

Merlin shook his head, he looked at the time and asked again:

"Is this the reason for the second and third boarding houses?"

"Well, the second time is."

Eric whispered:

"I told Sister Pell that I don't want to leave the orphanage, but Father Paul said that every child needs affection. So he contacted me with the second family, which was the same as the first family. But the third homestay came to me with the door!"

The smart black child looked around and said to Merlin in a mysterious way:

"They were pretending well, they wanted to adopt me, but I still found out that they were subordinates of the lunatic Crow! My father had their pictures, and I've seen them once."

"Crazy Crow?"

When Merlin heard the name, she suddenly felt very familiar. He tried hard to recall it, and finally, he remembered it.

"You're talking about Ulysses Crow? The guy who rushed into Wakanda and snatched vibrator?"

"Yes! That's the name!"

Eric stood up from his chair, and he described the man to Merlin:

"When I was in Oakland, one time when I came home from school, I saw Crow talking to my father at my house. He had a strong smell of alcohol and scars on his neck. The guy tried to give me candy. But my father stopped him."

"My father secretly told me that Crowe was a real lunatic and told me not to approach him easily."

"Well, if that's the case, that makes sense."

Merlin nodded and said to Eric:

"Crow cooperated with your father and stole a batch of vibrators from Wakanda, and most of them were taken away by Crow, but that guy was obsessed with the batch of vibrators in your father's hands. After your father disappeared, he stared at you."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

Eric nodded vigorously, and he looked at Merlin with hope:

"Merlin, can you think of a way to catch Crow?"

"It may not be too difficult to catch it."

Merlin thought, and he said to Eric:

"But I'm going to Europe tomorrow, and I'll talk about it when I come back. You'll stay in the St. Agnes Orphanage these few days, is it okay?"

"Of course it's OK."

Eric is a very precocious child. He can understand Merlin's difficulties. He said to Merlin:

"The orphanage is very good. The people in it are very kind to everyone. The nuns and nannies are also very nice to us. There are many children going to school with me. Father Paul will tell us stories. I like it there. And there is a police station next to the church, and Crow's dog legs dare not enter the church."

"Okay, I'll send you back tonight."

Merlin said to Eric:

"You stay there and wait for me to come back. Speaking of which, I haven't seen you for 5 months, but you're feeling much better. Have you made new friends?"

"Of course."

Eric shrugged, and he said:

"The children in the orphanage are not as old as me. They all like to play with me. The nuns asked me to take care of those little ones. I also helped Father Paul clean the church and set up the mass for him. Oh, by the way! I also have to take care of Little Aida while the nuns eat."

"Little Aida?"

Merlin looked back at Eric and asked:

"Who is that?"

"A 2-year-old baby."

The doorbell rang, Eric stood up and picked up the delivered pizza at the door. He sniffed the fragrance and said to Merlin:

"I heard from Sister Perl that she was placed at the entrance of the orphanage on a night two years ago. No one knows who Little Ada's parents are. Even the name Little Ada was given to her by Father Paul. Many people say that Little Ada is in trouble because any family that adopts her will suffer bad luck. But Little Ada is very cute, she is very obedient, she doesn't cry or make a fuss, and is much better than other children."

"You said she was in trouble?"

Merlin moved his fingers for a moment, and he said to himself:

"How come this sounds familiar."
Chapter completed!