"Quiet! Everyone shut your mouths! You! Don Quixote Cervantes! Don't you move!"
A burly white foreman, who looked to be at least twice as wide as Don Quixote, shouted into a megaphone.
After shouting, he repeated himself in Spanish.
"Leto!" Don Quixote didn't back down an inch. "Why are you delaying our pay for a week! Don't you know we have credit cards to pay off! We have rent to pay!"
"Listen, okay? This wasn't my decision!"
Leto waved the walkie-talkie in his hand irritably. The blast from the megaphone made everyone's eardrums ache.
"The company's financial system was hacked! The corporate accounts and payment gateway are locked down, so we can't issue pay this week!" he shouted. "You'll get it next week! Now, everyone get back to your posts!"
After he repeated himself again in Spanish, a volley of curses erupted from the crowd. A few workers from Latin America and Mexico clenched their fists, but hesitated when they saw the private security guards in the crowd armed with batons.
"Murder!"
Don Quixote said.
"What did you say?!"
"Murder! You heard me," Don Quixote said, pointing at Leto. "Can't you see who's standing in front of you? We're living, breathing people! In this damn, man-eating New York, in this damn Queens, whose fridge has enough food to last a week? Who can afford next week's rent?"
A Mexican worker next to him, who looked to be in his thirties, tugged on Don Quixote's sleeve. "Don, you're moving out soon. You don't have to get involved—"
"We get paid weekly! Our lives are a seven-day cycle," Don Quixote roared, spinning around and shaking off the worker's hand. He continued his tirade without restraint. "If they don't get paid today, their landlords will kick them out tomorrow! That very night, they'll have to line up for that damned three-block-long relief line to get stale, hard bread!"
"How are people supposed to live?! By robbing people? Selling their blood? Or should they let their wives walk the streets?" he said. "If you don't pay us today, will even half of these people still be here to collect their wages next week?"
"That's not our company's problem," Leto said stiffly. "I told you, the account was hacked! With all the leave, absences, and overtime, there's no way to calculate the payroll. I can't pay you."
When Li Wei met Don Quixote, Don Quixote was actually one of the better-off ones. He had scrimped and saved to rent a basement apartment by the month. This was because, as a top student from the University of Chicago, he knew what a massive snowball interest and compound interest could become.
But most of the other workers were semi-literate, products of a "happy education" system. They could only see what was right in front of them, and that was all they could focus on.
Weekly rent, weekly pay... all sorts of strange bills.
The lives of these weekly-wage earners were balanced on an extremely fragile point. A single straw could make the whole thing collapse.
For example, a single delayed paycheck would very likely mean they couldn't pay next week's rent and would be kicked out. Then they'd end up sleeping under a bridge or in a subway station, where they could be chased off, beaten, or robbed by the homeless or by gangs. After that, the difficulty of getting medical treatment would cause their situation to deteriorate rapidly.
Even if they got their original wages the following week, it would be difficult for their lives to return to their previous balance.
Don Quixote was furious, and the workers behind him also let out angry shouts and curses.
Across from them, the private security guards hired by the construction company advanced silently, brandishing their batons.
Just as Li Wei was about to step forward and stand with Don Quixote, a 'DING' sound echoed in his mind:
[You have received a quest: Weaken the Strong and Aid the Weak]
[A Knight must possess a just heart that can perceive the truth. Assist Knight Don Quixote in uncovering the truth, help the workers solve their immediate problem, and drive out the greedy.]
[Quest Reward: +0.1 Free Attribute Points]
Li Wei pressed his lips together. He glanced at the angry workers and the numerous security guards, thought for a moment, then pushed through the crowd and walked forward.
He patted Don Quixote's shoulder, telling him to calm down.
Don Quixote had just gritted his teeth, ready to charge forward, when he turned and saw Li Wei's face. He was taken aback. "You... What are you doing here?"
"I called you, but you didn't pick up," Li Wei said, waggling his phone. "I came to see what you were up to."
"We can talk about the move later," Don Quixote said, trying to push Li Wei behind him. "You should get out of here first—"
Li Wei pushed aside Don Quixote's arm. "Uncle, let me talk to him."
Don Quixote looked from the menacing Leto to the well-proportioned Li Wei and, without another word, pulled Li Wei behind him.
He pulled hard, only to find Li Wei's body was planted on the ground like a load-bearing wall. He couldn't budge him no matter how hard he tried.
"It's okay," Li Wei said. "Let me handle this."
'Since the system said Leto is a greedy person, my [Eloquent Speech] skill will most likely work.'
'If Leto proves impervious to reason, well, I happen to have some strength of my own.'
"Mr. Leto," Li Wei said. "I'm speaking on behalf of Don Quixote. Could we talk in private?"
Leto frowned, sizing up Li Wei.
Li Wei's looks, bearing, and manner of speech were completely out of place on this construction site, which reeked of sweat and dust. It made Leto feel vaguely unnerved.
He waved his hand, signaling the guards to disperse, and led Li Wei into a nearby sheet-metal shack.
Don Quixote tried to go inside with Li Wei but was blocked by the guards at the door.
As soon as they were inside, Leto said, "Kid, I don't care who you are, but the system really is down! Nobody is getting paid this week."
Li Wei coughed twice, and the [Eloquent Speech] skill from his attribute panel activated.
"Mr. Leto," Li Wei said, "I think you'll have to pay them eventually. Otherwise, those workers won't be able to survive, and you don't want that to happen, do you?"
Leto's expression suddenly went slack, and his tone became slow and heavy.
[Eloquent Speech] had taken effect.
"No," he said slowly. "I want them to be unable to collect their pay."
Li Wei froze. He hadn't expected such a response from Leto.
"Why?" he pressed. "How does losing workers benefit the construction company?"
"They're just workers. Like cockroaches in the sewer," Leto sneered. "New York is full of legal and illegal immigrants, a massive labor pool. Everyone wants to come to the United States of America, everyone wants to come to New York. When they don't show up tomorrow, we'll just hire a new batch. A lot of them are illegal immigrants anyway, or they don't have work visas allowing them to work in construction. Even if we pocket their money, no one will do anything about it."
"Who's gonna care? The union? The immigration office?" he said. "Besides, the company's system really was hacked a while ago, and it still hasn't been fixed."
Li Wei thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to slightly twist Leto's perception.
...
Don Quixote waited anxiously outside, his mind racing with all sorts of terrible scenarios.
He suddenly hated himself for letting Li Wei go into a room alone with Leto. As someone whose wages were often docked by Leto for flimsy reasons, he knew all too well what kind of person Leto was.
"Don, listen to me," the older worker from before sidled up and whispered, "I don't see many guards over here. Should we get a few guys and, together—"
He gestured toward the sheet-metal shack.
"No, Jose," Don Quixote frowned. "What if my nephew gets hurt?"
"Whatever it takes," Jose said, gritting his teeth, "I have to get my money today. My wife is about to give birth. I can't let her take clients anymore, or she'll have a miscarriage."