Chapter 774: Crying in the Secret Room

In the basement, Goofy, Lisa, Claire, and Mario all listen to Carl Freddy's confession.

Only Simba, the lion, had no interest in what the man was doing, wandering around like a police dog, sniffing here and there.

The lion returned to the kitchen where he had fought just now, smelled the body of the shifter beast, shook his head in disgust, turned towards the fireplace, and stuck his head into the hearth curiously.

At this time, there was a sudden slight movement on the inside of the wall next to the furnace, which aroused the big cat's alert.

Simba leaned over and put his ear against the wall to listen. He seemed to notice something, turned his head and roared at the door.

Gao Fei heard the lion's roar and turned around in surprise: "Simba, what's wrong?"

"It seems to have discovered a secret door." The animal tamer girl communicated with her lion. "Musk, let's go and take a look. Maybe there are other secrets hidden in this basement."

Mario and Lisa were left to guard Carl Freddy while Goofy followed Claire back to the kitchen next door.

As soon as they reached the lion, the two heard a slight cry from behind the wall.

"That's the noise!" Claire slapped her forehead, "I almost forgot that when we sneaked in before, we heard the cry of a child in the kitchen. It turned out that we were hiding here!"

Goofy switched out the "thief mask" and looked closely at the wall. He quickly found the switch disguised as a wall lamp bracket. When he pressed it, the wall made a loud noise and slowly opened to one side.

At the same time, Gao Fei received a side mission prompt issued by the system: rescue the street boy Oliver Twisted!

Behind the secret door, there is only a small birdcage-like room, and apart from the fist-sized ventilation window, there is no other channel to communicate with the outside world.

A boy wearing shabby clothes and a peaked cap was huddled in the corner with his knees in his arms.

Hearing the sound of opening the door, the boy raised his head, his delicate little face stained with tears, and his eyes full of fear.

"Don't be afraid, kid, we are not bad people." Claire comforted the frightened boy softly.

The boy remained silent, as if he didn't trust the stranger.

Gao Fei saw what he was worried about and said gently: "Freddy and his wife have been brought to justice. We are here to rescue the street children abducted by this evil couple. If you are one of them, you might as well tell us about your experience. Maybe We can find a better place for you than the workhouse."

After listening to his words, the boy finally felt relieved, stood up tremblingly, and prayed excitedly.

"Good-hearted lady, kind-hearted gentleman, you must be from heaven, and you are the angels sent by the Lord to save me!"

Gao Fei smiled helplessly and asked him: "What's your name?"

"Oliver Drizzt is at your service." The boy took off his hat and bowed politely.

"Wow~ You are very polite!" Claire praised the boy with a smile, "You look like a little gentleman."

"I don't dare to take this seriously." Little Oliver looked embarrassed. "I am just a dishonorable illegitimate child, a lonely wandering child. Thanks to the kind Mr. Brownlow, he took me in and taught me regardless of my humble background. I read and read.”

"So, you have been adopted by a kind family, why do you want to return to the streets and the workhouse?"

Claire asked in surprise.

"Well..." Little Oliver scratched his head in embarrassment, "Miss, I used to be one of a group of bad boys. They instigated me to steal things. If I didn't want to, they teamed up to beat me. I was beaten. I was beaten so badly that I had to let them control me.”

"I was very happy at Brownlow's house, which made my street friends very unhappy. They came to me privately and asked me to steal Mr. Brownlow's money. I refused and said that I had given up. They threatened me to tell Mr. Brownlow that I was also a street pickpocket and ask him to kick me out..." Little Oliver's eyes were red.

"What a bunch of despicable little hooligans!" Claire said angrily, "Scumbags like this deserve to be eaten by the old witch!"

"Sister! Don't talk nonsense!" Gao Fei quickly interrupted the red-haired girl, and then asked Oliver: "So you gave in?"

"I didn't." Little Oliver shook his head stubbornly, "Let me steal Mr. Brownlow's money and repay kindness with hatred. I will never be able to do such a thing."

"What happened next?"

"I refused the threats from my street friends, but I was afraid that they would reveal the bad things I had done. I thought that instead of waiting until Mr. Brownlow learned the truth and kicked me out of the house, I might as well be smarter, pack up and get out."

"And just like that, I was back on the streets, a street kid again."

"Not a few days later, I saw a missing person notice posted on the gas lamp pole on the street. It was Mr. Brownlow who was looking for me. He also said he would forgive me for the mistakes I had made due to ignorance in the past and hoped that I could return to him as soon as possible. beside……"

Little Oliver couldn't help but choke up.

"The more Mr. Brownlow treats me kindly and forgives me, the more inferior I feel, and I don't want to damage his reputation because of my background and misdeeds..."

"Even if you don't want to go back to Brownlow's house, why did you come to the workhouse again?" Claire asked.

"Because... there is food to eat here." The boy said the truth embarrassedly.

"When I beg on the street, I may not always meet kind-hearted people giving alms, but here with Mrs. Freddy, as long as I work hard to help her, such as sweeping the floor, chopping firewood, washing clothes, etc., I can always get a piece of black bread to satisfy my hunger."

"Haha! Our philanthropist Mrs. Freddy will not give you bread for free. If you eat her bread, you have to be careful about being eaten by her." Claire sneered.

Little Oliver shuddered, and the color drained from his face.

"My friends on the street have also said that Mrs. Freddy is not a good person. The orphans adopted by her will soon be put on ships and sold abroad to grow cotton in shackles on colonial plantations... …But I didn’t expect that the truth is more terrifying than the legend.”

"Did you see the body hanging on the hook outside?" Gao Fei asked.

"Well, those three unlucky guys...were all vagabonds from Pattus Street. We even went fishing together on the river."

Little Oliver answered with a cry.

"Well, poor child, the nightmare is over, and you don't have to worry anymore."

Claire touched the boy's head sympathetically.

Goofy asked Claire to stay here to comfort the boy, and went back to the next room, letting Lisa continue to interrogate Carl Freddy on why he kept a waif in the solitary room.

Carl Freddy's confession was somewhat unexpected.

It turns out that Oliver Twister, the little tramp, has a more complicated life experience than he thought.