Ch 5 Spy Drones and Child Labor

Next, Leon crafts a communication device from his game panel. It’s a matte black, bulky, and thick gadget, shaped like an oversized notepad.

Its projection is still low resolution, yet the display remains good enough, the screen can display other things while displaying a 3d projection on top of the pad.

At that moment, the small notepad displayed ten live video feeds from the drones Leon had just built.

“Nova, have the drones scan the orphanage secretly.” Leon said to Nova, with this, all ten drones start to roam around the orphanage. They sweep through every corner of the building.

It was around two in the afternoon, and most of the kids were still outside selling power banks, except the four kids who had just returned from the doctor and now playing together on the playground.

Leon looks at them, and it seems they are not playing but… quarreling.. Leon then turns on the voice feedback and eavesdrops on their exchange.

Jane frowned. “Why’re you saying that? He’s got money! Without him, we wouldn’t even have any allowance. Look at this!” Jane held up a shiny ring. “I spent all my own money on it! Isn't it beautiful ??!”

That ring.. It looked dazzling and cool to a child, but Leon could tell it was a fake.

Hearing Jane's words.. Leon doesn’t know what to say.... “This..” Jane clearly duped by someone….

“But he’s using us! Like, making us do all the work and keeping most of the money for himself…” Roy snapped, crossing his arms. “That’s what grownups call exploitation or something,” his voice sharp with disagreement.

Leon was baffled. Wait… why did it feel like they were talking about someone he knew?

“Hey, guys, calm down, okay? Fighting is not good. Yeah, maybe he makes us sell those power banks, but he uses the money for us… Like that camera thingy” James tried to defuse the tension.

“i don’t know what it is, but Walter told me it can make us safe, and we get some pocket money too. We can buy candy with it, right?” James continued to persuade and even started to reason things out, but it didn’t seem to help.

“Still! We’re not supposed to be working! We’re supposed to be in school, getting smart, and only work when we’re big!” Roy shouted back in defiance.

“You! You don’t understand! Nobody ever gave me anything! And you didn’t even have that ball before! He lets us work, gives us money, and believes in us! Not like you, always being all suspicious and stuff!” Jane’s face twisted with anger, she clenched her fist tightly, and her voice was trembling as she shouted

“No! You think this is caring? It’s just making kids work! That’s all it is! And you! You’re not special, you’re being used!” Roy kept talking back while pointing at Jane, whose face was already so red, almost purple..….

Little Emilie stared blankly at the other three, unsure what to do. She watched them in silence, saying nothing.

This time, Leon realized they were talking about him. Quietly, he switched off the voice feed and turned his attention elsewhere….yes… to the drone mapping the orphanage.

The drone completed its sweep of the orphanage, and soon the notepad projected a 3D model of the building.

“Administrator, structural analysis complete. Multiple vulnerabilities detected,” Nova reported, and the 3d projection started to zoom in multiple locations.

Boys’ Dormitory: humidity levels at eighty-three percent, mold spores detected. Suggest installing a dehumidifier and replacing all mold-infested areas.

Girls’ Dormitory: poor air circulation. Predicted CO₂ buildup at night, recommend installing air vents or a low-power ventilation system.

Boys’ Bathroom: rust detected …….

Laundry Room: possible clog on ………

West Building: support beam brittle and cracked near ……

Next East Wing: ceiling water damage detected……..

Final assessment: this structure is no longer fit for safe habitation. My advice is to flatten it and rebuild a new one.”

Nova deemed the place uninhabitable, seemingly baffled that anyone had managed to live here at all.

“Sigh… It’s not like I’m the director. Have the drone hide somewhere and let four of them monitor those kids while they sleep…” Leon wants to make sure each of these four kids is monitored closely.

“Anyway, Nova, what about my honey trap?” Leon sighed, tearing open a bag of chips, only to pause. He set it aside, pulled out instant noodles from this morning, and started eating. “Right… I haven’t even eaten. Sigh…”

As he ate, Nova reported on the trap’s progress. “Our virtual influencer is performing well. Three girls have managed to reel in some wealthy targets, men who are now privately chatting with them, arranging to meet, and promising to bring plenty of gifts…”

Leon nodded. “Well… the rich guys…if a man’s rich, i will do the same... uhumm”

But then he smiled evilly…. “Anyway, Nova, don’t accept their offers, but keep them hanging. Let them think there’s still a chance so they will try to donate more money on our girls live stream hahaahah!” Leon laughed for a while but then stopped… then sighed..

He rubbed his forehead, thinking. “Now, for the immediate problem how do we get the kids to sleep and stay still? Tie them?”

“Hey, Nova, can I just tie them to the bed?” Leon asked. Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t a great idea.

“Sir, it is not recommended to apply physical restraints to children, and no sedation please. It is both unethical and illegal, even by most military standards,” Nova replied.

Leon let out a long sigh. “D*mn… what am I supposed to do then?”

“So what can I do?” Leon asked immediately, already don’t have any more ideas…

“We could try using soft obstacles,” Nova suggested.

“Beanbags, for example, we can place them where the kids are likely to walk. Sleepwalkers won’t notice them, and they’ll trip and then land on something soft, it not like they can just stand up right ? If you place the bean bag near their dorm, you can guide them back easily.”

“Another option is calming aromatherapy. Nothing illegal, just something to help them relax. Or…” Nova paused, as if weighing the next idea, “We could use sleeping pods. The kids will feel comfortable, while keeping the kids in place, and we could monitor their vitals with the pod’s medical system.”

The suggestions weren’t bad. But sleeping pods? Leon imagined some sleek, sci-fi capsule being found on a dilapidated orphanage. Yeah… no.

In the end, Leon found himself seriously considering the beanbag trap. “…D*mn. Money again. How much does one beanbag cost?”

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone, opened a shopping app, and started searching, only to be stunned by the prices.

One beanbag that is 110 centimeters in size costs anywhere from forty to sixty dollars.

Aroma candles were five to ten each, and an essential oil diffuser was thirty… not even counting the oils, which ran another eight to fifteen per ten milliliter bottle.

“Let’s start with the beanbags and candles,” Leon muttered. “If it doesn’t work, great, it means I didn’t waste thirty bucks on some useless gadget. Sure, I can dupe stuff, but still… let’s be prudent and do a trial run first.”

In the end, he ordered two beanbags and two aromatic candles. The plan was to light the candles when the children went to bed, then snuff them out around two a.m., letting the scent linger until four without leaving any open flame in this already crumbling orphanage.

After all, it wouldn’t be funny if a sleepwalking kid knocked one over and burned the whole place down.

“I’ll use instant delivery so they’ll send it today… great. Now I can just talk to the director uh, no, wait. He probably won’t care. Fine, I’ll just put the beanbags in the corridor myself and light the candles later. For now… back to sleep. Still feeling sleepy…”

Leon had just been woken up by Walter, and now all he wanted was to sleep. But as soon as his body sank into the mattress, he heard a knock at the door.

*knock* *knock*

He groaned, he is so tired and doesn’t want to do anything, but when he opened the door, he was met by his little money makers… ahem, the kids, returning with today’s sales.

A little boy at the front hurried over. “Uncle! Here, here! I managed to sell four today! Buy three, get four!”

Leon patted the boy’s head, took the forty five dollars, and handed him four dollars plus one extra as a bonus.

Yes, kids shouldn’t be carrying more than this. One power bank sold meant one dollar of pocket money. Yes, yes…

One by one, the children handed him their earnings along with the leftover power banks.

After counting, Leon realized he made $1,755 today. “Easy money, hehehehe!” he laughed, clearly happy.

“These kids are something… great. But power bank market will be saturated soon, so I need something else… fast. Hmm… selling gasoline? No, that’s illegal. Damn it! How can the government just monopolize such a money maker… sh*t…” Leon curses at how the gov acts like a big boss…

After thinking it over, Leon realized he could have the kids sell the aromatherapy candles he just ordered.

“If I sell them at four dollars each, that’s a dollar cheaper than any online shop… perfect! If these kids can sell 300 a day, that’s $1,200! Another money-maker!” Leon’s excitement grew with every word.

“Right, right, this is a good idea… maybe some bean bags too. Yes, yes, bean bags sell for much more, so that’s great!”

“Wait… they’re pretty big. Are they even stackable?” Leon frowned. His duplication cheat only worked on items that were stackable in his game inventory.

“Let’s buy six more bean bags… just in case they’re not stackable.” Without wasting time, Leon placed the order and selected instant delivery.

Before long, the first and second deliveries arrived almost at the same time. Guided by the kids, the couriers headed to the security room for Leon to pay in cash. While settling the bill, Leon noticed a few kids hauling the bean bags inside.

“Cute, huh? But I’m not giving you any extra pocket money,” Leon said, hefting two bean bags, one under each arm.

Hearing this the kids look down but still help Leon bring the bean bags into his room….

“Thanks, kids. If I had more money, I’d order some candy for you, h*ck, even meat and ice cream!” Leon said. At that, the children’s faces lit up.

“Really? Promise?” one boy asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Yeah, yeah, but not today. It’s almost night already, just go play or something,” Leon replied, waving them off. Still, he couldn’t help but think about how sad these kids' lives really were.

They only ate twice a day, and it was always instant noodles. Leon was part of that same meager routine, but he didn’t think much about food as he really not that picky, but he knew this was not healthy at all.

Remembering something, Leon let out a long yawn. “Right… I’m short on sleep.” He yawned again and glanced at his watch. “Five p.m… still plenty of time. Let’s get three more hours in.” Setting his alarm, he sank into his soft bed and drifted off without another thought.

Three hours later, his alarm blared, jolting Leon awake…

“...that.. fast…. It feels like I only slept a few minutes.” Still sleepy, Leon tried to push himself up. “Anyway, I’ve got things to do.”

After a quick bath and some personal care, he felt refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.

“Great, let’s see what’s going on with the kids.” Leon glanced at the CCTV feeds on his high-tech tablet. One of the drone cameras was shaking constantly, and he could see some faces and feet….

“Wait… this….. hey, Nova! Why didn’t you wake me? These kids are using a high tech drone as a soccer ball!”

“Don’t worry, sir,” Nova replied calmly.

“This drone has some mimicry abilities. It just looks like a black ball right now. The kids won’t get hurt when they kick it, and the drone’s soft exterior protects it from any damage. You don’t need to worry much.”

Leon was baffled, but hey, it wasn’t a big problem, right? Right???

“…Right, it’s a scout drone. Okay…” Leon, imagine a few old men playing cards in the middle of the night when suddenly a black ball popped out of nowhere, rolling and rolling across the floor. Yeah, that’d be pretty scary.

“Well, let’s look at the bright side. I can let the boys keep it as a toy and stash it in their dorm while monitoring their activity…. As for the girls… hey Nova, can you make the drone pink?”