It's the way he thought when he arrived--and he's met other people who do it, trade favors, expect something for their assistance. In a survival of the fittest situation, it would make perfect sense, and she'd have to find something to offer.

But he saw the way people worried after Credence, and he'd dug him out of the cave without expecting anything in return. He can't imagine the purpose Credence would ever serve to him.

"I don't think people here care about that," he says, feeling the words out as he says them. His speech is often a bit slow--measured and rusty. "I mean, you have plenty of time to learn what you need, if you bother with it. But I don't think it matters. I don't think anyone's playing a game, here, they're just getting by, and part of getting by is knowing people."

Even back home, things hadn't gotten really bad until he locked himself in the dorm and stopped going out.