Chapter 1 Old Lingdun

Old Lingdun, Norton Street in the South City, Camellia Tavern.

After the Green Street entertainment venues were destroyed in the gang war between the Iron Cross Society and the Steam Party, Norton Street became the most bustling entertainment district in the outer city.

This is Iron Cross Society territory. It used to be Qian Tiao’s turf, and now it is still controlled by the Iron Cross Society.

However, many of the Iron Cross Society's original cadres chose to rush out of the Black Tower with the Mirror Organization. The Iron Cross Society is now mostly filled with new faces.

In a corner of the tavern, Suren and Mr. Mirror were sitting in a booth, drinking.

"Based on the current situation, those mages from Stormwind Manor were all sent in by the 'Narwhal Merchant Guild.' A vice president of the guild named Muriel Sanchez bribed a port inspector. Besides, that kind of large merchant guild is rarely stopped by local officials anyway. And there is no direct evidence to show that this matter is related to other people in the Governor's Office."

"It would be normal if there wasn't any evidence. Since he can prevent the Royal United Kingdom's intelligence agency from finding any handles, that 'high-level official' who leaked the joint fleet's surprise attack plan must be meticulous in his actions. Even if this lead is dug deeper, at most it will only resolve some insignificant small characters."

"Once the Iron Cross Society's intelligence arrives, we'll confirm where that Muriel is, kill him, and we'll know who's behind it. This time, we'll at least completely resolve the situation in Old Lingdun."

"Mm."

"..."

Suren and Mr. Mirror wanted to completely solve the problem, but they weren't sure how many people were involved in the infiltration of the Celestial Plane mages into Old Lingdun. But having the Death Reaper's ability made things a lot easier, saving them from the various interrogation steps. Even if the intelligence was as complicated as a tangled mess, as long as Suren found one thread, he could keep unraveling it until he found the guy hiding at the very end.

Because the Mirror Organization had left some intelligence personnel in Old Lingdun, they didn't need to go find people themselves.

The music in the tavern was soft and slow, and scantily clad girls on the stage swayed their graceful figures.

The two drank and chatted idly, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

At this moment, Suren suddenly thought of something and said, "Senior, I have an idea."

Mr. Mirror, who was sitting across from him, glanced at him, put down the wine glass near her lips, and asked, "Oh?"

His senior sister always exuded an air of classical elegance, sipping her wine delicately. Even though he was very familiar with her, Suren still found her pleasing to the eye. He said, "After you were attacked before, normally it would take several years for your injuries to heal. What if the enemy learns of your whereabouts again? Wouldn't they come to assassinate you again?"

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror immediately understood what he meant, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You want to use a counter-plot?"

"Mm."

Suren nodded and continued, "Those Celestial Plane guys have an important source of intelligence within the high levels of the United Empire. Since they failed to kill you last time, that guy is probably worried about being exposed. No one can withstand the revenge of a ninth-tier powerhouse. So once the information about your location is leaked, the other party will definitely choose to sell intelligence again, even at the risk of doing so, to completely eliminate the hidden danger. And currently, there is only one ninth-tier powerhouse who descended from the Celestial Plane, but even if there are one or two more, our Dawn Troupe can handle it now. At that time, we may not only be able to dig out the traitor lurking within the Empire, but also severely damage the high-level combat power of the Celestial Plane..."

This plan was almost a blatant scheme.

Once Mr. Mirror's coordinates were leaked, both the enemy and the mole would have to consider whether it was a deliberate leak.

But they would have no choice but to fall for it.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, Mr. Mirror had no chance of winning.

But they didn't know that his senior sister's strength was different from before.

Not only would her injuries recover quickly, but she had also fused with demigod-level vampire blood essence. Once she fused with the mechanical augment, her combat power would definitely be vastly different from before.

And that was the information gap.

The enemy would think she was still injured, and even if she recovered, they wouldn't expect her strength to increase so much.

What's more, Suren and the others were back now. Mr. Mirror was no longer fighting alone.

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror showed a thoughtful expression.

She had actually thought about this issue, but the uncertain factors in battles above the ninth tier were too great. The casualties would also be uncontrollable.

But she also knew that opportunities were fleeting, and this risk had to be taken. Once this plan succeeded, it would have a very positive impact on the overall war in the future.

Moreover, the enemy's intelligence lag would gradually be erased over time, so the sooner they acted, the better.

After pondering for a moment, Mr. Mirror looked at Suren and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Suren already had a plan in mind. He said the most direct way, "Let's be high-profile, make that mole want to get rid of us even more."

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror's beautiful eyes flashed, and she nodded slightly in understanding, "Okay."

...

The taverns in the outer city are mostly frequented by wasteland hunters, and now it's evening, the lively time when people come and go.

Suren and Mr. Mirror were drinking and chatting in the corner, also listening to a lot of intelligence about Old Lingdun.

Most of the complaints were about the new governor's series of policies, which were seen as reversing history, wanting to continue doing things the old way.

Before long, several young men in biker leather jackets with a dark aesthetic suddenly walked into the tavern. Upon closer inspection, they were wearing the Iron Cross Society badge on their chests.

They were members of the Iron Cross Society, a gang in the outer city.

Suren and Mr. Mirror wanted the Narwhal Merchant Guild's intelligence, so naturally they couldn't go get it themselves. They had found a familiar channel from the past to make the request.

The group looked around the tavern and walked straight to Suren and Mr. Mirror's table.

The brown-haired boy in the lead took out a file and placed it directly on the table, saying to Suren, "This is the intelligence you commissioned from our Iron Cross Society. The 'Narwhal Merchant Guild's' personnel list, the location of all their current strongholds in Old Lingdun, and the movements of that Vice President 'Muriel Sanchez.'"

Suren took the file, glanced at it casually, and handed over a bag of gold coins.

He had been in gangs before, and he knew that using untraceable metal currency for this kind of confidential intelligence transaction was the rule.

The brown-haired boy opened it, checked the amount, and his expression changed slightly.

He didn't expect that someone would actually pay such a high price for intelligence.

With the transaction completed, the boy looked at Suren, feeling inexplicably familiar, and reminded him, "Sir, I'm not interested in prying into your privacy. But if I may be so bold, that merchant guild has fifth-tier experts as guards."

Suren listened without saying much, just smiling and nodding.

The three boys didn't say anything more, turned around, and left the tavern.

After the people left, Mr. Mirror asked, "Do you know them?"

A hint of reminiscence appeared in Suren's eyes. "I saved them once when I was in the Iron Cross Society. I didn't expect that after not seeing them for a few years, they've already become key members of the Iron Cross Society."

Although there had been changes in the past few years, he recognized them. He had seen the three of them once before.

If Suren remembered correctly, the three of them were named Beta, Brown, and Nancy.

Back when Archduke Raphael was conducting experiments in Old Lingdun, human traffickers were rampantly grabbing test subjects in the outer city. Danny's three friends, the three in front of him, were captured.

Suren saved them at the Black Duke's Club and met Number Nineteen for the first time.

After mentioning it briefly, his eyes narrowed slightly. "That Beta is already second-tier, not bad."

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror said, "However, they seem to be targeted."

Suren was well aware of it, and said lightly, "Mm. It should be the trouble caused by this intelligence."

...

The three boys walked out of the tavern, looking around cautiously, then darted into the alley behind the tavern.

This was Iron Cross Society territory, and they were familiar with every corner.

Only when they reached an empty dark alley did the three of them breathe a sigh of relief.

"Gosh, someone would actually spend so much money to buy some intelligence, it's like a dream."

"Yeah. I thought there would be some accident, I even brought my weapon."

"That person's commission came through a trusted channel, only known to the old partners in the gang. It's strange, our Iron Cross Society doesn't have any information at all. They must be from outside."

"Who cares, that 'Narwhal Merchant Guild' isn't anything good either. I've already found out that those guys are the biggest slave traders outside, and many people in our Old Lingdun were sold in by this merchant guild. Now that the Empire outside has banned the slave trade, these guys are setting their sights on Old Lingdun again. I've heard about a lot of missing people recently, all directly related to this merchant guild..."

The three boys walked and chatted.

At this moment, the girl asked the brown-haired boy in the lead, "Beta, I saw a strange look on your face just now, did you discover something?"

Beta thought about it and said, "It's nothing, Nancy. It's just... I just felt that the client looked a little familiar, as if I'd seen him somewhere before."

Hearing this, another boy said, "Ah... you must be mistaken, right? How would we know someone from outside?"

The brown-haired boy didn't think too much about it and said, "Probably."

It was no wonder they didn't recognize him. Back when Suren was in the Iron Cross Society, he often wore a bald head and smoky makeup as a disguise. It was normal that they couldn't recognize him now.

The three of them were already careful enough, but at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Beta's face changed drastically. He could immediately tell that this was a high-level assassin in stealth. He immediately reminded them, "Be careful, there's an enemy!"

The three of them immediately realized that the Narwhal Merchant Guild might have sent someone. They immediately pulled out their firearms and aimed at the shadowy figure.

However, what they didn't expect was that they saw not one person, but two.

And in a strange posture.

One was strangling the neck of the other figure dressed as an assassin.

Beta immediately recognized that this wasn't the client from the tavern earlier?

Why was he here?

But at the same time, Beta felt a chill down his spine. This assassin could stealthily follow them all the way here without making a sound, so he was at least a third-tier professional.

But such an assassin was so easily strangled by that client. How strong was he?

However, before the three of them could think too much, they heard a "crack" sound, and the assassin's neck was twisted, instantly killing him.

This scene stunned the three of them. He just killed him like that?

They didn't understand what had happened at all.

...

Suren's current realm allowed him to discern whether someone had malicious intent by sensing their mental fluctuations.

He had just confirmed that this guy was from the Narwhal Merchant Guild, so he didn't waste any more time and directly killed him to search his soul.

In an instant, even more accurate information than the previous intelligence flooded into his mind.

"So it's there."

Suren obtained the information he wanted and found it much more convenient.

Turning his head, he glanced at the three bewildered boys who had deactivated their mechanical augments.

Even without deliberately releasing his domineering aura, Suren's killing intent from that instant, along with the murderous aura he had accumulated over the years, was enough to make the three of them, at most second-tier professionals, tremble in fear.

Seeing that the three of them were frightened, that invisible aura suddenly loosened.

Beta was the first to react, afraid that this client would misunderstand, and quickly explained, "Sir, this has nothing to do with us."

Suren looked at the boy who still had the courage to explain under this pressure and smiled slightly.

He had good courage, a good seed.

He interrupted Beta, who wanted to explain more, and said, "I know. This is the trouble I caused by hiring you to gather intelligence. This assassin is from the Narwhal Merchant Guild."

He dispelled the three of them's worries but didn't explain further.

With this assassin dead, the merchant guild would quickly get the news if it wasn't dealt with quickly.

Before leaving, Suren glanced at the ordinary pistol that Beta had on his waist. He recognized it as the one he had given the three of them for self-defense back then.

This pistol was almost useless against second-tier professionals, but he didn't expect that they still kept it.

Suren had an idea. He casually took out a storage ring, flicked it with his finger, and said, "A gift for you. Cultivate well, and you'll have the opportunity to see outside the Black Tower in the future."

Before the words finished, and without waiting for any response, he had already disappeared.

Leaving Beta, Brown, and Nancy stunned on the spot.

They thought they had encountered a big trouble this time, and their hearts were filled with apprehension just a moment ago. They didn't expect that the mysterious client wouldn't make things difficult for them and didn't even explain a word.

Beta looked at the storage ring in his hand and was also surprised. He even gave them something?

However, when he clearly saw the important materials and cultivation secrets for advancing to the third and fourth tiers inside the storage ring, his face changed drastically.

Brown and Nancy, who were on the side, thought something had happened when they saw this and quickly asked, "Beta, what's wrong?"

Beta looked at the direction where Suren disappeared with a complex expression and said, "Look for yourselves."

Brown and Nancy looked at the storage ring and were equally surprised and terrified.

The things in the storage ring were too precious for them, and they might never be able to obtain such valuable resources in their entire lives.

The scene of this farewell gift was all too familiar. Beta's thoughts flashed in his mind, and he suddenly thought of something.

Could it be that that person was back?

Beta's expression instantly lit up with joy! Yes!

It was his benefactor, Mr. Suren!

But Beta didn't say much and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.

A high-level assassin from the Narwhal Merchant Guild had died, and the other party would definitely not let it go.

But they couldn't help with this matter, and even the entire Iron Cross Society couldn't help.

He immediately said to his two partners, "Today's events must be kept absolutely secret. Notify the intelligence team, everyone go hide outside the city for a while."

Only in this way would they not implicate the gang or that person.

Brown and Nancy understood and nodded, "Mm."

With that, the three quickly disappeared into the alley.

...

Suren left a small gift for the three of them not to seek any return. Besides considering their past acquaintance, it was more just a good deed done along the way.

Just like Sir Isaac said, when you are strong enough to stand at the top of the pyramid of a plane, you will begin to consider matters of civilization and inheritance.

Those low-level materials were dispensable to Suren now, but for some good seeds, they might be a great opportunity that changes their entire lives.

It was just a thought, he didn't think too much about it.

Looking again, Suren had already appeared in front of a high-end clubhouse in the Kunsen District of the South City.

According to the intelligence he had just harvested, the vice president of the Narwhal Merchant Guild, Muriel Sanchez, was here.

Suren and Mr. Mirror had killed those mages in Stormwind Manor a few days ago, so the people from the Narwhal Merchant Guild must have noticed something.

However, the Dawn Remains were already extremely risky due to their proximity to the Abyss Plane channel. The other party probably wasn't sure what caused the mage group to be wiped out.

The people sent out to confirm the news were still on the way when Suren and Mr. Mirror appeared at the entrance of the "Crown Bathhouse Club."

Old Lingdun, like a few years ago, had richer entertainment venues in the outer city than in the inner city. Those who had money preferred to come to the outer city to play.

Suren sensed the soul fluctuations in the clubhouse. The strongest was only sixth-tier, so he said to Mr. Mirror beside him, "Senior, you just rest. I'll go take care of it."

Mr. Mirror nodded, "Mm."

As he said that, Suren suddenly took out a gold-patterned cloak and put it on, and a sense of mystery instantly swept over him.

With a flash of spatial fluctuations, he had already disappeared on the spot.

Just as Suren arrived, in a luxurious bathtub in the clubhouse, the portly Muriel and several of his subordinates were completely unaware of the impending danger and were enjoying the services of a group of sexy bunny girls.

"Tsk, tsk, these women in Old Lingdun are really watery, their skin is white and smooth, much better than those female slaves who have been weathered by the sun outside. It's a pity that those councilors with dung in their brains actually abolished the slave trade. Such good things can't even be sold."

"That's right. Next time the merchant ship comes, we can only secretly transport a batch to Lingdun. Those noble lords will definitely like this kind of goods."

"Sigh, damn new policies, damn United Empire. It's making us earn so much less money! Oh, this damn United Empire is really terrible. It would be great if the Royal United Kingdom could go back to the way it was."

"That's right. As for that damn war, who cares who cares. Besides letting the war profiteers earn enough money, what benefits do we get?"

"..."

Several people were complaining about how the "Abolition of Slavery Act" had cut off the merchant guild's financial path and were still fantasizing about the Royal United Kingdom returning to the previous system of lords and nobles.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

A spatial fluctuation suddenly flashed in the room, and a figure in a gold-patterned cloak appeared in the room.

Vice President Muriel Sanchez's face changed drastically the moment he saw the gold-patterned cloak.

He had personally arranged for the mages to enter Old Lingdun. Seeing the Dawn Organization people come to his door, he knew that he had been exposed.

But before he could call for guards, he suddenly felt a heat on his neck and couldn't speak.

Suren looked at the shocked people in front of him. The intelligence in his mind had already confirmed their identities, so he didn't hesitate at all.

At the same time that he entered the room, a line of blood appeared on the necks of several people.

Their souls had already left their bodies.

Blood spurted out, instantly dyeing the bathtub red, and the naked bunny girls on the side were frightened out of their wits.

Suren ignored the girls and reaped the souls of several people.

As he had expected, these people didn't know much. Transporting the mages to Old Lingdun was a task arranged by the Narwhal Merchant Guild headquarters.

But Suren learned some key figures who arranged this task.

There was also some secret intelligence about those "Old School" nobles who were still active in Lingdun.

Slave traders always had keen instincts and also possessed some secrets that were unknown to outsiders.

After thinking for a few breaths, Suren roughly digested the intelligence and his expression immediately changed. He murmured in his heart, "Besides those old nobles of ancient surnames, the most core leader of the Old School is that ninth-tier Merlin Master. It seems that this guy is very suspicious..."

There weren't many high-level people who could access those top-secret intelligence. Suren and Mr. Mirror had also suspected it before.

But after all, since that Merlin Master could become the Empire's First Honored Guest, besides his own ninth-tier strength, he must have made corresponding contributions.

Without concrete evidence, one couldn't make reckless judgments.

Otherwise, he might just fall for the enemy's counter-espionage scheme.

But based on the current intelligence, that Merlin Master... or his family, had a higher probability of being related to the people of the Celestial Plane.

A thought flashed through his mind. Suren didn't stay in the room. He teleported again according to Vice President Muriel's memories to a luxurious skyscraper in District 3 of the Inner City, a dozen kilometers away.

There were still several fifth and sixth-tier mages from the Celestial Plane meditating here.

These were the mages left in the city for communication and emergency response.

Seeing Suren come over, these guys reacted much faster. Magical shields immediately propped up on their bodies, and instantly cast spells bombarded Suren.

Seeing this, Suren's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't release his domineering aura, nor did he use any cursed objects. Relying solely on his powerful physique, he rushed towards the mages, acting like a reckless brute.

Seeing the powerful enemy attacking, the mages naturally fought desperately.

But they were no match for Suren. After a few close-quarters punches, they were blasted out of the building.

"Crash!" The outer wall glass shattered, and several mages floated in mid-air, continuing to fight fiercely.

The fighting was very loud, and this immediately attracted the attention of a large number of residents in the Inner City.

In an instant, various city defense forces, police stations, and governor's mansion guards all took action and rushed towards the area of the fighting.

The number of onlookers also increased.

...

Suren could have quietly killed these mages, but he didn't choose to do that.

Instead, he deliberately wanted to make a big commotion.

It was to let the traitor behind the scenes know that someone was looking for trouble with them and then put this hatred on the Dawn Troupe. At that time, he would be even more determined to assassinate Mr. Mirror, the leader of the Mirror Organization.

By the way, he also wanted everyone in Old Lingdun to know that these were the mages from the Celestial Plane!

Someone had turned traitor and sent them in!

Moreover, Suren was also waiting.

Waiting for the people from the Governor's Mansion to come and see what reaction those guys would have when they saw him kill these mages!