"Prepare for battle."

"Mm."

Neither Suren nor Kai were the type to give up easily, even in such dire straits.

The alleyway offered no room to retreat. They planned a final charge for when the monster cleared the rubble blocking the entrance.

That charge would likely determine their fate.

However, to their surprise, just as the monster was about to claw through the rubble, the gunfire that had previously died down outside suddenly erupted again.

"Reinforcements?"

Suren and Kai exchanged incredulous glances.

The only ones who could come to their rescue were the old-timers from Green Street.

But with so many monsters and no professional fighters among them, how could they have broken through?

Kai, thinking of something, said, "A high-level professional must have arrived! Hopefully, they're not enemies..."

Suren gripped his rifle, his eyes sharp. "Whoever it is, the gunfire has drawn the monsters' attention. This is our best chance to break out."

"Mm."

Kai nodded. "Shall I begin, then?"

Suren nodded.

Kai took a deep breath. The mantis blades on his arms flashed with a cold light, and cracks appeared on the rubble wall.

"Charge!"

With a shout, Kai smashed through the rubble and charged out first.

Suren followed closely behind without hesitation.

They had braced themselves for a swarm of monsters after breaking through, expecting a fierce battle. But to their surprise, they found themselves in an empty tunnel!

Looking around, besides the corpses they had piled up, there wasn't a single living monster in the tunnel.

Further down, a group of people were engaged in a fierce firefight with the monsters.

Leading the charge were two figures: a blue-haired Rakshasa with four arms, wielding four long blades, radiating a chilling aura; and a burly, bear-like figure with muscles like knotted rock, his body completely red.

The four-armed figure moved with blinding speed, slicing through the monster ranks like a hot knife through butter, sending limbs and body parts flying. The other charged like a raging bull, his fists capable of exploding monsters' bodies, splattering blood and gore with brutal efficiency.

These two alone left a trail of corpses in their wake.

"This... they're so strong!"

Suren's eyes narrowed. Although he hadn't seen Qiantiao unleash her alchemical implants, he recognized the familiar four long blades and the gambling addict.

The red-skinned giant was also familiar; it was the second-tier professional, "Red Demon" Gelong, whom he'd seen at the arena!

...

Suren didn't understand. Wasn't Qiantiao supposed to have returned to headquarters?

And why was Gelong here to help? Had he joined the Knights of the Cross?

Neither Suren nor Kai had expected these two to be their rescuers.

The old-timers from Green Street, following behind the two powerhouses, spotted Suren and Kai. "Captain, it's Captain Kai!"

The old-timers rushed over, relieved to see their captain unharmed.

"Wow, Captain, you're so damn awesome, taking down so many monsters."

"Haha, I knew Captain would be fine."

"Captain is mighty!"

"..."

The old-timers cheered. The fact that their captain was alive was the greatest relief.

By this time, the mutated monsters in the tunnel had been decimated.

The remaining stragglers fled back into the depths of the tunnel.

Qiantiao looked at Suren and Kai, a relieved expression on her face.

She sheathed her blades, and her implants receded back into her tattoos.

She walked over, teasing, "Yo, Little Kai, you've got more lives than a cat..."

Kai's spirits were high. Having escaped the desperate situation, he grinned. "Sister Qiantiao, thanks for arriving in the nick of time. Any later, and you'd only be collecting our corpses."

He paused, then asked, "Huh... didn't you return to headquarters, Sister Qiantiao? How did you end up here?"

Qiantiao explained, "Mr. Gelong and I were discussing some matters and happened to be in the nearby Red Cedar district. We heard you were ambushed by the Steam Party and rushed over..."

As she spoke, she glanced at the corpses strewn across the ground, a hint of surprise flashing across her face.

The number of corpses was astonishing.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, she saw two types of wounds on the monster corpses: gunshot wounds and blade wounds.

The blade wounds were naturally Kai's handiwork, but what about the gunshot wounds?

Qiantiao's keen eyes could tell that most of the mutated monsters had been killed with a single shot.

One or two might be attributed to luck, but with every corpse bearing the same type of wound, the marksmanship was remarkable.

Realizing something, Qiantiao glanced at Suren, curiosity in her eyes.

Having become well-acquainted at the casino, she spoke casually to Suren. However, she didn't mention the corpses on the ground, only asking, "Suren, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, Sister Qiantiao."

Suren didn't plan to say much, giving Qiantiao a polite smile.

Let Kai take the spotlight. He would quietly remain in the background.

Qiantiao didn't pry, adding, "Good to hear. Let's get out of here. This underground area is strange, possibly containing unusual mutagenic substances. It's best not to stay too long..."

She had noticed that the number of monsters in this underground cave was abnormally high, and most of them were species she had never seen before.

There must be a potent mutagenic factor in the environment.

Not to mention, it wasn't safe for people to stay here too long.

Hearing this, the others didn't dare delay, quickly gathering their belongings and retreating from the tenement building.

...

Breathing in the fresh air, Suren felt himself relax. The intense battle had left him somewhat weary.

However, as soon as they reached the surface, Kai's face turned cold. He immediately called out to his brothers, "Brothers, let's go! It's time for us to go cause trouble for those Steam Party bastards!"

"Those Steam Party guys dared to run wild on our turf. We're going to break their dog legs this time!"

"So many brothers died this time; they have to give us an explanation!"

"That's right, let's fuck them up!"

"..."

The old-timers were excited at the prospect of fighting in the Steam Party's territory.

Qiantiao, seemingly unsurprised by Kai's decision, didn't try to dissuade him. Instead, with a gleam in her eye, she fanned the flames. "Strike while the iron's hot, otherwise, the two sides' leaders might step in, and you'll end up sitting at the negotiation table. Not only will we suffer in silence, but we'll definitely have to pay up. Then our brothers' deaths will have been in vain."

But while fighting was one thing, someone raised a question. "Sister Qiantiao, if we just swagger over there like this, won't they be waiting to ambush us? What if their leaders get involved..."

Qiantiao was well-versed in such conflicts, her tone confident. "Don't worry. Even if those Steam Party guys are shameless, they'll have to swallow this loss. Their leaders will definitely show up, but they still have to abide by the rules of the game. A full-scale fight is unlikely."

She paused, then said lazily, "Besides, I and Mr. Gelong are here. The Knights of the Cross's leaders aren't pushovers either."

Hearing Qiantiao's words, the Knights of the Cross members gained confidence.

Qiantiao, seeing the others about to take revenge, glanced at Suren, who hadn't said a word. She explained specifically to the two survivors, "This time, the Steam Party's reach extends so far because it's directly related to the infighting between the inner city tycoons. But many things are being handled by the chairman and involve some high-level maneuvering, which I can't go into detail about..."

Meaning, the high-level game, the conflict was expected and inevitable.

Green Street was a lucrative "fatty" in the outer city, conveniently located on the boundary line between the two gangs' territories. As the defending side, they couldn't strike first, but if they were attacked, they had to retaliate.

Suren listened from the side, quickly understanding the meaning behind Qiantiao's words.

This ambush wasn't just a simple turf war.

It was like the border issues between major countries in his previous life. Conflicts were expected, but that didn't mean they could preemptively launch a nuclear strike.

Too many interests and the power plays between international forces were involved.

The "Knights of the Cross" and the "Steam Party" were the two largest gangs in Old London's outer city. They involved not only countless members, numerous industries, and many affiliated forces but also the interests of the inner city's financial backers.

Skirmishes and land grabs by the lower ranks were common and tacitly approved by the higher-ups as a form of competition.

Small frictions, small losses, and a chance to test each other's strength.

That was how gangs fought for territory: either be beaten into submission or concede the territory.

The Steam Party and the Knights of the Cross had fought countless times over Green Street.

Kai's predecessor as the Green Street captain had been killed in one of those clashes.

Everyone wanted the profits, but the higher-ups couldn't get involved every time the kids got into a fight.

If the higher-ups got involved in every little thing, it could escalate into a full-scale war between the two gangs.

No one could bear the consequences of such a large-scale war.

Not even the chairmen of the two gangs!

If a disobedient "Steam Party" was eliminated, the inner city's financial backers could immediately support a "Steam Turbine Party"... Profit was eternal, not the pursuit of dominance.

Although it sounded cruel, that's how cheap human life was in Old London, in the outer city, in the gangs.

The gang members were well aware of this.

...

Originally, if the Steam Party had carried out today's ambush cleanly, killing Kai and his team, there would have been no trouble at all.

This was the norm in gang warfare.

Although everyone knew who was responsible, no one could do anything about it without catching them in the act. They could send someone to assassinate in return, as long as they weren't caught.

But now, Kai and Suren had survived, and the Steam Party members' bodies were lying on Green Street's turf.

The nature of the situation had changed.

This was leverage.

The Steam Party was at fault, and now that Kai and the others were retaliating, the Steam Party couldn't say a word.

...

Kai was as decisive as ever.

He quickly treated his injuries, gathered hundreds of people from the nearby districts, and headed straight for the Steam Party's territory.

They directly raided "Red Hair" Kuntu's territory and were about to move on to Sis's territory when they were stopped by the Steam Party's leaders as expected.

Then, the two sides' leaders stepped in, sat down at the negotiation table, and the fighting stopped.

Compensation, cession of territory, temporary reconciliation.

It was the same old standard procedure.

Suren didn't care about the high-level negotiations, but he followed along to harvest a lot of fragments.

It had to be said that the Steam Party lived up to its reputation as "modern". The mechanical skills of its members were much higher than those of ordinary people. Every member, to some extent, was proficient in mechanical knowledge. After raiding a few places, Suren extracted a lot of mechanical knowledge, directly transforming from a mechanical novice into an "Intermediate Mechanical Apprentice."

After this battle, the Steam Party would probably be quiet for a long time.

Suren also had the time to improve himself.

But after the fierce battle in the tenement building, his need for alchemical implants became even more urgent. A professional without implants was far less powerful than one with implants. Gun skills alone were not enough to survive in the brutal outer city.

Finally, a few days later, the once-a-month black market auction began.