"Good stuff..."
Su Lun looked at the projected sale information for that batch of chanical equipnt on the public screen, and it was impossible not to be envious.
This imported equipnt from Mafa was top-notch. If it really fell into his hands, he wouldn’t even need to make many modifications. Matched with the high-precision devices on the previous submarine, he could imdiately assemble a mature industrial assembly line in the chanical warfare factory in the minor void world.
This would save several years compared to the plan to modify an old equipnt assembly line.
It was just in ti, as the batch of materials from the Lei Cat Trading Company had also arrived, and there was no shortage of materials. Now with this batch of instrunts, the chanical puppet legion could form a collective combat force in a short ti!
Moreover, more importantly, Su Lun didn’t think he would have another channel to get such good equipnt in a short ti if he missed this opportunity.
The people from the new policy back then managed to get this batch of fine imported goods through ans at the imperial level. Ordinary people, no matter how rich, wouldn’t have such access.
Even if there were so smuggled goods on the black market, the quantity would definitely not be large, nor would the functionality be so complete!
For Su Lun, this was definitely a "great opportunity" that ca along while he was figuratively sleeping on a pillow.
He had to obtain it at all costs!
....
However, after the surprise, Su Lun didn’t let the sudden windfall cloud his judgnt.
Instead, he sensed a whiff of conspiracy and began to think more calmly.
Nowadays, the entire chanical industry of the Luying Empire was very backward; this equipnt, which was decades ahead of the current era, was of little use to others. It was almost only useful to forces interested in researching chanical warriors.
So, correspondingly, this special supply-and-demand relationship also filtered out potential buyers.
There were many wealthy people in the Luying Empire, but not many willing to be generous fools.
Thus, the news felt like a targeted bait.
Luring certain specific groups of people.
Once soone showed interest in them, it could be confird that they had a use for these instrunts and were almost certainly aiming to use them to manufacture chanical warriors.
Apart from Duke Raphael, whose technological level was unknown, and Su Lun, who had the capability to create chanical warriors on his own, it was unlikely that anyone else would be interested in buying a bunch of "useless instrunts" that cost several tis more than ordinary equipnt.
Before making a risky decision, Su Lun typically considered the worst possible outco.
With that in mind, he pondered, "Suppose this batch of goods is bait for fishing; then, two major forces are under significant suspicion: one is Rafael’s people, and the other is Mafa’s people."
Su Lun had his hands on neural-chanical technology and had intercepted the "secret submarine chanical research institute" intended as a dowry from the Mafa Empire to King Oleg of the North Sea.
Both forces were the aggrieved parties.
But he didn’t rule out the possibility that other forces, such as the Military Intelligence Departnt of Luying, or others might also know about this information.
After all, the news about the chanical puppet legion’s slaughter during the great war in Moros City-State had appeared in the newspapers. Those in the know could speculate, and they might guess that he had the ability to manufacture chanical warriors.
Yet Su Lun thought that if this truly were a fishing conspiracy, it would certainly have enemies, regardless of who they were.
But he must be prepared for the worst.
...
Various possibilities flashed through Su Lun’s mind in an instant.
After considering for a while, the biggest uncertainty was not soone else, but the organizer of this ball!
The ’Shadow Duke’ with the Golden Mask had spoken only once since the beginning and had then fallen silent, sitting quietly in the shadowy part of the lights.
He was like a director of a stage play, silently watching everything happening on stage.
He organized the Round Moon Ball,
And he knew everything.
Su Lun, knowing that this was an old man at the end of his life, also understood his indifferent, detached attitude.
But this made people sowhat puzzled.
A Great Alchemist would not be unaware of his own physical condition. Death was approaching, and all the power and wealth would pass like fleeting clouds. So what was the purpose of him still being active at the ball?
Who did he represent, or... did he represent only himself?
The ’Shadow Duke’ seed more and more mysterious to Su Lun.
These doubts were sothing he didn’t have ti to explore for the ti being.
Because the seller had already made it clear that if no one bought it, the batch of sealed equipnt would end up in the hands of Duke Raphael, and it would be impossible to buy it back.
There was simply no room for hesitation.
The ball continued, and the pleasant classical dance music drifted through the banquet hall.
Su Lun thought for a mont, then asked the Sabrina he was embracing and dancing with, "Is there a way to confirm who sent that ssage?"
Sabrina was very smart. She naturally knew what her master was referring to and gently replied, "Not now. But it can be checked, though the risk is not small."
Su Lun’s eyes flickered with contemplation at her words, but he didn’t pursue the matter further.
Sabrina’s response did not make him feel uncomfortable, as it was just an offhand question.
Because he was very clear, this thod wouldn’t work.
Even if he privately contacted the owner of the goods, if this were a conspiracy, the associated risks would still have to be faced.
Perhaps even more dangerous.
On the contrary, if he contacted them through the platform of the ball, interdiaries might provide a safety net.
He also wanted to determine just how truly neutral the ’Shadow Duke’ was and how much power he really had.
After pondering for a mont, Su Lun said, "I’m planning to take on this batch of goods. Just in case, once we disembark the airship, be ready to instruct your people to go into hiding."
If there were issues with the organizers, Sabrina’s cover identity would be exposed, and most of the painstakingly established intelligence network might have to be sacrificed.
Sabrina listened without the slightest surprise and promptly complied, "Mm."
She had this realization from the very beginning.
After all, everything she had belonged to her master.
...
Compared to what was gained, the risk was entirely worth taking a gamble on.
Su Lun had already thought of a counterasure. Without hesitation, he directly ssaged the person who provided the tip and then handed over two silver coins to finalize the deal.
The ball was taking place on an airship, thousands of ters in the sky.
For others, it probably ant there was nowhere to escape.
But for him, survival was not a big issue.
Moreover, he felt that even if the organizers were conspiring to set a trap, it was highly unlikely they would act on the airship.
Otherwise, the "Full Moon Ball’s" many years of a neutral image would instantly collapse. Losing such an important resource platform, even if they obtained the technology, the cost would not be light.Besides, Sabina’s identity was fake to begin with; no one could be certain they were the real targets.
If there was to be a move made, it would be after the airship had landed!
....
Just as Su Lun had predicted, after he and the buyer completed their transaction, no accidents occurred.
The Full Moon Ball lasted for over two hours.
Then they each returned to their rooms, the airship landed sowhere unknown, and a private car took them back to Lingdun City.
Before long, Su Lun and Sabina were sitting in the sa special carriage they had arrived in.
In the sealed carriage, Su Lun took out a black umbrella and expanded his perceptual range.
Everything was normal.
Besides the driver, no one else followed them.
Stay connected with .Côm
From the ti they got on the carriage before the ball, to on the airship, and now, the whole process was jamd of any communication signals.
Now that they had co down, Su Lun used a Spatial Technique to open a channel for Sabina, allowing her to send a covert command to her line’s person in the Mirror Organization at the first opportunity.
Thinking it over for safety’s sake, Su Lun clenched his sorcerer’s seals with both hands and uttered lightly, "Necromancy!"
A black pentagram formation lit up, and the void of a different plane connected; the carriage was suddenly assaulted with a strong whiff of necromantic energy.
On a closer look, a glossy-feathered crow had been summoned through necromancy.
As a professional intelligence agent, Sabina naturally had a strong psychological quality, and although she anticipated the possibility of danger, she remained very calm. Her eyes brightened as she saw the added presence of the black crow in the carriage, as if she found it amusing, "Wow~ Master, is this that legendary Dire Crow of yours?"
The ability of the Dire Crow to downgrade dinsions had shocked the entire world during the battle at the Moros City-State. This harbinger of death was now as famous as Su Lun, a true "celebrity."
Also because of it, the price of crow pets in Lingdun had exploded more than tenfold.
Su Lun nodded, "Yes."
"Wow..."
Sabina had read the detailed introduction in the newspapers, and she hadn’t expected the legendary, extrely dangerous bird of death to look quite cute before its transformation, appearing dazed and foolish.
She then asked, "What’s its na?"
Before Su Lun could respond, the black crow on his shoulder cried out, "Lord Crow, Lord Crow!"
"Eh...?"
Sabina found it miraculous and exclaid in surprise, "It can talk?"
Speaking was secondary, the key was that it understood human speech!
"Yes."
Su Lun couldn’t help but smile bitterly and added, "Its na is ’Lord Crow’."
Upon hearing this, Sabina’s interest was piqued. Although the na sounded a bit undignified, it seed fun!
Her eyes sparkling with curiosity, she eagerly asked, "Lord Crow, your feathers are so pretty, may I touch you?"
The black crow tilted its head, looking at her with a haughty expression.
Su Lun explained with a hint of resignation, "This silly bird doesn’t care for people unless there’s food."
"Is that so..."
Thinking it over, Sabina took out a piece of jerky to try her luck, but the crow didn’t even give her a glance.
Su Lun handed her a piece of rotting flesh, saying, "It’s very fussy. Try feeding this."
"Ah?"
Sabina’s elegant brow rose, finding the situation increasingly amusing.
She took the rotting flesh from Su Lun and offered it to the crow.
And sure enough, when given what it liked, the black crow happily gulped it down and didn’t forget to flatter in exchange for the treat, "Beautiful lady! Beautiful lady!"
Su Lun winced, giving the bird a glance.
"Thank you~"
Sabina chuckled joyfully, playing along and responding earnestly. She then carefully reached out to pet the black crow, treating it with the sa courtesy one would show a person, "Wow, Lord Crow, you’re quite the handso bird."
Lord Crow apparently understood the complint and, fluttering its little legs, hopped onto Sabina’s hand.
Its proud deanor seed to say: Lord Crow allows you to pet so more.
Sabina couldn’t help but laugh at the crow’s perfectly mimicked anthropomorphic mannerisms.
Su Lun was sowhat surprised, jesting, "You’re the first person this silly bird has ever approached on its own."
Sabina blinked, clearly delighted, "Really?"
The master’s pet, of course, must have a very good relationship.
...
The steam car carried Su Lun and his companion for about half an hour, moving from the suburbs to the urban area.
The first part of the journey was without issue, but it was at this mont that Su Lun suddenly sensed sothing, his expression changing ever so slightly.
Sabina was still teasing the black crow and, sensing the change in Su Lun’s deanor, asked, "What’s wrong?"
Su Lun said gravely, "We’ve deviated from our route. We just turned onto ’Hotten Street.’ This isn’t the way to the Queen’s District; it’s the way to Franklin District."
Instantly understanding the implication, Sabina’s expression also grew serious.
Logically, the car was supposed to take them to a designated location.
But now they had strayed.
This was a serious problem.
She glanced at the earnest-faced Su Lun and remained silent, evidently her master had anticipated this.
The worst possibility had indeed occurred.
Su Lun’s brow furrowed tightly, recalling the web-like city routes of Lingdun City, clearly aware of their current location.
The inexplicable detour could have been understood as a temporary lane change due to so road condition, but several subsequent, unhesitant wrong turns convinced him that there was definitely sothing wrong with the driver!
"Is there really a problem with the organizers?"
Su Lun looked very serious, almost foreseeing the worst-case scenario.
Or could it be... that soone infiltrated the Full Moon Misunderstanding and bribed this driver?
But it was no longer important.
What was certain now was that a fight was imminent!
The carriage had barriers to prevent perception, so it was highly likely that the driver was still unaware that Su Lun had detected the problem. The car sped on.
But now that he was sure that there was a problem with the route, Su Lun naturally wouldn’t just watch this driver take them into an ambush. The black crow hadn’t given any warning yet, aning that there was no fatal danger nearby. It was still tily to take action.
With that thought, Su Lun waved his hand, and suddenly a black scythe appeared in his grasp.
He had no intention of communicating with the driver and, without hesitation, swung his scythe, severing the upper part of the carriage and, together with it, the head of the driver in the cockpit.
The cold night wind whooshed in, and the enclosed carriage abruptly beca a "convertible."
In front of the car seat, a headless corpse gushed blood in spurts.
Su Lun devoured the "grey mist" from the driver’s body in one gulp, then quickly leapt from the car with Sabina in his arms.
Without control, the steam car crashed headlong into a red-brick residence ahead.
With a "bang," the front of the car collapsed a wall and charged straight in.
Su Lun barely glanced back as he pulled Sabina into a small alley and bolted, "Let’s go!"
...
The ti was now past midnight.
Aside from a few Drunkards who were unaware of their surroundings, the streets were nearly void of people.
After the temperature dropped, this ti beca the foggiest in Lingdun City, with visibility reduced to a re twenty or thirty ters. In streets not main arteries of the city, gas street lamps were few and far between. The dim light from the other side of the street provided no feeling of safety. Pedestrians walking along these streets felt as if on the verge of an abyss.
However, this hardly affected Su Lun at all.
Even with low visibility, his spatial perception allowed him to clearly discern his surroundings.
He jumped aloft with Sabina in his arms, landing atop a nearby tower that was a perfect vantage point to observe the car crash site from a distance.
Su Lun watched for any movent on the streets, while digesting the mories he had just stripped away, and thought with so surprise, "So it wasn’t the organizers after all?"
At the sa ti, he breathed a sigh of relief.
After stripping the mories from the driver, Su Lun realized the man was a long-term sleeper agent planted by other espionage forces at the Full Moon Ball.
As to who exactly was behind this lackey, he had no idea.
All he did was follow orders, directing him to drive to Franklin District’s fresh fish market.
Now that it was clear this was not the doing of the mysterious ’Shadow Duke,’ the pressure suddenly lessened by half.
There was no urgency for Su Lun to flee anymore.
He wanted to see if he could find more clues, uncover who was baiting the trap.
The car accident caused quite an uproar, gradually waking nearby residents and lighting up so lamps.
Seeing Sabina beside him with a tense expression, Su Lun gestured for her to relax, saying, "It wasn’t the organizers who acted. Tell your people to stand down for now. We’ll see how things go before deciding the next step."
He knew Sabina was waiting for his judgnt to issue a second command.
"Okay!"
Upon hearing this, Sabina visibly relaxed.
Then she quickly sent a coded ssage through the communicator: Stand by.
There wasn’t a small number of people on her intelligence team’s chain of command, and to avoid leaving traces for investigation, so key "hardware" needed erasure.
Previously uncertain of the enemy’s identity, Sabina had issued a command for all her agents to prepare for subrgence.
If the second ssage she sent was "Execute," or if there was no command received after a certain amount of ti, all intelligence personnel would imdiately enter an ergency state of subrsion, severing ties and "disappearing."
In the short term, even Sabina would struggle to reestablish contact with them, with so potentially lost forever.
The cost was akin to sacrificing a limb to save one’s life, and the loss would certainly not be small.
Now that the loss could be avoided, it was indeed a relief.
Furthermore, if the enemy were the ball’s organizers, that would be the true disaster.
The threat level had dropped significantly now that confirmation had been made that it wasn’t them.
The worried frown on Sabina’s forehead finally relaxed a bit. After pondering for a mont, a smile gradually appeared on her face, and she added, "If it’s not the organizer’s fault, Master, you might actually benefit from this misfortune."
Su Lun glanced at her, "Oh?"
Sabina explained, "We encountered trouble on the carriage from the ball, which obviously indicates an internal problem with them. Under such circumstances, the ’Shadow Duke’ will definitely compensate us. There was a similar accident before, where soone disrupted the transaction rules of the ball, causing a huge loss to a mber. But within two days, the ’Shadow Duke’ had everything perfectly handled, made up for the loss of that mber, and even offered a sincere compensation..."
Upon hearing this, Su Lun’s respect for the organizers of the Lunar Ball increased a notch.
It took so audacity to handle things so well.
Thinking about the grandeur of the earlier ball, Su Lun guessed that the compensation must indeed be sincere.
But he thought that the matter of compensation could be discussed later.
What Su Lun was more concerned about was the cargo.
It would be a pity if they took such a big risk and didn’t get the goods.
No matter how good the compensation, he felt that it could not compare to the value that the batch of imported machinery currently brought to him.
Sabina, obviously well acquainted with her master’s thoughts, smiled with a tilt of her eyebrows and said reassuringly, "Master, rest assured, if that cargo truly exists, it will be delivered in accordance with the agreent made at the ball. The ’Shadow Duke’s’ influence in Lingdun is extrely terrifying."
Listening, Su Lun nodded, "I hope so."
Although it seed like everything had turned out well so far, the goods were sothing he had gambled his life on.
If he had not detected the problem in advance, by now he might have already fallen into the enemy’s ambush.
If the other party dared to bait them, then naturally they had the confidence to kill.
Lingdun City was a place where tigers and dragons lay hidden, and Su Lun did not delude himself into thinking he could definitely survive if caught in soone’s trap.
...
The two hunkered down in the tower to observe for a while.
The car accident drew so onlookers, ordinary people and professionals alike.
Su Lun watched in secret, but the fishers he was expecting did not show.
Those guys probably knew that they had only one chance for an ambush, and once it was blown, they had to quickly clean up.
After all, the ’King of Lingdun’s Underworld’ was not to be trifled with. Daring to make a move on his territory ant being prepared for a mad retaliation.
Judging from the "cases" Sabina ntioned that had happened before, all those involved in the ambush would be dragged out.
The consequences would be sothing that not an average person could withstand.
Su Lun was sowhat looking forward to that.
Because he guessed that the Empire of Mafa or Duke Raphael could be behind this.
He also wanted to see how the ’Shadow Duke’ would deal with these people.
Before the constables arrived, a group of mysterious n in trench coats got there first. They quickly cleaned up the scene, taking away the bodies and the vehicles.
The car accident ended right there and then.
Seeing the professionalism of the cleanup, Su Lun guessed that these n in trenches coats were certainly those sent by the ’King of Lingdun’s Underworld’ to clean up the aftermath.
This kind of matter could not possibly be escalated to the officials.
With the crisis resolved, Sabina was no longer tense, but to be safe, she did not contact anyone.
The two jumped down from the tower and began to wander aimlessly on the foggy Lingdun streets in the dead of night.
...
With the feeling of having a gun aid at the back of his head gone, it seed there was nothing urgent anymore.
Sabina affectionately hooked her arm through Su Lun’s, and the two walked unhurriedly.
On the iron street sign hung an indicator with the words "Tailor Street."
The surrounding buildings were low-rise red brick houses, which had been inhabited by tailors for hundreds of years, one of the oldest professions in Lingdun. This was also one of the oldest districts in Lingdun.
The houses were dilapidated, the white walls had turned to mottled grey-black with ti. The street was not smooth, paved with cobblestones existing for centuries, occasionally causing discomfort when a protruding stone was stepped on.
Because this was not a main artery, there were no tram lines, not even many streetlights.
Dim, quiet, serene, harmonious...
This place had an oldness utterly different from the rest of bustling Lingdun, yet it revealed a different kind of local charm and life.
Walking on the ancient streets shrouded in fog at night, neither of them spoke. It was as if their souls were being soothed by the environnt, becoming as tranquil as the night.
They walked and walked, from the main streets to the smaller alleys.
Just as they passed by, they caught a glimpse of a sign hanging on a rusty door with "Twilight Alley 73."
The numbers on the door sign didn’t matter.
What mattered was that this was a secluded alley that nobody would pass through.
It was suitable for doing so romantic things.
Here, even if the noise was louder, it would probably not disturb the peaceful dreams of others.
Sabina’s eyes shimred as she suddenly stopped. With a suggestive tease, she said, "Sir... don’t you think the setting here is rather nice?"
Su Lun, still thinking about the previous matters, was montarily perplexed, his gaze instinctively focusing on the pitch-black street ahead.
This...???
But a mont later, seeing the amorous smile in Sabina’s eyes amidst the darkness, he imdiately understood.
The dim light revealed Su Lun’s bemused expression, he spoke uncertainly, "This... isn’t such a good idea, is it?"
Sabina’s coquetry was etched into her very marrow; she was not the least bit shy, boldly pulling Su Lun’s hand deep inside her trench coat, hinting, "Skirts can be very convenient, you know~"
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