Ch.65 He Is Different
The three of them continued downward along the mine tunnel.
"We're nearly there. Based on the maximum depth of the Listone Mine Shaft shown on the map, and the depth we've descended since entering, just ahead should be the bottommost level."
Luo Nan folded the map shut and raised a hand to point toward the vast underground space at the end of the dim tunnel ahead.
"Are we here? Is that the Boss arena up ahead?"
Anya strode to the front, pressed herself to the ground, and extended her head over the edge to observe the situation below.
"Just as you said — one, two, three……there are roughly thirty Abyssal Followers gathered down below, and they're surrounded by those large crates on all sides."
Luo Nan moved up beside the girl, crouched down, and took stock of the situation below as well.
The enormous underground space was lit by only a few feeble Magic lanterns, dim as the belly of so vast beast, swallowing whole every corner the light could not reach.
'Tch, tch……these people aren't entirely foolish — they know not to use open fla at the bottom of a mine shaft like this.'
Luo Nan produced his lighter and turned it over in his hand. "But just because you lot don't use one, doesn't an I can't!"
"Anya, Miss Tanya — look." Luo Nan raised a hand and pointed to the topmost layer of the underground space, where the ceiling of the cavern was held up by countless massive load-bearing wooden beams.
"These small-fry below aren't worth spending our energy on directly. We need to save our strength for whoever is behind all of this."
"Those load-bearing beams are thick, but this has been an abandoned mine for over ten years — the environnt has long since eaten away at their internal structure."
"You an……" Anya seed to grasp where Luo Nan was going with this.
"Oh? You've figured out my plan? Go on, then."
Luo Nan was genuinely caught off guard. He hadn't expected this not-particularly-sharp individual to have worked out what he was planning.
"……Haha, you keep going, I'm listening." The girl scratched the back of her head, flashed a wide grin, and assud an expression of earnest attention.
Luo Nan glanced at her and chose not to mock her at a mont like this. He continued: "I'm not sure what they were thinking when they excavated this underground space, but the ceiling isn't a vaulted arch. In other words — if we destroy enough of those load-bearing beams around the periter, there's a very high probability the ceiling cos down."
"On top of that, I'll give them a little gas explosion to go with it." He raised the lighter in his hand.
"Now I see! So what do we need to do?"
The mont the word 'explosion' left his lips, those golden eyes of Anya's lit up with barely contained eagerness — the look of soone urgently wanting to witness this particular work of art unfold before them in person.
Luo Nan produced a handful of gray spheres from inside his jacket. "These are demolition bombs designed specifically for blasting. Take them — and on my signal, throw them together at the load-bearing beams."
"And after that?" Anya accepted the gray spheres Luo Nan passed her, and turned them over in her palm.
"After that — we co face to face with whoever is pulling the strings here. Surely you don't think soone like that won't hear a commotion this size?"
"A Boss fight after one big fireworks show? Now that's what I call interesting!"
Luo Nan stood up and dusted himself off, then turned to the two won. "Alright — ti to begin our final operation."
"Understood."
"I've been waiting for this!"
The three split into separate paths. The two won, Alchemical Bombs in hand, picked their way along the walls at the periter of the underground space. Luo Nan activated his power and extended his superhuman senses to pinpoint the spot below with the highest concentration of gas.
'This is the one.'
He locked onto a 'waste accumulation area' well clear of the thirty Followers of 'Nature,' and flipped open the lighter's cap.
Click—
A blue fla leapt from the nozzle, casting its light across Luo Nan's disguised, unremarkable face.
Seeing that the two won had reached their assigned positions, Luo Nan extended his left hand and held up three fingers.
"Three." Tanya counted in silence.
"Two." The light of excitent flared in Anya's golden eyes.
"One."
Luo Nan folded back the last finger, cast one final glance at the Followers of 'Nature' below busily sorting through their materials, and broke into a grin.
"In your next life……don't worship the Abyss."
With that, the windproof lighter — blue fla dancing — arced downward like a firefly taking flight, tracing a graceful curve into the darkness below.
'What a sha to waste a limited-edition hundred-Fara lighter……'
BOOM—!!!
Light erupted upward. The earth shook and the mountains trembled.
***
No. 3 Violet Street. Serela's private residence.
The golden-haired Imperial Princess sat bent over her desk in her private study, reviewing and approving docunts.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Enter." The Imperial Princess's voice carried none of its usual gentle elegance — in its place was sothing crisp, composed, and clipped.
"Your Highness — as you instructed, here are all records of major transactions under the Perez Family's assets over the past decade." The personal handmaid set a thick stack of docunts down on Serela's desk with respectful care.
A flicker of surprise crossed those strikingly beautiful violet eyes. "Oh? So soon?"
"Working from the leads Mr. dillion provided before his departure, we traced outward from the Listone Mine Shaft as our key reference point, thodically investigating all associated assets — which allowed us to save a considerable amount of ti."
The Imperial Princess turned through the docunts steadily, her dark brows drawing together slightly. Within a short ti she had completed a rough review of all the materials.
Serela folded her arms across her chest, the motion pressing that ample figure into even bolder relief.
She let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, as though working to keep the anger inside her firmly contained.
"This Perez Family……their audacity is sothing else……"
"Your Highness?"
Serela pushed back her swivel chair, raised one slender foot sheathed in sheer black silk, and hooked the heel of the shoe she had slipped off from beneath the desk — five toes, each as round and dexterous as a finger, all wrapped in black silk, working the heel back onto her foot with unhurried elegance.
The whole motion flowed like water, not a single hand involved at any point.
She rose and smoothed the creases that had ford in her skirt from sitting, then walked to the window and stood gazing out at the Radiant Palace at the heart of the Upper District — that seat of imperial power.
"Pass this intelligence to the Special Intelligence Agency — file a request for joint enforcent with the Royal Guard. I would very much like to see whether certain parasites within this Empire have the nerve to be quite this brazen when faced with the full force of the law……"
"Yes, Your Highness." The handmaid gave a graceful bow, gathered up the docunts bearing evidence of the Perez Family's cris, and retreated backward out of the study.
Tap, tap, tap—
In the now-silent study, only the sound of heels striking the floor lingered in the air.
The Imperial Princess stretched her arms languidly overhead, the magnificent skirt rising with the motion, tracing an increasingly dramatic and elegant curve over that trembling, plentiful figure. She turned at the waist, that perfect, barely-there silhouette rendered all the more enticing through the gauze-like haze of her gown.
Serela buried herself entirely in the sofa, crossed her legs, kicked her heels off without a second thought, and set aside every asure of dignity and poise she maintained in public without a care.
She picked up an unopened bottle of fruit wine from the Morningstar Winery, popped the seal with a thread of Battle Aura, and tipped her head back to drink directly from the bottle.
"I wonder……where did my Luo Nan get that skull from." Serela's eyes grew languid with drink. She set the bottle down and let her body tip sideways onto the sofa cushions. "……He's been a little different ever since I ca back from the inspection tour I did in Father's place……Is he finally moving out of the shadow of that incident?"
"Luo Nan von dillion — I look forward very much to seeing what greater surprise you'll bring ~"
The corner of the Imperial Princess's mouth curved upward without her noticing, and under the gentle persuasion of the fruit wine's warmth, she drifted slowly off to sleep……
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