Chapter 218: Dark Boundless Realm 73
Night always passes quickly; dawn was approaching.
Kui Xin sat inside her newly acquired stronghold, watching the gradually brightening streets and could not help but sigh.
Her schedule had been wrecked over these past few weeks, and she could no longer adjust it back.
Picking up someone else’s ready-made safe spot was convenient, but simply having a few safe spots was not enough; she needed supplies. Medicines, weapons, mechanical maintenance tools—these all needed to be considered. Many people engaged in gray trades in the Midnight District; most things could be bought with money, but that was too wasteful of resources. It was better to directly establish a complete resource supply chain.
Then the problem arose; maintaining the resource supply chain still required manpower. Resources could not appear out of thin air; there had to be channels to acquire and trade them.
The small groups Kui Xin had targeted last night were people involved in gray trades in the Midnight District. Some were responsible for smuggling firearms, while others sold medical equipment at high prices. Kui Xin had controlled their leaders, indirectly controlling these small groups.
In addition to subduing these small groups, Kui Xin had also taken over a bar to serve as the front for her organization.
Previously in Hei Hai City, the Mechanized Dawn task force held meetings either at the Ruby Red Bar or at the Command Center. Inspired by the Mechanized Dawn, she felt she needed to establish a more decent stronghold as a front; with the Shadowless Headquarters temporarily unfeasible, she could only create more safe spots.
“The bar can operate on an unmanned vending mode,” Kui Xin said. “The bartender can be an automated cocktail-making robot, cleaning done by cleaning robots, and customer service by service robots… With more surveillance, we can manage it well without needing many people. By the way, how about we claim the bar’s owner is the ‘Mirror’?”
Augus said: “I have no objections.”
“Then you will be the technology expert and stronghold manager for the Shadowless Organization,” Kui Xin shaped Augus’s identity. “We can set your extraordinary ability to be ‘data modification,’ and your identity as a super hacker, remaining out of sight to enhance the sense of mystery.”
“Sounds good, very perfect,” Augus replied.
“Then it’s settled…” Kui Xin yawned, took out her communicator, and sent orders to several well-connected traders in the Midnight District to order service robots, intending to get the bar business on track.
For security reasons, Kui Xin decided to assign different permission levels to future members of the organization, so that only members with higher permission levels could know more about the locations of strongholds, while those with lower levels would know less.
To gain more permissions and elevate their levels, members had to contribute to the organization, proving their loyalty.
This method would gradually help members learn about the Shadowless while also avoiding direct exposure of secrets in front of them.
Currently, this permission level division applied only to the indigenous people of the Second World, not to players firmly loyal to the First World. Players would be the core of Kui Xin’s organization; the existence of the Shadowless was to help players through crises. For players who proved their reliability, Kui Xin could not implement such harsh arrangements.
“All candidates for the second round of interviews have been notified,” Augus said. “There are two hours left; should we set up the scene or notify Ash to coordinate?”
“Notify her,” Kui Xin said. “I want to see those people myself during the interview.”
“Use the Investigative Eye to determine their abilities?” Augus asked. “Sure.”
Last time, Kui Xin had operated remotely out of caution since she was targeted by the Mechanized Dawn; the Reset was terrifyingly effective, and she could not take that risk. This time, she had an A-level Reset and did not need to fear any Awakened below S-level, so she planned to go in person.
“The Special Affairs Department has been investigating various locations today,” Augus said. “They also went to the parking lot where the incident happened in Dmitri; that parking lot is still under lockdown. They also checked the hangar located underground in the Investigation Bureau to see what the situation was regarding the mainframe explosion at that time.”
Kui Xin said: “I guess they haven’t discovered anything at the previous sites.”
“That’s right,” Augus said. “You were fighting in the dump at that time, and a lot of people died there due to a violent explosion, which caught their attention. They are on their way to the dump where you fought the Mechanized Dawn. The Mechanized Dawn must have cleaned up the scene after the battle; there were many of their corpses, and Eve knows the stakes.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Kui Xin nodded.
Augus emphasized: “I’ve been closely monitoring their conversations through their personal devices and found that a certain lady named Li Wanran has a very peculiar ability; she can see events that occurred at a certain location in the past, but there seems to be some limitations. She couldn’t discover anything. In some ways, she could be a dangerous individual. If her ability level is high enough, she might become someone others would fear.”
Kui Xin had a similar premonition.
If Li Wanran could see scenes from a few days or even months ago at a specific time, then all she had to do was walk around certain building areas, and information could leak out in an instant.
For example, presented with an electronic door that required a specific password to open, an intruder might rack their brains trying to remember the password, but Li Wanran could activate her ability to see residual images from a certain time and input the correct password. She could also track the movements of people currently at the location, and if she could read lips, she could even deduce what those who once stood there had said.
Li Wanran might not have strong combat abilities, but the role her capability played was irreplaceable.
“Kui Xin, do you know Li Wanran?” Augus suddenly asked.
“Yes, I do know her,” Kui Xin replied.
“I see; then everything makes sense. She’s covering for you, and knowing her, you’re not worried about her leaking your information.”
“Yes, she’s still quite reliable.” Kui Xin said.
“In that case, I will keep a close eye on her and provide help when necessary.” Augus said.
Kui Xin felt a bit complicated, “I recall you used to beat around the bush when speaking to me, never straightforward. If you had suspected I knew Li Wanran a while back…”
“Then I would have probably pretended to be deaf and dumb, pretending I didn’t notice anything, and waited for you to clarify, then I would have followed your lead,” Augus said. “Last time you asked me to be direct, I followed through.”
Kui Xin stroked her chin, “Good, keep it up.”
She looked down and messaged He Kangshi: “You need to relocate the stronghold.”
“No problem! What about Four Leaves?” He Kangshi replied.
“Take Four Leaves with you,” Kui Xin said. “You used to work at the bar for a while, so you should understand how bars in the Midnight District operate. The organization now needs you to assist in managing a bar stronghold; you’ll be the deputy owner.”
“Okay!” He Kangshi quickly replied. “Then who’s the main owner? Is it Ash or you?”
“Someone you haven’t met yet, codename ‘Mirror.’ You can listen to their opinions regarding managing the bar,” Kui Xin said.
The underground wine cellar of the bar could be divided into a resting area and an equipment supply area. There were also many rooms on the second and third floors of the bar, but they needed to be renovated and equipped with bulletproof glass and other hardware.
Most of the work in the bar could be done by robots, but a living person was still needed nearby to keep an eye on things. The Shadowless had too few people, so Kui Xin could only make one person do the work of two, having He Kangshi look after Four Leaves while managing the bar.
A few minutes later, He Kangshi and Four Leaves were brought to the bar.
Four Leaves curiously looked around, seeing this as his first exposure to the outside world.
“It’s so cold,” he said softly. “But I’ve seen things I’ve never seen before; I really like it.”
There was a pile of white snow on the street that hadn’t melted from the snow a couple of days ago, and he immediately became fascinated, reaching out to poke it. Feeling the cold, he quickly withdrew his hand, but couldn’t help but poke it repeatedly until the snow was full of finger holes.
He Kangshi looked around and said: “This bar location is quite good; I imagine acquiring it wouldn’t be cheap… I remember the gang forces in this neighborhood seemed quite large.”
Whether it was costly or not had nothing to do with Kui Xin; after all, she didn’t spend any money. The gang in this area had already been swept away and controlled by Kui Xin, and the industries under the gang were all hers now.
“I ordered robots and some building materials; the renovation workers will come over soon to take care of the indoor renovations. Just keep an eye on things,” Kui Xin instructed.
“Alright,” He Kangshi said, looking around. “Where’s Mirror? Where’s that member?”
“Mirror usually doesn’t show up; this member mainly handles technical matters,” Kui Xin said. “Mirror will contact you at the appropriate time.”
He Kangshi: “Oh, understood.”
Four Leaves, done playing with the snow, held his frozen reddened hands as he entered the bar and seriously looked at Kui Xin, saying: “I haven’t seen you in a long time. I want to be with you…”
Kui Xin also looked at him and said: “No, I have things to do.”
“Can I follow you?” Four Leaves asked. “I want to see more things with you.”
“No, not now,” Kui Xin said.
He Kangshi interjected: “This kid has asked where you were several times. Is he experiencing some sort of attachment?”
“Perhaps,” Kui Xin replied.
“This bar isn’t really a suitable place for raising children,” He Kangshi frowned at Four Leaves. “He really… knows so little. I’ve noticed he’s very smart; when I gave him a Rubik’s Cube, he solved it in under a minute the first time he played. I gave him some math problems, and he finished them quickly; he can even do calculus. But his life knowledge is pitifully weak…”
He hesitated and said: “Our organization members don’t specifically live in deep despair every day, but it’s quite similar. Having a child like Four Leaves, who knows nothing, mixed in feels like a pack of wolves with a little kitten? Sigh… We have to take some responsibility after pulling someone out of a lab. Just like how a mother can’t neglect her child after giving birth; we must take responsibility for his life. Of course, this is just my wishful thinking; mainly because Four Leaves is different from others in the Second World; he seems like an innocent baby… Sis, what do you think?”
This was something Kui Xin was also considering.
Giving Four Leaves a new life involved many issues; the Shadowless did not have the energy to teach a child who knew nothing to understand the world and build a worldview, and this cruel world wouldn’t allow him time to grow slowly.
“You take care of him for now,” Kui Xin thought of a solution. “I’ll handle it.”
He Kangshi nodded reassuringly: “Sure.”
Kui Xin had never rescued anyone in the Second World; Four Leaves was her first non-player rescue… Wait, that doesn’t seem right. She had saved Xueyao Shu on the Kraken, but that time she had done it with ulterior motives.
Regardless of the process and purpose, saving was saving. Kui Xin pulled Four Leaves out of the mire at Augus’s request; she could not let him fall back into it, or else saving him would lose its meaning.
Perhaps compared to He Kangshi, Ambereye was the most suitable choice to teach Four Leaves.
Ignoring Four Leaves’s sad gaze, Kui Xin left without looking back.
He Kangshi stood by the bar, deep in thought for a moment, then pulled out a mask from his body and handed it to Four Leaves: “Put this on, and don’t let anyone see your face outside.”
Four Leaves, bewildered, complied: “Not even the Hunter Falcon and Maotoufu?”
“If it’s just me and Maotoufu here, it doesn’t matter whether you wear a mask or not. But if there are others around, then it’s not acceptable,” He Kangshi patiently explained. “Oh, and you shouldn’t show your face in places where there might be surveillance… Do you know what surveillance is?”
Four Leaves replied: “I know, it’s a kind of electronic device.”
He Kangshi thought, would Maotoufu ordering robots and having people come to renovate this stronghold be a bit risky? What if there were leaks about the internal structure? But he quickly thought that Maotoufu must have considered these issues; if she didn’t mention it, then it shouldn’t be a big problem.
He Kangshi waited for people in the empty bar, while Four Leaves happily roamed around the shop. His adaptability was extraordinary; he could barely walk at first, but now he was able to walk steadily and even jog.
After nearly an hour, He Kangshi waited for the renovation workers.
The moment the tattooed and muscular workers with safety helmets showed up, He Kangshi was stunned. They looked fierce—nothing like renovation workers; they looked more like gang members here to cause trouble.
Before He Kangshi could stand up to greet them, they grabbed their tools and walked into the shop to begin renovations, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Before long, the ordered service robots arrived. A small delivery truck unloaded goods at the entrance and then quickly drove off. Two rows of service robots automatically powered on and marched neatly into the shop.
One of the robots approached He Kangshi, and the screen displayed a line of text: “Hello, I am Mirror; you can just call me Mirror.”
He Kangshi was taken aback and quickly responded: “Hello, hello, I am Hunter Falcon, nice to meet you.”
“I usually don’t show myself; if special circumstances arise, I’ll notify you through your personal device. I’ll also assist with tasks from the side. I’m a hacker, mainly responsible for technical affairs.”
He Kangshi said: “This is really advanced… Our organization actually has such talent! What’s up with those renovation workers? They don’t look like renovation workers; each of them looks like a murderer.”
“They are members of nearby gangs, here for the renovations.”
He Kangshi was stunned: “Their business is quite broad…”
Kui Xin was always good at making the most of resources; even if the controlled gang members were weak, she could find something for them to do.
……
For the second round of interviews, there were eight people, all Awakened with extraordinary abilities.
Kui Xin set up a room, which was divided into two parts by one-way visible glass; standing behind the glass, she could see the interviewees, but they could not see her.
The process was the same as last time: first, gather the personnel, then Su Rong was responsible for drawing lots and leading the way. Kui Xin used the Spatial Vortex to transport the interviewees, and then the interviews began.
Sitting behind the glass, she observed the group of people coming for the interview through the invisible monitoring devices on-site.
There were well-dressed bounty hunters, well-known fugitives on the wanted list, and some seemingly ordinary individuals. Among them, one person drew Kui Xin’s attention: a young woman dressed in a street style, her hair dyed in multiple colors, with a nose piercing and lip piercing. When she spoke, Kui Xin even noticed she had a tongue piercing too… This street girl had drawn number one.
Kui Xin said to Su Rong: “Begin.”
The portal opened, and the girl stepped inside.
Kui Xin was stunned when she saw her ability description—Mind Reading, C-level, with the effect that when the opponent’s extraordinary ability level was lower than hers, she could read the thoughts in others’ minds, but there were limits to the number of uses.
