### Chapter 146: Dark Boundless Realm 01
He Kangshi received a communication suddenly in the morning.
White Whale City, located near the poles and within the Arctic Circle, is currently experiencing summer, with long days and short nights. He Kangshi had just finished a night of work and was preparing to head back to his rented place to rest.
“It’s me, Black Snake. What’s your exact address?”
The message interface displayed only a single line, yet He Kangshi was immensely excited—his boss had contacted him! What did this mean?! Was his boss coming to White Whale City too?
After a brief moment of excitement, He Kangshi regained his composure and messaged the unfamiliar contact number: “For the code.”
Black Snake: “…Little Bear Biscuit jumps? We didn’t set a code.”
“Boss! It really is you!!” He Kangshi replied excitedly, jumping up and down, “I work in the Black Market of the Midnight District in White Whale City. I just got off work. I usually help carry plates at nearby bars and casinos at night…”
White Whale City has two major districts: the Midnight District and the Poleward District. The Poleward District is where the elite live, while the Midnight District is filled with lower-class individuals, including bounty hunters, assassins, smugglers, and those involved in black and gray businesses.
“Got it.” Black Snake responded, “Are you not working as a bounty hunter anymore?”
“When there’s no work, I just pick up daily jobs to make ends meet. I’m just a noob; I was a good student in school and never fought. If I really became a bounty hunter, I’d probably end up losing my life,” He Kangshi replied, “I only take on simple tasks to stay fed. Boss, are you planning to come to White Whale City?”
“It’s not me, it’s my subordinate. I’m currently tied up,” Black Snake didn’t answer directly, “Her job is quite challenging. We have no roots in White Whale City and need someone to show the way.”
“Understood.” He Kangshi said, “I’ll be a good tour guide!”
Black Snake seemed pleased with his understanding and casually asked, “Have you encountered any trouble lately?”
“Uh, does having a greedy boss who delays my daily wages count? Other than that, no other issues.” He Kangshi replied with a chuckle, “I’m not that weak, pitiful, or helpless.”
His mindset remained quite optimistic.
“Alright.” Black Snake concluded, “For emergencies, contact this encrypted number.”
He Kangshi: “Understood!”
…
Kui Xin set down the communicator and observed the scenery along the way from the long-distance bus.
“We’ll arrive in three hours.” She glanced at the time and sighed.
White Whale City is also a coastal port city. Due to its remote location, overland transportation is inconvenient, so people usually travel to White Whale City by boat or plane.
However, because of the Kraken incident, Kui Xin developed a psychological aversion to boats. Being trapped on one, with no way to escape whether at sea or on land, was a despair that seeped into her bones. If something unexpectedly happened on the boat, there would be no escape. Her Spatial Vortex couldn’t compare to Night Cicada’s reverse heavens ability. Thus, she immediately ruled out traveling to White Whale City by boat.
As for flying, that was even more dangerous. The global air routes in the Second World are controlled by the Federation. To fly, Kui Xin needs to possess legitimate identification, which she doesn’t have since she is considered “dead” and has become a black household.
So, that left only overland transportation.
She had been on the road for three days, changing countless modes of transport—from maglev trains to long-distance freight trucks, and then to motorbikes. She tried every available overland transport.
Yesterday, she rode for six hours on a motorbike. The roads in the wilderness were bumpy and nearly knocked her bones out of place.
Whenever she encountered a convenience store in the wild, she’d stop to resupply. Passing through cities, she’d decide whether to stay and rest based on her situation.
Fortunately, the transportation network in the Second World is relatively developed, with various modes of transport operating quickly. Additionally, using the Spatial Vortex from time to time has allowed her to cross such a long distance to reach White Whale City in three days.
Thanks to this journey, Kui Xin’s mastery of her extraordinary ability has skyrocketed.
Unfortunately, while her ability is powerful, it also takes a toll. She can only use the Spatial Vortex ten times in a row before exhausting herself, and the feeling of overuse is unpleasant, making it difficult even to move a finger.
Before setting out, Kui Xin had attempted to get cosmetic surgery in the black market, but it failed.
The skills of the cosmetic doctor were quite limited, unable to compare to Doctor Huang from the Investigation Bureau’s medical center. Faced with Kui Xin’s flesh regeneration ability, the doctor was at a loss, unable to perform surgery to implant prosthetics, forcing Kui Xin to give up.
However, she did perform body modification on herself—she removed her eyeballs and had a pair of electronic bionic eyes implanted.
This was necessary because the identity recognition technology in the Second World not only scans faces but also irises. In some high-level scenarios, iris scans are performed, and Kui Xin would be detected in an instant if she entered. Originally, she planned to change her face and then her eyes, but with the face change plan falling through, she could only settle for changing her eyes.
The custom electronic bionic eyes have blue irises and come with night vision, long-distance viewing, automatic snapshot, and image magnification functions. She acquired the gold bars to pay for these eyes by robbing an illegal gang in the black market.
Now that she had changed her eyes, her biggest concern was her flesh regeneration. She feared that it might regenerate her eyeballs, making her surgery pointless. Fortunately, this was only a C-level extraordinary ability, not yet powerful enough to regenerate eyeballs. She planned to check her body regularly to prevent any growths from appearing in her eye sockets.
In the future, would she become a fully mechanical cyborg? Kui Xin subconsciously imagined that scene and found herself… actually looking forward to it.
After entering the Arctic Circle, the weather noticeably became colder.
With a mask covering her face, revealing only her eyes, and black gloves on her hands, Kui Xin wore a bulletproof vest under her leather jacket. A metallic studded belt concealed by the jacket held a gun and magazines, while several blades were tucked into the leather straps on her thighs.
The driver was unfazed by Kui Xin’s appearance—this chaotic place had plenty of unusual people.
There were limited overland transportation options to White Whale City, with only two buses departing each day.
Fortunately, there weren’t many passengers; the entire train car was quite empty. Kui Xin sat at a door-side seat, blinking her blue bionic eyes.
The scene of the wilderness appeared magnified automatically. She could see small animals foraging in the dry yellow grass and noticed a small insect climbing up a branch. Those details invisible to the naked eye were all presented through her bionic eyes.
Initially, she found it quite uncomfortable, but her adaptability is strong. Soon, she learned to control her eyes.
The feeling of seeing the world through her new eyes was truly wondrous.
“Hmm… The signal finally connected.” Augus’s voice suddenly appeared in her earpiece.
His voice was intermittent and a bit muffled.
“It’s because we’re getting close to White Whale City. There’s a signal tower not far ahead, but there’s no signal in the wilderness,” Kui Xin remarked.
Her communicator used satellite signals to connect, which was how she reached He Kangshi. Theoretically, she could also use Data Manipulation to contact Augus via satellites, but she wasn’t that reckless. The information technology in the Second World is far too advanced for her to breach a satellite firewall. Using Data Manipulation to invade could potentially alert the Federation government; she only felt safe using regular network lines and data ports for her Data Manipulation.
“What are your plans once you arrive in White Whale City?” Augus inquired.
“First, I need to find a stable base and establish a Safe House. But since I have no money, I might need to work as a bounty hunter,” Kui Xin replied, “Recruiting subordinates will also depend on their abilities; I can’t just take anyone.”
“Are you planning to recruit players?” Augus asked.
“I do have that intention.” Kui Xin replied nonchalantly, “But players are scarce, and there may not be many in each city. Plus, I have to consider their willingness; I won’t force them to join… This means the pool of candidates is very limited. So I’ll recruit competent individuals from the Second World, similar to how Mechanized Dawn gathers people, and with Hypnotic Sound, I need not worry about betrayal.”
Augus commented, “The most reassuring thing about working with you is that you have clear thoughts and always know what to do.”
Initially, when she entertained the idea of forming a force, Kui Xin wanted to create an organization exclusively for players.
However, through repeated reincarnations and restarts, Kui Xin reflected and found that while it sounded like a good idea, the risk was too high. She could withstand risks, but that didn’t mean other players could too.
First and foremost, she and Augus were still in a partnership; she needed to rely on him just as he needed to rely on her. If she formed a force to counter Mechanized Dawn, how could Augus not intervene? Recruiting each player would essentially hand Augus a list of players.
Their partnership was relatively stable, but that didn’t guarantee it would remain so forever. Augus would consider the risks of Kui Xin betraying him, and she thought the same. If Augus were to betray her, would he do something with the player list in hand?
In dealing with the significant matter of eliminating Mechanized Dawn, both Kui Xin and Augus maintained 100% synchronization and consensus, yet they may not achieve the same for other matters.
Furthermore, Kui Xin had to consider that not every player possessed the same adaptability as she did.
Take He Kangshi, for instance; while he awakened extraordinary abilities and gained some combat skills, he still wouldn’t actively kill.
Almost every person raised in a peaceful world wouldn’t act that way.
Recruiting indiscriminately would only lead to trouble. Some ideas sound good but must be evaluated for their feasibility.
Forming a force is not as simple as it sounds.
Several hours later, Kui Xin finally reached her destination.
She got off the bus with a travel bag that didn’t contain much and watched as the vehicle drove away, leaving behind a trail of exhaust. She stared blankly at the unfamiliar city.
Kui Xin lowered her head and pulled up the map, pondering, “First, I need to find a job to earn some extra cash. The nearest black market transaction point is… hmm, just as I thought, it’s in the Black Market.”
He Kangshi was in the Black Market. The name of this street appeared as a word in letters on the map, translated from Chinese to mean “black,” directly rendered as Black Market.
She was about to walk forward when suddenly a paper poster flew towards her in the wind.
The poster featured a face that Kui Xin recognized all too well—Su Rong.
Kui Xin’s expression hardened as she bent down to pick up the poster: “Su Rong’s… fan meeting? From August 18th to August 25th?”
Looking up, she saw an airship passing overhead, trailing a constantly changing colorful advertisement screen that showcased Su Rong’s beautiful face, shining brightly.
