Chapter 157 Dark Boundless Realm 12
Su Rong spent a frightened night. She originally planned to wait for Kui Xin to return, but couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep. She hadn’t had much sleep lately, always drifting off in anxiety; seeing Kui Xin actually calmed her heart.
Dawn came early in White Whale City. Kui Xin returned to the villa around five in the morning, and the sky was already slightly bright.
She had slept too much during the day and also hadn’t adjusted to the city’s time zone, so she didn’t feel tired.
Last night, Kui Xin had been monitoring the movements of the Bureau of Investigation and Order Maintenance and the Popov Clan, intercepting their communication networks and interaction channels. Augus also taught her some tricks to invade encrypted networks and erase traces of data intrusion.
The Investigation Bureau in White Whale City had trained police dogs, and there were still some machines that couldn’t replace the dogs’ noses in detecting scent factors in the air. The Bureau, with police dogs in tow, searched the city, but found nothing except for a few blood traces. Kui Xin had left the scene using a spatial vortex, causing a major discontinuity in the scent trail, making it impossible for the police dogs to track. As for the blood near the coastline, it was washed away by the rising tide a long time ago.
Even so, Kui Xin had to be cautious when moving out to avoid leaving her scent traces. However, there were professional odor removers sold in the Midnight District, and Kui Xin had managed to get some emergency supplies overnight.
Kui Xin returned to the rest room and silently observed Su Rong slumped on the sofa, fast asleep.
Just as she sat down in the massage chair, Su Rong startled awake.
“Is something happening outside?” Su Rong rubbed her eyes and got straight to the point.
“The Investigation Bureau and the Popov Clan are looking for us, the police dogs are tracking our whereabouts. We need to be more cautious moving forward. If we go out, we must apply the odor remover all over our bodies,” Kui Xin replied, placing the odor remover on the table, leaning against the massage chair as the massage mechanism activated, helping to relieve her shoulder and neck discomfort.
Su Rong expressed her unease, “Will they come here?”
“That’s a possibility, but for now, we are safe,” Kui Xin said. “You need to be mentally prepared; the people in this world won’t be merciful to us.”
Su Rong nodded gently.
The way the Investigation Bureau in this city trained police dogs was quite eye-opening for Kui Xin.
In the First World, many trial police dogs had to be eliminated before an excellent one was selected, and a good police dog needed long-term training to be obedient, skilled, responsive to commands, and cooperative.
In the Second World, police dog training did not rely on manual methods but instead used direct mental training. With advanced brain science and neuro-mechanics, people interfered with animal brains using various machines, sending electrical signals to specific areas of a police dog’s brain to forcibly “write” rules and commands into it. In just a week, a qualified police dog would be produced.
When Augus shared this with Kui Xin, she felt a chill run down her spine.
“The current laws vary by region, and a mayor has significant governing power over their city. The Bureau of Investigation and Order Maintenance in Black Sea City didn’t pass the police dog training bill, but White Whale City did, so they trained police dogs this way,” Augus explained.
“It sounds like this method is quite established,” Kui Xin remarked. “Is the development of brain machines also inspired by this?”
“Exactly,” Augus affirmed. “Initially, researchers only experimented on mice, then moved on to larger mammals, followed by monkeys, gorillas, and eventually humans. The Federation has no death penalty, so they conducted experiments on serious criminals; accepting the experiments could allow for reduced sentences. They also recruited ‘volunteers’ from impoverished areas, offering certain rewards for their agreement to participate… of course, many of those who accepted the experiments died on the operating table. The advancements in brain science and neuro-mechanics are built upon a mountain of corpses.”
“Humans are just higher animals; those methods of controlling animals can also be applied to humans,” Kui Xin stated.
“That’s why these experiments have raised some ethical controversies,” Augus added. “Despite the controversy, they have continued.”
In the underground lounge of the villa, a robot served a cup of warm water next to Kui Xin.
Kui Xin picked it up and drank it all at once. “Do you have family?”
“Not in this world,” Su Rong replied. “I… me in this world grew up in a welfare home.”
“Do you have memories?” Kui Xin inquired.
“No… me in this world has mental anxiety. The psychologist suggested journaling to relieve it; that helped me a lot,” Su Rong said dejectedly. “I suppose I’m one of the luckier ones… although I haven’t been able to stay lucky, in this environment, it seems hard to be lucky.”
Su Rong managed to maintain a level head; having survived this long without breaking down or being discovered showed she had some special qualities beyond just being lucky.
“What should we do next?” Su Rong asked. “I don’t know what I can do… Can I help you?”
“It’s hard for you to help much. Do you see the dumbbells and treadmill in the corner? Exercise every day and improve your physical fitness; that’s a way of helping me. You need to train in both worlds, don’t slack off,” Kui Xin instructed.
Su Rong agreed without hesitation.
“So, we just hide here until the storm passes?” she asked.
“No, now I’m the one who has actively stirred the storm,” Kui Xin said, pressing a button on the massage chair. A projector descended from the rest room wall, displaying current news on the screen.
“…At about 1 a.m. on August 23, Dmitri Popov was attacked and went missing in his car. A new underground organization called ‘The Shadowless’ claims responsibility for this incident…”
The moment Su Rong heard the news anchor say this, she was stunned.
She looked bewilderedly at Kui Xin, “But it was me who killed Dmitri, not The Shadowless. Why do they take responsibility for this incident…”
“It was indeed The Shadowless who did it,” Kui Xin fixed her gaze on Su Rong.
In her calm demeanor, Su Rong realized, “I… you are a member of ‘The Shadowless’?”
“Now you are too,” Kui Xin replied.
Su Rong’s face paled, and it took a while before she could come to her senses.
At that moment, the news anchor continued, “The ‘Shadowless’ organization has put forward negotiation conditions to the Popov Clan, demanding a ransom of ten billion Federation coins…”
Su Rong’s already pale face began to take on a bluish hue.
“The Maotoufu… we became wanted criminals! Level one wanted!” Su Rong stuttered.
“Isn’t that obvious?” Kui Xin shrugged. “This is the inevitable result of events. Without The Shadowless, you’d still become a wanted criminal.”
Su Rong bit her lip. Logically, she accepted it, but emotionally, she couldn’t come to terms with it immediately.
She anxiously twisted her clothes, trying to sort through her chaotic thoughts.
She soon realized that the news said “Dmitri Popov is missing,” not “dead,” which reminded her of the series of actions Kui Xin took after removing Dmitri’s body last night.
Kui Xin handled it with remarkable skill. Dmitri had just died, and Kui Xin arrived promptly; in under two minutes of their exchange, she had thought of a way to dispose of the body and even launched a smoke bomb to confuse the Bureau of Investigation and the Popov Clan’s attention.
Not only was she skilled, but she also seemed so accustomed to it, maintaining an unnerving calmness.
She too was a player… what had she experienced within this realm to become such a person?
“Do you know why I showed you this?” Kui Xin asked, looking at Su Rong.
“Because now I’ve joined you,” Su Rong replied.
“It’s not just that,” Kui Xin said. “I showed you this to give you a clear understanding of your situation, to let you know our organization’s positioning, and to have a grasp on me. We didn’t establish this organization to play house. I saved you once, but I won’t be your nanny, and I’m not some kind-hearted person.”
Su Rong whispered, “I understand…”
“Good that you understand,” Kui Xin turned off the projector.
Candid and honest words are often hard to hear; Su Rong understood this principle.
“If I hadn’t met you, my situation might have been worse…” Su Rong sniffled. “It’s good enough as it is; I’ll work hard to be useful.”
“Mm.” Kui Xin expressed her approval of Su Rong’s attitude.
“Will the Popov Clan pay that ten billion?” Su Rong asked.
“Most likely not,” Kui Xin said. “Whether they pay depends on whether their young master is deemed more important or the family’s image. If they really pay the ransom, the Popov Clan will become a laughingstock in the elite circle.”
“How could that be? I think Dmitri being kidnapped would be more of a laughingstock for them; paying the ransom is to save him,” Su Rong said, puzzled.
“Your thinking is misguided,” Kui Xin replied. “You need to think from their perspective. Dmitri being ‘kidnapped’ can be considered an unexpected incident, but paying the ransom to the kidnappers means bowing down to the ‘lower class’ they look down upon and yielding to us. They care about their image, so they’re unwilling to back down.”
Su Rong incredulously asked, “Even for the sake of their family member, they wouldn’t be willing?”
“Don’t underestimate the other party’s guts… and don’t overestimate their humanity,” Kui Xin summarized. “It’s not about how much money is involved, but about the despicable nature of the tycoons. I suspect there’s likely chaos within the Popov Clan over this, which is why they’re not responding, remaining in a stalemate.”
“What if they do pay?” Su Rong said. “Dmitri is already dead.”
“They can pay, but we certainly won’t give them back a living Dmitri,” Kui Xin stated. “It’s all just lies from the beginning to the end.”
Su Rong was deeply shocked. From that moment, she began to touch on a realm she had never encountered through Kui Xin’s words.
…
He Kangshi had been busy all night and groaned as he left to buy food.
Working at the bar had this downside; not only did he have to stay up late, but the music was blaring, making him almost deaf, leaving him with a sore back and a headache.
As soon as he reached the convenience store, He Kangshi heard the shop owner chatting away in a guttural accent with a customer, a familiar face who also happened to be a bounty hunter.
“…One hundred billion! Can’t even imagine!” the owner exclaimed excitedly.
“Why have I never heard of this organization before?” the bounty hunter asked, puzzled. “’The Shadowless’? No light? Such a powerful organization wouldn’t be nameless.”
He Kangshi froze, suspecting he had misheard… Maotoufu had told him that the organization created by Black Snake was called “The Shadowless.”
“What are you guys talking about?” He Kangshi inquired, trying to gather more information.
“A little-known organization has kidnapped the young master of the Popov Clan, asking for a ransom of one hundred billion,” the bounty hunter explained.
The convenience store owner chuckled, lowering his voice, “Nice!”
He Kangshi: “…?!”
Maotoufu! My sister! You just arrived in White Whale City less than a day ago and have already pulled off something this huge!
…
During the day, Kui Xin was catching up on sleep.
The situation was fermenting, and she wasn’t anxious; it was the Popov Clan that was worried. What needed attention now was the return to the First World.
Kui Xin glanced at the time: 23:59.
The long week was finally coming to an end.
She closed her eyes, allowing the darkness to engulf her.
