Chapter 146

Chapter 146: The Boundless Dark Realm 01

He Kangshi received the notification early in the morning.

The White Whale City was close to the polar region, inside the Arctic Circle. Summer now, it had long days and short nights. He Kangshi had just finished his nighttime work and planned to return to his rented apartment for rest.

“It’s me, Black Snake. Where’s your exact address?”

The message was simple, yet He Kangshi felt excited; the big boss was contacting him! What did that mean?! Could it be that the big boss had come to White Whale City too?

After a brief moment of excitement, He Kangshi calmed down and replied to the unknown communication number with his code phrase, “Bouncy little bear with cookies, huh? Did we not agree on a signal word?”

“It’s really you, Boss!” He Kangshi jumped up in excitement and replied vibrantly, “I’m working in the Black Street of the Midnight District in White Whale City. Just finished my shift, going to help out at a bar-casino nearby for tips….”

White Whale City consisted of two major districts: the Midnight District and the Poleward District. The Poleward District was where high society types lived, while the Midnight District hosted individuals considered lower class—bounty hunters, assassins, smugglers, undocumented workers—all involved in illicit or semi-illicit endeavors.

“Yes, I understand.” Black Snake said, “Are you no longer working as a bounty hunter?”

“When there’s no work, I take whatever temporary jobs I can find,” He Kangshi explained, “I’m a novice, used to be a decent student who never fought anyone. If I became a bounty hunter, I’d put my life at risk daily.” He asked directly, “Are you planning to come to White Whale City?”

“Not me, but one of my subordinates. I can’t leave right away. She has a tougher assignment,” Black Snake sidestepped, “We have absolutely no base here, so we need someone to guide us.”

“Got it.” He Kangshi responded, “I’ll play the part of a tour guide perfectly!”

Black Snake seemed pleased by his understanding and casually inquired, “Had any recent trouble?”

“Well, my black-hearted boss not paying wages is an issue… apart from that, not really,” He Kangshi replied with a chuckle, “I’m not weak and helpless.”

Despite the hardship, he maintained an optimistic mindset.

“All set then,” Black Snake concluded, “Contact this encrypted contact if there’s an emergency.”

“Yes, sir!”

—

Gui Xin put down her communicator and observed the landscape through the long-distance coach window.

“Just three more hours left.” She checked her watch, sighing deeply.

White Whale City was a coastal port city where land transport was inconvenient due to its remote location, and traveling there usually required either sea travel or air travel.

However, Gui Xin had developed a mental barrier towards sea travel because of the incident with the Kraken. The feeling of being trapped on a ship with nowhere to go and no escape haunted her deeply. Even if an unexpected disaster occurred on board, she wouldn’t have the chance to escape. Her spatial vortex was not nearly as powerful as Night Cicada’s, so she instantly ruled out ocean travel as an option to reach White Whale City.

Air travel was even riskier; the Federation controlled all global routes in the Second World. For her to fly, Gui Xin would need legal identification, which she had no way to obtain since she was already considered deceased.

So land travel remained the only option.

She had been traveling by land for three days, using every available means of transportation—from maglev trains to long-haul trucks to motorcycles. The only land vehicle she hadn’t tried was the one she couldn’t operate.

She rode a motorbike for six hours yesterday under rough conditions on desert roads that shook her nearly to pieces.

Whenever she encountered wild stores along the road, she replenished her supplies. During her stops in cities, she decided whether to stay and rest based on her condition.

Fortunately, the transportation network in the Second World was relatively advanced, with fast modes of transportation, and with her occasional use of her spatial vortex to cheat, she covered a lot of ground within three days to reach White Whale City.

Thanks to this journey, her mastery over her extraordinary abilities soared to new heights.

Unfortunately, this ability, though powerful, was also demanding. Gui Xin could only use her spatial vortex up to ten times before becoming exhausted. Overusing it didn’t feel great, as even moving her fingers felt like a struggle.

Before her departure, Gui Xin had attempted to get a face job at the black market, but unfortunately, the整形 doctor had been unable to perform her surgery. Unlike Yellow Doctor at the Investigation Bureau, they were incapable of handling her miraculous regenerative flesh and unable to implant prosthetics into her.

Reluctantly giving up, she still modified her body—removing her eyes and replacing them with electronic bionic eyeballs.

Given the identity verification technology in the Second World scanned faces and irises, and some high-level venues could scan the iris instantly, Gui Xin’s plan to replace her face would now be rendered useless without modifying her eyes. Therefore, she decided to modify her eyes instead.

The custom electronic bionic eyeballs had night vision, telescopic capability, automatic snapshot, and image magnification functions. Obtaining these eyes had cost her the gold bars she had stolen from illegal gangs in the black market.

Her main worry now about her flesh regeneration was that it might regrow her real eyes, rendering the surgery pointless. Fortunately, her regenerative ability was only a C-grade extraordinary ability, not powerful enough to regenerate eyes. She intended to regularly check her health to prevent such an occurrence.

Would she end up completely mechanical one day? Gui Xin unconsciously imagined this scenario and felt rather excited at the prospect.

As they arrived in the arctic region, the weather became noticeably colder.

Gui Xin wore a mask that showed only her eyes, black gloves, and a bulletproof vest underneath her leather jacket. A metal belt attached to a concealed holster carried her weapons and ammunition. Knives were also secured on her thigh straps.

The driver was unbothered by Gui Xin’s odd appearance—this chaotic region saw all sorts of peculiar characters.

Travel options to White Whale City on land were limited, with only two buses a day leaving for the city.

Thankfully, the cabin was empty, and Gui Xin sat near the door, blinking her newly installed blue cybernetic eye.

In the distance, the scenery around her magnified automatically. She observed a small animal foraging in the dry grass and noticed a tiny bug climbing up a branch, details that could not be seen otherwise.

Though initially uncomfortable, Gui Xin, always adaptable, soon learned to control her new eyes.

Using her new eyes brought everything to life.

“Hmm… The signal finally connected.” Adam’s voice resounded through an earpiece.

His speech was sporadic and somewhat indistinct.

“Since we’re near White Whale City. Signals are weak here; it’s mostly dead zones,” Gui Xin remarked.

Her communicator depended on satellite signals to connect with He Kangshi. In theory, she could use data manipulation to remotely control Adam through the satellite system, but she wasn’t that bold. The Second World’s advanced IT made such attempts futile. To avoid detection by the Federation, she relied on normal internet connections and data ports when using data manipulation.

“What are our plans upon reaching White Whale City?” Adam asked.

“First, I’ll locate a secure location to establish a safe house. But without funds, I may have to work as a bounty hunter. I need to assess candidates before recruiting anyone,” Gui Xin stated.

“Are you considering players?” Adam questioned.

“There’s intent in doing so,” Gui Xin revealed nonchalantly, “But player numbers are sparse, possibly just a few per city. And their willingness must be respected. I won’t force anyone.”

“If you can recruit many players, you’ll attract capable individuals,” Adam noted, “Players, however, must agree voluntarily.”

“Including players will be limited, thus, to gather capable people, just like the Mechanized Dawn did,” Gui Xin continued, “With Hypnotic Sound in my possession, defection should not be a concern.”

Adam observed, “The advantage of working with you is clear—you know exactly what needs to be done.”

Initially, Gui Xin had envisioned building an organization exclusively comprised of players.

Yet, after numerous cycles of restarts, Gui Xin reconsidered. While it was a good idea, it posed significant risks. Players might not be ready to accept such risks.

Gui Xin and Adam remained partners, but each needed the other. Organizing against Mechanical Dawn meant Adam would intervene. Adding individual players would be like handing over a list to Adam. They had a stable relationship, but it wasn’t permanent. Adam considered the potential of betrayal, as did Gui Xin. If Adam betrayed, would he harm players under her control?

Gui Xin and Adam agreed fully on removing Mechanical Dawn, but not necessarily on other fronts.

Moreover, Gui Xin had to account for players’ different adaptabilities. Take He Kangshi, who had awakened extraordinary abilities and developed combat skills, yet refrained from killing.

Very few people, especially those grown in peace, would do differently.

Unselectively recruiting would backfire. Some ideas, though noble, might not be practically feasible.

Building an organization was no small feat.

A few hours later, Gui Xin arrived at her destination. Leaning a light backpack on her shoulder, she disembarked the bus. Watching the exhaust trail dissipate, she stood amidst the strange city.

Bending to consult a map, she muttered to herself: “I shall get a job, earn some extra cash. The nearest black market is… indeed Black Street.”

He Kangshi worked in Black Street. The street translated from the map’s alphabetical name to “black” and was known as Black Street.

Suddenly, a paper poster fluttered towards her. Imprinted on it was a familiar face—Su Rong.

Gui Xin’s gaze tightened. She bent to pick up the poster. ‘Su Rong’s… fan meeting? August 18th to August 25th?’

Looking up, she spotted an airship flying past. It displayed a constantly changing colorful advertisement screen with Su Rong’s beautiful visage shining prominently above.