Tavern

"You! You... sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

Qi Yuan was so scared he almost peed himself. He hadn't been this nervous even when he fought a Life and Death battle with five Knights.

Holy crap, how did this guy sneak past his ears and get here?!

"Mr. Qi Yuan," Su Luo began, her voice soft and emotionless, "The [Knights ] of the Church are a Su Luo force. For them to die in the city without cause is a major incident. Your clumsy cover-up and lack of strength are insufficient to evade the search, nor are they enough to face the wrath of the [Judgment Knights ]."

"I know." Qi Yuan calmed down slightly and looked at the person in front of him with some curiosity.

It's really strange... He doesn't seem very strong, yet his attitude is so calm, and I can't even sense any threat from him.

"Who are you?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Luosu, a detective."

Su Luo took out a crumpled business card and handed it to Qi Yuan.

"I'm sure you need my help. Now, come with me."

After saying that, Su Luo turned and left without making a sound, her footsteps barely creating a ripple in the puddles.

Qi Yuan looked at the inferior card suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, then threw the Steam Mech into the water and followed.

The two walked one after the other on the curfewed streets. Today, due to the intrusion of [the calamity], there were few volunteers patrolling and managing the area, so the two managed to evade the curfew by hiding for a moment.

Then, Su Luo walked into a small alley, turned several times, and came to a secluded corner. After groping around for a while, she opened a hidden door.

A cacophony of voices and Music, mixed with the smells of alcohol and perfume, drifted from behind the door through the crack.

Qi Yuan followed silently, finding the locals rather strange. Such luxurious clothes, yet no servants, and the ability to find such a filthy place—they couldn't possibly be the kind of noble lord who would just smear syrup on... and have his maids lick it.

Oh, right, he claims to be a detective, though he doesn't look like one at all.

Su Luo tossed a gold coin to the person at the entrance, then led Qi Yuan inside on their own.

Since it's not my own money, I don't feel bad using it.

A magnificent crystal chandelier stood in the center of the hall. Ironically, the poor glassmaking techniques of the time made it appear even more beautiful; the bubbles, cracks, and uneven thickness refracted tiny sparkles under the candlelight.

One after another, brightly colored bars and wine cabinets lined the walls, the cabinets filled with bottles of various colors, and many areas were divided by seating with dark red velvet upholstery.

The luxurious-looking floors and the elegantly dressed servants gave the place a respectable air, but the disheveled men and women completely offset this.

Where is this?

Seeing the distinguished attire of the passersby, Qi Yuan felt out of place in his own tattered, blood-stained clothes. He quickly caught up with Su Luo and asked in a low voice.

"A rather 'famous' underground bar in this city, a melting pot of all sorts of people. Nobles, Knights, big merchants, and even officials might appear here. After all, the frequency with which they open their brothels is unimaginable, so this kind of place is bound to exist."

Su Luo shifted her gaze, searching for something, and continued:

"A lot of information about the Imperial Church circulates here. If you have the ability to obtain it, you can gain a good understanding of this world, instead of acting like a naive fool and asking the [Church] about [Judgment Knights ]."

Qi Yuan extracted the keywords, and his scalp tingled.

What is he saying?!

This world?! Was it a careless choice of words by him?

"By the way, your name seems a bit out of place in this era."

Su Luo left with her last words, then, as if she had seen something, raised an eyebrow and walked towards a secluded bar, leaving Qi Yuan stunned.

"Oh, him too? He's Crossing too?"

"His name is so out of place in this era!"

Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed Su Luo.

The bar that Su Luo wanted to go to was already occupied. A blonde, blue-eyed woman dressed in a simple black robe sat there, holding a glass of wine, seemingly deep in thought.

Su Luo stepped forward and sat opposite her, then asked the messenger to bring her a glass of wine.

Who are you?

Kundina O'Dolan was somewhat surprised and did not recognize Su Luo, whose appearance had changed.

"Detective," Su Luo replied.

Kundina recognized Su Luo's voice and took a sip of her drink.

"A textile factory worker," she said, putting down her glass. "That's quite a coincidence. A Large Dungeon only has 1,500 people, and there are probably several hundred Dungeon, and we were matched together."

"Really."

After a few quick exchanges of confirmations, Qi Yuan, having finally realized what was happening, arrived.

Seeing the two sitting opposite each other, Qi Yuan hesitated for a moment, then wanted to sit on the sofa to their side, while looking at Su Luo and saying.

"Detective, what did you mean by what you just said? You are also—"

"You stand." Su Luo bluntly stopped Qi Yuan from sitting down, and then beckoned a waiter over.

"Take him to get cleaned up, and then find him a decent set of clothes."

After casually tipping the waiter, Su Luo watched as Qi Yuan, who seemed about to say something, was led away. Then she turned to look at Kundina:

"Were you also starting out as a mere mortal?"

"Yes, there's no Mana here, even rebuilding is difficult. I can only slowly train my body using green-quality techniques, and my Constitution has just recovered to 9."

Kundina replied.

For these powerful Survivors, rebuilding is a very troublesome thing. They don't understand why this world would give mortals a starting point and strip them of their Essence.

But complaining is useless; adaptation is the only way out.

"However, my Talent still works; those Knights of the [Church] who don't wear Steam Mech are no match for me."

Su Luo is currently no match for Knight don't wear Steam Mech, also known as [Contract Knights ].

"I forgot you're a passive monster... Looks like you're still stronger."

Who knows how many items have stacked up Kundina's "significant boost" passive effect? Even if her base Attribute are terrible, the final effect will be as terrifying as a cesspool.

In this application scenario, Su Luo in thin gauze, was completely overwhelmed by Talent.

"So I immediately severed ties with my former social connections, spent the day integrating into this world, and finally came here to learn more about the situation."

Having just upgraded her Attributes to 10.5, Su Luo organized her information and began sharing it with Kundina.

"So, the next task is to access the [Awakening Ritual] and attempt to change this era?"

After listening, Kundina confirmed it.