City of Radiance

"Wanted Orders" came in two types.

One was an official imperial wanted order. Those listed on this kind of order had generally violated imperial law and were truly heinous criminals.

Of course, in places like bandit groups, such official wanted orders were more like "medals of honor." The higher the bounty, the more there was to boast about.

The other type was a black market wanted order. It was a little like a feud in the martial world. Whether you were guilty or not, once a bounty was posted on the black market, people would come looking to cause trouble for money.

All in all, if you were on an official wanted list, you could still become an outlaw and walk that path to the bitter end. But if you made it onto a black market list, the trouble would truly be endless.

"What the hell is this?"

Rein stared at the black market wanted order in his hand, stunned for a moment.

Though it was hand-drawn, the resemblance was nearly as good as a photograph.

"I'm wanted?"

Rein's eyelid twitched sharply, and he finally understood why those two men had looked at him as though they recognized him.

So they really had been looking for a wanted criminal.

And by coincidence, that wanted criminal was actually Rein himself!

At the same time, though, he was deeply puzzled. How had he become a wanted criminal?

This was not the official kind of wanted order stamped in red. It was the most troublesome kind—a "black market wanted order"?

Ymir saw Rein's shocked expression. Even without seeing the image on the wanted order, she guessed what had happened.

Yet she still had no intention of prying into someone else's privacy. She put on her coat, closed her eyes, and began meditating.

Since the big shot did not ask, Rein was not about to volunteer an explanation.

Holding the wanted order, his expression shifted unpredictably.

He had only just escaped the Weasel Bandit Group. Forget making enemies—he barely knew anyone. Why would someone put a bounty on him?

After thinking it over, Rein quickly guessed the reason.

"Most likely, Piscis leaked the fact that I possess Baron Morin's Relic. Those people couldn't find me, so they planned to cast a wide net by putting out a wanted order."

That was the only explanation that made sense. "But it's also possible that whoever hired Quinn suspects me."

No matter what, Rein was certain that whoever had put a bounty on him was after Baron Morin's Relic.

His expression darkened at the thought.

Originally, he had assumed that after the great battle at Storm Lake, the Weasel Bandit Group had probably been wiped out as well. In a war of that scale, countless people vanished without leaving even bones behind.

He had intended to pull the wool over everyone's eyes and make the assassin rookie identity "9527" disappear completely. He had not expected those people to refuse to give up.

"One hundred million riso? Heh, those people really are willing to spend a fortune."

Rein felt rather helpless.

That bounty was astronomical. Even a top-tier bandit like White Wolf Bazel was only officially wanted for one hundred and eighty million. For an unknown small fry like him, this absolutely counted as a "massive bounty"!

It truly was a sum large enough to drive bounty hunters and black market riffraff mad. If he did not have some assets now, and were truly penniless, he might even have considered selling himself for the reward.

But on second thought, Rein suddenly felt that this bounty was most likely connected to the force behind Quinn's employer.

After all, Piscis had no idea what Morin's Relics meant. Even if he had leaked the news, that did not mean anyone would be willing to spend so much to put a bounty on Rein.

"But how did those people know I wasn't dead?"

After thinking that, Rein suddenly felt there was no point dwelling on it.

Dead or alive, they could simply put out an enormous bounty and see if they caught anything. Either way, they lost nothing.

Besides, this Transcendent world had mysterious sequence Transcendents such as diviners and prophets, people with all sorts of strange abilities.

As long as they had biological clues like hair or blood, confirming whether he was dead would not be difficult.

He had lived with the Weasel Bandit Group for a year. He had certainly left behind plenty of traces.

Now that this wanted order had appeared, it meant the other side had probably used some method to confirm that Baron Morin's Relic was on him.

Then Rein thought of an even more serious problem.

"Wait. There are already people on this train carrying my portrait around looking for me. Doesn't that mean every major city has posters of me plastered at the gates?"

Rein suddenly felt that this single wanted order had thrown his plans for the future into disarray.

Black market bounties did not involve only gangsters and thugs. Such a massive reward was enough to tempt any City Guard Army soldier or peace officer.

Every major human city required identity verification upon entry. There was no way he could enter while wearing a gas mask.

Before, he could still claim to be a war refugee. Now that he was wanted, that lie would be exposed in an instant.

If he could not even enter a city, all his plans would come to nothing!

Was he supposed to wander the wilderness for the rest of his life?

No, even the path of becoming an outlaw was blocked.

Now that the black market wanted order was out, he no longer even qualified to join a bandit group. With such an enormous bounty, any bandit group would choose to tie him up and trade him for money. That was far easier than robbing people!

In that instant, it seemed every path had been sealed off. Rein's expression grew increasingly grim.

Rein did not know enough about this world. After pondering for a long time, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter, but he truly could not think of any way to break the deadlock.

Turning his head, he saw Ymir meditating with her eyes closed.

Perhaps he could only ask her for help.

"Um."

Unable to worry about anything else, Rein cautiously asked, "Miss Ymir, if someone is wanted, does that mean they can't enter any major city?"

The moment he spoke, he had not intended to hide the fact that there was a bounty on him.

Anyone normal would guess that someone with a one-hundred-million-riso bounty might be hiding a huge secret.

Ymir lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. "You must remove your gas mask for identity verification at the city gates. Even if you smuggle yourself into a city through some black market route, the black market bounty order in your hand would probably make people sell you out immediately."

Just as Rein had expected, this intelligent woman had guessed that the person on the wanted order was him.

However, with her indifferent temperament, she did not take the initiative to ask why.

Hearing that, Rein asked with a dark expression, "Then there's no other way? Is there no city that doesn't check identities?"

Ymir said, "There is! Some extremely remote mining districts and refugee cities. But those places are dangerous, and life is uncertain from one day to the next. Once you go, you may never be able to return for the rest of your life."

"..."

Rein understood. Those so-called "extremely remote regions" were somewhat like illegal coal mines hidden deep in the mountains in his previous life.

Murderers and the like fled there to dig coal and barely scrape out a living, surviving miserably for the rest of their lives, never seeing the light again.

Was he really going to spend his whole life after transmigrating living so pathetically?

No, there was actually one last path.

That was to reveal his secret and exchange it for the protection of a big shot like Ymir.

Based on his current guess, this woman's identity was definitely not simple. With her protection, perhaps she could solve his troubles completely.

But if he did that, many more problems would follow. The Mind Core would most likely be impossible to hide. Would he be dissected for research?

After all, the two of them were not that close.

Rein had no intention of revealing his secret to anyone.

Just as Rein's conflicted expression was about to twist out of shape, he suddenly heard Ymir speak again.

"However... there is one exception."

"What exception?!"

At those words, the light that had dimmed in Rein's eyes immediately brightened again!

Ymir said, "The City of Radiance in the Chaos Triangle. You don't need identity verification to enter that city."

"City of Radiance?"

It was an unfamiliar place name. Rein had no memory of any great city with that name, so he asked, "Is it also some remote little city?"

A strange glimmer flashed through Ymir's eyes. She gently shook her head and said, "No! On the contrary, it is a majestic city no smaller in scale than the imperial capitals of the two great empires."

Rein was surprised. "Huh? Then why have I never heard of it?"

Logically, it was impossible that he had never heard of such a large city.

Ymir's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "The explanation is complicated. One reason is that it is too remote, so it is normal for people in the empire not to have heard of it. Another is that the two great empires deliberately suppress information about it and do not want their subjects going there."

After a pause, she added, "If you go there, you will understand in time. It may be the place best suited for you."

"Best suited?"

Rein had not forgotten why he wanted to enter a city. He asked, "Then does the City of Radiance have a Senior Doctor inheritance?"

"Yes!"

Ymir did not seem to intend to hide anything. There was even a trace of yearning in her beautiful eyes. "It not only has a complete medical inheritance no less impressive than that of the Oma Royal Medical Academy, but it is also a holy land for mages, the second Potion Masters Guild, a center for ancient civilization research, and a paradise for freefolk and wilderness hunters."

Rein was even more astonished. It sounded increasingly unbelievable. "Huh? It's that impressive? Does this city not belong to the Oma Empire? Is it a city of the enemy nation, Sid?"

"It belongs to no empire. It is absolutely neutral territory!"

Ymir shook her head. "The founder of this city was the legendary figure recognized as the foremost of the Top Ten Legendary Demon Hunters, the Grand Scholar Cavo Ramirez. That city has another name as well. It is called the City of Freedom!"

"This..."

Rein was greatly surprised. Why was such a city so obscure?

No matter how remote it was, he should have heard its name.

A city established by the foremost figure among the Top Ten Legendary Demon Hunters, an absolutely neutral land...

No matter how remote it was, he should have heard its name.

Ymir seemed to see through his doubts. "Don't guess wildly. Imperial law forbids the spread of any information about the City of Radiance. Smuggling yourself there may even send you to the gallows. That is why so few people know of it."

After a pause, she looked at Rein and added in what seemed like a teasing tone, "Of course, you probably won't care much about breaking the law now."

"Oh."

Rein understood that there was no reason for a big shot like her to deceive him, so he asked, "Then how do I get there?"

Besides, the City of Radiance seemed to be his only option now.

Thanks to Erciyuan Yifeng Yeyu, Gatekeeper, zhibin, and hh130 for the donations and support. Thank you!