Embarrassed by an Empty Purse

These seven or eight people were all scrawny teenagers, each one little more than skin and bones, though their faces looked fairly clean.

They ran into the light and recoiled in fright when they saw Lan Yuzai. A few of them clearly recognized him.

But when they saw the figure behind Lan Yuzai wearing a mask and baseball cap, their eyes immediately lit up as they shouted:

"Boss! Need a guide, boss?"

"I know every fun place in the Lower City! I can take you there! You only need to pay me two Starch Bars! I can even wait outside for you!"

"Boss, I can take you somewhere absolutely thrilling! The kind of excitement you can't even imagine!"

Clearly, in their minds, anyone sneaking into the Lower City while hiding their face was a boss from the Middle City or Upper City who had come to "spend."

"Get lost! Come any closer and I'll chop you to death!"

Lan Yuzai put on a vicious expression, cursing at the top of his lungs and even making as if to kick someone.

The teenagers scattered in fright, though they kept shouting after them. If Lan Yuzai had not revealed the tattoo on his arm, they probably would have rushed over and grabbed at them.

Lan Yuzai pulled down his short sleeve and muttered:

"A bunch of little brats who eat people without spitting out the bones! Is this my first day here or something?"

After shaking off those teenagers, the two entered a long passageway.

Lan Yuzai's manner became somewhat awkward as he spoke softly.

"By the way, um, boss... could you carry those? I'm not running. I want to follow you now and learn some skills! I really want to become strong and make them all afraid of me! It's just... I'm still a somewhat famous big brother in our local area on that floor..."

"You're famous here too?"

Wang Jixuan took the bag of emergency food that had cost Lan Yuzai two months' worth of food rations in his right hand, while his left hand still gripped Lan Yuzai's right elbow.

This was the most dangerous moment. Wang Jixuan had expanded his Spiritual Sense to its limit.

"I wouldn't say I'm hugely famous, but I've got a little reputation!"

Lan Yuzai puffed out his chest, instantly looking spirited again. He led Wang Jixuan forward in large strides while saying:

"Not to brag, but I, Rotten Fish, am loyal and well-connected. I know people in all seven major gangs. Later, I'll have to trouble you to pretend to be my little brother... Right, right, what are we doing here anyway?"

Going straight to wipe out the Black Fire Gang?

If Wang Jixuan were in the Golden Core Realm, he would not hesitate in the slightest. But now... reason told him that he should first make some low-grade talismans and prepare several magical artifacts, so he could better deal with the gang's large number of firearms.

He said, "I heard there are some general stores in the Lower City that sell all kinds of things."

"There are plenty. They're all on a few streets, but most of the shops trade goods for goods, and they're all shady. They're also run by gang members."

Lan Yuzai asked quietly:

"What are you looking to buy? I know a few shops I visit often.

"You have a gun. Are you buying bullets? Those things are expensive, even more expensive than guns!"

As they spoke, the two rounded a dark corner and entered a district blanketed in orange-yellow light.

Wang Jixuan remained extremely vigilant, always walking slightly behind and to Lan Yuzai's side.

In his senses, there were many people ahead, and those people...

Were lifeless.

Spiritual energy had sunk into a swamp here, while Turbid Qi released by human bodies filled every corner.

As far as the eye could see, a relatively wide, straight street stretched inward. At its end lay a surreal scene illuminated by signs and neon lights.

Both sides of the road were lined with narrow, rust-covered sheet-metal rooms. Several people lay or sat in each room. Most were emaciated and barely clothed; it was impossible to tell at a glance just how many there were.

The two rows of short streetlamps by the roadside were the only source of light available to these people.

Wang Jixuan walked through the area with a frown.

He had expected the fortress's Lower City to be terrible, but he truly had not expected such a sight.

It was scarcely different from the scenes recorded in his sect's Ancient Texts of starving corpses covering the ground during mortal famines.

Lan Yuzai was long accustomed to it. He exposed the tattoo on his shoulder and glared fiercely around him. Those who had been watching them immediately lowered their heads and did not dare speak.

At the end of the street.

Several well-dressed men and women stood smoking and chatting. They wore armored vests, with pistols and magazines at their waists. Two of the men even held submachine guns with large magazines.

Past those men and women lay clusters of low buildings covered in signs and neon lights.

People came and went there, and there were even some crude means of transportation.

Lan Yuzai, who had just been strutting about so arrogantly, immediately tucked his tail between his legs. He lowered his head, tugged Wang Jixuan, took out two strips of emergency food from Wang Jixuan's bag, then pulled a crumpled paper bag from his shirt pocket.

Lan Yuzai tilted his head and warned, "Don't speak, and whatever you do, don't make a move. They all have guns, and there are rifles on those rooftops. This is City of Joy territory."

The moment he finished speaking, the men and women guarding the street looked over.

"Oh, hey! Rotten Fish!"

"Hey, Brother Zhang! You're guarding the street today? Hard work, hard work."

Lan Yuzai hurried over with nods and bows, taking several cigarettes and a skull-shaped lighter from the paper bag.

Wang Jixuan silently gripped five pencils, calculating the angle of attack.

As long as Lan Yuzai dared call for help...

The City of Joy gang members smiled as they accepted the cigarettes. Each took out a button lighter to light one, then casually took the two bags of emergency food Lan Yuzai had offered.

"Rotten Fish, didn't you just come down a few days ago? What, expanded your turf and got more blood bags?"

"Ah, I'm on the thirteenth floor. You know how it is. There's barely any profit there, and that captain who came recently is pretty ruthless."

At this moment, Lan Yuzai's eyes were as innocent as a schoolchild's.

"I want to get a gun and take it upstairs. Things have been a little unsettled where we are."

Get a gun?

The others said:

"Carry a gun on the thirteenth floor? You don't want to live? You can't mess with guns above the twenty-eighth floor. Don't go ruining the rules, kid!"

"I heard there was big news on the thirteenth floor. Big Mouth Hua from Black Fire got killed! That guy was pathetic. I heard he wanted to play with a female doctor, then the doctor stole his gun? Is that true?"

"Black Fire has been sending people upstairs these past few days. That female doctor seems to have some backing, and someone's protecting her. What exactly happened?"

Lan Yuzai scratched his head. "I don't know the details either, but that did happen. The Black Fire Gang even offered a lot of rewards, asking locals like us to find those two people involved."

"What happened to your neck?"

"Someone did it," Lan Yuzai said with an awkward laugh. "I came to get a gun. I have to take it back!"

"You're pretty pathetic too. Go on in."

"Ah, thank you, Brother Zhang! Thank you, Brother Zhang!"

Lan Yuzai turned and glared at Wang Jixuan. "What are you standing there for? Call him Brother Zhang!"

"Brother Zhang," Wang Jixuan called calmly.

"My new little brother is still a bit reserved," Lan Yuzai said with a smile. "I'm taking him in to have some fun."

"Go on."

The gang members waved them off impatiently. Lan Yuzai clasped his hands together and kept shaking them in thanks, smiling ingratiatingly as he led Wang Jixuan onto the wet, multicolored ground.

He actually didn't call for help.

Wang Jixuan stepped forward and casually seized Lan Yuzai's elbow again, frowning as he watched the street ahead.

Two- and three-story buildings stood everywhere, and City of Joy gang members could be seen walking back and forth across the rooftops.

These people occupied the areas with the best views and controlled the street's sources of illumination.

Human figures filled the street, every one of them appearing busy.

Thin men in simple clothing sat in their rickshaws, waiting for the next customer.

Young attendants either stood by the street waiting for customers or wiped down the display windows. All kinds of goods were displayed behind them. The most common were scantily clad men and women, posing seductively beneath dazzling, chaotic lights to entice passing customers.

Quite a few well-dressed figures could be seen on the street, including people in the light-blue uniforms of the Middle City Security Team.

The air had also become stuffy and cloyingly fragrant.

The streets before and after them seemed like two different worlds.

For an instant, Wang Jixuan seemed to see a massive, multicolored Giant Python coiled within the underground space more than thirty meters high. It flicked its tongue and stared at him with cold eyes, as if it intended to swallow him whole.

"Boss... boss? It hurts like hell!"

Lan Yuzai called out in a breathy voice.

Wang Jixuan came back to his senses and realized that he had unconsciously gripped Lan Yuzai's elbow too tightly. He loosened his fingers.

Lan Yuzai's face had turned red from the pain.

"Stop looking. We can't afford to spend money in a place like this," Lan Yuzai muttered, clutching his elbow with tears in his eyes.

"Find a general store," Wang Jixuan ordered.

"This way... Don't worry, I really won't run. The Black Fire Gang's territory is on the forty-ninth floor. This is the forty-sixth floor, City of Joy and the Silver Party's territory. The Silver Party doesn't get along with Black Fire either... I really want to learn skills from you and become awesome!"

Making talismans required two basic items:

Talisman paper and Talisman Fluid.

If one wanted to be particular, the Talisman Brush also needed to be made with quality Demonic Beast Fur... but Wang Jixuan had no way to be picky right now.

The so-called general stores were merely shops ranging from a dozen square meters to several dozen square meters in size.

Some shopkeepers were more diligent and sorted their goods neatly. Most, however, displayed an attitude of complete apathy, with randomly piled goods on their shelves creating a sort of chaotic beauty.

All kinds of objects were displayed inside, a dazzling variety too numerous to count, though there were not many brand-new goods.

Wang Jixuan was quickly disappointed.

Talisman paper was generally made from the pulp of Spiritual Wood. Beside the Cave Dwelling where Wang Jixuan had spent years in seclusion stood several thousand-year-old trees, and the Spiritual Fluid extracted from them radiated dense spiritual energy.

Yet among the shops on the forty-sixth floor, Wang Jixuan found only a small amount of blank paper.

All of it was recycled paper that had been reused an unknown number of times. It could not be said to contain no spiritual energy at all; it could only be said to be completely useless.

As long as he could find suitable talisman paper, he could make some emergency-use talismans.

After all, blood was the most common Talisman Fluid.

Cockscomb Blood was commonly used for evil-dispelling talismans, while Five Elements Talismans used Spirit Beast Blood of the corresponding attribute.

At worst, Wang Jixuan could bite his finger and draw talismans directly with his blood. A trace of spiritual energy had already seeped into his blood.

"Boss, what kind of paper are you looking for?"

Lan Yuzai asked in confusion beside him.

"You really didn't come to buy weapons? You need to go to another street to buy bullets."

Wang Jixuan asked, "Why would I buy weapons?"

"To deal with Bla... deal with those people!"

Lan Yuzai guiltily glanced around.

"Boss, why are you buying paper? To write something? Isn't there paper in the Middle City? Some of this paper was brought down from the Middle City by us."

Wang Jixuan glanced at him.

It was also Wang Jixuan's demand that Lan Yuzai remain within two steps of him. Otherwise, he would strike immediately.

Wang Jixuan said, "Don't ask too many questions."

"Fine." Lan Yuzai looked toward the street outside. This shopping street protected by the Silver Party was the third-busiest district on the forty-sixth floor, and he wanted to wander around as well.

—If the boss would let him go free.

Wang Jixuan suddenly stopped and looked down at a messy shelf, carefully brushing aside some bone fragments from who knew where.

Had he sensed wrongly?

Why was there such obvious residual spiritual power on these black bone fragments?

What were these?

He searched carefully and soon saw a faded label on a shelf holding similar black bone shards.

Low-grade Blade Beast Exoskeleton · Scavenged Goods.

—None of the labels here had prices.

Blade Beasts?

Right! This world had demonic beasts! Humanity had been driven from the surface by Blade Beasts and had built fortress after fortress to survive with difficulty!

A glimmer appeared in Wang Jixuan's eyes as he quickly searched the nearby shelves.

He soon made another discovery.

A large glass jar covered in dust was filled with pale pink liquid. Its label read [Deactivated Blade Beast Blood], and its use was specifically listed as [Collectible].

Most of the spiritual energy within had already dissipated, but some still remained.

If ordinary paper is soaked in this liquid, it can gain spiritual power! And if I wish to perform Open Furnace Alchemy in the future, demonic beast blood will also be indispensable! Good stuff!

Wang Jixuan's Train of Thought immediately became incomparably active.

He turned to the side and glared at Lan Yuzai, who was picking his nose.

"Do you... have currency that can be used here?"

Lan Yuzai nodded blankly. "Yes, yes. This is the Lower City's most prosperous floor. The casino's Joy Coins are accepted everywhere, and I've saved up some too. We can also trade the food we brought for things. City of Joy's rules prohibit robbery."

Though Wang Jixuan tried his best to remain calm, he still looked aside somewhat embarrassed.

"Lend me some... I'll repay you later..."