Fairy Queen

Lin Yu hates fighting; he has disliked fighting since he was a child.

Because he was afraid of pain—especially the meaningless pain that comes from fighting.

Moreover, if he were to get his face injured in a fight, his Actor, which literally means "relying on his looks," would be affected for a long time.

Although performing on stage often requires Actor to integrate their lines, tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions as a whole...

However, despite having a smattering of acting skills, the majority of them ultimately come from the face.

The extent to which an Actor can control Microexpressions with small facial muscle groups often represents the upper limit of their skill.

Actor's face is like a musician's ear, Painter's eye, a craftsman's hands, and a runner's legs; it is their "talent," and also their most precious asset, the core part they hone and train day and night.

So, if Lin Yu insists on fighting...

He would try his best to win, and win spectacularly—so that his own face wouldn't be damaged.

The Demon Pig Bar was now a complete mess.

Overturned tables and chairs, smashed bottles, broken weapons...

And the challengers lying on the ground.

Lin Yu back down at the bar and slowly wiped the blood off his hands.

There are indeed some skilled individuals among the common people of the City That Never Sleeps. These guys caused Lin Yu a lot of trouble, forcing him to use almost all of his [Item] to barely win.

But...

After all, they're just guys who can only scrape by on the Outer City; their strength is ultimately limited!

They didn't even hurt Lin Yu's face.

Where in the world are there so many experts who enjoy risking their lives and living hand to mouth?

This isn't a martial arts novel, where a genius can suddenly sprout out of the wild like a giant Carrot!

Anyone skilled enough would naturally "learn martial arts and serve the Emperor"—even those of humble origins would have been recruited by large corporations or become retainers of Noble.

Moreover, in the City That Never Sleeps, a large part of their strength comes from the technology and Alchemy of various companies.

The more they struggled in the mire on the Outer City, experiencing battles every day, the less powerful they became compared to the seemingly pampered, formally-organized combat personnel in the Inner City.

They can get their modifications done easily, using the latest equipment and technology. These poor Outer City, with their handy Item, have to make do with fixing them themselves if they break anything. How can they possibly compete with guys backed by big corporations and powerful families?

"Although we used some consumables, it was worth it."

Previously, when he made his move at Wanjin Heavenly Seat, the audience consisted mainly of Noble, and the news was kept under wraps.

There were absolutely no eyewitnesses to the killing of the three middlemen.

Now that he has so decisively defeated more than a dozen gangsters in Gray Street Three, "Sherlock," the already somewhat famous legendary "Detective," will likely gain even greater renown.

At the same time, people will also learn about a brand new side of "Sherlock"...

Just like now, the embarrassed the Butcher had no choice but to instruct his subordinates at the Demon Pig Bar to clean up the Venue and treat the wounded, while also going up to Lin Yu to give him a smile.

"Sherlock... Your Excellency, I was truly surprised to find you so skilled."

"Regardless... we have witnessed your strength. Any misunderstandings between us can be discussed."

"As you said, it is indeed reckless to label you as the murderer of those three middlemen based solely on the official announcement."

"Since you've come to my territory, you must be hoping to clear up the misunderstanding... What exactly do you want?"

Lin Yu laughed at his arrogant yet obsequious demeanor.

"Before the fight, I didn't really want to talk to you because of your attitude. But now that I've experienced the skills of the people in Gray Street Three... after thinking about it carefully, it seems like you're not quite up to the task either."

"Is there anyone on Gray Street Three who carries more weight than you, the Butcher?"

Before the Butcher could answer, a distorted voice rang out from the doorway.

"Mr. Sherlock, the 'Fairy Queen' invites you to come and discuss matters."

Upon hearing this name, Lin Yu observed the changes in the expressions on the faces of everyone present, including the Butcher, and understood what was going on.

"Oh, so it seems this 'Her Highness the Queen' is the most important person here, is that right?"

The Butcher nodded. "Yes, sir, this is the uncrowned king of Gray Street Three... Gray Street Three has existed since the establishment of the City That Never Sleeps—just as there is light and shadow, the City That Never Sleeps has glamorous Noble and huge corporations, and there are bound to be dirty assassins, mercenaries, and the gangs they form."

"Regardless of how disdainful your remarks were of this place, it is true that this place exists... with the tacit approval and respect of the Noble —indeed, those powerful figures could wipe out this Street and kill us all with a wave of their hand... but even if they did, in a few years, or even less, places like Gray Street Three would be reborn elsewhere."

"Therefore, those Noble chose to support their own power rather than directly and brutally destroy this place—which led to the fact that from its inception, Gray Street Three had many figures and warlords who once held absolute power, some even starting their careers here and obtaining 'titles'... But this place has never been truly controlled by any one person, Gray Street Three has never had... a 'king'!"

Listening to the Butcher's words, Lin Yu spoke with great interest.

"Until this 'Fairy Queen' appeared, right?"

"Yes... everything has changed since that name first appeared five years ago."

"In the shortest amount of time, she did something unknown... to get the most powerful gang members, mercenaries, and middlemen at the time to publicly swear an oath that they were working for her."

"Those who openly oppose her, on the other hand, almost always disappear without a trace within a week."

"Most importantly, this blatant 'disruption of the balance' did not cause any disturbances from the Inner City —fortunately, after about a year, we confirmed that although the 'Fairy Queen' had unified this area, she had not yet established an empire of her own."

"She only did two things: First, she introduced a 'Gray Street Three Convention' that was as serious as those 'official laws'. It contained all sorts of strange things, including gang rules such as having to report to her before large-scale gang fights and having various Venue pay her protection money, as well as some rather odd things like 'any business operating needs to regularly clean up the garbage in its own territory'—and if you violated it, you would really be punished."

"Secondly, she would periodically select some 'unfortunate individuals' to act on her will—specifically in ways like this."

The Butcher pointed to the thug at the door who was holding a megaphone and looked no different from any other gang member—but a closer look would reveal...

It was simply a corpse that had been dead for a long time, driven here by some strange force.

"A necromancer?"

Lin Yu retorted in astonishment.

"It's Alchemy."

Old Zheng said calmly.