Wild Dog

There are only four hours left before the official start of the coming-of-age ceremony banquet at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

Inside the exhibition hall, gifts that are valuable, visually appealing, innovative, and given by people of high status have all been placed in display cases.

The largest display case in the exhibition hall, and also the most eye-catching central position, naturally features Octopus aquarium gifted by "Sherlock"!

At this time, some Noble and company executives with lower ranks and less influence, who were not considered top figures in high society, had already arrived and were visiting the exhibition hall.

Everyone who watched the pink Little Octopus swimming and resting on the artificial rockery in the aquarium couldn't help but sigh.

"Is this Octopus? This is the first time I've ever seen one."

"Compared to those deep-sea fish... this thing looks absolutely bizarre, it actually has eight tentacles."

"And surprisingly, it's also very beautiful."

"It's not that the 'Octopus' is good-looking, it's that this one is good-looking!"

"Most Octopus are rarely this pretty pink; they're usually just a dull gray."

Clearly, the aquarium's placement in the center, overshadowing other gifts from Royal Nobles, was not due to any underhanded dealings—in terms of the level of discussion and the impact on the residents of the City That Never Sleeps, its position was absolutely well-deserved.

Of course, the giver of this gift, "Sherlock," was just a Commoner without a title, but he still generated a lot of discussion.

"Speaking of which... I heard that Sherlock, who gave this aquarium, seems to be pursuing the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot?"

"No wonder they went to such lengths... But where did a Commoner like you get such an aquarium?"

"He's an advisor to Nightless Sky Huo Le. Rumor has it he saved Nightless Sky Huo Le and Saint Orchid Kui's lives during the attack on Wanjin Heavenly Seat the other day—probably just using someone else's talent to curry favor!"

"Saint Orchid Kui? Isn't she also a suitor of the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot?"

"Yes, he is now both Saint Orchid Kui's rival and his savior."

"But his relationship with Nightless Sky Huo Le is much closer—yesterday, he was wanted by the Security Bureau on the Solence Family's territory for the murder of three middlemen, and it was Nightless Sky Huo Le who personally cleared the case for him, even causing a conflict with the Solence Family..."

"If he was working for the Nightless Sky Family while also maintaining good relations with the Saint Orchid Family, then it's reasonable for the Solence Family to frame him..."

"I heard it wasn't a setup—those three are connected to the recently widely circulated 'Assassinate King Commission'..."

"In other words, he's also involved in this commission?!"

"Shut up... Let's not discuss this further!"

For the working class in the city that City That Never Sleeps, nothing major has probably happened lately.

However, for these power elites at the top, the City That Never Sleeps been in utter chaos recently, with all sorts of topics of conversation arising over tea and after meals.

After today's information exchange, everyone was vaguely surprised to discover...

These events are not only subtly connected, but each one also involves a Commoner!

Thanks to the "aquarium" as a starting point, people's impression of the name "Sherlock" has become increasingly profound.

Inside the exhibition hall, President Paris, who greeted the guests with a smile, couldn't help but speculate again as he listened to everyone's enthusiastic discussion.

"What exactly is this guy plotting?"

Although knowing part of the answer made Paris quite calm and composed, he couldn't help but feel curious because he didn't know the full picture of Lin Yu's plan.

While pondering this, President Paris also began to notice the emerging anomalies in the exhibition hall.

A tall, thin man wearing Truth Company employee uniform, who looked like he had been temporarily pulled in to work as a waiter and would probably be serving drinks at the buffet later, passed by carrying two heavy bags.

Paris immediately called out to him.

"Hey, wait a minute, kid."

He sized the other person up, his brows furrowing slightly.

The tall, thin man stared blankly at Paris before asking, "What are you doing?"

Paris looked the other person up and down, and said seriously.

"New here, huh? Why didn't you bring your ID card with you?"

The man seemed a little nervous, then said, "ID card? I think I forgot to bring it, this..."

Paris raised her hand and stopped him.

"How could you forget something so important?" Paris then waved, and a security guard ran up. "Do you have a blank spare card?"

"Yes, President!"

The security guard pulled out a spare card, Paris turned the card so that the Truth Company logo was visible, then stuffed it into the gap in the other person's uniform.

"Alright, get back to your work—remember to bow and show respect when you see important figures and Noble!"

"If you don't bring your ID card, the alarms will go off whenever you go in and out of the kitchen and wine cellar once the banquet starts. It'll be a lot of noise and cause a lot of trouble!"

He patted the other person on the shoulder and then let him go.

Then, Paris watched the other person's retreating figure and nodded in satisfaction.

Paris has a keen eye; he could tell at a glance that the other party was not an employee of the Truth Company who came to help with the setup and act as a waiter.

This guy had the air of poverty that people from Outer City had, and he wasn't just any ordinary poor person.

Most of the guests attending this coming-of-age ceremony were Noble. Even the company's managers were mostly born in the Inner City, with parents who were respectable upper-class people and whose parents' resident status was at least third class.

Therefore, they were not as familiar with the poor as Paris —they could sense the different qualities in the Outer City, the lower classes, and the poor, but they could not distinguish them.

Generally speaking, poor people who get into the Three Great Corporations often have a humble and self-conscious demeanor, but also a hopeful sense of relief.

They will witness a glimpse of the true upper class and Noble lifestyle in the Three Great Corporations, which will make them feel extremely inferior and envious.

This is different from the fear and awe felt by the poor and small business workers in the Outer City.

However, joining large companies also changed their lives. Even though they felt it was unfair, when they looked back at their miserable past and compared it with their present, or even compared it with their old friends and poor relatives who stayed in the Outer City, they often felt a sense of pride and hope.

But that guy didn't have that—although he was a poor man from the Outer City, he was neither afraid nor inferior in the face of Noble; on the contrary, he had a deep-seated sense of hostility and hatred.

This feeling is usually something only desperate outlaws, gang members, and mercenaries have—like their former selves.

According to Paris, if the lower and middle-class residents of the City That Never Sleeps are likened to dogs, the company employees are like domesticated pet dogs, and the majority of those in the Outer City are like country dogs guarding the gates.

But what just passed by was a stray Wild Dog...

Not only that, it was a Wild Dog that had seen human blood—only such Wild Dog could make him feel threatened.

Normally, Paris would have had him captured long ago.

But now...

"It's probably someone Sherlock arranged; let's do them a favor."