A Midday Nap

After obtaining the pyroxene, Xue Ming had another task to do.

Galahad has a teacher who needs psychological counseling, and it just so happens that Blue Stone Fools' Workshop' Fair is being held before the Lunar New Year. He has to rush to Balason to take care of both matters.

There's a certain intricacies to this exhibition and trade fair.

Every quarter, psychic merchants from all over the world flock to Balason. Whether they are well-known psychics or unknown ordinary people, as long as they have some special skills and can create psychic props, they can show off their treasures in Balason.

Have you ever heard of auction houses in online novels? They're basically scenes where cultivation sects offer up their treasures for sale.

However, our expo doesn't have any treasure hunt or murder scenes, nor any auction bidding, because there are very few versatile medium tools—items like pyroxene jewelry are just beautiful but useless to ordinary people; even if you get them, you'll be wasting your time if you don't know how to use them.

George Joshua once possessed the remains of a [Hearted Flying Serpent] as a means to turn his fortunes around, and many dragon-related psychic materials were sent to the Balason Fair for sale. For example, the second seal of his Destroy Spirit Ammunition was an extremely powerful all-purpose psychic medium. Items that can cause psychics to lose their psychic protection are controlled and sought-after goods everywhere, just like the hallucinogens produced by the Little Brotherhood.

In addition to medium-related items, the exhibition and trade fair hosted by Fools' Workshop also included some military sales.

While most areas of the underworld are open to trade, the business of firearms and ammunition is difficult. Different areas have different control standards. In areas with extremely high concentrations of Spirit Calamity, people's mental states are also different, and gun ownership is not allowed. Areas teeming with calamity beasts are much more lenient, because militias need a large number of firearms and ammunition to protect the people.

The exhibition has become a fantastic window for showcasing the latest military products from various regions. Military units from different areas can send purchasing representatives to Balason to see what impressive weapons their counterparts in other regions have invented. All items are cash on delivery, with fair and transparent pricing.

In recent years Madness Butterfly Sect has gradually declined under the bullying of the Nameless Ones, allowing the Moon God Cup clubs to raise their heads higher. The number of participants has increased significantly, naturally leading to a surge in demand for military-grade items. Not only do club managers attend the exhibitions, but young people interested in the Moon God Cup will not miss this grand event—just like game exhibitions in the mortal world, featuring everything from new products from weapons companies to custom-made items from individual gunsmiths and knife makers. These cold, shiny gadgets are toys in the eyes of young people.

Xue Ming's main purpose in going to Balason this time was to treat patients; the exhibition-related content was secondary. During the years of expeditions, he rarely had time to return to Balason, but he would sometimes stay in the live stream area and, guided by the host, look at the weapons on display at these booths.

Gunsmiths are very close to the designers of these weapons companies. After completing a series of equipment for Jingguang, Devana, and other Wenyu Wuhuan products, he was well aware of the shortcomings of the 9x39 ammunition platform. The production capacity of this ammunition was not high, it was difficult to buy in various regions, and the availability rate was very low.

In seven months, he will have to head to Shambhala. He wants to visit more exhibitions and think about how to design his next weapon.

When he boarded the intercity express train and turned on his phone, he saw a series of unfamiliar apps and contacts.

Most of his WeChat and Twitter friends were strangers to him, and also patients treated by [Zhang Congfeng]. He had to start all over again. He had to get to know Bu Liuxing again and reconnect with Leslie from Silver Bay.

In the shadow system, there's only one note/memo.

--This memorandum contains the testimony of Pellegrini Touan, valuable intelligence that Professor Victor extracted from the skull of this Eagle Falcon.

Pellegrini is a very clever fellow. As an immortal, he, like his teacher Victor, has learned how to partition the important information in his brain. Moreover, he is even more skilled Victor; he can use hypnosis to lock these filing cabinets.

During the battle in Morning Light County, Pellegrini had little contact with the other members of the Immortals Alliance before losing consciousness, as this part of his memory was locked away without needing to be accessed.

Fortunately, there are two crucial figures whose information Pellegrini must maintain contact with.

One of them, Fay Foroisin, is also known as [FF].

Through his interpretation of the Hell Highway, Professor Victor was able to directly draw the image in Pellegrini's mind. This girl had reddish-brown hair, a well-proportioned figure, and was about 172 centimeters tall. She was also the "little girlfriend" who had been hiding beside Billy. She came to the mortal world by getting close to Billy Horn, trying to approach Jiang Xueming's child, learn about Jiang Xueming's family, and even went to Xiao Qi's hometown, finding Taohe Town.

However, FF did not have the opportunity to take the next step. While Jiang Xueming was carrying out the expedition mission as a gunsmith and War King, the Philosopher Foundation kept an eye on the hero's family. Tian Shu has the world's most powerful intelligence organization. This special affairs bureau for attacking spirits and the Abyssal Railway are sister units under the National Security Bureau.

FF was afraid of sunlight. Under such intense sunlight, she had almost nowhere to hide and could only watch from afar, while sending Pellegrini those small gifts that threatened Jiang Xueming.

Even in Hong Kong, she couldn't take action. The brothers of the Quick Blade under the White Stone Senate patrolled near Bu Mei's house with their lapis lazuli military dogs, and the kindergarten her children attended was well protected. Once FF was exposed, she would be captured by a joint operation of the Special Administrative Region's army and elite special police from the underworld.

When soldiers go on expeditions, the safety of their families must be guaranteed. This is a principle that both Ming De and the Philosopher Foundation understand. HK is only a 40-minute drive from the Nine Realms. Fay Foroisin can only do so much. She can only bring back the children's homework, pluck a few hairs from the kindergarten teacher's head, and peel off the steel stamp on the wheel hub of 9527's vehicle.

Billy Horn was unaware of all this. The Immortals knew that Pellegrini had been captured, but they still didn't know whether he had confessed or how many people he had recruited. They probably wouldn't tell Billy, an outsider, this information, lest they alert him.

There is another unfamiliar code name, but he is also a figure who, in Pellegrini's mind, is absolutely central to the Alliance of the Immortals.

All of the point king's actions must be reported to the leader, who is the [BOSS] of the Immortals Alliance.

--He only had one code name; the other members of the council called the leader [Judas], who was the most powerful person in the entire council.

Just as described in the Bible, Judas betrayed Jesus for silver coins, Immortals Alliance also used the coins of the Chaos Egg and the Holy Blood to betray the Ming De beast that was expanding the land.

Their Wings of Light split into different sects, becoming Cult Leader spreading heresy in different cities.

Not all Madness Butterfly Sect are the work of Immortals, but those that can expand in scale, grow stronger, and create new glories generally have Wings of Light running the human flesh business.

Lawrence Madison, a leader who used a backdoor listing, received the sacred blood of the feathered serpent incarnate.

Kang Que Connor, a talent who switched jobs from the railway company, received the holy blood of the peregrine falcon.

Other Zero Platform, large and small, if the Wings of Light are in control, their blood mostly comes from Immortals, powerful enemies blessed with elixirs, and they are generally in charge of regions with a population of over 700,000 and multiple satellite towns.

Without the blessing of elixirs, the Wings of Light can only go to dark and lightless regions to spread heretical beliefs by ruling over the cult.

These diverse doctrines ultimately turn into bloody businesses. Only the followers believe in these rules; the Cult Leader generally do not. They also obey the orders of the Immortals, all for the sake of making money for the organization.

Money is the shortcut for the Immortals to achieve happiness, stability, and a peaceful life. It can buy freedom, armies, a long and comfortable life, and continuous protection, allowing them to continue buying the lives of one scapegoat after another.

The cunning and suspicious Pellegrini was an elusive slippery eel, a mere lackey of Judas.

George Joshua is one of the many distributors who bridge the way to the railroads and spread the Wings of Light to the underworld. He's one of the more daring ones, a bedbug that's hard to kill, a tough nut that's impossible to chop up.

FF is a skilled scout who can hide and infiltrate enemy lines to gather essential intelligence.

Kim Kang-tae was a mind-altering agent, a trained assassin raised by the leader, and one of the few fearless individuals in the Immortals ranks.

--Judas is the one in the Immortals Alliance who is best at making a living off human flesh. This leader may not have any combat ability or psychic talent; he may just be an ordinary person.

In Pellegrini's memory, the one who did the work was never Judas, but Judas knew who should do what work, and how to put the right person in the right position to shine. These qualities are very similar to the sextant of Ming De.

His physical appearance was that of an ordinary-looking man, about 180 centimeters tall, with brown skin and black hair. He never revealed his true Soul Power to the members of the Alliance, and no one knew what Judas's abilities were. Even Pellegrini, the strategist (who was still useful in the previous two eras), could not gain Judas's trust—in the leader's eyes, most of the Alliance members were replaceable tools and not worthy of trust.

The members of the Immortals Alliance acted according to Judas's will, firmly believing that this leader could lead them to live on forever. They would live a life of great wealth, luxury, and carefree existence for thousands of years, until human civilization soared into space, and they would reaffirm the superiority of the Immortals race, acknowledge the Immortals' genes, and accept carnivorousness.

This group of terrorists used the Vita Imprint as a useful tool for making money. To them, the terrifying Chaos Egg was nothing more than a psionic artifact that could be used as a medium for encrypted communication, a reliable heart for Blood-giving Monster, a gift for the Wings of Light, or a way to buy their lives.

Even the Universal Elixir of Ming De, is still a useful bargaining chip in the eyes of the Immortals.

This is more like a flesh-and-blood puppet of capitalism materialized in the underworld, with the Immortals able to manipulate the rules in countless ways around various kinds of currency. However, this time, the new system created by Ming De's think tank, a new top-level design and violent apparatus, exposes the weakness of capitalism.

These immortal beings had to temporarily retreat from the limelight, waiting for the Nameless Ones and the Gate of Wonders to disappear back into the long river of history before they could have a chance to return from Shambhala to the cities along the railway.

In addition to these two individuals, the Arcane Library also sent another report--

--Preliminary results have been obtained regarding the background investigation of Shinto City and Fen Feng.

Based on the description of the meteor and Victor's depiction of the landscape in the meteor's mind, the soul power of the Fen Feng can explain many things.

It was a bird of prey similar to an owl, with a very special form of soul power. Due to its proximity to the Helheim Underworld, Fen Feng's soul power possessed this strange appearance with palm-shaped feathers covering its face.

Before the Fēngfēng Battle Group became part of a division, this young chapter leader had contact with the Immortals, a fact confirmed in the archives within Pellegrini's mind.

Fifty or sixty years ago, members of the Fen Feng and the Immortals' alliance discussed a business deal.

This fervent Red Stone People sought a shortcut to help him combat the Madness Butterfly Sect and the natural and man-made disasters of the TD region. The Immortals looked down on the young man, offering only the Holy Blood of Fen Feng, not the Elixir of Immortality—because the TD region had no sun, Immortals considered it a land of little value, whether for its treacherous and terrifying mining environment or its bizarre environment unsuitable for human habitation. These members only gave Fen Feng a little blood.

It was this drop of blood that gave Fen Feng his soul power, ultimately leading to the birth of the Shinto City.

Later, Pellegrini had no idea what Shinto City had become. Due to its special location, the Immortals didn't dare to frequently cross the Nine Realms Headquarters to go to the Great Northeast. The Gunsmith and the General of Tears's setbacks in Shinto City were seen by them as a misconception that heroes were past their prime—they seemed to think that the Nameless One was not as powerful as he was six years ago, and thus rashly allowed Pellegrini to take the next step.

After learning all this, Xue Ming felt more confident.

--This group of people are not some mindless monsters. Just like the other Immortals we have encountered so far, whether it is Pellegrini or George Joshua, they value their lives very much. Apart from the Korean Kim Kang-tae who came to the main station to assassinate Xiao Qi, these cannibals in human skin have a very strong will to survive.

After this trip, he wanted to find an opportunity to return to the Dead Puppet Agency. His Pankrashin was a unique weapon for killing these monsters. However, this sonic fist technique, which hurt the enemy a thousand while also hurting himself eight hundred, was too domineering and could only be used as a last resort. Even with a Universal Elixir and an IV drip, it was still ineffective. The newly grown flesh and blood simply could not hold a gun and aim accurately. It would take some time to adapt to the new arm that was flesh and blood turned into mud.

Hopefully, the exhibition will be fruitful— Xue Ming thought to herself as she disconnected from her phone's shadow system.

Returning to the patient, Dr. Zhang Congfeng was on his way to treat one of Galahad's teachers, who suffered from severe shock syndrome and was also a knightly combat skills instructor who had been officially appointed after the gunsmith's death.

We've all heard his name; he's the guy who got beaten up by the Big Sister at the Blackland Royal Hotel.

His name is Bei Chen, and he is also a member of the Hung Mun Alliance. He committed a crime and was sent to Hedland. He was originally a militia member of the Red Stone People. In order to take the blame for the leader of the Triads organization, this double-flower red stick of the Hung Mun gang, who walked between the underworld and the legitimate world, voluntarily surrendered and went to Hedland for vacation.

The case was later overturned, the culprit was imprisoned, and Bei Chen had to be released to find a new job. He rejoined the Red Stone People's battle group, where he had once fought alongside the Gunsmith. Following this path, he went to [Quick Blade], transformed from Red Stone People into a White Stone Man, and severed ties with the former Hung Mun Alliance, thus clearing his name and going ashore.

However, years of fighting took a toll on his mental health, causing him to develop shell shock syndrome.

--This term might be unfamiliar, but it translates to PTSD.

This retired soldier returned to Galahad to submit his resume and became one of the assistant instructors of knightly combat skills. Later, his skills improved so much that while the gunsmiths were busy, he became the homeroom teacher of the lower-grade students.