A Gentleman's Armor

"It seems they haven't discovered us yet..."

Bai Ye glanced at the empty streets. There was still a long time until dawn, and he did not dare let his guard down.

"Most of their forces have gathered at our estate." Texas seemed extremely familiar with the area as she led Bai Ye briskly through the silent streets. "If they want to destroy the Texas Family, they'll have to pay a tremendous price!"

Texas's words carried a certain strength and resolve, but to Bai Ye, they also sounded somewhat tragic.

"This way! We need to move quickly. Enemies are everywhere... They're practically spread throughout the entire city."

Bai Ye had just been about to say something when Texas suddenly turned and urged him on. He followed her as they ducked across the street, then slipped into the underground of the mobile city through another sewer entrance.

"Our family participated in the construction of this mobile city." Texas's voice was calm, though it was something worth taking pride in.

"The Texas Family built three safe houses in this city. Two have already been exposed. The remaining one should still be secure."

Bai Ye followed behind Texas. Though they tried their best to muffle their footsteps, faint sounds still echoed through the passage.

"It's so dark."

Bai Ye rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the pitch-black sewer. Fortunately, there was no unpleasant odor around them, which pleased him greatly.

"For now, this place is still safe."

Texas was entirely unaffected by the darkness and moved quickly through the blackened passage. Bai Ye could only see her crimson eyes glimmering brightly.

Gradually, Bai Ye adapted to the darkness as well. After all, his Perception stat was 12, higher than that of an untrained ordinary person. It had to be said that this was quite a rare experience.

Bai Ye had never dreamed that he would be following a beautiful young girl through a narrow, dark underground passage. The two did not speak much along the way. Texas had never been very talkative, while Bai Ye was rather introverted. For a time, only their footsteps echoed through the tunnel.

"We're here."

After walking through the darkness for about twenty minutes, Texas stopped and began feeling along the wall beside her.

"Mm, this is it."

Texas began knocking on the wall in a rhythmic pattern, and Bai Ye soon heard a series of clattering sounds.

Gears meshed and turned. Propelled by Originium energy, the mechanism began to operate, and a hidden door appeared in the wall of the underground passage.

As the hidden door opened, a brand-new passage came into view. Clearly, the materials used to build this concealed passage were of exceptional quality, giving its walls a dark sheen.

As the hidden door opened with a deep sound, lamps along the ceiling of the passage lit up one after another, as though silently welcoming the two of them.

"The last maintenance was in June of last year."

Texas led Bai Ye into the hidden passage, and the concealed door behind them slowly closed.

"This is a one-time passage. Once we leave, this entrance will be sealed permanently."

This was the Texas Family's most hidden safe house. In truth, they had never expected the day would come when it would be used—who could have imagined that the powerful Texas Family would be uprooted overnight?

After passing through the long tunnel, Texas opened the final hidden door, and the two finally entered the safe house.

Bai Ye wiped at the nonexistent sweat on his forehead. Before this, they had passed through eight hidden doors and a maze-like network of concealed passages. The Texas Family truly was impressive.

"We can't stay here for too long." Texas led Bai Ye into the underground safe house.

"What's your plan from here?"

Bai Ye asked as he surveyed the surroundings. By now, he had roughly figured out the timeline and location he was in.

—The year 1093, Columbia Federation.

There were still three years until the Chernobog Incident in December 1096, when the main storyline of a certain mobile game would begin.

"We need to prepare sufficient supplies, then leave this place for the time being."

Texas sat down on a sofa nearby, breathing heavily as she opened the roughly bandaged wound and then pulled down her pants.

"Y-You... what are you doing?!"

Bai Ye had just turned back to say something when he saw such a shocking sight. His mind went blank for a moment.

Although Bai Ye was very good-looking, he was a boy with a normal sexual orientation! Texas's pale thighs dealt him an immense blow.

"My wound needs treatment."

Texas blinked, curious as to why Bai Ye had reacted so strongly.

"Because I'm male."

Bai Ye said this in an exceedingly calm tone.

He had said those words countless times in the past.

This would not be the last time, either.

Well, it was a very sad story. He was already used to it.

Texas was stunned for a moment, then looked Bai Ye up and down with an extremely astonished expression.

That gaze made Bai Ye's skin crawl. It was as though he could see a strange light flickering in Texas's red eyes.

"All right, I understand."

At last, Texas nodded and pointed toward a nearby door.

"Turn left when you go out, and you'll find the shower room. The armory is on the right. You should change out of those clothes."

Bai Ye was still wearing the pajamas he had on before being transported here. He had even cut off the left sleeve to use as an emergency bandage.

Earlier, Bai Ye had brushed against the sewer wall, leaving the back of his clothes covered in black grime.

"What a mess..."

Bai Ye spent around ten minutes washing up and getting himself sorted out, then found a suit in the neighboring "armory."

"Good eye. It's a product from Thunder God Industries, and it was purchased recently."

As Bai Ye adjusted his tie, Texas walked in from outside.

"Oh, so it isn't ordinary clothing?"

Bai Ye found the word "Raythean" on the inside of the garment. It was the logo of Thunder God Industries.

"Designed by a Victoria master artist and made from special materials, it can effectively protect the human body from weapons such as firearms and crossbow bolts," Texas explained from the side.

"You know an awful lot about it." Bai Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Because I'm reading the manual." Texas waved the booklet in her hand. "A bulletproof suit that can automatically adjust its size without requiring custom tailoring."

Bai Ye slowly fastened the buttons. The entire suit was double-breasted, a style derived from military uniforms. Its base color was fifty- to eighty-degree gray, with stripes spaced 1.5 centimeters apart.

"It really is classic British style..."

Traditional British style favored well-fitted straight-cut trousers, with hems touching the tops of the shoes and socks generally hidden while standing upright.

"It even comes with a matching shirt, tie, socks, and dress shoes..."

Bai Ye was very satisfied with his new clothes.

"A suit is the armor of a modern gentleman."

That was what Bai Ye said.