Xu Rongzhi? Counter-Boxed!

He watched the gray-clad man's back disappear into the shadows at the end of the alley, then withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes over the surroundings.

The alley was quiet, with only the soul tool lamp of the little bookstore casting a warm yellow glow through the window.

The light shone at his feet, illuminating the gaps between the bricks so clearly that there wasn't even a scrap of stray paper inside them.

Mo Yuan was silent for several seconds before pulling his right hand from his pocket.

He was holding an extremely thin metal plate—the one he had drawn the moment his opponent came within three meters.

Its material wasn't particularly high-grade, but after being treated with a Restraining Formation, it was enough to defend against one sudden attack at the level of a Titled Douluo from close range.

However, the other party clearly had never intended to make a move, at least not tonight.

Mo Yuan put away the metal plate, glanced toward the character on the business card from earlier, then turned and walked toward the little bookstore.

The warm yellow light shone on his back, stretching his shadow out long.

He pushed open the door, and the copper bell on the doorframe gave a crisp jingle.

"Welcome—" The shopkeeper behind the counter raised his head. He was an old man with graying hair. Pushing up his reading glasses, he asked, "Young man, out by yourself this late?"

"Mm, I'm just looking around." Mo Yuan's voice was soft. "Do you have any books related to soul tool mechanical structures?"

"Yes, yes. They're on the shelf to the left. Have a look yourself."

Mo Yuan walked to the bookshelf. His fingertips slid over a row of yellowed spines before he picked out a somewhat old-looking copy of An Introduction to Soul Tool Principles and flipped it open to check the publication year.

Oh, come on...

Three hundred years old.

Although the writing was solid, wasn't this a little too outdated?

He leaned against the bookshelf and flipped through a few pages, reading the contents while splitting half his attention to process the information left behind by the conversation just now.

The surname was Xu, and he was connected to the Mecha Engineer Association.

That meant there were at least two factions within the association interested in him.

To be honest, the surname Xu was rather sensitive in Mingdu. After all, everyone knew what the Federation's predecessor had been.

He closed the book, walked to the counter to pay, tucked it under his arm, and pushed open the door.

The copper bell rang again.

The main street outside the alley was still brightly lit. Mingdu's night had only just begun.

However, Mo Yuan had no intention of visiting Mingdu's City of Night. He went straight back to his residence at the Mecha Engineer Association.

He stretched out his hand, and a Soul Tool information terminal—essentially a computer—was quickly constructed. He inserted a card into the interface he had prepared in advance. A string of code flashed past, and he skillfully entered the Federation's information database.

To be honest, the Federation's information system defenses were like a sheet of paper to him. The difference between them and being able to enter directly was like the pretense of pushing someone away before having sex between a husband and wife—purely a matter of saving face.

Even so, although the system was practically useless, he had still felt a certain sense of accomplishment when he cracked it for the first time. Wasn't that, in itself, another function of the system?

Mo Yuan searched through the system's database and filtered out the people who might have come into contact with him.

Before long, he had narrowed it down to one name.

Mo Yuan's fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, and a heavily encrypted personal file popped up on the screen.

The encryption level wasn't low, but for the terminal Mo Yuan had casually improved today, cracking it was merely a matter of taking two extra steps.

He opened the file. Attached was a recently taken color photograph. It showed a man who looked to be thirty-five or thirty-six, with regular features and somewhat cold contours. He wore a dark formal outfit with a standing collar, and a simply shaped metal badge was pinned to the collar.

There was an almost inhuman calmness between his brows, as if every facial muscle had been specifically trained to assume the proper position for every occasion.

The name field in the file read: Xu Rongzhi.

Mo Yuan quickly scanned several lines of the summary.

Xu Rongzhi, thirty-four years old, eldest son of the current head of the Xu family, a descendant of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family. He currently controlled all of the Xu family's industries in Mingdu, including three large Soul Tool manufacturing companies, two rare mineral trading routes, and at least four parts suppliers with long-term partnerships with the Mecha Engineer Association.

His Soul Power Level was reportedly only around the Eight-ring Soul Douluo level, but the file clearly marked it as "unknown," indicating that his true cultivation had been deliberately concealed.

Interesting...

Mo Yuan flipped forward two pages and saw a line that interested him even more: Over the past three years, Xu Rongzhi had personally promoted an internal technology incubation project focused on "a low-cost preparation method for high-purity rare metals." He had invested a great deal of money, but the results had so far been mediocre.

The project had been established in the exact same year that the Third Experimental Base had been shelved due to budget cuts.

He closed the file window. The information chain was already clear enough: Xu Rongzhi had invested in rare metal synthesis for three years without producing anything, his informants had immediately followed when the Third Experimental Base was restarted, and he had then sent a subordinate from his own clan to contact Mo Yuan at the earliest opportunity.

Everything made sense.

But Mo Yuan had no intention of accepting the invitation.

It wasn't because he thought Xu Rongzhi was an unworthy partner.

On the contrary, the résumé listed in the file showed that he had considerable influence, a clear way of thinking, patience, and the ability to remain composed.

After investing for three years without results and still not abandoning the project, he was clearly someone capable of accepting long-term returns.

If such a person became a partner, he would be an ideal source of support in terms of resources.

The problem wasn't his ability, but his position.

The identity of a descendant of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family was far too sensitive.

If he had merely been the young master of some family, Mo Yuan might have considered negotiating terms.

But he was also a member of the former dynasty's royal clan—at the very least, he carried that bloodline. That meant that within the Federation's political framework, his actions would inevitably carry certain tendencies that couldn't be easily disavowed.

Mo Yuan had read in the history books that after the Sun Moon Empire fell, most of the direct royal descendants were absorbed and placed under the Federation's supervision. The Xu family was one of the few surviving clans to retain a considerable scale of industry and influence.

A family like that would never do anything solely for the sake of making money.

Mo Yuan didn't want to tie his technology to a faction that the Federation might regard as an "unstable factor" at any moment.

Especially since he planned to take the official route through the Federation Academy of Sciences next, the Xu family's background would become a double-edged sword. No matter how clean he kept himself, the moment he became entangled, he would be dragged into a political quagmire he wanted nothing to do with.

He shut down the terminal and returned the device to his Storage Soul Tool.

Or rather, he had more than enough ability to speedrun things through another channel, so why bother entangling himself with those politicians?

Thus, tonight's conclusion was simple: for now, he could simply ignore Xu Rongzhi's side.

If someone still wanted to use another key to open the lock, he would decide then whether to change the lock or weld the door shut.

That would depend on whether the other party was smart enough.