Smuggling

In the end, Chu Mu still couldn't refuse Oleg.

If Chu Mu couldn't refuse the Old Director, it was because he feared making that kindly old lady angry.

There was only one reason he couldn't refuse Oleg: the guy was far too strong!

When other people said, "I'll tie you up and drag you there if I have to," it was nothing more than a joke.

But when Oleg said it, he already had a rope in his hands.

Chu Mu could only obediently follow Oleg to a secluded spot and climb into the smuggling equipment Oleg had prepared-

A gigantic supply bag!

Oleg's explanation was:

"As a Guard Captain, it's perfectly reasonable for my supply bag to be several times bigger than everyone else's, right?"

Inside that enormous supply bag, Chu Mu found a familiar face.

"Boss!" Seele looked at Chu Mu in delight. "I've been wanting to visit you at the Orphanage, but I was afraid they'd catch me and make me stay for lessons. You know me, Boss. I hate lessons more than anything."

Seele was an orphan registered at the Orphanage, but because she hated lessons and didn't want anyone bossing her around, she had simply run off to live on the streets. She only occasionally returned to the Orphanage to ask for some water.

Water was precious in the Underworld, and safe drinking water was even scarcer. As a street child, she couldn't always find a source of water.

Suddenly, Seele noticed the green glow in Chu Mu's left eye. It was clearly visible even through the black gauze.

"Boss, what happened to your eye? Why do you have a strip of cloth over it?" Seele asked with concern.

"Heh heh, don't get scared when I tell you." Chu Mu lifted the black gauze, revealing his green left eye. "This is the strongest true eye in the universe, capable of killing without a trace-the Wicked King's True Eye!"

"Wow, really?" Seele's eyes widened. "The Wicked King's True Eye! What an awesome name!"

"Keh heh heh, don't you think it sounds evil?" Chu Mu gave a sinister laugh. "This eye holds an evil power, and it comes from the most terrifying monster in the entire universe. Once it matures, the lasers it fires will be enough to annihilate billions of stars!"

"Th-that's amazing!" Seele was dumbstruck.

"Aw, it's not that amazing yet. It's still very weak, just a baby." Chu Mu covered it with the black gauze again. "Until its supernatural powers fully awaken, I can't expose it to the public, so I hope you'll keep it a secret."

"Understood! I promise to keep it secret!" Seele immediately replied with respect.

Chu Mu was very pleased. If only Xiao Bu would play along like this, too.

He couldn't help remembering when he first met Seele. It had been at the entrance to the Orphanage. Seele had come to ask for water and happened to see Chu Mu telling a story to a group of children.

It was a story about a giant of light defeating an evil monster.

For some inexplicable reason, Seele hadn't immediately left the Orphanage as she usually did. Instead, she had crouched nearby and listened until Chu Mu finished the story.

The giant of light defeated the monster, but exhausted all his strength and turned into an unmoving stone statue.

At the end of the story, Chu Mu asked:

"Do you believe in the light?

"Everyone who believes in the light, give me one Winter City Shield. I need the money to build a powerful light-emitting device and awaken the giant of light. Trust me. When the giant of light awakens, he'll grant you the power to defeat monsters."

The children at the Orphanage had long since grown tired of this routine. After enjoying the story for free, they scattered, leaving Chu Mu cursing furiously.

Just then, a small, tender hand held up a gleaming coin, and a pair of purple eyes brimmed with anticipation.

"Here! Please make sure you awaken the giant of light!"

Chu Mu looked at the girl, taking in her messy hair, filthy clothes, and exceptionally clear eyes.

"Do you believe in the light, too?" Chu Mu smiled, but didn't take the girl's money. "I'll let you in on a secret. I'm actually the giant of light's human form. That was just a test for all of you. Congratulations, you passed! From now on, call me Boss, and I'll look out for you."

"Boss!" The girl's eyes were filled with admiration.

Just as they were now.

"You're really something, Boss. I'm nothing like you." Seele shook her head and sighed. "Uncle Oleg recently said I'd awakened the power of the Patrol! But I don't feel any different at all. My appetite's just gotten bigger."

"What is the power of the Patrol?" Chu Mu looked puzzled. "Did you remember it wrong? Did he mean the Hunt?"

"Right, now I remember! It was the Hunt!" Seele nodded vigorously. "Patrol, Hunt, they're pretty much the same thing. I can run really fast now, even faster than those adults!"

"With all due respect, you may be fast, but if I unleashed my Wicked King's True Eye, assuming its lasers traveled three hundred thousand kilometers per second and extended forward infinitely, with firing intervals of mere milliseconds to create a saturation barrage, how would you dodge that?" Chu Mu began rattling on.

"Huh? Boss, I wasn't trying to compete with your Wicked King's True Eye!" Seele hurriedly shook her head and said earnestly, "I couldn't beat it. Definitely couldn't."

"You've already won," Chu Mu sighed.

He had never imagined that this little underling he'd picked up would awaken to a Path before he did.

And the formidable Path of the Hunt, at that!

Chu Mu had been cramming all sorts of obscure knowledge on the subject lately. He knew that Pathstriders on the Path of the Hunt focused on offense and excelled at killing!

More importantly, the Hunt and Abundance were said to be mortal enemies!

The Hunt pursued the Abominations of Abundance throughout the sea of stars. That was the broader backdrop.

On Jarilo-VI, however, the official faith worshipped Qlipoth, the god of Preservation. This god devoted himself to building walls, and his followers likewise built great cities.

As a result, followers of Preservation had little conflict with other factions. Only occasionally did followers of Destruction come knocking.

Followers of Destruction were a bunch of lunatics who bit anyone they saw.

Seven hundred years ago, Jarilo-VI had been invaded by the Antimatter Legion under Destruction's command, leaving it in its current state.

Few people remained alive on the planet now, and Pathstriders were pitifully rare.

Yet Chu Mu knew two of them: his teacher Natasha, who followed the Path of Abundance, and Seele, who followed the Path of the Hunt.

The Hunt hated Abundance.

Seele hated lessons.

Could this have been what prompted Seele to awaken to the Path of the Hunt?

Come to think of it, with a seed planted inside him by Yaoshi of Abundance, Chu Mu now counted as half an Abomination of Abundance himself.

Having an underling on the Path of the Hunt felt rather strange.

Chu Mu glanced at Seele and was about to say something when he heard Oleg speak in a low voice:

"Not another word. The inspector's coming."

Oleg was pushing the supply bag on a little cart and had reached the cable car boarding point.

A security inspector walked over and glanced at the supply bag. Seeing that it was piled high with smoked meat coated in a thick layer of grease, he refrained from touching it.

Chu Mu and Seele were holding up a wooden board, hiding beneath this pile of camouflage.

"Just some Underworld specialties," Oleg said with a smile.

"Specialties..." A flicker of doubt crossed the security inspector's eyes.

After all, would anyone in the Upper District be interested in this filthy food from the Underworld?

The Upper District had cured meat dried naturally in the sun, while the Underworld could only smoke-dry theirs using the heat from heating pipes!

He had only ever seen people taking Upper District specialties down below, never anyone doing the reverse like Oleg!

Very suspicious!

The security inspector was just about to conduct a search when a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

Not long ago, there had been a rumor that the Supreme Guardian intended to close the passage between the upper and lower districts.

This Oleg had originally been an Upper District resident and held an important position in the Silvermane Guards.

Could he know something, and was that why he was behaving so unusually?

After all, if the passage closed, there would be no way to eat Underworld-style smoked meat in the Upper District ever again!

Even worse, he would lose his own job as a cable car security inspector!

At that thought, the security inspector was suddenly overcome with melancholy.

He stepped aside and waved Oleg through.

"Go on."