Iron Cross Society

A group of armed men stood atop the city wall, some dressed in punk style, others in black suits and trench coats.

All their clothes bore the conspicuous mark of the "Iron Cross Star," the gang emblem of the "Iron Cross Society."

Every day in Old Lindun, there were people who wanted to join a gang for all sorts of reasons: wanted fugitives with nowhere else to go, murderers, people dreaming of getting rich overnight, and people seeking extraordinary resources.

And atop the high walls, they could often recruit fighters willing to venture outside the city to hunt the wilderness.

The gang captains loved waiting here to recruit newcomers.

"I'm telling you, Kai, can't you put away that Blade Implant of yours? You keep showing it off like that, and people will laugh at us 'Cross Society' professionals for being so ignorant. You're a captain now. Can't you act a little more composed?"

"Heh heh, Smoker Boss, I just succeeded in fusing with the implant, so I'm a little excited."

"The higher-ups assigned you the three streets around Green Street District to manage. Be careful from now on. There are plenty of gambling dens and brothels over there. The profits are heavy, but all the old hands in the gang avoided that place. Do you know why they let you pick up this bargain?"

"Isn't it because those Steam Party bastards have been causing trouble lately? No problem. If they dare cross the line, I guarantee I'll chop their heads off. Hahaha."

"As long as you know what you're doing. It's not just the Steam Party looking for trouble. The city's mutation incidents have been increasing lately too, so you'd better keep your eyes open. Tell me if you need help. As for the newcomers recruited today, pick a few you like first."

"Thanks, Smoker Boss. Heh heh, hopefully we'll get a few who can fight today."

"."

The speaker was a middle-aged man with sinister eyes. He was smoking a cigar and lazily reclining in a chair.

Standing beside him was a young man whose hands and feet resembled blades, faintly gleaming with a sharp metallic luster.

Suren looked up and saw the two men. Without much hesitation, he stepped into the crude iron-net cage and ascended the city wall.

"New here? Want to join the Cross Society?"

"Yeah."

"What's your name?"

"Suren."

"What Talent did you awaken?"

"D-016—Eagle Eye."

"Oh? Then your marksmanship must be pretty good, huh?"

"Not bad."

"Good. Follow me, then. You can call me Captain Kai."

"All right."

The process of joining the gang was simple to the point of being unbelievable.

After being asked a few simple questions, Suren officially became a member of the Iron Cross Society.

Just as the information obtained during the earlier interrogation had indicated, the gang did not care about your origins. After all, most people who joined gangs had unsavory backgrounds.

As long as you were willing to risk your life for the gang, no one cared about your past.

In exchange for risking their lives, the gang would also provide them with protection.

No one searched him, no one asked too many questions, and no one meddled.

Suren breathed a sigh of relief. His Storage Ring was safe. The preparations he had made in case of trouble would not be needed either, which was a good start.

Captain Kai looked only a few years older than Suren, but he seemed to be an old hand who had been around the gang for many years.

Anyone who could survive for many years in the underworld had real ability.

Kai was also a formal "professional," an agility-type assassin who had fused with the extremely offensive Alchemical Implant—Blade.

Suren silently observed everything, his eyes shining with anticipation and curiosity toward this novel world.

After waiting for most of the day, recruitment finally neared its end.

Aside from Suren, Kai had chosen three other people.

One had awakened D-082—Great Strength, another D-071—Stone Skin, and the last D-031—Enhanced Smell. All of them could more or less enhance their combat abilities.

"Let's go, Smoker Boss. I'll take the newcomers to patrol our district and show our faces."

"Mm."

Kai greeted the middle-aged man who never stopped smoking, then led Suren and the others down from the city wall.

Suren remained silent the entire time, following behind him and quietly acting like an invisible nobody.

This young man named Kai was very talkative, and he seemed quite satisfied with his newly recruited subordinates.

As they walked, he handed each of them one or two stacks of banknotes and explained, "The gang's benefits are twenty thousand Liso a month. If there are missions, we'll issue additional payment depending on the circumstances. Since ours is a newly formed team, we won't need to go outside the city to hunt the wilderness for the next three months, so you can enjoy yourselves."

The newcomers had obtained their first substantial "paycheck" with astonishing ease.

Twenty thousand Liso was already equivalent to more than half a year's wages for an ordinary factory worker in the city.

Suren was slightly surprised. He had not known about this detail. However, judging by the faintly excited expressions of the other three, they did not seem surprised at all.

Getting paid before working—if this had been his previous life, it would have counted as excellent treatment.

Was this really a gang?

After thinking it over, Suren understood.

In a gang, no member could guarantee that they would live to see the next month.

Paying them first meant letting them enjoy themselves first.

If something happened, at least they would not have died for nothing.

Moreover, after joining the gang, there were no restrictions. There was no confinement or control, and their freedom was not limited in the slightest.

Suren could even take the money and run away immediately.

But no one would do that.

If you were wanted by the authorities, joining a gang could still give you a way to survive. But if you were wanted by the three major gangs, there would be nowhere left to stand in Old Lindun.

There would be only a dead end.

Therefore, for the vast majority of people, once they joined a gang, they could only walk that dark road to the end.

But as for Suren, a high death rate?

Tsk tsk, it did not matter.

Compared with facing death, an ordinary world was what he found truly boring.

His Reaper Talent was destined to grow stronger through dealings with death.

Become an ordinary person to avoid danger?

No. Having come to such a fascinating, wondrous world, being timid and cautious would be truly boring.

Suren watched his faintly throbbing pulse. He knew that "he" also loved this world.

Suren and the other newcomers followed Captain Kai down from the city wall and entered the city.

The city was filled with densely packed slums. From a distance, it looked like a "postwar Syrian-style" landscape.

Like the high wall, the reinforced-concrete buildings in the city were all ancient relics. The great war a thousand years ago seemed to have overrun this city, leaving ruined buildings everywhere.

And atop these ruins, towering steam chimneys and shantytowns made from steel shipping containers were the "new buildings."

As for the Inner City, it lay at the edge of their vision. Another high wall separated it from the rest of the city, and its lights shone brilliantly. In the vague distance, a "Black Tower" of unknown height stood at the center of the Inner City.

The city was enormous. They rode an open-top steam locomotive, speeding all the way into the city.

On the locomotive, Suren observed everything in the city without revealing his thoughts.

As a transmigrator, he did not dare speak carelessly, afraid that people would realize he was completely unfamiliar with the city.

But perhaps because Suren had said he had awakened Eagle Eye, one of the most practical combat abilities among Grade D Talents, Captain Kai seemed to value him quite highly. He even offered him special guidance. "With your Talent, you'd be well suited to a profession in the Gunner Sequence. I'll keep an eye out for the relevant Job Advancement Materials. Meditate more whenever you have nothing to do. Once your Dark Spiritual Energy is full, advance your profession. Let's try to get two professionals in our team."

Suren replied, "Mm."

Kai said nothing more and waved his hand grandly. "Come on, I'll take everyone around our patrol district. There's one thing I can guarantee—there'll be no shortage of beautiful women!"

At that, everyone in the vehicle wore a knowing smile shared by men.

Green Street lay at the junction of Wellington District in the eastern part of the city and Kunsen District in the south. It was one of the three most famous "entertainment districts" in all of Old Lindun.

Because the profits were so high, it was also a frequent source of conflict between the Cross Society and the Steam Party.

All sorts of gamblers, Wilderness Hunters, and desperate criminals frequented the entertainment venues here.

Order was chaotic. Shootouts and brawls were everyday occurrences, and almost every day some unfortunate person ended up lying dead in the street.

Suren and the others stopped at a place that looked like an old steel factory.

They got off.

Their leather boots stepped onto ground covered in flowing sewage.

Suren also looked over the city's dark side with some curiosity.

Although this world had no electricity, it was not lacking in various Alchemical Products that emitted light. Not far away, the streets were illuminated by a riot of lights and neon signs glowing with suggestive colors.

This was a gathering point for the gang, and a group of people had been waiting by the roadside. Leather jackets and pants, iron studs, brightly colored hair, and guns casually held like lighters.

Suren felt that his baldhead punk look made him fit right in with these people.

"Hey, Captain Kai, you're back."

"Yo, these newcomers look pretty good."

"Haha, Captain, how come you didn't bring back a female team member?"

"."

Kai greeted those people, then briefly introduced Suren. "This is Suren, Jigg, Sapa, and Andrew. From now on, we're all brothers."

Gang members were not big on pleasantries. Everyone bumped fists, which counted as an introduction.

They went straight to work on their first day. That was the gang's efficiency.

Kai led Suren, the four newcomers, and several veterans—more than a dozen people in all—to begin patrolling the streets.

It was no different from the gangs of his previous life: they took a stroll around the establishments under their protection and showed their faces.

"From now on, our job is simply to come out every night and make one round through the three streets around Green Street. If there's something to do, do it. If there's nothing to do, go wherever you want."

Kai explained the "job duties" to the newcomers.

Then he handed out a small Alchemical Product with a walkie-talkie function and added, "Keep this 'communicator' on you at all times. If there's an emergency, I'll summon everyone. Remember to come immediately, or the gang rules won't go easy on you."

After a pause, he addressed a burly man carrying a shotgun nearby. "Sam, explain the gang rules to the newcomers, so they don't cause trouble by breaking them."

Sam grinned. "Sure thing."

Suren understood. The job was very simple: patrol the streets as they were doing now.

They gathered at seven in the evening, with roughly half an hour of "work" each day. The rest of the time was theirs to arrange. They could gamble, visit taverns, or do whatever they wanted, as long as they stayed within the bounds of this street.

It looked very easy.

"Hey, Boss Clive, business is booming!"

"Boss Milton, I heard you've got a fine batch of merchandise coming in. Remember to save a few pretty ones for me and the brothers tonight."

"."

The Cross Society controlled nearly every entertainment venue on Green Street.

Kai and his group were very familiar with the street. The brothel madams and courtesans from the nightclubs warmly greeted them as they passed.

Suren was surprised as well. This seemingly decaying industrial city actually had such a lively side. These brothels were no less bustling than the large bars of his previous life, with crowds streaming in and out.

Groups of heavily made-up courtesans stood along the street soliciting customers. Their revealing clothes, long pale legs, and proud breasts were so exposed that they dazzled the eyes.

The street was permeated with a thickly erotic atmosphere.

Suren had not expected Old Lindun's clothing styles to be so diverse. Almost every kind of sexy outfit capable of stimulating a man's hormones could be found here.

The courtesans were bold and seductive, and they did not hesitate to display their delicate figures. They did not care about the greasy hands of men roaming freely over their bodies. Instead, they would coquettishly tease and laugh.

"Hey, Elena, you seem to have put on weight. No, no, I'm not complaining. I mean you feel even better now~"

"Oh, Lisa, how come I haven't seen you lately? Have you been fooling around with some man~?"

"Mwah~ Captain Kai, would you like to come over and have some fun tonight?"

"."

Kai and the veterans seemed completely at ease, joking their way through the sea of women.

They were not only local toughs but also regular customers here.

The rules of survival in Old Lindun were cruel. Ordinary people who could not work in combat professions were extremely cheap. Here, for a few hundred Liso, one could find a pretty courtesan and enjoy a night of pleasure.

Thus, the gang's monthly salary of twenty thousand Liso could even let someone remain forever in a life of indulgence.

Suren and the other newcomers followed along and became familiar faces.

Green Street District had three main streets in all.

Every corner here was filled with violence, eroticism, and illegal trade.

After patrolling the street devoted entirely to brothels, they moved on to the tavern street. Neon signs of every color illuminated a scene of drunken revelry and the Pure Land of pleasure.

Most of the taverns on this street had a strong industrial style, with steel elements in every corner.

Suren was beginning to find the patrol somewhat boring when, unexpectedly, they ran into trouble.

As they passed a place called the Elephant Tavern, a middle-aged man with a tea-colored beard called out to Kai.

"Hey, Captain Kai, you came at just the right time. There's a bit of trouble in my establishment. I need you to take a look."

The tavern owner led them into the back alley with a worried look, then pointed at the bloody half of a corpse on the ground. "It must have happened last night. Some unlucky drunk fell asleep in the back alley. As you can see, half his body was bitten off by some unknown monster."

This was the alley behind the tavern, piled with all kinds of empty bottles. Unlike the bright and polished front, it was filthy, gloomy, and reeking.

Suren's eyesight let him see the half-corpse clearly. It had sawtooth-like bite marks and looked as if it had been gnawed on by some fairly large monster.

At the edge of the street, there were several black sewer openings. That murky, foul stench was drifting out from there.

The tavern owner seemed to be used to such things and continued muttering, "Captain Kai, it seems some monster has appeared in the sewers. I've also been hearing about vagrants going missing lately. It seems some man-eating monster has dragged them away, and now everyone's panicking. I'm afraid this keeps going, it'll affect my tavern's business."

"Oh, I understand the situation."

Kai took a look, then kicked the corpse into a nearby trash can.

The corpse would probably be gnawed clean by rats soon enough. No one would care who had died.

Kai rubbed his boot against the ground and said, "Boss Chuckman, don't worry. I'll send someone to investigate."

With that, he did not linger. He led Suren and the others away from the Elephant Tavern.

After leaving the tavern and walking along the main street, one of the newcomers asked, "Captain, are we coming back to investigate later?"

That was also what Suren was wondering. He had assumed this fell within the scope of their work.

Unexpectedly, Kai merely laughed dismissively. "Heh, investigate? The sewers of Old Lindun are thousand-year-old antiques. The underground layout is ten times more complicated than the roads aboveground. No one can figure out the structure down there. It's a paradise for all kinds of Mutated Monsters. Who the hell would want to go to such a foul-smelling place?"

After a pause, he looked at the newcomers and continued, "As long as those monsters don't come up to the surface, we don't need to bother with them. Instead of wasting our free time investigating, we might as well go enjoy ourselves."

"Understood, Captain."

Clearly, that suited everyone just fine. No one was willing to risk their lives.

Brothels, taverns, and then gambling dens.

They made a round of the establishments along Green Street, showing their faces at each one, like dogs pissing to mark their territory.

Before long, they had patrolled to a gambling den where underground bare-knuckle fights were held.

When Suren saw a mass of "Gray Mist" emerge from the corpse of the gladiator who had been beaten to death in the ring, his eyes lit up.

Finally, things weren't so boring anymore.

He knew that for a long time to come, he would probably have something to do.

Thanks for the tip, April. Thank you.