Tool Person

It was only natural that the Cross Society higher-ups would take the initiative to recruit Golon, the "Red Demon."

After all, such a formidable expert expelled from the Inner City would be a tremendous asset to any gang in the Outer City.

It was probably not just the Cross Society. The Crow Gang and the Steam Party were likely making contact as well. Otherwise, Chairman Chuck would not have sent Qiantiao, a core member of the Cross Society, to visit in person.

Suren now roughly understood where the gap between Inner City and Outer City professionals lay.

It was not that Inner City professionals were absolutely stronger than those in the Outer City, but the Inner City held over ninety percent of Old Lindun's resources. At the same rank, its professionals were undeniably far stronger on average.

Things like Silver Implant Blueprints and Job Advancement Materials, rare sights in the Outer City, often appeared at Inner City auctions. There were even rarer ancient Cursed Objects.

After all, only those wealthy big shots could afford to pay good prices for the valuable finds Wilderness Hunters dug up from ruins.

Over time, the great financial clans had surely accumulated plenty of rare alchemical resources.

And the resource gap was the fundamental reason for the difference in combat strength between Inner City and Outer City professionals.

Take Golon, the "Red Demon." Even a bodyguard could obtain top-tier resources. That was simply unimaginable in the Outer City.

Heavy metal music thundered through the Elephant Tavern.

Suren followed Qiantiao and Kai to a booth and sat down.

With a broad wave of her hand, Qiantiao called out, "Hey, bartender! Three glasses of Gold Wheat!"

The gambling-addicted young woman had won money and spent it without restraint, directly ordering the tavern's most expensive Gold Label Rye Wine.

Each of them received a huge mug.

This "Gold Label Rye Wine" was good stuff delivered directly from an Inner City distillery, so it was not cheap. A mug cost roughly a thousand Liso, equivalent to half a month's wages for an ordinary worker.

Suren could not taste anything especially remarkable about it. It was about the same as the blended whiskey he had drunk in his previous life.

But after looking at the ingredients, he understood. Much of the wine's price came from the water used to make it.

Old Lindun was not actually short on water; it simply lacked clean water. The underground water sources were mixed with large amounts of Dark Energy substances, and drinking them directly could easily lead to mutations.

Removing those pollutants required large-scale water filtration plants. He had heard the filtration costs were high, though some said it was because the financial clans held a monopoly. In any case, only Inner City residents were qualified to enjoy truly pure drinking water.

In the Outer City, civilians could only use inferior drinking water, and even that was expensive. Drinking water expenses made up a major part of most ordinary people's living costs.

Suren had only just joined the gang. Although he found Captain Kai and Qiantiao both quite agreeable, they were not yet very familiar with one another.

After taking his seat, he quietly drank while listening to the two of them chat.

"Sister Qiantiao, you said that guy who escaped disappeared near our Green Street?"

"Mm. The gang's tracking expert followed him all the way to the next block, then the trail vanished. But neither that item nor the Sealed Item can be put into a Storage Ring, so it won't be easy for that guy to escape. We suspect he's most likely hiding in some sewer, too afraid to show himself."

"And, little Kai, you and the brothers should be more careful lately. Something seems to have happened among the Black Tower higher-ups, and there's quite a bit of turmoil within the Inner City's top financial clans. The Steam Party and Crow Gang both have major corporations backing them. There may be some movement soon."

"Understood, Sister Qiantiao."

"..."

Suren listened from the side. The two talked for quite a while without saying what exactly "that item" was.

Perhaps it was tacit understanding, or perhaps even they themselves did not know what had been lost.

But Suren understood. It should be that "manuscript."

As for the news about turmoil in the Inner City, that seemed like something from an entirely different world, completely unrelated to him.

What interested Suren more was another thing—the special items they called Sealed Items.

He had also gathered that the Sealed Item seemed to be a massive black scythe around two meters long. Those intruders had used the scythe to slice open the gang's vault door.

Suren could not exactly ask what a Sealed Item was. From what he heard, it sounded like a Cursed Object with special effects, similar to a Rune Anomaly Puppet.

For the Cross Society, one of the Outer City's three great gangs, to mobilize so heavily in search of it, Suren became increasingly curious about what these so-called Sealed Items could do.

The only information he knew now was that the scythe was huge and sharp, capable of easily cutting through a metal door. And the person who had fled with the treasure was suspected of hiding in the sewers near Green Street.

As he drank, a thought suddenly flashed through Suren's mind. Huh... when I stripped the memories from Aberk, the "Shadow Scorpion," he mentioned that a Sealed Item was hidden in the Moon Hotel. I wonder what it is.

Lost in thought, he stared blankly for a moment.

Since there was no chance for him to join the conversation, Suren was either drinking or absentmindedly playing with the coin in his hand.

At that moment, the copper coin on the back of his hand flipped nimbly between all five fingers, moving from the web between his thumb and index finger to the gap beside his little finger, then rolling back again. No matter how he shook his hand, the coin showed no sign of falling.

This was a direct reflection of how greatly his technique had improved after successfully advancing his job.

He could now precisely control nearly every muscle in his fingers. The coin seemed glued to his skin, rolling and flipping with nimble grace, yet never falling.

Of course, he was not merely playing out of boredom.

Suren was actually practicing a basic technique every Abomination Puppeteer had to master—the Ten-Finger Consecutive Technique.

It was the most fundamental operating technique for string puppets.

It required the operator's fingers to be flexible and versatile, using tiny finger tremors to precisely control a puppet's limbs and make specific movements.

He had learned the technique now, but his muscle memory was still somewhat stiff and required constant practice.

Just then, Qiantiao seemed to notice that Suren was a little bored. She raised her glass again and said boldly, "Cheers!"

"Cheers."

Suren clinked glasses with her and gulped down a large mouthful of wine.

Qiantiao drank with great abandon. When she took big gulps, wine dribbled down from the corners of her mouth and along her neck.

Naturally, she had noticed Suren playing with the coin as well. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Are you following the gunslinger path?"

Suren nodded. "Mm."

There was nothing to hide about that. In fact, he had done it deliberately.

Although he had already advanced his job, Suren had no intention of revealing his special Abomination Puppeteer class.

Occasionally displaying some gunslinger traits would make people assume he was a gunslinger.

The more mysterious he acted, the more it would arouse people's curiosity.

Qiantiao became somewhat interested and casually asked, "Interested in learning the blade from me? Your hands are nimble. You should learn quickly."

Suren shook his head and politely declined. "Thank you, Sister Qiantiao, but my awakened talent is Eagle Eye. Gunslinger might suit me better."

Before he had the ability to protect himself, he intended to remain an inconspicuous little nobody. Besides, being a "bladesman" was not part of his career plan.

"Oh, what a pity."

Qiantiao pursed her lips and said nothing more.

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly said something that sounded faintly sorrowful. "Kid, don't die so easily. You'll definitely have a place in the gang someday."

This gang boss seemed accustomed to partings of life and death, voicing her saddest hope in the calmest tone.

Don't die.

In a gang, that was the best wish one could offer.

Suren heard her and nodded with a smile. "Mm."

He felt that this boss's temperament suited him quite well, and he was faintly moved.

But sometimes, twists came so suddenly that they caught people completely off guard.

The serious atmosphere had only just been built up when Qiantiao suddenly slung an arm around his shoulders and leaned close mysteriously. "There's one more thing."

"???"

Suren's expression turned serious, thinking it was something important.

Then, in the next instant, the boss's imposing image completely collapsed.

The same green gleam from the casino suddenly appeared in Qiantiao's eyes again. She said excitedly, "Hahaha! It's rare to meet someone with gambling luck as good as yours. Let me tell you, this kind of good luck usually lasts for several days. Tomorrow at the Gladiatorial Arena—don't you dare stand me up!"

"..."

Suren's eye twitched violently.

So when she told him not to die so easily, it was not because she valued his talent, but because she was afraid of losing her "lucky Tool Person"?

"Pfft—"

Captain Kai could not hold it in any longer. He sprayed out a mouthful of wine, then burst into laughter.