Endless Debt

The night view of the Land of Secrets is quite remarkable, sparse lights illuminate the streets beneath the Umbrella Tower, resembling scattered dim stars that light up the gray roads.

The Aurora Path extends from the Supreme Hub, providing power to the entire city while also offering illumination. The perpetually shifting luminescence, like glass, casts a vibrant, ambiguous glow in the dark.

Bologue looked up, trying to see the end of the ring-shaped abyss, but the umbrella of the Supreme Hub completely covered the sky, hiding the real stars.

This is indeed a Land of Secrets, almost like an underground world. Presumably, when the All Secrets Order built it, they expended a lot of effort, possibly losing many Condensers from the Commanding School in the process.

Bologue descended the stairs on one side of the observation deck, seemingly wandering aimlessly, but actually testing whether anyone was monitoring him. Bologue doubted that the All Secrets Order would easily allow people to move freely.

To put it nicely, this was a negotiation; bluntly, it was a demonstration of force. If the All Secrets Order’s answers were unsatisfactory, Nesanel’s blazing sun would surely rise in the city center.

The All Secrets Order was well aware of this, which is why they maintained extreme restraint and respect towards Nesanel.

The Seeker of Glory is like the strategic fission weapons proposed by scientists in newspapers — unless you keep Nesanel out, preventing him from approaching the Land of Secrets, he has already won half the battle when he steps into the city.

Even if the Ancestral Council could send several Seekers of Glory to suppress and kill Nesanel, he would still be capable of turning the years of development by the All Secrets Order into ruins before he loses his combat ability.

No one wants to see such a scenario; destruction is always easier than creation.

Bologue guessed that the pressure on the All Secrets Order must be immense now. He had to take advantage of their busy handling of Nesanel to explore the city’s secrets.

"No observers?"

Bologue wondered. He had been wandering for a while, Ethereal Perception keeping alert to his surroundings, yet he found nothing unusual.

By now, Bologue was a Defender, unless it was a Seeker of Glory, or a very special Narrow Space Walker like Church, no one should be able to escape Bologue’s perception.

Perhaps there really were no observers, or there was a new type of surveillance method Bologue was unaware of.

With this thought, Bologue looked up at the Supreme Hub once more.

Walking out of the building, onto the flat street, Bologue noticed the distinctly different architectural style — not particularly special, just somewhat overly ordinary.

If not for the towering high towers visible when looking up, Bologue would have thought he had returned to Oath City, Opus.

What met his eyes were just ordinary streets, lined with various shops selling all kinds of goods. Bologue even saw movie posters marked with "synchronized release."

The Land of Secrets might be isolated geographically, but its external trade had never been severed. Several trains entered daily, providing the Earthly Celestial Kingdom with an endless supply of goods.

Bologue observed the crowd, quietly muttering, "Are they all The Imperfect?"

The pedestrians carried faint etheric reactions, albeit much weaker than those of First Stage Condensers. They conversed and laughed just like ordinary people.

Yet, beneath this peaceful exterior, Bologue noticed some anomalies. For example, these Imperfect ones wore modern clothing, unlike the flashy, impractical outfits of people like Fabien and Ossana. Bologue also realized that the High Tier Condensers seemed to live in the tower and cliffside honeycomb-like buildings, while only the Imperfect ones lived on these ordinary streets.

Such areas were numerous, like a massive outer ring, enclosing the towering structures and demarcating the hierarchy between Condensers and the Imperfect ones within the All Secrets Order.

A tempting and familiar scent of blood emerged once more, interrupting Bologue’s thoughts.

Bologue glanced around, the sensation of being watched growing stronger, yet he could never pinpoint the observer.

Until a slightly cool hand grasped Bologue’s wrist.

"Don’t be nervous."

A cool voice whispered near Bologue’s ear, so close that he could smell the strange mix of spices and blood in her scent.

"Nervous? We’re old friends, aren’t we?"

Bologue stood still, not even letting his gaze waver. Yet, no matter what he said, the sharp pressure against his back remained.

"Pulling knives and guns right away isn’t good, you know. My deputy director is nearby, and I’ve helped you before, dealing with the Regent King’s trouble," Bologue skillfully invoked familiarity.

"Deputy director? Nesanel?"

Her voice held a trace of surprise, indicating she didn’t know Nesanel was present.

"What? Scared?"

Bologue laughed without hesitation, "Also, I’m an Undead. Even if you pierced my heart, you couldn’t kill me."

"But I can restrain you, like paralyzing your nerves or misleading your senses... Do you know how valuable you are now? The famous Mr. Lazarus."

She seemed to press against Bologue’s back, her breath grazing his nape—warm, humid, the blood scent possessing a certain magic, inciting wild thoughts.

"You intend to exchange me for money?"

Bologue was puzzled, "Daughter of Sere, regent queen? No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like someone who lacks money."

"Don’t insult me with such things."

Olivia’s voice contained hidden anger. She exerted a bit of force on the wrist, making Bologue feel his clothes tear, along with his skin, causing blood to trickle out, thickening the blood scent surrounding them.

"Okay, okay, can we have a calm talk? I’ve been standing here for a long time, which would attract attention."

Bologue had already noticed that passersby around him were casting puzzled glances his way.

The population of the Land of Secrets was not large, and with the further division of regional classes, the people here were very sensitive to outsiders, not to mention Bologue was wearing the uniform of the Order Bureau, which further highlighted his distinct identity.

"You’re just punishing yourself by standing there,"

Upon hearing Olivia’s words, Bologue suddenly turned around, but when he looked back, he only saw a rapidly dissipating dark shadow, with nothing behind him.

The dagger was still pressed against his spine, Olivia’s voice right beside his ear.

"How, is it?"

"Is this your Secret Energy? Invisibility? Or cognitive distortion?" Bologue cautiously probed.

"You can take your time guessing."

"When did you start targeting me?"

Bologue was sure he was on high alert since leaving the banquet hall, so how could she approach him so easily?

"Since you stepped into the Land of Secrets," Olivia’s voice hovered near his ear, "you underestimate the connection between the Blood of the Night Race."

"I’m not one of the Night Race."

"But you have the Blood of Sere, the blood of a Night Race Lord," even with resentment towards Sere, Olivia couldn’t help but marvel, "nowadays, it’s the purest bloodline apart from the Night King."

"Is it really that troublesome?" Bologue couldn’t help but sigh, "It seems, no matter how many resurrections, some things can’t be washed away."

The Blessing of the Time Reversing Axis adjusts Bologue’s body to its most perfect state, leading to resurrection. Bologue once thought it could wash away the Sere blood, but it seemed that the Sere blood was judged as some sort of augment by the blessing and was never removed, possibly because the Sere blood is too strong, even the blessing has difficulty cleansing it fully.

Indeed, the Blood of the Night Race itself is a kind of blessing, and the collision of two blessings creates an unknown error phenomenon.

"What do you want to do, Olivia," Bologue asked back, "why are you in the Land of Secrets? Are you trying to use the power of the All Secrets Order to evade the Regent King’s pursuit?"

"Do you think I’m a coward like Sere?" Olivia snorted coldly, "I won’t evade my fate."

"So, this place is related to your fate? The All Secrets Order and the Night Race?"

Bologue caught the subtleties in Olivia’s words, questioning while naturally strolling down the street.

"Before I came here, I heard there might be a connection between the All Secrets Order and the Night Race. You should know what that means for the Order Bureau," Bologue continued, "I thought I would have to investigate for some time before getting results, didn’t expect to encounter you just upon arrival."

On the surface, Bologue remained calm, but his heart was stormy; the worst possible scenario was unfolding.

The connection between the All Secrets Order and the Night Race — can the upcoming negotiations still proceed smoothly? Or is this a trap set by the All Secrets Order to lure the Order Bureau?

"Before I answer your question, you answer me a few questions first."

Olivia pressed, "How many people did you bring?"

"A legion, an Extraordinary Legion led by a Seeker of Glory," Bologue stated candidly, "In terms of overall strength, we still can’t compare with the All Secrets Order. After all, this is their headquarters, but destroying it is still quite simple.

So, what’s up? Olivia, do you need anything?"

Olivia didn’t respond, seeming lost in thought. Bologue waited patiently, strolling the streets, until he saw another figure at the street corner. He abruptly asked.

"Olivia, if you can sense the presence of Sere’s blood in me, can other Night Races do so?"

"Night Races approaching the pinnacle of the bloodline can instinctively sense these, otherwise some special methods are used for detection," Olivia surprisingly cooperated.

Bologue stopped walking, and the figure at the street corner, seeing Bologue halt, approached proactively.

"Oh... so do you think she’s coming for you, or for me?"

Bologue asked lightly, but his muscles were already taut. Olivia, who was invisible beside him, noticed the approaching figure and recognized her.

Olivia dismissed, "She’s looking for you."

"You’re so confident?" Bologue suddenly realized, "You can not only hide your form and Ether response but also conceal your bloodline aura, no wonder the Regent King has been chasing you for so long but can’t catch you."

Olivia pressed a cold metal sheet to Bologue’s ear, her voice ringing directly in his mind.

"You’d better behave."

Bologue internally complained, "How unlucky."

Then he put on a hollow, false smile and went to greet the other, "What a coincidence, Honorable Duke of Delusion."

Ossana didn’t like this title. Her voice was icy, "Just call me Ossana."

"Well then, Ossana, are you following me?"

In the somewhat busy street, Bologue said unceremoniously.

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