On top of the city walls, a group of armed militants stood, dressed in either a punk or black suit style. There was a clear “iron cross” mark on their clothes, which was the emblem of the “Steel Cross Society”.
Every day in Julingdun, there were people who wanted to join a gang for various reasons: desperate fugitives, murderers, those who wanted to get rich overnight, those who wanted extraordinary resources…
And often, they were able to recruit people who would venture outside the city walls. The gang leaders loved waiting here to recruit new members.
“I say Kai, can you put away your [Blade] implant? You’re always showing it off, making people laugh at us ‘Cross Society’ professionals who haven’t seen the world. We’re all captains, can’t you be a little more stable…”
“Hehe, Suren, I just successfully fused the implant, so I’m excited.”
“The high-levels of the gang have assigned you to take care of the three blocks in the Green Street area. Be careful in the future. There are many gambling dens and flower houses over there. Although they have a lot of money, the old people in the gang have avoided it. Do you know why you got lucky?”
“Isn’t it because those guys from the ‘Steam Party’ like to cause trouble recently? No worries… If they dare to cross the line, I promise to cut their heads off, haha.”
“You know what’s going on. It’s not just the ‘Steam Party’ who’s causing trouble recently. The distortion incidents in the city have also increased. You’d better pay more attention. If you need help, just let me know. Choose a few new recruits that you like…”
“Thank you, Suren. I hope I can recruit a few capable fighters today…”
“…”
The one who spoke was a middle-aged man with a sinister look in his eyes. He was smoking a cigar and laying lazily in a chair.
Standing beside him were young men who exuded metallic sharpness like “blades”.
Suren looked up and saw the two of them. Without hesitation, he walked into the crude iron cage and climbed onto the city wall.
…
“Newcomer? Do you want to join our ‘Cross Society’?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s your name?”
“Suren.”
“What awakened talent do you have?”
“[D-016-Hawkeye].”
“Oh? So your marksmanship is pretty good?”
“It’s alright.”
“Good, then follow me. You can call me Captain Kai.”
“Okay.”
The process of joining the gang was simple and unbelievable.
Suren was asked a few simple questions and officially became a member of the “Steel Brother Society”.
Indeed, as the intelligence from before interrogations suggested, the gang did not care about your background. After all, most of the people who joined the gang had a dirty background.
As long as you worked for the gang, no one cared about your past.
In exchange for selling their lives for the gang, the gang could also provide protection.
No one searched them, no one asked too many questions, no one got involved…
Suren also breathed a sigh of relief, preserving his storage ring. The preparations he made in case of accidents were unnecessary, but it was a good start.
…
Captain Kai seemed only a few years older than Suren, but he seemed to be an old man who had been in the gang for many years.
To be able to survive for many years in the underworld, one must have some abilities.
This guy Kai, was also a formal “professional”, a member of the agility system and had fused an attack-oriented alchemy implant called [Blade].
Suren silently watched everything, his eyes sparkling with anticipation and curiosity for this new and wonderful world.
After waiting for a while, the day’s recruitment was coming to an end.
Besides Suren, there were three other people selected by Captain Kai.
One awakened talent was [D-082-Powerful], one was [D-071-Stone Skin], and the other was [D-031-Enhanced Smell], all of which could enhance combat abilities to varying degrees.
“Let’s go, Smoke Boss. I’ll take the newcomers to patrol the area. Let’s show our faces and lure in some beauties…”
“Alright.”
Captain Kai led Suren and the others to greet a middle-aged man who had never put out his cigarette, then they descended from the city wall.
Suren remained silent throughout, following behind him quietly like a little transparent person.
This young man named Kai was quite talkative and seemed satisfied with the newly recruited subordinates.
As they walked, he distributed a stack of bills to the new recruits, explaining, “The benefits in the gang are a monthly salary of 20,000 Ries, and additional money will be given depending on the situation of the tasks. Since our team is newly formed, we don’t need to go outside the city for hunting for the next three months, so you can enjoy yourselves…”
The new recruits easily received their first substantial “salary”.
20,000 Ries was already equivalent to half a year’s salary for an ordinary factory worker in the city.
Suren was somewhat surprised, as he didn’t know this detail. But looking at the excited expressions of the other three, it seemed like they weren’t surprised either.
Payment before work, in his previous life, this was considered excellent treatment.
Is this still a gang?
Suren pondered for a moment and understood.
In the gang, members couldn’t guarantee that they would live to the next month.
Paying in advance meant enjoying first.
If anything happened, dying wasn’t a big loss either.
Moreover, after joining the gang, there were no restrictions, no detentions, no limitations on freedom.
Suren could even take the money and run away…
But no one would do that.
Because if you were wanted by the authorities and were able to join a gang, it provided a way out. If the three major gangs in Julingdun were wanted, there would no longer be any place for them in the city.
They would be left with only a dead end.
Therefore, for the majority of people, once they joined a gang, they could only go down one path.
But for Suren, a high mortality rate?
Tut tut, it didn’t matter…
Compared to facing death, an ordinary world made him feel more bored.
His awakened talent, [Reaper], needed to grow stronger and was destined to deal with death.
To avoid risks and live as an ordinary person?
No, coming to such a wonderful world, being timid was truly boring.
Suren looked at his slightly trembling pulse and knew that “he” also liked this world.
…
Suren and the new recruits followed Captain Kai and descended from the city wall, entering the city.
The city was filled with dense slums, and from a distance, it looked like a “Syrian post-war style”.
Similarly to the city walls, the reinforced concrete buildings in the city were ancient artifacts. Hundreds of years ago, this city was occupied during a great war, leaving behind ruins everywhere.
On top of those ruins, towering steam chimneys and steel container slums were the “new buildings”.
As for the inner city, it was at the edge of the field of vision. There was another wall separating it, with bright lights shining. The central part of the inner city could vaguely be seen, and there was a “black tower” of unknown height.
The city was very large, and they rode an open steam locomotive, speeding into the city.
On the locomotive, Suren stayed silent and observed everything in the city.
As a transmigrator, he didn’t dare to speak casually for fear of revealing his complete unfamiliarity with the city.
However, perhaps because Suren claimed to have awakened the [Hawkeye] talent, which was one of the most practical combat abilities among D-grade talents, Captain Kai seemed to value him. He specifically mentioned, “Your talent is quite suitable for the hot pursuit profession. I’ll keep an eye out for relevant ‘career transfer materials’ for you in the future. If you have nothing to do, meditate more; when your dark spiritual power is full, you can transfer careers. Let’s try to make our team have two ‘professionals’…”
Suren responded, “Okay.”
Captain Kai didn’t say much and waved his hand, saying, “Let’s go, keep the ‘communicator’ with you at all times. When there’s an emergency, I’ll call everyone. Remember to come over as soon as possible, otherwise, the gang rules won’t be lenient.”
After a pause, he said to a burly man next to him carrying a shotgun, “Sam, explain the gang rules to the newcomers. So they don’t cause any trouble.”
That Sam smiled and said, “Sure.”
Suren also understood. The job content was very simple, like patrolling the streets as they were doing now.
They would gather at 7 PM, and the “working time” would be about half an hour each day. The rest of the time was up to themselves. Whether it was gambling or hanging out in a tavern, as long as they were within the range of this street.
It seemed very relaxing.
…
“Hey, Mr. Clif, business is booming…”
“Mr. Milton, I heard you have some good goods recently. Remember to save a few beauties for me and my brothers tonight.”
“…”
The “Cross Society” controlled almost all the entertainment venues on Green Street.
Captain Kai and his group were familiar faces on this street, and the madams and girls of the nightclubs greeted them warmly.
Suren was also very surprised. This seemingly desolate industrial city actually had such a lively side. The liveliness of these venues was not much worse than the large bars in his previous life. The streets were crowded with people.
Groups of heavily makeup-decked girls stood by the street soliciting customers, dressed revealingly, with long and slender legs and impressive chests, leaving people dazzled.
On the street, there was a strong scent of sensuality.
Bunny girls, cat girls, split-skirt qipao girls, motorcycle leather jacket girls, maid outfits, bondage-style slaves, noble ladies…
Suren didn’t expect the clothing styles in Julingdun to be so diverse. Almost any kind of outfit that could stimulate male hormones could be seen here.
The girls were bold and sexy and did not mind men wandering their hands freely on them. Instead, if their hands went to a higher place, they would giggle with a coquettish smile.
“Hey, Elena, you seem to have gained weight. No, no, I’m not complaining, I mean the feel of your butt got better~”
“Oh, Lisa, I haven’t seen you recently? Have you been messing around with some men?”
“Mua~ Captain Kai, would you like to play tonight?”
“…”
Captain Kai and the group seemed very familiar, joking as they passed through the flowers.
They were not only local tyrants here but also frequent customers.
The survival rules in Julingdun were cruel. Civilians who couldn’t work as combat professionals were cheap. Here, one could spend a few hundred Ries to have a night with a good-looking girl.
So the gang’s monthly salary of 20,000 Ries could give people a chance to indulge in pleasure until they were dry.
Suren and the new recruits mingled in this familiar atmosphere.
…
There were three main streets in the Green Street area.
Every corner here was filled with violence, arousal, and illegal transactions…
After patrolling through the lively street, they arrived at the tavern street.
Colorful neon signs illuminated a paradise of debauchery…
Most of the bars on this street had a strong industrial atmosphere, with steel elements in every corner.
Suren found patrolling the streets a bit boring, but unexpectedly, something happened.
They passed by a place called the “Elephant Tavern”, and a dark-skinned bearded middle-aged man stopped Captain Kai.
“Hey, Captain Kai, you’ve come at the right time. I have some trouble in my bar that needs you to take a look.”
The tavern owner led them to the back alley, then pointed to the half of a bloody corpse on the ground, saying, “It should have happened last night when a poor guy got drunk and fell asleep in the alley. As you can see, his body was bitten off by some unknown monster…”
This was the tavern’s back alley, filled with empty wine bottles. Different from the glamorous facade, this place was dirty, dark, and smelly…
Suren’s vision allowed him to clearly see the half of the corpse. There were bite marks resembling saw-like patterns, indicating that it was devoured by a relatively large creature.
And there were several blackish sewers by the side of the road, from where a murky stench emanated.
The owner seemed used to this and continued muttering, “Captain Kai, it seems like there’s a monster in the sewer. Recently, there have been reports of homeless people going missing. It seems like they were eaten by some man-eating monster, making people panic… I’m afraid that if it goes on like this, it will affect the business of our tavern.”
“Oh, I understand the situation.”
Captain Kai looked around, then kicked the corpse into a nearby trash can with one foot.
The corpse would probably be eaten clean by rats soon. No one would care about who died.
He rubbed his boots on the ground, looking at the new recruits, and said, “Checkman, don’t worry, I’ll send someone to investigate.”
He didn’t stay long and led Suren and the others away from the “Elephant Tavern”.
After leaving the tavern, walking on the main street, a new recruit asked, “Captain, are we going to investigate later?”
Suren also wondered. He thought this was their job scope.
Unexpectedly, Captain Kai smiled and said dismissively, “Investigate? The sewers in Julingdun are antiques that are a thousand years old. The underground structure is ten times more complex than the surface road. No one can figure out the underground structure. It’s a paradise for all kinds of monsters and mutated creatures. Who the hell would want to go to such a stinking place…”
After pausing, he looked at the new recruits and said, “As long as those monsters don’t come to the surface, we don’t need to bother. We have this free time to investigate, but we might as well enjoy ourselves…”
“Understood, Captain.”
Apparently, this was what everyone meant.
…
Red-light district, taverns, and then gambling dens.
The group patrolled through the gambling dens after a round on Green Street, as if marking their territory.
It didn’t take long for them to patrol to a gambling den where an arena for underground boxing was set up.
When Suren saw the corpse of the gladiator who had been beaten to death on the fighting stage emit a bunch of “gray mist”, his eyes lit up.
Finally, it wasn’t so boring…
He knew that for a long time in the future, he would probably have something to do.
