Chapter 13: Bubu Wang's Progress
Hot City, Rat Street.
Several drunkards walked arm-in-arm through a small alley, their heavy smell of alcohol masking the stench of sweat. After a long day of labor, only a few hearty drinks at night could relieve their fatigue.
Hot City was prosperous, at least most of it was. But within this prosperous city, slums were inevitable. In this era of relatively backward technology, coupled with Hot City's fierce folk customs, the crime rate in the slums remained alarmingly high.
Rat Street was the slum within the slums. Dozens of large and small gangs occupied this area, creating a unique order different from other districts.
After midnight, Rat Street became the territory of gangs and vagrants. Even Hot City's security forces rarely set foot here.
Rat Street had three unbreakable rules: First, no human trafficking or businesses related to human bodies, such as organ trade. Second, no active attacks on Hot City citizens. Third, no use of firearms or other hot weapons here.
To civilians and security forces, the gangs of Rat Street were lawless. But these gangs knew well that the truly terrifying force in the Geya Alliance was the military. If they went too far, the military could send a single battalion and wipe them out within 24 hours.
Existence is reason. These gangs could handle matters that the Geya Alliance government found inconvenient to deal with directly, such as controlling vagrants through relatively bloody means. For this reason, the Presidential Palace in Hot City turned a blind eye to the gangs of Rat Street.
These gangs clearly knew their place and understood what they could and couldn't do. If a new gang rose and broke the rules, other gangs, big and small, would quickly devour this unruly upstart.
A truck drove through Rat Street. Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat. This vehicle was sent by Lai Zong's people, and Su Xiao didn't mind Lai Zong knowing about this.
On the contrary, Lai Zong's involvement could help Su Xiao find the location of the secondary space coordinates faster. Whether it was the Sun Kingdom's spies or their own traitors, they were all enemies to Lai Zong.
From every perspective, Lai Zong's involvement could be a boon to Su Xiao. Of course, Lai Zong could also gain merits from this matter, paving the way for his promotion.
Lai Zong, the head of this intelligence organization, was no saint. He liked women, money, and status, but he wouldn't let these things blind him.
As the truck passed, groups of three to five vagrants could be seen by the roadside. Their clothes were tattered, their faces sallow, but their eyes gleamed with ferocity.
"Want to make a move?"
A vagrant wrapped in a dirty blanket, curled up by the street, spoke. As he talked, he reached up to scratch the sores on his face.
"They're military."
"Forget it then. I thought they were Hot City's security forces."
"Would the security forces dare come here at this hour?"
"Uh, good point."
The ferocity in the vagrants' eyes faded, and they continued to huddle by the street. They were like rats, swarming at any sign of food, no matter what that food was.
Inside the truck, Su Xiao appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but he was actually contacting Bubu Wang.
That fool Bubu Wang was still on the snowfield. He had already started forming a clique among the ice wolves. According to reports, the second-ranked male wolf in the pack had been recruited under his command. Now, Bubu Wang was building up his forces, preparing to challenge the alpha wolf.
This situation arose because Su Xiao had sent Amu to assist Bubu Wang. Now, this duo of fool + glutton had become a sizable faction within the ice wolf pack, ranking second in influence.
According to Bubu Wang's description, ordinary animals in this world were nothing special, but some polar creatures possessed considerable intelligence. For example, the ice wolf pack had a well-established hierarchy.
These fierce polar creatures were strong, but they dared not provoke humans, let alone set foot on human territory. They could only live in the polar regions. Humans were the absolute top species; with an army advancing, polar creatures couldn't withstand the bombardment of hot weapons.
Bubu Wang's situation was very optimistic, so Su Xiao temporarily decided not to rendezvous with him. Although Amu was a decent combatant, Su Xiao would soon head to a hot weapon battlefield, where Amu would just be a thick-skinned target.
Creak～
The truck screeched to a halt. Su Xiao's body leaned forward slightly.
"Mr. White Night, we're here."
The driver, a black young man with skin like charcoal and very white teeth when he smiled, spoke. He was an Egabi person, but after joining the Geya Alliance, he became a Geya citizen.
"Where is this?"
Su Xiao pushed open the door and got out. This was a street of moderate width, lined with two or three-story buildings. The buildings were pitch black inside, and a faint smell of decay reached his nose—the unique odor of a sewer.
"Rat Street."
The black young man jumped over a ditch and quickly approached a three-story building, where he began knocking on an iron door in a rhythmic pattern.
Several men in various outfits jumped out from the truck's canvas cover. Some were dressed as construction workers, others as tailors, but they all shared one identity: agents of the Eye of Losri.
The men dragged two long cloth bags from the truck. The bags showed some symbolic struggle, but they were quickly carried toward the three-story building.
The rusted iron door of the three-story building creaked open. A woman with a cigarette between her fingers, wearing black leather boots, stepped out. She gestured for the men to carry the two bags inside.
"Hello, I'm Shalin."
Shalin tossed away her cigarette and greeted Su Xiao.
"Kukulin Bai Ye."
Su Xiao wasn't sure why the name Kukulin had been added before his alias, but that was how the military records showed it. He wouldn't reveal any flaws voluntarily.
"I've heard of you. I didn't expect the two of us to work together."
Shalin was an intellectual beauty. If not for the pistol under her skirt and the three poisoned blades hidden in her sleeves, a large group of successful men would surely be pursuing her.
Poison Beauty Shalin was one of Lai Zong's top agents. Rumors said she had an affair with Lai Zong, but in reality, Lai Zong would never have physical contact with this woman. He didn't want to die from poisoning.
Dying from poisoning after flirting with a female subordinate—there was probably no more shameful way to die.
"How long will it take?"
Su Xiao came here to get information from the spy and the bishop through Lai Zong's people.
"I can't say for sure. That bishop named Spike is tough to crack."
"What's the maximum time needed?"
Su Xiao didn't have much time. If the interrogation took several days, he would have to find another way.
"In a hurry?" Shalin thought for a moment, then said, "If we use extreme methods, at most 12 hours."
"12 hours. Acceptable."
Su Xiao walked toward the three-story building by the street. Before he even entered, he could faintly hear screams coming from inside.