Before long, Su’en and Kay rode their motorcycles to Norton Street.

It was completely different from the last time they came here. The customs museum, gambling stalls, taverns, and unique bathhouses… Various gorgeous neon lights illuminated the entire street.

Su’en and Kay felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.

“Crimson Fortress,” “Elephant Tavern,” “Emperor’s Bathhouse,” “Musketeer Inn”… The familiar signs were no different from the once prosperous Green Street.

Kay looked a bit disappointed, feeling nostalgic. As the leader of Green Street, he had deep feelings for this place.

Su’en, on the other hand, didn’t care at all. If he had to start patrolling the streets every night at seven again, it wouldn’t take much effort. He could just move here again. And with the arena open, he could harvest souls every night, which was a good thing.

……..

Today was the opening ceremony, and Norton Street was bustling with activity.

The president of the Cross Society, “Arbiter” Chuck, and other officials were all present.

They were all dressed in suits, looking very formal. Apart from the occasional aura of killing intent between their brows, it was hard to tell that they were a group of gang bosses who killed people like cutting grass. They looked more like successful entrepreneurs.

Most of the major shareholders in the entertainment industry were wealthy people from the inner city. Today, many big shots from the inner city came to the opening ceremony, and various luxury cars lined the streets. The fat and wealthy gentlemen, the elegantly dressed ladies, the graceful and charming socialites… It was like walking on a red carpet, allowing Su’en and the others from the outer city to see what the rich people from the inner city looked like.

Su’en and Kay, being nobodies, naturally didn’t have the qualifications to show their faces on stage.

Those who looked good went to the inner area to show off, while those who wore leather jackets, had tattoos, looked ugly, and had a fierce appearance stood on the outskirts to ensure security.

Su’en, with his bald head and smoky makeup, naturally stayed outside.

He was quite relaxed.

Kay and the other captains of the Cross Society were squatting on the side, chatting and joking. At this moment, a long luxury white car decorated with angel wings suddenly drove up to the red carpet.

Someone exclaimed, “Look, there… a beauty!”

The experienced old birds perked up their ears upon hearing the word “beauty” and stretched their necks to look in the direction of the red carpet.

Then, they saw a cold and glamorous woman in a flowing black dress step out of the car.

Su’en glanced at her and immediately recognized her as the patron of the Cross Society, Lady Philo.

Most of the captains of the Cross Society were not high-ranking enough to know who the patron behind the Cross Society was. Even if they had heard the name, they had never seen her before.

Kay, who was beside Su’en, took a look and his gaze immediately became fixed. He suppressed the restlessness in his heart and calmly explained, “Don’t be surprised. If you disturb Lady Philo, the president will definitely kick your asses.”

Someone exclaimed in surprise, “Is that the legendary Lady Philo? Kay, have you seen her before?”

Kay said, “Well, I have indeed had the honor of meeting that lady in person before. But it’s not worth mentioning…”

His teasing tone, coupled with his show-off expression, was really asking for a beating.

“Tsk~”

The captains all hissed in unison, but it didn’t affect their enthusiasm for looking at beautiful women.

“My goodness, she’s so damn beautiful…”

“Oh… another person got out of the car. Kay, do you know who the little beauty next to Lady Philo is?”

“I don’t know, but I think she must be the daughter of some big family.”

“Could it be Lady Philo’s daughter?”

“Bullshit! Where did that lady get such a big daughter?”

“…”

The old birds started speculating about various gossip.

The gossip about the love lives of the big shots in the inner city was the best topic for discussion in the outer city after a meal.

Su’en listened silently on the side because he had already recognized the person following Lady Philo as Rena.

Although her face was covered with a black veil, Su’en recognized her beautiful long black hair at a glance. Wasn’t she that girl Rena?

Why would the daughter of a top-tier family come to such an occasion?

But seeing Lady Philo and Rena coming out of the city to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Su’en thought that the internal turmoil of the Reyes family had probably subsided.

He didn’t think much about it.

…….

The protagonist had arrived, and now it was time for the boring ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The big bosses from the inner city jointly cut the ribbon and made speeches.

However, Lady Philo was very low-key. Apart from showing herself when she got out of the car, no one saw her again.

Su’en felt a bit bored and leaned against a lamppost, playing with a flipping coin skillfully between his ten fingers, from the palm of his hand to the back of his hand, and then back to the palm of his hand…

Suddenly, he felt someone’s gaze on him from behind, and the coin in his hand paused for a moment.

But recognizing the familiar footsteps, he didn’t pay much attention to it.

The next moment, Su’en felt his arm being enveloped in a softness, and a warm body boldly hugged his shoulder. Even without seeing the person, he had already heard the familiar tone of the big sister, “Hey, Su’en, where have you been all this time? I didn’t see you at the casino. I wanted to invite you to gamble, but you didn’t show up.”

Su’en knew it was Qiantiao as soon as he heard the footsteps and greeted her with a smile, “Big Sister Qiantiao.”

When he turned his head, he saw that Qiantiao was dressed quite formally, probably because of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She was wearing a Body Fusion blue and white kimono, her hair was tied up high, and her big arms were not exposed. She looked quite gentle.

Qiantiao asked again, “Where’s Kay?”

Su’en shrugged, “I don’t know. It seems like he went to watch the excitement with the captains.”Qiantiao patted Su’en on the shoulder and said, “I’ve already talked to the president. You and Kay will come to Norton Street from now on. You’re my people now!”

Su’en didn’t really care, “Oh…”

Qiantiao looked around in the crowd but couldn’t find Kay. She grabbed Su’en’s shoulder and led him outside, saying, “Let’s go, let’s go soak in the hot springs. I’ll introduce you to some people.”

“Huh? Today is the opening ceremony. Aren’t you going to watch it?” Su’en felt that something was off.

The boss of Norton Street is just starting his business. Do you really want to go soak in the hot springs?

Qiantiao had a look of annoyance on her face, “There are too many things to do at the venue today. I’ve left it to the captains.”

“…”

Su’en thought that Qiantiao was being irresponsible.

It’s precisely because there are so many things to do for the opening that they need someone like her to manage the venue.

At this moment, Kay appeared out of nowhere and greeted them from a distance, “Qiantiao!”

“Here you are.” Qiantiao greeted Kay and said, “Let’s go to Akun Bathhouse! I’ll treat you guys to a hot spring!”

Kay’s eyes lit up when he heard this, “Sounds good!”

It’s hard to refuse when Qiantiao is treating. Although Su’en wanted to go back and study the animated corpses, he had no choice but to go along.

…….

After soaking in the hot springs, they felt refreshed.

In the late night, Su’en accompanied Qiantiao to a newly opened arena.

The arena was newly opened, and this gambling addict was eager to try her luck.

Because it was the first day of the opening, there were skilled professional gladiators participating in the arena battles, and Su’en gained some valuable experience.

He stayed in Norton Street for the whole night and originally planned to return early the next day.

But just as he came out of the gambling den in the early morning, Kay found him and said that the leaders had arranged for them to escort a batch of goods to the inner city.

Later, Su’en learned that it was because of the opening of the new arena, and the captains of the Cross Society were all busy.

It seemed that only the two of them from Green Street were free, and since the leaders saw that they were free, they arranged for them to do the escorting.

It wasn’t a particularly special task, just following the convoy to deliver a valuable batch of goods to the inner city.

The Cross Society had its own expedition team, so the guild’s warehouse would accumulate a lot of advanced cursed materials and relics collected from outside the city.

These things were of no use in the outer city and couldn’t be sold for a good price. So every once in a while, they would be sent to the inner city and handed over to the business guild under the patronage of the main sponsor for processing.

With the sponsor’s pass, they didn’t need to have their identities checked when entering the city. This was a rare opportunity for gang members to enter the inner city.

The veterans of the Cross Society all liked this task.

It was a rare opportunity to broaden their horizons.

Kay also seemed excited.

……..

In the afternoon, Su’en and Kay arrived at the warehouse of the Cross Society’s headquarters, the Black Forest Building.

Kay checked the things loaded on the truck, signed on the inventory list, and prepared to set off.

A standard escort team, three vehicles.

One captain with nine people, and two truck drivers.

Just like the steam gang’s escort team they intercepted a few days ago.

Because they had studied in detail how to rob a transport team before, Su’en and Kay felt a bit strange and didn’t sit in the front and rear cars.

Kay sent the driver to the small car and drove the truck himself, walking in the middle of the convoy with Su’en.

They were afraid that there might be some secret dealings between the Cross Society and the inner city, which would attract some inexplicable interceptions. Before getting on the car, Su’en deliberately observed that this time the truck carrying the goods was not a special armored vehicle, and the goods were normal goods.

After getting on the car, the two of them smiled at each other.

But they thought they were being overly cautious. After all, they had several escort missions every year, and it was unlikely that they would encounter interceptions.

…….

They set off from the South City and drove for half an hour before approaching the inner city wall, which was several times more magnificent than the outer city wall.

Su’en recalled some vague memories and had some impressions of the structure of the inner city.

Seeing the towering city wall in the distance, some images from his memories overlapped.

The layout of the inner city was like a cake divided into eight equal parts, which were the 1st to 8th city districts. In the center of the inner city was a black tower that couldn’t be seen at the top, like a candle inserted into the cake.

On the foot of the city wall, hundreds of meters high super chimneys were constantly emitting white smoke, which was the super steam boiler that powered the entire city.

The inner city wall was about two hundred meters high, but the buildings inside were even taller.

The convoy got closer and closer to the inner city, and the city wall became more and more real in their sight.

There was white spray paint on the front wall, with a huge number “5” marked on it.

Below the city wall was the fifth city gate, and behind it was the 5th city district of the inner city.

Kay was excited and pointed at the skyscrapers taller than the city wall from a distance, introducing and exclaiming, “Hey, brother, look! That’s the famous ‘Sky Garden’ in the inner city! Can you see the colorful ribbons in the sky? Hehe… that’s the legendary rainbow, you can’t see such a spectacle anywhere else.”

“Yeah.” Su’en had good eyesight and had already seen it.

The lights in the inner city were as bright as daylight, giving a very bright feeling.

It was like adding a layer of bright light filter to those buildings, clean and transparent.

Even from a distance, he could see the upper levels of the inner city buildings covered in green, and white waterfalls flowing down from the tops of those buildings, with rainbows hanging between the buildings…

In the rooftop garden with yellow-orange fruits, he could even see a lady in white leaning on the railing, enjoying the view as her skirt fluttered in the wind…A high-altitude swimming pool, lush rooftop greenery, and glass buildings as blue as the sea… From the glass corridor, one could see the blurry figures of people walking, chatting, and laughing in pairs…

The architecture of the inner city was beautiful and filled with a sense of technology; the outer city was like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, full of gloom and filth.

Separated by a wall, it was as if they were two different worlds.

After his initial excitement, Kay’s tone suddenly became a bit melancholic, “Hey, brother. I won’t lie to you, I’ve never been to the inner city in my life…”

Su’en smiled, “Neither have I.”

“Haha, this time we can go and broaden our horizons.”

As he spoke, the reflection of the massive city was mirrored in Kay’s clear eyes, revealing his longing for a better life.

Just being able to visit the inner city was a dream that many people from the outer city could never reach in their lifetime.

Kay suddenly became a bit melancholic, “I’m an orphan from a tube building, with no parents. Apart from fighting and killing, I don’t know how to do anything else. I heard that the kids in the inner city learn to play instruments and do business from a young age, they go to school to learn knowledge… When they grow up, they can become lawyers, dentists, teachers…”

At this point, Kay laughed self-deprecatingly, “Heh…”

Thinking about it, he continued slowly, “Brother, do you know… I used to fantasize that the best life I could fight for myself was to be lucky enough to advance to the second level, and then become a bodyguard for some big boss in the inner city… Haha, isn’t that pathetic?”

Su’en listened and glanced at him.

The young gang leader, who could still be called a teenager, suddenly had a sparkle in his eyes, shining brightly.

“Everyone in the gang says I’m brave, that I’ll definitely make something of myself…”

Kay had a smile on his face, but as he spoke, he couldn’t laugh anymore, “Actually, I’m not afraid to tell you, sometimes I’m very scared. Countless nights, I wake up from nightmares of fighting and killing, covered in cold sweat. I touch my still-beating heart, and it takes a long time to realize that I’m still alive…”

Su’en listened quietly, playing the role of a silent audience.

His gaze was fixed on the city, which was gradually deepening.

…….

The journey was uneventful.

Both Su’en and Kay breathed a sigh of relief.

The truck arrived at the foot of the city wall, like a mouse under an elephant’s foot.

Because they had a special pass, they were not checked and smoothly drove into the massive steel city gate.

At this point, there was no trace of melancholy on Kay’s face, and his carefree smile returned.

As they approached their destination, Kay suddenly thought of something and said to Su’en, “I have a secret to tell you, but you mustn’t tell anyone.”

Su’en raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Kay said mysteriously, “Before we set off, Boss Smoker told me that he would introduce me to a big shot from the inner city, and I might have a chance to enter the inner city early.”

“Boss Smoker?”

Upon hearing this, Su’en’s brow furrowed, as if some thought flashed through his mind.

“Yeah! Boss Smoker said that once I enter the city, that big shot will send someone to contact me.”

Kay nodded and laughed brightly, “I tell you, if I make it big, I’ll cover for you! Hahaha….”

Su’en looked slightly startled, feeling that something was off, and asked, “You mean… Boss Smoker asked you to keep it a secret?”

“Yeah.”

Kay said, “He originally told me not to tell anyone, but I think we’re brothers, and you’ll definitely keep the secret for me.”

Why the need for secrecy?

Introducing a benefactor wasn’t something to be hidden.

Su’en instinctively felt alert and asked again, “How will that person contact you?”

Kay, unaware of any problem, replied, “I don’t know. But Boss Smoker said that person will find a way to contact me…”