Chapter 1 A Visitor

Suren had just bolted out of the basement and into the living room when he immediately felt an unfamiliar gaze fall upon him.

Before, Suren might not have even noticed such a faint gaze. But now, having reaped Bill's sensory abilities, he was absolutely certain that the person spying on him was standing by the bay window behind him!

"Someone's in the house!"

Suren's heart jolted.

He acted with extreme decisiveness, and after determining there was someone present, he curled his fingers on one hand to grab, instantly pulling two rune golems from his trench coat and positioning them as guards around him. His other hand was already gripping the handle of the black box, ready to unleash a spatial rift with a single swing.

An intruder only confirmed his prior suspicion.

This house was a trap!

The hunter had come to check on the prey himself!

If it was the renegade vice-dean of the Black Tower Academy he suspected, Suren knew he would only have one chance to act.

That's why he hadn't even drawn his gun yet. The moment he saw the person, he had to strike before they could react. Even at the risk of backlash and sudden death, he had to cut down the lurking figure.

This series of actions was decided in an instant. Suren felt he had reacted swiftly enough, but he hadn't expected the other party to be even faster!

He was twisting his body, turning to pinpoint the intruder's location, the hand gripping the black box swinging in a horizontal cut. As long as he saw the person, the outcome would be decided in a split second.

But then, an odd scene unfolded.

Suren realized his body wouldn't move!

Not mind control, but a sense of imprisonment as if the surrounding air had turned solid, making it impossible for him to break free: "A control-type spell?"

And at that moment, the intruder behind him let out a soft exclamation of surprise: "You actually came out alive?"

...

"A top-tier Professional..."

Suren murmured inwardly, listening to the voice from behind.

But in an instant, he relaxed.

This difference in strength was simply not something that could be overcome by desperation.

Moreover, even though he had made a move to attack, he still didn't sense any "malice" from the person behind him.

The other party clearly had no intention to kill, or at least not yet.

And as he spoke, the person slowly walked in front of Suren, first stating his position: "Don't misunderstand, I have no ill intentions towards you. Restraining you is also for both our safety."

Hearing this, Suren knew that the other party had seen through his intentions, so he feigned ignorance and said, "Since you are a high-level Professional, breaking into my home is probably not appropriate."

The person in front of him was wearing a black cloak that obscured his face, making his features appear as a mass of black fog.

He said, half-complimenting and half-teasing, "You really are alert. If it were anyone else, even a high-level Professional, they would probably already be dead by your blade..."

Suren's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened, noncommittal.

He figured that the other party had seen what was in his box, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

He thought that even if he didn't die today, he probably wouldn't be able to keep the scythe.

But the cloaked figure seemed to have completely guessed his thoughts, and directly said, "You have the Shupnos's Night Black Scythe, right? Tsk, tsk, I didn't expect it to fall into your hands. But rest assured, that kind of sealed object is a treasure to others, but it doesn't hold much appeal for me. There aren't many people who could force me to use such a weapon, and when it comes to a life-or-death struggle, it's useless anyway."

Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Suren's eyes.

But then he also grasped the unspoken meaning in the cloaked figure's words: "There aren't many in all of Old Lingdun who could force me to use this scythe!"

Just how strong was this guy to say something like that?

Suren felt that looking at this cloaked figure gave him an even more unfathomable feeling than seeing Chuck, the "Arbiter" of their Cross Society.

Thinking about the fact that he was being tracked by that "Umbrella Organization" major, Bill, he had to be no ordinary person.

But since he wasn't here to rob him or take his life...

What was this cloaked figure doing here?

Wait... that's right!

For that cursed space!

...

Suren didn't say much. He was on the passive side, so it was best to listen quietly. The other party would eventually reveal his purpose.

But at that moment, he never expected the cloaked figure to not mention his purpose, but instead ask casually, "You went to the black market earlier, looking for a master craftsman to forge a special implant for you?"

Hearing this, Suren's eyes narrowed slightly. "You were tracking me?"

His first reaction was that he was being followed.

But he quickly racked his brains, trying to recall when he had given himself away. He couldn't figure out the purpose of a high-level Professional tracking him.

"No, you misunderstand, I was just guessing."

The cloaked figure didn't beat around the bush, saying in a very casual tone, "I wasn't tracking you. It's just that when I went to 'Rosen's Alchemy Shop', the owner told me that someone wanted to commission a set of dark gold implants for the Eight-Armed Spider God Spear. I figured that there aren't many Professionals who could use that set of implants, most likely a puppeteer..."

He paused, glancing at the two golems that Suren was controlling, a strange look flashing in his eyes. "Seeing that your puppeteering skills are pretty good, I just asked offhand, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence..."

Hearing this, Suren also showed a look of realization, and asked in surprise, "You're the 'master craftsman' that the shop owner mentioned?"

A first-tier Professional, a puppeteer who could use such complex implants, there really weren't many who fit that description.

He just hadn't expected that they would meet in such a way.

But thinking about it, Suren also felt that this guy wasn't lying.

"Forging Masters" were few and far between in the Inner City. It was almost impossible for such a figure to appear in the Outer City black market. But if he was the vice-dean who had defected from the Black Tower Alchemy Academy, it all made sense!

"Master? I guess you could say that..."

The cloaked figure's tone seemed very relaxed, and at this moment he had removed the restraining spell from Suren, and asked, "Do you still need your implant forged?"

"Of course."

Without the restraint, Suren felt his body lighten, but he didn't dare to act rashly, and even put the black box in his hand on the ground.

The cloaked figure then said, "We can make a deal."

Suren: "I'm all ears."

The person hadn't shown any hostility, and he showed enough courtesy.

The cloaked figure gave him a strange feeling. His words and actions were polite, giving people no sense of malice, and exuding the aura of a truly cultured noble gentleman.

In Suren's view, a person who didn't show any flaws was either truly benevolent, or extremely dangerous!

The cloaked figure said, "I can forge the implant for you for free, but in exchange, I want to know how you got out of the 'cursed space' in the basement. Of course, if the value of the information exceeds my compensation, I will pay you extra to your satisfaction."

"Deal!"

As expected, Suren agreed without hesitation.

He didn't think that the other party would say this just to scam him out of his materials. After all, while the dark gold Spider Emperor legs were rare, they were only first-tier materials, and had limited appeal to high-level Professionals.

Moreover, right now the other party was calling it a deal, but he had no right to refuse.

...

"But before the deal, I have a question."

Suren thought for a moment, planning to take some initiative, and asked, "I want to know why there is a 'cursed space' in this house. And... why you are in my house."

The cloaked figure wasn't surprised that Suren would ask this, but instead asked in a light tone, "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"???"

Hearing this, Suren showed a confused expression.

I already asked, why wouldn't I want to hear it?

The cloaked figure explained, "What I mean is... some things, knowing them is just trouble. So, do you want to invite trouble upon yourself?"

Hearing this, Suren frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Can I choose to hear... the part of the information that won't cause trouble first?"

Trouble?

He knew very well that from the moment he discovered this cursed space, he was already involved in trouble.

If he didn't figure out this question, he felt that it would be even more troublesome.

He needed some necessary information to judge his future choices.

"Heh, interesting."

The cloaked figure chuckled and began to speak directly, "Eight years ago, when a certain banker was developing this property, a 'strange incident of missing personnel' occurred. At that time, I happened to be leading the team responsible for handling this incident. Later, after investigation, I discovered from ancient books that this was the old site of a hospital from the last era. Then I also figured out some of the cursed characteristics of this space..."

Speaking of this, he looked at Suren, "That's what you know, the way to get in."

Hearing this, Suren's expression remained unchanged.

The cloaked figure continued, "Later, in order to investigate, many people went in but never came out again. This ruin was then classified as 'T-Sealed'. Of course, there are also some highly confidential details involved, I think you probably wouldn't want to hear them."

"Mm."

Suren didn't pursue what the secret content was, but quietly listened to him continue.

"As for why I'm here... it's because this is a trap I set up. I sensed someone going in, so I came to take a look."

The cloaked figure didn't hide anything, bluntly saying, "Some things happened back then that made me know that this cursed space involved a big secret. Although I destroyed that top-secret file, and the relevant informed personnel almost all died in the exploration, there were still some indelible traces left. It just so happened that someone was investigating me, so I used those remaining clues to guide the investigators to the basement of this apartment."

After catching his breath, he continued, "I naturally didn't do this to harm ordinary tenants, that's why I said I have no malice towards you. After all, as you know, the way to trigger this cursed space is very special."

As he spoke, he looked at Suren, asking curiously, "So, I'm also very curious, how did you get caught up in it?"

Suren simply said, "I heard that a few people had died in the house before, so I thought about it a bit, and I didn't expect to get caught up in it."

Sure enough, this trap wasn't aimed at ordinary tenants. If he hadn't overthought things, he probably wouldn't have had any problems.

"Heh, this isn't something that can be done by just thinking about it."

The cloaked figure shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of approval. "Your mind is very meticulous. From the way you decisively left the apartment as soon as you came out just now, I knew that your discovery of the cursed space wasn't a coincidence, but an ability. If you were second-tier, perhaps I would be interested in sharing some more interesting secrets with you. But now..."

Suren felt that this guy had revealed a little too much information to him, as if he wasn't afraid of people guessing his identity through this information.

Suren was just wondering why he would do this.

At this time, the cloaked figure said casually, as if he had guessed something, "Although I don't know how you knew, I feel like you have already guessed my identity."

"..."

Hearing this, a faint flash of sharpness swept across Suren's face.

At this moment, he finally knew where the slight unease he had felt earlier came from.

Now he was certain, this guy had "mind-reading," or something close to it!

Suren tried his best to restrain his emotional fluctuations to avoid being seen through, and simply explained, "I met 'Blind Detective' Bill in the cursed space."

As soon as he said this, he naturally didn't need to explain in detail, the cloaked figure would fill in the blanks himself.

The cloaked figure wasn't surprised, but slightly curious, "He's not dead yet?"

Suren: "No, he's already dead. But his soul hasn't dissipated yet."

The cloaked figure listened, and muttered to himself, "As expected... just like it's recorded in the ancient books."

Speaking of this, he looked at Suren again and said, "Alright, I've told you what you wanted to know. You can tell me what you know now..."

Suren didn't waste any words. In front of such a powerful and intelligent person, playing tricks would only make him look like a clown.

"After I went in, I found an ancient hospital, marked as the third floor. I encountered monsters... later I discovered the space's 'terror concretization' rule..."

He roughly described his experience in the space, only avoiding some sensitive content.

The cloaked figure also listened patiently and carefully.

When he heard Suren mention the "terror concretization" rule, he also made a soft exclamation, seemingly in admiration and approval: "You were actually able to discover this rule?! Tsk, tsk, this can no longer be said to be just having an ordinary meticulous mind, could it be that your talent is [B-059-Thinker]?"

Suren deliberately ignored the role of the [All-Knowing Eye] in the process of his narration, which naturally made it sound a little bizarre.

But he felt that telling a lie would definitely be seen through by this guy, so he simply avoided the question and said, "I'm just more cautious..."

"Heh."

The cloaked figure naturally didn't believe it, but didn't care about this unimportant question.

After pondering for a moment, he took the initiative to ask, "Didn't you encounter a blue-skinned 'living corpse'?"

Suren knew that this guy was deliberately interrupting, just to remind him that he wasn't completely ignorant of this cursed space.

Suren said calmly, "I did. That monster was very fast, it easily killed Bill in the space. Because I had once heard of a way to break this kind of space, in a moment of urgency, I recited a name I had seen by chance, and then I came out..."

"Which floor of the hospital did you encounter the monster?"

"The second floor."

"Which room?"

"The fifth room on the left."

"What was the name of that hospital director?"

"Tilmidor M. Chekhov."

"..."

After asking a few questions, the cloaked figure fell into a long period of thought.

Although Suren couldn't see his expression, he could also feel that this guy should be very satisfied with the information he had given.

...

The "T-level" cursed space with no survivors had a living person come out for the first time, and the cloaked figure felt that the gain far exceeded his expectations.

After pondering for a long time, he took the initiative to speak, "I am very satisfied with your information. It even far exceeds the value of me refining the material for you. So, according to the agreement, I can agree to give you some extra reward."

After a pause, he asked Suren, "What do you need? Money, materials, alchemical knowledge, anything is fine."

Suren said, "I haven't thought of anything I need yet."

The current situation wasn't a good time to ask for a reward.

Moreover, no matter what reward he exchanged for, he felt that he would lose out. After all, this was a top-tier Professional in Old Lingdun, and still a 'Forging Master', a big shot that people in the Outer City couldn't even get in touch with.

If there was no hostility, just being acquainted would definitely be a greater benefit than a little wealth could compare to.

The cloaked figure didn't waste any words, and said very simply, "Then I'll consider that I owe you a favor, you can tell me what you need later. Give me your materials, and pick up the alchemical implant in 'Rosen's Alchemy Shop' in five days. If you've figured out what you want to exchange the favor for, you can also leave a message in the shop."

"Alright."

The conversation between smart people saved a lot of steps.

But Suren was also very curious, was this guy really just asking a few questions, with no other purpose?

Moreover, the process of the conversation was too casual, wasn't he afraid that the information he received was wrong?

At this time, the cloaked figure was about to leave, as if he had guessed something.

He felt that since Suren already knew his identity, there was nothing to hide, and directly said the reason, "My talent is [C-042-Mind Reader]. Although it's not a very strong combat talent, it's good because it's practical."

Hearing this, Suren suddenly understood why he always had the feeling that before he even spoke, the other party had already guessed what he was going to say when talking to this guy.

So he really understood "mind reading".

But Suren felt that the [Mind Reader] ability in his impression wasn't this exaggerated, after all, it was just a C-level talent.

He vaguely guessed that this might involve the realm of high-level Professionals that he didn't understand...