Chapter 1 Sullen's Plans

As Su Lun walked towards the "Hunter's Guild," he noticed some peculiar gazes mixed in with the city's crowds, likely from the Umbrella organization.

Their sharp eyes scanned the crowd, paying particular attention to those who concealed themselves or carried large boxes.

Su Lun's half-face mask wasn't intended to hide his face; it was merely to conceal his undeniable handsomeness, making him appear more like a typical wasteland wanderer.

The gazes passed over him quickly, as he didn't match the wanted criminal's description, and no one paid him any mind.

Before long, Su Lun arrived at the Hunter's Guild hall.

It was several times more bustling than a month ago. The mission hall was packed with people, and the hunters accepting and posting assignments filled the entirety of Stormwind Manor.

Fortunately, Su Lun had been wise enough not to use the identity of "Johnny" when posting his request.

This saved him a lot of trouble.

After checking, the mission management office had received over a dozen messages claiming to have information on "space materials."

Five couldn't be contacted, likely having left or died.

Seven or eight had unreliable information, and several were obvious traps. There wasn't much useful information.

After a final screening, Su Lun found a more promising lead. The information came from a well-known professional information merchant, "Red Nose" Fox.

Five days ago, Fox left a message stating that a hunter team had discovered a strange creature with spatial abilities in a newly excavated cursed space in West City. Appraisers determined that the creature was at least a Tier 2 Silver-rank, with a high probability of producing space-advancement materials.

Su Lun carefully reviewed the address and general description in the brief message and initially assessed that the information had some truth to it.

Whether it was exactly what he wanted was another matter.

But he planned to meet with the information merchant first.

After paying the commission, Su Lun left the Hunter's Guild.

...

Information merchants were a lucrative grey profession in Old Lindon, and there were many in the black market.

Their information sources were complex: taverns, brothels, gambling dens, gangs, friends of women... Some were responsible for collecting information, others for compiling it. Some were even "rats" in the information networks serving the major powers, occasionally leaking information. Whoever paid the highest price got the information.

Of course, the circle was a mixed bag, and these people were often double agents. Buying information also meant running the risk of being sold out.

Su Lun returned to the city and went to the Black Duke Tavern again.

The contact information "Red Nose" Fox left pointed to this location.

Nineteen was likely to make a big move in the next day or two, and Su Lun felt it best to obtain the necessary information and leave the camp as soon as possible.

Only after advancing to Tier 2 did he feel he'd have the ability to protect himself from the Umbrella organization and bounty hunters.

Su Lun entered the tavern, went straight to the bar, tossed a silver coin, and asked the bartender, "Hey, mate, seen 'Red Nose' around?"

The bartender pocketed the tip and said, "Mr. Fox usually comes here for a drink around seven o'clock in the afternoon. Have a seat, you might run into him soon."

Su Lun glanced at the time. It was about an hour away. He decided to stay and try his luck, raising his hand and calling out, "A mug of black rye, please."

The tavern was bustling all day long, much more so than a month ago. Although it had been renovated and expanded by two floors, it was still packed.

Unable to find a booth, Su Lun had to sit at the bar.

He looked around. The number of scantily clad tavern girls had also increased significantly, but they were still in short supply.

Su Lun had originally wanted to ask a girl for information about recent events in the camp, but the madam said they were all busy.

However, as luck would have it, after waiting for about half an hour, a green-haired man with a red nose and shifty eyes walked into the Black Duke Tavern.

The bartender, as if reminding Su Lun, called out, "Mr. Fox, you're here."

Su Lun looked at the man's shrewd eyes and knew it was "Red Nose" Fox. Familiar with the customs of the underworld, he greeted him without pretense, "Hey, Red Nose~"

Fox, hearing this, was pleasantly surprised.

Those who were qualified to call him by his nickname were usually influential customers.

Su Lun got straight to the point. "I want to buy some information."

Fox walked over, sized Su Lun up discreetly, and said with a smile, "Easy to say, easy to say..."

Su Lun went straight to the point. "I want to know about the 'space material' information you have."

When Fox heard this, his small eyes lit up immediately, as if he had discovered something interesting. He exclaimed softly, "Oh, I remember! Are you the one who posted the 'Shocking 5 Million' reward?"

Without mentioning the business aspect first, he continued, "Hey, I have to say, mate, that trick of yours really worked. I tried it out for a few days, and business has definitely improved. But recently, there are too many people imitating it, constantly using 'shocking,' and now it's hard to tell which news is actually valuable."

"..."

Su Lun smiled. No wonder he had seen so much exaggerated information at the Hunter's Guild earlier. It turned out that he was the one who started this unhealthy trend.

He didn't dwell on the topic and asked, "Is the cursed space you mentioned still there? Or can you provide information on the whereabouts of the finished advancement materials?"

"It's still there. The cursed space is currently being developed, and the materials haven't been extracted yet. But..."

Red Nose's small eyes darted around, and he stated directly, "I saw the reward you posted, saying you'd provide up to five million for information. This information I have is worth one million."

After a pause, he boasted, "Although the price is a bit high, I can guarantee that I, 'Red Nose' Fox, have the most detailed information in the entire Dawn Camp."

These information peddlers were all seasoned veterans, and they started with exorbitant prices.

Just like the vendors in the antique market, haggling started with cutting off the change.

Su Lun wasn't bothered and said calmly, "Based on the information you left at the Hunter's Guild, it's currently worth only three thousand. If you can provide more detailed and useful information, I'll consider adding a bit."

As he spoke, he took out three thousand in cash, following the unspoken rules.

"Hehe..."

Turning one million into three thousand, Fox didn't mind.

He smiled and took the money, knowing he was dealing with someone in the know. He said directly, "Seven days ago, the 'Stag Hunter's Group' discovered a large cursed space near a black lake in the eastern district of the ruins, close to the inner ring. After exploration, they found that at least Tier 2 Silver-rank strange creature in that cursed space. It was an ancient 'Magician' who possessed the ability to conjure various items out of thin air. We speculate that it is definitely a professional space ability..."

Then, the information abruptly stopped.

He took the three thousand and only provided three thousand's worth of information.

Su Lun became interested. "Is that cursed space still there?"

"Yes."

Fox nodded, his small eyes darting around again. "The strange creature hasn't been hunted down, as far as I know. And I can guarantee that even if a large hunter group went, they couldn't deal with that cursed space in the short term."

Hearing that even a large hunter group couldn't handle it, Su Lun asked, "Is it an S-rank space?"

Fox shook his head, skillfully arousing interest. "No. It's a composite cursed space, and it's hard to say what level it is. The known parts are about B-rank in danger. The second floor is a bit special but should be around A+. The third floor is currently unknown, no one has survived it, so it's temporarily T-rank. And, I can give you a free piece of information. That cursed space is very special, the rewards will be surprisingly large."

"Composite cursed space" usually referred to some extremely large cursed spaces with varying levels of difficulty in different areas, often producing a variety of cursed objects, or even super-order cursed objects at the level of sealed items.

Su Lun was becoming more and more interested and asked, "What if I need detailed information about that cursed space?"

A gleam of shrewdness flashed in Fox's eyes, and he held up three fingers. "Thirty thousand for the address and basic information; detailed information... one hundred thousand."

Su Lun expressionlessly placed a stack of money on the bar, but didn't fully hand it over. "Here's one hundred thousand. I hope the information I get is worth the price."

"Don't worry, I, 'Red Nose,' have been in the information business for more than just a day or two. I still have that much professional ethics."

Fox looked at the money, his eyes narrowed in a fox-like smile.

He immediately took out paper and pen and, while drawing a map, said, "That cursed space is called [Hotel 1911], an ancient luxury hotel. The space and reality have a time flow difference, about 20:1. The conditions for leaving are simple. As long as you stay in the space for 24 hours, you can see the space exit. The general situation is... When night falls, the hotel will be contaminated by ghost fog, and all the tenants in the hotel will turn into 'Strange Creatures'. The first floor has ninety-nine rooms, most of which have been explored. The rooms are filled with Tier 1 Black Iron, and a small number of Silver-rank Strange Creatures. The hunter groups that explore it and come out alive are reaping very rich rewards..."

Hearing this, Su Lun's expression didn't change, but his mind was racing.

Fox continued, "The number of rooms on the second floor is unknown. No more than ten have been explored, and the danger is very high. The 'Magician' I mentioned earlier lives in room 2013 on the second floor... No one has survived the third floor, no information."

Before long, he had finished listening to the information.

Su Lun had a general idea of the [Hotel 1911] cursed space.

It was probably an ancient hotel, and at midnight, it would turn everyone into monsters due to a special pollution energy.

The tenants in each room would be polluted and transformed into "Strange Creatures."

According to the information, hunter groups had already been developing it for seven days and were reaping great rewards.

But they hadn't even explored the first floor...

Which meant... the risks were high!

Fox also said that this space was "survival mode," and one could leave after surviving "twenty-four hours."

There was no need to fully clear it or kill the final Boss.

Based on the known information, if he stayed on the first floor, [Hotel 1911] wouldn't be too risky for Su Lun.

Of course, he had to avoid those rooms where "Phantom Species" had been discovered.

But he needed materials from the second floor of the hotel, which was still considered an "A+ rank" area, and the unknown and danger levels were very high.

The strength of that "Magician Strange Creature" was unknown, and many things were hard to say.

Even with the Living Corpses, he wasn't very confident.

Thinking about this, Su Lun fell into deep thought.

...

After nightfall, the tavern became even more lively.

The Black Duke Tavern was packed with hundreds or even thousands of people.

Su Lun sat there, bored, drinking and pricking up his ears, listening to the various conversations in the tavern.

After fully absorbing "X Serum," his hearing became even more acute.

In the tavern, heavy metal rock music and conversations intertwined, creating a rumbling, chaotic noise. But in his ears, he could clearly distinguish the different sounds. The mixed sounds were like strands of different colored threads. As long as he focused his attention on one thread, he could distinguish that sound from the chaos and hear it clearly.

Even the quiet whispers.

"Oh, boss, you can't do that here, you can only touch, nothing else..."

"Hoo~ seven thousand, double the satisfaction."

"..."

Automatically filtering out some useless information, Su Lun focused on the relic information exchanged by the hunters.

"Did you hear, the 'Two-Headed Snake Hunter Group' went to North City the day before yesterday and obtained a batch of valuable gems and alchemical ancient books..."

"A branch of the 'Iron Boots Group' went to the inner ring a few days ago, but I heard they suffered heavy losses..."

"..."

As Su Lun listened, he heard his own name again.

"Hey, brothers, the young master of the Oliver family is looking all over the world for that 'S-rank wanted criminal, Su Lun.' Do you have any information? That bounty is too tempting..."

"I heard that Su Lun should be dead in the ruins. After all, you know, the 'Mist Tide' last month caused heavy casualties among the hunter teams in East City. The Oliver family joined forces with various large and small hunter groups to block the outer perimeter of the ruins. If he didn't escape, he's definitely dead..."

"Ah, what a pity. However, after that Mist Tide, many strange and bizarre mutated monsters seemed to have appeared in East City..."

"..."

As Su Lun listened, he compiled all the information and roughly understood the progress of the hunters' exploration over the past month.

As for after the inner ring, the exploration casualties were high, and progress was very slow.

...

Su Lun continued to drink his wine alone, capturing various pieces of information with his ears.

But as he listened, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the second floor of the tavern.

It was a still somewhat immature roar.

"Old hag, if you have the guts, kill me!"