Lanqi Is Targeted by His Mother-in-Law

Ursula and Elsa watched with bated breath as the mafia boss and Professor Landry stood on the verge of clashing in the dark alley. Fortunately, neither showed any intention of actually fighting. "Meow... Peerless imperial power, faith of the empire, meow." Boss Cat read out Lanqi's scripted line in a deadpan voice to bolster its courage. In truth, it wanted nothing more than to burrow back into Lanqi's shadow, but right now it had to protect these two young girls and absolutely could not wimp out. After all, it was still a full tier above the mafia boss, Barton! Still, judging by Barton's tone, the man wasn't being aggressive. For the time being, this fellow named Barton seemed surprisingly reasonable. He hadn't jumped to conclusions over the ground strewn with mafia corpses or lashed out without a word. Considering the time limit on Talia's intervention, tangling with a former imperial army Tier 7 combat assassin like Barton was definitely not a worthwhile endeavor; Elsa and Ursula would be in grave danger. It seemed Lanqi's ultimate trump card remained the King of Cats. "Mr. Barton, I caught this Blood Clan member myself, so I am afraid I cannot hand him over to you," Lanqi replied politely. His earlier battle against Viscount Carmel had been quite restrained, muffling sound as much as possible. The only instance that might have caused a noticeably strong surge of mana was when Talia, in order to keep Viscount Carmel from using his authority to escape, broke his mechanisms and forcefully dragged him back. He had not expected the boss of the mafia, Barton Hall, to still detect them. "What would it take for you to give him to me?" Barton made no move to seize the captive by force, choosing instead to ask Lanqi. Yet his stance remained unmistakable. In the worst-case scenario today, even if it meant forcing a transaction, he would keep this Blood Clan vampire here. Under no circumstances would he allow anyone to take him out of his harbor district territory. "This really isn't something I can trade away. But could you tell me, Mr. Barton, what do you need him for?" Lanqi sensed that Barton was not impossible to reason with. At the very least, he was far easier to communicate with than his fellow imperial soldier, Nicholas the Kestrel. Nicholas the Kestrel always approached negotiations with an initial presumption of suspicion, whereas Barton maintained an attitude of trust first—though it was also possible that seeing Lanqi strike down a member of the Blood Clan had largely convinced Barton that he was no vampire collaborator. "..." Barton fell into silence. "Mr. Barton, if we fight here, it will undoubtedly end in a lose-lose situation. That is why I hope that no matter what, we resolve this through communication rather than force. Even though we've only just met, trust is something that can be built over time. If you are reluctant to trust me, then I can be the first to extend that trust to you," Lanqi said sincerely. Viscount Carmel was not only the first member of the Blood Clan he had captured in the Creti Empire, possessing irreplaceable intelligence value, but more importantly, this vampire carried a seven-digit sin of slaughter. Once Lanqi remodeled him properly and gave him to Hyperion, she would definitely be thrilled. *Are you sure Hyperion will like this gift?* Talia felt that while she didn't quite understand human karmic merit, she certainly wouldn't want an automated merit-printing machine herself. She wasn't even sure if such a contraption would add merit or deduct it. Back when she used to sleep alongside Hyperion, Talia would constantly hear Hyperion murmuring in her sleep: *"Lady Goddess, please don't deduct any more of my merit..." "Lanqi, go easy on it..." "Wuu, I really don't have any merit left here..."* It had truly made Talia's heart ache for her. As a devout believer in the Goddess of Fate, Hyperion possessed an unshakeable faith in the connection between karmic merit and good fortune. Ever since childhood, whenever she did something bad, her luck turned atrocious, and whenever she did something good, her luck improved. Yet Talia strongly suspected that Duke Mikhail had simply manipulated Hyperion's "luck" artificially throughout her childhood. If Hyperion ended up thinking this machine was deducting her merit, she might burst into tears on the spot. She wasn't just superstitious—she genuinely believed it like an innocent child. *No problem at all with two Blood Clan vampires. I just need to catch one more to recreate the automated merit machine from the Banquet of Sanctuary Villains in the Shadow World,* Lanqi replied to Talia with utter confidence in his mind. *If she cries, I guarantee I'll thrash you.* Talia conceded, reluctantly agreeing to the project. *Rest easy, Tata. Hubao is guaranteed to smile. Back in Lichtenstein Castle in the Shadow World, under the watchful gaze of the clergy, she pressed the button of the automated merit machine with immense solemnity. She couldn't keep a straight face at all.* Lanqi's greatest regret was that he hadn't been able to bring the automated merit machine out of the Shadow World. Now that an opportunity to restore the glory of the merit machine in the real world lay right before him, he had to consider whether this might be the only chance in his life. Blood Clan vampires in this current era were far too difficult to find. While he and Talia traded thoughts for quite a while, Barton finally stirred. "No comment. But I can guarantee this: if you hand him over to the empire, he will vanish without a trace in no time, and after that, you will never know peace again." He shook his head, looking down at Lanqi and speaking in a deep voice. Hearing the mafia boss's words, Ursula and Elsa exchanged bewildered glances. Although Barton spoke in riddles, they surprisingly understood his underlying meaning. Handing Viscount Carmel over to the Creti Empire's military was practically no different from setting him free. Someone in high authority would undoubtedly pull strings overnight to execute a flawless cover-up, wiping the incident with Viscount Carmel completely clean. And the next step would be finding a way to silence the Landry siblings. It was identical to how the matter regarding Ursula's brother, Marquis Ryan, had been handled. The empire's governing apparatus seemed to have long been seized from the shadows by an unknown force. Those people could turn black into white and white into black, leaving ordinary imperial citizens utterly powerless to resist under their grasp. "Are you also aware of how deeply the Blood Clan has infiltrated the empire?" Lanqi asked Barton. "...?" Barton was visibly taken aback. He remembered Professor Landry was supposed to be an iron-willed hound of the empire. How could he possibly know the true state of affairs so well? Ursula and Elsa listened from behind, completely baffled. Had the Creti Empire really been infiltrated by the Blood Clan? What kind of horror story was this? Just what did the two of them know? "Landry, setting aside what you know for now, leaving the Blood Clan member on mafia territory for me to handle is the safest choice. The moment you take him outside, even on the journey back to Saint Creti Monastery, there will be enormous risks," Barton warned the black-haired, blue-eyed young professor with an unvarying expression. He believed that an intelligent man could distinguish goodwill from malice. The Blood Clan excelled not only at scouting, but also at divination. The slightest lapse could allow them to lock onto a target. Mafia territory was a rare shielded zone; with the interference of ancient magic apparatuses, even divination magic could hardly penetrate here. Those who possessed a clear awareness of the Creti Empire's current internal situation fell into only two categories: enemies of the Blood Clan, or those controlled by them. Granted, one couldn't rule out the perilous possibility that the Blood Clan might have dispatched a thrall to stage a sacrificial ruse, sacrificing a viscount just to gain the trust of the mafia boss. But Landry was the least likely to be a thrall of the Blood Clan. His research into "biological modification," "mana fission," and "sustainable energy" would undoubtedly make the Blood Clan the greatest victim. Once his work truly progressed to a substantial phase, a segment of imperial society would likely support him with everything they had, while another faction would do everything in their power to stop him. "How about this, Mr. Barton: I will leave this Blood Clan viscount here with your mafia, but strictly as a temporary deposit. The research must be conducted by me, without any interference from your side, and I will share the final results with you. As for the specifics of our cooperation, we can discuss that later. If you can make this promise, I will hand the viscount over to you." Lanqi offered a compromise. Heart for heart. Talia had already sensed that Barton was not lying, which meant he was an honest man with whom business could be done. "..." Barton pondered for a long time. "I cannot make that call. When it comes to collaboration, only my boss can determine how to work with you—or whether to work with you at all," he answered. When it came to deals, he remained exceedingly cautious, unwilling to make casual promises or commitments to others. "Then could you take me to meet this boss of yours?" Lanqi asked. As expected, there was indeed a mysterious mastermind behind the Brierda Mafia. If they wanted to forge an alliance, he would likely need to have an in-depth discussion with the true boss of the syndicate. "If you intend to see my boss, I must warn you in all seriousness: you had better be prepared to die. If the talks fall through and she deems it necessary, she will seize what she wants, silence witnesses, or perhaps even consider enslaving you all." Barton's gaze swept across Professor Landry and the two students behind him as he spoke. He did not look like he was joking. Barton Hall was surprisingly upright. Even though he had fallen into the role of a mafia boss, the soldier's temperament within him had never changed. For him, the safest solution would have been to silence the Landry siblings and Ursula, preventing anyone from discovering that Viscount Carmel had fallen into his hands. Yet Barton Hall held onto certain principles and had refrained from doing so. His boss, however, was clearly a different story. Elsa and Ursula felt a chill run down their spines. Only at this moment did they truly realize that they were standing on the territory of the notorious Brierda Mafia. Returning to Saint Creti Monastery alone under the cover of night was completely out of the question for the two girls. Elsa had fallen into the Blood Clan's clutches earlier precisely because she had been left alone. Tonight, the only safe option was to stick with Landry for the round trip. If Landry was going to see the mafia's boss, they naturally had to follow along. "The boss won't permit too many people to see her. She will likely only allow you in alone, while your two students wait outside. I can only do my best to ensure their safety, but if the boss decides to do something to them, even I have no way of opposing her," Barton explained. His personal advice was still that Landry should not go see the boss. "We won't hold you back," Ursula said to the professor, having seemingly read Elsa's thoughts. "...Take me to see your boss, Mr. Barton," Lanqi replied after a moment of consideration. The shortfall in combat power for the assault on Blood Moon City was far too immense. He could not afford to pass up any potential high-tier ally. *Lanqi, once we step into the core facility of the mafia, that will be the enemy's home turf. If there's an opponent even stronger than Barton, even if I go all out, we might not gain the upper hand!* Talia warned him nervously. Fighting an enemy inside a trap laden with their own restrictions and barriers was no different from assaulting a fortified city defense. *Our counterpart appears to be an enemy of the Blood Clan as well, so we cannot afford to miss this opportunity to forge an alliance. Even if the big boss of the mafia isn't some benevolent figure, we have to take the gamble and talk,* Lanqi told Talia. *Don't worry. If we run into danger, I'll protect you.* He gave Talia his solemn promise. *Who's protecting whom here...* Talia's mental voice grew softer. She had never imagined the day would come when she would rely on a boy from the borderlands for protection. Yet she said nothing more, which signaled her consent. "I'll contact her." Barton gave Landry a helpless look and drew out an Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program. He had already made everything abundantly clear. If Landry insisted, Barton wouldn't waste any more time. "Boss, someone wishes to see you to discuss a deal," Barton said into the translucent card glowing with purple light after activating the communication spell. When using communication magic, he always maintained strict discretion. Any widely used communication magic in this day and age carried the risk of interception. "Who?" A muffled, indistinct female voice came through the translucent card. "*That* professor." Barton answered concisely. "Bring him over." Having given her response, the boss promptly terminated the connection. Under the night sky, the dark alley remained as bottomless as ever. Barton turned sideways, gesturing with his eyes for Landry and the girls to follow, and led the way toward the core territory of the Brierda Mafia. ... Elsewhere. Deep within the heart of the mafia, hundreds of meters beneath the River Harbor Building, lay a secret palace. This subterranean expanse seemed severed from the outside world. The six-sided walls of silvery-white anti-magic steel appeared capable of swallowing almost all light and echo. Beneath sparse lighting, the mechanical dome felt exceptionally oppressive, leaving only a deep-sea silence and chill. Several colossal pillars of anti-magic steel extended upward, propping up this underground palace. They twinkled with specks of pure white light, each flicker faintly illuminating the surrounding area crowded with laboratory benches and magic apparatuses. Peering through the gaps between the anti-magic steel pillars, at the very center stood a figure like a statue draped in frost and snow, surrounded by heaps of books. The figure within the mechanical ice cavern hung up the communication. The chamber walls were encrusted with thick frost, resembling the thin ice coating her skin, though it was quickly evaporated by the blood-red scars across her body. She had short silver hair, the slightly upturned tips reaching right to her jawline, lending her a casual, crisp appearance. Yet within her reddish-brown eyes burned a frantic, sadistic delight. "To think this imperial lapdog would deliver himself right to my doorstep..." Picking up a scalpel from the operating table, she clenched it tightly in her palm. "Allow me to thoroughly excavate that brain of yours... and make you mine to command."