Chapter 210: Tremble, Mortals!

"We came up empty-handed at Siman's residence."

"That place was merely a decoy placed in plain sight; Siman himself hasn't lived there for a long time."

"As for where he actually is at this moment, I suspect very few people would know."

"Perhaps he is already dead, for all we know."

Brenna said, casting her gaze toward Yun Mu and Dunn.

"How is your progress today?"

"We haven't joined the Scarlet Relief Society yet." Seeing that Dunn had no intention of speaking, Yun Mu opened her mouth to recount the events they had encountered today.

"Has the Scarlet Curse already begun to spread within the city?"

Just like Yun Mu at the time, upon learning that a second victim of the Scarlet Curse besides herself had appeared, Brenna's expression became very serious.

"It seems we must speed things up."

"Bishop Muse." Brenna looked at the old man beside her and said, "October 21st, at the latest by October 21st, if the problem of the Scarlet Curse hasn't been resolved by then."

"I hope to adopt violent measures, directly storming the Church in Frostfall City to take down Bishop Land, seal off the entire city, and use a carpet search to kill that Scarlet Messenger."

"With the help of you, a Bishop of Winter City, I think those ministers in Parliament shouldn't have much to say. As for the troops needed to seal the city, hehe." Brenna seemed to think of something, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Isn't there a Fifth Mechanized Infantry Regiment just outside the city currently conducting 'drills'?"

"I have no objections," Bishop Muse said after a moment of silence.

Although he truly wanted to drive that Scarlet Outer God out of this world once and for all.

But the longer the problem dragged on, the more preparations the enemy would make, and what originally wasn't much of a troublesome matter would become quite thorny.

"Do your best," he said.

"The only variable is that the Scarlet Messenger is a chosen one of a deity. With the deity's help to conceal her, even if we seal the city, it will be very difficult for us to find her."

"Moreover, sealing the city will inevitably breed dissatisfaction within. It might be fine for a short time, but once it drags on, it will be quite difficult to handle."

As a Bishop of the Winter Capital, because he often had to deal with the King, Bishop Muse was also slightly knowledgeable about matters outside the Church, especially regarding politics.

"That is why I said it is only a last resort." After listening to Bishop Muse, Brenna chuckled and said, "Aren't we working hard right now to avoid such an outcome?"

"Alright, Officer Leinuode, could you please tell us the progress of the cleanup work in the sewers?"

"Yes." Leinuode nodded and reported to Brenna, "Thanks to the Princess's help, the Chief was able to dispatch the Mecha Unit to clean up the sewers in that district."

"The current cleanup progress is approaching forty percent. This is only because it was the first day of cleanup and some preparations were needed; I believe the speed will be even faster tomorrow."

"That's perfect." Brenna took out a map and drew a circle on another district with a marker.

"This is Dongshi Street, the place where that Miss Meilaer was attacked and infected with the Scarlet Curse."

"I hope you can spare a portion of the Guard to clean up the sewers in this area."

"No problem." Leinuode agreed without hesitation.

It was just cleaning the sewers of two districts simultaneously; for the Mecha Unit that frequently cleared out the sewers of the entire city, it was hardly a difficult task. But then again... "It's really strange. The Mecha Unit cleared the sewers not long ago, so why have so many Monsters emerged in such a short time?" Leinuode said with a strange expression.

It is true that the Scarlet Curse has the ability to infect, but there has been no confirmation that it has any ability to increase animal reproduction.

They had already cleared it once; logically speaking, there shouldn't be that many Monsters.

"Could they be attracted here?" Hearing this, Yun Mu analyzed, "The sewers are so large that even if cleared, it's impossible to clean them completely. So, if something is attracting the remaining Monsters, causing them to concentrate in certain areas..."

"It would make it seem like there are many Monsters."

"That is not an impossible possibility..." A thoughtful look appeared on Leinuode's face. After thinking for a moment, he reached out and asked, "If that's the case, what is it that's attracting them?"

"I'm afraid only that Scarlet Messenger herself knows," Yun Mu said helplessly.

"Of course, this is just my personal speculation. In fact, driving the Monsters away could also achieve a similar effect."

"Regardless, those Monsters certainly cannot be left alone. Let the Guard Hall's Mecha Unit eliminate them as quickly as possible," Brenna concluded at this point.

"Does anyone else have anything to say? If not, let's end today's meeting here."

"..."

Looking around the hall and seeing that no one had anything to add, Brenna stood up and said, "Then let's adjourn. See you all tomorrow."

Evening, inside the second floor of the Frost Bank.

In the room that originally belonged to Elena.

Yun Mu was doing her daily reading and practice, and... "Phew, finally finished!"

Letting out a long sigh, Yun Mu put away her Paintbrush and looked at the painting in front of her with a satisfied expression.

Heh heh, tremble!

Mortals of another world! This is the comic drawn with her life's work! Parentheses, adult-oriented.

Originally, she only intended to draw an ordinary doujin, but after careful consideration.

Yun Mu decided to draw an adult-oriented comic that was both interesting and easy to get off to.

After all, this world didn't have such products yet. As the first person to eat crab, she definitely had the potential to go viral! Since that was the case, why shouldn't she be bolder?

As long as her idea was correct, the more people who watched, the more experience points she could reap.

Now that the Scarlet matter was intensifying and the curse was even spreading in the city, she didn't have time to continue being leisurely.

She had to find a way to level up quickly.

As for today's practice Spiritual Painting, it had been completed as soon as she returned to her room.

The points for the Path of Oil Painting increased by one; other than that, there were no other gains.

Well, she was almost getting used to this feeling.

Looking around with a guilty conscience, although she knew there was no one in the room, drawing this kind of thing really made her afraid of being discovered.

Yun Mu stacked the comic pages neatly, then used the small card she carried with her to seal them into the painting.

The next thing to do was to find someone to bind it into a volume, make mass copies, and then, sell it like crazy! 【After arduous training and study, your active skill 【Encapsulation Lv1】 has been upgraded to 【Encapsulation Lv2】!】 The Game Panel's notification sound suddenly rang in her mind, and Yun Mu immediately felt she had a new understanding of encapsulating items into paintings.

Besides that, there was also... using water-sensitive paper as a carrier for encapsulated items. When it encounters water, the paper softens and is destroyed, and the items encapsulated in the painting will fall out. Hmm, burning it with fire would also produce a similar effect.

However, the items inside would likely be burned and ruined as well.

So this was the reason why high-level artists would choose to use a Painted World to store items, rather than using cards for Encapsulation. She had previously thought it was just because using the Encapsulation skill to seal items into cards consumed more Spirituality than a Painted World.

It turned out there was such a layer of consideration involved.

"What time is it now?"

Yun Mu looked at the wall clock; the hour hand was pointing at the number 11, and the minute hand was on the second tick mark past the number 2.

11:12. It was very late, but for the Black Market, it should be one of the busiest times.

After all, only at this time would those outlaws officially start their activities.

"I'll go out for a trip," Yun Mu thought to herself.

Time waits for no one; she wanted to arrange the Comic matters as soon as possible.

It would be best to raise her level to lv25, which is the limit of a Second-tier Elite, before October 20th.

By then, she would judge what she should do based on the advancement mission for a Third-tier Expert.

"I really didn't expect that I would almost be reaching the Expert level," Yun Mu said with a sigh.

Recalling when she had just transmigrated, she didn't even know what a Transcendental was.

Lita could probably have beaten five of her from back then with ease.

Now, though... even if the situation were reversed, she reckoned she could take the other party down with ease.

This situation really makes one wonder what to say.

Creak.

"Is Miss Yun going out?"

Pushing open the door, Yun Mu left the room and walked down the stairs into the first-floor lobby of the Frost Bank. At this moment, a Young Girl with short black hair, Ai Yi, emerged from the shadows and appeared before her to ask.

"Yes, I have some things to do."

As a Shadow Guard, Ai Yi was always paying attention to matters around Brenna. It was normal for her to appear and ask after noticing Yun Mu's movements, so she didn't feel the slightest bit surprised.

"At this hour?" Ai Yi frowned after hearing her words.

She wouldn't be suspecting that I'm going to do something bad, would she? Although going out at this time is indeed very suspicious, Yun Mu thought to herself.

"I'll go with you," Ai Yi said. "It's already very late; I can protect you on the way."

Calling it protection, she's actually just wanting to see what I'm going to do, right?

Besides, this young lady is capable of winning a one-on-one fight against the Shadow Guard following the Prince. If I really encounter any danger, it's not certain who will be protecting whom.

Well, agreeing to her is fine too; it's not like she's doing anything shameful—wait, it actually seems a bit shameful! Yun Mu only just remembered that she was going out to find a way to Sell her doujin works. How could she let someone she knows see that kind of thing!!

Thinking of this, she immediately refused: "No, that's not necessary. Is it okay over at Brenna's side?"

"Hmm?"

Ai Yi didn't actually suspect Yun Mu; she just intended to follow along and see out of her own considerations.

As a result, seeing her guilty appearance, she felt it was rather suspicious instead.

"There are still many Shadow Guards beside the Princess. Furthermore, my own strength is at the bottom among the Shadow Guards; being gone for a short while doesn't matter."

"Let's go quickly. Don't you have things to do?"

"This..."

Seeing Ai Yi push it to this point, Yun Mu knew she couldn't leave without her today.

Anyway, it's just an adult-oriented Comic. She has her reasons for doing this kind of thing. Even if seen, could the other party understand? Damn it, I just feel so ashamed.

"Sigh, come if you want to."

With a helpless sigh, Yun Mu passed by Ai Yi and walked toward the door of the Frost Bank.

Time is precious; she didn't have the energy to keep entangled with the other party here.

Besides, if they were to plant the seeds of suspicion between them just because of this small matter, it would be too unworthy.

At times like this, it's better to be frank... frank my foot.

The moment she thought about Ai Yi seeing her drawing doujinshi and then reporting it to Brenna, she was already so nervous she could barely see the road, you bastard!

Of course, that was just an exaggeration.

Thanks to Meilaer, Yun Mu had already memorized the location of the Dark River in the sewers.

As long as she reached the Dark River, she could take the elevator to the street where the Black Market was located.

As for what to do after arriving at the Black Market... a figure missing one ear couldn't help but appear in Yun Mu's mind.

If it were that guy, he should know who is appropriate to find.

After all, looking at his appearance, he was clearly an old hand who had been hanging around the Black Market for a long time. As long as she could provide a certain reward, she should be able to get a fairly reliable answer.

The only thing to worry about was whether she had brought enough money... Yun Mu reached into the lining of her coat, her fingers unconsciously pinching the sides of her money bag, feeling the sensation of the Gold Frost Coins squeezing and colliding inside.

The Credit Card that Brenna had given her, which was tied to her Identity Card, was clearly unusable now that Yun Mu was a wanted person.

But Brenna had a way to withdraw the money inside, so she had given her those Gold Frost in cash.

In other words, she still had some money on her.

It's just that she didn't know if these Gold Frost Coins could satisfy the appetite of that One-Eared Rat. "In this direction, are you going to the Dark River?"

Near the Dark River, Yun Mu skillfully lifted the manhole cover in the alley and brought Ai Yi into it. The other party looked at the direction they were walking and asked Yun Mu.

"No, I'm going to the Black Market," Yun Mu shook her head and said.

"You want to go to the Black Market?"

After hearing Yun Mu's words, Ai Yi's expression became a bit strange. She said, "We just passed at least four entrances to the Black Market."

"Hmm?"

Yun Mu, who was walking in front, paused her steps. She turned to look at Ai Yi.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"You didn't tell me you wanted to go to the Black Market, so how could I have told you in advance?" Ai Yi widened her eyes, seemingly not having expected Yun Mu to question her like that.

(End of chapter)