Chapter 2988: The Wonderful Life of Melos

Melos sat in the compartment without a word. In truth, the attitude and philosophy of the Kodo School were quite vague; they were more like people exploring what exactly the Ancient Gods were, where they came from, and whether they had any weaknesses.

"An old man like me, who has been cast aside, how could I possibly know where the King of Light is? Are you looking to go on a pilgrimage? You'd best give up."

Melos sat on the wooden chair, looking very relaxed, with the air of someone who had long since seen through everything.

"Old man, you've got quite a background, don't you?"

"It's nothing much, just had a period of glory. The previous generation's Goddess of the Kodo School almost became my wife."

Speaking of this, Melos felt quite sentimental and began to recount his experiences.

Originally, Melos was one of the High Priests of the Kodo School, until he became infatuated with the Goddess of the previous generation and took action.

The result was that he, having nearly succeeded, was tied up and "kicked around" by the believers. The Goddess of the previous generation, wearing her wedding dress, was left shaken; she had almost been forced into completing a wedding ceremony.

What happened after was simple: Melos had indeed made contributions to the Kodo School, and he hadn't harmed the previous Goddess—at least not physically; mentally, that was another matter.

After deliberation by the high-ranking members of the Kodo School, it was decided to exile Melos to "Old Royal Capital: Talu," a godforsaken place, to guard a branch that had long been empty.

He had been watching over it for more than 30 years, and the High Priest Melos of yesteryear had turned into a hunched old man.

Listening to Melos's narration, Baja felt more and more that something wasn't right.

"You were just lusting after her, weren't you? 'Mutual affection,' my foot. I almost believed you."

"I was being brave in my pursuit, and I didn't act improperly toward the Goddess."

"Pah, you're despicable~"

"How can a bird like you be so insulting?"

Melos and Baja stared at each other. After a moment, Melos sighed.

"People like me, do you really think it's possible for me to know where the King of Light is?"

"It's possible. You believe in the Ancient Gods."

Baja stared at Melos. Through its observation, it felt that this old guy should know something, though not a great deal.

"Believe in them, my ass. I've been here for over 30 years, a cast-aside man. Let me give you a piece of advice: don't go looking for those people at the Soul Bell Tower. They've gone completely mad. Those people twisted their own souls, trying to use that method to resist the corruption. They've also churned out who knows how many defective containers. If you find the King of Light, you might be able to see the fragments of those defective containers."

"Oh ho ho? You know even that?"

"My big mouth."

Melos slapped his own mouth hard. He looked at Baja for a moment, then sized up Su Xiao and said, "If I don't say anything, what will be my fate today?"

"Take a guess. Use your imagination as much as you can."

"Sigh, I'd better just say it. A small fry like me, of course, doesn't know where the King of Light is, but the current Goddess knows. That's all I know. You can go now."

Melos made a gesture for them to leave.

"Melos, you seem to be worried about hair loss."

"Hahaha, how could that be? I am someone who has stepped into the extraordinary; hair loss is nothing at all."

Melos seemed to be amused by Baja.

"I have a secret recipe for hair growth here. Forget the top of your head; even if you smear it on your backside, it'll grow hair."

Baja took out a small bottle, tapped it with its eagle claw, and flicked it onto the edge of Melos's hairline. Washinoki Washinoki Jishi of gray hairs gradually sprouted, grew a few centimeters long, and then stopped.

Melos touched the top of his head, his eyes widening. He said, "About the matter of the current Goddess, let's talk in detail. You probably don't know where the headquarters of the Kodo School is, otherwise you wouldn't have come here."

Melos's face was brimming with an enthusiastic smile. He had a strong obsession with hair; that was the very reason the previous Goddess hadn't taken a liking to him back then.

"You said kidnapping the Goddess? Is that not a problem?"

Baja looked at Melos with some "worry."

"I'm familiar with this; I did it once decades ago."

"Then you arrange the plan for this time, and we'll execute it."

"Fine, but this matter has nothing to do with me."

"Of course it has nothing to do with you."

Baja extended its eagle claw, and Melos reached out his hand to shake it.

"Let's go, Melos, to kidnap the Goddess."

"?"

Melos looked at Baja in confusion. He had only intended to provide the plan, not to participate in the actual act. Or rather, he had planned to run away once Su Xiao and the others left. Looking at Baja's intent now, it was clearly planning to have Melos go along.

"Don't you guys go too far. I only provide the advice..."

Before Melos could finish his sentence, Baja took out a voice recorder and pressed the switch. The conversation between it and Melos played out, the content as follows:

Baja: "You said kidnapping the Goddess? Is that not a problem?"

Melos: "I'm familiar with this; I did it once decades ago."

"Melos, you tell me, if I let the people of the Kodo School hear this, what will happen to you?"

The recorder flipped in Baja's claw. Melos, across from it, froze. This was the price of being uncultured.

After a moment, Melos let out a long sigh. He considered whether to fight it out, but whether he could win was a big problem.

"Wait for me a while. I'll pack my things and we'll set off. It's been a long time since I've been back to Dank City."

Melos slapped his thigh, a smile on his old face, while in reality, he was greeting Baja's ancestors down to the eighteenth generation.

Half an hour later, Old Royal Capital: Talu, South District, beneath a metal tower several dozen meters high.

Looking up, the metal tower was both magnificent and possessed a unique sense of precision. The layers of iron bars wrapped around it were only a finger's width wide, yet they formed this behemoth. This was the architectural style of the bugs.

Melos pounded on the metal gate. This building had been constructed by the bugs several hundred years ago, known as a Bug Tower. They were distributed in many places across the continent, and all Bug Towers were connected to each other. As long as the Void-Sound Bugs inside were still alive, long-distance teleportation could be achieved, though the speed of transmission wasn't fast, and there was a certain danger if one's strength wasn't sufficient.

The Void-Sound Bugs in this Bug Tower had originally died; it was the local gangs that had bought Void-Sound Bugs from the Bug Kingdom at a high price to facilitate trade between the two sides.

Following Melos's heavy pounding, the metal door of the Bug Tower opened from the inside.

"Did you bring the Crystal Fat?"

A voice came from the darkness inside the door. Hearing this, Melos looked at Su Xiao and said:

"Using the Bug Tower once costs 30 Lang of Crystal Fat (Lang: unit of weight, 1 Lang = 0.972 grams)."

"None."

"None? How could you not have Crystal Fat? Don't be so stingy."

"..."

Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal (Medium) and tossed it inside the door.

"Soul Stone? Gentlemen, please come in."

The man's tone inside the door changed. Gangs like this weren't actually arrogant; on the contrary, they were very low-key. They upheld the attitude of never causing trouble if they could avoid it, but once they made an enemy, they would fight to the death.

Su Xiao walked into the Bug Tower. In the dim light, he saw the appearance of the man in front. The man's eyes were yellowish, and his face was covered in black veins—a sign of being corrupted.

After careful observation, Su Xiao discovered that more than a dozen pieces of Crystal Fat had been driven deep into various parts of the man's face. This allowed the speed of corruption to be suppressed, but it certainly didn't stop it.

The man in front turned and walked up the spiral staircase. Every few steps he took, his head would tilt to the left, and then tremble at a high frequency, as if he were having intermittent cramps.

"This is a technology researched by the Soul Bell Tower side. People who step into the extraordinary won't be instantly corrupted. By injecting Crystal Fat under the skin, the speed of corruption becomes slower. Many people think the extraordinary won't be corrupted, but that's not true. Everyone has moments of relaxation and weakness."

Melos felt quite sentimental. The man walking in front cursed softly; he didn't like others discussing him.

Soon, Su Xiao reached the middle section of the Bug Tower. There was no spiral staircase above; it was a crisscrossing metal frame.

The surrounding metal walls were uneven, presenting a dull iron-gray. Beetles emitting white light were half-embedded in the walls; these were the Void-Sound Bugs.

"Where are you going?"

The corrupted man stood in front of several metal discs and began to adjust the precise scales on them.

"Dank City."

There was a hint of nostalgia in Melos's eyes. He wasn't actually resistant to kidnapping the Goddess this time, nor was he in favor of it. He had stayed in "Old Royal Capital: Talu" for too many years, and the unchanging surroundings made him feel that if things continued this way, he wouldn't be far from being corrupted.

"Press your hands on the wall surface. Gently, don't crush the Void-Sound Bugs. For every one you crush, you pay 50 Lang of Crystal Fat."

The corrupted man put on a jeweler's loupe. After adjusting the magnification, he inserted his two index fingers into the grooves of the metal discs and began to adjust the precise scales, emitting faint, crisp clicking sounds.

"It's about to start. For your next trip, remember to prioritize our One-Legged Gang. Other gangs are not to be trusted."

The corrupted man pressed the metal disc downward. Almost simultaneously, all the Void-Sound Bugs on the surrounding walls opened their back shells, their transparent wings vibrating, emitting a buzzing sound.

A sense of vibration traveled through Su Xiao's hands. The vibration of the sound waves made the world before his eyes blur, and the surrounding spatial fluctuations gradually intensified.

A large expanse of tiny light particles appeared before Su Xiao's eyes. He felt himself being pushed forward rapidly. When the world before his eyes was no longer blurry, the buzzing sound of the bugs by his ears gradually ceased.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the Bug Tower in Dank City. If you feel nauseous and want to vomit, you must hold it until you are outside."

A woman with a long braid leaned against the wall. She pointed to an iron sign, on which was written: "Random vomiting incurs a fine of 1 Lang of Crystal Fat."

Su Xiao walked down the spiral staircase. He had to get some Crystal Fat as soon as possible; paying with Soul Crystals every time he used the Bug Tower was too much of a loss.

Out of the Bug Tower, the sky was still overcast. There were many pedestrians on the street ahead. Unlike the Old Royal Capital, the public security in "Dank City" was much better, and the pedestrians no longer had faces full of despair and numbness. This place wasn't considered dangerous; the danger level was much lower than that of the Old Royal Capital.

"Melos, tell me your plan."

As soon as Su Xiao's voice fell, he disappeared from where he stood, piercing through space to return to the Bug Tower. Baja opened an interdimensional space, Amu rushed in, and the slightly confused Benny was kicked in by Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang with his hind legs, while Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang merged into the environment.

"We..."

Melos was just about to state the plan when he discovered there was no one around him. A cold wind blew, stirring the few remaining gray hairs on Melos's head.

Su Xiao had encountered an acquaintance. Dark Star was indeed an Eighth-Tier world, but its danger level was lv. 55–lv. 76. This meant that Sixth-Tier, Seventh-Tier, and Eighth-Tier contractors could all enter this world, but the initial areas they entered and the missions they received were different. Previously on Magic Spirit Star, Su Xiao had even encountered Sixth-Tier contractors from his own side.

A figure with short pink hair walked down the street. Beside her were three women and two men. Judging by their expressions, everyone was in a good mood.

"Big Sister Morey, is it really okay for us to come to Dank City? This is a Seventh-Tier to Eighth-Tier area, we are still..."

A teenager carrying minerals spoke, vigilantly observing the surroundings as he spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm familiar with this place. I've been to Dark Star three times. As long as we don't go to the Old Royal Capital, the Last Green Land, or the Bug Kingdom, it'll be fine. Except for the occasional willpower check that's annoying, this world is alright."

Morey was full of confidence. Ever since she had become reclusive after the last World Contention, she hadn't gone to any Fully Open: Native Worlds, but had instead entered worlds belonging to the Apocalypse Paradise. This place was still considered safe.

As long as she didn't run into those old schemers like the Mad Doctor, Bai Ye, or the Priest, she, Morey, was still a Seventh-Tier powerhouse!

Thinking of this, the corners of Morey's mouth curled into a beautiful arc. She couldn't laugh; she was the big sister of this squad now, and she had to maintain the demeanor of a powerhouse. Unless she was truly too happy and couldn't help it, she wouldn't laugh.

"A world without old schemers is truly wonderful." ===== CHAPTER 2989 =====