Chapter 2989: Gem Master

Dank City, inside the Bug Tower on Gem Street.

Encountering an acquaintance, Su Xiao would naturally choose to avoid them. He was invading the world this time; if it were just a passing glance, there was absolutely no way Morey could recognize him. This was the characteristic of the One-Way Disguise. When Su Xiao looked in the mirror himself, his appearance wouldn't change, but in Morey's eyes, Su Xiao would be a strange contractor.

The One-Way Disguise was effective most of the time. If he entered a combat state and Su Xiao's aura erupted completely, that would be another matter. As long as Morey wasn't stupid, she would immediately guess what was going on and then "report" Su Xiao to the Apocalypse Paradise.

Morey's observational skills were beyond doubt; no matter what, she was a Battle Angel and had killed many violators.

Su Xiao speculated that Morey should have nothing to do with the trade of Space-Time Power. Her coming to the Dark Star world was nine times out of ten to fish for some minerals.

At the current stage, what was more important was to act according to the clues given by the main mission first. This would allow Su Xiao to better understand the situation in this world, to facilitate the subsequent contention for Space-Time Power.

Su Xiao's purpose in entering the Dark Star world was actually very simple: to obtain a large amount of resources to enhance his own strength and move toward the top tier of the Eighth Tier. Although this was very difficult, he had to speed up his progress.

The Tree-Born World was about to open, and the last piece of the Soul-Severing Shadow Stone: Incomplete that Su Xiao needed was there. There was also a Talent Awakening Device there; through this device, one could awaken a unique talent of the Law-Severing Shadow at the cost of sacrificing one of one's own talent abilities.

The Soul-Severing Shadow ability and the Law-Severing talent—these two were things Su Xiao couldn't miss, so he had to enter the Tree-Born World.

When he had originally obtained the entry qualification for the "Tree-Born World" in the Tree Arena, five of the top ten in the Tree Arena were puppets of the Gray Gentleman. This already explained many problems.

The Gray Gentleman had been preparing for who knows how long to stir up trouble in the Tree-Born World. Not only the Gray Gentleman, but the Priest also seemed to be making preparations for the Tree-Born World.

The Tree-Born World was notarized by the Tree of the Void. The Tree of the Void was absolutely neutral. As long as one had the entry qualification, whether they were a contractor, a hunter, or a violator, everyone could enter.

In the dark, Su Xiao had a feeling that the Gray Gentleman and the Priest were going to pull off something big in the Tree-Born World. Besides these two, there should be other violators.

Previously, the Gray Gentleman had returned to the real world, which seemed to portend something. Because there were too few clues, Su Xiao hadn't figured out the connection yet.

Setting these aside for now, dealing well with the situation in the Dark Star world was the key. The small goal at the current stage was to find the King of Light. To find the King of Light, kidnapping the Goddess of the Kodo School was the fastest method.

Su Xiao walked out of the Bug Tower. Melos, who had been hiding behind a garbage cart, stood up. Although he didn't know why Su Xiao had suddenly disappeared, staying hidden for the time being was always the right thing to do.

"This is Gem Street, the most prosperous and chaotic area in Dank City. Let's find an inn to stay in first. What we need to do requires long-term planning."

Melos didn't ask about what had just happened. Everyone had secrets, including himself.

Melos was very familiar with Gem Street in "Dank City." On the way to the inn, he began to introduce the origin of Gem Street.

This place was originally called Ancient Street, a place for selling antiques, gems, jewelry, and other items, and it didn't have much to do with the extraordinary. But after people discovered that Crystal Fat could resist corruption, Ancient Street gradually became prosperous. Making Crystal Fat into ornaments made it easier to wear, and those who could complete this process were the craftsmen who made gem artifacts.

The status of gem craftsmen gradually improved, but this wasn't the peak. A few years ago, a gem craftsman named Lindbergh discovered that by dissolving Crystal Fat into a liquid state through high heat and then cutting open an extraordinary gem and adding it in, the purity of the Crystal Fat would be greatly improved after it cooled, and its resistance to corruption would be even stronger.

After different extraordinary gems were fused with Crystal Fat, the degree of improvement to the Crystal Fat varied greatly. Extraordinary gems with characteristics like life, nature, and vitality had the best fusion effects with Crystal Fat. The resulting Crystal Fat was so pure that it was somewhat transparent; just looking at it made one feel a sense of longing.

Gems with characteristics like fire and earth veins had moderate effects, while gems with characteristics like darkness and profundity had the least improvement on Crystal Fat, and some would even have the opposite effect.

That Gem Master named Lindbergh didn't hide this secret; he made it public. The entire Dank City was in an uproar. Ancient Street was packed to the point of being impassable, and Gem Master Lindbergh's small shop was almost squeezed to the point of bursting.

Half a year later, Gem Master Lindbergh died of overwork. His love and obsession for gems and Crystal Fat were unimaginable to ordinary people. He had regularly made public everything he had explored. One evening, his apprentice found him napping on his workbench. In fact, at that moment, the Gem Master had already left forever, holding his supreme masterpiece in his hand.

That was a completely transparent piece of Crystal Fat with a faint white glow inside, known as the "Heart of Berg." Some had once believed that as long as one wore the "Heart of Berg," even if one faced an Ancient God, one wouldn't be corrupted.

To commemorate the Gem Master, Ancient Street was renamed Gem Street, a name that had been used ever since.

"The Heart of Berg, where is that piece of Crystal Fat?"

Su Xiao was very interested in the Heart of Berg. He speculated that that thing wasn't just as simple as having a gem fused into it, but that it had fused with intent or belief.

"That, I don't know. It's said it was gifted to the King of Light, others say it was given to the Great Sage, and there are rumors it was offered to the Wolf Spider Queen. There are at least a dozen versions. I guess it was most likely taken by that little apprentice of the Gem Master."

Melos stopped in front of an inn. This inn had seen better days; the outer wall plaster was severely peeling.

In front of the door, Melos tidied his appearance. Looking at him, he was still trying his best to steady his breathing.

"Go in, don't block the door."

"Wait, before seeing Marcia, let me calm down for a while. This was a suitor of mine from the past, but I rejected her. Seeing her this time, it really makes one sentimental."

Melos took a deep breath. Unknowingly, his heart felt much younger, and that feeling of being about to be corrupted faded a bit.

"You? You had a suitor?"

"I had many suitors when I was young. Just watch."

Melos pushed open the door of the inn and walked in with big strides. The inn was too old and had no guests at all. Behind the natural-wood-colored bar stood a woman with half-white hair and a thin build. She didn't have many wrinkles on her face, but her hands were covered in scars. Although her eyes looked unfocused, they vaguely gave people a sense of faint danger. She was Marcia.

"Staying at the inn is 1 Lang of Crystal Fat for 5 days. No change, no credit."

Innkeeper Marcia spoke without raising her head. Seeing this, Melos raised his hand and knocked on the bar.

"Marcia, long time no see. I'm Melos. After so many years, do you still... remember me?"

Melos tried his best to straighten his body, a smile appearing on his wrinkled old face.

Marcia behind the bar raised her head. She looked to be in her early forties, but her actual age was close to Melos's.

Marcia's unfocused gaze regained its luster, her face full of disbelief.

"It seems you still remember me."

"Of course, I remember. How did you... become so old?"

Marcia's eyes turned red. She raised her hand to touch Melos's aged side-face, her hand still trembling slightly.

"I'll be damned? It really is an old flame. Xiang Bubu, dinner time."

Baja truly hadn't expected Melos to have this kind of appeal.

"With so many people watching, we're at this age now, don't be like this."

Being touched on the side of his face by Marcia's hand, Melos's old face flushed red. With Su Xiao, Baja, and Xiang Bubu Wang all present, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

At this very moment, Marcia's hand suddenly reached up, grabbed the few remaining hairs on Melos's head, and smashed Melos's head hard against the bar.

Bang.

Melos let out a strange howl. His tilted head was half-embedded into the bar, and a short blade nailed itself in front of him with a clink, grazing the tip of his nose. Melos's eyes widened, and he even swallowed his saliva.

"Old thing, you actually... actually dare to come back to see me? Where did my 13,000 Lang of Crystal Fat go! Give the Crystal Fat back to me, immediately, right now, or I'll castrate you."

Marcia pressed her face close to Melos. She had also once been a member of the Kodo School, with her main duty being to extort information. To achieve her goals, she would stop at nothing.

Hearing Marcia's words, Melos felt a chill in his crotch, and instead, he sighed.

"Do it. I came here today to pay back the debt. I promised these few bastards to help them do some things. What is promised must be fulfilled. Just leave me my life."

Melos closed his eyes. He couldn't be counted as a good person, but he had spent his whole life upholding six words: once a word is spoken, it must be fulfilled.

"Hmph."

Marcia let go. Her index finger hooked the guard of the short blade, and the short blade flipped backward into the scabbard on the wall cabinet.

"I'll let you stay for ten days at most, then get lost."

After saying this, Marcia sat behind the bar, crossed her legs, and ignored Melos.

"The stronghold is secured. Bai Ye, we can begin."

Melos used his hand to groom his hairstyle, and upon discovering that quite a bit of hair had been pulled out, he felt a pang of heartache.

"Old thing, what are you guys going to do? Don't implicate me."

Marcia, who was holding a book and pretending to read, shifted her gaze, casting a very unfriendly look.

"Nothing much, just kidnapping the current Goddess. Marcia, do you want to participate?"

Hearing Melos's words, the book in Marcia's hand slid off. She stared at Melos, looking as if she wanted to swallow him alive.

"You all get out of here!!" ===== CHAPTER 2990 =====