Chapter 372

Leng Shan, facing Xavier as he approached him and Xiang Jianxing, glanced at his escape route and forced a dry laugh.

"Mr. Xavier, we've already gained transcendent power—no further modification is necessary."

Xavier had anticipated their reaction; he stood still, not advancing further, but the other Steam Council members in the underground chamber stepped forward in unison.

Nearly twenty black-robed figures slowly closed in, forming a half-circle around them.

Xavier said:

"We don't need mere transcendent beings—those powers should be discarded. What we need is the great might of steam and machinery."

"At first, you may feel discomfort, but once you grow accustomed, you'll appreciate the beauty of a mechanical body."

As Xavier spoke, the Steam Council members shed their black robes, revealing the bodies beneath.

Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing could clearly see that each person's body had been partially transformed into metal.

Including the four he had previously identified as players, multiple parts of their bodies—especially the entire back of the skull—had been replaced with metallic structures.

The junctions between metal and flesh were seamless, utterly natural, as if they had been half-human, half-machine since birth.

No wonder, during the days spent with the short, fat man, he'd always sensed something off about their bodies but couldn't pinpoint what.

All official Steam Council members had been transformed into augmented beings by the transcendent steam engine at the chamber's center.

They couldn't say what the native inhabitants of this realm became after modification, but Leng Shan was certain: any player who underwent this transformation was dead for sure.

The four players who had shed their robes now had clouded, milky-white pupils; their facial expressions proved they had not died peacefully.

Leng Shan signaled Xiang Jianxing with a hidden gesture behind his back; both gathered their strength and retreated in small steps toward the exit.

"Mr. Xavier, we only came to Steyr to make a living—there's no need to escalate this far."

Xavier's voice turned icy. "Only those who have been modified are truly our own."

Leng Shan sighed helplessly, then covered his mouth and began to cough.

With each cough, the temperature in the underground chamber dropped several degrees; by the third cough, the steam rules in the air condensed into ice crystals, falling from above to the ground.

Affected by the cold, the Steam Council members moved slower; the weaker ones already bore a shell of ice on their skin.

Xiang Jianxing naturally wouldn't miss this opening—he formed a sword seal with his fingers, and a flying sword pierced through his robe, hovering above his head.

The flying sword shimmered with golden, filament-like light; each golden thread was a sword qi, circling the blade, humming faintly as it passed, severing even the air itself.

The flying sword was named Chang Feng, a newly upgraded A-rank growth item; its only two traits were speed and sharpness.

Chang Feng became a golden streak of light and, in an instant, severed the three Steam Council members blocking their escape.

Seeing how easily the Steam Council members fell, Xiang Jianxing's tension eased—he was about to unleash his full power—when Leng Shan seized his wrist and shouted urgently:

"Run!"

Xiang Jianxing didn't understand what had happened, but he trusted Leng Shan and turned to flee with him.

As they burst out of the underground chamber, Xiang Jianxing caught a glimpse of thick steam surging from the machine at the room's center.

The dense steam rules dispersed Leng Shan's cold-origin power, restoring the Steam Council members' mobility.

Some steam spilled out of the chamber; these jets acted like erasers targeting energy, brushing past Xiang Jianxing just three meters behind him and wiping away the sword qi infused with origin power.

Xiang Jianxing broke into a cold sweat.

If he had lingered, if he'd fought even a moment longer, and been engulfed by that steam, he'd never have escaped.

Xiang Jianxing steadied his mind, guided his flying sword to slash through several hidden doors, and fled with Leng Shan out of the underground, returning to the factory.

"What do we do now?"

Leng Shan said: "Go to the Secret Anquan Force—find He Ping and Xiao En."

"Xavier just mentioned their goal is to seize Steyr and enter Steyr Palace. With our strength, we can't stop them—we must get this information back as soon as possible so He Ping and the others can prepare."

The steam rules on the surface were weaker than in the Steam Council's base, but after the Hall Corporation incident, any ability not aligned with steam rules—even A-rank skills—could not be used.

Only abilities infused with true origin power could resist the omnipresent steam rules.

But now that it had come to this, the two ignored energy conservation—one stepped onto the flying sword, the other summoned a storm of wind and snow—and raced toward Bai She Street No. 6.

Only when they were long gone, their silhouettes vanished, did Xavier slowly emerge from the underground base.

"Fast movements—but better fast. Gathering all those damned transcendent beings in one place makes it easier to clean them all up at once."

Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

A steam carriage rolled out from underground; the driver, still clad in a black robe, sat at the helm.

Xavier pulled a handful of ice crystals from his pocket and shoved them into the black-robed man's hand.

"Follow their trail. Find them. Kill those two last—kill the transcendent beings around them first."

Hss~

The Steam Council member said nothing—only drove the steam carriage, chasing in the direction Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing had fled.

Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing pushed their speed to the limit, resting almost none, racing straight to Bai She Street.

Leng Shan's origin power was unsuited for travel; his acceleration relied purely on burning energy, with zero technique.

Along the way, even as a ranked player, he was beginning to falter.

In contrast, Xiang Jianxing's sword-riding technique was inherently a fast-mobility method; his energy expenditure was low, and his condition was better than Leng Shan's.

Due to the presence of Steam Council spies behind them, they had never personally visited the Secret Anquan Force headquarters—but they knew it was located at Bai She Street No. 6, right next to the Police Bureau, unmistakable.

Though the steam rules were troublesome, once they reached He Ping and the mysterious Xiao En behind him, everything would be fine.

The two stood before Bai She Street No. 6; seeing no Steam Council pursuers, they relaxed and pushed open the door.

The door opened easily—but inside was pitch black, with no sign of movement.

Before they could determine what had happened, a man stepped from the shadows, gun raised: "Who are you?"

Xiang Jianxing and Leng Shan recognized him—the man with the gun was Connor, founder of the Ming Deng Newspaper; they had completed the Steam Council's test mission by surveilling the Ming Deng office.

Leng Shan said: "Calm down. We're companions of Mr. He Ping. We have critical intelligence to deliver—please inform him."

Connor remained wary. "Wait outside. Mr. He Ping is on a mission—he's not at headquarters."

Leng Shan's heart skipped a beat, and he asked further: "What about the others? The Negotiation Master, the Clay Doll— if all else fails, even the Divine Tongue will do."

Hearing Leng Shan casually name multiple Secret Law Knights' codenames, Connor's guard lowered, and he said:

"They've all gone out. Only I'm left here. You can come in and wait patiently."

Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing's faces froze. They turned to leave. "The intelligence is urgent. Where did they go? We'll find them."

Seeing their urgency wasn't feigned, Connor said:

"They should be in the Chik Estate district of the West Zone. When you get there, you'll likely run into them."

"Thank you!"

The two hurriedly left No. 6 Bai She Street. No sooner had they returned to the street than their brows furrowed.

They saw thick, heavy mist rapidly spreading from the direction they'd come, moving toward Bai She Street.

The Steam Council's speed was faster than they'd expected.

If the Steam Council's target was Bai She Street's key facilities and Stilran Palace, heading to the West Zone now was already too late.

They had to use the conditions at hand to halt the Steam Council first.

Leng Shan swept his gaze around and immediately locked onto the neighboring Police Hall.

The approaching Steam Rules had alarmed the Abyss Game players inside the Police Hall. Several players ranked among the top hundred combatants grew wary and stepped outside to investigate.

To Leng Shan's surprise, the first to step out was Phantom.

Leng Shan feigned nothing had happened and walked toward Phantom with Xiang Jianxing, saying:

"This mist is suspicious. I sense danger within it." Leng Shan was the publicly recognized top figure of the Bureau; Phantom was the publicly recognized top figure of the Evolution Committee. Both attended major events of the four organizations—they knew each other.

Phantom glanced at Leng Shan and cut straight to the point: "Did you cause this?"

Leng Shan immediately denied it: "How can you falsely accuse me without cause?"

Phantom let out a "hah," and turned to reenter the Police Hall.

Leng Shan blocked Phantom's path and asked: "You've gathered so many players here—who's the big shot inside?"

Phantom's face remained expressionless: "No comment."

Leng Shan didn't press. He muttered as if to himself:

"I heard a piece of intelligence: a mysterious organization plans to strike at Grimlan's key figures. Their power is immense. Alone, neither I nor Xiang Jianxing stand a chance against them."

"If we don't unite, we'll be picked off one by one."

Phantom's steps halted. He growled: "Still denying you caused this?"

Leng Shan stuck to his denial: "I'm just sharing useful intel out of goodwill."

Phantom's eyes darted, and after a brief pause, he asked: "Why come to me? Why not go to Peace?"

Leng Shan spread his hands: "I went to him first next door. Found he'd taken everyone with him—came up empty."

"The people left behind in the Anquan Force said they'd return soon. We just need to hold out a little longer—they'll arrive as reinforcements."

Phantom took a deep breath, annoyed: "Fine. Since we have no other choice, do it your way."

While Leng Shan and Phantom spoke, the thick mist had already encircled the entire Bai She Street. It was too late to flee now.

At Phantom's call, within ten seconds, over a hundred transcenders had gathered at the Police Hall's entrance, thirty or forty of them players.

Leng Shan hadn't expected so many players here. He couldn't help asking: "Why have you gathered so many people?"

Phantom didn't want to answer. He brushed him off:

"We followed the Industrialists' Association and found traces of Quiet Church activity behind them. Acting Prime Minister Glade fears the Conservatives, in their power struggle, have already aligned with the Quiet Church. So he's assembled several factions for a joint investigation."

Though Wu Chang had already moved to eliminate Judge Gasco and Brooke, if anyone wanted them dead most, it was Acting Prime Minister Glade.

He'd received Phantom's findings that afternoon, learned of the Quiet Church's involvement, and by nightfall, had already set his trap.

He summoned all Free Party transcenders, joined by the Police Hall's secret police, the Alchemy Association, the Clock Tower Magic Association, and private transcender guards of nobles, to plan how to detain Gasco and the others.

Excluding Wu Chang's men, over half the players who appeared at the transcender gathering and the final battle for invitation tickets had assembled at the Police Hall.

Glade chose the Police Hall because it was near the Anquan Force—he hoped to conveniently summon Xiao En. But when he sent someone over, he found No. 6 Bai She Street already empty.

That's why Phantom hadn't bothered verifying Leng Shan's story.

Leng Shan, Xiang Jianxing, and Phantom stood as the three spearheads, at the very front of all transcenders.

With over a hundred transcenders behind them, Xiang Jianxing felt considerably more at ease. With so many players, even facing the final boss, they could overwhelm with sheer numbers.

The transcenders stood ready. Each player scattered across Bai She Street according to their combat habits.

Leng Shan scanned the scene—every visible critical node was occupied by a transcender.

This level of tight formation meant that even a single mosquito couldn't fly out once battle began.

No sooner had they formed their formation than a steam carriage emerged from the thick mist and stopped on the street before the Police Hall.

A man in a black robe stepped down from the driver's seat and slowly stood in the center of the road.

Surrounded by over a hundred transcenders, he showed no fear. His posture was utterly relaxed.

He slowly tore open his black robe. With a sound of fabric ripping, he revealed the body beneath.

Unlike other Steam Council members, he was not a fusion of flesh and metal. His entire body gleamed with metallic luster—as if he were a pure metallic lifeform.

His arms: his right arm was fused with a massive serrated longblade. The secret police who had long investigated the serial killer recognized the weapon they'd speculated about countless times—and immediately cried out:

"The Executioner!"

"The Executioner" was the Police Hall's official codename for the serial killer.

The Executioner's left arm was a monstrous, grotesque firearm. Its surface was covered in flesh—no skin, only exposed blood vessels, fascia, and muscle fibers, pulsing faintly like living tissue.

This was the only part of his body still organic.

His head retained the general outline of a human skull. But upon closer inspection, his rear cranium had been replaced by a small stamping device, engraved with intricate patterns.

As one of the attackers on the Royal Light Arms Factory, Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing were familiar with what was embedded in the Executioner's skull.

It was the core of the Anti-Magic Steam Stamping Machine.

Hiss—

The Executioner opened its mouth, and thick clouds of steam burst forth from within, so dense they resembled a layer of clouds.

As the mist spread, the Awakened along the entire street discovered that not only their energy-type skills, but even their passive abilities that didn't require energy to activate, and their class-change passives, were now suppressed by the Steam Rule and rendered unusable.

At this moment, the concentration of the Steam Rule on Bai She Avenue had already reached the level of the great stench source, the Gnarl Chemical Plant.

This change exceeded the Awakened's expectations; many Awakened hidden in hard-to-reach spots tumbled straight out of their hiding places when their passives failed.

The Executioner's actions didn't end there. While the Awakened were adapting to the surging Steam Rule, he pulled open the carriage and took out a large quantity of coal essence, stuffing it into his mouth to chew.

Swallowing the coal essence caused scorching red glowing patterns to light up across his mechanical body; his body radiated such high temperatures that the surrounding air warped.

After the coal essence, he took out a piece of metal imbued with supernatural power; the instant the metal entered his mouth, it melted into liquid.

Immediately after, the scorching red patterns on his body's surface went out, his body temperature rapidly dropping to a certain level, and then he swallowed a fistful of steam explosives.

Coal essence, steam explosives, supernatural metal, combined with the Anti-Magic Steam Punch Press core inlaid atop his head—the four worked together, brewing a terrifying power within his body.

Facing that terrifying power, even Hearing Leng Shan and Phantom couldn't stop cold sweat from seeping from their foreheads.

The next moment, the Executioner raised the massive firearm in his left arm, the muzzle pointing skyward.

Bang!

Amid a tremendous explosion, the muzzle erupted with dazzling light, and the bullet shot straight into the sky.

"Find cover!" Hearing Leng Shan was the second to react, shouting at the other Awakened to seek cover while he and Sword Star dashed toward a nearby building.

The reason Hearing Leng Shan was second was that by the time he opened his mouth to shout, Phantom had already run back to the Police Hall.

Hearing Leng Shan had just ducked into cover with Sword Star and propped up a defensive skill with Root Power when he saw metal bullets raining down from the sky like drops of water.

Clang-clang-clang—

The entire Bai She Avenue was instantly immersed in the sound of metal striking metal, of buildings and the ground blasting stone fragments into the air.

If one set aside the unceasing screams in the background, this dense drumming sounded like a torrential downpour, or a hailstorm.

The only difference was that this rain of bullets brought nothing but death.

Every bullet falling from the sky carried the unique imprint of an Anti-Magic Bullet; the supernatural metal used in the bullets amplified their penetration, and the moment a bullet entered an Awakened's body, the steam explosives hidden inside would immediately detonate, blasting a massive hole in the Awakened.

Hearing Leng Shan had given warning at the first instant, yet of the hundred-plus Awakened on Bai She Avenue, half still died in this rain of bullets.

Among them, the number of dead players also exceeded ten. Of the players struck by the special bullets, only a handful of lucky ones were fast enough to escape the instance in time; most had no chance to put up any resistance and dropped dead on the spot.

One must understand that these players lying on the cold street, their bodies blasted with multiple holes, dying easy and natural deaths, were all ranked within the top 300 of the Wasteland Realm combat power leaderboard.

Any one of them, taken out alone, would be a renowned figure in the Wasteland Realm.

Yet at this moment, they were like stray dogs by the roadside, casually executed by the Executioner.

This is an S-rank instance—an S-rank instance whose official recommended minimum exploration level is 30.

A minimum recommended level of 30 does not mean max-level players can enter and explore; rather, the Wasteland Realm's level cap is only 30.

If one says that other near-loss-of-control instances are zero-tolerance—any mistake and you die—

Then for players, an S-rank instance means that even without making mistakes, bad luck alone can kill you.

(End of this chapter)