This villain is too popular.

Chapter 104 Even if you are a visitor from 'Heaven', you still have to abide by the rules of 'Hell'.
Wow, has the plot of Stellaris Season 2 changed that much? The production team is really daring!

"A living hell of rusted steel and steam, I could feel the despair even through the screen."

'The first season, *Ember*, was about destruction and rebirth; will the second season, *Glimmer*, be about despair and hope?'

"You know what, the word 'faint light' does actually have a hint of redemption in it."

Although it was just a simple bar opening.

Moreover, the two named characters who appeared were both unfamiliar characters who had never appeared before.

But the audience in the anime/manga world is still drawn in by the atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic wasteland setting.

This offers a glimpse into the "Steam City - Lower Town".

This place is known as 'hell'.

It's truly enough to make one despair.

[Rusty Nail Bar, corner of the lobby]

"Hey, Bertrand, what are you dawdling for? You don't actually need our 'help,' do you?"

Seeing the fierce looks in his companions' eyes.

Bertrand gritted his teeth and, with trembling fingers, grabbed the five bullets from the table.

And then put it all into the beer.

thump--

The moment the bullet fell into the 'coal ash black beer'.

The bubbles dancing in the glass, and the black foam that keeps rising.

It inexplicably reminded Bertrand of boiling lava in hell.

Die or die!

Without any hesitation.

He grabbed the glass and drank it all in one gulp, swallowing the five bullets along with it.

"belch--"

Bertrand let out a burp, and thick black smoke billowed from his mouth.

It was as if what he drank wasn't beer at all.

Rather, it was the air in the lower city of the steam city that filled countless people with 'despair'.

This is a scene unique to 'hell'.

Am I... still alive?

Bertrand touched his stomach.

After confirming that the five bullets he had swallowed had not caused any accidents.

His face immediately lit up with joy.

But what he didn't notice was.

Just as he was celebrating his survival.

The gang members next to him exchanged glances and then revealed eerie smiles.

That smile is clearly the cruel smile a hunter shows when looking at prey that has fallen into a trap.

"Wow, Bertrand, you're really lucky."

"You actually managed to pass through the five gates of hell."

"Now, it's your turn to spin the 'Roulette of Death'."

"Hurry up, don't keep us waiting like a coward."

Bertrand was convinced that he was being blessed by Lady Luck.

He immediately picked up the revolver that was on the table.

He held the gun to his temple.

However, before he could pull the trigger of the revolver...

A clean, white hand gripped the barrel of the revolver.

"Stop it. They never intended for you to leave this table alive in the first place."

Bertrand turned around in surprise.

What came into view was a mysterious girl dressed in a silver uniform.

Although he didn't know who Vivian was.

But he could recognize Vivian's clothes and the badge she wore on her chest.

"The Silver Knight of the Upper City?"

Hearing Bertrand's words.

It wasn't just the few gang members around him.

Even the other guests nearby quieted down and all looked in the direction where Vivian was.

The situation here naturally caught the attention of the owner of the Rusty Iron Bar.

Old Jack stopped wiping his glasses and looked with his only eye toward the corner of the tavern where Vivian was.

"Kong, come out for a moment."

"coming!"

Amidst the excited gazes of the audience, Chen Kong, who had been changing wine barrels, wiped his hands and walked out from backstage at the bar.

I could feel the strange atmosphere in the bar.

Chen Kong first glanced curiously in the direction where Vivian was.

He then asked Old Jack, "What's wrong, boss?"

"Go, help that bald eagle from the upper district, don't let her ruin our business."

"After all, even if she's a visitor from 'heaven,' she still has to abide by the rules of 'hell.'"

"Otherwise, her 'wings' that allow her to soar through the sky will be broken here."

"Oh, I see."

Chen Kong untied his foam-covered apron and hung it on the nearby counter. He then left the bar and headed towards where Vivian was.

Meanwhile, Vivian, whose identity has been exposed, has already run into trouble.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's one thing for a Silver Knight from the Upper City to show up here, but how dare you slander our innocence out of thin air?"

"Besides, we were just playing a fun little game with Bertrand. Why are you, this bald eagle, so controlling? Do you even have to interfere with this?"

Several gang members immediately stood up, glaring fiercely at Vivian.

They looked ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

Meanwhile, the other patrons at the Rusty Nail Bar did not stop them.

Instead, they all showed expressions of anticipation, as if watching a good show.

It's obvious they just want to stir up trouble.

Although I had already sensed that something was amiss.

But he is a Silver Knight of the 'Gear Church'.

Vivian didn't take these 'lowly' downtown rats seriously.

He said expressionlessly, "I have no interest in what you're trying to do. All I know is that this Bertrand is the person I'm looking for. A living person."

Having said that, Vivian didn't care what the gang members thought.

He grabbed Bertrand by the collar and was about to take him outside the bar.

Despite Vivian's slender figure.

But she had a lot of strength in her hands.

Even Bertrand, who had undergone AI modifications, was unable to resist at this moment and was forced to get up.

But those gang members wouldn't let Vivian take Bertrand away so easily.

"Damn it, a mere bald eagle is already pointing fingers at us sewer rats."

"You little bitch, do you even know where you are? This is the murky Rusty District, not the clear skies of your Upper City. Put away your damn arrogance!"

After the angry outburst.

The gang member promptly pulled out a shotgun from his pocket and aimed it at Vivian.

Upon seeing this, other gang members nearby also drew their weapons.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Borrowed, borrowed."

Just as Vivian and the gang members were about to start fighting.

Chen Kong suddenly stepped out from the crowd.

They arrived among Vivian and several gang members.

His gaze swept over the two opposing sides.

She then paused for a moment at the pink children's watch she was wearing on her left wrist.

He silently turned his head and looked at the group of gang members holding weapons.

“Kevins, Hill, and Filippo dared to take out weapons in Rusty Nail Tavern. Don’t think that just because you’re members of the ‘Grey Rat Gang,’ the boss can’t do anything to you.”

"Don't forget, your boss, Ricardo the Gray Rat, was someone our boss watched grow up."

Upon hearing Chen Kong's words, the expressions of the gang members he had named all turned rather ugly.

But considering the task assigned to them by that mysterious person, and the incredibly generous reward,

These guys gritted their teeth and said, "We were just playing a normal game. This bald eagle slandered us without any evidence and even tried to take Bertrand away in front of us."

"Kong, even if you report this to our boss, we'll still be in the right."

"After all, what we're doing now doesn't involve any bad rules."

"Tch, they really won't shed a tear until they see the coffin."

Seeing that these guys were still trying to argue, Chen Kong decided not to give them any face.

He snatched the revolver from Bertrand's hand, opened it in front of everyone, and unloaded the bullets one by one.

One, two, three.
I watched as a full six bullets appeared on the table.

Bertrand was dumbfounded.

If it hadn't been Vivian, he would have been dead the moment he pulled the trigger!

This isn't a 'game,' it's clearly an attempt to kill him!

"How about I teach you the rules of the Rust Iron District, what exactly they are?"

He stared at the revolver in Chen Kong's hand, its magazine now open.

And the dangerous looks in the eyes of the onlookers around them.

Several members of the Gray Rat Gang exchanged glances and said menacingly, "You just wait."

After saying that, the group left Rusty Nail Bar.

"You broke the rules yourself and then don't let others say it? You Gray Rat Gang are really going to be arrogant."

Chen Kong remained unconcerned by the harsh words uttered by the Gray Rat Gang members.

After all, he'd encountered at least eight hundred or a thousand similar situations in the steam city over the past few years.

If saying something like that would solve the problem.

Then he is not the Son of the Stars.

Instead, it was an unnamed corpse in some stinking ditch in the rusty hell of the steam city.

I want to live well in hell.

You can't do it without some skill.

However, after dealing with these few members of the Gray Rat Gang...

Chen Kong then began dealing with Vivian and Bertrand in her possession.

"Come on, it's not convenient to talk here, come with me."

Vivian thought for a moment, then finally picked up Bertrand and followed.
(End of this chapter)