Transform into a human

Kerr: "Squeak?"

Downton immediately panicked, his hands moving faster than his mind, and his fist, already carrying a bloody aura, rushed towards his face.

The one-eyed bartender simply raised his hand and flicked his finger.

"laugh--"

A barely perceptible gust of air swept by, and Downton's vision suddenly spun and turned upside down, finally catching a glimpse of a headless body spinning aimlessly in place.

It's a bit puzzling.

Yue Lai watched with interest as Downton's head and body separated, casually picked up a crystal glass the bartender had just wiped and played with it, then laughed:

"So that's what 'running away in panic' means."

The bartender ignored Yue Lai's words and picked up a new glass to wipe it clean.

"Bastard Fortress is not a place to welcome newcomers."

Xia Du said in a deep voice, "The old hunchback introduced us here."

"Old hunchback... So you're from the police station."

"He's practically a informant for the entire police force; why should he recommend others?"

The moment the words "Police Hub" were uttered, the bar fell silent. The two engineers stopped arguing, and the old-fashioned steam armor emitted a low "humming" sound.

The other laughing patrons seemed to be put on pause, and a sense of danger instantly filled the space.

Xia Du realized he had misspoke. He had originally intended to use the old hunchback's name to gain some advantages, but he hadn't expected it to backfire.

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, Yue Lai suddenly said:

"Does the Seventh Prince's influence carry any weight with you?"

"The Seven Kings? You?"

The "Seven Kings" refers to seven pirate kings, each possessing at least one habitable planet and several resource planets, and could even be described as "warlords".

Just then, a hymn of recitation suddenly rang out:

"Having cast aside fame and fortune, I am now free and at ease, living like a cloud or a stream."

"A small shop can accommodate two or three guests; when a jar of wine is opened, spring arrives over ten thousand mountains."

An elderly man with a long beard emerged from behind the shop:

"They dare to use the Seven Kings' name as a pretext, whether it's true or not, it's enough to make me come out and meet them."

Xia Du looked curiously to one side. The old man reciting poetry was completely different from the ancient people of the empire she had imagined. The beard was indeed long, but it was made up of hundreds of mechanical tentacles that danced and trembled like octopus limbs. Above the mechanical eyes were eyebrows made of some kind of alloy. At first glance, his entire body had almost no structure of a carbon-based life form.

It's clear he's trying hard to imitate the phrase "仙风道骨" (xiān fēng dào gǔ), but is this... a mechanical style?

Yue Lai laughed:

"Isn't it a bit insulting to use your appearance to commit fraud?"

"Our small shop can only accommodate two or three customers... Your 'two or three' is probably not a unit of weight."

"I've long heard that there's a tavern in the Dark Cloud District that's known for its 'runaway tavern' where the owner hates living people. It's called 'Three ounces and you're out,' meaning that if a customer has more than three ounces of carbon-based tissue, they can forget about leaving alive."

Xia Du was startled. The Holy See was already considered an organization operating in the gray area, but compared to the chaos here, it was far too orderly!

The old man flew into a rage upon hearing this:

"I knew it! I knew it! You vile creatures will never appreciate true beauty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's jaw opened at an inhuman angle, and the ever-growing mechanical structure made his mouth open wider and wider until it could fit a whole person inside!

Then his beard began to grow wildly, with electric currents pulsating on it, surging towards Yue Lai with menacing barbs.

This is to paralyze the prey and then "eat it all in one go"!

Faced with the overwhelming mechanical tentacles, Yue Lai closed his eyes and carefully felt the pulse of the wind. Each tentacle would create a gust of air, and all he needed to do was empty his body and drift with the current.

They know the ropes and act quickly.

Hundreds of tentacles missed their mark, and Yue Lai drifted aimlessly in the air like an extremely thin sheet of paper, unable to be hit by the most powerful attacks.

As Yue Lai and the shop owner fought, the bartender raised his finger, intending to turn Xia Du into a giant rat as well. However, the wine glass on the bar seemed to come alive, suddenly transforming into a crystal dagger that pierced the bartender's heart.

Even though the stab was aimed at the one-eyed bartender, the old man let out a scream.

It's just flirting! After obtaining the power of the sea monster, this supernatural power can not only "enlighten" life, but also temporarily change the form of everything. After entering the tavern, Yue Lai touched everything he could!

"Can we talk now, Bao Tou and Shu Chuan?"

……

……

The customers were asked to leave the tavern. Shu Chuan carefully repaired his heart. Bao Tou closed the tavern's airtight door and said coldly to Yue Lai:

"Since you know our names, you're clearly not a novice. Why pretend to be young and trick us into making advances?"

"A young girl mentioned you when she was telling me about her travels years ago. I never thought I would actually meet you today."

Downton touched his neck with lingering fear: "Bao Tou and Shu Chuan... why do I feel like these two names sound familiar?"

Shu Chuan glanced at him: "You little rascal from the Tang family, you do look a bit like Tang Qian."

Downton never expected to hear the name of the guy called "Brother" here.

"What did you say?!" He stood up abruptly.

Yue Lai narrowed his eyes; he seemed to have heard something interesting.

He had already figured out Downton and Kerr's identities on the way here. Downton's older brother, Tang Qian, was the secretary of the person in charge of Taiyang Group in the Western Continent. Their father was also a senior executive of Taiyang Group. As a result, this pirate in front of him seemed to be very familiar with the Tang family.

Indeed, in this deadly game of black and white, nothing is wasted; all coincidences lead to the final outcome.

Pirates, the mastermind behind the scenes, and the Taiyang Group—there is definitely a hidden connection between these three. Once the end of this connection is found, the final stage of this deadly game will begin!

"It's heartbreaking," said Bao Tou, wriggling his thick beard. "Our closest partner is so reluctant to tell his own brother about our partnership."

Downton said coldly, "I have nothing to do with him. Just because someone has the title of 'elder brother' doesn't mean they'll be respected."

"Hahahaha," Bao Tou let out a nasty laugh, "then you two really need to learn from us brothers!"

Yue Lai suddenly spoke up: "Are you doing dirty work for Taiyang Group?"

The millet gracefully closed its heart.

"We don't have that kind of ability, but Tang Qian does post some missions through the tavern."

Downton felt that the family he remembered was somewhat unreal. Wasn't his brother the one who would always live in the sunlight and inherit the Downton family business? How could he be involved with dirty pirates?

Yes, it was dirty. Downton, who admired pirates and called himself "Captain," described pirates most literally as "dirty."

Yue Lai had no time to concern himself with the chess pieces' feelings; he felt he was getting closer and closer to the truth.

He gestured for Xia Du to take out the Qilin Staff.

Do you know him?

The result was once again beyond Yue Lai's expectations; Bao Tou and Shu Chuan both shook their heads simultaneously.

"Is this a keepsake?"

"Should we get to know each other?"

"That's not right."

Yue Lai frowned. Wasn't it said that Sheva had been in contact with the pirates of Sector 56? As the largest intelligence hub in Bastard Fortress, the Tavern should have some recollection of them, right?

Just as he was about to press Tang Qian about what they had done, an unprecedented sense of crisis surged into his heart. In the nick of time, he used all his strength to tackle Xia Du to the ground in the shortest possible time.

In the next instant, a dazzling beam of light turned most of the tavern into nothingness.

In the distance, a massive fleet slowly came into view.

"The Taoyuan combat group has arrived at its designated position."

"Begin the extermination!"