Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Sounds like a very outstanding person."

"Yes, Ms. Rose is the most perfect person I have ever met. Her charming appearance, powerful strength, and radiant smile make me feel honored to have such a boss."

Is she good to you?

"Ms. Rose is very kind to all the employees. She would even offend customers to help us when we suffer injustices. I heard that there are quite a few people in the City of Wandering who both love and hate her. She is the jewel of the Light and Shadow Zone."

"It looks like the bar will be quite lively."

"Yes, Blood Rose is definitely one of the top bars in Wandering City. There was a time when dark gangs fought each other over protection money for the bar. Everyone knows that it's a huge source of income."

"So, which gang ultimately won?"

“This is one of the results of Ms. Rose’s power. There was no winner in that competition because she had everything in the bar firmly in her own hands,” Candyfield’s eyes swept over the two of them, “and publicly claimed that she was using Andre’s power.”

"But I think there are other reasons why those villains don't have the courage to mess with the boss. Ms. Beatrice is one of the three banshee sisters."

"The three female demon sisters? What are those?"

"A nickname, the origin of which is uncertain, used to describe the family members of Ms. Beatrice, her sisters, who miraculously overlap with some figures from ancient myths and legends, and thus became a widely circulated name."

Candy quietly raised his head, his emerald-like vertical eyes sparkling with intelligence, like a child sharing his secret. He tried his best to express that sense of mystery, but his soft voice only revealed his cuteness.

"Lady Beatrice is known as Pandora."

Chapter Seventy-Five: The Light and Shadow Zone

There are no portals in the Light and Shadow Zone. The three of them must first teleport to the nearest Dark Zone 10 and then walk to the other side. This is supposedly to provide a buffer zone to prevent large-scale riots between the chaotic and lawful factions.

The difference between chaos and order lies in whether one cares about the impact on their surroundings. Whether the outcome is good or bad, the orderly side considers the consequences for themselves before deciding on their actions. The chaotic side, on the other hand, acts impulsively.

Dark Zone 10 is a crystallized region. Inside a giant crystal, the occasional sunlight shining on this strange crystal leaves rainbow-colored auroras in the sky.

The Dark Tenth District is not a residential area; it's a massive junkyard. Failed modified monsters, paralyzed magical dolls, and indescribable substances—you can hardly understand their existence from their appearance alone, but no one wants to touch them. Your attempt might cause an explosion, but it's highly likely to be a waste of time. Those who abandoned these things aren't fools; most of what they leave here are worthless, difficult to dispose of, and take up considerable space.

This landfill has its cleaners: a swarm of wheel-sized worms with stone-like shells that devour anything in their path. Their excrement is a gelatinous, transparent sludge that they leave in corners to crystallize as it cools.

Yes, those magnificent crystal clusters are their masterpiece.

The person who brought these insects to the City of Wanderers was an absolute genius. He used invisible pheromones to demarcate territory for the insects, turning what was worthless into part of a spectacle.

Although as the crystal blocks spread, insects would occasionally run out of the boundaries, causing a series of tragic accidents, the Secret Council had to persuade and lure some fearless insect enthusiasts to help manage the area.

At least this moment is good.

Lyle and his companions strolled through the iridescent crystal corridor, and the extraordinary beauty and novel experience moved him deeply.

"At the end is the area of ​​light and shadow."

There, the sky and the ground were divided into two parts. Various glowing light pillars in the air mixed with dazzling and nauseating light, like the scene of a night market in the 21st century. However, the lack of a reasonable distribution of light and shadow made this prosperity feel eerie, like a bizarre party in a haunted house.

The people on the street all hid in black robes, concealing themselves from others while resisting the man-made disasters from heaven.

Despite the clean storefronts, masked vendors still line the streets, engaging in shady transactions in their own little corner of the street.

"The black market consists of 50% counterfeit goods, 40% illegal items, 8% unsuspecting consumers, and 2% highly sought-after items, plus 100% doubled prices."

"Here, one person can become rich by making ten people go bankrupt."

"Nobody cares?"

"The management is quite lax. This is a place where all races live, which makes many rules inapplicable. Local laws are no better than no laws at all. Might makes right."

The light pollution overhead made entering the store quite easy. Lyle even suspected that the haphazardly arranged lights were a marketing tactic used by businesses to extract money from customers' pockets, making them take that precious step.

After passing through the black market, we arrived at a relatively clean area, where the chaos had lessened considerably. The Light and Shadow Zone was like a forest, divided and occupied by powerful "beasts" who each ruled their own territory. The boundary zone outside was just as chaotic as the black market.

Lyle gradually saw other races: dwarves with thick beards, wearing armor, and wielding axes as tall as him.

In the distance, there was an elf leaning against the corner of the wall. His limited leather armor only covered the necessary parts, and his long, slender, fair legs were exposed to greedy eyes.

A few minutes later, a skinny human who had tried to grope Lyle was surrounded by several muscular men, beaten up, and had his money taken from his pocket. He then put on a honey trap for Lyle.

Before leaving, the long-haired elf winked at Lyle, and the hunter, disguised as prey, changed hunting grounds.

Looking at William, who was frozen in place, she asked, "What did you just say? A cross-species romance?"

"Who says she must have noticed me? Maybe Candy's beauty attracted her."

"Elves are all very perceptive and amazed, and they hold grudges for as long as they live, usually in units of a hundred years."

"I really envy you, Mr. Surprise~ Someone will remember you for generations to come so soon."

"..."

The Bloody Rose storefront is very eye-catching.

The shadow of darkness descended to the ground, turning the sky above the large bar into night. Deep purple lights were arranged in the shape of roses and wine glasses. Upon closer inspection, those lights were fluorescent liquid flowing in transparent pipes.

Beautiful and alluring hostesses stood on either side of the open door, representing a variety of races: succubi, humans, elves, dwarves, minotaurs, gnomes, and a moving skeleton.

Dressed in alluring clothes, with the most captivating smiles and the gentlest voices, they guided weary travelers.

As Lyle and the others approached, the skeleton actually walked over.

Candy bowed to her and said, "Hello, Miss Mengli."

The skull's jaw opened and closed, its voice as beautiful as heavenly music, "Little Candy, is this your guest?"

Candy nodded shyly.

I simply cannot understand why he was acting this way.

"Two more interracial fetishists. Keep it up, Candy." The skeleton walked away on its own again.

As the skeleton disappeared into the distance, Lyle spoke.

"Are there still people who like this kind of thing?"

“Miss Mengli is a lich. Although, well… her performance is quite poor, she is a kind lady. She is just here to experience life. Occasionally, a gentleman will come over and chat with her for a few minutes. There are very few liches who pursue pleasure, but it’s not absolute.”

"I once saw a lich drinking, watching the liquor flow down his spine to the ground, and the waiter accompanying him had to praise his enormous capacity for alcohol."

“I thought that would be the most difficult guest to take care of.” Candy turned her head back and smiled at Lyle’s bird-beak mask.

"Don't assume that's what it is."

"But there are also some good people who are understanding and will lend a helping hand to the weak. It is my honor to host them."

“Strange idea, Candy,” Lyle thought. Aren’t liches all monsters that toy with corpses and souls with hatred? “I don’t know of any lich that has any kindness or sense of justice.”

Candy smiled.

"The doctor is a truly low-key and humorous person."

Chapter Seventy-Six: Anna, the Best Marketer

Entering the interior of Blood Rose, one is greeted by a large ballroom, where people sway gracefully on the carved marble floor. Because the culture is still in its infancy, entertainment and art are like toddlers crawling on tenterhooks, lacking the passionate music that can stir the blood.

But the music that filled the venue reached another extreme: ethereal percussion, like the sound of rain hitting stones, sometimes a light drizzle, sometimes a downpour. In this performance, there were melodious roars, without tunes or lyrics, the purest primal howls. You could feel the antiquity and barbarity within them, the origin of language.

The instrumentalists and singers were on a stage to the side, four large stick insects, each four meters long. Their bodies were like bamboo poles, and their long limbs slapped against their torsos, producing a specific rhythm and sound. Although the music was simple and monotonous, the pure joy was just enough to ignite the passion in people's hearts, allowing them to swing their limbs freely.

Then, during the break, we had a drink at the nearby bar.

"The Stick Insect Band, professional performers of Bloody Rose."

"Candy!" A voice, clearly tinged with anger, rang out behind the three of them. Although the voice was clear and melodious, the resentful tone distorted any sense of beauty.

Approaching was an exquisite succubus.

She had sheep-like curved horns, and her beige curly hair framed a face that resembled a candy candy. Her deep purple dress accentuated her alluring curves, and the chest area was covered by a black sheer fabric.

The dress split at the sides, revealing her fair thighs. A black demon tail, like a collar, was wrapped around her left leg, while black bat wings were folded back. On her right shoulder was a rose tattoo, with the Roman numeral I, representing the number one, at the center of the flower.

She was a head taller than Candy, and her captivating eyes were fixed on Candy.

"elder sister."

"You're twenty minutes late for our appointment. You're such a bad kid."

"I'm sorry, sister."

Where is my ID card?

"Here it is." Candy carefully handed her the nameplate from her palm.

Has the deposit been paid?

"It has already been handed over to Mr. Drum of Sin City."

Did he leave any messages?

"Yes, I hope to have the opportunity to have dinner with my sister at the upscale Soler restaurant."

"A greedy man."

Anna tucked the small black plaque into the curls of her hair behind her neck, then tossed her fluffy hair, and the plaque seemed to disappear into another dimension.

"Candy, you should go change into your work clothes."

“Okay, sister, but these two…”

"Ah, a new guest, first time meeting you." As if the image of William and Lyle had finally entered her vision, Anna expressed her joy in an exaggerated tone, naturally grabbing William's arm with both hands. With a tremor in William, his arm sank into Anna's softness.

"I will take good care of the guests, gentlemen. Please come this way."

William seemed to have lost his bones, or perhaps he had gone into a drunken stupor, completely disoriented and letting Anna become his captain.

Lyle and Candy nodded goodbye and followed William. Although we may not share the good times, please allow me to watch you suffer in times of trouble.

William was led to the bar, where a bartender appeared at the opportune moment.

As Anna's gaze shifted, her tenderness and allure transformed into a dreamy adoration. Her body pressed tightly against William's, like conjoined twins, her lips, seemingly coated with beeswax, brushing against his ear.

William dropped his pretense and was knocked out by the eleventh mixed drink.

Anna tossed the lifeless William to the corner of the counter, making sure he wouldn't obstruct traffic, and went to Lyle's side.

With a snap of his fingers, a glass of orange-red liquor was placed in front of the two of them.