Chapter 200: Lost Salary

Lionel strolled forward with an unbothered expression that completely betrayed the gravity of the situation. His hands were tucked casually into his trousers pockets while simultaneously holding a stone inside that he had grabbed from the ground a moment ago. His half-unbuttoned shirt outlined his silhouette in glowing lines of the lantern. To an outsider, he seemed like a wealthy aristocrat who had simply lost his way while searching for rare wine.

Behind the soot-stained pillar, Mo Fei kept his back pressed against the stone. His fingers gripped the handle of his revolver, his thumb resting lightly on the hammer. Through the slit of the porcelain mask, he tracked Lionel’s reflection in a puddle of stagnant water on the floor.

"Halt." One of the guards commanded, his ceremonial robe fluttered when he took a step forward, and raised a repeating rifle with a brass barrel. "This sector is consecrated under the Sovereign of the Deep. State your business or leave your flesh."

Lionel tilted his masked head, a muffled chuckle escaping the porcelain. They had already proven everything by that tone and words, and for someone like Lionel, that was no more an investigation. "Oh, the Sovereign? Quite a grand name for a place that you stink of. I am merely a surveyor checking on the plumbing. You see, your ’consecration’ is leaking quite a foul odor into the upper districts. I was only here to check: is everything correct?"

One of the guards stared at the mask, although it looked like any other mask, there was a bit of an odd thing about it. "We will check it, so please return now."

"Ah, I must say that, but it’s me who needs to check it. Well, I can’t slack off as a worker, right?" Lionel spoke confidently, finally he raised his three fingers and waved his hand. "There should be three leaks of foul odours."

Mo Fei paused for a moment behind the wall. Believing that he was attempting to lie to those guards, or did he call him? He waited for another signal because it seemed too early.

The man in front looked at the gesture, his expression instantly shifted in realization. "He is not a worker! Fire! He is calling his group!"

After hearing that, the guards didn’t waste time on words. In the underground world of Atlanta, hesitation meant death. The middle guard instantly leveled his rifle, his finger tightening on the trigger, but before he could pull it, Lionel already moved.

Before the guard could compress the metal, Lionel’s right hand whipped out of his pocket. He made a pulling motion as suddenly the stone in his hand was replaced by a heavy wooden box, and he slammed it directly into the man’s head, making him fall on the ground as the rifle in his hand hit the ground.

Clack!

The second guard blinked confused, but before he could rack the bolt to pull the trigger, Lionel closed the distance. With a fluid, dance-like spin, Lionel drove the heel of his boot straight into the man’s chest. The impact echoed like a cracking wooden plank, sending the robed figure crashing into the door.

The remaining two guards drew curved, silver-bladed daggers that shimmered with a toxic green aura — characteristic of a weapon made of venomous mythical animals, coated in spiritual venom. They lunged simultaneously from left and right, their movements unnaturally fast, leaving faint visual afterimages in the dim green light.

Lionel dodged backward, his coat billowing. He raised his right hand high into the air, his fingers splaying open before sharply curling down. "How long are you going to wait now? It’s the second attempt." Three fingers stiffened.

WHACK!

The very next moment when the guard’s dagger was close to reach Lionel’s right gut, Mo Fei landed a heavy kick that sent the man crashing into the ground toward a pile of boxes before he pointed his revolver, and —

BANG!!

"A small miscalculation." Mo Fei spoke and opened his Apprentice’s Eyes; his spiritual perception, even while healing, allowed him to see the faint, invisible spirit connecting the guards.

Bang! Bang!

Two silver-coated bullets erupted from Mo Fei’s revolver. The thunderous reports echoed violently within the enclosed cavern, temporarily drowning out the distant murmurs of the market.

The bullets pierced directly through the remaining guard’s both legs, making him lose balance.

The remaining robed men staggered, the one who had been slammed by Lionel, their coordination completely breaking as they tripped over their own shadows.

One was already shot in the head and died; the other couldn’t move anymore from the bullet in the legs, leaving the two guards staring at them. Both of them groaned and stood up before pulling a rope near the entrance of the door.

A flag opened up, a sign to other members.

Just when the gunshot pierced through the silence, it caught the attention of people walking by, and suddenly a few gunshots erupted from the crowd before four people — including the two previous guards — emerged to lunge at Lionel to finish him first.

Mo Fei sidestepped, avoiding the bullets that emerged from the crowd and hit the door behind him.

Lionel capitalized on the opening instantly. He grabbed the throat of the left guard, his palm releasing a spiritual crimson flame that instantly frosted over the man’s mask and skin, sending him into a state of vegetative shock. Next, he spun and jumped in the air, kicking the right man directly in the face, knocking him down.

At the same time, Mo Fei closed the distance, using the heavy iron butt of his revolver to strike the temple of the second guard, knocking him out cold before he could scream. Finally, he grabbed the wrist of the man who aimed his dagger toward Lionel’s throat and slammed him on the ground and shot him in the back.

The bodies lay crumpled against the reinforced threshold.

Mo Fei finally turned toward the crowd from where the shot came from; his spiritual perception tracked the men. Two men were there, holding the rifles. He pointed his revolver and shot the spirit threads, snapping them effortlessly as both of the men felt a sudden jolt that paralyzed them on the spot.

"Efficient." Lionel noted, breathing slightly harder as he adjusted his tilted cowboy hat, painted in faint violet. "Though your choice of warning shots is rather loud for a stealth mission."

"Well... They’re still neutralized nonetheless. That’s what matters." Mo Fei replied and reached down, inspecting the door. The metal burnt, too hot to even touch, as a strange vibration was running through its internal force. "The seals inside are fully broken. We don’t have time to pick the lock."

"Then let us use the direct approach." Lionel let out a half-hearted smirk. "By the weight of the stars, let the closed be opened!"

Suddenly, Mo Fei realized something. He looked around to find someone and finally murmured. "Mr. Lionel... uh... where is Old Bai?"

Lionel paused and looked at him. "What? He didn’t follow us; did you not tell him to come with us?"

"I thought you had done that and Old Bai was coming with us!"

Both of them stared at each other as a long silence stretched between them. They had believed that Old Bai was with them without realizing that he wasn’t even there. Now that Lionel thought of it, he finally realized what he was forgetting.

After a long pause, both of them slammed their hands on their faces and took a few steps back, turned their backs on each other, and looked at the sky as Lionel muttered. "Oh my god, how can we forget such an important thing? Why didn’t he follow us? Captain is going to cut off my salary, damn it, I need to buy a great perfume to attract girls."

Mo Fei groaned and recalled that Old Bai was buying food for them. "Not the salary, oh man, I can’t survive on bread... wait, what did you just say? That perfume is not important!"

"Ah, forget that... we need to find him."

Mo Fei slowly turned his head toward and sighed. "You have a way to find him... right?"

"Of course." He answered immediately.

"How?"

Lionel’s expression remained composed for two seconds, then he coughed once. "That’s an excellent question."

"Working with you is the worst decision I ever made." Mo Fei paced around, his hand messing his hair as he muttered. "Captain is going to kill us."

"I don’t think it’s more concerning than deducting our salaries if anything happened to Old Bai." Lionel coughed again and pulled the same crimson handkerchief and stretched it to its limit. "Let’s summon him."

Mo Fei stared at the cloth and recalled Yi Jyuhan, who also had the cosmic Authority. Knowing his fighting style, swapping places, and control over spatial things, then this artifact could potentially summon him, right? He waited for Lionel.

"Lostness of the stars, the coordinated nature of the eastern mountains. The wind carrying the world on its whispers answers the call, recalling the howl." Subsequently, he fluttered his clothes like a magician and looked at Mo Fei. "Ah, Mr. Sherlock, close your eyes."

The moment Mo Fei closed his eyes, the huffing voice of Old Bai came. He quickly opened and found Old Bai approaching them.

Lionel turned and saw him standing there, while his hands were on his knees. He muttered to himself, surprised by that. "Hmph... excellent coincidence..."

Old Bai breathed heavily, his coat was slightly dishevelled, and his golden spectacles — his habit of changing them from golden to silver depending on the day — had slipped down. His right hand held a half-eaten bread as he looked at the unconscious guards. "... I leave you alone for a few moments. Huff, huff, and you forgot to take me."

Lionel chuckled slightly and scratched his head again. "Heheh, well, we actually went careless for a while..."

"Deepest apology from heart." Mo Fei followed.

"My muscles need help now. I had to take a carriage to get here." After the complaint, Old Bai straightened and looked at the door. "Your two-week salary will be cut off."

"Noooo!" Mo Fei called out. His whole body broke in a dramatic manner as he fell on the ground and moved his hand in his pocket. "My money."

"Not yours if you didn’t get it."

Lionel pressed his palm together and moved forward. "At least don’t tell this to Captain, you can deduct the salary."

Old Bai exhaled a sigh, but the very next moment, the door groaned as suddenly the ground of the underground market shook.

"We don’t have time! Clear the path, we need to seal the artifacts." Old Bai yelled, his exhaustion momentarily lost as he grumbled.

Mo Fei quickly stood and gripped his revolver. "Break the door."