Chapter 76: The Musketeer Inn

Roy had been kickin' around this world for a hot minute, always on edge about anyone sniffin' out Fick's real deal.

Over time, he got a decent grip on the inner city's vibe. The big shots were like Fortune 500 companies, and a bunch of high-roller families had their fingers in the outer city pie too, making 'em pretty famous.

But here's the kicker: he couldn't dig up squat about the Rejiadi family.

At first, he figured Fick might be from some super low-key, hermit-like clan. But then Lena dropped a bombshell: there ain't no "Rejiadi" family in the inner city's elite circles!

Roy was straight-up baffled.

All the intel, from the retina data to that shady wanted poster, screamed that Fick's identity was anything but basic. If it was some secretive family, maybe folks wouldn't know, but Lena, being the top dog’s daughter, should've at least heard whispers.

Roy mulled it over and thought maybe the Rejiadi family had a different alias in the inner city, or Fick's background was even more cloak-and-dagger.

But before he could dive deeper, he got this creepy-crawly feeling, like a snake was eyeballing him, sending shivers down his spine.

He instantly knew what was up and thought, "Oh crap, it's here!"

Roy finally got a taste of the Black Scythe's nasty side, a spine-chilling vibe that made his hair stand on end.

He felt a cold nip in his chest, like an invisible Grim Reaper had sliced him with a razor-sharp blade. Before the pain even hit, blood was gushing from his chest. In a flash, his skin tore open, revealing a gnarly 12-inch gash from his chest to his gut, showing off his insides.

Lena, who was triple-checking the surgical gear, got blindsided and splattered with blood.

She'd kinda expected this, so she only freaked out a bit at the sight of Roy's gnarly wound. She quickly threw up a sorcerer's seal and fired up the "Life Conversion Array."

As the hexagram glowed green, Roy felt a rush of life force flood into him.

Seeing the crazy wound on his chest, Roy wasn't scared but kinda relieved.

Compared to getting his head or neck sliced, the chest was the least deadly spot. The cut was deep, but it missed his heart and didn't hit the super critical area just two inches lower.

He figured he was pretty damn lucky.

The rest of the surgery was a breeze.

Even though they were in a janky sewer setup, they had top-notch emergency gear from Dark Tower Academy, and Lena was a rockstar intern doc with flawless book smarts.

This kinda non-lethal wound didn't even make Roy flinch.

The only tiny snag was Lena's little slip-up 'cause she was nervous.

"Mr. Roy, I'm sorry. This is my first time handling a patient solo, and my hands are a bit shaky."

"No sweat. If it doesn't work the first time, just stitch it up a few more times."

"I'm really sorry, please bear with me!"

"By the way, did you use anesthesia?"

"I'm sorry, I was too nervous and forgot."

"Eh, no biggie. Just stitch it up. If something goes down, anesthesia might mess with my aim."

Roy tossed in his limited medical know-how to guide Lena and ease her guilt-ridden nerves.

Maybe 'cause Roy was so chill, Lena started to get her groove back as a doc. Once she hit her stride, the rest of the surgery was smooth sailing.

Lena's perfect scores weren't just for show; she had the skills to back 'em up.

The latter part of the surgery was textbook perfect.

Half an hour later, they were done.

After stitching up the wound, Lena wanted to give Roy a bottle of "Advanced Healing Potion" to speed things up.

But Roy waved her off.

Now, even the shirt on Lena's back was Roy's, so naturally, the potions were his too.

Roy wasn't rolling in dough; a mid-level potion was good enough for his injuries.

The fancy ones were for dire situations; wasting them would just bug him.

The backlash from the forbidden item was a non-event, and Roy felt a load off his mind.

He didn't hang around the sewer for long. Once the wound was somewhat healed, he led Lena along the route he snagged from the ghost-faced spider's memory, heading up.

There'd been a bunch of missing person cases on Green Street before, and now Roy knew it was the ghost-faced spiders in the sewer, some mutated freaks that could mess with people's minds.

Following the spiders' path to the surface, they found their way out.

After dealing with a few blind mutated monsters, they finally saw the streetlights through the sewer grates.

With a clang, the manhole cover was pushed open from below.

Roy climbed up and then pulled out the grimy Miss Lena.

The place was lit up with neon lights, brightening the whole block.

Roy's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. He knew this spot well; it was a corner of Green Street.

They were finally safe.

Both of them let out a sigh of relief.

It was Lena's first time in such a wild and dirty outer-city entertainment district. She looked scared but couldn't help being curious, sneaking peeks. Her big, clear black eyes blinked, taking in everything: the stumbling drunks, the scantily clad women hustling for customers, the gangsters chasing and hacking at each other—everything was new to her.

Roy knew Green Street like the back of his hand. He found a shadowy alley to stash the eye-catching scythe.

Lena waited quietly, not even trying to sneak a peek.

But when she saw Roy climbing down the drainpipe from the roof, ready to take her out on the street, she hesitated.

Lena bit her lip and weakly asked, "Mr. Roy, can I find a place to take a shower first?"

The princess finally couldn't stand the stink on her. With the immediate danger gone, the first thing on her mind was a bath.

Roy glanced at her and then pointed to the "Gunslinger Motel" not far away, glowing with pink neon lights.

Lena looked at the obviously suggestive pink lights, bit her lip, and nodded.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door of room 304 at the "Gunslinger Motel."

Roy had already spotted the Black Panther motorcycle downstairs from the window and knew who it was. He opened the door.

Michelle walked in quickly, and her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a bit when she saw Roy.

Earlier, when they got the news that the trial team had been attacked, not only did the higher-ups of the Cross Association freak out, but even the inner city sent a bunch of pros to search the catacombs. According to the surviving students, the incident had happened several hours ago. With the delay in the news, everyone thought Lena was probably already dead.

But suddenly getting Roy's message, Michelle felt like she hit the jackpot!

They had actually made it out alive!

With a sense of disbelief, Michelle sped over on her motorcycle. Now, seeing Roy in front of her, she finally felt relieved.

She looked around the room and saw no one else but Roy.

However, the sound of water came from the bathroom, indicating someone was showering.

Roy shrugged at Michelle's puzzled look, saying nothing.

Michelle was slightly taken aback.

What was going on? They had just survived an assassination attempt, and now someone was taking a shower?

At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and a head popped out. Lena, who was washing her hair, couldn't open her eyes due to the wet hair. She hugged her chest with one hand, closed her eyes, and complained, "Mr. Roy, why does the hot water in this motel keep going hot and cold?"

Roy responded indifferently, "For eighty copper coins, having hot water at all is a luxury. That's the outer city for you."

"Got it."

Lena, scolded by Roy, had no comeback.

She hadn't noticed Michelle in the room and continued, "Could you please bring me a dry towel? This bathroom is too small, and there's no changing room."

Roy was speechless.

Hearing Lena's words, Michelle's expression suddenly became very strange.

She had come ready to throw down, but instead of finding enemies, she walked into this scene.

Seeing Michelle's puzzled look again, Roy spread his hands and explained, "We just crawled out of the sewer, and this young lady felt gross, so she wanted to clean up first."

Thinking it was Roy, the gossip fire in Michelle's eyes instantly died down.

She trusted the people she had chosen.

At that moment, hearing Roy talking to someone, Lena's curious head popped out of the bathroom door again.

Lena rubbed her eyes and, seeing Michelle, her face lit up with joy, "Aunt Michelle!"

Seeing a relative after a desperate situation, Lena was so excited she almost forgot she was naked and nearly ran out.

Michelle, seeing Lena safe and sound, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aunt Michelle, won't your clothes be too loose for me? They seem a bit too revealing."

"What should we do then?"

"Could you ask Mr. Roy for another piece of clothing?"

"Another?"

After her bath, the young lady Lena finally felt fully revived.

Michelle looked at Lena, wearing a men's shirt, with bare long legs and wet hair, and rubbed her forehead: this was quite revealing too.

However, she didn't mind.

She was just puzzled about how Lena and Roy had become so familiar in such a short time.

Since there were no outsiders in the room, the three of them started talking.

Roy briefly recounted what had happened in the catacombs.

Everyone knew what happened before killing Jack, so he told the truth.

As for what happened after killing Jack, he downplayed it.

Roy didn't mention encountering Daniel, the second-tier assassin, the Spider Queen, or the forbidden item, minimizing his role in the events.

Roy only said that he was looking for a way out and happened to find the lost Lena, then led her out. As for how she escaped the amoeba's pursuit, that was for Lena to explain.

Lena cooperatively nodded, understanding the situation. She had been blindfolded and hadn't seen much, so she could only say one thing: "Yes, that's exactly how Mr. Roy said it!"

When she couldn't explain something, she chose selective amnesia: "I was too panicked at the time and forgot."

Michelle listened to her flawed account, feeling helpless.

She guessed that things might not be that simple but didn't press for details.

The result was more important than the process.

Lena being alive was a blessing.

No matter what Roy did during the process, bringing Lena out of the catacombs alive made him the biggest hero.

After the conversation, Michelle gave Roy a definite answer: she and the higher-ups of the Cross Association would handle this incident, and Roy, the guide, would be an insignificant "nobody."

This was exactly the result Roy wanted.

He had kept the scythe, obtained the colonization materials, and had a promising future.

He didn't want to change his identity now.