Volume 5, Chapter 2 – Unorthodox Methods

“Ding! You have successfully manufactured [Clergy Unit 001] and received 20,000 Free EXP.”

“It’s already finished?”

Tan Lu looked in surprise at Tan Shi, who had come upstairs to find her.

“It’s done.” Tan Shi scratched his head. He had been just as shocked. Who could blame him when Anran had worked so fast?

From receiving the blueprints to completing the finished product, it had taken only seven hours in total.

It was now 9:47 p.m., Sarina City time.

Tan Lu came downstairs from the second floor and saw Anran and Aila wandering around the ground floor.

“It’s finished,” Anran said.

She was studying the building’s strange interior decor. From what she had managed to coax out of Tan Shi, the Mechanical Holy See’s mechanical technology followed an extremely unconventional path.

Its fundamentals were solid enough, but because the Holy See fanatically worshipped an ancient god called the Ether Soul, its members believed that combining ether power with machinery represented the future of mechanical technology.

This had begun because Tindas, the first pope of the Mechanical Holy See, had excavated a treasure said to have been left behind by the Ether Soul. Tindas had done everything he could to incorporate the method for extracting the treasure’s “ether power” into his own mechanical creations. Previously unknown, he instantly became the “God of Machinery” of his era.

The machines Tindas created possessed excellent attributes in every respect, but their weakness was equally obvious: the technology could not be mass-produced at all. Only Mechanics skilled in the use of ether power could personally craft the finished products.

Mechanical creations that could not be mass-produced obviously could not satisfy the needs of the public. Even Tindas’s proudest mecha could not survive in the face of hundreds or thousands of giant warships.

“Things like that are hard to use in large-scale warfare.”

Like many other schools, the ether-powered school of machinery eventually faded from public view.

But Tindas was different from the others. He firmly believed this was the future path of machinery. Through relentless pursuit and effort, he founded the Mechanical Holy See and developed it from obscurity into an organization of modest fame.

Granted, its reputation was not exactly flattering. Most people called its members lunatics, morons, and the like.

Ether power.

Forget it. Anran had absolutely no interest in that stuff.

She had chosen the path of a Mechanic precisely because she felt she did not have enough protection around her, or protection that was reliable enough.

Mecha sounded very cool, but if she had an enormous fleet, countless automatons, and naval cannons, then even the most badass mecha pilot would still be a little brother. Hmm, or perhaps a little sister.

Mass production was king.

“The Ether Soul is watching you.”

A clear voice rang out. Anran turned around and saw Tan Lu fiddling with the robot she had built.

After the core module was added, the Clergy Unit could speak and move, and it operated very smoothly.

“No issues. You’ve passed the assessment!” Tan Lu said with a smile. “From now on, you’re a member of our Mechanical Holy See!”

With that, she handed over a metal token.

It was disc-shaped and hollow in the center, engraved with patterns unique to the Mechanical Holy See.

“This is the Holy See’s identity token. It stores a very small amount of ether power and needs to be replenished once every three months,” Tan Lu said.

Anran took the token, examined it, and put it away.

“How are contribution points calculated?” she asked.

Tan Lu explained, “As the cleric of this branch, I issue a series of missions every month. Completing them earns you points.”

“What are this month’s missions?”

“They’re posted on the mission board on the second floor. You can take a look whenever you have time.”

“Oh.” Anran nodded. “Thank you.”

Aside from occasionally slipping the phrase “Ether Soul” into their speech, the people here spoke logically and interacted with others normally. Even so, the atmosphere remained strange.

By the time Anran walked out of the church, it was already ten at night.

Sarina City was still in complete chaos.

The roaring flames were even more visible beneath the night sky, nearly illuminating half the heavens.

Sirens blared without pause. Harrison, a career criminal, had turned Sarina City into his personal battlefield against the police.

“Woo-woo!”

“Woo!”

Aircraft constantly streaked across the city skyline, and several suspended transit rails had been blown apart.

By the time Anran found a place to stay, the commotion outside showed no sign of dying down. Instead, it was only intensifying.

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“Fuck, those useless bastards at the police station talked so big when they issued their statement. Now that Harrison’s here, he’s beating them like disobedient sons. Goddamn it, I still have business to discuss in the East District tomorrow!”

A middle-aged man in a suit entered while cursing. Dust and grime stained his clothes.

“What’s it like outside?”

“Don’t even ask. The police station can start looking for a new chief tomorrow.”

“…”

“D-Dead?”

“Harrison stuffed him into a cesspit. He couldn’t be any deader.” The middle-aged man frowned, as though recalling something unpleasant.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Those idiots. Did they really think a wanted criminal with a bounty of nine hundred million would be easy to catch?”

After getting her room card, Anran turned around and instinctively swept everyone in the lobby with Scout.

There were people at Level 29, Level 28, Level 31, Level 22, and Level 47… What the hell?!

Holy shit.

Anran stared at the middle-aged man venting his anger in the crowd. Level 47? How could his level be so high?

Other than his level, Anran could not see any of his data.

“Hey, do you know that man?” Anran nudged a young man. When she had first entered, he had been playing the role the middle-aged man now occupied: the conversation starter.

He seemed like someone with plenty of connections.

“Huh? You’re asking me?” The young man froze for a moment. Once he got a clear look at Anran and Aila, he immediately became excited.

“You mean that man? I don’t know him either. I’ve been here for two days and never seen him before. He definitely wasn’t staying here earlier.”

“…”

Something felt very wrong.

The Sea Blue Forest map was suitable for players between Levels 20 and 50, while Ruilanduo Star, which came earlier in the progression, should naturally have even lower-level inhabitants. Yet now someone at Level 47 had suddenly appeared.

When Anran raised her head, she sensed someone watching her. The young man, however, had already latched on to her.

“Beauty, you could call me Sarina City’s walking encyclopedia. Whatever you need, just ask me. I guarantee I know more than that guy.”

Anran chuckled. “Then do you know whether Sarina City has any gangs or similar organizations?”

“Huh?” The young man was taken aback. Why would she suddenly ask that?

Though puzzled, he still pointed her in the right direction.

There was one large gang and one small gang.

Sarina City really was an unsafe place.

“Let’s exchange contact information, beauty. You can keep asking me whenever there’s something you don’t understand.” The young man was overflowing with enthusiasm.

Anran added more fuel to his fire. “Sure.”

Then she gave him the Mechanic Guild’s contact number.

Despite calling himself a walking encyclopedia, he noticed nothing wrong. Even after Anran left with Aila, he remained extremely excited.

“The fourth floor. No big deal.”

As soon as she entered the room, Anran walked over to the window.

Having sensed that something was wrong, she had no intention of staying there. Besides, she had other business to handle that night.

“Aila, I’ll go down from here first. Remember to follow behind me,” Anran instructed.

“Mm, no problem, Anran.” Aila did not ask why. She supported everything Anran did.

After climbing out the window, Anran led Aila swiftly toward the smaller gang’s base.

There was one large gang and one small gang. Anran was not certain she could defeat the larger one.

Had she not overheard what the middle-aged man said, Anran would not have planned to make money this way.

But now that Harrison had caused such chaos and even killed the chief of police, robbing a gang and killing a couple of people would not attract the slightest attention. Even if the gang had someone backing it from above, that would not matter.

The chief was dead. The people above were very busy right now.

In a dark corner, Anran put on her exoskeleton armor.

When Anran and Aila suddenly charged out, the gatekeeper was still looking drowsy.

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“Who… urgh!”

His neck was snapped immediately.

A Level 22 mob only provided 900 EXP, but something was better than nothing.

Anran promptly searched him and found several hundred Bilu.

Then they slipped farther inside.

This surprise attack also triggered a minor mission to eradicate the gang. The reward was 150,000 EXP and a communication log that served as a follow-up mission item.

To be honest, by the time players were capable of reaching Ruilanduo Star, a mission worth 150,000 EXP was no longer anything special.

Still, this was the beginning of a chain mission, so it was acceptable.

Anran and Aila did not expose their presence until they reached the inner courtyard.

Smack!

Aila slammed the butt of her gun into the back of one unlucky man’s head, then skillfully collected the weapon and money on his body.

“There’s an ene…”

Bang!

Anran swiftly raised the power gun in her hand. Precision Shooting Lv. 10 granted a 100% bonus to aiming speed, and because the power gun used an electromagnetic launcher, its rate of fire was far higher than that of ordinary firearms.

The man had immediately tried to duck, but Anran still brought him down with a single shot.

The bullet struck his face. Its tremendous kinetic energy and penetrative force allowed Anran to score an effortless headshot.

The multiple critical hits gave him no time for any final thoughts.

However, the words he had shouted had already alerted the others.

The extinguished lights snapped on. Rapid footsteps and shouts rose louder and louder.

“Fuck! Which blind bastard came here looking for death?”

“Grab your weapons, brothers!”

“Ah! Ah!”

A chaotic battle erupted instantly.

In such cramped terrain, Anran fought like a god descended to earth. Holding a choke point, she used her extraordinary movement speed to pick off enemies one after another. Aila stayed behind her and fired the moment anyone showed their head.

The turmoil caused by Harrison completely concealed the bloodshed here.

The bewildered gang members tried to call the police for help, but their calls never connected.

In the end, they could only kneel on the ground, trembling as they submitted to Anran’s questioning.

“Where’s the money and anything valuable?”

“Y-Yes, we have it! Quite a lot, too. Hurry, hurry and bring it out!”

Anran became wealthy in an instant. There was more than a hundred thousand in cash, all poured out from card tables and boxes, along with many objects made from precious metals and a crate filled with liquid products.

“What’s this?” Anran asked, picking up a small blue bottle.

“That’s Kain, a chemical drug that increases excitement,” the kneeling man said, trembling.

Hmm?

“You sell it?”

“…”

“She’s asking you a question. Answer her.” Aila angrily struck the man.

She used very little force. Otherwise, even his Level 28 body would have struggled to withstand it. After all, he was not in an Endurance-based profession.

“Y-Yes. It’s mainly for sale.”

“…”

Anran opened a bottle and shoved it, bottle and all, into the man’s mouth.

Amid muffled whimpers, all the liquid in the bottle flowed into his stomach.

Anran had acted too suddenly, while Aila cooperatively pinned his arms down, leaving him no chance to resist.

“(°ー°〃)”

The people nearby were terrified. One by one, they pressed themselves against the wall, not daring to move at all.

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Anran stepped back. In less than a minute, the man who had taken the drug began to change.

He suddenly sprang to his feet. Just as Anran was about to attack, he abruptly started taking off his clothes.

“!!!”

He even began happily shaking his hips, swaying left, then right.

Bang!

Anran killed him.

“Hand over all your weapons as well,” Anran told the remaining people.

“Y-Yes, yes.”

The underlings were scared out of their wits.

They immediately carried out every weapon in the gang’s possession.

And then there was no then.

Anran took their belongings, killed them, and even gnawed through every bit of metal she could consume.

By the time she walked out of the base, she had an additional communication log in her hand.

It was a key mission item. Turning this communication log over to Sarina City Hall would begin the next stage of the mission. Judging by the current situation, it would cause a considerable shock throughout the entire police establishment.

Interesting.

Anran tossed the mission item into subspace.

Do the players’ quests, leaving the players with no quests to do.

…

In the early hours of the morning.

At the hotel room Anran had reserved.

A furtive figure suddenly crept up outside the window. He peered into the room with a device for a while, then opened the window and jumped inside.

More than three minutes later, the man climbed back out through the same window.

His hands had been empty when he entered, and he carried nothing when he came out.

By then, Sarina City had regained a rare moment of calm.

The figure moved through the night.

Every movement he made was clearly visible to Anran.

At that moment, Anran and Aila were somewhere a kilometer away, watching everything as though nothing were wrong.

As expected, her instincts had not been mistaken.

That man’s level really was far too strange. Had she not maxed out her Basic Scout skill, she might not even have been able to see his level.

Of course, without Scout, she would not have seen his level and would not have asked about him, thereby drawing his attention.

That man was most likely Har…

Hmm?

Wait.

In an alley, Anran suddenly saw the man meet up with someone else. Then another person arrived. Not long after, yet another appeared…

In the end, seven people gathered there in total.

They weren’t fighting alone!

Anran immediately ducked her head back.

She took off her tactical goggles.

It seemed her guess had not been entirely correct. Or perhaps she had simply thought about it too simplistically.

Boom!

Twenty minutes later, another explosion shattered the calm of Sarina City.

This time, the target was the city’s central police headquarters.

The rising flames shot nearly ten meters into the air. Soon, a white aircraft streaked across the sky.

The pursuing aircraft could not catch up with it at all.

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Anran saw the entire scene on her way back.

Now that she had reached this place, the Mechanic knowledge she had previously mastered seemed somewhat outdated. In addition to the advanced knowledge for an Intermediate Mechanic, she needed to expand her general knowledge base.

Electromagnetism came first.

She had already unlocked the corresponding knowledge tree, so continuing to expand it would be much easier.

Morning.

“Anran, I’ve got blood on me.”

Standing outside a new hotel, Aila lifted the hem of her shirt.

There were indeed traces of blood on her fair stomach. It had seeped through her clothes.

“You’re right, there is some.” Anran looked. It was not only on her stomach; there was a little on her back as well. “Anyway, let’s book a room and wash up first.”

“Mm.”

Now that they had money, they could book a larger room and reserve it for longer.

The bed was large and sturdy, convenient for rolling around.

The bathroom.

Emmm…

The bathroom had a glass-enclosed shower, so it would be a little cramped for two people to bathe together.

“Anran, can you let me study the structure of the female body?”

“Uh…”

…

After completing her morning prayers, Tan Lu came downstairs from the second floor. Anran was now permitted to access the second floor as well.

“Oh, right, cleric.” As Anran passed Tan Lu, she suddenly called out to her.

“What is it?” Tan Lu was very pleased that Anran remembered to address her as cleric.

“Does Harrison have accomplices?”

“Harrison? Oh, you mean Harrison. I remember he’s supposed to be a lone operator. I’ve never heard of him having any accomplices.”

“I see.” Anran pondered for a moment. “Thank you. I’ll go look at the missions first.”

“Go ahead. Also, now that you’ve joined the Holy See, you need to learn about the deeds of the Ether Soul, as well as the various prayer rituals. I’ll conduct random inspections every month. If you fail twice, you’ll be expelled from the Holy See,” Tan Lu said.

“…”

Wouldn’t it be even better to get kicked out after learning the advanced knowledge?

But two months? Anran had no intention of staying here for two months.

Had she not been kindhearted, and had she not considered that she might not be able to defeat Tan Lu, Anran would already have planned to steal the advanced knowledge and run.

She went upstairs while Aila waited below.

According to the rules, unrelated personnel were forbidden from entering the second floor.

The mission board stood on the left side of the second floor. When Anran came up, she saw Tan Shi and the others sitting together with their eyes closed.

According to Tan Lu, they were sensing the circulating flow of ether power.

In short, it was a live mysticism session.

“Manufacture Clergy Unit 001. Contribution points…”

To players, the things Tan Lu posted formed a complete set of missions for farming contribution points.

The same was true for Anran.

The general idea was that reaching certain contribution thresholds would unlock new “sect functions.”

It would not be difficult for Anran to reach the contribution required to view the advanced knowledge for an Intermediate Mechanic. More importantly, the Holy See provided the raw materials for mechanical crafting missions, which was excellent.

Time to begin.

…

Some time later, at the Star Hunter Guild.

Anran and Aila arrived there. According to that old man, star maps were sold here.