Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 1035: Section 659: The Crazy Years After 2000 (Part 3)_2

Chapter 1035: Section 659: The Crazy Years After 2000 (Part 3)_2

Malin walked into the passage, and within seconds, arrived at the guild counter. Extending his hand, his Spiritual Energy immediately pushed the blue-uniformed young man sitting on the chair off his seat.

Malin took the seat, then turned to the young-looking Li Wei sitting behind the counter, his expression still somewhat dazed: "I have a question, Li Wei of the Mischael family. I wonder if you could clear something up for me."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The blue-uniformed man stood up, raising his hand, but in an incredibly bizarre manner, slapped his own face instead.

As he collapsed, unconscious, Malin looked at Li Wei. Behind him, another blue-uniformed man was slammed into the wall directly by the force of Spiritual Energy.

"Your guests?" Malin shifted sideways and, with a swift phantom slap, knocked the man, who was still trying to get up, to the floor. This time, his teeth scattered all over as they fell to the ground.

"Supernatural Management Bureau folks. Some meddlesome ones spilled the beans about my affairs." Li Wei said as he turned to open the computer. "Sir, you came to find me. What’s your business?"

"The kid I asked you to track down—did he take on a mission?" Malin inquired.

"Well... I don’t have clearance for that." Li Wei seemed a bit helpless but offered a suggestion anyway: "However, I know who might know."

"Who?" Malin kept his words brief.

"The South City Adventurers’ Guild—Kam Jean Sheringham." Li Wei finished speaking and immediately noticed a dimensional portal forming behind Malin. "Do you know the way?"

The seemingly young elder’s expression showed a trace of fear.

"No problem. I’ve learned everything from your mind." Malin said, then dove into the portal.

In the next second, Malin appeared at the counter, reaching out to grab the fleeing Fatty amidst the crowd: "Mr. Kam?"

"Uh... uh, yes, I’m Kam." This Fatty stammered, and Malin smiled, patting his shoulder: "Don’t worry, Mr. Kam. I’m not one of those ’different kinds’ you imagine. I’m human too. Look at this—I just bought these clothes. They might be cheap, but they’re human clothes, aren’t they?"

Inside the guild hall, the packed crowd was rapidly dissipating. Clerks vaulted over counters, adventurers scrambled to escape through every possible exit—tilted doors, shattered windows, you name it.

The sole security guard, hand on his holster, was sweating buckets.

Malin extended his hand, three empty cups automatically filled at the nearby cold beverage machine. The cups then glided smoothly to Mr. Kam, Malin, and the security guard.

Malin took his cup of milkshake ice cream. Picking up a spatula transformed from the World Tree, he began eating but didn’t forget the main topic: "Mr. Kam, do you know a young man named Holmes Mars?"

"Ah, yes, of course. You mean the mixed-blood Panseon feline, right?" Mr. Kam’s survival instincts surpassed everything—his desperate, fearful yet eager-to-please expression made Malin quite pleased.

"Has he taken any missions, or where is he? Could you locate him?"

"I could check the database. You know, remembering a young man who just crossed paths with me takes considerable effort already."

"By all means, go check. But I trust you won’t do anything foolish, right?" Malin asked.

"Of course. I absolutely won’t do anything foolish." The middle-aged man swore, then sat before the computer and began working.

Though his typing was constantly tripped up by fear, the pressure proved effective. Malin watched as he quickly identified Mars’ most likely whereabouts.

The Blue Sky White Clouds Bathhouse, in the Westlander neighborhood of the North City District.

Or in other words, the bathhouse had an alternate name.

Brucegate Whitecloud.

What a delightfully cultured name.

......

The Blue Sky White Clouds Bathhouse—what can be said? It shared an uncanny similarity with the big bird carousel Malin had encountered before. So the moment Malin exited the portal, he was already extending his hand to block the welcoming bullets.

But the bullets never arrived as expected. Malin noticed an automated gun with a crooked neck, while the security guards lay dead on the ground.

On the streets... one could see some panicked pedestrians running, yet their movements seemed frame-stuck, their lives resembling skilled but absurdly comical actors frozen in challenging poses.

With a mix of confusion and dawning realization, Malin strode towards the slightly ajar front door.

The previously immovable door felt as flimsy as thin paper before Malin.

Entering through the door, Malin observed the fallen guards on the ground, the different kinds reduced to ashes, and the trail of bullet shells and footprints leading deeper inside. Malin followed the trail forward.

Simultaneously, he felt the building itself descending into abyssal corruption... Ah, so it’s Mars summoning me.

Malin smiled, quickening his pace, pulling at the handle of a door as indicated by the signage on it. When resistance met his efforts, Malin paused briefly, then turned to the adjacent wall. Pushing against it, he entered directly.

Within the inner hall, grotesque Chaos creatures filled every corner. In this world where time had come to a complete stop, they maintained perverse postures, devouring deceased corpses. Malin glanced at the sealed door and finally understood why the door wouldn’t open.