"Gentlemen, this is the last known location of the stowaways I mentioned."
Bertrand lowered his voice, his finger trembling as he pointed to a nearby abandoned factory swallowed by rust. His words were filled with a desire to please Chen Kong and Vivian. One couldn't blame Bertrand for being so humble at this moment. As a man simultaneously hunted by the Gray Rat Gang and the Gear Church, Bertrand knew better than anyone that his only chance of survival was to cling firmly to the two powerful figures in front of him. So, what was a little loss of face compared to losing his life? In the Rust Iron Hell, face was the most worthless thing.
Upon hearing this, Vivian immediately drew the 'Second Hand Rapier' from her waist. Her short brown hair swayed in the cold wind brought by the acid rain. Her pale golden eyes revealed a clear intent to battle. Clearly, she was ready to directly charge into this Gray Rat Gang's District 5 stronghold.
However, before she could take two steps, Chen Kong suddenly called out to her. "Wait a moment."
Vivian stopped, puzzled, and looked at Chen Kong. Chen Kong explained, "If you just go in like that, given the Gray Rat Gang's habit of scattering at the slightest disturbance, you won't find what you're looking for, and you might alert them, making it even harder to find those guys again."
Vivian thought about it and decided Chen Kong had a point. So she asked, "Then what should I do?"
"Give me your hand."
"?"
Seeing Vivian's questioning look, Chen Kong didn't explain further and simply took her right hand. This action, however, instantly triggered Vivian's fight-or-flight response. Her 'Second Hand Rapier' flashed with a cold light, pointing directly at Chen Kong's throat, sending a shiver down his spine.
"You'd better have a reasonable explanation."
Vivian's rapier was cold. But her voice... was even colder than her rapier.
At the same time, the anime screen briefly froze on Vivian's indifferent face. Then it froze again on Chen Kong's nervous, sweating expression. Not long after, Chen Kong's internal monologue, which had the dimension viewers bursting with laughter, appeared.
At that moment, the sword was only 0.01 centimeters from my throat, but a quarter of a minute later, the sword's owner would completely trust me. Because I decided to tell a lie that wasn't exactly a lie. Although I've told countless lies in my life, this one... I believe is the most perfect.
"Calm down, Miss Knight. I'm not doing what you think; it's related to my Star Origin ability."
"..."
Vivian looked at Chen Kong skeptically, clearly not quite believing him. However, considering the importance of her mission and Chen Kong's familiarity with the Rust Iron Hell as a local, she eventually lowered the rapier from Chen Kong's throat.
"You'd better prove what you're saying is true, otherwise—"
"Otherwise, I'll chop off my own hand and give it to you, satisfied?"
Before Vivian could finish her sentence, Chen Kong had already answered. Hearing him say something like that, Vivian was almost convinced.
With the trust crisis averted, Chen Kong turned to Bertrand and said, "You find a place to hide for now. We'll come find you after we're done."
"Okay."
After Bertrand left, Chen Kong took Vivian's hand and said, "Don't resist, this is a normal effect of my Star Origin activation."
"Alright."
A moment later, Chen Kong, who had been closing his eyes, opened them. "Let's go, follow me."
"..."
Watching Chen Kong's smooth flirting in the anime, the dimension viewers, whose memories were still stuck on the shy little boy from Season 1, were stunned.
'No, no, Prison Kong, is this still you?'
'OH! MY! GOD! Who taught Brother Kong these flirting skills?!'
'Who are you, get out of Prison Kong's body!'
'I've learned! I'll use this trick on my goddess tomorrow!'
'To the one above: are you learning to hook? If you really do that, you'll be having tea with the police tomorrow.'
Unlike the dimension viewers who only saw Chen Kong flirting, Tendo, sitting on the factory roof, saw something different.
"Using help as an excuse to secretly copy others' Star Origins?"
"Kong, what have you been through these past few years? You've become so insidious."
With that, Tendo tossed a potato chip into his mouth and crunched on it. Meanwhile, little Danica, sitting beside him, was completely uninterested in anything happening below. She was happily eating from a bag of potato chips nearly half her size. Her small face, covered in crumbs, clearly indicated she had never tasted anything so delicious before.
Noticing the grease on little Danica's mouth and hands, Tendo sighed, "Seriously..."
A part of the stellar tracks in Tendo's cerulean eyes suddenly lit up. Then he reached into the empty space beside him. A strange subspace rift suddenly appeared before him. Tendo reached into this rift and skillfully pulled out a small packet of 'wet wipes' and two bottles of Stardust World soda, similar to cola.
"Wipe yourself. Look at your face and hands, they're so greasy."
"Oh, okay, okay."
Little Danica obediently took her hand out of the chip bag, ready to take what Tendo offered. But seeing the grease on her fingers, the sensible little Danica immediately stopped and prepared to wipe her hands on her clothes first.
Seeing this, Tendo was speechless. He directly pulled out a wet wipe. Without caring what little Danica thought, he immediately wiped her face for her. "Alright, when you eat chips later, just use your fingers to pick them up. Don't always grab them with your whole hand; it's very greasy."
"Okay, Mr. Tendo, Danica has learned."
Seeing Danica being so sensible, Tendo suddenly felt he might have been a bit overzealous. So he suddenly changed his mind. "Never mind. Eat however you like, just remember not to wipe your hands on your clothes."
"???"
Danica's clear, amber eyes looked at Tendo in confusion, clearly not quite understanding why Tendo had suddenly changed his mind.
And being stared at like that, Tendo immediately felt uncomfortable, so he hastily pretended to be engrossed by Chen Kong and the others below, shifting his gaze. After all, he couldn't very well say that he changed his mind because he felt he shouldn't be too harsh on a five-year-old child, could he?
He, Tendo, couldn't afford to lose face like that! He was a proud man.
Although little Danica was leaving the Church for the first time and didn't understand the ways of the world, a child's intuition is sharp. She could tell Tendo had no ill intent. So, after thinking for a moment, little Danica still decided to do as Tendo had initially said. After all, among all the people she had encountered, Tendo was the "best" and kindest person in her "entire world." Therefore, doing as he said was definitely the right thing to do!
While Tendo and little Danica were leisurely watching the show, munching on chips and sipping soda, Chen Kong had already led Vivian to the abandoned factory below them. As Gray Rat Gang members passed by them one by one, completely oblivious, Vivian seemed to understand something.
"Earlier on the road, that guy named Bertrand inadvertently mentioned something."
"The reason your District 12 can be the only safe zone in the Rust Iron Hell."
"It's not just because your bar owner, Jack, has good relationships with the leaders of other gangs."
"It's also because there's a guy in your District 12 who is called the 'King of Shadows'."
"The former ensures other gangs don't easily cause trouble in your District 12, while the latter makes sure anyone who does cause trouble pays a heavy price."
At this point, Vivian immediately looked at Chen Kong. She said earnestly, "I suppose that so-called King of Shadows of District 12 must be you, Mr. Chen Kong."
Hearing Vivian's words, Chen Kong didn't show any self-satisfied expression from his cover being blown. Instead, he calmly said, "There's no King of Shadows. I'm just an ordinary person."
"An ordinary person couldn't do what you're doing now."
In response, Chen Kong suddenly sighed. He led Vivian to a stop in front of a heavily rusted iron door inside the abandoned factory. On the room's nameplate, the words 'Manager's Office' were clearly visible.
"Miss Knight, you just haven't seen a true monster yet."
"If you had, you would understand why I say that."
"Because compared to a monster like that, I am no different from an ordinary person."
"Is there really such a person?"
Vivian's expression was filled with doubt; she clearly didn't quite believe Chen Kong's words. In response, a trace of recollection flashed in Chen Kong's eyes, and his tone became complex. "Yes, and he not only helped me a lot but also taught me many principles for survival."
"If it weren't for him, I might have died long ago."
"It's just that back then, he seemed to have deceived all of us. After all, after so many years of investigation, I have reason to suspect..."
"Never mind, let's not talk about these things. They have nothing to do with you; these are my personal matters."
Although Chen Kong didn't continue, Vivian's curiosity had already been piqued. To be able to forge a district into a true safe zone in a chaotic place like the Rust Iron Hell, Chen Kong's role here must be far greater than she imagined. This required not only immense strength from Chen Kong but also sufficient cunning. And someone who could fulfill both these points, no matter how you looked at it, couldn't be described as "ordinary."
Yet, such a powerful and mysterious individual, in her eyes, held someone else in such high regard. This alone proved that the person he spoke of was an existence far beyond her comprehension. And judging by Chen Kong's words, that person seemed to be of the same age as him. Knowing all this, how could she not be curious?
"Alright, Miss Knight, don't think about those useless things."
"Because I can feel that there's a powerful individual hidden inside."
"As long as we can catch that guy, I think you'll quickly find out from his mouth where the important item the Church lost is."
"And I'll be able to claim the... expensive reward you promised."