The cold silver badge pressed against her palm, almost burning into her skin. Lin Xi pinned it to the lining of her tattered velvet robe. That single point of hardness served as a constant reminder of her current identity and mission.
[Side Quest Accepted. Main Quest Timer Paused.]
The system prompt brought not relief, but heavier pressure. Within the allotted time, she must prove herself worthy of this "Shadow Fang" badge—worthy of Lucifer's poisonous "trust."
She did not return to her chambers to change. Still clad in the oversized black velvet robe saturated with Lucifer's scent, shackles dragging at her ankles, she followed the silent escort through the palace's intricate corridors toward an inconspicuous side door. This was Lucifer's intent—to have her enter the shadow world in her most "authentic" state of disarray.
The Shadow Tavern nestled in the most chaotic corner of the royal city, its air thick with the mingled stench of cheap ale, sweat, and some other, more putrid odor. Lin Xi's appearance at the doorway drew a momentary hush. Her pale face, ill-fitting velvet robe, and especially the shackles that gleamed even in the dim light stood jarringly out of place among the rough wolf mercenaries and motley crew of foreign passersby.
Countless eyes turned toward her, filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and undisguised malice. Lin Xi felt those gazes like viscous spiderwebs, attempting to see right through her. She took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort in her throat, forcing her spine straight. Her gaze swept calmly across the noisy hall before she walked straight to the darkest corner and slowly sat down.
The chains scraped against the wooden chair with a dull clang.
She needed a spot where she could observe the whole scene without immediately becoming the center of attention.
"What'll it be?" A burly wolf-kin bartender with a scar on his face approached, his tone less than friendly. His gaze lingered briefly on the shackles around her ankles.
"Water," Lin Xi replied, her voice deliberately hushed and low.
The bartender snorted, seemingly bored, but turned to fetch it nonetheless.
Lin Xi's gaze darted swiftly through the crowd. Lucifer had only mentioned "Vampire spies" and "a meeting," offering no further details. She had to find her target on her own.
Her gaze swept past the boisterous mercenaries, past several whispering shadow walkers, and finally settled on a solitary figure drinking at the far end of the bar.
A man clad in a gray travel cloak, lean and refined in his movements, stood out with a subtle detachment from his surroundings. His fingers gripping the glass were unusually long and pale. He sipped at a steady, almost mechanical pace—less like enjoyment and more like executing a routine. Most crucially, Lin Xi noticed an almost imperceptible momentary stiffness in his body when a loud-mouthed mercenary accidentally splashed wine near him. His brow furrowed ever so slightly—an instinctive aversion and wariness toward chaos and rudeness.
A bloodline. Despite his flawless disguise and concealed aura, that elegance and fastidiousness ingrained in his very bones would occasionally slip through in certain environments.
Target confirmed.
Next: the contact.
Lin Xi remained impassive, lifting the glass of water the bartender had brought and taking a sip. The cold liquid slid down her throat, sharpening her mind. She waited patiently, a statue blending into the shadows.
Time ticked by. People came and went in the tavern, the clamor unabated.
Finally, as the vampire scout in the corner finished his third drink, his fingers beginning to tap the table unconsciously, the tavern door pushed open once more. A man of average build, clad in plain wolfkin leather armor, entered. He looked utterly unremarkable, like the most ordinary mercenary. Yet the moment he stepped inside, his gaze fell with extreme naturalness—without any searching—upon the vampire scout. It then shifted away swiftly as he walked to the bar and ordered the most basic spirit.
Too natural. So natural it felt rehearsed countless times.
Lin Xi's heart tightened slightly. It was him.
She watched as the "mercenary" took his drink and, seemingly without intention, sat down in the empty seat beside the vampire scout. There was no exchange of words between them, not even a glance.
But the instant the "mercenary" set down his glass, his little finger tapped the wooden bar three times with blinding speed—two short, one long.
The vampire spy's hand holding the cup hesitated imperceptibly.
A signal.
Lin Xi held her breath. She needed more concrete evidence, needed to know what message they were conveying.
Just then, chaos erupted!
A drunken, burly wolf warrior staggered toward the bar, seemingly to refill his drink. But he stumbled, his massive frame crashing into the "mercenary" who was about to complete the exchange with the vampire scout!
"Thud!"
The mercenary staggered backward, the glass in his hand flying from his grasp and shattering on the floor. From his embrace, a palm-sized object wrapped in oilcloth slipped out, clattering to the ground with a soft thud at Lin Xi's feet.
In an instant, every pair of eyes in the tavern seemed to converge on the scene.
The drunkard cursed under his breath. The mercenary's expression darkened, while the vampire scout's eyes sharpened.
Lin Xi looked down at the rolled-up oilcloth bundle at her feet. When she lifted her gaze again, she met the mercenary's panicked yet murderous stare and the vampire scout's eyes—hidden beneath his cloak—suddenly gleaming with cold intensity.
[Side Quest Update: Acquire intelligence item and eliminate all threats.]
Beneath her velvet cloak, Lin Xi's hand tightened around the cold "Shadow Fang" insignia.