The vehicle slowly descends into the city, landing once again on a rooftop. Rexy quickly crawls back up my arm and returns to her little home.

Wilfred reappears and hands me the altered Keyser’s ID. Val Keyser, 20 years old, member of the main family.

As we disembark the jet, a man in a suit hands Wilfred a large black suitcase, which he then transfers to me. It’s filled with small, individual bars of Adamantine. I grab and stuff them into my pockets.

It’s not wise to keep all my eggs in one basket… I'll need to find another place to stash some of this stuff.

Wilfred explains that Raven specifically instructed the Jin family to have nothing to do with my affairs concerning the Mercer family. He’s forbidden from offering any assistance related to, or even possibly related to, the Mercers.

“Rexy, can you find Bailey?” I ask, hoping for a miracle. No such luck. Rexy shakes her head.

Wilfred leads me out of the building, which is, of course, another auction house. I guess that’s their main business. He provides me with a watch device that projects a map and GPS before leaving.

It can also make calls, among many other things. So, a smartwatch…

The city before me is a patchwork of eighteen distinct regions. The outer eight, where the less fortunate reside, are a teeming mass of high-rise apartments and factories, bursting at the seams with people.

Think of it as the city's bustling, working areas.

Then there are the middle six regions, the playgrounds of the elite. Here, green spaces abound, and entertainment and shopping centers beckon.

It's the kind of place where you can actually breathe, and maybe even find a decent cup of coffee.

Finally, the inner sanctum: the four central regions. These are the private domains of the four dynasties, sparsely populated but home to colossal, palace-like mansions.

While the middle and outer regions are open to all, the central regions are strictly invite-only.

Sifting through Caesar's memories, trying to gain some insight into these exclusive zones.

The central regions are huge. Even with a Keyser ID, I can't just waltz in and start searching for Bailey. They must have a ton of properties to hide people.

There's little chance they'd hide Bailey in such obvious places, but you never know. However, as soon as they realize someone is looking for Bailey, they’ll definitely hide him deeper.

So, being discreet is once again top priority.

Hopping into a driverless cab, I decide to take a quick tour around the inner sanctum. As I drive around the edge of the fenced-off inner areas, my senses reach into them as far as I can.

After getting nothing particularly interesting, I get off the cab in a busy area in the middle region.

Casually strolling around the metropolis’s streets, as the morning sun moves across the sky. The malls and shops—they are so familiar, yet so alien at the same time.

Fashion and design stores have great-looking stuff, but everything is a file for nanobots. Aside from the clearly futuristic backdrop, this place is practically a metropolis on Earth.

It almost feels like being back home, almost.

There are no monitors, no surveillance cameras, no billboards, and not a single ad or graffiti in sight. There are also no homeless, no beggars, no street performers, or vendors on the streets.

Come to think of it, it’s the same in Petralis. The pristine and nearly empty city space around me creates an illusion of peace, yet it's a bit unsettling.

A large guy with long curly black hair walks out of a building with a large heart-shaped emblem decorated with the word “RevɘЯ” under it.

Looks like it's my lucky day! Well… maybe not his lucky day.

“Dante, it looks like you're all better now.” I walk up to the guy, which startles him; he even rubs his eyes for a better look.

Dante couldn’t recognize my new look, especially without the mask and in broad daylight. However, my voice seems to have triggered something.

His eyes widen with fear, as he turns and tries to re-enter the building behind him. “He…”

A quick dash and I have my hands behind him, pretending to be a gun. “I just want a chat, even offer you a job. So, let’s not make a scene.”

Dante looks back at me with his awkward smile again. "Alri… alright, if you insist."

We make our way into a small cafe-like establishment. The relaxing atmosphere and delightful aroma calm Dante’s nerves a bit.

“Much better than the dark little room where we first met.” I smile at him.

After a sip of tea, I continue, “Although I still despise you for what you did to my friend, I’ll give you a chance to make it up.”

"So, let's hear it. What's the… task?" Dante takes a sip of his tea, his hands still shaking.

“Track him down again. I know the Mercers have him.”

Tea sprays from Dante’s mouth and onto my face. “Me…Mer… Mercer…”

“Yes… the Duke of Mercer has Bailey.” I wipe the tea off my face. Rexy giggles on my shoulder.

"No, no, see, you've got this all wrong. That... that's the Mercer family. They're one of the four,” Dante quietly whispers, while shaking his head constantly. "They... they're untouchable. They could make me vanish like I was never even here."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Name a price.”

“What?!” Dante stares at me.

“You’re a bounty hunter. Your life… Your help has a price. Name it.” I take another sip of tea.

Dante sinks into deep thought, while Rexy enjoys her lunch.

"Alright," Dante says, his voice still a little rough. "Two million… I'll need a team to find your friend. Three others, minimum."

“Deal!” For Bailey, two million is a small price to pay.

Dante looks surprised, then lets out a mocking laugh. "Some lives are worth more than others," he murmurs to himself.

"Down payment?" Dante says, holding out a hand.

A reasonable request, but I don’t have a card on me with that exact amount. Seeing my awkward facial expression, Dante offers another option—anything of known value.

A couple of Adamantine bars do the trick. Dante says he’ll need the rest of the day to prepare and get the team together.

“Are they close by?” I need to find Bailey as soon as possible…

"For two million, they'll be here before you know it." Dante waves at me as he leaves the cafe.

After Dante departs, Rexy makes a confused sound.

“Don’t worry, we’ll follow him.”

My senses lock onto him, maintaining a discreet distance. While I believe he’s truthful, I have numerous questions. Dante healed too quickly, and he arrived here remarkably fast…

Dante travels to the outer regions. This area is significantly busier, almost…packed. The streets teem with life, a stark contrast to the middle regions.

People in various attire rush past—workers heading to their jobs, a couple of old-timers returning from the market, kids on their way to school.

Dante enters an inconspicuous door; it bears the same sign as the bar in Petralis.

Are they a chain restaurant? I mean, bar?

After a quick change of outfit, I follow Dante inside. Déjà vu hits me hard. A bartender stands behind the counter. Everything is identical to the bar where I encountered Dante.

As my senses probe behind the counter again, I detect another secret entrance. Approaching the bartender, I say, "I'm looking for the party," and point behind the counter.

The bartender pulls out that same machine, just like before. Ding! The door to the back swings open.

No rave this time. The music is more chill, the atmosphere dark and eerie. Another bartender stands behind a counter at the back. A few customers are scattered around the room.

Taking an empty seat in a corner and ordering a drink, my senses spread out. It turns out, this place is a chain. Just a super discreet one, for bounty hunters.

The bounties here are all very dark; I overhear whispers of assassinations and kidnappings. The cost for such acts is merely thousands.

Dante buys some information on Mercer's movements and directions. Apparently, the Mercers are very keen on two things and offer a high bounty for them.

They are seeking anyone with information about the massacre at Petralis. There’s also a hefty price on Caesar's whereabouts or capture. News travels fast in this world.

Dante’s next stop is the vault. It’s not easy to reach into the vault with my senses. When Dante emerges, he looks relieved.

Finally, after having dinner, Dante goes to a run-down hotel. As he enters his room, I join him through the window.

"You've been following me," Dante says without too much surprise. "I track people for a living. It's kind of my thing. Of course, I noticed you."

“Interesting. Got any leads?” I ask, unbothered. If he hasn't noticed me, then I’ll have to reconsider his usefulness.

"There isn't much to go on..." Dante gives me a curious look, "...unless you have information on what happened back in Petralis."

“You sound a bit too calm for what we are about to do.” I stare back at Dante. His sudden change in attitude is a bit strange.

"You've bought our lives. No point worrying about the details now. We'll earn our keep," Dante says, musing.

“You’re the one who sold your life away for money.” I look away.

"Oh... the devil has no pity. When I was forced into hell, I abandoned all hope… until he came…" Dante’s voice trails off. "The amount you offered... no one pays that much for a job."

Dante says his team will be here around noon tomorrow. After warning him about keeping my identity a secret, I leave Dante for the night.

While Dante sleeps, I am busy with cultivation in a room above his. Remembering what happened with Raven, I realize how extremely vulnerable I actually am.

Reaching the next stage of cultivation is another one of my priorities. The “infant” stage, the notes from Dr. Keyser say, allows one to slowly manifest its own Qi, among some other ability enhancements.

Continuing to absorb and circulate the Qi within my body, I can feel I am very close to achieving the next stage, yet nothing after an entire night of cultivation. Such… inefficiency…

Morning arrives, and my senses drift into Dante’s room. His first friend, Verge, a man of similar build, is already there.

"I’m only here because you begged," Verge announces playfully.

Verge works in the Rever’s care center during the day; bounty hunting is a side gig, and he is the one who helped Dante recover from his injuries.

Verge knows the city of Crythala like the back of his hand. He quickly gets to work and marks every known Mercer property and a couple of unknown ones on the map.

Before long, Trixie, an elegant lady who looks nothing like a bounty hunter, shows up at the door. She arrives with a ton of useful intel.

She confirms that the Duke of the Mercer family is indeed in Crythala. He arrived a little over a week ago. However, there have been no public sightings of him since.

She also reveals he’s nearing the end of his life, and the Mercers were figuring out who would replace the old duke to lead the Dynasty, until news of the Petralis massacre broke.

The updates on Petralis: no one has found Caesar yet, nor has a body been located. The rest of the bodies have been accounted for; everyone died of brain hemorrhage.

Brain hemorrhage?! Was it really me that killed them all? Did I cause all those brain hemorrhages?

Dark thoughts plague me once again. But looking at Rexy, I ask, “Do you feel fine?” Rexy gives me another reassuring nod.

"Brain hemorrhage. Which is extremely strange. I mean, it’s a ten-minute prevention treatment at any Rever care center,” Trixie says to the group.

Trixie continues with the intel. There appears to have been a massive fight within the dome that night. However, there are no live witnesses, so no one knows what happened.

Thus, the Mercers are offering a hefty bounty on Caesar or anyone with information. The duke hasn’t made any public appearance regarding this incident either.

Last to arrive is Bern, an older gentleman who commands the respect of everyone in the room. He’ll be in charge of operations, the brain of the group.

They have a ton of questions for Dante. Too many uncertainties plague them. This job is, as Verge puts it, a straight-up trip to hell. Going against one of the four Dynasties? Unheard of.

Dante’s being tight-lipped, as he should. At the end, it always comes back to one thing: cold, hard cash.

He just reminds them about the down payment they already pocketed. That pretty much seals their lips. Any lingering concerns vanish like smoke.

The professionals get to work while I keep my senses on them from the other room.

As the sun sets, they gather once more for a briefing on tonight's plan—prime time for scouting out potential locations to find either the Duke or Bailey.

Their plan is simple enough: find a Mercer from the main branch and try to figure out what they’re up to. Perfectly efficient plan, I like it! Efficiency is the key!

Bern points out that since Bailey’s arrival in Crythala is so close to the duke’s, it’s highly possible that whatever the Mercers are planning, Bailey’s a key component.

Before they leave, I meet with Dante once more. He tells me he’ll let me know once they locate Bailey or the Duke, but that’s all they’ve agreed to do. Rescue mission is not on them.

I agree, and he gives me a small device that he says can contact me; just follow it once it beeps. I also remind Dante of my… intolerance to betrayal.

They leave the hotel without me, unaware that I’ve been eavesdropping on them the whole time. Their first target is a Mercer brothel, known as The Clubhouse.