advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/Ritesh_Jadhav0869
Name Conversions This Chapter:
Mr. Lu → Mr. Lawson (Russell's alias)
Mr. Xu → Mr. Cross (Zayne's alias)
Li Shuo → Lucas Shaw
Lannide → Lannide (kept)
Pang Ge → Garrett
Wanhua Tower → The Gilded Lily
The two figures were, of course, Mr. Lawson and Mr. Cross.
"No wonder we didn't notice anything at first," Russell muttered.
When he and Zayne had been on the second floor, they'd swept the third floor with their mental energy. But in their perception, the young man and Garrett had simply... vanished. As if they'd never set foot on the third floor at all.
It was only thanks to Kumoko's [Ruler·Wisdom] skill—maxed out detection at full power—that they'd caught a trace of something wrong.
Without it, two Gold-rank cardmakers might have actually been fooled today.
Zayne glanced at the white spider beside him, careful not to stare too obviously. From the last fight with Lucas Shaw, he'd already known this spider-shaped card was a combat monster.
What he hadn't expected was that a card he'd assumed was pure offense also possessed detection abilities this sharp.
What Zayne didn't know was that Kumoko possessed several broken Ruler skills.
Future evolutions would grant her [Sloth]—an aura-type ability—and the powerful healing skill [Charity].
And [Ruler·Wisdom], which combined appraisal and detection into one package, was a skill the Evil God D had crafted specifically for her.
In other words, it was protagonist-exclusive cheating.
Though Kumoko had plenty of cheats to go around.
When Zayne first followed Russell to the third floor, he'd found nothing unusual about The Gilded Lily's upper level. Even after the two of them searched back and forth multiple times, it seemed completely ordinary.
What surprised them even more was the presence of actual employees up here—as if it really was just a staff break room, exactly like the madam had claimed.
During their search, a few workers noticed them wandering around in broad daylight, but before anyone could ask questions, they simply... fainted.
The search didn't end until Russell summoned Kumoko.
"Let little spider take a look~" The white spider muttered, feeling for fluctuations in the space around her.
A moment later, her eyes lit up. "Found it, found it!"
Of course, that was from Russell's perspective. From Zayne's point of view, the pale, monstrous spider had appeared and started hissing softly. Then its compound eyes—all of them—flashed scarlet, and it led them to an ordinary door.
Just an ordinary door.
So ordinary that two Gold-rank cardmakers had subconsciously ignored its existence. Neither had even thought to push it open and look inside.
Russell opened the door and let Kumoko crawl in first.
Only after entering the room did they understand why the third floor had no visible defenses at all.
For a secret hideout like this, posting guards would only draw more attention, wouldn't it?
Maybe there were surveillance cameras in the corridor. Maybe the Unification Sect already knew they were here.
But Russell didn't care.
They were acting as Spirit Begging Society members today. What kind of illegal organization would they be if they didn't make some noise?
Ah, that's just how we are in the Society. Unscrupulous, no regard for human life. Not like those Association folks who have to worry about civilian casualties every time they do anything.
Though both men present currently held dual identities.
Still, they'd originally planned to cause a commotion. That way, Zayne could conveniently "investigate" later in his official capacity as Association Director.
As Director of Public Security, he could fabricate intelligence and claim it came from his subordinates—but inventing information from thin air too often would eventually raise suspicions.
Under the influence of [Silence]—one of Kumoko's [Spider Racial Skills]—the two people inside the room never noticed the arrival of two Gold-rank cardmakers.
Not until Russell spoke.
"Who?!" Garrett whirled around, startled by the sudden voice.
What he saw were two young men he'd never met before, and a white spider beside them.
"You two aren't from our Sacred Church, are you?" Garrett's eyes turned dangerous. From what he'd overheard, it was clear these uninvited guests had hostile intentions.
The young man looked around the room in confusion.
"Garrett—" he started to say.
But before he could finish, Garrett summoned his card.
Unfortunately for him, the moment his humanoid card materialized, it was bisected by the spider that had somehow appeared behind it.
One second. Killed in one second after manifestation.
Kumoko hadn't even bothered to appraise it.
Bronze-level cards meant only slightly more to her than her little siblings—the lesser spider monsters.
"You—" Garrett's pupils contracted. The card suddenly entering cooldown in his mind told him everything he needed to know.
The spider in front of him was a monster he could never hope to match.
But before he could say anything else, pale spider silk wrapped around him and hoisted him upside-down from the ceiling.
His burly frame thrashed violently.
It didn't matter. Silk from a Gold-rank Kumoko wasn't something a Bronze-level nobody like him could break.
Within moments, Garrett was cocooned in webbing, only his eyes left exposed.
Under his horrified gaze, the young man who was obviously the spider's cardmaker slowly approached, crouched down, and looked directly into his eyes.
"Would you mind telling me what you and your Unification Sect are working on?"
"I have a friend who's quite curious."
Russell smiled kindly.
As he spoke, he patted Kumoko beside him.
The webbing over Garrett's mouth fell away. He could speak now.
"I'll f—"
Before Garrett could finish his creative string of profanity, Kumoko sealed his mouth again.
Seeing this, Russell stood up with a troubled expression. "Mr. Cross, what should we do?"
Zayne gave a slight bow. "Leave it to me, sir."
"If you would have the silk removed from his head?"
At Russell's signal, Kumoko stripped away the webbing covering Garrett's face.
Just as Garrett attempted to launch another verbal assault on Russell's ancestry, a sphere of dark blue water engulfed his head.
As Director of Public Security, Zayne was quite familiar with extracting information from members of illegal organizations.
Ignoring the friendly conversation happening nearby, Russell walked over to the young man.
The young man hung suspended just like Garrett—wrapped in silk, dangling from the ceiling. As an ordinary person with no cards or training, his face had already turned red from the blood rushing to his head.
"Foolish boy," Russell said, looking at him with something almost like sympathy. "Did you ever stop to think—if the secret method actually worked, why would your friend Garrett still be just a Bronze-rank cardmaker?"
The young man's eyes went blank. Russell's words cut through the fog in his mind, and clarity began to dawn.
"Yeah... why—"
Too bad he never got the chance to finish.
"Sir, I have what we need." Zayne approached Russell and spoke quietly. "He says he hasn't been in East-Haven long."
"His mission was to coerce or bribe ordinary people dissatisfied with the Association into joining the Unification Sect."
"There are more locations like this one."
"He doesn't know anything beyond that."
"Is that so?" Russell rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Then kill him."
He wasn't surprised. For a Bronze-level grunt, this was already more information than expected.
The moment he finished speaking, dangerous purple liquid splashed across both suspended figures.
Kumoko's corrosive attack.
Within moments, only two pools of dissolving flesh remained.
"Let's go." After confirming no evidence was left behind, Russell grabbed Zayne's arm, ready for Kumoko to teleport them out with spatial magic.
"Hm?" Kumoko activated her spatial magic, then scratched her head with a foreleg in confusion. "Looks like spatial magic is blocked in here~"
Russell's heart sank.
Fortunately, Kumoko's next words eased his worry. "But it should be fine once we're out of this room. Little spider didn't sense any barrier outside~"
Zayne looked at the young man beside him with confusion. He couldn't understand Kumoko's language and had no idea what was happening.
"We need to leave first. Spatial teleportation is blocked in this room." Russell quickly explained the situation.
Just as they were about to exit, a calm voice came from behind them.
"You two killed my people and think you can just leave peacefully? Isn't that a bit disrespectful?"
Russell and Zayne spun around instantly.
Standing before them was Lucas Shaw.
And beside him—a demon.
Kumoko immediately began her appraisal.
[Name: Lannide]
[Title: Level 2 Researcher, Demon Army R&D Department]
[Rank: Gold]
[Droppable Materials: Knowledgeable Immortal Seed]
"Demon Army..."
Russell's whisper reached the ears of the female demon Kumoko had identified as Lannide.
"Oh? You know of us?"
"I don't believe I've ever dealt with the Spirit Begging Society before."
Lannide appeared humanoid—pale skin, white lab coat. Judging by looks alone, she could almost pass for human.
Lucas Shaw stared at Russell, teeth clenched. "Lannide. He's the one I told you about."
"Is that so?" Lannide tapped her chin with a pale finger, then a wicked smile spread across her face. "Then please, do stay and chat."
"Why would we—"
Before she finished speaking, a massive surge of energy erupted in the cramped room.
Countless pitch-black orbs and spears materialized from dense magic circles appearing around Kumoko.
"What are you saying, little spider? I don't understand!"
Zayne wasn't a fool either. The moment Kumoko attacked, a card Russell had never seen before materialized in front of him.
Blazing flames roared outward, threatening to reduce everything in the room to ash.
So I wasn't the only one who thought of using separate card sets for my public and secret identities.
It made sense. If Zayne kept using his Chancellor Tortoise cards, even an idiot would figure out that the Public Security Director was a Society member.
Lannide watched the two completely different attacks approaching her with an expression of academic interest.
Something flashed in her hand, and a tome appeared—its cover emblazoned with a magic circle.
Pages flipped rapidly. A torrent of water materialized from nothing, instantly colliding with Zayne's flames.
Fire met water. Steam exploded outward—hot enough to severely burn any ordinary person—and white mist filled the room, blocking all visibility.
But Lannide didn't even glance at Zayne.
At that moment, she put on a pair of glasses and stared directly at where Kumoko stood. "My, my. This card..."
"I've been stationed in the North for years, and I've rarely seen anything this interesting."
"Cardmakers. Heh."
A strange laugh escaped her lips.
The pages of her book flipped again. A white defensive magic circle manifested before her.
BOOM.
A violent explosion. The shockwave was so intense that guests throughout The Gilded Lily thought an earthquake had struck.
"Earthquake! Run!"
Male patrons fled the building without even pulling up their pants.
But once they reached the street, they found there was no earthquake at all.
Just a massive hole in the third-floor wall, fierce flames burning inside. Smoke billowed outward, making them cough uncontrollably.
Inside the third-floor secret room, Lannide gazed thoughtfully at the empty space where Russell and Zayne had been.
Lucas Shaw's voice dripped with dissatisfaction. "Lannide, you're just going to let them escape like that?"
Lannide turned her head slowly. Her cold gaze held no emotion whatsoever. "My superiors asked me to help you complete your plan."
"I am not your subordinate. Watch your tone."
Lucas Shaw's expression darkened, but he had no way to argue with the demon.
If he hadn't lost so many men in that previous battle with the Spirit Begging Society, he wouldn't have needed to request support from the Demon Army in the first place.
And the more he asked for now, the more he'd have to pay back later.
But he couldn't blame her, so he poured all his hatred onto that damned Society instead.
He couldn't understand it. They were both illegal organizations—why couldn't they just cooperate and destroy the Association first?
"This location is compromised. The plan will have to be postponed again." Lannide glanced at the panicked humans below, then turned and vanished from the secret room.
Lucas Shaw stomped his foot in rage and followed.
In an abandoned factory, two figures and a spider appeared out of thin air.
"Director Zayne, head back first. You should receive notification soon."
"Understood."
Russell watched Zayne leave, his eyes flickering with thought.
Today's recruitment operation had collapsed halfway through. Just from the aura he'd sensed, he knew that demon was terrifyingly powerful.
A fight with her wouldn't have ended quickly—and Lucas Shaw had been watching from the sidelines the entire time.
Russell still didn't understand why she hadn't attacked the moment she appeared.
Regardless, after Kumoko launched her ambush without a shred of moral hesitation, she'd used her sharp forelegs to slice through the door itself.
Being a Gold-rank cardmaker with an exceptionally powerful card had its advantages—otherwise, even getting through that door would have been a struggle.
Once they'd escaped the room that blocked spatial abilities, Kumoko had teleported them to safety.
"The Spirit Begging Society identity still has too many constraints," Russell sighed.
First, he couldn't afford prolonged combat. If the Society and the Sect actually went to war in East-Haven, Russell—as Vice President of the Association—would obviously need to be present.
Second, the only card he could use was Kumoko. If Mikoto Misaka and Aizen could have appeared back there, Russell was confident he could have at least crippled that demon.
"But still... a Knowledgeable Immortal Seed."
Thinking of the information from Kumoko's appraisal, Russell grew contemplative.
Perhaps...
He now knew where to find the last missing material for his second card under the Society identity.