Leaving the Interrogation Room, Lucian wove through the huge building of the Lungmen Guard Department, greeting every officer he passed.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was an undercover cop in plain clothes. No normal logistics company employee who got dragged in for statements every other day would be this familiar with the police.
Lucian stepped into the executive-only elevator and held the stamped bail form to the scanner.
He didn't even need to press a floor. The elevator started descending on its own.
It passed the Underground Parking level without stopping, going even lower—to a floor that didn't exist on any map, straight out of a spy movie.
When Lucian stepped out, he found himself in a lavish office decorated in traditional Yan style.
He looked at the man standing before a folding screen and grinned. "You government types really crack me up. Always insist on meeting underground. What, afraid of sunlight?"
The tall man replied in formal tones. "This is for your safety and mine, Mr. Sinclair."
Then he turned around, revealing a face that wasn't entirely human—reptilian, almost.
Terra was home to countless races.
Lucian was a Sankta, the Angel race.
Swire was a Feline.
Inspector Ch'en was a Lung, a true-blooded dragon, the kind from the legends of Yan.
This tall man was a Lung as well—but with features far closer to the Ancients than Inspector Ch'en's. His appearance barely resembled a human at all.
His red-gold beast eyes narrowed as he took a puff from his pipe. "Did you bring it?"
Lucian's Halo flickered, and an object appeared in his once-empty hand.
He tossed it casually. "Here."
A portable terminal. Inside it was the intel on the arms dealers' distribution network.
This shipment was originally meant to flood into Lungmen, but Penguin Logistics happened to intercept it the moment it reached the Port.
The Lung man took the terminal with satisfaction. "Originium Arts truly are convenient. I hear Senior Inspector Ch'en demands to search you personally every time, and still finds nothing. She's broken several punching bags in the Gym over her frustration."
"No kidding. That woman nearly strips me bare every time." Lucian shook his head vigorously. "Why is it sexual harassment if a man searches a woman, but perfectly fine when she searches me? I'm filing a formal complaint for harassment. Tell me, Chief Wei—what's your solution?"
Chief Wei—Wei Yenwu—laughed. "I can't help you. Inspector Ch'en's sense of duty drives her. If she's willing to search you herself, that's her sacrifice as an unmarried lady. You should feel honored."
"See? That mindset is the problem!" Lucian slapped the table. "I'm the victim here. Why does it sound like she's the one losing out and I'm the one getting a bargain?"
Was Terra still sane? Lucian sincerely mourned for all men of the world.
Wei Yenwu, this half-Lung man, was the highest authority in Lungmen.
He was the one who secretly commissioned Penguin Logistics to intercept the arms dealers.
Which made the situation even more interesting.
Wei Yenwu could've simply mobilized the Guard Department, yet he chose to hide the intel. Even Ch'en and the others had no idea weapons were flowing into Lungmen.
Instead, he used Penguin Logistics to bypass the Guard Department, keeping the entire trafficking network in his own hands.
Lucian glanced at the terminal in Wei's hand. "So what's next, Chief Wei? Planning to make nice with the arms dealers and beef up your Private Military?"
Wei snorted dismissively. "Hardly. Why would I sully myself with sewer rats? Kill one nest, and another appears. I simply need to know where they hide."
He took another slow puff. "If I were to commission Penguin Logistics to eliminate these rats, would you accept?"
Lucian rejected him immediately and firmly. "Sorry, we're a legitimate logistics company. Handling dangerous packages is fine. Acting as hired killers is not."
Some people—especially those used to exploiting others—naturally saw everyone around them as pawns to move at their convenience.
Lucian wasn't one of their pieces.
He accepted reasonable commissions, but he would never be someone's weapon. His bottom line was clear.
He waved lazily and turned toward the Secret Elevator. "Same as always—send the payment to The Emperor's account. See you around, Chief Wei."
"Very well. Until next time."
Wei Yenwu didn't mind Lucian's rudeness and watched him leave.
Not until the elevator departed the hidden floor did Wei withdraw his gaze.
Behind him, separated by a screen, a black-robed figure—one of his Black-Clad Guards, silent as a ghost—finally spoke.
"Why did Chief Wei meet him personally? That Sankta boy's Originium Arts are unusual. No one can disarm him. If he were to use a Guardian Gun here…"
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Wei replied calmly. Then he added, "And don't call me 'Chief Wei.' Walls have ears."
The guard bowed deeply. "Understood."
Just as Lucian expected, Wei Yenwu never trusted him—or anyone from Penguin Logistics.
Even when meeting face-to-face, Wei always kept a guard hidden nearby in case Lucian made a move.
But as the guard said, Wei personally meeting Lucian was an unnecessary risk—very uncharacteristic for someone so cautious.
Wei Yenwu. The giant of Lungmen.
He stared at the virtual display of Lungmen's streets and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.
"Do you know that Sankta boy's true identity?"
The guard answered honestly. "I do not."
Wei nodded. "Neither do I."
He took another drag, eyes heavy. "Lucian Sinclair has been in Lungmen for several years. Yet I know nothing about him. Not one of the spies I sent to Laterano uncovered anything. Then something even stranger happened—I received a warning. Someone told me to stop investigating him. Do you know who?"
The guard chose his words carefully. "Forgive my ignorance… Could it be Laterano's official authorities?"
"No." Wei shook his head. "It was my younger brother."
"—!"
The guard jolted, emitting an audible inhale—the first human-like sound he'd made.
Wei ignored his shock. Anyone would react like that.
Wei Yenwu's rise to power wasn't by ability alone.
Whether he liked it or not, he was born into Yan's Aristocracy—and not just any aristocracy, but an exceptionally high tier.
It allowed him to climb to his current position.
It also ensured he would never escape the influence of his bloodline.
"My dear brother," Wei continued, "who has spent twenty years wanting to peel my skin and grind my bones, sent me a private letter. The first in two decades. And all it said was that I must not investigate that boy further. Not only that—he ordered me to guarantee the boy's safety within Lungmen at all costs. Do you understand the implications? Is there anything more absurd?"
"This… this…"
The guard struggled for words. "Could he be… a foreign member of an Imperial Family?"
Wei Yenwu shook his head. "If only. But as far as I know, Laterano has no such thing as royalty. If he really were a prince, I would've already arranged for a woman to seduce him."
Wei was a man who would use any method—official or not—if it benefited him.
A young man like Lucian would never resist a beauty trap.
And Wei had intel: Lucian clearly got along suspiciously well with several women in Penguin Logistics, and he was close with Ch'en and Swire too. He obviously wasn't uninterested in women.
Even so, Wei was still too cautious to act recklessly.
The Lung exhaled a thick stream of smoke. "Sankta… Sankta… Their Faith is complex and strange. Outsiders are rarely accepted. In fact, the Sankta race itself is bizarre. What kind of people are born with glowing lamps above their heads?"
A half-beastman with a dragon's face questioning why people have Halos—now that was rich.