Chapter 29: Are There Foreign Races Within the City Lord’s Mansion?

An hour later...

On the fourth floor of Jingming Pavilion, Song Qi and his two friends stepped out of the private room with satisfied faces.

"I'm stuffed, I can't eat another bite," Wang Zihao burped, rubbing his now noticeably rounder belly.

"This place truly lives up to its reputation—the dishes are so good they're almost unbelievable."

"Especially that Demon River fish—the taste was fresh, fragrant, and unbelievably tender. And eating it even boosted my experience points?! Wow... I don't think I'll ever forget it for the rest of my life."

"It was almost too much, though," Song Qi said with a laugh, patting his own stomach until a crisp "bang! bang!" echoed out.

"That fish was over five pounds and you ate more than half of it yourself. No wonder you're stuffed."

"By the way, Gongsun, how much did this meal cost?"

"How much?" Gongsun Wuyue tilted her head, thinking for a moment.

"I don't really know. I never look at prices when I buy things—probably five or six figures, I suppose."

Song Qi and Wang Zihao were once again awed by her extravagance.

A true heiress indeed! She actually described the price by the number of digits.

How wealthy did one have to be for that to be normal? Even Wang Zihao, a second-generation rich kid, could only marvel at how there was always a bigger fish in the pond.

At the same time, Song Qi couldn't help but let his imagination run wild regarding Gongsun Wuyue's identity. It seemed she wasn't just distantly related to Principal Gongsun—she was likely an important figure in the whole family. Yet she hadn't revealed much, which probably meant she didn't want to talk about it.

After a moment of idle speculation, Song Qi let the matter drop.

The three of them left the restaurant.

By then, Chu Shaojiang and his group had already departed, so nothing else happened.

"To the Instance Plaza!"

"Let's try to clear a dozen or twenty runs this afternoon and level up five or six times!"

Wang Zihao pointed to the sky, brimming with excitement.

A grand feast and unlimited instance runs—he was over the moon.

Gongsun Wuyue nodded in agreement. With the strength of Song Qi's summoned spirit, Wang Zihao's ambitious goal, though it sounded exaggerated at first, was actually attainable.

Song Qi thought for a moment and shook his head regretfully.

"You two might be able to level up five or six times, but I probably can't do it."

"After all... I'm already level eleven."

"I need two hundred thousand experience points now."

At those words, Wang Zihao and Gongsun Wuyue both stopped, giving him a calm, deadpan look.

"Go on, keep showing off. You must be ecstatic inside, right?"

"You're insufferable!"

"Level eleven in two days—are we even supposed to bother?"

"I suggest revoking your super S-class talent privileges. If you keep playing like this, no one else will have any fun."

"Agreed!"

The three of them joked and laughed as they headed toward the Instance Plaza.

...

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

The sun drifted down from its zenith.

Noon faded into late afternoon.

At the Instance Plaza...

Shua!

The three of them appeared in the plaza, foreheads flushed red.

They had spent the entire afternoon in the [Crimson Blood Nest] instance, barely pausing for a moment.

But since it was Lü Bu who was doing the fighting, the three of them spent the afternoon playing cards.

Wins and losses went both ways, and they had lost count of how many times they'd flicked each other's foreheads. Wang Zihao was still a little dizzy.

"Song, you want to keep going?"

Song Qi glanced at the time.

It was 5:15 in the afternoon.

Though his meeting with the city lord was at six, it was best to leave some leeway and make a good impression—not show up at the very last minute.

Song Qi shook his head.

"No, let's stop here for today. I need to head to City Hall now."

At that, Gongsun Wuyue stretched and smiled.

"Alright, then we won't keep you from your bright future."

"I never imagined running instances could be this easy."

Because the minor monsters in this instance didn't give much experience, Song Qi's strategy had been "decapitation"—not wasting time on the small fry.

Sometimes the guards even lured Baron William out early, and the fight would end in under three minutes.

Over the afternoon, the three of them cleared [Crimson Blood Nest] at least twenty times.

Song Qi leveled up from eleven to twelve.

Lü Bu's stats soared by another fifty points.

By his calculations, at this rate, he'd reach over level twenty in just a week and could start attempting to advance to an intermediate class.

The other two did well too.

Wang Zihao leveled up three times in a single day, reaching the threshold of level ten. He was already pondering which skill to choose next. He was even considering asking his father for a few million to buy a transcendent-grade skill.

After all, he'd reached level ten in just two days! With this rate of progress, his dad had no reason to refuse.

On the other hand, Gongsun Wuyue was extremely satisfied—she had leveled up six times! From a level three mage yesterday to a level nine mage today. Such speed was unheard of!

Naturally, this only further convinced her to invest in Song Qi.

After chatting a bit more and agreeing on a time to meet the next day, the three parted ways.

...

Half an hour later...

Song Qi arrived at the gates of City Hall.

The building was a simple, utilitarian office block—nothing extraordinary on the outside, even less impressive than the luxurious buildings nearby.

Song Qi pushed open the door and approached the receptionist.

"Hello, I'm Song Qi. Principal Shen said the city lord wanted to meet me this afternoon."

"Song Qi? Of course, please wait a moment..."

The receptionist checked her records and soon looked up at him.

"Thank you for waiting, Mr. Song. The city lord has just returned this afternoon and is waiting for you on the twelfth floor."

Song Qi waited for a moment, then asked uncertainly,

"Um... which room on the twelfth floor? Or will someone come meet me?"

"Sir, the entire twelfth floor belongs to the city lord. Once you arrive, he will know you're there."

Song Qi suddenly understood.

"I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He turned and walked to the elevator. At this hour, he was the only one there, and the elevator was already on the first floor.

Without further thought, he stepped in and pressed the button for the twelfth floor.

Beep beep!

"Elevator ascending. Please do not run or jump while in motion."

As the chime sounded, the elevator began to accelerate.

But for some reason...

As it rose, Song Qi felt increasingly uneasy and anxious. The higher he went, the more the burning sensation in his chest intensified.

An invisible pressure weighed heavier and heavier on his shoulders.

"Strange, am I just nervous?"

He took several deep breaths, but the agitation wouldn't leave him.

He could only hope to reach the twelfth floor quickly.

Ding-dong!

A clear chime sounded.

He looked up—it was only the eleventh floor.

But the elevator had stopped.

"Strange, why isn't it moving?"

"But I feel much better now."

Song Qi breathed a sigh of relief as the discomfort vanished suddenly.

"Guess I was just too nervous," he reassured himself.

But just as he was about to press the close button...

Boom!

A tremendous sense of danger crashed down from all sides!

From the ceiling, countless tendrils of black mist poured down through the cracks, making his heart pound with terror.

He could sense it—the endless, sinister black fog was forming a giant hand above him.

Like a dark sky, it descended slowly but inexorably.

There was nowhere to run!

Song Qi looked up and his scalp went numb.

That was the aura of a foreign demon!

"There are demons in City Hall?!"

"A human traitor right here in City Hall?!"

At that moment, he felt as if his heart had been seized.

He never expected something like this to happen in City Hall!

A deadly crisis had come upon him.

"Lü Bu!"

Song Qi's eyes widened in alarm. Without hesitation, he summoned Lü Bu.

"Stay away from my master!!"

Lü Bu leapt from the void.

Sensing Song Qi's distress, both [Reckless Assault] and [Self-Sacrifice Strike] activated instantly.

Lü Bu's eyes glowed red, the halberd in his hands crackling with purple lightning.

In berserk mode, his stats shot up from over six hundred to a terrifying four digits!

He poured all his might into [Self-Sacrifice Strike]!

This was Lü Bu's most powerful attack, unleashed in an instant!

"Kill!!"

A thunderous roar shook the building.

The halberd, wreathed in lightning, slashed upward with immense force!

Boom!!!!

A colossal impact resounded.

The black hand was blasted apart!

The deadly threat hanging over Song Qi's head was finally dispelled.

But Song Qi felt no relief.

Because...

A humanoid creature wearing a black helmet stepped slowly out of the black mist, appearing before Song Qi.

And Lü Bu was already on one knee, unable to stop coughing up blood.