The Last Gentleman
Chapter 526: 524: Picking Someone Up

Buzz!

With the floating effect granted by the Star Body, William landed steadily, right in the midst of a forest teeming with Maggot People.

Maggot People with worm-like lower bodies and human-like upper bodies clung to the surrounding trees,

constantly secreting white excrement from within their bodies, fertilizing the densely packed crystal eggs on the ground. Unfortunately, the fertility rules of the Old World had been locked, and what hatched from the eggs were only stillborns.

Therefore, the ground was covered with eggs and stillborns, a nauseating sight.

For the arrival of William, a formidable individual, they showed no fear, as if they had long grown tired of life in the Old World.

William, however, paid no mind to the group of Maggot People. He took out a card from the Black Worm Company, thought about it, and then stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Forget it, the last time I let the Black Worm Train take me to the secret area of the Trade Association, it almost led to the entire carriage of people being slaughtered by the Silver Mask... I’d better just walk there myself.

It’s a good opportunity to test the physical growth I’ve achieved this past month at the Circus.

Although I didn’t deliberately exercise my body, I feel that it has grown quite a bit under the influence of that atmosphere."

Seeing the ground filled with maggot eggs, leaving no place to step, William simply leaped onto a tree trunk and dashed forward at the top of the forest.

"Hmm! My speed has indeed increased quite a bit... Just because I followed Mr. Rabbit in dancing for a while? When I return on my path, I must delve deeper into the Circus, and even integrate my new department there."

A hundred kilometers were easily covered in half an hour,

and feeling quite hot from the long run, William completely stripped off his gentleman’s clothes upon leaping out of the forest, revealing his aesthetically pleasing upper body.

The gentleman’s clothes actually have an automatic cooling feature, but after a month living with the Circus, William seemed to be accustomed to baring his upper body and indeed felt uncomfortable not doing so.

The familiar Grand Canyon was before his eyes,

its completely black expanse, obscured by layer upon layer of mountain structures, was where the secret area of the Trade Association was located. Any unauthorized person’s approach could invite slaughter by the Silver Mask.

William came this time with only one purpose—to "pick up goods."

To retrieve the Candle Puppet he had stored here, and then formally begin his Abyss exploration journey.

As William ventured deeper, the Golden Mask holding the candle in his hand once again came forward.

However, meeting again after a month,

the expression on the Golden Mask was somewhat puzzled, as there was a significant change in William’s aura. Moreover, his bare-chested appearance, almost as if flaunting his physique, contrasted with the reserved young man from before.

The Golden Mask observed the slight twitching on the surface of the muscles, and the restless passion beneath the flesh, reminding him of a very troublesome being.

"William, it seems your journey this past month was quite fruitful. You didn’t become chummy with that rabbit, did you?"

"Does Senior Golden Mask know Mr. Rabbit?"

"Pretty much everyone in the Silver Circle knows about that rabbit. As for me, I’ve met him by chance before. Even though we haven’t fought directly, just by colliding auras I knew his physique is unparalleled, far more fearsome than any life form from the Old World that I have ever seen.

However, I don’t have much interaction with him. By the way, how is his personality?"

"Well, I haven’t actually had formal contact with Mr. Rabbit, just a few encounters, and I danced a bit following his Performance.

But, from the feeling of it, Mr. Rabbit seems to think rather well of me."

"It’s clear you have a high affinity with that rabbit, but be careful... Once you put on the headgear, you might become a slave. However, as a quality customer of the Duke, you shouldn’t make such a basic mistake.

You’ve probably signed a confidentiality agreement about the internal matters of the Circus, so I won’t ask further. Did you come here this time to see the Duke, or is there something else?"

"I want to retrieve my Candle Puppet."

"It seems you’re preparing to head to the Abyss in search of a Path. I’m really looking forward to what you’ll become after you find it... Wait a moment, I’ll go and bring out your Candle Puppet.

The Trade Association is still ’reorganizing,’ so it would be troublesome to take you inside."

"Trouble."

"Right, your Candle Puppet’s autonomy is simply too strong. During the upgrade process, she refused to cooperate with her original owner and even looked down on the prepared materials for the Candle Puppet.

In the end, with no other choice, the guild provided her with some new types of materials, and these expenses will be recorded on your account."

"It’s fine, she shouldn’t have spent too much."

"Indeed, it’s not that much, just 100,000 Ancient Coins. William, as a premium client, you just need to clear the debt within a year. Otherwise, you’ll be asked to repay it forcibly and it will affect your personal credit."

"100,000! What on earth did she buy!?"

"Rest assured, the guild wouldn’t cheat you. Considering the Duke has to some extent made clear that your path is related to the Abyss, sufficient and effective lighting is indispensable.

The materials we provided for the Candle Puppet can support her long-term operation in darkness.

Moreover, your Candle Puppet is very interesting. The entire upgrade assembly process was pretty much led by her.

Alright, enough chatting, I’m going to bring her out."

"Ah...okay then."

100,000 in total. The most William had ever had in his account was only about 20,000.

However, when the Golden Mask brought the Candle Puppet out, William’s expression changed again.

Thirteen’s appearance hadn’t changed much, still wearing her old, tattered gothic skirt, with remnants of wax oil in her hollow eye sockets.

But the candle hidden within the skull became completely different, seemingly with an endless energy source, and from now on, she would no longer need wax oil replenishment.

Additionally, the mechanical body beneath the skin was entirely replaced with a type of black metal. William even felt that the material itself emitted an Abyss scent, and its black surface seemed alive, supporting the Candle Puppet’s body.

When they walked out of the valley,

the Golden Mask placed a palm on the back of the Candle Puppet’s head, allowing her to regain her Self-awareness.

The firelight overflowed from the eye sockets again, Vision clear, and upon seeing the familiar young man before her, Thirteen’s metallic face showed no change, except for a drop of solidified wax oil in her Right Eye.

She moved slightly faster than usual to stand behind William, standing quietly as before, without saying an extra word.

On the other hand, the Golden Mask explained the whereabouts of the money:

"Using rare Evil Sun Oil to make the white wax, which can burn almost endlessly.

And the mechanical body reconstructed with Abyss metal. Such a Candle Puppet is quite rare in the entire Old World and is the best companion for exploring the Abyss."

"Alright, thank you for taking care of Thirteen this month."

"Not at all, we just do the work for the money. Then I wish you, William, a smooth journey, reaching your destination in one step along the unknown Path at the bottom of the Abyss."

They waved goodbye.

After completely leaving the guild’s area, William immediately called the Black Worm Train to go near the Abyss.

Following William’s departure,

the Golden Mask extinguished the candle in his hand and returned alone deep into the belly of the mountain, following a winding staircase down to the depths, to the guild’s secret zone.

Below, various odd ’money laundering devices’ are placed, with many Golden Masks working here, ’laundering’ items with ownership to strip them of any connection to their original owner or power, so they can be included in the Duke’s castle.

Some items that could not be completely cleansed had to undergo special packaging and sealing.

Meanwhile, the Duke himself was conducting a ritual related to ’Qi Fortune Condensation.’

A sum enough to buy a Neutral City was exhausted during the ritual, even the Duke’s swollen body saw a significant reduction.

At the cost of money and Physical form, he exchanged for control over fate and chose a location for the next guild exhibition, maintaining neutrality from start to finish without attracting any trouble.