Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Auction house.

Room.

Shen Ye looked at the two purchasing lists in front of him.

"Sorry, I almost screwed up."

The Big Skeleton transmitted his dejected voice.

"It's fine, it's not your fault, in fact, we had no idea we even needed to be careful when buying things," Shen Ye said.

That Kevin even tested me again before he left.

He actually wasn't reassured about me.

He hadn't truly let his guard down.

—Because the risk of provoking me now is too great, in case I really am innocent, then it would be he who couldn't escape the consequences.

That's why he had ceased his actions.

...Interesting.

"That Living Corpse just now was full of schemes, we need to be careful from now on," Shen Ye said.

"What do we do now?" the Big Skeleton asked.

"The money is spent, naturally we need to gather all the materials and then return to our world to complete the advancement," Shen Ye said.

"That would be safe," the Big Skeleton heaved a sigh of relief.

An hour later.

Shen Ye walked out of a large material store.

—The materials needed to upgrade "Whispers of the Dark" have been collected, and according to the Big Skeleton, as long as it uses its secret technique, this skill could be advanced at any time.

But—

Shen Ye walked straight ahead without glancing sideways, suddenly stopped, and looked toward a shop on the side of the road.

It seemed as though he was appraising the goods in the shop.

But in his peripheral vision, he noticed the void behind him—

Within that void, two lines of words emerged:

"Dark Soul Slayer."

"Dark Soul Slayer."

Someone was following, and there were two of them.

It didn't take much to guess who had sent these two guys.

But it didn't matter.

Shen Ye walked back confidently, pausing briefly in front of a clothing store before entering.

As Madame Daisy had said, he first went to buy several outfits.

It goes without saying,—clothing makes the man.

Vampires, even more so.

He bought the most expensive black leather coat in the store, reputed to have seven or eight protective enchantments, a red rose pinned to the chest, a pair of boots with triple-effect enchantments of agility, levitation, and gliding, and the leather pants on his legs were embroidered with several protective spells.

—All for protective effects, nothing else considered!

Dressed in these clothes, offsetting his pale and morbidly handsome face, he did have a certain unique charm.

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Trying on clothes, changing clothes, discussing clothes with the clerk, he even took a meal break in the meantime, went to the bathroom, visited the Veterans' Guild for a while, and made small talk with the Necromancer for half an hour.

However, it was still a bit early for noon.

He thought it over, bid farewell to the Necromancer, returned to the small alley, walked back to the hotel, went upstairs, and entered his room.

—The stalkers were highly professional, always following at a steady pace.

But now I'm entering my room.

Shen Ye took out the key and unlocked the door.

A gust of wind blew.

The two followers, incredibly, took the form of an invisible wind and rushed into the room first.

"Eh? Seems like I forgot something back at the Veterans' Guild."

Shen Ye stood in the corridor, closing the door with a "snap," muttering to himself.

The two stalkers stood inside the room, staring as he closed the door, but it was already too late for them to rush out.

Shen Ye stood outside unmoving.

After a short while,

There came a sound from inside the room, as if the window had been opened.

—They jumped out.

So, he opened the door again, walked in, closed the door, and then shut the window that had just been opened.

"I remembered wrong, I didn't forget anything."

"Look at my memory, must've been addled by artillery on the battlefield in the Human Territory," he murmured to himself, took off his shoes, and laid on the bed.

"You don't need to bother with them, be careful or they'll mark you for special observation," the Big Skeleton whispered.

"You don't understand, this kind of thing needs to be addressed from the start, otherwise others will treat you like an easy target, constantly watching you, and you won't dare to make a move—yet what we are going to do is bound to draw attention," Shen Ye said.

"But what if you're wrong?" the Big Skeleton asked.

"What's there to fear, just go back, change identities, take a train back here," Shen Ye said.

"And wear this Vampire getup again? Wouldn't that just give you away too easily?" the Big Skeleton felt it was inappropriate.

"Don't forget, we Baxters have several brothers, I'm just the eldest, and should anything happen to me, my younger brothers will come to avenge me!" Shen Ye said.

"Hmm, make sure you've thought this through, the Baxter Family only had three brothers on the battlefield, others are either drunkards or losers, totally useless," the Big Skeleton reminded subtly.

"But as long as something happens to me, my brothers will definitely come seeking vengeance," Shen Ye said.

—I will personally disguise as a brother to take revenge.

"Here's the problem, the others are all losers," the Big Skeleton said.

"Not at all, each of us brothers has talents, it's just that the outside world doesn't know—I'll start spreading such messages!" Shen Ye said.

Ding!

The doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" Shen Ye asked with a yawn.

"Room cleaning!" a female voice came from outside.

"Okay, hold on, I'm coming,"

Shen Ye walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and indeed saw a Zombie beauty standing outside, pushing a cleaning cart.

In the corridor behind the Zombie beauty, two lines of words floated silently.

—The two observers had come back again.

Shen Ye thought for a moment, whispered a few words to the Big Skeleton, then pressed his hand on the door.

A flicker of light, once again gathered:

"You have activated the 'Unique Gateway,' endowing this door with the power to link two worlds."

"The side near you is designated as the Nightmare World; the other side of the door is the Main World."

Small letters flashed and vanished.

"Please come in!"

The door opened.

The Zombie beauty entered the room with the cleaning cart.

The two followers stepped through the door after her.

Suddenly—a drastic change occurred—

They suddenly found that the room in front of them had transformed.

All the scenery around them had vanished.

He stood in a dim and silent underground passageway.

"What—"

"There's a problem!"

The two watchers shouted lowly, unprepared for the tremendous strength that struck them from behind.

Boom!

The Skeletal Giant, transformed from a large skeleton, threw a fierce punch that sent both flying, blowing open the door of the passage and soaring into the air.

—This was Human Territory.

Outside, a noisy and frantic commotion immediately erupted.

"Alert!"

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

"Undeada—quick, kill them!"

The two Undead Assassins hadn't even hit the ground before they were bombarded with a barrage of Techniques.

Once, twice.

Dozens of times.

Their bodies scattered in midair, falling in front of the positions.

At the end of the passageway.

The door slowly closed and vanished from sight.

Inside the inn.

Shen Ye sat with his legs crossed, lying on the sofa, chatting casually with the Zombie beauty.

"They actually have such a beautiful lady cleaning rooms? That's just too much."

Shen Ye said.

The Zombie beauty giggled while wiping the table and responded,

"Eternal Night City doesn't keep idle folks around, you have to do everything to survive."

"You don't quite seem like a specialized cleaner," Shen Ye noted.

"Of course, I'm a Bone Spearman, it's just a pity that I've never been able to Advance."

"What's the problem?"

"I don't even know how to perfect my first Skill, still haven't found the right direction to this day."

"Want me to take a look at it for you?"

"What do you want? I don't have any money on me."

"...Just a simple act of helping out, it can also let me practice my skills."

"Hmph, coveting my skills? Or trying to obtain my profession? Dream on." The Zombie beauty rolled her eyes at him, quickening her cleaning motions.

Suddenly.

A person appeared in the room.

A High-level Zombie, the leader of the assassins of Eternal Night City, Kevin.

As soon as he appeared, he immediately looked toward Shen Ye.

Shen Ye lay on the sofa with his legs crossed, his face showing the embarrassment of just being repelled by the beauty.

The Zombie beauty was cleaning the bedside table.

Everything seemed normal.

Without saying a word, Kevin swiftly opened the door to the room, stood in the corridor looking around, and then walked back in, circling the room once.

"Brother Kevin? What are you doing here?"

Shen Ye asked, surprised.

"Don't ask me right now—Mr. Baxter, what are you doing here?" There was a hint of murderous intent in Kevin's tone.

Shen Ye spread his hands, puzzled, and retorted, "Haven't you been here before? This is my rented room!"

Kevin ignored him, stepping quickly forward, seizing the Zombie beauty by the neck, and demanded,

"Tell me, what just happened!"

The Zombie beauty screamed, but then immediately noticed his uniform and the two Boneblade Daggers at his waist.

"I was called to this room to clean just a moment ago, so I came," said the Zombie beauty quickly.

"And then?" Kevin's grip tightened.

Gasping for breath, almost screaming, the Zombie beauty said, "I started cleaning as soon as I got in, and he was seducing me on the side! He wanted to probe me for information about my profession!"

"—And then you came!"

"Officer, I swear I'm not lying!"

Kevin's hand released.

The Zombie beauty fell to the floor, gasping heavily.

"Brother Kevin."

Shen Ye stood up from the sofa, shook his neck, and his smile became as serene as water.

"So it's too much for me to come back for a rest? Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"Or could it be—"

"You really think I'm easy to bully?"

Silent murderous intent emanated from him, though his face still wore a smile.

Kevin slowly lifted his head to look at Shen Ye.

There was a pause.

Shen Ye's aura continued to climb as if he was ready to strike at any moment.

After a brief silence, Kevin's hands went to his waist, seemingly ready to draw his daggers, and he slowly said,

"Mr. Baxter, since you've been invited to Shadow Manor, you're a distinguished guest of Lord Earl. Please do not do anything unbecoming of your stature."

Shen Ye promptly replied, "Our Baxter Family's many brothers might not amount to much, but anyone seeking to frame and target us will pay a price."

"I swear."

"Heh, do you think those brothers of yours—" Kevin started scoffing.

Shen Ye cut him off, "They're all stronger than me, I just have a little bit of Strength—just enough to kill you."

The atmosphere became so taut it could snap.

There was a still silence.

A familiar feeling emerged softly, causing Shen Ye to pause.

This feeling was like those two potential terms—

The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities, The Little Match Boy.

They too started as mere inklings and gradually grew into full-fledged terms.

But what was the mechanism?

Had he triggered some key information?

No, not at all!

He was just posturing!

The next second.

Gleams of light gathered, and silently, a line of text appeared in the void:

"Your standoff with the leader of the thieves in Eternal Night City has earned you a certain reputation."

"If you continue on this path, there is a certain chance you will create a Unique Gateway for yourself!"

"This is the result of your 'Gateway' power continuously evolving, adapting to local customs, and increasingly personalizing."

"—The Vampire family will not let go of those who target their brothers, they will come continuously to Eternal Night City to seek revenge on your behalf."

"—Of course, each of the Baxter Family Vampire brothers will be played by you."

"Your seven brothers (there may be seven, or there may not be) are about to germinate the following term:"

"—Vampire Kid!"