Chapter 154 - Borrowing From Loan Sharks

At the suburban train station in Anta City, passengers in various styles of clothes stood on the twenty-meter-long rectangular platform with their luggage, waiting silently for the train. When a whistle sounded in the distance, everyone's heads swiveled to look.

A black and red steam train appeared from afar, puffing out white clouds, almost like it was breathing. The morning sun cast a layer of brilliance over it.

As the train approached, the ground began to tremble slightly. White steam continuously billowed out along the tracks, engulfing the entire locomotive. The steam carried a distinct smell of coal smoke.

Whoosh!

The square-shaped front of the train approached like a meteor.

As the doors opened, passengers from other cities stepped off the train one after another. A black boot stepped onto the dark gray platform, and a man with a cold demeanor glanced up at the sky. Then, he squeezed into the crowd and headed toward the city center.

After half a month, Cassius had returned. He had traveled from East Sea City to Anta City, making a stop at Wenmingda University along the way to find Professor Tennessee, who had previously helped him decipher ancient texts. Just like before, everything was easy to arrange as long as he had money in hand.

To speed up the process, Cassius added a small incentive. The idea was simple: the faster it was done, the more money Professor Tennessee would earn. With such a tempting offer, the professor would surely achieve the decoding speed that Cassius desired.

According to the professor, the parchment Cassius had given him seemed to be from a similar era as the map he had given him from a few months ago. Since the groundwork had already been laid when he deciphered the map, decoding the parchment wouldn't take as long.

Cassius left the train station and returned to the house he had purchased in Anta City, which served as one of his bases. After a brief rest and a meal, Cassius walked to a narrow, secluded path in the suburbs of Anta City, beige suitcase in hand. Along the path were piles of weeds and rubble. Among the rubble stood a slender, straight bronze pillar, its surface mottled with color.

He took out a bell and, like usual, began to shake it. The world blurred momentarily, and Cassius entered the Rainy World of Black Rain Manor. The once-clear sky was replaced by dense clouds, and a light drizzle fell nonstop from above.

A black carriage came trudging through the mud. Cassius glanced at the cloaked driver, took a cautious step toward the carriage, and then climbed inside. The two strong black horses in front lurched, and the carriage began to roll forward. He could hear the wheels turning.

After a minute, Cassius breathed a sigh of relief from his seat inside the carriage. Black Rain Manor didn't try to attack him this time; Otherwise, he would have had to use the armored carriage from last time.

An hour later, Cassius stood in front of the wooden door of the Bolt Sect's headquarters, an umbrella over his head, and gently knocked. Someone immediately walked over to open it.

"Hello... Ah, it's Mr. Twilight." The person who opened the door was a young man of about twenty, with delicate features and golden curls. It was Jiri, whom Cassius had previously worked with and later introduced to the Bolt Sect.

"Mr. Twilight, please come in." The young man smiled and stepped aside.

"Mm." Cassius nodded slightly and stepped inside.

He took the key and unlocked the door. The layout inside was undisturbed and the floor was relatively dust-free; someone had likely been keeping up with the maintenance. Cassius made his bed, took what he needed, and then walked through the streets to the Baptism Chapel.

This time, the chapel hall had quite a few people. After a short break, they entered the empty private rooms one by one.

Cassius glanced around the hall, walked underneath the ornate ceiling, crossed the expanse of black benches, and stood in front of the prayer table. On the table was an old, yellowed scripture.

As if it could sense someone approaching, the candlesticks on either side of the prayer table suddenly ignited, throwing its surroundings in a strong white light. The Hellsings watching from a distance were instantly blinded.

Cassius, however, was barely flinched even though he was standing close by. The scripture in front of him began to flip through its pages on its own before finally stopping on the page of the Atonement Task. The text of the Atonement Task turned fluid and blood-red.

Cassius expressionlessly pulled out a restored map from his chest, along with a pebble-sized fragment. He placed the two items on either side of the scripture.

Beep...

The blood-red text began to distort and twist, eventually spreading across the paper like blood, crawling onto the map and the fragment, and finally wrapping around them completely.

At the same time, it felt as if a gust of wind blew through, as the scripture's pages began flipping wildly. The pages fluttered back and forth until several of them suddenly detached and ignited midair. The flames roared, with black ash eventually drifting down.

Cassius felt a chill on the back of his right hand. He raised his hand and saw that the shield mark had returned to normal. The spear piercing through it had disappeared, meaning his atonement had been a success.

Rustle... crackle... rustle...

The scripture on the prayer table continued flipping madly, making it clear that the manor was far from peaceful at the moment.

Cassius's gaze remained indifferent as he decisively turned around. He didn't care what the manor did with the information about the ruins, because, in a short while, the manor might not even be able to protect itself. Besides, everything was just a historical flashback since he had time-traveled.

Under the watchful gazes of a few, Cassius walked out of the Baptism Chapel. His next move, naturally, was to take out a loan.

Cassius estimated that if all went well, the Northern Covert Martial Arts community would arrive soon. He needed to show them the effects of Soul Power. He didn't have any dark essence left as he used it all up before heading to the ruins. Taking on another task now would be too troublesome, so it was easier if he "borrowed" some.

After leaving the Baptism Chapel, Cassius didn't return to the Bolt Sect headquarters and instead headed to the eastern area of Black Rain Manor, to a famous place called the Iron Blood Tavern.

The inside of the tavern was as lively as ever. Some were drinking heavily, while others boasted in loud voices. Cassius randomly chose a secluded table and ordered a drink. He scanned the bar, waiting for the information broker to appear.

After just five or six minutes, a short, skinny red-haired man strolled in, with what appeared to be a customer beside him. The two chatted as they chose a seat.

Not long after they sat down, Cassius stood up and walked over. The short man turned, understanding dawning on him upon seeing Cassius. The two walked toward the secluded alley by the back door.

Cassius checked the alley before asking slowly, "Have there been any changes to the five loan channels you gave me last time?"

"One," the short man, a professional information broker who always had the latest news, recalled. "A branch of the Dark Sect, the Arthropod group, might not be doing any loans for a while. They seem to be organizing a large-scale group mission, so they don't have time for loan services."

"They're not doing it anymore?" Cassius felt slightly disappointed.

"Yes, the Arthropod group may have stopped, however..." The man paused.

Expressionless, Cassius handed over a stack of federation bills. The red-haired short man chuckled, his expression somewhat sly. "I have another channel, also a branch of the Dark Sect. They're called the Ghost Face Society, and they've recently started offering loan services. Here's their address and business hours."

He handed over a piece of paper with some writing on it, and Cassius tucked it into his coat.

"By the way, don't say I didn't warn you," the short man cautioned. "The people in the Ghost Face Society have some severe post-surgery effects from their dark surgeries and are pretty ill; sometimes, they lose their minds. Their debt collection methods can also be quite brutal. I suggest you think carefully before borrowing from them."

Cassius chuckled. "They should thank you for this."

"Huh?" the man asked.

"Nothing." Cassius patted the short man on the shoulder, "This is for you." With that, he turned and left the alley.

"Ghost Face Society's crazy people thanking me? For what? For bringing them a new customer?" The red-haired short man shrugged indifferently and pulled a bill off his shoulder. He flicked the bill lightly and whistled. "Who cares, let's get a drink..."

Half an hour later, in the eastern part of Black Rain Manor at Black Wolf Society's headquarters...

"What's the maximum amount I can borrow as an individual here?" On the other side, Cassius asked a middle-aged man with freckles.

"Oh?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Is it urgent?"

"It's urgent," Cassius lied casually. He had no intention of repaying this dark essence; he just needed to get his hands on it.

"Well...alright. Let's take this in the back room." The man stood up and led the way for Cassius.

A few minutes later, at the Reaper's Eye headquarters, a tall man in black walked into the hall from outside. The first thing he said was, "Give me the deluxe loan package."

In the southern part of Black Rain Manor, at the Dark Sect's Ghost Face Society headquarters, Cassius looked at a paper posted on the side of the table, detailing the loan interest rates.

Ten days, twenty percent; twenty days, thirty percent; thirty days, forty percent... It was rather usurious. It made sense that the lunatics with their mental issues were the ones to come up with such an insane interest structure. However, they did lend out quite a large amount of dark essence, so they probably weren’t worried about people not paying it back.

After a brief moment of thinking, Cassius looked up. "Give me the maximum amount a shield-level can borrow."

By dusk, he had visited all five loan channels. His hands were now filled with an unprecedented amount of dark essence, proving that pooling resources as a group was far more effective than working alone. With a stack of mission vouchers in hand, he returned to the Bolt Sect.

There was a purpose for Cassius's excessive dark essence borrowing—scamming the loan channels was merely a byproduct—because once the Northern Covert Martial Arts representatives entered Black Rain Manor, they'd be able to put the dark essence to good use. Cassius using Soul Power alone lacked the necessary persuasion; he needed a group of Hellsings to use it as well to make a proper comparison.

On July 8, Year 107 in the Hongli Federation Calendar, Cassius left Black Rain Manor and headed for East Sea City.

Since Cassius had arranged to meet Mi An at the famous Blooming Flowers Fountain Plaza in East Sea City, he rented a house across from the plaza, near Lilun High-Class Apartments. He had to pass by the plaza whenever he went out, meaning Cassius would be able to spot Mi An and the others as soon as they arrived. Moreover, he wasn't far from Wenmingda University, allowing him to pay the occasional visit to check in on the professor's progress.

About five hundred meters west of Blooming Flowers Fountain Plaza was a mid-sized facility called the Iron Fist Martial Arts Gym.

The entire facility had been reserved for the afternoon. In the middle of the hall stood a strong, bare-chested man with his fists clasped together at his chest. His muscles bulged and his skin had a marble-like hardness as if he was covered in armor. The sunlight that streamed in through the windows cast a white layer over his body.

Cassius surveyed around, his expression indifferent. "Fight with all you've got. Don't hold back."

Seven or eight similarly muscular men nearby exchanged glances. Immediately, they raised their clubs and sticks and charged at Cassius, raining down blows on him like a storm.

"Good, put in more strength! Give it your all." Cassius stood steady as a mountain, letting them pummel him. He even had the time to goad them. "Is that all the power you have?! You're hitting like a bunch of women! How do you think you deserve so many Hongli Federation dollars!"

The Iron Fist Martial Arts Gym's men, riled up by his words, immediately struck more forcefully, their sweat soaking through their vests in an instant.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...

The blows sounded like raindrops as they echoed throughout the hall.

Crack!

A strong arm swung through, breaking three of the incoming wooden sticks. Cassius, displeased, patted his chest.

"That was completely pointless. Don't use those fragile wooden sticks, use steel pipes. If anyone's strong enough, they can use that sledgehammer over there. Hit me hard enough, and everyone gets a tip." He crossed his arms over his chest, watching as the Iron Fist Martial Arts Gym's men threw away their sticks, each grabbing steel pipes and sledgehammers.

"Come on!" Cassius tensed, his muscles bulging even more. The sledgehammers pounded and the steel pipes clanged against his body without ceasing. "Ah, very good, just like that! I'm starting to feel it. This is the kind of intensity I need. That feels good..."

By dusk, in a corner of the Iron Fist Martial Arts Gym's facility, one of the men swung his steel pipe one last exhausted time. With a

bang

, the pipe bent. He took two steps back and saw that the ground was littered with bent pipes. Three or four of his fellow brothers were crumpled on the floor, gasping for breath.

Their white vests were completely drenched, and they looked as if they had just been dragged out of a pool of water. Hand trembling, the man wiped away the sweat that was nearly blocking his vision. He turned to look at the center of the hall.

The muscle-bound man called Twilight still remained blank-faced as he stood there with his arms crossed like a towering mountain. The full-force swings of the sledgehammers and steel pipes hadn't made a dent at all! He heard that this man had trained in hardening Qigong. He'd heard of it, but never had he seen it this hard before!

The man took a step to the left and his legs gave out, forcing him to sit down. Cassius was the only one left standing in the entire hall.

Cassius glanced at the upper right corner, his expression unchanged. "Let's call it a day for now. Inform the next group and tell them to be ready by 3 p.m. tomorrow."