System vs Rebirth

As soon as Anna and Melissa reached the city, they split up. Melissa could go around the street as she liked, considering it was her original objective.

That was when she noticed the difference between Golden Dawn City and this place.

While the city looked clean, there were actually a lot of places that were unsanitary.

It didn't take too long for her to see a mountain of trash getting abandoned on a small alley. As a husky, her senses were much sharper, which allowed her to smell that foul odor.

In addition, she could see people living in those alleys. Their tattered clothes were covered in dirt as though they hadn't been cleaned for years. No, it could be said that cleaning these clothes would just destroy them.

The street was bustling with people, but a lot of them were bringing buckets back and forth.

And going from one place to another would be quite hard. Even if the city wasn't big, it would still take an hour due to the complicated layout and no guides or directions.

"Now I understand why they say the city is different. And according to Anna, this city is considered one of the cities with good management.

"I guess the standard is just different." Melissa muttered.

While she was walking across the street, she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. It wasn't a rotten smell of an alley that caught her interest, it was the big tower in the middle of the city.

"Hmmm?" Melissa sensed something peculiar that somehow activated her instinct.

…

Meanwhile, Anna had arrived at the brothel.

"So Old Jade has been here. And what did he do and what was his purpose?"

"Sir only wanted to send a letter." The brothel's manager, Ezelia, replied.

"Only the letter?" Anna thought for a moment. "Where is he now?"

"The last time we saw him was when he left the city, heading to the north. If I remember correctly, there was a rumor that Sir Gem Lord was a friend of the Dark Lord.

"The Dark Lord resided in the City of Raia, which was north of her. It wouldn't take too long to reach them.

"That's my speculation. We haven't heard any information from our branch as well. I'm sure that he is sneaking into the city to avoid attention."

Anna looked down, falling into deep thought. "If this is true, it'll be quite dangerous. Do you have any information about the Dark Lord, his city, and everything that is currently happening in this city along with the tower?"

"Not so much. The Dark Lord has been residing in his mansion for the last three months, but there aren't many records about her activity. Normally, such an important person would have a lot of connections. Wealthy merchants and other influential people will then visit brothels, allowing us to get the information we need."

"So it's all blank?"

"Yes." Ezelia nodded. "Regarding his city, there isn't anything big either. As we said earlier, there are no influential people visiting, so it is as normal as it gets.

"That's also why Sir Gem Lord not contacting us means there is something going on. I may not be able to speak on his behalf, but Sir Gem Lord is the type of person that would report if he finds something wrong and plans to make a move."

Anna didn't say anything about her judgment regarding Old Jade. However, she couldn't help but agree. If Old Jade had succeeded in persuading the Dark Lord, he would probably inform the brothel about it.

The fact that he didn't meant he might haven't left the Dark Lord's mansion. And for what reason did he need to stay inside?

"It seems that I have no choice but to visit that place myself." Anna's expression turned solemn. She knew that this was a kind of entering a place with an unknown danger. She was confident because of her transcendent strength.

"As for what is happening inside this city…" Ezelia continued, "There are bad rumors regarding the Ardagan family coming from the tower."

"I already know about it. I just want to know if there is something strange in how they operate or any weird things currently happening in the city."

"If that's the case, there is one thing that I'd like to bring to your attention." Ezelia's face became much more serious. "It seems there are a lot of kidnappings happening in the city lately. Actually, one of our people was kidnapped three days ago.

"We have tried to contact the authorities but get no response. We have reported this matter to the headquarters, but because we haven't found any clues about it, there is no response as well. If this gets any worse, then the headquarters will probably make their move."

Anna noticed that Ezelia reported it so that she would take action. At the same time, this is also what she was searching for.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

She stood up while saying, "In that case, I'll take care of it. Do you have any people familiar with the information?"

"That—" As Ezelia was about to give her a name, the room temperature dropped as a chilling voice echoed inside the room.

"Anna. There seems to be something weird in this city."

"Who—" Ezelia turned around, trying to stop the intruder.

However, the other party had already passed her as if she didn't even exist. Melissa simply stood in front of Anna since she was the only one that mattered.

"Did you find something?"

Melissa nodded. "There is a rotten smell… not from food items, but the same rotten smell coming from corpses."

"!!!" Ezelia and Anna widened their eyes. Anna asked, "Where is that? Have you checked it?"

"No, since I'm not supposed to make a move. I just want to let you know. As for the location, it's from the tower in the middle of the city."

"The Grand Tower?" Ezelia gasped.

"It must be hiding something since the rotten smell is leaking out of the underground. If not for my nose being much, much sharper than the rest, I would probably not notice it too. There should be something that is trying to cleanse that rotten smell."

Anna's face darkened. She said, "We'll move during the night. Melissa, you can go around the town for the time being. But once the night falls, we'll sneak into the tower and find out what happens. I need you as my guide."

"Alright." Melissa nodded.

Anna turned to Ezelia. "It might also be related to the kidnapping case of the girl. For now, I need a room to wait. Also, send a letter to the headquarters."

"Understood."