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Of course, there might also be servants or butlers, but Kane, this "poor boy," hasn't yet imagined the life of high society.
"Hello, I am Kane Mordred."
Kane rang the doorbell and greeted the camera next to him.
Not long after, Christensen herself rushed out of the house. She was dressed very casually, having abandoned her usual elaborate attire and prioritizing comfort.
“Kane, thank you for coming.” Kristen opened the door and invited him inside.
Kane quickly surveyed the interior—the Wright family was indeed wealthy; the interior decoration and furnishings were of considerable value. As he expected, the house lacked a sense of life, clearly indicating that only Christensen lived there permanently.
Do you live alone?
“Hmm.” Christensen nodded.
“My guardian comes back occasionally. She is a friend of my parents, and I probably wouldn’t have gotten through that period if it weren’t for her.”
"We mostly eat out at restaurants. We regularly hire housekeeping services to clean the house, and we also have a gardener take care of the garden."
Before Kane could ask any further questions, Kristen poured out her entire life story. It was clear that such a grand mansion must have had resident butlers and servants in the past, but after the upheavals in the Wright family, Kristen probably no longer dared to easily trust others—in the power struggles of high society, a close servant is often the best candidate to become a mole.
"So, what trouble did you rush to call me here?" Kane looked around, but did not notice any obvious danger.
Kristen didn't explain much and led Kane directly into a professional laboratory. Inside were various research devices, and the one in the very center was clearly Kristen's own design.
"This is?"
“This is the device I designed to observe the sky. But that’s not the focus today,” Kristen said as she started up another instrument, and complex signal waveforms immediately appeared on the terminal screen.
"it is this."
According to instrument measurements, there is a huge signal anomaly zone deep underground in Tremont, but after the other party detected Christensen's signal, it returned a string of "garbled text".
"Are you sure this isn't a detection error or interference?" Kane raised reasonable doubts. If there really was an anomalous area of this size, there was no reason why so many technology companies in Columbia would be completely unaware of it.
“I’m not sure…” Christen’s tone was uncertain.
"Because this technology is an unpublished achievement of my parents. Its original purpose was to detect underground Originium veins by observing the differences in signal feedback from different materials. If successful, it will be a huge help to the pioneering work."
She did not expect that the first practical application would detect such a "terrifying" result.
“I’m worried… could this be some kind of underground structure run by the Colombian government? If so, I might have broken the law.” Christensen’s voice was filled with concern. She only wanted to clear her parents’ name, not push the Wright family into an abyss of no return.
“No…” Kane stared at the screen and slowly shook his head.
"I don't think this is an error. The wilderness holds countless scientific relics from the previous civilization, and this anomaly zone... could very well be one of them. Look at this gibberish—it might be audio that we can't decode, and the other party is responding."
"Isn't this even more terrifying? I can't even tell if the other person is good or evil."
Christensen was extremely worried. Of course, she had heard of the scientific heritage—Colombian scientists all knew about it, because a large number of them had analyzed the treasure for the government.
Is this what they call destiny? Kane's previous goal was to find clues about the "Preserver" project—based on the current intelligence, this huge underground signal anomaly zone is very likely the location of the "Preserver" project!
So Christensen had already come across clues about the Preservator Project so early on?
"So what should we do? Report it to the authorities? But I don't think we'll get any reward for it." Kristen clearly understood the Colombian government's style—it wasn't on the side of justice, but on the side of self-interest. Whoever could bring more benefits, it would favor.
“There’s no need to rush.” Kane looked at Kristen, his gaze deep.
"Kristen, do you plan to prove your parents' findings as an independent researcher, or... release all of this under the name of an organization or a company?"
“I… Kane, you should understand what I’m thinking.” Christensen was initially hesitant about how to be frank about her thoughts, but seeing Kane’s knowing smile, she realized that he had already seen through her and was just waiting for her to say it herself.
"So, don't you think that such a massive pre-civilization ruin is the perfect breeding ground for a future tech giant?"
Having said that, Christensen instantly understood Kane's intention. The two exchanged a glance, needing no further words, they had already reached a tacit understanding—this astonishing discovery would be temporarily sealed in each other's hearts, and at the same time they confirmed each other's stance.
Chapter 61 Lappland
Kane and Kristen's brief meeting planted a seed for the future—the two tacitly agreed to jointly establish a company. The company's specific name, direction, and location remain unknown. But as a well-known Colombian company's slogan states, "Every great thing begins with a courageous start." Following the crowd is the choice of the mediocre, while the strong always shape the future themselves. They will build a powerful tech giant to realize their respective hidden ambitions.
With many tasks completed, only one day remained before the start of the school term. Kane decided to completely relax and enjoy this rare moment of leisure at home.
However, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease. The relaxed atmosphere was shattered by a sudden, urgent doorbell ring.
"Hello—your takeout!"
A vibrant young female voice came from outside the door, sounding like a student working part-time. But the moment Kane's hand gripped the doorknob, he keenly sensed something different—there was a rather strong Originium fluctuation outside, indicating that the visitor was an Infected.
Henry Street isn't far from the infected's residential area, and Kane occasionally comes into contact with Oripathy patients in his daily life. However, the "delivery driver" profession almost never involves infected individuals. This is because it involves contact with all levels of society, from the middle class to the upper class.
Those respectable gentlemen and ladies cannot tolerate an infected person handling their food, even though Oripathy is not transmitted through contact. To avoid this "unnecessary trouble" and deep-seated discrimination, many platforms explicitly prohibit infected individuals from registering.
If something unusual happens, there must be something fishy going on.
Kane flung open the door—and a takeout box came hurtling straight at his face! An ordinary person would have been distracted by the sudden attack.
But Kane was prepared. With a swift movement of his arm, he precisely knocked open the cardboard box, while his other hand shot out with lightning speed, firmly catching the straight punch that followed, aimed at his chest!
It feels slightly cool to the touch, and the punch is powerful and fierce, with undisguised ferocity, but not enough to be fatal.
Their eyes met, and the attacker's face came into view: a black hair clip stood out conspicuously among her messy, silvery-white hair. Even more striking were her unusually pale skin and the old scar at the corner of her eye that added a touch of wildness and unruliness.
A silver-haired Luper girl.
Missing their first strike, the attacker showed no hesitation and launched another attack! This time, they were no longer unarmed; a strangely shaped sword was swung out from behind them, slashing towards Kane with a piercing whistling sound!
Kane neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his arm to block—his arm skin was instantly covered with a layer of hard calcification.
Clang!
The black and white blade struck the calcium armor, producing a metallic clang, but failed to leave the slightest mark.
"Wow? Not bad Originium Arts." The silver wolf girl grinned, revealing an excited, sinister smile.
"What about this move?!"
Before she could finish speaking, a surge of violent Originium energy erupted from her body, flowing like electricity to the blade! A strange phenomenon occurred—the seemingly indestructible calcium armor on Kane's arm began to dissolve rapidly! No, not in a physical sense, but rather the "Originium Arts" that constituted it were being interfered with and disintegrated by a bizarre force!
The ability to interfere with or even nullify other people's Originium Arts?
"Unfortunately, this tactic is ineffective against me!" Kane's voice was absolutely certain.
As if by magic, the dissolution of the calcium armor stopped instantly and was restored to its original state at an even faster speed! On the contrary, the silver-haired Lupo girl groaned, and the Originium energy around her flickered and became chaotic—her Originium Arts had been forcibly disrupted! The clearly visible black Originium crystals on her thighs revealed her status as an Infected.
The surge of Originium energy is extremely painful for the Infected, enough to cause even the strongest Sarkaz warriors to collapse and howl in agony. Although the silver wolf girl was resolute and swallowed the groan of pain that rose in her throat, her high fighting spirit and disciplined stance inevitably faltered.
Kane was tired of this tedious probing. He suddenly took a step forward and threw a simple, direct punch!
The woman hurriedly parried with her sword.
boom!
The force was far beyond her imagination; the sword was slammed back, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying backward! Weapon out of her hand, she was wide open!
Kane followed closely, and his second punch landed precisely in her waist and abdomen!
The intense pain instantly robbed her of her ability to move; the severe injury forced her body to initiate protective shock. Her silver eyes, burning with madness, quickly lost focus, and she collapsed limply to the ground, unconscious.
"Alright." Kane shook his hand and glanced at the mess of takeout food on the ground.
"Lunch is gone...we'll have to order another one."
As for the trouble on the ground... if it were an ordinary assassin, Kane wouldn't mind interrogating him to find out who was behind it, and then handing him over to the Tremont police department to deal with.
But this silver-haired Luper... he knew very well why she had come.
Cellina's nemesis—Lappland Saluzzo. He was also the one who helped her escape during the Texas massacre.
When they were "husband and wife," Cellina shared intelligence, and she specifically mentioned this "madman."
That guy is an incomprehensible madman... but also one of the few people in Syracuse who can understand me. Because of me, she might come looking for trouble with you. In that case, please spare her life. As for the rest, tell her to come directly to me.
This is Cellina's request.
It's only been a few days? Less than a week. Kane could almost imagine that as soon as Lappland heard the news, he rushed to Tremont without stopping, day or night.
Kane didn't call the police. He bent down and dragged the unconscious Lappland into the house as if picking up a piece of luggage.
He could roughly guess what the mad wolf wanted. Perhaps he should throw a piece of meat in front of her and see if he could tame this wild double-edged sword and make it work for him.
……
Not long after, Lappland awoke. Years of rigorous training had endowed her with a beast-like resilience.
The moment she opened her eyes, she tried to take control of the situation—only to find herself unable to move.
The view is high up... hands are bound, feet are dangling in the air... have they been suspended?
The judgment was accurate. Kane bound her securely with strong ropes and then hung her from a sturdy beam in the living room. This restraint was useless against Lappland; both her training and the Originium Arts she possessed as an Infected meant she had multiple ways to escape.
Kane did this simply to make her realize, in the most direct way, who is in charge here.
"It seems our Sleeping Beauty's sleep quality isn't very good."
Kane nestled comfortably in the sofa, savoring his new takeout, and looked at Lappland, who was dangling in mid-air, with a playful smile in his eyes.
Chapter 62 Taming the Wild (4k words)
Lappland's current situation was far from dignified. Kane had stripped off her black coat, which was filled with various hidden weapons and personal belongings, leaving her in only a white tube top and black hot pants. Looking around, it seemed as if only pure black and white remained around her—disheveled silver-white hair, pale, bloodless skin, a pure white top; jet-black hot pants, and deep black Originium crystals.
Thanks to long-term training, her physique is agile and powerful, exuding a wild and untamed charm. However, if she were simply left on the street, no man would dare to approach her—the large areas of Originium crystals on her skin indicate an extremely high level of infection. In the eyes of ordinary people, she is nothing less than a walking source of infection, a dangerous object that could "explode" at any moment.
Of course, Kane didn't kidnap her for such lowbrow pleasure.
What he valued was her ability. The harsh environment of Syracuse forged Lappland into a sharp blade—she learned a wide range of practical skills, and her personality was bold and fierce. She was a blade capable of cutting through iron like mud, but unfortunately, the mediocre "blade wielders" of Syracuse never truly knew how to wield it, leaving it to fend for itself.
“Violence and coercion... probably won’t work on someone like you.” Kane fiddled with his personal terminal, seemingly searching for something.
"..." Lappland remained silent, her silver pupils fixed intently on Kane. There was no hatred, no curiosity in her eyes, only a pure, almost observant gaze, like an audience member awaiting the start of a show. It was hard to imagine that this was the mental state of a captive.
But this was precisely the survival philosophy Lappland had gleaned from countless battles and bloodshed: failure usually meant death. And since you were still alive after failure, it meant your death was not yet imminent. Besides, Kane's current actions were far removed from what she perceived as "torture" or "coercion." She was waiting for his next move.
"Oh, found it. Look at this—the once-powerful Texas family was wiped out overnight, and the grudges of Syracuse couldn't be escaped even after fleeing to Colombia? The headlines back then were quite sensational."
"So?" Lappland finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Do you think you can handle this mess in Texas?" she asked, puzzled by Kane's words.
"Hehe, we'll talk about that later." Kane chuckled and turned the terminal screen towards her.
"What interests me more is this photo—I have to admire the Colombian journalist's skill in capturing such a life-changing moment amidst the chaos."
A magnified news photo was displayed on the screen. In the image, Lappland's peculiar longsword clashed fiercely with Texas's Originium lightsaber, sparks flying everywhere. To the uninitiated, it was just a spectacle; to the expert, it was a battle of life and death. Anyone who had experienced a life-or-death struggle could see that the two combatants lacked genuine killing intent; it was more like a thoroughly enjoyable sparring match.
"Thanks to this photo, everyone who's been watching this matter knows that the Texas family still has a last bloodline alive. As long as she's alive, Texas isn't truly extinct. I wonder how many family patriarchs were so angry when they saw this news that they smashed their tables."
"Hahaha...hahaha—!" As Kane analyzed, Lappland couldn't help but burst into laughter. She had indeed harbored that thought back then—deceived and manipulated by her family, all her resistance easily seen through, and ultimately it was Madame Sicily who pointed her to this clear path. That was the first time in her life she had truly defeated her father, Alberto Saluzzo. Even now, when it's mentioned, she can still feel that sense of satisfaction.
Kane didn't stop her laughter; instead, he saw the potential he wanted in it—if he could truly tame this silver wolf, he might not have to personally deal with many troublesome problems in the future.
“Cellina and I mentioned you.” Kane’s voice pulled Lappland back from her reverie.
“She said that you, like her, are both Syracuseans who loathe Syracuse’s rules. But the difference is that she seems more weary of it all and just wants to escape; while you…” He paused, carefully choosing his words.
"...More like a hatred that wants to burn it to ashes? No, that description is too simplistic. It seems you want to completely destroy it, and then...reshape it according to your own will."
The laughter abruptly stopped. For the first time, a noticeable change in expression appeared on Lappland's face—a look of astonishment, as if his innermost thoughts had been precisely exposed.
"What? Surprised?" Kane's tone remained calm, as if everything was under control.
“You’re not a Syracusean, so how would you know how much filth lies buried beneath that swamp?” Lappland’s voice deepened, and memories of the past surged up.
Her father's strict upbringing molded her into a typical Syracuse, but everything she witnessed made her constantly question the legitimacy of this way of life. Until she met Cellina, whose detachment and nonchalance deeply attracted her. She wanted to see how Cellina, a kindred spirit, would choose, hoping to see the same struggles and anxieties in Cellina's eyes as her own.
As a result, she watched helplessly as Cherlinina gradually broke free from the mire, a step she had struggled to take for years but had failed to achieve.
She must admit that she was somewhat out of control at the time, her emotions a complex and contradictory mix—hoping that Cherlinina could find a different path, yet fearing that it would highlight the paleness and absurdity of her own life. Ultimately, her unauthorized actions led to the chaos of the plan, and her family exiled her, which ironically became the catalyst for her awakening.
Syracuse's path is absolutely wrong. Therefore, she will learn from Cellina, and like the fire that burned down the Texas mansion, she will also use a raging fire to burn all of Syracuse to the ground!
"That's my understanding of you and Cellina. Am I wrong?" Kane had already said that he greatly admired Cellina and naturally knew a lot about her, including his nemesis.
Perhaps it was the complete exposure of her inner unease, or perhaps it was anger at Kane's seemingly all-knowing attitude and his dismissive attitude of treating her heavy fate as a joke—Lappland suddenly erupted!
Originium Arts were activated once more, and the purple wolf-shaped phantom howled as it tore apart the ropes binding it! She fell from mid-air but steadied herself lightly, then, like a wild beast cornered, she bared her fangs at Kane!
"What right do you have to judge us! That's how the rules are in Syracuse! I can't escape it, and neither can she!" Lappland finally understood why she was angry—Kane and her father Alberto shared a repulsive resemblance, that arrogance of treating everything as pawns and having everything under control, which was the way of life she hated most!
However, just as she had rebelled against her father countless times but never truly succeeded, she could not gain any advantage over Kane either.
This time, Kane did not use Originium to interfere with her, but instead fought purely with physical strength and combat skills.
Lappland's killing skills, honed through life-or-death battles, are ruthless, cunning, swift, and deadly.