As night deepened, beside the garbage mountain in District 13,
This garbage mountain was formed by the accumulation of countless refuse from the Lower Nest over nearly ten thousand years. It grew and expanded daily, becoming more chaotic and disorderly with each passing day.
In the dimly lit Lower Nest, the garbage mountain looked like a twisted deity crouching in the darkness, grimly encroaching upon everything around it.
Among the dark garbage mountains were shadowy figures, occasional roars, and eerie low murmurs.
This place was not only the collection point for all the hive city's garbage, but also the only path from the Lower Nest to the hive city outskirts and the Bottom Nest.
Residents from the radiation-shrouded lands outside and mutants from the darkness of the Bottom Nest frequently appeared here.
That Zealous Thief actually arranged to meet Alexander here,
Alexander thought as he navigated through the dark garbage mountains.
Through his orange-yellow gloves, he carefully touched the Pocket Tornado hanging at his waist and the light-gold short sword on the other side.
Additionally, he wore a Superpower Hat on his head, and in the darkness, eighteen Catachan-pattern M36 Lasguns were controlled by his telekinesis.
With these items, he felt a little more at ease.
These lasguns were standard issue for the Cadian Shock Troopers, dug out by Alexander from a warehouse in the Old Eight District.
At first, he could only barely control twelve at a time, but as he became more proficient with his telekinesis, the number he could control increased to eighteen.
Furthermore, he was becoming more skilled with the superpower of instant movement; he used to only be able to teleport within a range of seven or eight meters, but now his teleportation distance exceeded fifteen meters.
In addition, there were Soundprint Candy and Body Clay for disguising his identity and infiltration, and Air Gun Potion for sneak attacks.
He primarily lacked some close-combat weapons.
In this galaxy, there were many who were immune to ranged weapons; only close combat could inflict damage.
Alexander reached for the other side of his waist, where a short sword, only the length of his forearm, hung.
Sword of Light. Denkōmaru, an item priced at 200,000.
It had significant drawbacks, but its effect was extraordinary.
This weapon was one of the cheapest among the conceptual-level items.
Its effect was that as long as there was electricity, the user would gain extraordinary swordsmanship and would never lose in a close-combat weapon duel.
The drawback was that it consumed electricity very quickly; according to Alexander's tests, the more intense the battle, the faster the weapon's power was depleted.
Furthermore, its effect was limited to not losing in close combat.
If the opponent used a machine gun to spray bullets, this weapon's ability to block bullets was limited.
Or if it was a psychic attack, this weapon was also powerless.
And the sword itself could not cause damage, only maintain an undefeated and unwinning stalemate.
But as long as it was a close-combat weapon duel, even if the opponent was a Khorne Greater daemon, the sword. Denkōmaru could force a draw.
It was a weapon with many flaws, but also a very high ceiling.
Finally, there was an item whose upper limit was not as high as this sword. Denkōmaru provided stable output.
Alexander looked at the dark red gloves on his hands.
[Item Name: Superman Gloves]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 261. M3]
[Function: Appears as ordinary gloves, but when worn, grants strength far beyond that of a normal person. A single hand can stop a high-speed, hundred-ton truck, but the force is difficult to control.]
[Price: 950,000]
Nine hundred and fifty thousand, extremely expensive.
But the improvement it brought was also quite obvious.
The power to punch a hundred-ton truck flying, even against a Space Marine, in terms of pure strength, he would not lose.
The drawback was that the force was difficult to control; wearing the gloves made it almost impossible to use weapons or pick up smaller items.
Suddenly, Alexander saw a flash of scorching firelight in the darkness.
It was the firelight of a cutting torch.
Alexander's eyes moved slightly. He bypassed a low garbage mountain and walked towards the source of the firelight.
From a distance, he saw the hooded figure.
The Zealous Thief who called himself "Orleans."
He was short, even shorter than Lager, but he carried a flame-cutting machine that reached his shoulder.
The whistling cold wind from the hive city outskirts passed through the garbage mountains, sweeping over him.
His cloak moved with the wind, further emphasizing his thin frame beneath it.
Alexander, from not far away, estimated that the Zealous Thief's height was at most about 1.4 meters.
He was considered underdeveloped even in the Lower Nest.
Or perhaps, the Zealous Thief was not very old?
Alexander had lived in the Lower Nest for so long that he had long since learned not to judge a book by its cover.
Perhaps a ten-year-old child could be a skilled pickpocket.
The Zealous Thief seemed to have seen Alexander as well. He turned his head, and the eyes hidden beneath his hood seemed to be staring at Alexander.
Alexander wondered if it was his imagination,
He always felt that the darkness around the Zealous Thief was a little lighter.
He seemed to be subtly and imperceptibly emitting light.
Emitting light, that was a serious mutation. Alexander thought silently.
He even considered whether to just snipe him with a laser from a distance.
Disabling one or two of his legs to immobilize him seemed like a better idea.
But Alexander was worried it would alert his precognitive abilities.
Although Alexander could resist precognitive abilities to some extent, directly attacking the opponent would still be discovered.
Moreover,
The Zealous Thief was silently staring at him.
Alexander lowered his head, confirming that Reyna and the Ark Gang members were in position.
He walked towards the Zealous Thief with unhurried steps.
"I'm here."
Alexander looked at the Zealous Thief standing directly opposite him:
"What exactly do you want to talk to me about? Who are you? And who is behind you?"
Facing Alexander's barrage of questions, the hooded Zealous Thief merely took a gentle step towards Alexander.
Then, she reached up and took off her hood, revealing a head of golden hair like a haystack under the summer sun.
Her slightly dry golden hair was braided into a thick plait down her back, reaching her waist.
Her face had a few faint freckles, which were pretty enough, but far from Reyna's beauty; she could only be described as simply good-looking.
Above the faint freckles, her eyes were a deep, almost black blue, as clear and limpid as a lost fawn, looking at Alexander with a clarity rarely seen in the Lower Nest.
Based on her appearance alone, she seemed to be just a teenage girl.
But Alexander could sense that within this slender, plain body of the girl, there seemed to be a more massive will.
She performed a very standard aquila salute to Alexander.
"My name is meaningless."
She spoke, her voice clear and tender like the sky after a summer rain, startling him.
"Who I am is not important; the key is the One."
"I am merely a vessel for His will."