The rest of the journey proceeded without a hitch, and the monsters Sean had been worrying about never showed up.
The two easily found the sewer entrance leading up to the surface.
By the time they reached the top, Sean's face was deathly pale; he looked ready to pass out.
In the game, a single button press would teleport him up. In reality, there was no skipping a single rung of the winding, several-hundred-meter ladder.
Luo Xi carried Sean's newly acquired loot on her back without breaking a sweat, even while recovering from poison.
'I really envy the physical stats of a top-tier rejector...'
Finally, Sean saw the exit.
Panting, he pressed his hands against the massive, circular manhole cover. With a heavy creak, it shifted, revealing the opening above.
"Fuck... Once this is over, I'm definitely installing an elevator..."
Crawling out of the hole, Sean collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.
Luo Xi climbed up right behind him. She set down the loot and took in her surroundings.
They were in a spacious, resplendently decorated room. In the corner sat a workbench cluttered with tools, instruments, and dismantled small prosthetics.
The most eye-catching feature, however, was the massive, plush circular bed in the center of the room. Noticing the assortment of women's lingerie scattered around it, Luo Xi instinctively frowned.
She didn't rush Sean, waiting until he had caught his breath before looking his way.
Sean smiled sheepishly. "I had an in-depth exchange with a pair of twins before I left last time. The room's a bit messy, so don't mind that."
Luo Xi took a deep breath. "Can you let me see her now?" she asked, her tone heavy.
Sean stood up and walked over to the corner. He pressed a hidden switch, and a bizarrely shaped door appeared.
It looked like a giant pink remote control. Three lights sat at the top, with the red one currently flashing rapidly.
As Sean approached, the pink remote control let out a seductive electronic voice.
"Ah, Sean, I can't take it anymore. Hurry up and turn it off, Auntie really can't take it."
Luo Xi turned her head away, expressionless. Sean shrugged, completely unfazed. "Don't you think it perfectly fits the vibe of Paradise City?"
"It perfectly fits your vibe."
Sean just chuckled.
The giant remote control before them was his Ability.
Abilities originated from genetic mutations following the apocalypse. In Paradise City, Twilight Tower evaluated and ranked their intensity.
Taking all factors into account, a rejector's Ability rank was categorized into G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, and S+.
If Luo Xi's Ability were evaluated, for example, it would be S+ at the very least. Her Energy Force Field was one of the top-tier Ability types in the wasteland.
Of course, her actual combat prowess wasn't considered top-tier just yet.
A rejector's combat power was measured against humanity's greatest enemy in this world: frenzy beasts. According to Sean's memories, Luo Xi should currently be in the middle echelons of the King Rank. Naturally, this level of strength was more than enough to secure a solid foothold in Paradise City.
As for Sean, his Ability wasn't combat-oriented; it was an extremely rare composite-type Ability.
He personally called it "Villainous Reporter."
Villainous Reporter's power was divided into three parts: [Interview], [Record], and [Publish].
Interview: Obtain enough personal information from the interviewee and shatter their mental defenses.
Record: Use that information to log the target's Ability.
Publish: Publicly disclose the specific manifestations of the Ability to a large enough audience.
When these three steps were completed, Sean would receive a materialized item containing the interviewee's Ability, which he could use indefinitely. This was called a [Manuscript]. Meanwhile, the Ability bound to the [Manuscript] would undergo a certain degree of mutation.
He could record up to five Abilities, but he could only materialize one at a time. If he published a new one, the previous Manuscript would vanish.
Sounds pretty good, right?
It was indeed pretty good. The problem was that Sean could only control the Manuscript's Ability; he didn't gain the interviewee's physical stats. To make matters worse, the output strength of the Manuscript's Ability was completely random, on top of the already unpredictable mutations...
So far, Sean had never once obtained an Ability with sufficient strength.
His current Manuscript came from a beautiful mature woman whose Ability was a mental-type "Confinement."
That beauty had tried to control the Gold Ghosts' second-in-command by sleeping with him, but ended up being turned into a Manuscript instead.
Sean had then published: "I possess a dark room that only I can open, used to imprison criminals."
This remote-control-like door was his current Manuscript. Installing it on any wall would form a dark room, and anyone confined within would be endlessly tormented by fear and anxiety.
This remote door, which monitored the prisoner's condition, could also only be opened by Sean. Furthermore, he could influence the prisoner's emotions to a certain extent.
To be honest, this was the only relatively practical Manuscript he had right now, and it suited both his Ability and his way of doing things. However, the biggest drawback remained: he was still physically weak.
After sighing inwardly, he pushed open the remote door that was still moaning, "Auntie really can't take it anymore, hurry up and turn it off."
Inside was a small, dark room filled with bizarre, sickening, and terrifying torture instruments. Suspended from a rack directly in the center of the room was a bloody, mangled woman.
Luo Xi's pupils trembled violently. She instinctively cried out, "Sister Mia..."
The nearly unconscious woman managed to shakily lift her head. Her pupils were also red, though much duller.
"Luo... Luo Xi..." she managed to call out with great difficulty.
Sean stepped up beside the dying woman, introducing her as proudly as an auctioneer presenting a magnificent lot. "This lady right here is the traitor who sold out your clan. Let's give her a round of—applause!"
The woman known as Mia finally realized what was happening. A trace of panic flashed across her tortured face, and she croaked out, "Luo Xi... save me! Save me! The missing Cecil is in the hands of the Gold Ghosts..."
Luo Xi's chest heaved violently. The mutual sensing ability between members of the Iris Hive Tribe was exceptionally strong.
And her Ability was telling her that Sister Mia... was lying.
Mia sensed it as well—disbelief, agony, hatred...
She looked over with great difficulty, doing her utmost to feign a pitiful expression. "Luo Xi... don't believe him... He's a devil. He's kept me locked up in here, torturing me. M-my sensing abilities are malfunctioning..."
The devil in question simply leaned against the wall and whistled.
Luo Xi walked over slowly and crouched in front of her. She reached out a hand, gently expanding her Energy Force Field to soothe the other woman's pain and agony.
She asked softly, "Sister Mia, he told me... that you're working for the Academy now, and that you sold out our tribe... It's because of you that Sister Cecil ended up on the Academy's dissection table. Is that true?"
Mia's lips twitched before she spoke in a frantic rush. "Luo Xi... Luo Xi... you've grown up... Do you remember when you were little, how I used to take you to pick flowers? Right, where's your sister? Why are you the one here to save me..."
Luo Xi's breathing grew slightly heavier. Refusing to give up, she pressed on. "Was it you, Sister Mia?"
Mia didn't dare meet those ruby-like eyes. She lowered her head in panic. "T-that was just an accident... Get me out of here first, and I'll tell you everything... And... and! The Academy can help us, they can help our tribe!"