RPDH Chapter 6

Why would such a powerhouse target Tarnished Bronze? What could possibly be the reason? That piece of merchandise? Or the teen trying to rescue the merchandise?

Qing Yuchen quickly arrived at a conclusion.

That powerhouse didn’t intend to reveal himself at all. If Qing Yuchen captured the teen, the powerhouse would pretend to be caught as well.

If Qing Yuchen didn’t spell things out like he did, that powerhouse wouldn’t even have come forward.

That esteemed individual was putting on a disguise! Qing Yuchen showed an expression of enlightenment.

That esteemed individual only appeared after the teen did! His goal was to deceive him!

No wonder…no wonder! No wonder he didn’t seem to care about being captured by Tarnished Bronze. He was strong enough to not be afraid of the likes of them! He only came to put the finishing touch on his conjured persona!

He didn’t care if this was Tarnished Copper or Tarnished Bronze. The organization was a mere side quest in his pursuit of amusement.

Qing Yuchen believed wholeheartedly in his deductions.

There were all sorts of strange personalities among ability users, a trend that became more apparent among the strongest. Individuals who liked to feign weakness barely scratched the surface.

It seemed like he had inadvertently disrupted the game of that esteemed individual, Qing Yuchen thought.

He actually relaxed at the realization. As long as that esteemed individual wished to continue his game, there was room for negotiation between them.

He believed that this esteemed individual’s willingness to communicate via the walkie-talkie was a good sign.

This was far from the worst case scenario.

…

Never in a million years before coming here did Li Li ever expect herself to one day become the guest of honor of the Tarnished Bronze organization.

The leader of said organization, Qing Yuchen, stood humbly beside her. Still, a trace of arrogance persisted in his eyes.

“Here are our ‘cocoons’.” The man in spring green robes adjusted his frameless glasses as he waved at the multitude of bronze-coloured individual rooms. “You could also call this our merchandise warehouse.”

“The mimic-type teen will be stored here for now. Please rest assured. I’ve just made him fall asleep. He’ll wake up around an hour later.”

The power had yet to be restored. The corridor was pitch black like the gaping maw of some behemoth.

Qing Yuchen’s lamp illuminated the area.

The only other person in the seemingly endless corridor was the black-robed man standing in front of a door like a silent statue.

This ability user seemed very concerned with his appearance. His messy bangs that parted in the middle concealed his forehead in a way that only drew more attention. As they spoke, his pale purple eyes narrowed like a haughty forest elf.

Li Li felt like the air conditioning around here was on full blast. It was way too cold.

Maybe she was a bit more sensitive than usual due to her nerves. After all, her hair was standing on end since the BOSS of Tarnished Bronze was standing right next to her. This was like playing Mario Kart with Bowser.

Li Li couldn’t help but think: How am I this good?

This was a place where even the protagonist didn’t dare to tread lightly. The best-kept secret of the entire Tarnished Bronze organization, and she just strolled in here no problem.

With her around, who was Yi Ming again?

Li Li wasn’t even an ability user while Yi Ming was at least on the cusp of reaching mid-rank.

Yet it was Yi Ming who had been locked up by Qing Yuchen. Meanwhile, an ordinary human like her was receiving the VIP treatment from the big BOSS himself.

Although Li Li was still under a lot of pressure, she really found this situation amusing.

Tarnished Bronze was a notable presence even in Desolate Dragon.

If the Rank C boss could become the protector of a street, the Rank B Qing Yuchen barely had any rivals in the entire city.

Setting aside the City Warden who was never around, this city didn’t even have any Rank A ability users. Another cornerstone of Qing Yuchen’s justified arrogance.

Li Li felt like she had skipped the tutorial and headed straight into the final battle.

How could she not freak out?!

She felt like her smile might fall off her face at this rate!

The faint flame flickered. The second bronze door to the left suddenly creaked and disappeared into motes of light.

None of the people in black robes seemed surprised. They didn’t even spare a look this way.

There had to be an ability at work. Li Li looked over. A black-robed man slowly emerged from the darkness.

The broad-shouldered man was at least 1.9m tall. His strong muscles filled out his black robes completely. Tigers were embroidered onto the edge of his robes with golden thread. The bottom of his robes were wet, leaving a dripping trail on the turquoise stone floor.

Li Li detected a metallic scent in the air before she could even see his face clearly. As she resisted the instinct to wrinkle her nose, she finally got a clear look at his face.

The man’s hood obscured the top half of his face, showing only his weak jaw and hooked nose. Li Li had seen him in the manhua before.

Although Yi Ming and the boss only discussed Tarnished Bronze in words, the manhua provided complimentary visuals. Li Li committed them to memory as this was a matter of life and death. Rank B ability user Qing Yuchen had long hair tied into a simple braid and gave off an otherworldly feeling. His face appearing in a single panel was enough to spark several hundred comments from facecon readers in the forums.

That left the other ability user in the organization, a Rank C. The boss didn’t mention his name, but he did share that the man suspected to be affiliated with Tarnished Bronze had a spell-type ability.

The appearance given in the manhua at the time was almost an exact match for the man before Li Li.

Great. Not only did she skip right to the final boss of this arc, his right hand man was here too.

“Leave us, trash.” Qing Yuchen suddenly ordered in an icy tone.

Startling Li Li from her thoughts.

Before her expression even had time to change, she saw the man that had just walked out of the room bow his head. “Understood, sir.”

Did the Rank C ability user not feel slighted by Qing Yuchen at all? Li Li wondered.

Seemed like this was just a minor interlude after all.

Qing Yuchen eventually turned back and continued his humble explanation, “Please disregard what just happened. Feel free to take any one piece of merchandise here as compensation.”

He stated earnestly, “Sir, if you wish to drain the ability of the merchandise right away, we are more than happy to provide a suitable location and tools. Disposal services will also be included. And if it’s Tang you want, sir, the original buyer is just a Rank D. We can just resell, no, gift her to you.”

So the Rank C ability user from earlier just finished draining someone? Li Li frowned.

Although Tarnished Bronze seemed to be accustomed to exploiting the weak, they in no way represented the majority of people in this world.

The darkness concealed the subtle changes in Li Li’s expression. Qing Yuchen happened to turn away from her at that point as well.

It’s been stated in the manhua that abilities permeated the entire body of ability users. Therefore, having one’s ability drained was an agonizing experience with consequences ranging from permanent disability to death.

Naturally, there was ongoing research in this world looking into how to extract abilities without harming ability users, but the technology was too expensive for commoners to access for now.

Because only abilities of the same type could be drained, all ability users of the same type were natural enemies of each other.

Li Li wondered once if this power system was inspired by Gu cultivation: a process in which venomous insects (or ability users in this case) were sealed inside a container to concentrate their toxins into a sole survivor.

Qing Yuchen was probing her.

This Rank B ability user pretended to be amicable, like he wasn’t just demeaning his subordinates moments ago. He treated them like scum as easily as he took her words as gospel.

Yet any respect was superficial at best, as shown by the bold way he inquired about her ability.

Li Li slowly turned to face Qing Yuchen.

She suddenly had an idea.

“Concept-type.” She responded.

“Concept-type?” Qing Yuchen was stunned.

“I’m interested in concept-type ability users~” She tilted her head to study Qing Yuchen’s expression with sudden interest. “Do you have any around?”

Concept-type abilities were the rarest type. There was probably only one concept-type ability user in the entire organization, its leader, Qing Yuchen himself.

Even Li Li was caught off guard by her audacity at times. She was basically telling Qing Yuchen to his face that she wanted his ability.

The flickering lamp illuminated half of her face in the dim corridor, revealing a mildly interested smile.

Her appearance, melding into one with the darkness, was like that of a demon.

As expected, Qing Yuchen’s expression shifted.

Li Li didn’t even blink as she mentally prepared to buy an item with her remaining popularity.

She stared into Qing Yuchen’s eyes as she awaited his response.

The man’s lips turned down a fraction. He said after a beat, “Please don’t joke around, sir. How could you need concept-type ability users?”

?

Why couldn’t she be a concept-type?

Li Li had her doubts, but she quickly cast them aside.

“A joke?” Li Li stared long into Qing Yuchen’s eyes before scoffing.

“Fine, I suppose it was a joke. Here I thought you could provide everything I asked for.” She drawled maliciously.

Without waiting for Qing Yuchen’s explanation, her gaze shifted ahead to the black-robed Rank C.

“You. Take me to see Little Corgi.” She offhandedly pointed at the man before heading straight into the darkness without looking back.

Behind her, Qing Yuchen’s expression writhed and twitched. He could barely keep his respectful veneer intact.

Finally, he plastered a stiff smile on his face and said, “As you wish, sir.”

Then he turned and spat at the black-robed man, “Go to Room 4 now, trash!”

The black-robed man raised his head slightly, but he didn’t look at Qing Yuchen’s face.

…

The black-robed Rank C silently led the way for Li Li.

His stride remained even despite the darkness, as if he could see perfectly well. They soon arrived before another bronze door. The man activated his ability after a nod from Li Li.

The bronze door instantly began to shift, falling away to either side like water to reveal the interior of the room.

Li Li’s eyes paused on the space that the door used to occupy.

She finally understood why Tarnished Bronze was so confident in their security, how Yi Ming was able to sneak in while Qing Yuchen was away.

Because all the ‘cocoon’ rooms were created by this Rank C ability user.

Bronze was an alloy, an inorganic substance. The ability to freely manipulate such an alloy would be classified as a spell-type ability, which was in line with the intel provided by the boss.

The Rank C boss enveloped his casino with his domain, while the Rank C black-robed man fashioned this place into his prison. With Qing Yuchen in control and the black-robed man standing guard, how could any ability user who fell into their clutches possibly escape?

The Rank C ability user stepped into the room, casting the lamp’s light in every corner.

The walls were made of alloy. There was a single bed in the cramped room. A brunet teen lay on the bed, his eyes tightly shut.

A fair amount of time had passed during the tour of the facilities Qing Yuchen gave, but Yi Ming was still sleeping.

Qing Yuchen said it would take him an hour to wake up.

Li Li could already anticipate the readers’ reaction to this panel. She chuckled heartlessly before pausing.

From all the manhua she’s read, she knew the moment Yi Ming woke up would definitely make it into the update. The perfect opportunity to make her official debut. Taking into account the misunderstanding the protagonist had about her, she should…pretend to be weak?