Rilk City; Compass Carburettor and Grisha arrived within the room of an inn that she had already booked in advance.
the moment he arrived, Compass Carburettor noticed that there was a lot of noise in the area, wondering what was up.
"Cultivators and even mortals from all over the Gaider Realm have arrived here." Grisha said, "At present, there are no rooms left in any inn. Some of the residents had even opened up one or two rooms of their house to make some quick change due to this occasion. Everyone's here for the Secret Realm."
"What's your plan now?" Compass Carburettor asked upon seeing that Grisha was about to leave.
"There are too many ears here. I'll refrain from explaining." Grisha said, "We'll be split the moment we enter the Secret Realm. For significant duration, we'll have to act alone. Therefore, let's best keep our plans to ourselves."
"Alright." Compass Carburettor nodded, frowning once Grisha left, 'I had expected something like this to happen eventually.'
At present, he and Grisha were mere trade partners. There wasn't any emotional bond between them.
In the Apocalypse World, they had forged a connection through external influence. And it was a situation where both of them felt vulnerable.
After that, Compass Carburettor neither pushed her away nor acknowledged a relationship. He only maintained the status quo.
But since they were constantly under pressure from the Systems, there wasn't much time to think about anything.
And by the time Grisha recalled her experiences from the previous 47 loops, she was already a member of Secret Society, having a certain level of loyalty towards him.
So, even after she had changed, she still maintained loyalty towards him. After that, she turned into a Beyonder after he imbued in her a Coordinate.
But things changed once they arrived at the Gaider Realm. First of all, as Secret Society was sealed, she was no longer a member, same for being a Beyonder.
So, she became a normal human, with her emotions no longer being influenced by Secret Society where it garnered respect and devotion to Compass Carburettor.
Second, Compass Carburettor neither deepened his relationship with her nor set her aside, treading on a layer of ambiguity. After three years had passed in such a fashion, especially during the time she had a normal teenage body with a teenager's raging hormones, a lot of things changed.
For a considerable duration, they were living under the same roof, working alongside. And in this time when she was expecting him to deepen their relationship, Compass Carburettor hadn't done anything.
Their relationship didn't have a healthy start, so Compass Carburettor was hesitant in furthering it. And this was especially since he had yet to cure Stencil. So, his entire mind was only focused on that.
Maybe if Stencil was perfectly alright, he would have tried to deepen their relationship. But as he wasn't even in a state where he could know Stencil's condition, Compass Carburettor didn't have the mood to be in a relationship.
And of course, with her experience, Grisha had sensed it long ago. That was why she began to concoct her own scheme, only arriving to meet him for work related issues.
At present, their relationship had become one of partners, nothing more, nothing less.
Sighing, Compass Carburettor gazed out the window, observing the bustling street, also noticing countless fights that sprang up all around the place due to the influx of crowd.
'I'll look around the city for anything beneficial…' Compass Carburettor had just intended to go out for a stroll, offend some young masters, etc. when his gaze fell on a certain brush stroke that had been painted on the door of one of the houses on his street.
Currently, the house owner was grumbling, trying to wipe away the pain that seemed stubborn. It was a codeword of the sleeper cell network.
Five!
The moment Compass Carburettor hazed at the codeword, the related information formed a puzzle in his mind, filling up immediately to grant him the meaning behind it. 'Five System Hosts have arrived in Rilk City.'
"Five…" Compass Carburettor frowned, sighing as he closed the window, having zero intention to leave his room after this. He didn't want the System Hosts to recognise him and plan accordingly in advance.
Both sides were aware that they would be clashing within the Folkan Secret Realm. But, coming in contact would cause some of their methods to be revealed, giving chances for the other party to device countermeasures.
Since he had more enemies, he would be at a disadvantage. And hence, Compass Carburettor could only put aside his plan of offending some young masters, even though they would prove useful in his exploration within the Secret Realm.
Young masters were generally useless, but what they were exceptional at was tracking their targets, especially the main characters.
This would allow him to lead them by the nose in any plan that he concocts within the Secret Realm, 'Guess I can only offend them after entering the Folkan Secret Realm.'
He slowly sat on the bed, locking his hands, noticing that they were trembling in part fear part excitement and part nervousness.
After all, the enemies he would be facing next weren't anything like what he had faced until now. With luck itself on their side, and countless preparations done by their tremendously powerful Systems, they would be frightening opponents.
And honestly, whether it was him or the Luck based Systems, none were able to predict what might happen in this clash. After all, both sides had their respective advantages that made them terrifying opponents.
Compass Carburettor touched his storage bracelet, for everything he had was in it. He didn't bring any spatial pouches with him, for they could be stolen easily.
Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, knocking sounds resounded from his room's door, causing him to frown, "IS it room service?"
But, he became cautious immediately, expecting a sneak attack as he riled up his Origin Essence, preparing the Origin Arts of Mind Connect and Mental Destruction to be actuated instantly, slowly opening the door when all of a sudden, his eyes widened in shock.
His face paled while his body trembled, shuddering in fear, "W-Why are you here?"
