This time, Se’an finally reacted.

The way he looked at the one-eyed man was already like he was looking at a dead man.

The one-eyed man gave him a provocative smile as well, not afraid of the elf before him in the slightest.

And just as the atmosphere at the scene grew thicker and thicker with the smell of gunpowder, a hoarse female voice suddenly came from the corner.

“Enough. We all came here because we accepted the bounty mission. Now that the bounty hasn’t been completed yet, there’s no need to start fighting among ourselves at a time like this.”

Everyone followed the voice and looked over, only then discovering a woman in leather sitting in a booth in the corner.

Her hair had been shaved very short, leaving only a buzz cut that covered her hairline.

That neat, sharp hairstyle also brought out all the severe lines of her face.

Judging by her features, the woman could not actually be called beautiful, yet for some reason, she was merely sitting there, holding a long, slender cigarette between her fingers, and still gave off an indescribable seductive charm.

A few people with poor self-control stared at the woman and instantly became dazed.

But the other party seemed able to sense those infatuated gazes with perfect accuracy. She turned around, her full red lips curving slightly.

The next instant, a terrified scream rang out inside the tavern.

The person whose heart had still been swaying a moment ago was now filled with deep fear.

The others did not react as violently as he did, but their expressions were also full of wariness.

The woman’s movement as she turned had exposed her body directly from the cover of darkness into the light.

It was an extremely strange, horrifying sight.

Her upper body was clearly still human, with a graceful female figure, yet the lower half that should have been her legs had become an enormous mass of shadow.

That mass of shadow seemed to be alive. It rose and ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) fell as if breathing, and even squirmed.

Something sharp, something like jointed limbs, extended out from beneath the shadow, arranged in perfect order.

There were eight of them in total.

Some sharp-eyed people recognized it instantly.

The woman’s lower body had the body of a spider. Everything from the waist down had been replaced by a huge spider abdomen.

She was unmistakably half human and half spider.

The bodies of two kinds of creatures were fused together, creating an enormous visual shock.

The moment this scene was exposed beneath the lights, the half-human, half-spider woman looked like a ferocious monster.

“It’s Spider Woman!”

Hearing this, the people inside the bar immediately showed astonishment.

According to what the woman had just said, they had all come here because they had accepted the Tribunal’s bounty mission. Because of that, they could not possibly be unaware of the name Spider Woman.

It was said that she had once been a mine slave. Later, by a twist of fate, she killed the wealthy merchant who controlled that mining star, then led a group of mine slaves and formed a rebel organization code-named Crimson.

No one had expected Spider Woman to have accepted this mission too...

Everyone’s feelings became rather complicated.

But some people had already noticed earlier.

Aside from Spider Woman, the one-eyed man who had been shouting just now had the code name Blood Shark.

He was a star pirate leader. Under him was a star pirate gang called Blacktooth, currently the largest of the star pirate groups that had not yet been wiped out, with an entire fleet under his command.

As for the elf Se’an, his situation was rather special. He had no team of any kind and always worked alone, but no one dared look down on him because of that.

Elves were not weak. This much could be seen from the fact that Se’an, alone, could become a high-ranking bounty hunter.

Although no one knew why he, as an elf, would come to a mixed, chaotic place like the black market to become a bounty hunter.

Spider Woman, however, vaguely had a guess.

She sensed the aura of her own kind on that elf.

As for what kind of “own kind”...

Spider Woman touched the inhibitor around her neck that served as a necklace, then tossed the cigarette she had not actually taken a single drag from into a glass filled with ice.

That idiot Blood Shark could not understand the situation, but she had sensed it very clearly.

That young man’s piano music had a power that could make people calm down.

Especially for people like them, who spent years walking along the border between life and death.

That calm, soothing feeling was simply more addictive than any pleasure-inducing thing.

If she had been there today, she would have tied him up and carried him back no matter what.

So-called politeness and courtesy were nothing but a layer of shackles these people draped over themselves.

And what she had learned in the mines was only to seize and fight. Only after snatching the thing she liked into her hands would it truly belong to her.

Thinking of this, Spider Woman raised her glass toward Se’an in acknowledgment, but the elf’s reaction was very cold.

Even while sitting in a lively bar, the blond elf always seemed separated by a layer from everything around him, as if he had isolated himself from all the noise nearby.

The three of them each occupied one side. Though they were close, the boundaries between them were distinct.

Ever since Se’an had arrived, and now with Spider Woman revealing herself as well, the bar was no longer about drinking.

Beneath the seemingly calm situation, everyone had their own plans and was watching the others.

Without exception, the people in this bar were all bounty hunters ranked near the top.

The more sensitive hunters had already begun growing secretly vigilant.

With such a large hand, such a great commotion, what exactly did the Tribunal, who had issued this mission, want to do?

And as time passed second by second, the person behind the scenes who had gathered them here still had not appeared. Impatience appeared clearly on some of the hunters’ faces.

“Are the people from the Tribunal still not here?”

“They called us over and then made us wait this long. What exactly is the Tribunal trying to do?”

“What an arrogant bunch.”

“Arrogant? Hah! Who doesn’t know those so-called Adjudicators are nothing but dogs on chains?! A bunch of hybrid monsters...”

Those words were extremely ugly, and both Se’an and Spider Woman’s expressions darkened.

Cold-faced, Spider Woman slammed her glass down on the table. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

What she hated most in her life were the two words “monster.” In many people’s eyes, a half-human, half-spider existence like her was undoubtedly a monster.

Yet that person was still smug, thinking what he said would win everyone’s agreement, not knowing that the gazes the others gave him were filled with pity.

Clearly, they knew Spider Woman’s taboo.

However, before Spider Woman could act, that person’s head was sliced off by an invisible blade.

His face still held that smug smile.

Thud, thud—

The smiling head rolled several times across the floor just like that.

The entire bar fell completely silent.

Everyone’s gaze landed on that neatly severed head, but not a single person dared speak.

Even Spider Woman, who had just drawn a dagger, stopped moving.

In that deathly silent atmosphere, the space near the head twisted for an instant.

Almost in the blink of an eye, two cloaked figures appeared inside the bar out of thin air.

—Adjudicators!

The moment they saw them, the hunters present almost instantly realized their identities.

.........

By now, dusk was already approaching, yet the number of people gathered in the square had not decreased. Instead, it had only grown.

The last bit of afterglow spilled down, and the fountain’s water columns were dyed with a layer of flowing warm gold beneath the sunset glow filling the sky.

Wen Yuzhi finished the ice cream in his hand.

He and Izeer had just bought it from a mobile vendor. The stall owner looked very much like an octopus and was probably from another race, also here to join in the bustle.

The ice cream he made carried a refreshing lemon sea-salt flavor.

Wen Yuzhi had still bought one for every Saint Clan royal guard.

He knew he had eaten a bit too much after coming out today. These desserts had far exceeded his daily limit, so Wen Yuzhi buying ice cream for all the Saint Clan royal guards was also his way of dragging them into the water.

After all, now everyone was an accomplice. They could not secretly run off and tattle to Mond anymore.

But after finishing this ice cream, it was about time to go back.

Wen Yuzhi glanced at the sky and guessed that Daddy should be almost done with government affairs by now. If he still did not go back, Daddy and Mond would probably start worrying too.

Thinking this, he stood up.

“I’m going back.”

Izeer also knew that it was about time to part.

“Tomorrow...”

“I might not have time to come out tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was the day the conference began. If nothing unexpected happened, Wen Yuzhi would definitely attend together with the Saint Clan. And after the conference ended, they would most likely leave Blue Luster Star very soon.

In other words, after they parted today, they might not have another chance to meet.

Izeer also thought of this. He suddenly fell a little silent.

Wen Yuzhi actually felt somewhat reluctant to part with Izeer too. Although they had only known each other for two days, being with Izeer felt very comfortable and very easy.

The other person could always consider things for him in advance when he wanted to do something. Before he even opened his mouth, the other party had already handled everything.

This aspect was also very similar to Xi Heyan.

They were both the type who spoke relatively little, but did relatively much.

“Well...”

“Well...”

The two of them spoke almost at the same time.

Wen Yuzhi froze for a moment, then said first, “You go first.”

Izeer took a deep breath. “Actually, I’m...”

Izeer had already decided to confess his identity.

He was afraid that if he did not say it now, there would be no chance to say it afterward.

However, before he could finish speaking, the temporary light-brain on his wrist suddenly vibrated with a message notification.

The words he had only just gathered were interrupted like this. One could imagine how terrible Izeer’s mood was.

[Elf? Are you sure it was an elf?! Where did you run into him?!]

[Near Central Square. What’s wrong? Is there a problem with his identity?]

[There’s an elf among the high-ranking bounty hunters.]

Izeer’s expression instantly turned grave.

The King of Spades was still sending messages.

[I received information here. A group of high-ranking bounty hunters have appeared at the same time in a bar near Central Square.]

[They’ve been on Blue Luster Star for so long, and this is the first time they’ve gathered on a large scale. Do you understand what I mean?]

How could Izeer not understand?

He and the King of Spades had discussed it before. If the Tribunal was targeting tomorrow’s conference, then the best time to act would be today.

Not when the conference began, but the day before it began.

After all, when the conference convened, that would also be when security across the entire Blue Luster Star was at its tightest.

The square would be sealed off, and every race’s attention would be focused on it.

The risk of making a move then was simply too high.

On the contrary, the day before the conference began, aside from the Alliance’s routine security inspection of Blue Luster Star, the thoughts of the representatives of the various races had long since shifted to tomorrow’s conference.

This was also when everyone would be at their most relaxed.

And Central Square...

Thinking of the terrain here, and of the growing crowds gathering toward this place, Izeer’s heart abruptly tightened.

And the instant he raised his head, an ear-piercing scream suddenly rang out.