Chapter 468: Chapter 466 Silver and Gold

He fastened his tie, straightened his collar, and picked up a briefcase that had not been opened for quite some time.

The “Apostle Skin” kept in the briefcase hadn’t been used yet, especially not for transforming Black Death Skin. After all, using abilities related to death was not feasible in the territory of the sheep. He could only wait for a later opportunity to slowly transform it.

This was no ordinary skin, and William had to spend time and energy to seriously deal with this special piece of Apostle Skin.

With that, William was about to formally leave the area that had endowed him new attributes and beautiful, carefree memories.

His time there had almost entirely been devoted to rebirth and comprehending the sheep and getting to know them, and he had even privately sparred with Lene.

However, due to Lene’s personality issues, she couldn’t bring out her true skills in the sparring, which led to their session ending abruptly halfway through.

Nevertheless, during the sparring, William always felt an indescribable sense of danger.

Walking through the corridors of the Sheep Palace,

many sheep also came out to see him off. Though they hadn’t communicated with this absolute male on a physical level, they all had seen his beautiful posture while climbing the main tree.

Furthermore, William’s life gate had formed, and he would inevitably return in the future.

When he reached the main hall of the Sheep Palace, the throne on the terraced fields was once again empty,

The mother of the sheep had left days ago, or rather, she often went out to engage in some secretive activities–things even the sheep did not know about.

People used the “Black Waterfall,” formed by the fertility liquid they shared, and fell from the hanging Sheep Palace to the ground,

Splat!

William, Grape, Thirteen, and Lene, accompanying them, fell into the forest below, which was overflowing with fertility liquid–the marsh forest that was once the breeding ground for the young sheep, now utterly devoid of sheep.

The group quickly reached the edge of the marsh, and Lene gradually slowed her pace and lingered by the outermost tree, leaning against the trunk and looking reluctantly back.

“Lene, by the next time we meet, you should have completed the path, and if I’m lucky, I might have completed the path, too,” said William.

“Okay, this matter can’t be rushed–take your time looking, William. After all, we still have plenty of time,” she answered.

“Yes, then…”

Just as William was about to wave goodbye, Lene, with her eyes glistening like dewy black grapes, interrupted:

“So… once I am of age, can I have children with you?”

Phew!

The remark took William, already unsettled by the Blood Plague incident in Zion, by surprise, momentarily clearing his mind of all troubles.

Reflecting on their time together, it seemed Lene had always been restraining her desires as a Half-Sheep, all because of William’s previous mention of ‘underage’ issues.

“Well…”

Unexpectedly, Thirteen’s eyes sparked with fire, responding on behalf of William: “Consider it when you can reach the same height as the teacher.”

“Oh, I understand! I will work hard and keep pushing,” she said.

Even though Thirteen interrupted, William wasn’t displeased but rather relieved as he wouldn’t have known how to answer such a question.

“Okay~ Lene, goodbye!”

As William formally said his farewells, Lene, ignoring the risks of defying the sheep’s rules, burst from the tree line and jumped directly into his arms, wrapping her sheep legs around his waist.

“Goodbye, William.”

Seeing that Lene was reluctant to let go, William took the initiative to walk into the forest and gently set her down,

By then, a Black Worm Train had already stopped behind them.

He gently patted her head before turning to board the train.

…

Inside the train.

A newly hired attendant was massaging William’s brain while asking, “Honored Mr. William, may I ask your destination?”

“Could you take me to the Duke’s Chamber of Commerce?”

“That might be a bit tricky since the Duke hasn’t settled in any city recently, being in a ‘wandering’ state. To ascertain his exact location, several conditions need to be met.

Based on the information we have, you appear to be a ‘premium client’ for the Duke, so in this case, you would need to lead the train by sensing the seal throughout the journey,”

“We will then charge you based on the exact travel distance. If that’s alright, please follow me to the driver’s cabin.”

“Alright.”

William asked Thirteen and Prophet Grape to stay behind while he followed the attendant alone to the locomotive,

During the walk, William also recalled a troubling question,

“By the way, how did you handle the train issue last time?”

“The incident you’re referring to must be the one at Boundary Prairie? We’ve reported the problem to the company, and they indicated they would handle it seriously.”

“Oh.”

“By the way, Mr. William, since you were attacked while riding our company’s train, you can go to the company headquarters to receive compensation, and we will also offer you a 30% discount on your next ten trips.”

“Okay, where is your company based?”

“Lu Pu. If you need it, you can go there anytime; the dedicated line to the company is free of charge.”

“Good, I’ll be sure to visit in the future.”

William was just inquiring casually since it seemed unlikely that a newly established organization would dare to trouble the Blood Citizens just for a damaged train.

They soon arrived at the driving compartment of the worm train, more precisely called the “Brain Chamber.”

A whole worm brain filled the area, with various nerve cables connecting the brain to the front wall of the train,

The ‘Driver’ soon emerged from deep within the brain, not in human form, but a black parasitic worm with thought capabilities, about the size of a finger.

At the driver’s reminder, William activated the “Transaction Seal” on the back of his hand and pressed it against the surface of the brain.

At the moment of gaining sensing, the train immediately turned 120deg and began to race in a certain direction.

After maintaining such contact for two days and two nights, the train suddenly stuck during the journey, the whole worm train’s power seemed to be drained, or rather, it was oppressed by some force and could not move.

Hiss~

An unknown icy chill permeated the carriage.

Even the young grape and thirteen felt an extreme coldness, forcing thirteen to ignite the white candle on his head to dispel the chill.

Suddenly, thirteen felt something dangerous and offensive, immediately retracting the candle into his skull without emitting any more light.

Slowly,

One silver mask after another appeared in various areas inside the train, the chill originating from within the masks, and anyone seeing the mask felt as if their heads were about to be severed,

But when the silver masks appeared in the control room, noticing William and the Transaction Seal between his hands, the killing intent dissipated, the chill faded, all the silver masks vanished, and everything returned to normal.

“Just now…”

Even William himself was stunned by this killing intent, an unprecedented killing intent, an extreme coldness as if it could freeze the soul.

“Could this be the Silver Mask mentioned by Golden Mask, secretly dealing with the Chamber of Commerce’s troubles?”

The worm train no longer moved, and the newly joined steward beside him was so frightened that he even wet himself; the parasites inside him became limp and powerless.

“Mr. William, since the ‘Silver Mask’ has appeared, it indicates that the Chamber of Commerce is in this area.”

“Alright, you may return.”

“I’m truly sorry… the Duke is probably engaged in some important matter; otherwise, the Silver Mask wouldn’t have come to observe us. Please be careful.”

After William and the others got off, the worm train departed.

In front of them was a grand canyon not illuminated by the Underground Sun; as William walked into the pitch-dark belly of the canyon, the Golden Mask, holding a candle, appeared out of the darkness to greet him personally.

“Mr. William, we meet again! Hmm? There’s a scent of sheep on you… It seems you’ve had close contact with the flock.

You must have urgent business coming here so abruptly,

Although you’re a premium client, you’re not allowed in here; to meet the Duke, you need to wait until we’ve finished all our business.

But just now, I sought an audience with the Duke, and he granted you ‘permission to remove vision’ to enter, though your friends have to stay outside, including your clothes.”

“What does removing vision mean?”

“Temporary deprivation of vision, are you willing? My technique won’t leave any side effects.”

“Okay.”

As soon as he spoke, William’s eyeballs were already seized by the Golden Mask, even smoothing over the eye sockets, leaving his face devoid of the concept of ‘eyes.’

Following behind, the prophet-like young grape, having seen this scene, was so frightened that she immediately hid behind thirteen.

William, however, was not panicked at all and turned his head to say:

“Young Grape, while I meet with the Duke, you and thirteen find a safe place to stay; you’ll take care of the clothing.”

As the clothing blended with yellow skin floated towards Young Grape’s hands, William, now in a golden suit, followed the Golden Mask deeper into the canyon.