Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

These words, like cold awls, pierced Xilun's ears.

Xilun remained silent, his head bowed and his face grim.

Daisy was unaware of the subtle change in Celen's mood.

She continued excitedly, "And you'll see as you go on."

Even though Catherine married Edgar for the sake of social class, deep down, she still loved Heathcliff just as passionately.

"She could even use the enormous wealth she gained after becoming the lady of the manor to secretly help the male protagonist and save him from suffering."

Isn't this a more practical kind of love?

Upon hearing this, Xilun felt as if the fire of backlash that had been suppressed in his chest had been reignited.

He felt extremely uncomfortable, not from physical pain, but from a deep-seated aversion to this distorted value system.

In the lonely and proud inner world of Siren, he felt that if the male protagonist Heathcliff were truly a man, he would not need the female protagonist's lofty financial assistance at all!

What he needs is an equal gaze on the soul, an equal exchange of dignity, and the recognition of pure, unreserved love!

Xilun would even empathize with a woman he once deeply loved who later married someone else for the sake of social status.

Then, she turned around and used her husband's money to pity and help herself, with that condescending attitude.

This is not love; it will completely erode his dignity as a man. It is a trampling on his dignity that is a hundred times more vicious than killing him!

Seeing that Xilun remained silent with a cold expression, Daisy assumed that he still hadn't grasped the profound emotions in the book.

She quickly stood up, walked to the foot of the bed, and picked up the copy of "Wuthering Heights" again.

She skillfully turned to the page in the book where she had folded the corner, pointed to the densely packed printed words, and said:

"Sirlen, don't be so extreme. And look at this passage, it's Catherine's most classic monologue in the whole book."

Xilun followed the direction of her fair fingers.

The original text was printed starkly on the paper, each word dripping with blood:

"My love for Linton is like a cluster of leaves hanging in the forest. Time will change it, and I know very well that when winter comes, the leaves will turn yellow and fall."

"But my love for Heathcliff is like the eternal rock beneath my feet! Though a small, visible wellspring of joy flows from it, it is indispensable!"

"Nari (maid), you must understand, I am Heathcliff!"

He will forever reside in my heart—not as a superficial source of happiness, just as I cannot always find happiness for myself, but because he is the entire meaning of my existence!

After reading this deeply moving confession that gives you goosebumps.

Daisy raised her head, her eyes sparkling with a longing for tragic aesthetics, and explained to Xilen in an extremely confident tone:

"Sirlen, you see, Catherine's thoughts have actually been expressed very clearly at this point."

"In order to survive and maintain her status, she physically followed Edgar Linton in order to gain the respectability in the eyes of the world. She was extremely clever in maintaining her noble class and ensuring that she would not lower her status and fall into the dust by impulsively marrying Heathcliff."

"Then, she used the money she received from her husband to give back to and help Heathcliff, who was living in poverty."

"But deep in her heart, she always firmly believed that she and Heathcliff were inseparable, like one soul."

In this way, she maintained an eternal love for him in the absolute realm of the spirit.

Her body belongs to Linton, but in her spirit, she will forever belong to Heathcliff!

After listening to this long speech, Xilun neither refuted it nor flew into a rage.

He simply reached out with utmost calmness and slammed the copy of Wuthering Heights shut in Daisy's hand.

He rubbed his still-tight eyebrows again, and said coldly, "I don't like looking at this. Take it away."

Daisy looked at Celen's face, which seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, and pouted somewhat aggrievedly.

She put the book aside and asked helplessly, "Fine, fine, since you don't like reading, then tell me, what kind of books do you want to read?"

Upon hearing this question, Xiren fell into deep thought.

His gaze gradually lost focus, as if piercing through the white walls of the ward, through the steam and mechanical roar of the Victorian era, and falling into a memory that was extremely distant and buried deep in the soul.

Those were memories belonging to another world, memories belonging to the soul named Li Zaiming.

After a long silence, Xilun said softly, "The story I want to see... is a story about a loser."

"A sensitive, fragile, and extremely insecure teenager who constantly deceives himself and resorts to trash talk to mask his inner fears when faced with danger..."

Xilun's voice flowed slowly in the quiet hospital room, carrying an indescribable sorrow.

"The story of how he and another woman—a haughty, aloof woman in a baseball cap—got to know each other and get to know each other."

Daisy's curiosity was piqued by these few words.

She braced herself on the edge of the hospital bed, leaning slightly forward, and asked urgently, "And then? What happened to that loser boy after he met that woman?"

Xiren took a deep breath, the dull pain in his lungs causing him to frown slightly.

He continued, "Then... unsurprisingly, the boy, who was insecure to the core, was deeply attracted by the woman who was as dazzling as a red lotus."

But he didn't dare say it. He felt he wasn't good enough for her. He could only hide in the shadows like a coward, silently harboring his love for her...

Daisy's beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation for a happy ending as she smiled and said:

"I think the female protagonist must have felt his love, right? After going through all those hardships, they must have lived happily ever after, right?"

Xilun slowly shook his head.

"No."

Siren said, enunciating each word clearly, "That story... actually ends here."

"This story is not over."

Xilun looked out the window at the gloomy sky. "I think... I'll never see that book finish."

Xilun had not read the book, but Li Zaiming had.

Of course, now the two are one, and there is no difference between them.

Unfortunately, the story wasn't over yet, and he would never see that day again.

Xilun let out a long breath.

……

South District of Saint Laurent City, Brotherhood Headquarters.

Under the gloomy sky, the endless rows of steam factory chimneys recklessly spewed out thick black smoke.

Yuri sat upright behind the large desk carved from dark red pine wood, his brows furrowed tightly together, like two unyielding ravines.

He took a deep drag on his expensive cigar from the Eastern Continent. The pungent smoke swirled in his lungs before slowly exhaling from his nostrils, shrouding his weathered and shrewd face in a gray, gloomy mist.

These past few days, his mood has been extremely bad.

Friction between the Brotherhood and the Iron Fist Gang, as well as several other established underground forces in the surrounding area, is intensifying.

This was to be expected.

Since the horrific plague that swept through Saint Laurent City twenty years ago, claiming countless lives, many ancient powers have suffered heavy losses and gradually retreated to recuperate.

The Brotherhood rose rapidly during that vacuum period, managing to carve out a piece of territory of its own on the edge of the South District.

However, the history of the Brotherhood is not very long, and its heritage cannot be compared with those large families that have been passed down for hundreds of years.

The resources they currently possess are merely a few small, peripheral docks and a few barely functioning trade routes, which are clearly not a large prize.

In order to gain a foothold in the coming tide of the times, they were naturally eager to expand outwards.

Normally, such friction between gangs would be fine; it would just result in a little bloodshed and a few deaths, which could be quelled with gold coins and gunfire.

However, recently, a major event has occurred in the upper echelons of the empire that is enough to change the entire world order.

Queen Victoria formally announced in Parliament the complete repeal of the long-standing Grain Act and Navigation Act.

Such legal changes, which directly shake the foundations of the empire's economy, naturally have the greatest impact on the massive trading groups that monopolize global resources, or the ocean-going maritime powers with invincible fleets.

For the Brotherhood, their small dock and a few fast coastal boats that could only operate for three to five days should not have been greatly affected.

However, Yuri's vulture-like keen sense of smell detected a different kind of bloody odor.

He sat by the window and quietly observed for a full two weeks.

He keenly perceived that, due to the repeal of the law and the dramatic increase in the Empire's foreign trade, a very distinct and enormous gap had appeared in the black market of Saint Laurent City—smuggling both inside and outside the country.

This does not mean that the Brotherhood intends to roll up its sleeves and get into the dirty work of smuggling.

After all, after years of whitewashing, the Brotherhood is now somewhat of a civilized force. They prefer to wear respectable suits and resolve issues at the negotiating table using contracts and revolvers.

Yuri's ideas went much further.

The officials in the Metropolitan Police Department will certainly not stand idly by while smuggling is rampant, which means that a major purge of the underground order is about to begin.

In other words, the Brotherhood could have taken advantage of the situation and legitimately opened a northern branch.

The North District, a corner forgotten by the upper class of Saint Laurent City.

Due to its unique geographical conditions, the area has extremely special resources and complex terrain.

Furthermore, the North District itself is poor and backward, with numerous gangs, which makes it more conducive to the breeding of criminal activities such as smuggling, land grabbing, and illegal labor.

If the Brotherhood can establish its branch there and manage it properly, it may be able to legally acquire a large amount of cheap labor and gain some official recognition by assisting the Metropolitan Police Department in combating smuggling.

More importantly, this can be linked with the Brotherhood's own port trade in the South District, opening up an underground corridor for trade between the North and South.

Although they are in the same city, the northern part of Saint Laurent is much poorer than the southern part.

However, that land covered in black ash contained many special minerals and herbal resources that were favored by many upper-class nobles.

If you can reach in, it's like grasping a mountain of gold.

As Yuri pondered, he stubbed out his nearly burnt-out cigar in the brass ashtray and began to consider suitable candidates for branch manager.

The first person he thought of was a formidable general, Lothar.

This person is daring and courageous, extremely loyal, and always at the forefront in every fierce battle.

Although he wasn't one of his closest confidants, he was still quite close to him on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, Losas's strength was ultimately lacking.

To quell the chaos in the northern district, and to deal with ruthless smugglers and vicious gangsters, one's own strength naturally cannot be too weak.

An ordinary Tier 1 Extraordinary would probably not be considered outstanding in the Northern District, and would be unable to stand alone.

Although the North District's overall strength is not as profound as the South District's, there are still quite a few second-tier Rippers hidden in the alleys.

If you're too weak, you won't even have the right to sit at the table and negotiate with those local bullies.

After careful consideration, Yuri felt that it was still the safest course of action to send a second-tier extraordinary individual to the Northern District.

A young and aloof face suddenly flashed through his mind—Silen.

"What a pity..." Yuri shook his head slightly.

Xilun's strength is indeed impressive, and he also values ​​this young man highly.

Firstly, Xilun has an excellent temperament, being both ruthless and rational; secondly, he is a good swimmer, capable of carrying out missions in the deep sea; and thirdly, he is young and possesses immense talent and potential.

However, in Yuri's mind, Xilun's current strength is still a long way from that of a second-tier Ripper, and he is not even close to the first-tier extreme realm.

Otherwise, entrusting the North District to this young man would be an excellent choice.

Just as Yuri was racking his brains over the lack of talent, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside his office.

Immediately afterward, a subordinate in a black trench coat, without even knocking, flung open the door, his face filled with uncontrollable surprise and shock, and shouted, "Boss! Xilun, Xilun won!"

Yuri frowned slightly, displeased with his subordinate's lapse in composure, and asked in a deep voice, "What's the panic? What happened to Xilun?"

The henchman, panting heavily, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism, exclaimed ecstatically, "Sirlen defeated Ross of the Platinum Club and won the Junior Knight Fighting Championship!"

"champion?"

Yuri jolted, and suddenly stood up from the large chair.

His sharp eyes widened instantly, staring intently at his subordinate as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable.

"You beat Rose? Are you sure it's that Rose from the Platinum Club?"

The subordinate nodded frantically: "Absolutely true! The entire Daewoo Dojo is in an uproar!"

Yuri's breath hitched. Who was Ross?

That was a renowned first-tier extreme realm expert, not only with a powerful physical body, but also with terrifying wind and ice dual-elemental sword techniques, a monster only one step away from a second-tier extraordinary expert!

Has Xilun actually acquired such terrifying strength?

Yuri's mind was in turmoil; this news was almost completely beyond his comprehension.

In his mind, Xilun's strength was indeed good, but at most he was only a first-tier extraordinary being at the middle to upper level.

Unexpectedly, Xilun's current true combat strength is already enough to defeat someone like Ross!

This sudden turn of events instantly revitalized his previously dead-end North District plan.

If we send Siron, who has just won the knighthood, is at the height of his fame and has great potential, to guard the North District, it will not only deter some local bullies with force, but also bring immeasurable prestige and resources to the Brotherhood!

Yuri paced back and forth in his office, frantically calculating the gains and losses in his mind.

After a moment, he stopped and asked with a burning gaze, "Where is Xilun now?"

The subordinate hurriedly reported to the leader: "I heard that Xilun also suffered a very serious injury in the finals and is currently receiving treatment at a high-end private hospital near Daewoo Dojo."

Yuri nodded slightly, memorizing the location.

He sat back down in his chair, having made up his mind. He had to find some free time to personally visit Siren in the hospital.

In his mind, Xilun's status had risen like a rocket, instantly replacing many of the candidates he had previously considered, and becoming an excellent candidate for the head of the North District branch.