Chapter 1873 - 1872: Witch Church Headquarters

Anke lowered his head and glanced at the address below.

South Sixteenth Street

No problem.

He looked again at the towering wall surrounding the building ahead, the slowly rotating automatic cannons, and the tall watchtowers with guards on duty.

He paused, "Old man, did you remember the address wrong?"

"No mistake," He Ao said directly, "But the exact location shouldn’t be in this building. Walk around these buildings to the back."

Anke glanced at the wall again, then continued forward along it.

Soon, he circled to the back of the wall.

And here, beside the wall, appeared in his view a somewhat classical building connected to the wall, adorned with many solid wood decorations.

The sign on the building presented in a pink hue:

[Ancient Music Club]

"This seems like," Anke looked at the pink sign and the people coming and going from the building, "a strip club?"

He turned his gaze, glancing at the wall next to him.

The wall was already connected to the grand entrance of this classical building, vaguely enclosing the entire building within its walls.

"This strip club," Anke smacked his lips, "is inside the City Defense Army Command Center? This business has gotten huge!"

"This should be it," He Ao acknowledged, "Let’s go in."

"Wait?" Anke was stunned, "This is the Witch Church headquarters?"

Then he looked at the pink sign and thought of the twin-tailed young girl, "Witch Church... doesn’t seem like a problem."

"The Witch Cultist said they’ve temporarily moved their headquarters here," He Ao said slowly, "Shouldn’t be wrong."

"But there are sentries at the door." Anke turned his head to look at the two guards stationed in front of the club’s entrance.

"Look at all the people going in," He Ao glanced at the crowd coming and going, "Just pretend to be a regular customer and go in."

"What does a regular customer look like?" Anke said hesitantly.

"You’ve never been to a strip club like this?" He Ao questioned, "Your words sound quite familiar with such places."

"When I went into the city before, I followed my buddies," Anke paused, feeling a bit awkward, "but I didn’t go in. The expenses inside were too high; most of my money went to transferring back to treat my mother’s illness, and before joining the army, my mother wouldn’t allow me to go to this kind of place, and we couldn’t afford to spend inside."

"So this is your first time?" He Ao pondered.

"Yes." Anke nodded, "But I can give it a try."

After speaking, he stepped forward, directly walking toward the large door ahead.

As soon as he reached the entrance, a guard stopped him, the guard glanced at his mercenary uniform. "Please show your membership card."

"I forgot my membership card, I came here with my friends," Anke quickly said, "They’ve already gone inside."

He checked his pocket, producing a pack of cigarettes, and handed it to the guard.

The guard glanced at him, accepted the pack of cigarettes, and continued, "If you don’t have the membership card, your membership friend can come out and bring you in, you can call him."

"Are the requirements here this strict?" Anke’s face showed slight concern.

The guard took the cigarettes but didn’t allow him inside.

"Just show the membership card." The guard proceeded as if nothing had happened.

Anke stepped back two paces, glancing around at the surrounding walls.

The walls were lined with high-voltage grids, seeming not easy to climb over.

"Hey, you’re here too?" At this moment, a familiar voice rang in Anke’s ears, "Didn’t go in with your friends?"

Anke turned around, and it was the mercenary who had spoken to him on the vehicle.

The mercenary was walking together with his companion, followed by two unfamiliar mercenaries.

While speaking, the mercenary had already handed over a cigarette.

"He’s not here, I can’t reach him." Anke sighed, took the cigarette, and put it in his mouth, then he took out his lighter.

The mercenary and his companion also took a cigarette and put it in their mouths, Anke used his lighter to light their cigarettes.

"Why aren’t you going in?" The mercenary glanced at the building ahead, somewhat curious.

"I don’t have a membership card," Anke sighed.

"Your friends have one, you don’t, right?" The mercenary chuckled, "It’s no big deal."

He raised his hand, bringing out a card printed with a number, he swiped it in front of the guard, "We’re together."

The guard glanced at the card, a certain glow flickered in his eye.

It was then that Anke noticed the guard’s eyes were some kind of artificial eye.

"Welcome." The guard nodded and stepped back to let them through.

The mercenary turned back, glanced at Anke, and smiled, "Come on, brother, let’s enjoy ourselves!"

Saying this, he led the group through the entrance.

As Anke walked beside the mercenary, he discreetly took back the pack of cigarettes the mercenary had stuffed in his pocket and put them back in his own pocket.

Then, he walked into the building.

A myriad of lights softly flickered in his view.

A faint fragrance carrying a hint of sweet alcohol blew softly across Anke’s face with the breeze.

He looked up, gazing ahead.

A woman with brown long hair, about one meter seventy tall, walking with the confidence of a model, with a voluptuous figure, dressed in a bunny girl leather outfit and black tights, was quickly approaching them.

She carried a tray, on which were crystal-clear goblets filled with orangey-yellow liquid.

Walking in front of Anke, the mercenary saw the bunny girl coming over, smiled and went forward, took a glass from the tray.

Then another hand swiftly touched the bunny girl’s thigh.

The mercenaries following suit took champagne from the tray in the bunny girl’s hand, smiling as they brushed past her and entered the depths of the building.

Throughout the process, the bunny girl maintained a gentle smile, her facial expression unchanged.

At this moment, the rabbit girl also saw Anke walking at the back and approached him.

This rabbit girl resembled the twin-tail girl somewhat, but her overall beauty was slightly inferior compared to that of the previous twin-tail girl; however, her figure far surpassed that of the twin-tail girl.

Moreover, her steps were light and graceful, her chin slightly raised, giving off a hint of coldness and arrogance, making her a completely different kind of beauty.

She saw Anke and handed the tray in her hand to him.

Anke glanced at the liquor on the tray and hesitated slightly.

The rabbit girl glanced at him, then smiled and said in a composed and clear tone, "It’s free, we offer every guest a glass of our special beer."

Then she looked at Anke’s somewhat nervous expression and chuckled, "There’s no knockout drug in it, it won’t intoxicate you."

Anke looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, only feeling his heart pounding fast.

He suppressed the emotions within him, reached out to take the tall glass from the tray, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," the rabbit girl slightly raised her eyebrows, then retracted the tray, pointed behind her, and smiled, "The hall is ahead. If you want a private room, just tell any staff member, and they will guide you."

Anke followed her gesture and looked forward, seeing colorful semi-transparent drapes hanging down, like a blurry barrier isolating the world behind it.

He could vaguely see the outlines of figures behind the semi-transparent strips.

The mercenaries walking in front had already entered, leaving only Anke still there.

Anke turned his head, looked at the rabbit girl beside him, wanting to thank her again, but she was no longer there.

Her graceful figure had already moved to the rear, smiling and serving drinks to the guests behind.

Vaguely, Anke even felt a faint sense of loss.

Immediately, he shook his head, clearing his mind, holding the wine glass, and walked forward.

As the curtain-like transparent strips were slowly lifted, roaring music and strong fragrance swept over like a whirlwind.

Anke looked forward and saw only scattered light and shadow, and the graceful figures on the stage.

The hall was roughly circular, with a towering round platform in the center, where scantily clad girls were dancing energetically.

The explosive atmosphere paired with the hot music made the environment extremely lively.

Small booths surrounded the platform, but almost no one was sitting; they were all gathered in front of the platform, intensely interacting with the performers on stage.

The air around was filled with an invisible heatwave, and Anke instinctively raised his hand, bringing the wine glass to his lips.

"I wouldn’t recommend drinking that," an elderly voice spoke by Anke’s ear.

Anke was slightly startled, looking down at the wine glass in his hand.

The orange-yellow liquid in the glass didn’t seem different from ordinary beer. Although the fragrance was somewhat special, it didn’t seem problematic.

"Is this beer poisoned?" Anke cautiously asked.

"Not poisoned," He Ao replied slowly, "but it might contain something to refresh and excite, and something to enhance desires, which can have a strong therapeutic effect for men with weaker sexual performance."

Anke paused, then understood what He Ao meant. He looked somewhat surprised at the drink in his glass, "There’s an aphrodisiac in this? Damn, impressive."

He couldn’t help but exclaim, looking at the excited people ahead, "This boss knows how to do business."

"The air you breathe also contains similar ingredients, just much weaker," He Ao added.

These words made Anke pause, then he whispered, "Does it have any effect?"

"No real effect, other than feeling a bit more excited," He Ao paused, seeming to sense something, "These drugs likely aren’t toxic."

"That’s good." Anke took a light breath of relief but stopped halfway, refraining from inhaling again.

He raised his head and surveyed the structure of the entire hall.

Atop this circular hall was a massive cylindrical atrium resembling a sleeve, with a gigantic semi-transparent purple dome glass at the very top.

Surrounding this atrium were layers of buildings. From within the hall looking upwards, the doors facing the atrium and the ring-shaped corridors in front of these doors were faintly visible.

The lower the floor, the clearer the view, while the higher the floor, the less discernible it was.

From the outside, these buildings looked like some classical architecture, not very tall, but viewed from the inside, the floors were densely packed. Anke counted them, seemingly not less than thirty stories.

The scene within this hall was just a small corner of the entire building.

"Old man, where do we go next? Are we supposed to find someone or something?" Anke lowered his head and asked softly.

"All the ’K Believers’ captured in the Eastern Region should be here," He Ao said.

"That should be a lot of people," Anke’s mind whirred fast, holding his wine glass, he moved closer to the crowd ahead, "Considering the batch captured by West Carter seems to be just a group over a period of time, a small city like West Carter would have so many people, and the entire Eastern Region would have even more."

He pondered, "To imprison so many people while meeting their basic needs requires a very large space."

Speaking, he raised his head, glanced at the atrium above, looking at the stacked buildings, "Old man, do you think they might be on a few of the upper floors?"

Bam——

At this moment, his body collided with a figure in front of him.

The glass in his hand shook violently because of it, spilling quite a bit of liquor, which landed on his clothes and the figure in front of him.

He looked up at the person in front, seeing a young man in a City Defense Army Guard uniform.

"Sorry," Anke immediately said.

The young man looked at him, glanced at his clothes, patted the stained spots cleaned by the alcohol on his body, and shook his head, "It’s fine."

Then he quickly moved forward, disappearing into the crowd.

Anke looked up, gazing at the guard disappearing into the crowd and slightly frowned.

"Did you notice something?" He Ao asked by his ear.

"The guard just now seemed to be carrying weapons, and a lot of them at that," Anke shook his head, "But maybe he’s in charge of security."

While speaking, he turned his head, looking in the direction the guard came from, and spotted a figure seated at a table.

It was a middle-aged man in a black leather coat, sitting in the chaotic din of the hall, holding a drink, sipping and quietly watching the performance on stage.

In this noisy hall, he sat there, somewhat out of place with the whole atmosphere.

"That person seems a bit strange," Anke said softly, observing the figure, "He’s tall and sturdy, his movements powerful, much like our mercenary company’s deputy captain. Seems like he’s been in the military for many years, but his demeanor, his aggression, is very strong."

"Like a wolf," He Ao added, "Eyes like an eagle, body like a wolf, he’s constantly observing his surroundings and maintaining a high level of vigilance, ready to take action at any moment."

"Now that you mention it, he really is," Anke observed carefully and nodded.

Just then, the man drinking seemed to sense the gaze and turned his head, looking in this direction.