75: L99 Heavenly Palace: Luxury and Danger Above Hell

"Ding."

As the heavy, engraving-embossed bronze door slowly closed,

The noisy clamor of the black market outside was instantly and completely cut off.

The world became quiet.

This VIP sightseeing elevator, ascending to the top floor, felt like an alternate dimension, separate from the apocalypse.

The car was carpeted with thick, soft wool, surrounded by polished brass handrails and mahogany trim.

There was no trace of rust or blood in the air; instead, a faint, expensive lavender fragrance permeated it.

From the hidden speakers overhead, a soothing, elegant classical piano piece flowed—

It was a nocturne by a master of the old era.

"This elevator's air filtration system is actually military-grade NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection."

Jiang Ran reached out and touched the car wall; it was cool and smooth, without even a hint of vibration.

The elevator began its high-speed ascent without the jarring sensation of old machinery, gliding smoothly as if through clouds.

Through the enormous bulletproof floor-to-ceiling glass panel, the Jinling Sky City below rapidly shrank.

Those dirty streets where people had just been struggling to survive, selling their dignity for two batteries,

Now transformed into a bizarre, abstract painting.

Countless flickering low-quality neon lights, chimneys spewing black smoke, Tanka people crawling like ants on steel cables.

All were mercilessly trampled underfoot by this transparent glass layer.

Just a layer of glass, a few hundred meters of vertical height, separated hell and heaven.

Su Qingyu looked at the black city shrouded in industrial haze below, her eyes somewhat dazed.

Just minutes ago, she had almost been dismembered there.

And now, she stood in this perfumed place, listening to elegant music.

"Isn't it ironic?"

Jiang Ran stood beside her, looking at his own tattered cloak in the glass reflection, a sneer on his lips:

"Here, what determines your class isn't whether you're human, but how high you live."

The numbers on the elevator display kept jumping, finally stopping at "L99."

"We're here."

Jiang Ran adjusted his collar, the sneer in his eyes instantly receding, replaced by the absolute calm of a hunter about to pull the trigger:

"Get ready, we're going to the 'Cloudtop.'"

"Ding—" Accompanied by a pleasant chime, the elevator doors slowly slid open to either side.

What first flowed in was not a sight, but a warm, dry breeze, even carrying a hint of sweet, intoxicating wine aroma.

In the cold, damp, bone-chilling, radiation-filled world outside, this temperature itself was the most expensive luxury.

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the sudden dazzling light.

What greeted his eyes was a massive circular hall, easily over a thousand square meters.

Above the dome, a giant multi-tiered crystal chandelier emitted a soft yet bright golden glow.

Each crystal was polished to a sparkling transparency, reflecting light that illuminated the incredibly thick handmade Persian carpet below.

Both sides of the hall were filled with leather sofas and expensive mahogany wine cabinets.

Even more astonishingly, beside the fountain in the center of the hall, several pots of blooming red roses were displayed—

In this wasteland where plants generally withered or mutated, the value of these few vibrant plants was enough to buy half the black market.

"Sir, Madam, welcome to the Cloudtop."

Two waiters in tailcoats and white gloves bowed slightly, trays holding freshly decanted red wine.

Their demeanor was impeccable, like the most rigorously trained staff of a five-star hotel in the old era.

If one ignored the metal collars on their necks, flashing red, and the soulless emptiness in their eyes.

This was simply a paradise untouched by the apocalypse.

Su Qingyu looked at all this, finding it absurd.

A few hundred meters below, people were killing each other for a piece of moldy synthetic starch.

Yet here, the man named Golden Tooth used the flesh and blood of countless people to sustain this Versailles Palace floating on a mountain of corpses.

"Do you like it?"

Jiang Ran did not take the wine offered by the waiter.

His gaze swept past the luxurious decorations, seemingly casually scanning the giant Roman columns in the corners of the hall and the dimly lit circular corridor on the second floor.

"Nice decor. Too bad,"

Jiang Ran stepped out of the elevator, his leather boots making a muffled sound on the soft carpet:

"The smell of gunpowder here is much stronger than the perfume."

No sooner had Jiang Ran's words fallen.

The waiter who was about to pour them wine suddenly trembled, and the stemmed glass on the tray slipped.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of breaking glass was like a signal.

At that moment, the melodious piano music that had been flowing through the hall abruptly stopped.

The elegance and composure in the air were instantly torn to shreds by a chilling, bone-piercing killing intent.

"Click! Click!"

Countless mechanical sounds of gun bolts being pulled echoed from all directions, like dense raindrops.

Behind those giant Roman columns on both sides of the hall, originally serving as decoration,

More than twenty private soldiers in black exoskeleton armor instantly appeared.

At the same time, dense gun muzzles emerged from the railings of the previously empty circular corridor on the second floor.

They were all standard-issue assault rifles, and there were even two heavy machine guns mounted at vantage points.

There was no time for Jiang Ran and Su Qingyu to react.

"Buzz—!"

Accompanied by a faint electric hum, countless red laser beams shot out from those muzzles.

Interweaving in the dim hall, they formed a suffocating web of death.

Those red light dots, like a swarm of blood-scenting vampire flies, densely covered Jiang Ran and Su Qingyu's bodies.

Forehead, throat, heart... each fatal spot had at least three red dots resting on it.

If any finger lightly pulled a trigger, both of them would instantly be riddled with holes.

"Don't move."

A cold shout came from the second floor: "Unless you want to stain the carpet here red."

Su Qingyu's body tensed instantly, her right hand instinctively reaching for the dagger at her waist.

But Jiang Ran gently pressed her wrist down.

Jiang Ran stood still, allowing the red laser dots to flicker across his face.

He didn't even blink.

He just slightly raised his head, his gaze passing through the dark muzzles, looking towards the deep shadow at the end of the hall.

"Quite a show."

Jiang Ran's voice echoed in the hall, strangely calm: "Is this Boss Jin's way of hospitality?"

"Clap, clap, clap."

A lazy and slow round of applause came from the shadows at the end of the hall.

As the applause sounded, the lights in that area slowly brightened.

On a giant European-style leather sofa, large enough for five people, a huge mountain of flesh was slumped.

It was a man so fat his neck was almost invisible.

He wore an exquisitely tailored pure silk embroidered bathrobe, his fingers adorned with various gemstone rings.

On his fleshy face, a full set of genuine golden dentures were embedded—

This was Golden Tooth, the owner of this Floating City.

At this moment, he wasn't looking at Jiang Ran, who was being pointed at by dozens of guns.

Instead, he was engrossed in playing with a palm-sized black metal cube in his hand.

The surface of the cube was engraved with intricate blue circuit patterns, emitting a deep, faint glow.

【deep sea black box】.

Inside it was the precise East Sea Nautical Chart, enough to change the situation in this sea area.

"I originally thought they were just two little mice who didn't know the rules, trying to sneak into my territory to steal something."

Golden Tooth finally looked up, his small eyes, squeezed into slits by fat, gleamed with the brilliance of someone who had discovered a rare treasure.

He casually tossed the priceless black box onto the sofa, as if it were an insignificant toy.

"But I have a good habit: anyone who enters this door of mine has to go through a biological scan."

He picked up a remote control and pressed a button.

A holographic projection instantly appeared in mid-air in the hall.

On the left side of the screen was a blurry image of Su Qingyu's actions in the alley earlier.

On the right was a clear archive photo—

It was Su Qingyu's ID photo from an Ark wanted poster.

Below the photo, a line of blood-red bold font was startling:

【Wanted Level: S-Class · Extremely Dangerous】

【Bounty: Capture alive for Ark Second-Class Citizen status + 10 million credit points】

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, who would have thought?"

Golden Tooth grinned, revealing his disgusting golden teeth, his fleshy face trembling with laughter:

"The famous first mate of the black iron, actually gracing my humble abode. This is a big deal that could earn a title in the Ark."

This is a big deal that could earn a title in the Ark.

He looked at Jiang Ran, his eyes full of cat-and-mouse amusement:

"As for this gentleman... although the Ark database still lists him as 'Unknown.' I suppose making him into a specimen would be quite spectacular, given he's associated with this S-class fugitive?"

But being associated with this S-class fugitive, I suppose making him into a specimen would be quite spectacular, wouldn't it?

Golden Tooth leaned back comfortably against the soft sofa cushion, gently swirling the red wine in his glass.

His gaze darted between the two of them, as if planning how to arrange two newly acquired pieces of furniture.

"Kill the man directly, but remember not to hit his face; I want to keep those eyeballs for specimens."

He slowly took a sip of wine, pointed at Su Qingyu, and a lewd smile appeared on his face:

"As for the woman... first, sever her hand and foot tendons. The cage I used for the pianist is Just right empty. Keep that special combat suit on; I like that 'wild' vibe."

The cage I used for the pianist is Just right empty. Keep that special combat suit on; I like that 'wild' vibe.

The surrounding private soldiers tightened their fingers slightly, lowering their gun muzzles.

Dozens of red laser aiming points instantly shifted from their foreheads to their limb joints.

In this suffocating silence, it felt as if even the air had solidified.

However, Jiang Ran, at the center of the storm, suddenly moved.

He didn't kneel and beg for mercy as Golden Tooth expected, nor did he put up a desperate fight.

He simply took a natural step forward, ignoring the laser red dots flickering across his body.

His gaze passed over dozens of gun muzzles, falling directly on the 【deep sea black box】 casually discarded by Golden Tooth's hand.

His gaze passed over dozens of gun muzzles, falling directly on the 【deep sea black box】 casually discarded by Golden Tooth's hand.

"Is this the original nautical chart?"

Jiang Ran's voice was terrifyingly steady, even carrying a hint of the fastidiousness of an antique connoisseur:

"Well preserved, no dampness, no scratches."

Golden Tooth froze for a moment, his hand, shaking the wine glass, stopped in mid-air.

He had seen people wet their pants when threatened with a gun, seen them beg for mercy on their knees, and seen them fight hysterically.

But he had never seen anyone like this... as if they were inspecting goods at a shopping mall.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Golden Tooth frowned, the anger of being ignored making the fat on his face tremble:

"You're at death's door and still concerned about that box?"

"Of course I'm concerned."

Jiang Ran raised his head, his black eyes devoid of fear, only a matter-of-fact indifference.

He slowly raised his hand and pointed to the black box, as if pointing to something that already belonged to him:

"After all, that's mine. Since you've kept it so well, it saves me the trouble of wiping it again when I get back."

Since you've kept it so well, it saves me the trouble of wiping it again when I get back.

The moment his words fell, Jiang Ran's aura abruptly changed.

The seemingly harmless wanderer image instantly collapsed.

In its place was a deep-sea behemoth that had finally revealed its fangs.

"Do it."