Luke and Dale spent the whole morning reviewing the questions they might encounter. I have to admit that Dale is really good at memorizing things, and she was able to speak nonsense without blinking or beating her heart. She is definitely a good candidate for a female spy.

At this time, Luke did not feel the slightest bit of guilt for leading such a well-behaved princess astray. Instead, he praised her acting talent.

"You have great potential to be an imperial spy. The princess should have discovered you earlier. This way, the Imperial Secret Service will have another ace spy."

Dai'er was very happy to be praised by such a big-name spy like Meteor, as if she was now an imperial spy, carrying out the most dangerous and exciting mission.

"You will never encounter such fun things in the palace. I have made preparations and will ensure that Melken will not find any flaws. When do we set off?"

At this time, a fast man came in: "Sir, Madam, the car is ready."

Dale looked at Luke: "Is it starting now?"

"It started yesterday..." Luke stood up and held out his hand to Dale: "Let's go to the banquet together, my dear Jasmine."

Dale hesitated for a moment before putting her hand in Luke's, forcing a smile and saying, "Okay... dear Luke."

Get in the car.

The car was bumping along the narrow and dilapidated road as Luke introduced Dale to the situation in the lower city of Saint Lun and what Melken, whom he was going to meet this time, did.

The pillar industry of the lower city of Saint-Lun is the treatment and recycling of sewage and garbage.

As the capital of the Golden Shield Empire, Saint Lun City is not only the political center of the empire, but also the industrial center. It is home to one-third of the empire's heavy industry, and its industrial output value even exceeds that of Raging Waves City.

At that time, there was no concept of environmental protection, and the sewage and garbage were directly discharged into the specially dug river. The people in the lower city of Saint Lun dug a huge sewage reservoir, which led all the industrial sewage to it, and built many refining factories and small workshops around the sewage reservoir.

The alchemical materials remaining in the sewage are refined into a muddy mixture, and the people in the lower city call these refined products "mud gold".

After the "gold mud" is extracted, it will be purchased by an alchemy factory that has the ability to refine alchemy materials. During the refining and sorting process, the alchemy factory will decompose and classify the alchemy materials in the gold mud, and finally sell it through various channels.

Ordinary alchemical materials cannot be sold at a good price, but there may be rare alchemical materials in the gold mud, especially the alchemical materials that are strictly controlled by all countries, which can often be sold at dozens of times the price.

Even though the harsh working environment and pollution cause great damage to the body, it is a rare job with a stable income in the downtown area, and many people are scrambling to get a job in the factories around the sewage reservoir.

Therefore, due to the huge and stable interests, the sewage reservoir has always been the center of competition among various forces in Xiacheng District, and those who have the ability to participate in the competition for the sewage reservoir are all top bosses.

Compared with sewage reservoirs, although the competition for garbage dumps is also fierce, because there is too little profit, it is basically divided among the small and medium-sized gangs affiliated with the top bosses.

Except for sewage reservoirs and garbage dumps, other industries are controlled by people with "skills". After development, the power of some people is no weaker than those big bosses who became big by controlling sewage reservoirs in the early years.

Although Melken came to the Lower City relatively late, his "craftsmanship" was unique here. Even in the entire empire, there were very few extraordinary trainers who could compete with him.

Logically, Melken would be treated as a VIP wherever he went, but he chose to come to the downtown area because there was something he must get in the city of Saint Lun.

“Malken has deep connections in the Empire’s Extraordinary Species Breeding Center, and most of the failed experiments at the Extraordinary Species Breeding Center end up in his hands.

He used these test subjects to build a supernatural species breeding center in the lower city, providing supernatural transformation for those in need. This brought him a lot of money and influence, and he became a figure that all parties in the lower city dared not offend easily.

There are many mutated supernatural species in Malken's laboratory, some of which are dangerous even he doesn't know about. Don't walk around after you go in, follow me closely."

"clear!"

At this moment, Dai'er was no longer as excited as when she first came out. She became nervous as she was about to reach her destination.

"Relax! We are wealthy merchants from Nutao City, and you are the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Show your princess temperament.

Malcolm has received higher education. Although he lives in the lower city, he looks down on people here. Your nobility will earn his respect."

The car stopped, and the fast-legged driver turned around and said, "Sir, Madam, we have arrived at Mr. Malken's supernatural species experiment site."

Someone opened the car door for Luke and Dale. Dale took a deep breath and said to herself silently, "Relax, relax... Dale, you have seen all kinds of big scenes. Can Melken be more terrifying than my father?"

Luke came over from the other side. Dale reached out and held Luke's arm as they walked out of the car, then naturally put her arm around his.

"Is this Mr. Melken's supernatural species testing facility?" Dale looked at the tall new building in front of her with disdain on her face. "It's too small! Honey... The downtown area of ​​Saint Lun City is the worst place I have ever seen. You are just wasting your time here. There is no way you can make money here."

At this time, Dai'er was a spoiled rich lady. She covered her nose with a handkerchief and didn't care about the harsh words people around her said.

"My dearest Jasmine, you also hope that your husband can do something great and be valued by your father. Believe me, this is an untapped treasure. I will put it into my...our pockets before others discover it. Let's go...don't be petty, give me some face..." Luke coaxed Dale and took out a 100-dollar imperial mark and gave it to the person who greeted him: "Please inform Mr. Malken that Luke and his wife from Raging Waves City are invited to visit."

The receptionist at the laboratory had never seen such a large tip before, which was equivalent to his salary for a week's work here. He immediately forgot the unpleasantness of being ridiculed, took the money and respectfully welcomed Luke and Dale in.

Although this extraordinary species research institute is newly built, compared with similar scientific research institutions, it is like a zoo.

Lack of professional personnel and equipment...

Melken had no way to independently cultivate extraordinary species, and could only carry out extraordinary transformations on some common animals and cultivate and research individual organs.

Therefore, in the isolation room here, you can see dogs with wings, cats with eagle claws, chickens with monkey heads, crocodiles with flames all over their bodies...

In order to deal with these animals that have undergone extraordinary modifications, the guards here are also different from ordinary people and have extraordinary strength.

For example, a leopard-headed man standing in front of a big door.

Black Panther Monis: The prototype is the Dark Moon Leopard God, the totem of the Larsen Mountain Tribe. The appearance of the Abyss Leopard of Oulu College also made some reference to the Dark Moon Leopard God.

Monis was a failed product of supernatural species breeding. When he was about to die, he was secretly sold to Melken. As a result... Melken actually saved him. He was only six years old at that time.

Malcolm raised Black Panther Monis like a father, so Monis is extremely loyal to Malcolm.

Black Panther Monis, who had been taught by Melkan himself since childhood, saluted Luke and Dale in a standard way, but the murderous look in his eyes showed that he was still an efficient killer.

"Mr. Luke, Mrs. Luke, my master is waiting inside, please come in..."

Black Panther Monis pushed open the door, and Luke and Dai'er walked in arm in arm, ignoring him.

But when he was about to follow in, he was stopped.

"Please wait outside..."

But before the Black Panther Monis could finish, he quickly bypassed his blocking arm and went inside the door: "I'm sorry, my master asked me to protect the gentleman and the lady."

Black Panther Monis was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that a seemingly ordinary follower could have such strength. He chased after him to make up for his mistake, but Melken inside the house said, "Don't be rude, Monis. Come to me."

"Yes, master." Black Panther Monis glanced at Fast Legs, then walked and stood behind Melkan.

Melken shook hands with Luke who greeted them at the door, but when he tried to kiss Dale's hand he only got a cold eye.

Luke eased the awkward atmosphere and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Malken. My wife is in a bad mood because of what happened last night. Please forgive me. I think you can definitely use a sumptuous lunch to change Jasmine's stereotype of the lower city of Saint Lun."

After all, Melken had held important positions in the empire's senior departments and had a certain eye for people.

In his eyes, Luke had status but he did not have the wealth and nobility that came from a noble family.

But this Mrs. Luke is different.

The aristocratic atmosphere of an ancient family that had been accumulated for dozens of generations was overwhelming, and this feeling could only be experienced at a palace banquet. Although Melken had only attended a palace banquet once and had not even entered the main hall, he could not forget the feeling at that time.

This lady named Molixiang definitely comes from an old and large family. It is consistent with the information bought from Alice's bar... A lucky boy is lucky enough to marry a rich lady.

What a winner in life.

Melken bowed to Dale instead and said, "I agree with what Mr. Luke said. As long as you find the right place in the Lower City, you can enjoy the same quality of life as in the Upper City or even the Imperial City.

What do you like to eat, madam? I'll ask my chef to prepare it for you."

"Tomato thyme cod. The cod must be from Bluewater Bay, the white wine must be kept at a constant temperature of zero degrees for at least ten years, and the thyme must be made into a refreshing and lightly scented ointment..." Dale turned to Luke and said coquettishly, "The last time I came to the capital with my father, he took me to the Golden Hotel in the Imperial City to eat this dish. I still remember its taste."

Luke showed an embarrassment: "Dear Jasmine, please don't embarrass Mr. Malken's chef. If you like this tomato thyme cod, I will take you to the Golden Hotel to eat it when I have time."

"It's not a problem..." Who would have thought that Malken would actually say: "It's just tomato thyme cod. I'll have someone prepare it right away. I guarantee it will taste the same as the tomato thyme cod at the Golden Hotel. Please take your seat..."

When Luke and Dale sat down, Malken whispered to the black panther Monis behind him, "Ask the kitchen to make a dish of cod with tomatoes and thyme."

Monis whispered back, "Master, I have never heard of the ingredients that Madam Luke mentioned. Can our chef make the same taste?"

"If you can't make it, buy it. Doesn't the Golden Hotel have this dish?"

"Master, it's so far... and Saint Lun City has been sealed off!"

"Then find a way to get in, quickly. If Mrs. Luke is happy, Mr. Luke will be happy, and then I can get the investment from Raging Waves City."

"But... Master, didn't you invite them here to check for the missing Shadow Parasite Meta-iteration?"

"Yeah!" Malken suddenly remembered the real purpose of hosting this luncheon: "Investigating the Shadow Parasite Meta-iteration is as important as attracting investment. Treat them well and don't mess it up for me."

"Yes, Master, I will do it immediately."

Black Panther Monis went to the Royal City to find someone to buy tomato thyme cod, and Malken sat in the main seat.

Although Melken held this luncheon to test whether Luke was related to the loss of the Shadow Prebiotics iteration, he had already determined through various means that this businessman from Raging Waves City was indeed a wealthy man.

The funds for the research subjects that his own Extraordinary Species Research Institute wants to carry out are far from enough. The cost of cultivating extraordinary species is beyond the reach of his own extraordinary transformation surgery.

Therefore, Malcolm made careful preparations for this lunch.

Aperitif, appetizer, soup...

Luke and Dale's performance at the table made Melken even more grateful for his decision to take this lunch seriously.

"Madam, from your dignified manner, I can tell that you must come from a prominent family. May I be lucky enough to know your father's name? Perhaps I have met this gentleman before when I was working at the Imperial Extraordinary Species Breeding Center."

Dale replied: "I'm sorry! My father wouldn't let me say his name anywhere, especially because of my love for Luke... He felt a little ashamed.

He wants me to marry a viscount to strengthen the family business."

Luke said to Melken, "This viscount is Iscolan. At that time, Viscount Iscolan only had wealth, but now he is one of the five senators of the Upper Council of Raging Waves City. I think you can imagine what kind of attitude Molixiang's father has towards me."

Melken's passion for gossip was immediately ignited.

Ever since Viscount Iscolan boarded the chariot of the meteorite, he has been making rapid progress in the City of Raging Waves. He quickly went from being an ordinary hereditary viscount to one of the five giants of the City of Raging Waves.

If I were Molixiang's father, I would definitely regret it. Why didn't I kill the man who tricked his daughter away earlier?

However... before Viscount Iscolan became rich, Molixiang's father had been thinking about family marriage, so the relationship between the two families should be very good. Even if Molixiang's family can't eat meat, drinking soup is definitely no problem.

This is the soup from Nutao City!

Melken picked up his glass and said, "I understand. But I think love is more precious than anything else. Bless you!"

"Thank you!" Luke raised his glass and said, "So I need to prove myself even more, so I came here. I believe this is an untapped treasure."

"Mr. Luke, I admire your vision and courage. Not many people can see the potential here, and not many people dare to explore the wealth here." Malken picked up the glass again: "Please allow me to apologize to you... The people who followed you this morning were sent by me. It was a misunderstanding, and they got the punishment they deserved."

Luke picked up his glass and said with a smile, "It's okay, I'm not hurt. But... Alice's people did hit me too hard, I will pay for all the medical expenses.

I'm just curious, Mr. Malcolm, why are you following me?"

Talking about the first purpose of hosting this luncheon, Malcolm said with a smile after finishing his drink: "I lost something very important in the drainage ditch last night. Someone told me...you and your wife appeared near the drainage ditch, and your wife seemed to have fallen into the water."

Luke said in frustration, "This is my fault."

Dai Er said angrily: "This is your fault. We are not poor, why do we have to live in such a hellhole? That damn mouse actually stared at me for ten seconds. Do you know how upset I was at that time?

I disobeyed my father for you, but I didn't expect you would let me live in a house like that."

Luke said comfortingly, "Dear Jasmine, do you know how long it would take me to come to downtown every day if we lived in the upper city? I need to learn about the situation here as soon as possible and find a profitable business to invest in.

Although you can have a comfortable life in the upper city, you are also more likely to be deceived by scams. You have seen how your father treats me since Viscount Iscolan became the senator of Fury City.

I needed to prove to him what I was capable of and I couldn't make any mistakes.

What do you mean, Mr. Malcolm?

"Yes, I agree with what Mr. Luke said." Melken had to help persuade him: "There are many villains and swindlers in the downtown area. If you live in the upper city and run back and forth every day, not only will your body be unable to bear it, but you will also be easily deceived.

Mr. Luke can endure the environment and live here, he will definitely achieve great things. Your father values ​​him, and you can get more complete happiness.

And as I just said, as long as you have money in the lower city, you can still live in the upper city. You just need to find someone to renovate your house and set up some magic, and you will definitely be able to live in it comfortably. "

Luke said, "My dear, you heard me... I just bought this house, so it's inevitable that there are some little creatures living in it. I immediately asked someone to do the most comprehensive cleaning and renovation of the house, and then set up defensive magic, which will definitely make you feel as comfortable as at home.

I think Mr. Malcolm will be happy to help us."

"Of course, I'd be happy to lend a hand to you two. For example, I could build a garden around your house..." Malken suddenly felt that the topic was a bit off, so he turned back and asked, "I just don't know why you two are near the drainage ditch."

"It was all caused by that rat," Luke said. "My wife was terrified. She insisted on going back to the upper city overnight. She had a quarrel with me and then ran away. She got lost and ran to the drainage ditch..."

"I wasn't lost. I just wanted to go to the upper city along the canal." Dale defended, "But I fell into the water. I've never been so embarrassed. The smell... I came back, took a shower, and put on a whole bottle of perfume, but it couldn't cover up the disgusting smell.

I've had enough of this place, I just want to go back to Uptown and live the life I deserve... or I should go back to Raging Storm."

"Dear... I promise, we will be back soon." Luke turned to Malcolm and said, "My wife was very unhappy about what happened last night, and it has seriously affected our relationship. We have nothing to do with what you lost. If you think so, don't mention what happened last night again.

Molixiang is willing to come here with me for our happiness. I am very grateful. She has given so much for me!"

Malcolm sensed Luke's impending rage.

He understood how much pressure this unequal marriage put on this lucky young man. If his wife could not stand the environment in the lower city and ran back to Raging Tide City, this lucky man would most likely fall heavily from the sky to the ground.

For the sake of investment, we should not continue this topic.

They probably really have nothing to do with the lost Shadow Parasite Meta-iteration, and just happened to appear near the drainage ditch.

And if they really stole the Shadow Parasite Meta-iteration, they should have escaped last night. How could they be seen by so many people walking home wet from the drainage ditch?

I dare not even come to the banquet.

Malcolm's suspicion of Luke was greatly reduced.

"I apologize, I apologize. I shouldn't have talked about things that upset Madam. After lunch, you can feel free to refer to my research institute... Some of the extraordinary modified animals I have bred are very beautiful. I will give you whichever one Madam likes."

Luke raised his glass to Melkan and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, sir."

Melken's suspicion was dispelled. Luke and Dale looked at each other with a satisfied smile in their eyes. As long as they didn't make any mistakes, they would be safe.

Next, Malcolm pitched his research project to Luke.

After introducing his research institute in detail, he said expectantly: "A successful businessman must invest in the future. Now magic, alchemy, machinery, and extraordinary cultivation are developing rapidly with the advancement of technology. Raging Waves City has even successfully developed an all-metal steam battleship.

My research institute has in-depth cooperation with the Empire's Extraordinary Species Cultivation Center. Some of the Empire's top extraordinary species have relevant experimental subjects here. It's just that the equipment and funds here can't allow me to conduct more in-depth research. But I can guarantee that as long as I produce one or two mature results, the wealth that can be brought will be immeasurable. "

Luke wiped his mouth with a napkin, took another sip of wine, thought for a moment and said, "I understand that the industry of supernatural species cultivation requires very, very high investment, and the risks are very, very high. Once the supernatural goes out of control, it's not just a matter of death, all investments are very likely to be ruined in one accident.

I must consider this investment carefully and conduct a more detailed investigation of your research institute.

But please allow me to tell you a little bit about my impressions of this place.”

"Please speak! Your suggestion is the direction I will change."

"The security personnel in your institute are very unprofessional. I am not questioning their ability, but their attitude towards work. They are lazy, casual, irresponsible, and their duties and responsibilities are not clear.

You have worked at the Imperial Extraordinary Species Breeding Center. You should know that most accidents are caused by people. You should also know how serious the management omissions here are."

Luke's straightforward opinion was recognized by Melkan.

He was also helpless.

"This is the lower city of Saint Lun City. Due to the environment, the people here are generally not well educated. They may be good at fighting, but it is difficult to use the system to carefully restrain them.

Your opinion has been bothering me as well.

But if I had the money, I could hire a professional from uptown or somewhere else.”

"Money can hire people, but how can we guarantee their safety? High salaries may very likely cost them their lives..."

Faced with Luke's question, Melkan found it difficult to answer.

If it weren't for the Shadow Parasite Meta-iteration, he wouldn't have stayed in this hellish place. For his own safety, he had to invest huge expenses every day, but he couldn't treat future employees with his own safety indicators.

Money and safety are two huge problems that plague the Institute of Supernatural Species.

Malcolm asked Luke, "Do you have any good solution?"

"What solutions can I, an outsider, provide? If you want to solve the problem, you in the Lower City must do it yourself. There must be a system that everyone can abide by..."

"That's probably going to be difficult."

"Then at least there is a leader that everyone respects."