The rain began to lighten, a light drizzle, and the streets on both sides were crowded with people seeking shelter. Of course, some shops took the opportunity to earn money, and there were also people like Durin, holding umbrellas and hurrying along the road.
Durin had faced numerous life-and-death situations, and his assessment and prediction of danger had almost become instinctual.
Just by following closely behind Janet, he was quickly able to make a preliminary judgment.
The other party must have a mechanical spine, extending from the spinal column to the back of the head; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to support so many Chem-Tech modifications.
And the mechanical spine was connected to the host's nerves, allowing each mechanical prosthetic limb to unleash its maximum power with mechanical assistance.
Therefore, Janet's strength would certainly not be weak, at least stronger than the two highly threatening professional robbers he encountered last time in Zaun.
Those two probably would have ranked well even in Black Alley.
It was just their bad luck to encounter Durin, who had just been possessed and transformed by a Darkin, with extremely unstable power. One of them was even burned alive by the flames released by Darkin Magic.
From the current observation, although Janet's walking pace was somewhat hurried and scattered, and alcohol affected her nerves, her footsteps were not heavy; on the contrary, they were quite light. It seemed that some happy event had made her feel joyful, causing her to drink so much alcohol.
However, Durin was still unsure if the other party also carried Chem-Tech weapons. For example, what was inside the large black box Janet was carrying?
Thinking this, Durin, a silent ghost, consistently followed behind Janet. If she sped up, he sped up; if Janet slowed down, he also slowed down.
He maintained a safe distance of fifteen meters throughout, neither getting too close nor too far.
The guys who had previously tracked him had also given Durin a lesson. He actively drew experience from it, learning how he should track others.
Durin prided himself on his tracking skills; whenever Janet turned a corner or looked back, he would position himself in her blind spot.
If there was no cover around, he would crouch down by the roadside, pretending to examine items sold by street vendors, naturally engaging in bargaining with them.
[Observation +3, Current Proficiency: 3/25]
[Observation: Due to your tracking of enemies and previous exploration of dangerous areas, you will possess keen intuition and a broad field of vision.]
When Durin saw these two lines of text, he was a little surprised; it was the first time he had seen information about an increase in Observation proficiency.
Literally, as long as he tracked enemies or explored new maps, like descending into ancient tombs, his Observation proficiency would also increase.
It seems his tracking skills are quite good, even the Character Card system is increasing his proficiency.
Durin felt a little smug, and he intentionally slowed his steps to avoid making any noise.
Another hour passed, the rain intensified again, and night completely enveloped the city.
The path grew increasingly secluded, even Chem-Tech streetlights were absent, forcing him to rely on his Dark Vision to navigate the pitch-black environment where he couldn't see his own hand.
Janet, braving the rain, passed through a large gap in a barbed wire fence and entered an abandoned building.
This was the most desolate part of the Border Market; originally, it was a residential area, but as the Border Market flourished, these buildings were forcibly vacated, slated for demolition to rebuild new shops.
Next to the building was a rail train, a locomotive dragged by a massive chain, traveling through secret tunnels beneath Zaun, which also connected to parts of Piltover.
It was funded by the Spencer Family and built to transport various contraband goods.
Once operational, the metallic roar echoed through the Entresol Level and the Border Market.
[Observation +2, Current Proficiency: 5/25]
Tracking is something that gets easier with practice.
Durin was extremely cautious; he didn't rush in but meticulously surveyed the building, only entering after confirming there was only one entrance and exit.
Durin drew his enchanted scimitar halfway from the horn scabbard at his lower back with one hand, while with the other, he unslung the metal round shield from his back and held it tightly to his chest, vigilantly scanning the abandoned building for any traces Janet might have left.
The red-haired Chem-Tech Augment was drenched from the rain, so there would surely be a clear trail of footprints on the ground.
Just as he was about to ascend the stairs, a clanging sound in the abandoned building caught Durin's attention.
He looked closely and discovered several empty glass bottles; judging from the liquid residue inside, they were all Shimmer suppressants.
The sight of eight or nine empty bottles made Durin realize that her mental state was far more severe than he had imagined.
Hiss… Just how many bottles did she inject?
"Stop!"
A tall figure suddenly appeared behind Durin, and his steps, which he had just taken, abruptly halted.
He slowly turned around, pressing his back against the wall, his eyes fixed on the red-haired Chem-Tech Augment who had appeared from nowhere.
Her mechanical legs, a fusion of flesh and metal, stepped onto the concrete floor, leaving behind faintly cracked surfaces.
In one hand, she dragged a chainsword over a meter long and half a foot wide, its surface covered in mottled rust, and its blade composed of a chain of gleaming sawteeth.
The chain was covered in bloodstains and fleshy residue, as if it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.
At the junction of the handguard and the hilt was a container-like object, holding a purple liquid, which was Shimmer.
She watched him in silence, her gaze as still as dead water, and spoke in a cold, flat tone: "Who are you? Why have you been following me for over an hour?"
Because part of Janet's face was metallic, fitted with a compressed canister that filtered toxic haze, her voice, though not specially processed, still sounded very muffled and hollow.
"Ah? So you knew from the beginning." Durin was a little surprised; he had once thought his tracking skills were quite good, which was why the Character Card system had increased his proficiency.
Now it seemed it was purely because he was a novice, and the proficiency increase was due to his first attempt at tracking.
And Janet had even deliberately led him into this abandoned building. Interesting, truly interesting.
Durin fell into contemplation.
He never expected that Miss Janet, worth 100 silver lun coins, could maintain such high vigilance even while intoxicated.
She discovered he was following her almost immediately.
"Are you sent by the Bloodthirsty Gang? No, they never recruit yellow people.
Could it be that old bastard Takeda, trying to send you to capture me for his brothel? But you don't look like someone who lives in Zaun… A scholarly aura, could you be from Piltover? The Gwen Family or the Spencer Family?" Janet stared intently at Durin, muttering to herself as she used the process of elimination.
Durin, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected that a female thief worth 100 silver lun coins would offend so many enemies.
But in fact, Janet was not a weakling; seventy to eighty percent of her body was Chem-Tech Augment, and her methods were endless and unpredictable.
The fact that she had stolen from Butler Wes's treasure chest so many days ago, making a fortune, and no one dared to rob her money, already proved her strength beyond doubt.
Coupled with her high vigilance, being able to detect Durin immediately even while drunk, was enough to show that she might seem like a madwoman, but in reality, she knew how to avoid risks.
But unfortunately, Janet met Durin, and 100 silver lun coins!
In the past, Durin wouldn't even have dared to dream of it; he needed money too much!
He simply couldn't afford the expensive paid courses; he needed a substantial income.
Although the Chem-Tech Augment was powerful and had left a deep psychological shadow on him, Durin keenly noticed that Janet's mechanical five fingers on her left hand were trembling, a very obvious tremor, worse than alcohol poisoning.
She was tightly gripping her fingers, trying her best to stop them from shaking, as if trying to conceal the scar she least wanted to see.
But the more Janet tried to control it, the more her left hand trembled, as if its signal was blocked, making it difficult to control freely.
Zaun's Chem-Tech Augment is a very low-end Augment, and long-term implantation in the body can cause heavy metal poisoning, followed by limb pain, vomiting, and frequent high fevers.
As the subsequent erosion intensifies, more serious problems such as hallucinations, memory loss, and hysteria will appear.
Over time, as various symptoms develop severely, people will gradually lose the ability to distinguish between illusion and reality, and their minds will become extremely dangerous.
Judging from the implants on Janet's body, they were all combat-type, deeply connected to neural synapses.
Coupled with a mechanical spine, the heavy metal erosion of Chem-Tech was unavoidable for her.
To completely get rid of it, she would have to remove most of her Augments, but doing so would make her no different from a severely disabled person.
Furthermore, Durin was not inferior now; he had enchanted scimitar and shield, mastered two necromancy spells, one damaging spell Fire Tongue, and one protective spell Mage Armor, as well as multiple minor tricks.
The most, most, most important thing was that Durin also had a trump card that occasionally worked!
That was—to stir up emotions and awaken the dormant Darkin Magic within him.
Janet's full Chem-Tech Augment and her Chem-Punk chainsword were indeed a considerable problem for Durin, but Darkin Magic was an uncontrollable variable, so Durin was still very confident when facing Janet!
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