71: Chapter 71 Duke Serena

"I have waited at this desolate, hidden platform for a long time, and finally, a steel vehicle has arrived that is barely worth a glance."

Serena slightly tilted her snowy-white, haughty chin. Though she was requesting a ride, her tone was filled with the condescending air of a superior bestowing a favor upon an inferior.

"I need to board your train and head to a terminal called the 'Scarlet Fortress'."

"Of course, as a noble bloodkin who adheres to the principle of equivalent exchange, I certainly won't occupy the air in your carriage for free."

As she spoke, a slender crystal test tube emitting a rich, dark-golden glow appeared out of thin air in Serena's delicate hand, which was clad in a black velvet glove, as if by magic.

Inside this crystal tube flowed a mysterious, viscous liquid that looked like a mixture of molten gold and fresh blood. Merely being exposed to the air, it emitted a fatal allure that made the cells of any Awakened person hunger frantically.

"As payment for your fare, I am willing to offer this bottle of [Ancient Bloodline Awakening Potion], which is incredibly precious even within our Blood Clan."

"This potion can perfectly induce a unique, secondary benign mutation in any ordinary Awakened, forcibly raising your pitiful potential limit to an entirely new, terrifying dimension."

After throwing out this heavyweight bargaining chip, which was enough to drive all players in the East China Region into a complete frenzy, a subtle hint of mockery and arrogance flashed deep within Serena's dark red eyes.

Although she had been amazed by the train's luxurious armor moments ago, in the eyes of this Blood Clan Duchess who had lived for untold ages, these so-called "players" were nothing more than a group of low-level human insects who had just gained weak supernatural powers and were bumping around this wasteland like headless flies.

Her willingness to offer such a precious potion was, on one hand, to ensure she received the highest level of comfort during this journey.

On the other hand, she intended to give these ignorant humans a memorable show of force before boarding, completely establishing her high-and-mighty, inviolable status of absolute privilege on this train.

"However, before we officially conclude this transaction, I still need to confirm whether your train is worthy of carrying the noble body of a Blood Clan Duchess."

Serena's red lips curled into a dangerous arc. Before her voice could fade, the massive Blood Clan mental power that had slept within her for centuries erupted like a suddenly venting volcano!

In an instant, a tangible storm of blood and wind, mixed with countless dark-red bat phantoms manifested from mental power, crushed toward Su Chen and all the girls behind him like a terrifying psychic tsunami!

This terrifying mental pressure, exclusive to Blood Clan royalty, was over a dozen times stronger than the A-rank ability of the previous Fanatic Priest. Everywhere it passed, layers of fine, blood-colored frost formed even in the air.

Zhang Man, Chu Qingxue, and the others standing behind Su Chen felt their chests being struck by a ten-thousand-ton hammer the moment they came into contact with this pressure. Even breathing became incredibly difficult, and their originally rosy faces instantly turned pale.

Seeing these human girls shivering and fragile under her pressure, the arrogance in Serena's eyes grew even more intense. She turned her gaze expectantly toward Su Chen, who stood at the very front, facing the full brunt of her mental impact.

She wanted to see extreme fear and despair on the face of this seemingly arrogant youth in black, wanting to see him kneel in submission like a mouse seeing a cat.

However...

A terrifying scene that this Blood Clan Duchess never could have expected—one she wouldn't have even dared to imagine in her dreams—descended without warning in that lightning-fast moment!

Facing this Blood Clan pressure that was enough to instantly destroy the will of a thousand-man army, Su Chen not only didn't retreat a single step, but he didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.

He merely lifted his eyes slightly and gave Serena a casual glance with a look that was cold, violent, and filled with endless mockery, as if he were looking at a clown.

"On Su Chen's train, you're playing with pressure to test me?"

"You self-righteous, oversized blood-sucking bat, you must be tired of living."

As Su Chen's cold pronouncement, like that of a death god from the nine underworlds, fell...

The full hundred points of mental power foundation in Su Chen's mind instantly achieved a world-destroying resonance with the absolute hidden passive of his server-unique SSS-rank talent [Omni-Modification]—the [Monarchs Halo]!

"BOOM—!!!"

A supreme Demon God's pressure that simply couldn't be described by any wasteland vocabulary—as if coming from the deepest part of the primordial universe and carrying the power to trample the laws of heaven and earth—swept out frantically from Su Chen's body like a Big Bang!

In the face of this terrifying aura of a true peerless overlord and absolute monarch, Serena's proud Blood Clan Duchess pressure was like low-quality glass smashing against a titanium alloy plate!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A series of dense sounds, like the shattering of a physical mental barrier, exploded in the air.

Serena didn't even have a tenth of a second to react. The dark-red mental bat phantoms she had released were instantly crushed into microscopic dust that couldn't be seen by the naked eye the moment they touched Su Chen's Monarchs Halo!

The unstoppable Demon God pressure continued unabated, like a collapsing Himalayan mountain range, heavily and solidly suppressing the delicate body of this noble Blood Clan Duchess.

"Ugh—!"

Serena let out a muffled groan of extreme pain.

Her beautiful face, already pale as paper, instantly contorted. A streak of striking red blood overflowed uncontrollably from the corner of her flawless red lips, dripping down her fair chin and onto her black lace dress.

Her arrogant, dark-red eyes were now completely filled with an unprecedented, soul-deep shock and terror!

How is this possible?!

How could such a terrifying, unreasonable ancient Demon God be dormant inside this seemingly ordinary human youth?!

Under this absolutely irresistible monarch's pressure, Serena's long, beautiful legs, encased in black suspender stockings, began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

She even felt that if she dared to have even the slightest thought of resistance, this man in front of her would only need a single glance to make her soul and body vanish completely from this world!

"Thud!"

This Blood Clan Duchess, who held supreme status among the wasteland natives and was incomparably proud, felt her legs go weak under the dominance of tangible mortal fear. She knelt directly on one knee onto the train's cold metal floor.

She lowered her once-arrogant, noble head, presenting her proud figure—which was heaving violently due to fear—before Su Chen in the most humble and thorough posture of submission.

She unhesitatingly cast aside all her previous testing and arrogant schemes. With her velvet-gloved hands, which were now trembling slightly, she most respectfully held the [Ancient Bloodline Awakening Potion], glowing with dark gold light, high above her head.

"S-Sorry... respected Train Master."

"It was I, this humble bat, who was foolish to the extreme and offended your god-like, inviolable majesty."

Serena's voice carried an undisguisable tremor and deep awe. She now only prayed that this terrifying man would accept this fare and forgive her suicidal provocation just now.

Looking at the Blood Clan Duchess kneeling at his feet, as submissive as a frightened kitten, the violence in Su Chen's eyes finally receded slowly like a tide.

He looked down and reached out a large hand with distinct knuckles, casually picking up the priceless genetic potion with two fingers. Then, with his other hand, he domineeringly pinched Serena's exquisite, smooth chin, forcing her to look up and face him.

"Since you've paid the fare, you are now a passenger of train no. 0099."

The corners of Su Chen's mouth curled into a cold smile full of wickedness and a desire for control. His gaze swept wantonly over Serena's hot, curvaceous body.

"On this train, keep your nobility and pride tucked away. As long as you behave, this Train Master guarantees to deliver you safely to that Scarlet Fortress or whatever it is."

"But if I find you making any little moves you shouldn't, I don't mind keeping an extra blood-sucking female slave in my master bedroom just to warm my bed."

...

Su Chen casually accepted the genetic potion that emitted a fatal allure, and with eyes full of supreme dominance, he coldly agreed to the Blood Clan Duchess's request for a ride.

Hearing that this Train Master, who was like an ancient Demon God, had finally relented, Serena's noble heart, which had been hanging in her throat, finally dropped back into her stomach like a heavy stone.

She stood up with great difficulty from the cold metal floor. Her long, straight legs, clad in black semi-transparent suspender stockings, were still trembling slightly due to the lingering monarch's pressure.

Su Xiaoxiao, as the Chief Logistics Manager of train no. 0099, immediately stepped forward with great perceptiveness, pushing up the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"This Duchess sister, since you've paid such a sky-high fare, I, the manager, will naturally arrange a luxury guest room worthy of your status."

Su Xiaoxiao's exquisite and cute little face wore a calculating, cunning smile. She led Serena, who was still in a state of extreme shock, toward the VIP Lounge Area on the second floor of the train.

When Serena saw with her own eyes the luxurious guest room—complete with Persian handmade carpets, a private constant-temperature bathroom, and even a classical piano from the old era—this Blood Clan Duchess, who prided herself on having seen the world, was once again deeply shocked by the train's hidden depths.