Chapter 19: Cuenca

What is the Alaya-vijnana? Who, exactly, is the Alaya-vijnana? And how can one ensure the Alaya-vijnana does not become an enemy of Dark Star?

Su Ziye embarked on his journey carrying these three mandates, though he himself did not yet possess the answers. The term "Alaya-vijnana" was not even recorded in the Notes of Yueyi; perhaps even to Yueyi, the existence of such a thing was unknown or unheard of.

His travels eventually led him to Kunka, a commercial metropolis world-renowned for its trade. The so-called Commercial Federation was a vast, contiguous expanse of land situated between the Lanye Empire and the Os Empire. Due to a certain understanding—or perhaps a tacit agreement—the founding emperor of the Lanye Empire, Emperor Yuantai, had deliberately chosen not to border the Os Empire when he led his armies to conquer the surrounding minor states, leaving this buffer zone instead.

In turn, the Os Empire respected this arrangement. Consequently, a succession of trade-centric city-states emerged along this frontier between the two great powers. After all, nestled between two absolute hegemonies, there was little to do but engage in commerce.

Because these city-states served as the transit hubs for both empires, they accrued immense profits. Several of the super-scale merchant guilds that now span the entire continent trace their origins back to these city-states; after all, such guilds, being fundamentally neutral and lacking any specific allegiance, were more likely to garner the favor and trust of rulers.

As time progressed, these loosely organized city-states chose to unite, eventually reaching an agreement in Kunka, the greatest of the commercial capitals, to form a loose commercial alliance. This was the prototype of the Commercial Federation.

Even now, it is difficult to call the Commercial Federation a truly unified nation. Each city-state is governed by its own lord and the resident merchant guilds. A large guild might control several city-states simultaneously, while smaller guilds might share authority over a single one. Even in Kunka, the largest of them all, not even the colossal Flash-Gold Guild could dominate entirely. Kunka had no authority to issue mandatory orders to other cities, nor did it have any say in their personnel appointments; at most, it provided a venue for equitable deliberation.

That was all.

Furthermore, neither the Lanye Empire nor the Os Empire wished for the Commercial Federation to truly unify and become a force to be reckoned with, separate from the three great empires.

Regardless, Kunka remains one of the most famous cities in the world—the most prosperous, the wealthiest, the most decadent, the most chaotic, and the most vibrant.

And now, Su Ziye sat in a tavern in Kunka.

He had ordered a drink that was neither expensive nor cheap, taking a seat by the window to sip his wine and wait.

Presently, someone sat down across from him and asked, "Prince?"

"Prince" was the codename assigned to Su Ziye within Dark Star. It was not his own choice; had he been given the option, he likely would have chosen "Spring of the Fourth Year of Qingli."

It was likely a decision born of the Elders' peculiar sense of humor. But, for the time being, it didn't sound too bad.

"And you are?" Su Ziye looked at the newcomer.

The man wore an ostentatiously gaudy coat—a style seemingly popular in Kunka of late. By contrast, Su Ziye’s simple attire felt entirely out of place in this fashionable and trendy metropolis of commerce.

"You may call me Rat. I am responsible for receiving you, Prince," Rat said with a smile.

He appeared to be a young man in his twenties. Despite his youth, he was indeed older than Su Ziye. When Su Ziye had left his home country to wander the world, he had just celebrated his fourteenth birthday; he was now a mere eighteen years old.

"Is it convenient to speak here?" Su Ziye asked calmly, observing him. "If so, what would you like to drink?"

"I do not drink alcohol. I only drink water," Rat replied indifferently.

"What is the point of living in this world if you do not drink?" Su Ziye mocked, though he still ordered a glass of iced water for the man, garnished with two slices of lemon.

"I still do not understand why I was sent here. Could you explain?" Su Ziye waited until the man had finished his water before asking, unhurriedly.

"You must have heard about the constant attacks on the Kunka branch," Rat said, pivoting to a topic that seemed unrelated.

Su Ziye nodded.

When he had met Xingxi, one of her missions had been to relieve a besieged Kunka branch. Although he had not asked about the outcome, he knew she must have killed many. Since joining Dark Star, while he had not been deployed to Kunka, he had heard many reports regarding the city.

Dark Star was an underground organization with influence spanning the entire continent—and quite possibly the most powerful of its kind, bar none.

After all, the Star-Track Council of Elders alone boasted twelve Heaven-tier experts; such a foundation rivaled even the three great empires. As for its scope of operations, as Su Ziye had learned over the past year, it was primarily a formidable intelligence agency, responsible for collecting the world’s most hidden secrets and selling them at a reasonable price. Thus, Dark Star held more secrets than anyone else on earth.

Beyond intelligence, assassination was a core business. Dark Star set a price on almost everyone in the world; as long as one offered suitable compensation, the organization would eliminate the target. Furthermore, they handled contraband and specialized commissions. In essence, as long as the price was right, Dark Star could do almost anything.

In this process, Dark Star accumulated vast wealth and formidable military power. If the three great empires were the world’s greatest overt powers, Dark Star was the monarch hidden in the shadows.

Perhaps Dark Star harbored even greater ambitions for the future, but for now, this was the extent of its nature. Especially given its ability to cultivate terrifying entities like the "Weapons."

However, over the past year, Dark Star had faced a challenge.

These challenges were concentrated primarily in Kunka. As the capital of the Commercial Federation, the city was not only staggeringly wealthy and a melting pot of all walks of life, but, more importantly, it lacked a centralized, absolute authority. The Dark Star branch in Kunka was one of its most critical outposts, even permanently stationing a Heaven-tier expert.

Yet, in the last month, the branch had been subjected to continuous attacks.

Initially, the enemy had surged like a wildfire, slaughtering all personnel at the branch and nearly killing the resident Heaven-tier expert, who barely managed to escape. But after a "Weapon" was deployed, they had crushed the opposition twice over, discouraging large-scale assaults. Nevertheless, small-scale skirmishes persisted.

And they were frequent.

Dark Star members were under constant ambush throughout Kunka, no longer confined to the branch office. In such a scenario, a "Weapon" proved too cumbersome to be effective. With no other choice, the organization had been forced to downsize the branch and curtail its operations—a state that continued to this day.

Yet, just a few days ago, Dark Star—which had remained on the defensive—suddenly decided to send Su Ziye here, acting as the key to breaking the stalemate.