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After thinking for a moment, Aaron called his butler in, tapping his finger lightly on the table as he slowly said:
"Take a calling card and find this Mr. Humphrey Bayer after work. Invite him here in my name. He is a government employee in the agricultural department."
Although the butler didn't know why Lord Aaron wanted to invite an ordinary government employee, he still turned and went downstairs to prepare the carriage.
After the butler left, Aaron took out a Sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic of a Sheriff that he had brought back from the Nation of Disorder, and with the prepared supplementary ingredients, he concocted a bottle of potion.
Looking at the light golden liquid in front of him, Aaron closed his eyes and meditated to restore his spirituality and maintain his best state. A moment later, Aaron raised the cup and drank the potion in one gulp.
A burning sensation came, but it was not strong. Aaron felt the potion integrating into his body, and his spirituality spread and fluctuated.
Perhaps it was because for more than a month, his nighttime Judgement and maintenance of regional public order in East Borough, Dock District, and Backlund Bridge District had aligned with the Sheriff's acting requirements, leading to a partial digestion of the potion as soon as he consumed it.
Aaron felt the changes in the potion, nodded with satisfaction, and began to quietly wait for the butler to return, and from the list of Criminals provided by Darren's intelligence organization on the table, he picked a few as his hunting targets for the night.
Just 10 minutes later, the butler knocked and entered, followed by a young man whose glasses had a broken corner and whose clothes were wrinkled and covered in shoe prints.
Aaron's eyebrows furrowed slightly, not because he resented the butler for bringing an unkempt person upstairs, but rather he was curious about what had happened to him.
The butler saw Aaron's confusion and explained:
"When I arrived at the government building, a group of thugs were beating this Mr. Humphrey. I had my attendant rescue this gentleman."
"Due to the tight schedule, there wasn't enough time to get this gentleman a change of clothes."
Aaron couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing this. Such crude methods didn't seem like the work of Earl Hall or Duke Negan.
Sure enough, the butler added, "Those thugs were street hooligans from the Zmanger Gang."
"Zmanger Gang? That gang mainly composed of Highlanders? I remember their backer is Ambassador Bakerland Jean Madan."
"Hmph… a crude but very effective method. Whether those two great nobles admit it or not, some people will suspect if the other party framed it? This will further deepen the rift between the two parties."
Aaron had no intention of getting further involved. This was part of George III's plan to become a god, and with his current power, he couldn't change it.
Then he looked at the disheveled gentleman. Although he was a bit embarrassed, it couldn't hide the stubbornness in his eyes.
He spoke with an appreciative tone: "Do you know the consequences after you published that report?"
Humphrey nodded slightly, tidied his clothes covered in footprints, and replied somewhat dejectedly:
"I know, but I am unwilling to collude with them, to be a lackey for nobles, to be a worm that buries its head in the ground."
"I had already planned to resign, but I didn't expect them to be so despicable as to beat me in the street."
Aaron didn't pay attention to his sarcastic remarks about nobles in his complaints; instead, he looked at him with interest: "Then what are you good at?"
Humphrey straightened his back and calmly replied, "I graduated from Backlund University with a degree in economics, specializing in statistical analysis and financial statements."
Aaron scrutinized Humphrey from head to toe, watching him squirm uncomfortably, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:
"I will be establishing a bicycle company that will eventually span the two Continents. You can serve as a manager, responsible for business advancement and financial oversight."
"Once the company's business expands, I will allocate 10% of the profits as startup funds for a new charitable organization. You can observe with your own eyes, and you have the choice to stay or leave."
The authoritative voice finally persuaded Humphrey, and at the same time, there was a knock on the door.
Mr. Butler brought in another gentleman. Before the butler could speak, the gentleman introduced himself:
"Hello, Lord Aaron. I am one of the editors-in-chief of the Backlund Newspaper. Because of that morning's newspaper, the editorial department fired me and several other editors, and also urgently recalled the newspapers that had not yet been distributed."
Aaron's eyes flickered as he looked at the dismissed editor-in-chief, and he calmly asked:
"Then what are you good at?"
The editor-in-chief was slightly nervous but answered firmly: "I am good at uncovering the truth of news. Although it sometimes draws criticism, I always pursue the truth."
Aaron looked at him deeply, then said:
"I appreciate your persistence, but you need to understand that sometimes the truth is not always accepted."
He paused, and continued: "I also hope you can find the truth, but not to incite public opinion, but for justice and truth."
"I do need a platform for expression. You and your dismissed colleagues can start a new newspaper… Hmm, let's call it 'The People's Daily'."
-----------------
Backlund, Empress Borough, inside Earl Hall's luxurious villa.
Earl Hall hosted a banquet for the New Party members to celebrate the successful repeal of the Grain Act.
In the banquet hall, parliament members and bankers were laughing and smiling.
Audrey stood by the railing on the second floor, with Susie, who had grown a size larger, squatting beside her. Looking at the festive scene in the hall, she couldn't help but recall what Aaron had said that night.
She couldn't help but grip her skirt, her gaze searching through the crowd, wanting to find that figure.
Susie, beside her, sensed her owner's unusual state and nudged Audrey with her head, giving a bark.
"No need to search. That polite young man didn't come. His reply explained his difficulties, and he will visit on his own initiative later."
Madam Caitlin smiled as she walked down from the second floor, looking at Audrey, whose gaze was somewhat evasive, and then stroked the well-behaved Susie. She continued to Audrey:
"If you really want to see him, why not write a letter and personally invite him to visit our manor next time."
Audrey nodded lightly, took Susie back to her bedroom, took out an envelope, and began to ponder.
-----------------
Late at night, Aaron, dressed in black, appeared in a narrow alley in East Borough, having changed his face, and began his hunt for the night.
After subduing and knocking out a human trafficker, Aaron was about to throw him at the entrance of the nearest police station.
Suddenly, he smelled a faint scent of blood. His spiritual intuition did not warn him, so Aaron thought for a moment, then flashed and rushed towards the source of the blood scent.
The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood became. A female figure lay collapsed beside a streetlamp.
By the light of the gas streetlamp, Aaron saw that the woman lying on the ground at the alley entrance had a pale, bluish face.
There was a deep gash in her abdomen, and her internal organs seemed to have been scooped out. The blood on the ground around her was slowly flowing, crimson and thick.
Aaron's pupils constricted slightly. He adopted a defensive stance, looking at the corpse on the ground, and quickly remembered the Devil Dog cultivated by the Desire Apostle in Backlund.
Feeling no malice, Aaron no longer hesitated and immediately took the human trafficker to the nearest police station.
He dropped the unconscious human trafficker, leaving behind the collected evidence of his crimes and the location information of the unfortunate lady's body.
Aaron intentionally made a sound to attract the attention of the on-duty police, then quickly used Spirit World traversal to leave and return to his bedroom.
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