Fors paced back and forth in the living room, her anxious appearance drawing frequent glances from Hugh. After Fors returned from another aimless stroll around the living room, Hugh finally couldn't help but ask:
Are you really okay ?
"No, no... Haha, I believe I'll be fine... It's just a short test, what could possibly be wrong..." Fors chuckled dryly, but became increasingly uneasy as she spoke: "I think my digestion progress this week has been quite fast. Even other extraordinary individuals who have mastered the Acting Technique probably wouldn't have digested it this quickly..."
"You mean digesting this stuff? Performing magic tricks in the circus ? How much can you digest in a week? Won't you give yourself away ?" Hugh looked at Fors with some suspicion, watching her laugh awkwardly. Hearing Hugh's words, Fors retorted, "Besides this, I've also played the 'magic master' in other places. If I take a stroll around Backlund, I'm afraid quite a few people will recognize me..."
"bite--"
Just as the two were talking, the doorbell rang.
"Oh ? Coming, coming!" Fors heard the doorbell ring and quickly ran to the door to open it. Hugh sighed and followed Fors to the door as well.
As soon as the door opened, Fors saw a high-ranking figure standing there, dressed in a suit and wearing a monocle over his right eye. The high-ranking figure held a cane in his hand, inlaid with a pure crystal, giving him a very formal appearance. Fors swallowed hard, feeling a little nervous: "Professor High-ranking figure!"
"Hello, Fors." Wei Gao looked Fors up and down and nodded slightly to her. "You sent me a letter in which you mentioned that your digestion progress was pretty good. As a teacher, of course I have to pay attention to the students' situation. I hope you don't mind my interruption."
"Haha...of course, of course..." Fors smiled, but inwardly she was filled with regret: if she had known that writing that letter would attract her teacher's attention, she would never have written it. Even summarizing Qilangos's characteristics was easier than digesting the potion...
"If only I had figured out Qilangos's characteristics myself… I'm so stupid, so stupid…" Fors walked forward, on the verge of tears. Suddenly, she felt Hugh poking her soft waist and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong, Hugh ? I need to entertain the teacher first…"
"Your dark circles are showing." Hugh hissed through gritted teeth in Fors's ear, "Your foundation didn't cover your dark circles! Fors, how many nights did you stay up last week ?"
"...ah."
Knowing that her scheme had been exposed, Fors closed her eyes in despair.
"First, let's see how well you've digested it. After I've examined your situation, we can discuss what you mentioned in your previous letter." After sitting down, Wei Gao picked up his teacup and took a sip. He looked at Hugh sitting next to Fors and smiled. "You two are sharing an apartment ? You should know each other's identities."
"Yes." Fors nodded.
"Then it seems you must also be an extraordinary one." Wei Gao turned to Hugh and said to her, "How is your potion digestion going ? Ah, I'm not trying to probe your sequence, but if it's not fully digested, you might feel a little uncomfortable during the test later."
"Don't worry, senior. I have now completely mastered my potion-making skills." Hugh said freely, "I'm only lacking the potion recipes for the next sequence, which is why I'm temporarily stuck at sequence nine. I've basically fully digested the potion recipes for this stage."
"Digested… Alright, I'm ready to begin." Wei Gao adjusted his crystal monocle, took out a metal cube inlaid with a chip, and gently tapped it. Fors immediately straightened his back, momentarily tense.
Ripples emanated from Wei Gao's hand, spreading outwards. Hugh didn't feel anything unusual, but Fors felt countless noisy sounds floating in her ears and countless chaotic lines moving before her eyes, causing her to cover her head and let out a painful groan.
When Fors felt like his brain was about to explode, Wei Gao stopped what he was doing.
He nodded slightly and said to Fors, "You have indeed digested it quite well, Fors. Considering that you only digested it for a week, yet you have reached the level of digestion you mentioned in your letter, I will not pursue the matter of your previous laziness."
"That's good, that's good... Wait, how did the teacher know I only acted for a week?" Fors noticed Wei Gao's wording and her heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously looked at Wei Gao. Wei Gao had a serious smile on his lips as he said to Fors, "When I took your letter, I had my messenger stay for a while to check on your movements. Coincidentally, you complained about acting at that time."
"...Huh ?" Fors stared blankly at the higher dimension before her. The higher-dimensional observer, while taking a screenshot of his courtyard and adding it to his "album," casually spoke to Fors, maintaining control of his body on Earth:
"Do you really think you can fool me with what you said in your letter ? Abraham's family has books that record the approximate digestion time for each sequence, but the digestion cycle doesn't match what you told me. But you were able to digest nearly one-sixth of the potion in a week, so that's not bad. I hope I can see you advance to Sequence Seven next month."
I don't want to... I've barely had any rest this week! Teacher, how can you be so cruel... How am I supposed to digest all this at this rate!
Fors's eyes were somewhat vacant as she looked at Wei Gao, her expression gradually turning aggrieved. However, seeing that things had come to this point, Wei Gao chuckled and said to Fors, "Alright, let's talk about your matter now. Why exactly are you investigating a pirate general ? This involves our family's stance, and if you don't explain clearly, I won't help you with this."
"Teacher, we received a mission. Our employer provided me with some information about the pirate general..." Fors quickly explained the situation to Wei Gao. Wei Gao sat there, listening quietly to Fors's description, and then let out a long sigh:
"In that case, there's nothing to worry about."
"First of all, he is a Wind Chosen One. Extraordinary beings of this sequence would like the wind and would naturally live in clean places. In a heavily polluted city like Backlund, there aren't many clean places, are there ?"
"Furthermore, given his'Sailor' pathway abilities, I believe he would live near water for easy escape; and considering what you mentioned, the 'evil item' he possesses requires the consumption of life ha, what a coincidence! I suspect this item is from the 'Mystic' pathway, otherwise it wouldn't have such extreme properties. And the best place to strike, you should know, is in areas where homeless people congregate; the death of one or two people there wouldn't attract any attention, right ?"
"I see…" Fors said thoughtfully, "In that case, we can be much more precise in determining the scope."
"That's right." Wei Gao nodded slightly and continued to Fors, "However, if your employer doesn't raise the price, I don't recommend that you continue investigating this matter."
"Why ?" Hugh couldn't help but ask. They had already investigated to this extent, and if they investigated just a little more, they could get the more reward Miss Audrey had promised...
"Heh…" Wei Gao chuckled and said, "What do you think this extraordinary individual is trying to do by infiltrating Backlund? When you investigate him, you'll always be caught red-handed, or even discovered outright. And if you're discovered by such a dangerous person, do you think you can escape from him ?"
Hugh opened his mouth, speechless. Fors asked somewhat hoarsely, "Then what should we do ? Hand over the current information to the employer, and then simply end this commission, indicating that we're not continuing ?"
"No, what you need to do is pay more." Wei Gao shook his head: "For an extraordinary person, this little adventure is still worthwhile. Fors, if anything unexpected happens, the bracelet on your wrist can save your life. You are a student of the Abraham family, don't die."
"I understand, teacher."
Fors nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
"Okay, that's settled then." Wei Gao took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and said, "So, you should be fine now. I'm going to leave."
"Take care." Fors prepared to get up and see him off.
"...One more thing." Before leaving, Wei Gao paused, then turned to Fors and said, "Be more careful next time you make a deal. The employers you may encounter in the future may not have good intentions when issuing commissions; even if they don't, the employers may not know all the information if there is any error in the intelligence, you will be the ones who pay with your lives."
"Thank you, teacher. I will remember your advice." Fors smiled. She was now certain that her teacher truly cared about her well-being. Human emotions cannot be faked; after years of "struggling" alone, Fors could still tell who was genuinely good to her.
"Also, I hope that when I see you next time, you will have already digested the potion."
But that's too much concern.
Wei Gao shook his head and smiled gently. He sensed a feeling of "gratitude" from Fors, but for Wei Gao, it was different. A high-dimensional observer could always understand everyone's difficulties and pity those who stood on different grounds and made different choices. But He didn't care to show malice towards those He admired; for an outer god, these two things were not contradictory.
The following afternoon, it was time for the Tarot Gathering again. Wei Gao, after reading the letter Klein had sent via messenger, preemptively removed the source material protection and, at Klein's summons, stepped onto the Source Castle. He looked at Klein, a smile appearing on his face:
"How have you been in Tingen lately, Lao Zhou ?"
"I'm fine. I've already submitted a special application to the Sanctuary. Maybe the next time I see you, I'll be the 'Clown' of Sequence Eight!" Klein said with a smile, looking very happy. "Moreover, Ms. Daly also helped me submit an application regarding the anomalies on our side. Maybe in a while, someone will come to help us manage the Extraordinary here."
"That's good." Wei Gao nodded. "I'm investigating the matter from before. The true creator isn't in a good state right now, so we can't get any specific divine revelation. We haven't found the location of the other divine vessel yet."
"I understand. I will remind Ms. Daly again to have the Night Watch team increase their vigilance." Klein said to Wei Gao with a somewhat solemn expression, "Then I'm going to start this Tarot meeting. You go back first, and I'll call you up again soon."
"Okay." Wei Gao nodded: "As for the Hanged Man's request, I'm currently investigating it. I'm afraid I'll be able to find Qilingus's location in a while and launch the Aurora Society to surround and kill him."
What Wei Gao didn't say was that he had now also found Miss "Justice's" exact location and could find her at any time by following the internet connection.
Watching Wei Gao's figure disappear into the gray mist, Klein let out a long sigh. He pondered for a moment, then, sticking to his previous plan, reached out his hand towards the star belonging to "the Sun," Derrick Berg...
After informing Derrick of the meeting location, Klein, while speaking with Derrick, established contact with the crimson star symbolizing "justice" and the "Hanged Man," and also informed the High Dimension that had just left, pulling the three members back into the magnificent palace that resembled the dwelling of giants.
As soon as Audrey could see the scene before her, she greeted him in a cheerful tone: "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool, I have another page of Emperor Russell's diary here; ah, good afternoon, Mr. Sun, have you gotten the 'Mind Reader' formula yet ?"
Derrick Berg nodded solemnly: "I have the formula."
"Miss Justice" always seems to have a cheerful disposition; it's truly enviable. I wish I could be like that... Hearing that lighthearted greeting, Klein, seated at the head of the bronze table, couldn't help but sigh silently. But then, thinking of Audrey's ability to casually produce a staggering 1000 gold pounds, Klein realized he couldn't do that...
Wei Gao, on the other hand, looked at Klein and easily "observed" Klein's thoughts using his own experience.
He thought to himself:
Klein, evil gods are always poor, so don't even think about it how can you be like the real creator, always indulging in such pipe dreams ?