Chapter 143: A Bizarre Mission (Fifth update, seeking first subscriptions!)
"Klein, I really suggest you take a part-time job at a circus."
Leonard said sincerely and innocently, "Look, since your family, your brother and sister aren't in Backlund anyway, working part-time as a Clown would not only help you 'act' as a Clown and digest the potion, but also let you send a bit more money back—most importantly, no one knows you!"
Walking in the sewers, Klein stood on his tiptoes. Looking at Leonard, who was clearly being mischievous, he said with a mix of annoyance and amusement, "Is it possible that over these past two months, my 'Clown' potion has already been mostly digested?"
"Among a group of Sequence 6s and Sequence 7s, I'm the one who looks most like a 'Clown'!"
Moreover, when I was dragged out to find a cat, I felt the mockery of fate—Klein grumbled in his heart: A "Clown" must face the mockery of fate with a smile!
"Have you mastered the 'Acting Method' that well?"
Leonard deliberately put on a shocked expression, walking forward with Klein as a smile returned to his face. "Haha, actually, I was just joking because I was afraid you'd feel disgusted by the next scene and couldn't help but want to vomit here."
"Forget it!" Klein muttered, walking with Leonard to the corpse in the sewer.
This corpse was "Detective Zreal," whom a client today, "Ian Wright," was looking for.
After accepting the mission, he and Leonard performed spirit mediumship and divination on the person disguised as Zreal, eventually confirming that Detective Zreal was dead and coming to the sewer to find his body.
After examining Detective Zreal's corpse, the two looked at each other and made the same decision in unison: "Let Ian call the police."
The next morning, Nimrod opened his eyes, which had been closed during a nap on the carriage. He slowly stepped down and rang the doorbell of the Detective Agency.
Ding-dong, ding-dong. However, this time it wasn't Leonard who opened the door, but Daly Simone.
"Ah, good morning, Mr. Fried."
Seeing Nimrod's arrival, the corners of Daly's mouth curled up slightly. "Looking for little Klein? Hehe, he went out with Leonard. You mustn't mind."
"Hehe, I'm not a Loenese."
—
Nimrod looked at Daly, whose tone held a slight hint, and made a Loenese joke—though in this country, this sentence sometimes wasn't a joke: "However, I really am here for him, to tell him some things. What did he go to do?"
As Daly led Nimrod into the agency, she gave Dunn Smith a look. After receiving a response from Dunn, Daly spoke in her usual slow tone, "Yesterday, little Klein finally managed to take on a proper mission, not finding cats or catching cheaters—"
Dunn coughed, signaling that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public.
"—Alright, I've gone a bit off-topic." Daly chuckled, clearly having done it on purpose. "Someone commissioned us to find a person's whereabouts. Hmm, it seems like they're looking for their companion or superior."
Hearing these keywords, many names of "famous people" flashed through Nimrod's mind. After a while, he tentatively asked, "Ian Wright's commission?"
"You know him?" This time it was Daly's turn to be surprised. "Does he have some secret worth the Aurora Order's attention?"
Although I've reached a certain agreement with the Church of the Night, aren't you being a bit too obvious?
Hearing Daly mention the "Aurora Order" without any hesitation, Nimrod looked at her with a hint of curiosity, then lightly pressed his top hat. "No, it's unrelated to the Aurora Order. It's just that I personally noticed information about him submitted by the congregants—red eyes are a characteristic of 'Vampires.' I originally thought he was a mid-Sequence Beyonder, but now it seems that's not the case."
The corners of Nimrod's mouth curled up slightly. "He should just be someone with Sanguine blood."
Of course, this reason was just something Nimrod made up on the spot.
Speaking of Ian, people might not remember, but he was the culprit behind Master Luo's rise to fame.
First, Ian gave Klein a commission worth 5 pounds. After that, the "Hunter" Merso attacked Klein and was killed instead, which ultimately provoked the Intis Ambassador. This forced Klein to find Mr. A to assassinate the ambassador, paying 10,000 pounds for it.
Ultimately, Master Luo, with his marionette dead, prepared to kill Klein by force. He fought the two pillars to the edge of the universe until the Great Dao was obliterated, only to be backstabbed by the Fallen God Almighty and die with regret. How tragic, how tragic.
"Your expression seems a bit strange—"
Daly poured two cups of water from a nearby teapot, placing one by Dunn's hand and handing the other to Nimrod. "However, you might have to wait a while for little Klein to return. They went to take the client to see that corpse today. The corpse's spirit was cleaned up very thoroughly; the two of them couldn't get any useful information."
"That's a pity, but one cannot eat hot tofu if one is in a hurry; I'm in no hurry." Nimrod said with a hint of regret. "While Klein isn't back yet, we can talk about things related to Ince Zangwill. What do you think?"
"Of course." Daly sat down, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty. "However, that phrase you just used seems to be... a famous quote from Emperor Roselle? Only Emperor Roselle's quotes have such strange word orders."
Nimrod: "—"
One day, I'm going to make a "Collection of Emperor Roselle's Cringey Quotes" and spread it around.
Taking a sip of black tea, he swept his gaze over Dunn, who was sitting behind a pile of documents, then looked at the ring finger of Daly's left hand out of the corner of his eye. "Are you two...?"
"Noticed?" A smile appeared on the corners of Daly's mouth. "I have you to thank for this—if you hadn't saved Dunn back then, I wouldn't have had the chance to take care of him alone, and there wouldn't be—"
At this point, Daly chuckled again, appearing quite happy.
Hearing Daly's words, Dunn seemed to choke on his tea and coughed for a while.
However, Daly didn't seem to intend to continue, quietly shifting the topic. "Speaking of which, although we have no relation, isn't Mr. Fried afraid that Ince Zangwill will find out about his preparations?"
"I don't mind."
Nimrod said frankly, "Besides, 0-08 might not necessarily be able to pry into my preparations. Its ability might be lacking—especially with such a master."
95
Back in Tingen City, Nimrod had acted as the Celestial Worthy to intimidate Ince Zangwill, scaring him so much he almost lost control on the spot.
If, under such circumstances, Ince Zangwill still dared to arrange or use "0-08" to spy on him, Nimrod would feel it was the work of Adam's great hand.
"In other words, Mr. L does indeed possess the blessing of a high-level being—" The things Dunn had shown her before surfaced in Daly's mind. After chatting casually with Nimrod, she brought the topic back on track. "Does the Aurora Order have more information regarding Ince Zangwill's movements?"
Compared to the serious Dunn, Daly's words were more approachable and made it easier for people to lower their guard. This was a plan Daly and Dunn had prepared beforehand. Although it didn't have much effect on Nimrod, it was better than nothing.
"Unfortunately, no. The Demoness Sect is currently only maintaining stable daily cooperation and communication with the Aurora Order, and hasn't exposed anything about Ince Zangwill." Nimrod's tone shifted. "But perhaps I'll make some progress later. You haven't collected any evidence of cooperation between the Royal Family, the military, and the Demoness Sect, or anything related to the kidnapping cases yet, right?"
"Yes."
Daly sighed. "Sometimes, trying to go deeper always meets with considerable resistance. If we didn't have our status in the Church and our significant Beyonder abilities, I suspect we might have actually been stopped by that 'resistance'."
"Alas, after all, we are official members, not wild Beyonders. Official investigations require evidence; we can't just arrest people because our deductions are perfectly correct—and those experts are precisely masters at handling evidence, not to mention someone is deliberately creating coincidences to quietly guide us."
At this point, a mysterious smile returned to Daly's face. "But, the presence of resistance and coincidences often proves that we are close to the truth. Ince Zangwill is now like a cornered beast; the more he hides his tracks, the weaker he becomes, just preparing for a final struggle."
"In about half a month, I will go to the palace to accept the title of Baron—you might have seen such reports in the newspapers." After hearing Daly finish, Nimrod nodded slightly. "By then, I might be able to make deeper discoveries, or perhaps accept some commissions related to 'cooperation'."
"Then congratulations in advance, 'Baron Fried'." Daly smiled meaningfully. "Dunn told me before that if you encounter any difficulties during your investigation, you can contact us at any time—do you need me to tell you the incantation to summon my messenger?"
"The incantation to summon a messenger is easy to decipher. I think I might not need it."
Nimrod put down his teacup. A strange feeling suddenly surfaced in his heart, like the guidance of fate, and he looked toward the door:
The sound of the door opening followed. Klein, who had disguised himself as the bearded detective "Sherlock Moriarty," and Leonard, who had changed into a long trench coat, walked in together. When he saw Nimrod, Klein was clearly stunned for a moment. "—Mr. Fried?"
"Stop pretending you don't know me—anyway, close the door first." Nimrod withdrew his gaze. "Ms. Daly just told me about the commission you accepted. Hehe, although the information I was going to tell you while waiting has already been mostly shared with Ms. Daly, I feel I should still tell you once more in private."
At this point, Nimrod winked at Klein. "Shall we go for a walk?"
I'm still on duty! And doesn't everyone know you're an Oracle of the Aurora Order? How can you have no self-awareness—Klein grumbled in his heart.
Just then, Dunn's voice came from behind the desk. "Go ahead. Remember to bring me—well, us—a lunch at noon."
Dunn looked at Klein, who was staring at him with a look that seemed to hold other meanings. He paused and said somewhat helplessly, "I'll reimburse you when you get back."
Klein immediately broke into a smile. "Alright, Captain."
After leaving the agency, and after hearing Nimrod repeat the information he had told Daly, Klein and Nimrod's conversation naturally turned to other topics. "Before starting the commission yesterday, I went to ask Mr. Azik. Mr. Azik said that there might be traces of 'Dream-Eating Rats' in the 'Sea of Subconscious' and the Spirit World, and said he would help me look for them."
There's actually news? Is this a form of convergence, or is the "Beacon of Destiny" working? Nimrod's gaze stiffened slightly.
—
"I have a way to go to the Spirit World. Can you divine the specific location?"
"I haven't tried yet, but I guess I definitely can't do it here." Klein gave an answer after a moment's thought. "Are you free tomorrow? I'll pull you above the gray fog then to help you divine it."
[He's actually quite a nice guy!]
The Celestial Worthy walked beside Nimrod and made a casual remark.
Celestial Worthy, you seem to be overacting a bit—Nimrod glanced at the Celestial Worthy beside him, then turned to Klein and said, "Alright, when?"
"Tomorrow at noon, then." Klein thought for a moment, calculating his time. "I expect I'll need to help the Captain with some things tomorrow morning. I'll pull you above the gray fog during the lunch break."
Late at night.
The light was still on in Dunn's room. Dunn Smith held a piece of paper, staring at the words on it under the light.
"Still thinking about the mission the Church assigned?"
Daly's voice came out of nowhere. Dunn looked toward his bed; Daly was leaning against it, asking Dunn in a lazy tone.
"Yeah." Dunn sighed. "After becoming a 'Red Glove,' everything seems to have changed. It's getting harder and harder for me to understand the thoughts of the Archbishops and Deacons."
"Then how about I become the team's 'Captain'?" Daly teased Dunn. "I can actually guess why the Church gave us this mission—compared to so many innocent lives in Backlund, faith is actually secondary. What's important is whether a stable state can be maintained, and whether the Church can profit from it."
"Your vision is always longer than mine." Dunn said with a mix of helplessness and self-deprecation, his gaze returning to the paper in front of him.
[To Dunn Smith and other members of the "Red Gloves" team:]
[Confirmed: Mr. L, the Oracle of the Aurora Order, is our ally. In the matter of Ince Zangwill, deep cooperation with Mr. L is permitted. In principle, Mr. L is to be treated as a member of the Detective Agency.]
[Security Level: Only the Pope and "Red Gloves" members Dunn Smith and Daly Simone are permitted to know.]
[Signatory: Saint Dabomarch.]
The signatory—the current Pope of the Church of the Night.
A bizarre mission.
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#144Meursault
Chapter 144: Merso
Thump, thump, thump!
Violent knocking echoed at the Detective Agency's door. Klein, who was assisting Dunn with recent affairs this morning, looked up and said to Dunn, "Should I go check? It might be a new client."
Dunn nodded, signaling Klein to go down directly.
They don't even know how to ring the doorbell, how rude—the knocking was deafening. Klein mumbled, quickly walked down from the second floor, and reached out to open the door.
However, when Klein saw the person at the door, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows:
Before him stood a dark-skinned highland man with deep-set eyes. He wore a black coat and a silk top hat, but he looked more like a wild beast than a gentleman.
Klein didn't hide the doubt in his tone: "May I ask who you are looking for? Do you have something you wish to entrust us with?"
The newcomer also didn't hide his expression. He merely swept a cold gaze over Klein and retorted, "Are you Sherlock Moriarty? Is this your agency?"
He knows my name? This doesn't bode well—Klein muttered to himself, "That's right. May I ask your name? Is there something you need to entrust us with?"
He nodded, a somewhat stiff nod: "I want to entrust you with finding someone for me."
"Please come in to discuss the specifics of the commission. My colleagues are inside, which might be helpful for what you have to say," Klein raised his hand, gesturing for this strange client to come in with him.
However, the newcomer's voice remained quite cold: "No need. The person I'm looking for is named Ian, Ian Wright—I think you should know him."
He briefly described Ian's appearance, finally dropping that neither light nor heavy sentence.
Klein pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept your commission."
Looking at the client whose gaze was somewhat unfriendly, Klein added, "You were able to find this place, so you should know that Ian was my previous client. For privacy reasons, I cannot disclose information about my previous client."
"Furthermore, after his commission was completed yesterday, he left directly. I don't know his subsequent whereabouts."
"10 pounds. I only need the information you provide." The client seemed not to have heard the refusal in Klein's words, merely stating a price.
"This isn't something I can decide on my own. I just work here, and casually exposing client information would make me lose this job. You know, private detective jobs aren't easy to find." Do I lack your 10 pounds—Klein said with a smile, "If you need to make a commission, perhaps you can discuss it with my colleague, the owner of the agency."
The client looked towards the slightly dim hall behind Klein, didn't continue to bid, but instead turned and left, though his gaze was quite cold as he departed.
What a strange fellow. What's the point of looking for me? If you're going to look for someone, you should look for Captain Dunn! Then, of course, you can be arrested and sent to the Church—
However, it seems this person is a gang member from here, no wonder he gave up so decisively—Klein watched the client leave, and after closing the door, walked back to the room on the second floor.
"Was it a client?" Dunn heard the door open and asked Klein casually without lifting his head.
"No, it was someone who wanted to ask me about Ian's whereabouts, but I refused. Haha, Ian should thank my personal ethics and professional conduct." Klein pulled out a chair and sat opposite Dunn, smiling as he said, "Looks like a gang member. He's already given up, probably planning to investigate using other methods."
"gang member—then there's certainly no need to tell them." Dunn exhaled softly: "If he comes looking for trouble again, just send him to the Church."
Klein replied with a full smile: "No problem!"
Consider it a good deed for the day—Klein lowered his head in a good mood, continuing to search for information related to Ince Zangwill among a pile of collected evidence.
After lunch, Klein set aside the recorded information, and as he left, he casually folded it and put it in his pocket.
Since he was going to Sefirah Castle to help Nimrod with divination, he also planned to divine the accuracy of the contents on those few pieces of paper.
Like Leonard, Klein wasn't too worried about his special abilities being exposed now.
After all, he had passed the Church's review and received its tacit approval. Leonard, who also possessed special abilities, was now fully utilizing his talents, striving to capture Ince Zangwill as quickly as possible.
The papers Klein brought to Sefirah Castle recorded the approximate areas where the Demoness Sect might appear, extracted from the East Borough investigation reports.
Considering that high-Sequence Demonesses possess anti-divination abilities, among the entire team, apart from Leonard whose abilities were unknown, perhaps only he possessed the capability to investigate.
Taking four steps counter-clockwise, Klein arrived above the gray fog and performed divination on each of these investigation reports, but the results left him somewhat disappointed:
Except for one where he saw a blurry female figure, possibly a Demoness, after performing a Dream Divination, the other investigation reports showed only vague scenes of women and children being kidnapped.
Where exactly is the Demoness Sect hiding—it can't be outside the East Borough, can it? Still, this counts as a blow to Backlund's crime situation; so many people have been kidnapped by gangs!
Looking at the information from the Dream Divination, Klein was quite unhappy and planned to report it to Captain Dunn in the afternoon to rescue the kidnapped girls as soon as possible.
Seeing that the time was about right, Klein also raised his right hand and touched the crimson star representing Nimrod. Nimrod's figure slowly emerged from the red star and appeared on the seat beside Klein.
Nimrod, who had been observing Klein for a long time at the place where the "cocoon" hung in Sefirah Castle, said calmly as if he knew nothing: "Good afternoon, have you eaten?"
"I have." Klein exhaled: "Shall we start the divination now?"
Nimrod nodded, not bothering with pleasantries with Klein: "Alright."
The item he had previously intended to give to Sun had already been handed over to Derrick Berg a few days ago through the "bestowal" ritual, and now they were just waiting for Amon to take the bait. This time, Nimrod didn't have anything special to say when he came to Sefirah Castle; his body was currently sunbathing on the villa's balcony.
Klein materialized a piece of paper in front of him, and information and clues related to the Dream-Eating Rat immediately appeared on it, guided by Klein's thoughts.
Having done all this, Klein closed his eyes, his hands resting casually on the armrests of the throne, and slowly leaned back: "Clues of the Dream-Eating Rat, clues of the Dream-Eating Rat—"
He intended to use Dream Divination to obtain clues about the Dream-Eating Rat!
A moment later, Klein reopened his eyes, his tone slightly tinged with doubt regarding the divination results: "I dreamed of a patch of Darkness, but the divination didn't seem to fail, because in that Darkness, I heard sounds like those of a rodent moving."
"However, if I were to interpret it, I'd lean towards the Dream-Eating Rat existing in a place shrouded in dense Darkness, but such places in the Spirit World don't seem to be rare—this might be a long process."
Nimrod stroked his chin, and the Cryptologist's ability activated, arranging information before his eyes: "In the Darkness you saw, was it more akin to the Darkness of 'death' or the Darkness of 'quiet'?"
"Quiet, profound, but seemingly quite dangerous." As a professional diviner, Klein immediately gave an accurate description.
Nimrod pondered for a while: "From your description, I can draw two conjectures."
"The first conjecture is related to the True Creator. In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, where there are many polluted Beyonder creatures, there might still be unextinct Dream-Eating Rats, or something that can substitute for Dream-Eating Rats—"
As soon as he said this, Nimrod's lips curved into a somewhat helpless smile: "But Amon is in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, so it's hard to say if there are any unextinct Dream-Eating Rats left. I even suspect that this direction of interpretation points to Amon."
This is the unique painless method for the Error Pathway to advance to King of Angels. Do other Pathways have such a shortcut?
"What about the other conjecture?" Klein picked up Nimrod's words, making a thoughtful expression: "If it's not related to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, then Darkness represents concepts related to the Evernight Goddess, because that is the Evernight Goddess's authority—could this mean that a Dream-Eating Rat exists within the Church?"
Nimrod gently stroked his chin: "That idea cannot be ruled out."
"Compared to other options, I actually think this one has a relatively high chance of success—do you think the probability of me exchanging a Church Sealed Artifact for a Dream-Eating Rat is high? That Puppet is still with me."
The Antigonus Family's Puppet that Nimrod had conveniently taken earlier was still placed where the "cocoon" was stored in Sefirah Castle, now having become the Celestial Worthy's toy.
Exchanging a Church Sealed Artifact for Church materials? Klein's mouth twitched: "I—it's hard to say, but speaking of which, isn't Captain's attitude towards you a bit complex? I always get the feeling that Captain cares a lot about your Aurora Order envoy identity but also wants to cooperate with you."
"Perhaps the Church wishes to cooperate with me." Nimrod stated his conjecture: "The Evernight Goddess should be able to see the True Creator's awakening, and if the Church of the Night wants to cooperate with the Aurora Order, Dunn Smith, whom I've saved a few times, is clearly the most suitable option."
"I even suspect that the special formation of your Red Gloves team was specifically established for this reason. Of course, I think capturing Ince Zangwill is also one of the reasons."
"That explanation reminds me of the special positions set up by companies I used to work for—" Klein sighed: "Cooperation between deities?"
"Don't forget, you are too."
Nimrod suddenly said out of the blue: "Mr. Fool, please do not forget your own identity. Do you think if the matter of the Fool were to spread outside, the Church of the Night would believe that the person playing the Fool is merely a sequence 8 Clown?"
At this point, Nimrod slowly exhaled: "It seems I must visit you again tonight. I need to ask your Captain thoroughly about Church matters. I suspect his sudden change in attitude towards me and Ms. Daly yesterday came from the Church's instructions; I can discern a certain trace of performance in it."
I have to host a banquet tonight! I'm not a Sleepless! Nimrod thought with a momentary sense of helplessness.
He felt that he was much busier after transmigrating than before.
Late at night, Nimrod simply sealed the "smiling face" mask with Sefirah Castle and handed it to Mr. A, letting Mr. A temporarily take his place.
He himself put on a black robe, combed Amon's avatar's iconic hairstyle into a slicked-back style, and then quietly arrived at the Detective Agency.
He lightly knocked twice on the door, and Klein, who had been waiting, opened it, signaling Nimrod to come upstairs with him.
In the afternoon, Klein had told Dunn about a few things he needed to report and about Nimrod's impending visit.
Therefore, Dunn, as a Soul Assurer, was prepared to meet Nimrod and chose not to rest but to await Nimrod's arrival.
—
In the room on the second floor, Dunn Smith sat behind his desk. After seeing Nimrod take a seat on the sofa, Dunn raised his hand and extinguished the desk lamp, plunging the room into Darkness.
Darkness is the protective color of the Nighthawks, and a testament to placing oneself under the Goddess's gaze.
Dunn cleared his throat: "Mr. L, Klein told me what you needed. This afternoon, I reported the matter to the Cathedral via telegram, and the Cathedral has responded—"
Just then, a faint click came from the window behind Dunn, which emitted a weak light. Dunn, Klein, and Nimrod all noticed this slight sound and simultaneously looked out the window.
A figure, almost merged with the Darkness, seemed to have just agilely opened the window when it saw the three people in the room, causing its brain to momentarily freeze.
The three people's gazes slowly moved downwards. Dunn, who possessed "Dark Vision," and Nimrod, who possessed Superior Observation, simultaneously noticed the blowpipe tucked into the figure's waist, realizing what this person, who hadn't even approached but was detected by their spiritual intuition, was here to do.
For caution, "Soul Assure" and "Mental Interference" at Sequence 6 level simultaneously fell upon this figure.
Chapter 145: The Transaction (Second Update)
A heavy thud sounded, and the loud noise immediately caused movement in several nearby rooms. Leonard was the first to rush in, saying to Dunn, "Is there an attacker?"
However, as soon as Leonard rushed into the room, he saw the three people in the room with strange expressions, their gazes collectively fixed on the floor.
Leonard was somewhat confused. He followed their gazes and saw a dark-skinned man lying on the ground. The man's eyes were nearly vacant, and the window was wide open, suggesting other hidden dangers might still be lurking.
Are there others preparing to attack us? Leonard glanced around alertly, thinking there might still be hidden ambushers, but he couldn't find any. So, he whispered to Pallez Zoroast in his mind, "Old man, this attacker's position is hidden really well. I can't find him anywhere."
After the battle with Ince Zangwill, I am no longer the reckless and careless self I once was! Leonard took a deep breath, wanting to learn from the old man who would dare to attack this Nighthawks gathering place.
However, Pales did not reply.
Leonard felt a bit strange and followed up in a whisper, "Old man?"
At that moment, Klein put away the pendulum in his hand and coughed slightly awkwardly. "—Leonard, I just performed a divination. There's only one attacker."
Leonard's gaze froze instantly. He seemed to realize why the old man hadn't responded to him.
Thus, he coughed softly twice to cover his embarrassment, his tone filled with disbelief. "—There's really only one person?"
Klein lit the desk lamp nearby, crouched down, deftly pulled a length of rope from his pocket, tied up the man on the floor, and began to carefully check the man's identity.
After a while, Klein looked up and said to Dunn in a steady tone, "It's the client who visited during the day. He has a blowpipe and some poison darts of matching size hidden on him. He probably wanted to attack us to get clues about Ian from us, but he didn't expect this room to be full of Beyonders."
As he said the last sentence, the corners of Klein's mouth couldn't help but start curling up uncontrollably.
Dunn nodded as he listened to Klein's report. Just then, the door Leonard had just closed was pushed open again, and Daly walked into the room wearing comfortable pajamas—the group was currently in the second-floor study.
"It seems this uninvited guest has already been brought under control. Great job, gentlemen." Daly said with a smile, "Is he a Beyonder?"
"Judging by the abilities he showed just now, he should be a Hunter." Dunn didn't say much, just walked to the man on the floor and helped Klein move him to the nearby sofa. "Daly, perform a mediumship on him and see what exactly he intended to do here."
"Alright." Daly nodded, extending a finger with nail polish, her temperament suddenly turning eerie.
In these two months, Daly, who had long since become a Spirit Guide, had gained a deeper mastery over her Beyonder abilities. Although she hadn't fully digested the potion or received permission to advance to Sequence 5, she was already very close.
Compared to a Spirit Medium, a Spirit Guide could go a step further on the basis of mediumship, turning to driving or even enslaving spirit bodies.
Enslaving a Sequence 9 Hunter with little spirituality was obviously easy!
Soon, within everyone's Spirit Vision, the tied-up Hunter's gaze became even more vacant. A faint phantom floated out from him, standing dazed before everyone.
Daly asked in a cold tone, "What is your name? Which organization do you belong to?"
The spirit body opened its mouth and said in a dazed tone, "My name is Merso—"
"I am the behind-the-scenes decision-maker of the Zegman Gang—"
A Sequence 9 Hunter could become the behind-the-scenes decision-maker of a gang? Klein raised an eyebrow, listening as Daly continued to ask, "What was your purpose for coming here? Who instructed you to come?"
"The Ambassador asked me to find Ian Wright." Merso's spirit body's voice remained stiff and dazed. "He is involved with a very important item. Whether alive or dead, the Ambassador ordered that I must bring him back—"
Dunn gave the two beside him a look. Leonard immediately took out a ritual silver dagger and began to set up a Spirit Wall around the room, while Klein, with Daly's cooperation, began Dream Divination on the spirit body.
Not long after, Klein opened his eyes again and reported to Dunn, "The Ambassador Merso mentioned is a middle-aged man without a hat, with brown hair and blue eyes, and his clothing is very much in the style of the Intis Republic."
"The Intis Republic's Ambassador—" Dunn pondered while listening to Daly ask a few more questions.
However, Merso clearly didn't know much and didn't know what the important item Ian possessed was. After obtaining as much information as possible, Dunn signaled, "Alright, end the mediumship, Daly. This matter involves the Intis Republic. We will hand him over to the Church. The Church will have specialists communicate with the government and negotiate with the Intis Republic."
"Yes, there's no need to worry about whether he will expose our secrets; someone will help keep them confidential for him."
Dunn turned his head and said to Nimrod with a slight apology in his tone, "Sorry, Mr. L, for making a fool of ourselves."
"It's fine." Nimrod didn't mind at all, though he felt a slight pity that he wouldn't see the famous scene of the five-pound assassination of the Ambassador. "Then shall we continue the topic we were discussing?"
Dunn nodded and sat back behind the desk, while Klein and Leonard, along with Daly, prepared to escort Merso to the Church to completely resolve the aftermath of this matter.
However, just as Klein walked out of the room, a possible guess surfaced in Nimrod's mind:
I might not necessarily miss out on the famous script "Five Pounds to Kill the Ambassador"—
Unlike before, this time Ince Zangwill is likely keeping a constant eye on the Tingen Squad's movements. With the Intis Ambassador being such a big trouble who can hide himself, he might not refrain from killing with a borrowed knife—
For Ince Zangwill, the more chaotic Backlund is, the higher the success rate for him to escape and reap benefits!
After Klein closed the door behind him, Dunn turned off the desk lamp again, letting Darkness once more completely envelop the room. After dozens of seconds of silence, Dunn spoke to Nimrod, "Mr. L, the Church has agreed to let you take 2-049 (the Antigonus Family's Puppet) in exchange for a Dream-Eating Rat—well, a living, intact Dream-Eating Rat."
Nimrod heard something different in Dunn's words compared to before: "The Church?"
"—Yes, the Church." Dunn let out a breath. "I don't quite understand the Church's plan; Daly is much smarter than me on this point. But—this is the Church's instruction, and it happens to coincide with my personal judgment."
Saying this, Dunn lightly tapped the underside of his desk and pulled out a thin file folder from a hidden compartment. "This is something the Church gave me. You'll understand what I meant once you see it."
Nimrod took the file folder from Dunn. After opening it, he didn't turn on the lamp but instead used his Superior Observation ability to examine the contents of the folder.
After a while, a slight chuckle entered Nimrod's tone. "The Church of the Night has more courage than I imagined. Perhaps the Church has also realized that the gradually awakening Lord is a power that must be won over."
"I won't comment further on that. To a heretic, the other's words are all heretical doctrines." Dunn picked up a pipe from the side. "Phew, do you mind if I enjoy some tobacco?"
There was a certain amount of anxiety in his emotions, and he wanted to soothe his spirit. It seemed the Church's instructions had brought some confusion to Dunn—after a simple analysis, Nimrod spread his palms. "I don't mind, please go ahead."
After lighting the tobacco in his pipe, Dunn took a few gentle puffs. "In this file, there is a completely new set of identification documents and an employment permit with no name or physical description filled in. You can fill them in as you like—as long as it's not too conspicuous."
"No problem." Nimrod pulled out a piece of paper from beside the desk and wrote a line of Loen words on it: "James Holmes. I don't have the Beyonder item used for disguise on me. I'll send you the photo once I've finished the disguise."
"No problem." Dunn took the paper Nimrod handed him and put it back into the file folder. "The transfer of Beyonder materials will take some time. Come back here in about a week, and we will complete the transaction."
""
"During this time, I will find a way to tell Klein the truly secret information. I have a way to prevent that information from being known by 0-08." Nimrod stood up and said to Dunn, "I should go—Mr. A, disguised as me, is probably bursting with frustration."
"Take care, Mr. James." Dunn quietly changed his form of address, stood up, and saw Nimrod out of the firm.
After leaving the firm, Nimrod soon returned to his residence and took the smiling face mask from a relieved Mr. A.
Even just disguising himself late at night and having secret talks with a few familiar nobles was as stifling for Mr. A as Nimrod had expected. To him, such things were more terrifying and frightening than facing a hundred Qilangoses.
After molding a face that closely resembled Holmes, Nimrod also nodded with satisfaction.
Since there's already a Sherlock Moriarty, having another James Holmes wouldn't hurt.
Although a very important reason he mischievously chose this name was because he wanted to see Klein's expression upon learning it—that would be quite the treat.
However, the news obtained from Klein was heartening, and the Church of the Night's swift choice made him feel there was more to it.
If the somewhat unusual attitudes of Dunn and Daly yesterday had only given him some suspicions, then after receiving Dunn's affirmative reply tonight, Nimrod could be completely certain that the Evernight Goddess's invisible hand was at work.
A high-ranking member of the Church must have contacted Dunn directly; otherwise, it would have been impossible to reach this transaction in such a short time.
Even if they wanted to recover a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact worth more than a Dream-Eating Rat, cooperating with a heretic would be absolutely impossible.
The high-ranking members of the Church of the Night likely received a portion of the Evernight Goddess's oracle. In their eyes, I must be a blessed one of the True Creator, participating in the games and cooperation between two deities—the corners of Nimrod's mouth curled up slightly, and his mood became quite good.
After devouring two Sequence 9s of the Destiny Pathway, his luck seemed to have improved slightly.
However, when erasing the spiritual imprints on those two Sequence 9 potions earlier, Nimrod had felt an additional resistance, different from devouring the Error Pathway.
He guessed this was an anomaly caused by the fusion with the primordial will existing within the Destiny Pathway.
The next step was to collect the subsequent formulas and materials for the Monster Pathway. This had to be done through the Tarot Club or the Passion organization in the circlet timeline, and Ouroboros must not discover what I am doing—
However, with Ademisaul, who needs to advance, as cover, the probability of me being exposed is very small. Perhaps I can obtain the formula directly from Ademisaul—
Could this also be considered a manifestation of "fate"?
Of course, if conditions really don't allow it, then I can consider swallowing the Beyonder characteristic of a Robot. Unlike Error, the Monster Pathway is not my primary Beyonder Pathway.
If it really comes to that, I can also verify the changes that occur after I swallow a Beyonder characteristic, such as whether my spirit will be affected, whether I will lose control, and so on.
By the way, the Instigator potion materials the Aurora Order helped me collect are almost ready. It's time to take them to Lumian to help him develop in a balanced way—
Speaking of which, what would happen if one drank Pyromaniac first and then Witch?
Nimrod suddenly felt quite a bit of curiosity.
After Merso was sent to the Church and the Loen government pressured the Intis Ambassador, time flew by, and it was soon Monday of the following week.
At night, having made his preparations, Nimrod set up a Spirit Wall, changed into Roger's clothes, altered his appearance, and quietly waited for this transmigration to arrive.
He smoothly obtained the Robot potion formula from Ademisaul, who was preparing to advance; it was an unexpected gain Ademisaul had found at a Beyonder gathering. As for the potion materials, Alger did have some news, though it might take some time to find them.
For this trip through the circlet timeline, the first thing Nimrod needed to do was extract the Mendicant Monk boon from Lumian's body to enhance his own strength!
Secondly, he also had to start digesting Prometheus and try to complete the advancement ritual that could reduce the difficulties during the digestion process.
—
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#146Promotion
Chapter 146: Advancement
"Charlie, don't get too close to 'Passion.' Stay at the church—I don't have the spare time to help you deal with Susanna's business. I'm not your godfather. Besides, I believe the church is always more trustworthy than a gang."
"Alright, show him out—Charlie, I've helped you enough. Thinking about coming near here will only get you hurt and embarrassed; it won't bring you any more help."
In the dimly lit room, Lumian, dressed in black, spoke to Charlie in a calm tone, looking like a gang godfather who had been famous for a long time.
There were no windows in the room, only a single lamp with a faint glow. Although there were better places to live, Lumian still chose to stay here, though he had rented out several more rooms on the top floor.
Of course, this didn't stop him from collecting protection fees from the hotel owner. However, Lumian did provide service for the money; at the very least, in such a chaotic underground street, members of "Passion" often patrolled around the Golden Rooster Inn, occasionally beating back Criminals and members of other gangs.
This gave the owner of the Golden Rooster Inn a strange sense of value for money, and business actually improved quite a bit.
Charlie opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He walked dejectedly toward the door, led by the gang members standing behind Lumian.
He always felt that a thick barrier had grown between him and Lumian.
Watching Charlie's departing figure, Lumian secretly cursed Charlie's stupidity in his heart: The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun has already chosen to intervene in that Beyonder incident you encountered and has started to evaluate you. How can you not see that this is your chance to get out of here?
Isn't it good to go to the church and find a decent clerical job? Why insist on mixing with a bunch of gangsters like us!
Do you think I became this gang leader just to look cool?
Just as Charlie left the room, a knock sounded from the door. A man dressed entirely in black first bowed respectfully to Lumian. After receiving Lumian's permission, he walked into the room, leaned down, and whispered in Lumian's ear, "Mr. Anthony is here."
Hearing his subordinate's words, Lumian, leaning back in his chair, made a steady gesture: "Let him in."
The door was slowly pushed open. Anthony, wearing army green clothes and leather boots without leggings, walked through the doorway and came to Lumian's side under the watchful eyes of two gang thugs.
Lumian lightly tapped the chair to his front left with his finger, signaling Anthony to sit there.
"—Hello, Mr. Ciel." Looking at Lumian's attire and the two thugs standing behind him, Anthony slowly let out a breath, maintaining his emotional stability: "I've had some success with your previous commission."
He knew Ciel was a wanted man, but Anthony never imagined during his investigation that this wanted man could become the leader of an emerging gang so quickly—or rather, he thought Ciel had hidden his identity from the start and came to Trier with a mission from a gang.
As an intelligence dealer in the gray area, combined with being a Beyonder himself, Anthony could indeed grasp quite a lot of information.
But even so, in his view, Ciel's experience was nothing short of magical.
Hearing Anthony's words, Lumian's gaze was calm. He seemed to think for a moment before speaking to his subordinates, "You guys go out first."
No one contradicted the gang leader's order. During this period, "Ciel" had shown sufficient cruelty toward subordinates who did not follow his rules.
After all, there were always people who wanted to be parasites, deceiving those above and oppressing those below. Even after receiving enough pay, they weren't satisfied and still wanted to bully the weak or get involved in the drug trade.
This was something Lumian could not tolerate.
Seeing his subordinates leave the room, Lumian imitated his godfather's tone, gave a light laugh, and signaled Anthony to continue: "Please continue, Mr. Anthony—don't worry about my men; they'll do a good job of guarding the door for us."
After saying this, Lumian also noticed Anthony's expression and his tense body.
Anthony seemed a bit nervous—well, who wouldn't be nervous and cautious when facing a violent murderer and a gang leader?
Lumian laughed self-mockingly in his heart.
"Someone spotted a person suspected to be Louis Lund on Avenue du Marché. He's the steward of Madame Pualis whom you mentioned."
After organizing his words, Anthony paused and then added, "His identity isn't fully confirmed yet. I'll come to you for the final payment once I'm certain."
At this point, he gave a bitter smile. "Originally, I thought you were just an ordinary wanted man, but I didn't expect—"
Even as a wanted man, I'm not ordinary. If I were killed on the spot one day, the Beyonder power inside the Seal would explode enough to destroy a city—according to Godfather, this is called a 'Deathrattle' and 'Graveyard effect.' Lumian smiled: "The Boss's choices have always been like this."
He lightly tapped the table beside him, drawing Anthony's attention to his next words: "Mr. Anthony, I had someone investigate a bit about your affairs and got some—interesting information.
Do you want to hear it?"
Anthony's expression changed slightly. "This is not a pleasant topic."
"No, this is just a transaction." Looking at Anthony, who had taken a defensive stance, Lumian stood up and said to him with a smile, "Did you know? We might be the same kind of people. We both carry pain and hatred—in this regard, our positions are consistent. Your eyes tell me that you want revenge, you crave revenge—"
The corners of Lumian's mouth curled up slightly. He felt that after becoming a "Provoker," his previous talent for deception could be used again: "But your individual power is ultimately too small. If you want to deal with your enemy, we can help you."
O
Lumian pushed a business card to Anthony. Seeing Anthony subconsciously take the card, a mysterious smile appeared on Lumian's face: "If you've thought it over, you can come find me—'Passion' only listens to the Boss's orders, and the Boss can offer a price you can't refuse."
After Anthony left, Lumian turned back on the light he had deliberately dimmed for a sense of mystery, while softly speaking to the air, "Godfather, you're here?"
"You did well." Nimrod's voice suddenly came from behind Lumian, saying to him, "You contacted me in a hurry and called me here—is your potion fully digested?"
Hearing Nimrod's words, Lumian nodded. The previous depth and mystery shrouded in shadows vanished. "I killed two leaders from the Stinger Gang and the Sava Party who wanted revenge on me and sent their bodies back to their gangs—haha, now the entire area around the Golden Rooster Inn belongs to 'Passion'."
"Godfather, what do you think of this guy Anthony? He looks like he has a very difficult enemy. I think someone with this kind of personality is the type who doesn't easily betray."
As for how Lumian knew—could he not be clear about what kind of person he was?
"You can try to cultivate him as your companion and subordinate," Nimrod answered while taking out containers from his robe. "It also happens to prepare for your future advancement ritual—the 'Hunter' Pathway extends further into 'War.' War is the art of gathering crowds; you need many companions, subordinates, and even soldiers to complete your advancement ritual."
"—I understand." Lumian looked at the Beyonder materials Nimrod placed beside him and roughly guessed what Godfather was about to do. A bit of excitement irrepressibly appeared in his heart: "Godfather, these are?"
"The materials for the 'Instigator' potion, isn't it obvious?" Nimrod glanced at Lumian. "The Beyonder characteristics in your body are basically balanced. Once I extract another portion of the pollution from you, you can consume the 'Instigator' potion."
"Normal Beyonders consuming multiple portions of potions from the same or similar Pathways increases the probability of losing control, but the pollution on you is clearly more serious, so you don't need to worry about that bit of probability."
"However, when you consume the potion for a second Beyonder Pathway, once the balance in your body is broken, you will immediately fall into a state of losing control."
"Therefore, before that, it's necessary to clear out the pollution on you that is most likely to drift outside the Seal—which is the boon equivalent to a sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic."
"I see—" Hearing Nimrod's explanation, Lumian said thoughtfully and began to set up the ritual with Nimrod.
A Spirit Wall shrouded in faint gray mist, the scent of gray amber and tulips, and candles representing the deity and himself.
After the ritual site was set up, Nimrod began his familiar chanting and started to steal the "Mendicant Monk" boon.
Instantly, Lumian felt a sensation of internal power being slowly drawn from his chest. Granules popped up on and around Lumian's body, looking like the dense eggs of some animal.
Everything around seemed to melt and become distorted and soft. The originally orange flame on the candle representing the deity was dyed silver-black at a speed visible to the naked eye, and one terrifying sound after another echoed within the Spirit Wall.
However, Nimrod was not affected by these terrifying sounds. He quickly finished reciting the incantation and watched as a pillar of light from the silver-black fire shone onto Lumian.
Silver-black liquid immediately flowed out from Lumian's chest, appearing somewhat confused about whom to choose as its host—
Nimrod's wrist twisted slightly, and the silver-black liquid fell into his hand.
Grabbed it and refined it in an instant.
Shrouded in gray mist, the silver-black liquid merged with him through his palm. Information surfaced in his mind, which Nimrod quickly categorized and arranged, preparing to study it carefully once the situation stabilized.
"It's done."
The black-tinged winds around them gradually died down. Nimrod turned around and waited for Lumian, who was in a slightly poor state, to recover significantly before speaking to him: "I'll help you concoct the 'Instigator' potion now. After drinking this potion, the Beyonder abilities of two different Pathways will merge. During this process, you also risk losing control. So, I'll wait until your state is stable before I leave."
Adjust your state first.
Lumian did not insist on drinking the potion immediately. He closed his eyes and leaned against the chair. After about ten minutes, once he had adjusted his state to its best, he reopened his eyes and took the potion from Nimrod's hand.
The potion's appearance was a highly lustrous black, with tiny bubbles rising within, seemingly hiding the malice in everyone's heart.
For Lumian, consuming a dual-Pathway potion was a road destined for madness and losing control. Every step forward could potentially plunge him directly into the Abyss.
However, this was his only hope for resurrecting his sister.
There was nothing to hesitate about. For the sake of his sister, he had to constantly improve himself. Only then could he escape his current state as soon as possible!
Lumian did not hesitate. He tilted his head back slightly and drank the bottle of potion.
In an instant, a large amount of negative emotions surfaced in Lumian's mind. It seemed as if countless mouths were roaring and instigating in his ears. He felt the muscles in his throat constantly writhing, as if being drastically remodeled by the potion.
Just then, amidst those chaotic sounds, a small voice suddenly appeared, echoing clearly in Lumian's ear: "Lumian Lee."
"Lumian Lee."
"Lumian Lee!"
Lumian's eyes suddenly widened, and pitch-black blood vessels climbed up from the corners of his eyes. The balance in his body seemed to undergo a severe tilt at this moment, appearing as if it could overturn at any time.
At that moment, Nimrod took a step forward, and a portion of the countdown formed by the gray mist on the back of his hand quietly vanished in an instant.
Although he had not yet fully digested the "Prometheus" potion, with the help of "Sefirah Castle," he directly used a demigod-level "Steal," projecting his spirit across space into the Seal on Lumian's chest!
In the silver-black space, "Termiboros's" eyebrows suddenly furrowed. He saw a pair of cold, indifferent eyes containing starlight open from the outer layer of the Seal, looking at him with extreme malice.
The eyes of Amon, who had stolen "Termiboros's" identity, widened—if this were just the "Fool's" gaze, he could still mock the "Fool" who was fighting the Celestial Worthy.
But this kind of gaze was something Amon had seen on "Sefirah Castle" back then.
As the King of Angels and a born mythical creature formed by the activation of the "Error" Uniqueness, the Celestial Worthy was definitely considered half his father.
Back when he was fighting Klein, Amon had personally felt the pressure of the Celestial Worthy's will. And now, Amon felt as if the pain of "fatherly discipline" was reappearing on him.
He looked at the "Angel of Redemption" he was digesting and absorbing, feeling the pressure was as heavy as a mountain.
Chapter 147: Advancement and Invitation
After finishing all this, Nimrod withdrew his gaze from Amon with considerable satisfaction.
Although his current Sequence wasn't very high, he still firmly held the upper hand over Lumian—considering that the Seal on Lumian would only have a miracle of unlocking when he became a demigod, he still had plenty of time to deal with Amon.
And today was just the simplest of warnings, enough to make Amon go from "eating pineapples with reckless abandon" to "eating pineapples with fear and trepidation."
He also planned to peek at Him through the Seal on Lumian from time to time; if he had any new inventions for the Sefirah Castle, he would test them on the Amon trapped within this Seal, which could entirely turn the Fool's Seal into a fear amplifier.
Speaking of which, this could be considered avenging the heroically sacrificed Big Pineapple; Nimrod felt that the Circle of Inevitability owed him a reward.
Seeing that Lumian's state had stabilized and that it would still take some time to complete the advancement, Nimrod simply sat down again and began to feel the changes within himself after absorbing the second boon.
The sequence 8 of the Fate Pathway was called Mendicant Monk. Absorbing it after fully digesting and devouring the Dancer was indeed the right choice; Mendicant Monk easily merged with Dancer, and the different spiritual imprints on both began a tug-of-war.
First was the physical enhancement.
A significant increase in spirituality, endurance in harsh environments, and a unique intuition for luck. The former was negligible for him now, while the ability to endure harsh environments made the Prometheus less of a glass cannon.
However, the "luck intuition" became even sharper and more successful when combined with the Monster's intuition.
For example, a Mendicant Monk's sense of luck could only see the general type but not the specific content, whereas a Monster could perceive chaotic Fate, where different scenes were often entangled.
When these two abilities combined, the Monster's precognition became increasingly accurate once the type of luck was locked in. Furthermore, because Nimrod himself had an extremely high status, he could basically tell what kind of future someone would have just by looking at them.
But at this stage, the Fate Pathway did not yet have the ability to change Fate; Nimrod guessed it would require advancing to at least a demigod or completing the final The Eternal Life Decree Pathway to achieve that.
But before becoming a demigod, Nimrod had no intention of devouring the final Pathway.
True Fate in this world could even affect a pillar, and he estimated a three-in-one Fate Pathway wouldn't be much worse.
Who knew if an "Incarnation of Fate" similar to the current "Will of the Celestial Worthy" would appear in his mind after devouring the last Pathway?
It would be too humorous if it turned into a two-on-one situation.
Only after becoming a demigod and weighing the pros and cons would Nimrod consider whether to hunt the booned of the Goddess of Destiny to seize the boon.
Then there was the core ability of the Mendicant Monk: ritual magic.
Nimrod obtained five eerie ritual magics: Animal Creation, Prophecy, Luck Transfer, Substitution, and Ghost Expulsion.
The capabilities of these ritual magics were unique and bizarre; even if Beyonders of other Sequences possessed the corresponding knowledge, they would lack the ability and qualification to use them.
From the information provided by this ability, the original target of these ritual magics should have been the Circle of Inevitability, but the content could be modified to point to other deities; the higher the status of the deity, the better the effect.
For instance, if he prayed to himself, there were few deities in this world besides the Original Creator who could compete with his status.
Nimrod planned to test these abilities one by one later to see how far he could go with them.
What interested him more was the Substitution ritual. As a Pathway specializing in Fate, this ritual magic might help him achieve some ingenious combos.
For example, finding a lower-Sequence Amon, substituting his Fate, stealing his identity, and infiltrating the Amon network.
At that moment, Lumian finally completed his advancement.
He slowly opened his eyes, the dark bloodshot veins within them receding.
Consuming the potion for a second Beyonder Pathway was clearly more difficult and painful than the first, but for the Calamity Pathway, the more pain and extremes one faced, the closer they were to the Calamity of Destruction.
"Godfather—"
Lumian was about to greet Nimrod, but he was interrupted before he could finish: "You're not in a good state right now. Rest for a bit. Don't be so formal—feel the changes after your abilities have combined. How is it?"
Hearing Nimrod's words, Lumian felt a bit strange. After a brief pause, he asked, "You're the one who had me advance this way. Are you not clear on my situation?"
"No, there are cases similar to yours, but every Pathway's situation is different, so it requires your own judgment," Nimrod said seriously.
Although the case Nimrod knew about was also named Lumian Lee.
Lumian hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts: "The new ability I gained is called Instigation."
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"Unlike Provocation, an Instigator seems more inclined toward perceiving others' emotions—not to enrage them, but to make them comply with one's own thoughts."
"To put it simply, an Instigator can increase others' affinity toward them, making it easier for others to believe them, facilitating subsequent successful instigation."
"However, if the two are combined—" Lumian instinctively started his brain and quickly thought of a rather interesting application: "It seems I can pull at the other person's emotions. After making them feel an affinity for me, I can use the Provocation ability to explode their emotions."
"Repeating this back and forth a few times, the enemy's emotions will inevitably collapse, leading them to make wrong judgments in battle."
"Yes, this way, I can enrage my opponents more precisely!"
Although Lumian hadn't gone to university as his sister had hoped, becoming one of those idle students, he knew that when a wire is repeatedly bent back and forth, it breaks more easily.
Lumian was just a bit regretful now; if he had a Beyonder ability to detonate emotions, he would have a trump card that could bypass physical defense and directly attack the opponent's mind.
I should ask Godfather if there are any Beyonder abilities related to emotions. I feel like that would have great synergy with my own Pathways—
Nevertheless, Lumian sighed, "These two Beyonder Sequences truly complement each other!"
"Heh, your mindset is good. While it's partly because you've mastered the Acting Method, many Beyonders wouldn't dare to consume a second Beyonder characteristic in their lifetime. After all, even consuming a Sequence 9 Beyonder characteristic can feel like a Fate worse than death."
Nimrod smiled and then asked, "Do you feel any changes in your body? How is the balance of the Beyonder characteristics within you?"
Lumian felt his current state and found nothing wrong: "I don't have any uncomfortable feelings at the moment. I just feel that I'm still more familiar with Provoker. It feels like the Instigator characteristic has merged into it, being completely suppressed by Provoker."
"That's because Provoker currently has the upper hand. The Provoker potion is more digested, allowing it to suppress the influence of the Instigator ability on your body." Nimrod made a simple judgment: "After things stabilize, I'll help you find the auxiliary materials for Pyromaniac. Before Sequence 7, you need to ensure the Hunter Pathway's abilities remain stronger than the Instigator's."
"Then—what about after Sequence 7?" Although he was prepared, Lumian still felt a bit apprehensive: "Godfather, I remember you said that the Sequence 7 of Assassin would change my gender. When that time comes, will my body—"
"The Sequence 7 Witch—I suspect the change will happen the moment you consume it." Nimrod paused: "We'll plan for that later. To prevent your internal balance from breaking and causing you to lose control, I'll look up some information to find the most suitable way for you to advance."
At this point, a smile appeared on Nimrod's face: "But if that's the case, you might have to be 'Lumianna' for a while."
After all, Assassin forces a physical change at Sequence 7, whereas Hunter only does so at Sequence 4.
Physical changes from potions are extremely dangerous and can easily lead to losing control.
Considering his knowledge of Hunter and Demoness was limited to theory, in the next cycle, Nimrod planned to pay a visit to the Red Angel evil spirit and rescue it, doing the True Creator a favor in the process.
However, the corners of Nimrod's mouth curled up slightly: "According to the experience of one of your predecessors, switching between male and female genders is the only way to get closer to the existence at the top of the Sequence."
"So, you have to be mentally prepared."
After listening quietly, Lumian nodded and said solemnly, "I understand. But if that happens, what about the Passion organization?"
"If I turn into a woman and temporarily lose my identity, the whole organization will probably start to split and be difficult to maintain."
"So I suggest you find yourself a few reliable subordinates to share your workload, and I will help you too." A strange thought surfaced in Nimrod's mind:
Surely I'm not really going to follow a certain pink octopus head's example and create a "cadre" identity...
Nevertheless, Nimrod comforted Lumian: "But look on the bright side; if you get into trouble here, turning into a woman can solve ninety percent of your problems. It can even help you hide your identity better, creating a non-existent leader for 'Passion' out of thin air—"
Just then, a "thump, thump, thump" knocking sound came from the door.
Nimrod and Lumian glanced at each other. Nimrod quickly used a Beyonder ability to hide himself, and after a few seconds, Lumian said in a deep voice, "Come in."
The knocking just now sounded like one of his subordinates. Since Lumian knew his identity couldn't actually withstand investigation, he was extra careful about such matters.
If one day official Beyonders really came knocking with the police, the benefits of Lumian choosing the Golden Rooster Inn as his base would show—
The underground environment was intricate, and Lumian was already familiar with the surrounding terrain. He could just leap from the top floor of the inn and blend into Underground Trier; the official Beyonders wouldn't be able to find a thing.
And considering what Godfather said, since even those abnormal Beyonders from the Stinger Gang could occupy a territory here, Lumian wasn't too worried about official Beyonders causing him trouble. At worst, the pollution inside him would overflow and take all of Trier down with him.
However, it was clear that Lumian did not yet know how heavyweight the things buried in the ground beneath his feet were.
After receiving Lumian's permission, a gang thug entered the room, holding a thin envelope in both hands, and said to Lumian in a fawning tone, "Boss, someone has sent you an invitation."
"An invitation?" Hearing his subordinate's words, Lumian's tone was a bit strange. "Who sent it? Why do they think I would attend?"
In the Passion organization, his public persona was that of a cranky guy with mysterious rules and persistence, possessing mysterious and powerful strength!
Therefore, the gang thug was used to Lumian's habitual sarcasm and simply replied respectfully, "Boss Ciel, the person who delivered the letter claimed to be a head of the Sava Party. He's here on behalf of the Sava Party leader, Gardner Martin, to deliver this invitation."
"And he said Black Scorpion Roger of the Stinger Gang will also receive an invitation, and some people from the police force have also accepted his invitation—"
The police—Lumian's heart stirred, and his tone suddenly became low, his body emitting an aura that was both approachable and majestic: "I don't want anyone else to know about this. I hope you won't betray my trust."
"Come to me for an extra reward after this is over."
Boss Ciel is truly majestic and charismatic—of course, the terrifying kind of charisma! Under the influence of Beyonder power, this thought instinctively surfaced in the gang thug's mind. Just then, Nimrod's voice reached Lumian's ears: "Ask him who the messenger is."
"Who from the Sava Party delivered the letter?" Lumian immediately repeated Nimrod's question to the thug.
The gang thug trembled and quickly replied, "It's Gardner Martin's mistress, 'Red Boots' Franca!"
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#148Negotiation
Chapter 148: Negotiation
Lumian stepped down from the carriage, several gang thugs following by his side.
As an admirer of Gehrman Sparrow, Lumian believed his aesthetic in clothing was quite similar to his godfather's.
A white shirt, a Black formal suit, and a silk top hat—this attire slightly outlined the muscular lines of Lumian's body after being strengthened by two potions, making him look like a polite yet hidden, ferocious beast.
Crimson moonlight spilled onto the ground. Both sides of this street, named Spring Street, were lined with detached villas.
In front of one of these villas, several carriages were parked. Servants and drivers stood by, waiting for their masters to return after the banquet ended.
At this moment, Lumian's carriage stopped in front of the villa. A valet stood at the door and immediately walked over upon seeing Lumian. After confirming Lumian's identity, he respectfully led him inside the villa.
Lumian glanced at the detached villa before him, ignoring Gardner Martin's servant leading the way. His lips curled into a slight smile as he said to the thugs behind him, "Heh, so this is the location for today's ball? Gardner Martin trusts us this much?"
Hearing Lumian's words, a gang thug following him immediately flattered him in a fawning tone, "It's all because of your recent fame, Boss."
Lumian didn't answer, merely glancing at his subordinate casually. He lamented in his heart that these fellows—either beaten into submission or conquered by his money—still lacked brains.
For this banquet, Gardner Martin, the host, had also invited people from the police. This clearly suggested he was up to no good.
Lumian only felt that it was fortunate he was a step ahead; among the gang leaders Gardner Martin had invited, "Black Scorpion" Roger was on his side.
There was a ninety-nine percent chance Gardner Martin wanted to incite a fight between him and Roger. After all, to outsiders, he had seized one of Roger's territories and killed two of his capable subordinates. Shouldn't Roger hate him to death?
So Lumian estimated his plan was to have him and Roger clash at the banquet, then use the police superintendent to knock him and Roger down a peg, step by step triggering a gang war between the two factions.
Of course, Gardner Martin's approach might be more clever and subtle, but it didn't change the essence of his goal.
What made Lumian sigh was that he had carefully selected these subordinates from among those illiterates, choosing those with better learning abilities, obedience, and loyalty to follow him, yet not a single one could see through Gardner Martin's intentions.
This made Lumian a bit worried about the future development of his gang, feeling he still needed to look for people with enough ability or strength to fill the positions of leaders.
Of course, Lumian was also certain that Gardner Martin would never imagine that not only were Roger's subordinates killed by him, but even Roger himself had been killed by his godfather. Moreover, his godfather had disguised himself as Roger.
This was an overly fantastical development for Gardner Martin.
Under the butler's guidance, Lumian and several subordinates entered a hall that could serve as a dance floor, looking up at the second floor.
A part of the second floor extended over the hall in a rectangular structure, allowing people standing there to look down directly at the dance floor below.
And right there on the second floor, Gardner Martin stood, conversing with the people around him while casting sidelong glances into the hall.
Seeing Lumian enter the hall and look toward him, Gardner Martin raised his wine glass with a smile, showing no sign of the Sava Party's previous territorial conflict with "Passion."
Just then, the butler, who had taken over from the servant to lead them into the hall, said respectfully to Lumian, "Monsieur Charles, please follow me. The master is waiting for you in the study."
Getting straight to the point? I don't mind—Lumian let out a laugh: "Fine."
Although his godfather hadn't arrived at the ball yet, he wanted to see what tricks this Gardner Martin was going to play!
Obviously, Gardner Martin called him to the study the moment he arrived to discuss matters because he wanted to separate him from Roger.
No matter what kind of banquet it was, a conversation held in the host's study was bound to be about something sufficiently secret—perhaps a deal, or some kind of compromise.
Passing through a corridor hung with many weapons, Lumian arrived at the door of the study. After having his subordinates wait outside, he entered the room.
Upon entering, Lumian discovered a beautiful lady wearing a pair of Red Boots standing beside Gardner Martin.
The study was a place for discussing private matters. To be able to appear here, this person must be someone Gardner Martin could trust. Coupled with those signature Red Boots—Lumian quickly judged the identity of this beautiful lady: "Red Boots" Franca!
However, Lumian only took a glance before withdrawing his gaze, looking at Gardner Martin opposite him to see what he planned to say.
"I didn't expect Monsieur Charles to be so young." Gardner Martin didn't make Lumian wait long, speaking with a slight smile: "However, there seems to be a certain conflict between us. Speaking of which, should I call you Lumian, or Charles?"
"Heh, Emperor Roselle often said that a hero is a hero precisely because he did many things ordinary people couldn't do in his youth."
He had long ago sent someone to investigate Lumian's identity and knew he was currently using a pseudonym.
Of course, he could choose to report Lumian's matter directly to the Church, but he still had two reservations.
The first was the fear that Lumian would act out of desperation, and the other—well, he wanted to use Lumian to accomplish certain things.
"Just call me Charles."
Lumian naturally heard the underlying meaning in Gardner Martin's tone, but he simply leaned back in the chair in front of Gardner Martin, saying with a hint of disdain in his voice, "But is there actually a conflict between us? When did it happen?"
He hadn't come here planning to cooperate with Gardner Martin, so there was no need to be particularly polite to him.
Or rather, Lumian already knew what Gardner Martin was plotting. The more it was like this, the less he could show cowardice; otherwise, he would be subjected to the other party's layer-upon-layer schemes because of a secret.
Lumian had already made plans. Anyway, he had the foundation of a "Provoker" and plenty of opportunities to act. The "Instigator" potion probably wouldn't take long to digest. If he really was reported to the Church and people came to arrest him, he would just drink a "Witch" potion and make a comeback!
"You killed my subordinates; that is naturally a conflict between us." Gardner Martin sighed softly, seemingly not hearing the Provocation in Lumian's words. "But despite that, I believe friendship still exists between us. Conflicts and misunderstandings cannot overshadow our friendship, and I am willing to make you a friend because—we have a common enemy."
"Oh? An enemy?" Lumian leaned forward slightly with interest, putting on a curious look.
Just as he thought, he estimated Gardner Martin was about to talk to him about the Stinger Gang, preparing to start instigating and planning the relationship between him and the Stinger Gang.
If Gardner Martin was ruthless enough, he might even be willing to hand over a portion of territory in some way, using it as a fuse between "Passion" and the Stinger Gang.
Once the two gangs started fighting, the Sava Party would then swallow up the territories of both gangs together, and everything given out previously would be taken back. Even if the spoils had to be divided with other gangs, the Sava Party's strength would expand significantly!
Lumian didn't believe the Sava Party, backed by the "Sava Chamber of Commerce," would have good intentions toward him, a guy who had gathered those originally scattered merchants together!
Seeing Lumian's reaction, a satisfied smile inadvertently appeared at the corner of Gardner Martin's mouth. Just as he was about to say more, the door was suddenly pushed open.
A figure walked in, eyes cold, his tone carrying a bit of mockery and gloom: "The enemy you're talking about wouldn't happen to be me, would it?"
Nimrod, with Roger's face, shut the door with a "thud," interrupting Gardner Martin's words.
Gardner Martin's eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly feeling quite a lot of dissatisfaction: "You—"
He hadn't expected his old rival to give him no face at all, directly opening his door. This almost represented a Provocation, as if he wanted to go to war with them!
However, if Roger did this because he noticed my plan, then he seems to have learned how to think. Moreover, it looks like he has some confidence; could it be that the faction behind him has given him extra support—
While Gardner Martin was thinking of how to answer, "Roger's" voice came through.
"Heh, I'm not your common enemy." Turning his face toward Lumian, the gloom on Nimrod's face gradually turned into a smile as he said, "Monsieur Charles, I think your boss doesn't think so either. Don't be fooled by this Sava Party leader."
"Heh, I have my own plans."
Lumian retorted out of habit, then leaned back slightly toward Gardner Martin, saying, "Sorry, Monsieur Gardner, I'm just a small leader and don't have much decision-making power. I only follow our boss's words."
"But well, what you said just now was quite good. I've already completed the boss's task, so naturally, I don't need to continue clashing with you."
"Speaking of which, I hope to use your banquet to get to know more people—the boss just wants to do business, and we have to cooperate. Emperor Roselle once said, only through cooperation can money be made, right?"
In that instant, a subtle change occurred in Gardner Martin's expression, but he hid it well, not letting anyone else notice.
Gardner Martin maintained that smile and said to Lumian and "Roger," "You're right; that way we have a common topic—Franca, see these two guests out. Heh, this time Superintendent Everitt also said he hoped to mediate the dispute between us, but it seems there's no need to trouble him."
He felt he needed to reconsider, because Lumian's performance differed from the information he had investigated, and Roger also seemed to have undergone some changes, no longer as impulsive, irritable, and easily provoked or instigated as before.
However, Gardner Martin still used the police presence to warn these two rival gang leaders before him with whom he didn't have a good relationship, hoping to stabilize the situation for the time being.
Hearing Gardner Martin's words, Franca, who had been standing to the side, also nodded and replied, "Okay."
"Heh, no need for an escort. I'll go find Superintendent Everitt myself. Gardner, remember to keep your subordinates in check and don't do things you shouldn't do," Nimrod said arrogantly, leaving the room through the corridor surrounded by many leaders.
Gardner Martin's eyebrows furrowed even tighter. After a dozen seconds, a shrewd-looking man walked into the room and asked Gardner Martin, "Boss?"
"Christo, see if any of our gang members have had dealings with the Stinger Gang lately," Gardner Martin said to his subordinate, another Sava Party leader, "Mouse" Christo. "Check it thoroughly. I still feel there's something wrong with the Stinger Gang. If necessary, have Black assist you."
"Mouse" nodded: "Understood."
But then a look of slight confusion appeared on Mouse's face. He thought for a moment and said to Gardner Martin, "But we haven't clashed with the Stinger Gang lately—lately, it's been the Stinger Gang and the newcomer 'Passion' fighting tooth and nail."
"If there isn't, then it's getting interesting," Gardner Martin said slowly. "Roger is much smarter and more confident than before. For a Beyonder, you know what such a change represents."
Gardner Martin said to "Mouse."