Chapter 3 - 3

 Chapter 19 High-end Streetwalkers

  Klein had heard of Mr. Gal when he was investigating the "serial murder case".

  Because the victims of the serial murder case were all streetwalkers, or had been streetwalkers, Klein also learned a little about the streetwalker industry in Backlund while investigating.

  Almost all dance halls treat streetwalkers as money-making machines, and don't care about their lives at all.

  These streetwalkers are bought, kidnapped, and there are women from Loen and other countries in the northern continent, women from the Rorsted Islands, and even women from the southern continent.

  The dance halls are full of gang members to prevent these "properties" from escaping.

  No one dares to investigate these dance halls, because if they do, they will always involve some big shots, and in the end, nothing will be done.

  Mr. Gal is the behind-the-scenes boss of the "Nanmu Dance Hall", and the "Nanmu Dance Hall" is somewhat "unique" in the streetwalker industry. There is no one to watch over the streetwalkers except the thugs who maintain order.

  Because the streetwalkers who came there were forced to work in this industry voluntarily, the "Nanmu Dance Hall" provided them with rooms to receive customers, to ensure that they would not be blackmailed by gangs or the police, and to find doctors for them if they were sick.

  Streetwalkers had to hand over one-fifth of their income to maintain the operation of the dance hall.

  At that time, Klein was deeply impressed by Mr. Gall. He felt that although this gentleman was running a gray industry, he still had the most basic conscience.

  But when he saw Ms. Mandy, a subordinate of Gall, coming to the East District to "recruit people", he doubted whether this gentleman was as friendly as the legend said? Are those streetwalkers really voluntary?

  So Klein asked Old Kohler: "Have the girls who left with Ms. Mandy ever come back?"

  Old Kohler was slightly stunned: "I haven't heard of them coming back."

  Klein frowned.

  Old Kohler continued, "I heard that as long as a streetwalker is favored by a big shot, her family will move out of the East District and live a respectable life. I haven't heard of anyone coming back."

  This was somewhat beyond Klein's expectations. He didn't quite understand what kind of "business" the "Nanmu Ballroom" was doing?

  "I heard from my friends about this Mr. Gal." Mike said at this time: "This Mr. Gal is a man with a lot of stories. It is said that he always wears a silver mask, and no one has ever seen his true face.

  "I also heard that after Ms. Mandy found a few streetwalkers from the East District, she would spend several months or even half a year to teach them dancing, painting, music, etiquette, grammar, etc.

  "Under the influence of culture and art, these streetwalkers will become very elegant and have a lot of temperament. They usually entertain some big shots who spend a lot of money.

  "After some streetwalkers have a few regular big customers, Mr. Gal will rent a luxurious villa for them, hire a butler and servants, and participate in various high-end dances and social occasions, and they will look like women in the upper class.

  "It is said that such streetwalkers... No, they can't be called streetwalkers. It is said that such 'professional women' will save enough money in one or two years at most. Some of them will go to other cities to live, or be willing to be the lovers of some big shots."

  Klein glanced at Ms. Mandy over there again: This operation sounds very familiar!

  His inner values ​​made him very disgusted with such "business", but facing the situation in the East District, he couldn't say anything.

  Old Kohler adjusted his hat: "Look, that girl has seen hope again."

  Klein really saw that the nervousness and uneasiness of the sixteen or seventeen-year-old streetwalker disappeared, and joy appeared in her eyes.

  He sadly realized: In this world where class is seriously solidified, this seems to be the only way for women in the East District to live a decent life.

  ...

  West District, 51 Henry Street.

  Odysseus politely sent Alia, who had finished studying today, out the door, which made the lady very flattered.     Today we will learn how to disassemble and install the "Flame Arrow", and tomorrow we will learn how to make the corresponding extraordinary bullets, and the whole learning process will be over.

  Odysseus has been watching Alia's carriage leave. The reason why he wants to see her off today is to observe the mysterious gaze that is staring at the herbalist shop.

  As he expected, the gaze that had been staring at the shop followed the carriage away.

  Odysseus pursed his lips, and he knew that the gaze must have been attracted by Alia.

  I believe Alia must have noticed that this gaze is almost looking at this side openly, but Alia has been silent. It is estimated that both of them have some plans.

  Odysseus knows that he is a marginal figure. If those who covet his research are killed by Bernadette, the other party will at most send someone to stare at him, and he still doesn't need to worry about this gaze.

  ...

  Late at night, lush flowers suddenly grew outside a large warehouse in the bridge area.

  These flowers grew rapidly and soon covered the entire warehouse.

  The people inside realized something was wrong at this time, but it was too late. The warehouse became a little unreal, as if it did not belong to the real world.

  These flowers bloomed beautiful flowers, and some even bore fruits. Flowers are the sweetest snacks in the world, and purple fruits contain the best wine in the world.

  Just eating a flower is equivalent to learning the knowledge of a book, and just eating a fruit and drinking up the wine inside is equivalent to obtaining a secret or long-lost mystical knowledge.

  The members of the "Moss Ascetic Order" who were hiding here and were responsible for Backlund's affairs were all fanatical about this and rushed up to devour the flowers and fruits.

  But as soon as they touched these plants, they seemed to fall into an illusion, as if they were in the clouds all of a sudden, surrounded by strange flowers, plants and animals, as if they were in heaven.

  All of this made them stand there for a short time, revealing a sweet smile.

  In the real world, the flowers around the warehouse suddenly grew many thorns, which became larger and thicker, and finally pierced into the bodies of the extraordinary people from all directions like iron swords.

  They fell to the ground one by one, still with sweet smiles on their faces.

  The flowers gradually withered, and the warehouse gradually returned to the real world.

  The next second, Alia walked out of the illusion, and after confirming that the people here were dead, she calmly harvested their extraordinary characteristics.

  After finishing all this, Alia held those characteristics in both hands, bowed slightly and said: "Your Majesty."

  Those characteristics suddenly emitted a dazzling brilliance, and suddenly disappeared from her palm.

  The voice of the "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette came from mid-air: "It's a pity that the demigod ran away."

  I thought there would be a fierce battle, but the battle ended easily.

  Then, Bernadette said in an ethereal voice: "There are still two chess pieces that can be used. Go to Gal's Herb Shop and save Odysseus."

  At the end, Bernadette's voice was already very ethereal and finally disappeared.

  Alia was slightly stunned: Save Odysseus?,  Chapter 20 A Sudden Battle

  In a basement on Cartel Street in the West District,

  two men were sleeping here. They were neatly dressed in black clothes and had a pair of red dancing shoes on their feet.

  Suddenly, they stood up suddenly, as if they had received some instructions, and ran out with a jump and a skip. It was not until they ran to the street that they seemed to wake up completely from their sleep and ran forward like normal people.

  The red dancing shoes on their feet gradually disappeared.

  ...

  Alia used the seal to quickly rush to Henry Street, and hid her spirituality and breath. She found a dark corner to hide and quietly watched the Gal Herbal Medicine Store, which was still lit.

  At this time, two people in black rushed to the herbal medicine store. Alia immediately felt that the breath of these two people was different from that of ordinary people.

  Odysseus in the herbal medicine store, as usual, sent away the clerk Kena and was sitting alone in an armchair to rest.

  Suddenly, his spirituality was alerted.

  So he stood up suddenly, pulled out a pistol from his gun bag, and just as he opened the safety, the door of the store was kicked open.

  Without further ado, Odysseus immediately pulled the trigger.

  Arya, who was outside, was about to step forward to rescue him when she saw six fireballs slightly larger than an adult's fist shot out of Odysseus' revolver! She also heard six consecutive gunshots.

  The Sequence 9 "Secret Peeper" among the two men in black was shot twice, and his chest was immediately covered with flames. He waved his arms and beat the flames off his body while running around, screaming miserably.

  He fell to the ground after running a few steps.

  Arya was slightly stunned. This was the first time she saw the power of the "Flame Arrow". She finally understood why the queen was so concerned about this weapon!

  With this weapon, the weaker Sequence 9s in "Elemental Dawn" dared to fight those Sequence 9s who were good at fighting head-on!

  But Odysseus's other four bullets did not hit the other man in black, because that was a Sequence 8 "Combat Scholar" who swiftly dodged Odysseus's shooting and quickly rushed towards the herbalist whose gun was out of bullets.

  Odysseus was about to go to the counter to activate the corresponding magic circle in the herbal medicine shop. The layout of the herbal medicine shop was enough for him to kill a Sequence 8 relatively easily.

  But out of the corner of his eye, Odysseus saw Alia running towards him. He immediately thought that this was a good opportunity to deter the "Mysterious Queen".

  So Odysseus turned around and ran. Just as Alia was about to rush in to rescue him, her steps stopped again. She heard the herbal medicine shop owner seemed to be running while muttering something like "the one who controls good luck..."

  Because they were too far away, she couldn't hear it clearly, but it seemed to be a noble name!

  Just when Alia was stunned, the "Fighting Scholar" kicked Odysseus away.

  If it weren't for the corresponding defensive magic circle painted on Odysseus's clothes, this kick would probably break his waist.

  After falling to the ground, Odysseus endured the pain in his back, rolled over, and got up while rolling and crawling, and continued to escape around the tall herbs in the yard.

  At this moment, he prayed in his heart, hoping that the "Fool" would "come online" as soon as possible. The "Secret Peer" could hide in the dark and shoot arrows, but it was too weak to fight head-on.

  Just as the

  "Fighting Scholar" approached Odysseus again, a surge of power suddenly appeared in the air. A huge black figure appeared in front of the "Fighting Scholar". This figure had twelve pairs of huge wings, and the feathers of each pair of wings were engraved with occult symbols.

  It was an angel, a holy angel.

  It was the "new ability" that Klein had after obtaining the "Black Emperor" card.

  When the "Fighting Scholar" saw the holy angel, it was like seeing a king, seeing an admirable emperor.

  He knelt down on the ground with a "thump", without any thought of resistance.     "Gudong", Alia, who had just entered the door, also knelt on the ground. She was trembling all over, and felt that she was surrendering and swearing allegiance to the holy angel from the bottom of her heart and soul.

  This angel was fleeting, but His influence would last for a few seconds.

  The only one who was not greatly affected was Odysseus, who was praying to the "Fool". He also felt the huge pressure of the twelve pairs of wings.

  However, Odysseus was still able to react normally. He took out a palm-sized wooden cylinder from his pocket. At the moment of injecting spirituality, the wooden cylinder turned into a pure white scepter.

  Odysseus stretched out his hand and first gave the "Combat Scholar" a "Purification Slash". The "Combat Scholar" kneeling on the ground had a golden wound on his chest as if he was slashed by a knife, and a deep golden wound appeared on the bone.

  The golden color then dimmed, and the wound was burned to a charred black.

  Taking this opportunity, Odysseus loaded another bullet into the revolver and fired immediately.

  Bang~

  This time the target was hit, and the chest of the "combat scholar" was covered with flames, but he was still under the influence of the angel and did not even dare to struggle.

  Odysseus put away the scepter, stared at the "burned" "combat scholar", and loaded bullets into the gun chamber one by one. After filling it, he reset the cylinder.

  The "combat scholar" was also burned to death at this time.

  ...

  Klein, the "fool" in "above the gray fog", has been observing the battle process of the "hermit". He can now be sure that this new member is "very good".

  The scepter should be the extraordinary weapon mentioned in the previous Tarot meeting. It is not as small as when it is activated, and it is very suitable for sneak attacks.

  But if it is a battle, the revolver is still more useful, but the power is a little less.

  The only advantage is that it can fire fireballs larger than a fist. As long as it hits the target, it can set the opponent's body on fire.

  This ability is very suitable for dealing with "werewolf" and "zombies". Ignite the opponent's skin and clothes, not only can cause certain damage, but also interfere with the opponent.

  This weapon can be considered for purchase to deal with the opponents of "Bodyguard Lady" Sharon and others.

  Thinking of this, Klein glanced at the street outside.

  Under the gaze of "True Vision", he saw that the surroundings were covered by a mysterious force. That should be the power of the mysterious and powerful lady.

  But the other party was under pressure from the "Fool" and did not dare to show up yet.

  Thinking of this, Klein pursed his lips and smiled: the powerful lady might not have dreamed that the seemingly powerful "Fool" could only use this one trick.

  Klein glanced at Odysseus again. He believed that his "show of power" just now would make the mysterious lady fearful enough, and Odysseus would no longer be in danger.

  So he retracted his sight and returned to "above the gray fog".

  Because if a great being continued to stare at a "low-sequence" "favored one", it would be a very strange thing, and would be suspected instead.

  ...

  Alia took a deep breath and finally got up. Looking at Odysseus, who was holding a pistol and carefully checking whether the "combat scholar" was dead, her eyes suddenly became a little complicated!

  This herbal medicine shop owner is actually connected to a mysterious and powerful being!

  How many secrets does he have?,Chapter 21 Backlund's Current Situation

  After confirming that the two attackers were dead, Odysseus sat on a wooden chair in the yard to rest.

  At this moment, he suddenly realized that the gunshots just now did not disturb the people around him, and even the dog next door did not bark.

  Alia had almost recovered. She entered the yard and said, "These two enemies wanted to kill you. I rushed here immediately after I got the news. Fortunately, you were strong enough to defeat them all."

  In fact, the original plan was that she would rescue Odysseus and make the herbalist owe him a favor.

  After all, she knew very well how weak the "secret peeper" was in combat, but what she did not expect was that the "secret peeper" in front of her did not need her rescue at all.

  Odysseus felt that the dead "combat scholar" in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen him. He looked at Alia: "They attacked me because of you, right?"

  Alia's eyes flickered: "Maybe."

  Odysseus stood up and didn't intend to pursue it. He went to the shop in front and asked: "I don't want this kind of experience to happen again."

  "No, it will never happen again!" Alia immediately said: "Today, this organization has suffered a heavy blow. I guess they dare not come to Backlund for some time."

  When they arrived at the shop, the two saw Bernadette with long chestnut hair and a cake skirt sitting on the chair by the window.

  Alia immediately bowed and said: "Your Majesty!"

  In fact, Bernadette has said many times that everyone can call her "Your Highness", but these subordinates thought she was being polite and kept calling her "Your Majesty". Later, Bernadette was too lazy to say it anymore.

  At this time in the herbal medicine shop, Alia was secretly surprised. It has been a long time since she saw the queen appear.

  Odysseus pointed at the "secret peeper" at the door and said, "Can you please not affect innocent citizens when you have any plans in the future?"

  Bernadette smiled and said, "If it weren't for me, you would have been caught by them long ago."

  Odysseus did not continue the topic, but went to the cabinet to get a bottle of potion and put it on the counter: "Who of you can help?"

  As he spoke, he lifted up his shirt. There was a large bruise on his back, which was kicked by the "combat scholar" just now.

  Alia hurried forward. She couldn't let the queen do such a thing.

  But as soon as she took two steps, the bottle of potion floated up by itself, the lid opened, some was poured out, spread in the air, and then applied to the bruise on Odysseus's back.

  That was Bernadette's "invisible servant".

  Odysseus grinned: "Your hands are so cold."

  Bernadette, who was sitting on the chair, smiled and said, "I thought you were an informant of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, but I didn't expect you to be a very strange person.

  "After further investigation, I found out that you are the boss behind the "Nanmu Ballroom", the so-called Mr. Gal.

  "I'm curious, if you really want to help those women, why do you let them be street prostitutes instead of letting them make a living in other ways?

  "If you don't want to help them, but are willing to create an environment for them where they are not tortured by blackmail and disease?"

  The "Invisible Servant" helped to apply the potion and then disappeared. Odysseus tidied his clothes: "Did anyone tell you that I'm a good person?"

  If he had traveled to ancient times in China, Odysseus would definitely not do such a business, but this is a mysterious world that he is relatively unfamiliar with. Facing the street prostitutes all over the streets, he does not have much psychological pressure.

  This made Bernadette slightly stunned: "That's not the case."

  She originally thought that Odysseus would defend herself, but she didn't expect the other party to be so righteous.

  Odysseus put away the potion: "You don't think street prostitutes are a dirty profession, do you? They think they are in their current situation because of laziness and degenerate thoughts.     "Hehe, this world doesn't give them much choice at all."

  Odysseus continued as he sat at the counter: "In the past, I also thought that engaging in the flesh trade was shameful, and I thought that with my own efforts, I would definitely be able to live the happy life I wanted.

  "It was not until I moved from the suburbs to the city of Backlund three years ago that I suddenly realized that there were only three channels left for all the upward mobility in this society: becoming a Beyonder; going on adventures in the southern continent; becoming the mistress of a big shot."

  Bernadette nodded slowly: "I have time today, I will tell you in detail."

  "Unless you join an evil organization, becoming a Beyonder is out of reach for ordinary people." Odysseus counted on three fingers and said: "Going on adventures in the southern continent is something only men can do, and more than half of them will die inexplicably.

  "Then for this world, it seems that women only have one way left, not to mention that knowledge changes their destiny.

  "In the East District, even if a family tries their best to send a child to a grammar school, most of them will be much different from middle-class children in terms of knowledge, and will still be at a disadvantage when looking for jobs in the future.

  "Often their wages are not as good as loading and unloading goods at the docks, but because they have learned knowledge, they are unwilling to do those physical work again."

  Odysseus took out his pipe, but did not fill it with tobacco: "Knowledge has long been monopolized.

  "The knowledge learned by ordinary people will only make them better at being ordinary people."

  Alia on the side was slightly stunned. She did not expect that this topic would suddenly become so profound.

  Bernadette gave a new evaluation of Odysseus in her heart: This is a sober person.

  Most people in this world do not know why they have to go through those hardships, because they are not sober enough and cannot observe the world calmly.

  However, her expression remained unchanged: "What are your plans?"

  Odysseus raised the pipe in his hand: "Do the two ladies mind?"

  Bernadette waved her hand slightly, and Alia also shook her head.

  Odysseus asked while filling tobacco: "What are your plans?"

  "You have seen the drawbacks of this society, what are your plans?" Bernadette asked.

  Under her father's words and deeds, it seems to be a natural way of thinking to take action when discovering the ills of society.

  "What plans can I have? "Odysseus lit his pipe with a match, took a puff and repeated, "I am just a Sequence 9, what plans can I have?

  " "What plans do a strong person like you have for the current social order?"

  The keynote of this world is extraordinary power, which is the fundamental reason for the solidification of classes. Those who possess extraordinary power will always be the rulers, and ordinary people will always be the ruled.

  Knowledge and hard work cannot break the shackles of this world, and a Sequence 9 cannot break them.

  Bernadette suddenly smiled: "You are right, and I can't change this world as I please."

  Then she stood up and said: "In the future, Alia will be your contact with us. When you have any ideas, you can contact me. Perhaps I can help you."

  This is the purpose of her visit tonight. Since there is a secret existence behind Odysseus to protect him, and there is no way to force him to join the "Elemental Dawn", then keep in close contact.

  At the same time, the conversation just now made Bernadette decide that she should investigate Odysseus in depth. He is a very interesting young man.Chapter 22 The mysterious "leader"

  watched Bernadette disappear in front of him, and then Alia pointed at the corpse at the door and said, "Do you need help?"

  Odysseus took a puff of cigarette

  and said, "No." Alia nodded and said, "I will come back tomorrow to learn how to make bullets."

  Odysseus said "hmm" in response to Alia's farewell.

  As Alia left, he heard the barking of the dog next door. Although there were no pedestrians outside, it seemed that the air flow suddenly began to flow, and it was no longer like before, as if he was in a closed space.

  I think the space nearby was blocked by Bernadette just now, so no one outside heard the gunshot, which avoided being questioned by the police.

  After Odysseus finished smoking his pipe, he closed the door, put on gloves, and placed the two corpses in the yard.

  At this time, the extraordinary characteristics of the corpses had also been analyzed. This was Odysseus's trophy. After he put it in an exquisite wooden box, he cut their clothes with scissors and then cut the flesh of the corpses with a dagger.

  Odysseus went to the storeroom, put on a gas mask and deerskin gloves, took out a large bottle of yellow potion at the bottom of the cabinet, went out and poured it on the corpse.

  The corpse immediately made a "sizzling" sound, and the flesh and bones were quickly dissolved by the potion.

  During the dissolution process, Odysseus went to get a sack and a large dry sponge, and then cleaned the shop outside.

  However, three of the four bullets that missed the target just now hit the wall, burning three black areas on the wall. The wall must be repainted tomorrow.

  Another bullet hit the window, breaking a large piece of glass, which needs to be replaced tomorrow.

  After cleaning up other traces, the two corpses also turned into a pool of blood. Odysseus used a sponge to absorb all the blood, then put it into a sack with oil paper inside, and threw it into the trash can outside.

  Finally, rinse it with clean water, and the two corpses were handled like this.

  After handling everything skillfully, Odysseus sat at the counter and started smoking his pipe again: I must get promoted quickly!

  ...

  Late at night, Tutva Street in the South Bridge District.

  Fors Wall, who was wearing a long skirt and had brown hair, sat on the sofa in the living room with some worry, occasionally looking at the direction of the door.

  It was already late at night, and Hugh had not returned yet.

  As a bounty hunter, Hugh occasionally had to go out to work at night, but when she left this morning, she did not say that she would be back so late today.

  It was almost midnight, and when Fors was about to go out to look for Hugh, she heard footsteps outside. She was relieved immediately. She could hear that Hugh was back.

  A few seconds later, Hugh Dilcha, who had delicate features and some baby fat, walked in and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, Fors, there was an emergency, and I didn't have time to send you a letter."

  Fors stood up and said, "I'm glad you're not in danger."

  Then she asked, "Have you had dinner?"

  The "gurgling" sound of Hugh's stomach helped her answer this question.

  Fors left bread and lamb stewed potatoes for Hugh, but the stewed potatoes must have been cold and needed to be reheated.

  Xio put the soup pot on the fireplace to heat it up. "You may not imagine what happened to me today!

  " "I went to meet the man wearing the golden mask this morning, and he told me that the police were investigating me!"

  Fors, who was making tea at the dining table, was slightly stunned. "Have you accepted any commissions that you shouldn't have accepted recently?"     If a bounty hunter is targeted by the police, it is basically equivalent to bidding farewell to his career.

  "I thought so at first." Xio looked at the flames in the fireplace and said, "I asked my acquaintances but couldn't get any information.

  "So I changed my mind and started to re-sort out the commissions I received recently and contact those clients again."

  The lamb stewed with potatoes in the pot was "bubbling". Xio hooked the pot out with a hook, placed it on the fireplace, and served it on a plate.

  At the dining table, Fors poured a cup of tea for Xio and herself.

  The two sat opposite each other. Xio took a big bite of potato with a spoon and held the bread in the other hand. While eating, she said, "This process consumed a lot of my time. Just when I was about to continue the investigation tomorrow, I suddenly found a clue."

  She took a bite of the bread: "Do you still remember the task of finding the homeless in the East District?"

  "Of course I remember." Fors said, "After all, few people have the spare money to find the homeless in the East District."

  Then she asked, "Is there a problem with this commission? "

  To be precise, there is something wrong with Byron, the person who issued this commission." Xio's cheeks bulged as he chewed, "I chatted with him for a few sentences and realized that there was something wrong with him.

  "You should know that with the help of extraordinary powers, my feelings in this regard are always very accurate.

  "Byron didn't seem to expect that I would know that I was being investigated... That's right, if I hadn't met the man in the golden mask some time ago, I wouldn't have known that the police were investigating me.

  "After the stages of escaping, chasing, and interrogating, I found out that Byron wanted to introduce me to a mystical gathering, and the police's investigation of me was just a routine investigation of that organization."

  Fors was a little surprised: "Mystical gathering? An mystical gathering that can mobilize the police for routine investigations?"

  Xio nodded: "Yes, that gathering has an official extraordinary background.

  "According to Byron, the initiator of this gathering has a close relationship with the 'Mechanical Heart' and is very well-informed.

  "The party is mainly for trading intelligence, and a lot of it is very advanced."

  Fors took a sip of tea and smiled, "Xiu, isn't this what you need?"

  For a bounty hunter, being able to master some advanced intelligence is very helpful to her business.

  But Xiu said, "I'm still considering whether to join. The organizer of the party is too mysterious, and the party is held in a fixed place, which makes people feel insecure."

  Fors: "Ah?"

  Xiu explained, "Byron said that the organizer of the party is codenamed 'Leader'. All the participants know that he came out of the basement and returned to the basement after the party.

  "No one knows how he entered the room, and no one knows how he left.

  "Because the participants are all intelligence personnel, they naturally think of investigating the convener of the party. Some of them waited for a day and a night after the party, but did not see the 'Leader' come out.

  "There are also people who are good at making mechanisms who bribed the two waiters hired by the 'Leader' and quietly entered the basement. They searched the basement for a long time but did not find any secret passages. "

  Fors was slightly stunned. This sounded like a plot from a ghost story.  Chapter 23 The Results of Three Years of Operation

  After hearing Xio's description, Fors thought for a moment and said, "It may be that he has a powerful seal."

  "This is another strange place." Xio said, "It is said that someone also wore the corresponding seal to observe the 'leader', but did not find any powerful magical items on him, but only saw a few extraordinary weapons on him."

  She paused and said, "The 'leader' seems to never be afraid of investigation, nor is he afraid of the information of the party being leaked.

  "Just like Byron was caught by me and told some information about the party, but the punishment was only to contribute five valuable intelligences for free.

  "If the information is leaked but not reported at the party, it will be severely punished.

  Of course, Fors knew the difference between magical items and extraordinary weapons: "That's strange, could it be that he and I have the same way...

  " "No, 'opening the door' also has a distance limit. If it exceeds a certain thickness, it can't be opened."

  At this time, she had not established a stable connection with the Abraham family, and the ways to obtain mystical knowledge were limited. With the level of mystical gatherings she had currently come into contact with, she didn't even know the ability of "travel".

  Finally, Fors couldn't help but sigh: "This is really a mysterious gentleman."

  Xio nodded: "So I feel very uneasy. If I pass the so-called routine investigation, I don't know whether I should join the 'research society'?"

  Fors thought for a while and said: "I suggest you join it if you have the chance."

  She said: "Think about it! Even betraying the information of the party will not be severely punished, and the initiator of the investigation has not been punished. This party has a high tolerance for participants!

  "At least you are not in danger. As long as there is no danger and you can trade very high-level information, isn't this enough for you?"

  Xio dipped bread in the soup: "That's right."

  ...

  After confirming the promotion, Odysseus did not prepare to prepare the potion immediately. As usual, he asked Kena to watch the workers replace the window glass, while he taught Alia how to make bullets for the "Flame Arrow" in the backyard.

  Today's class was relatively simple and ended at ten o'clock in the morning.

  At this time, all the classes were over, and Alia only needed to come and pick up ten "Flame Arrows" when the time came.

  She left her contact address and told Odysseus that he could write to her when he needed anything.

  After sending Alia away, Odysseus and Kena mixed the paint and painted the walls that were damaged by the fire yesterday. After finishing all this, he took a carriage to the Backlund Mechanical Research Institute to invite his old friend Max Livermore to have lunch.

  Odysseus spent 1 soli and asked for a private dining room.

  The reason why it is called a "private dining room" is that in Odysseus's opinion, such a room cannot be called a "private room" or "private seat" because it is too narrow, with only a dining table and two dining chairs, and it costs so much money.

  After ordering the dishes and the waiter left the room, Max smiled and asked, "Why are you so generous today?"

  Odysseus was stunned: "Am I usually stingy?"

  "Not stingy." Max teased, "The last time you invited me to dinner so formally was a year ago. "

  If he really is the owner of a herbal medicine store, it's nothing. After all, with Backlund's prices, this meal plus a bottle of decent red wine would cost at least 2 pounds.

  But Max knew very well that the person in front of him was not a simple herbal medicine store owner.

  Odysseus has two identities. On the surface, he is the owner of a herbal medicine store. His gray industries include the "Nanmu Dance Hall" and the "Nanmu Restaurant", as well as two bars and a casino run by Enoch as an agent.

  The second identity is the informant of the "Mechanical Heart". This is his amulet and can be easily investigated. But few people can investigate that he is also the initiator of the "Mystic Research Society".

  Max is not sure whether the "Mystic Research Society" makes money, but there is no dance hall in Backlund that makes more money than the "Nanmu Dance Hall".

  What Max doesn't know is that Odysseus actually has a third identity. He is a scholar who pursues knowledge in the "Knowledge Wilderness". He is only a Sequence 9, but he has research results that other Beyonders can hardly achieve.     Using the magic circle to create a unique way to make extraordinary weapons is only the most basic application of those research results.

  In addition, he is now a member of the Tarot Club.

  These two identities are almost impossible for anyone to find out.

  And these are the results of Odysseus's three years of operation in this world.

  Being teased by Max, Odysseus smiled a little embarrassedly: "You also know that my experiments are very expensive."

  "It's not just the experiments that cost money." Max said: "The factories you opened last year later went bankrupt one after another, which is also very expensive, right?"

  At this time, the waiter began to serve the dishes. Max said to him: "Have a cigar."

  Odysseus reminded: "One costs 2 soles!"

  "Then have two."

  "One is fine, I don't smoke." Odysseus was a little helpless.

  After the waiter cut the cigar and lit it for Max, Odysseus said: "At that time, I always wanted to make some attempts."

  At that time, he wanted to open a factory to try to solve the employment problems of some people. According to the novels he had read before, as a time traveler, no matter what factory he opened, he should be able to make a lot of money.

  As a result, after the factory was opened, Odysseus found that he had no talent in business.

  The reason for the factory's closure was not because of poor management, but because Odysseus was unwilling to lower the protection requirements for employees.

  For example, the enamel factory he opened required multiple layers of protection facilities in the polishing process, while other factories ignored these and directly treated workers as consumables.

  So in terms of price, the products of Odysseus's factory are not competitive at all.

  Another is the impact of the overall environment. With the announcement of the "Corn Act", a large number of middle-class and farmers went bankrupt, while the industrial capacity of the entire Rune has been increasing, which has led to market saturation.

  This is also the reason why the current international situation is tense, because they all want to dump their goods to each other's countries or colonies.

  After three factories closed down one after another, Odysseus stopped thinking in this direction and focused on developing the business of "Nanmu Dance Hall".

  The waiter opened the red wine and poured a glass for each of the two people. They talked while eating.

  Odysseus said, "I plan to be promoted to 'Combat Scholar'."

  What has been hindering his promotion is the monitoring of the "Mechanical Heart". Odysseus is very clear that encountering extraordinary events will not attract the attention of the "Mechanical Heart" for a long time, but that event is related to the high-sequence extraordinary characteristics or sealed objects (actually "Knowledge Wilderness") of the "Secret Peeper" or "General Knowledge" pathways, which is different.

  Three years ago, he could vaguely feel that he had been secretly inspected more than once. At that time, if he revealed that he knew what it meant to "digest" magic potions, he would probably be arrested and interrogated directly.

  Now three years have passed, Odysseus has not shown any abnormalities, and he is very useful to the "Mechanical Heart", so he dared to apply for promotion.

  Max's hands holding the knife and fork were slightly stunned: "Think it over carefully. I heard that at Sequence 9, although you can occasionally hear the whispers of the evil god, you can basically ignore it.

  "But at Sequence 8, the whispers of the evil god will be relatively obvious, and it is easy to be bewitched."

  He had already inquired about this for Odysseus.  Chapter 24: Preparing Sequence 8 Potion

  "Of course I know." Odysseus said, "But you also know that my current industry is getting bigger and bigger. If I don't get promoted, my status will be seriously inconsistent with my strength, and I will be in danger at that time."

  This is the reason he had thought of a long time ago.

  Max nodded: "That's right."

  He took a deep breath: "Well, as long as you are ready, I will apply for the potion formula and extraordinary materials of the 'Combat Scholar' for you later."

  The contributions Odysseus has made over the years are enough to get these from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery: "Okay, thank you."

  Then he asked again: "Can I get the potion formula of Sequence 7 with my remaining contribution accumulation?"

  Max simply put down his knife and fork and said seriously: "Promotion is not a joke. If you are not careful, you will lose control! Especially the promotion to Sequence 7, which is already considered a 'middle sequence', and there is a lot of risk!

  "I suggest that you become a 'combat scholar' for three to five years before considering the issue of promotion."

  Odysseus thought to himself: That's because he doesn't know the "acting method".

  He said: "I'm just asking."

  "It should be possible. "Max picked up his knife and fork again to answer the question just now: "But for the specific situation, I have to ask Captain Ikanser.

  "You should know that this level of potion formula is rarely circulated on the market."

  Odysseus concentrated on cutting his steak: "I know."

  This topic ended here, and then they began to talk about the international situation and the interesting stories of Backlund. Of course, it is inevitable to make fun of the bad weather in this large city.

  That afternoon, Odysseus got the potion formula and two main ingredients of "Fighting Scholar". It was not

  until he returned to the rest room and laboratory of Gar's herbal medicine store that Odysseus opened the potion formula and took a look:

  "Sequence 8: Fighting Scholar

  " Main ingredients: Complete pituitary gland of the spotted monkey, complete flower of the blood hyacinth.

  "Auxiliary materials: three pure black poppy flowers, 12 grams of dragon tooth grass powder, 15 ml of pure dew soaked in boxwood for a year, and 25 ml of pure water."

  Odysseus put the two extraordinary materials on the table. These auxiliary materials were available in the herbal medicine store, and he went to the front counter to get them one by one.

  After gathering all the supplementary materials, Odysseus was ready to be promoted tonight.

  Just as he was about to put away the extraordinary materials, a tall and mysterious figure suddenly appeared in Odysseus' mind. It was Mr. Fool!

  Then the figure disappeared, and another picture appeared in his mind. A middle-aged man whose face could not be seen clearly was in a prayer posture. He said in a low voice: "Great Mr. Fool, please convey my question to Mr. Hermit.

  "I want to ask Hermit, in addition to the scepter mentioned the day before yesterday, does he have any other extraordinary weapons? "

  Odysseus recognized that the person praying was "The World".

  After the other party asked the question, the picture in Odysseus' mind disappeared. He thought about it for a while and realized that it was probably Klein who had taken a fancy to the "Flame Arrow".

  So he also prayed and whispered: "The Fool who does not belong to this era...

  " "Dear Mr. Fool, please tell Mr. 'World' that I have another extraordinary weapon, but I don't plan to sell it. If Mr. 'World' needs it recently, I can rent it to him.

  "The rental fee is 20 pounds a day. It is a revolver called 'Flame Arrow'. It is infused with spirituality and uses special bullets. It can fire a flame slightly larger than a fist.

  "The bullets need to be paid by yourself, 1 pound per round."

  ...

  No. 15 Minsk Street.

  Klein, who had already traded the "Sun Brooch" with the old man "Eye of Wisdom", sighed in his heart after hearing the offer from the "Hermit": What a bargain!

  The enchanted bullets he bought at the "Eye of Wisdom" party before cost 10 pounds each.

  But considering that the bullets of the "Flame Arrow" only have an additional ability similar to "small fireball" and do not have any extraordinary effects, the damage caused to "werewolf" and "zombies" is very limited.     It is far less powerful than the enchanted bullets...

  but it is cheap enough!

  Klein thought that he could rent it to Maric, which would definitely catch the opponent off guard.

  Hmm... rent!

  Klein realized belatedly: The Hermit is very business-minded. The Tarot Club is not like other extraordinary gatherings. With the witness and credibility of Mr. Fool, members can rent extraordinary weapons or even magical items to each other.

  Even if Mr. Fool is just an empty shell at present, Klein does not intend to do something that is free and easy. After

  thinking about it, Klein not only plans to rent the "Flame Arrow", but also the scepter. After all, the scepter has an ability to restrain evil creatures!

  However, he will not pay for this fee, but Maric will pay for it.

  ...

  No. 51 Henry Street.

  After receiving Klein's order, Odysseus immediately started to make a batch of special bullets.

  Around 5pm, the two men completed the deal. Under the guidance of the "world", Odysseus placed two candles on the table and drew a mystical symbol of a pupilless eye and twisted lines representing the "fool" in the middle.

  Then he built the "spiritual wall" and offered the "flaming arrows" and the scepter, as well as 30 special bullets to Mr. Fool as a sacrifice.

  The right to use these two weapons will expire at 5pm tomorrow, so Odysseus guessed that Klein and his men would take action tonight.

  After completing the deal, Odysseus worked in the herbal medicine store until after 9pm as usual.

  After the clerk Kena left, Odysseus closed the store door and the gas lamp, and went to the lounge and laboratory in the backyard. He first adjusted his state by "meditation", and then began to prepare the potion.

  He cleaned a beaker and wiped it clean. After confirming that all the materials were in place, he first put three beautiful pure black flowers into the beaker.

  This is a pure black poppy flower. Pure black poppy is different from ordinary poppy. It is a spiritual material. Both the fruit and the flower have a strong anesthetic effect.

  Then Odysseus weighed 12 grams of dragon tooth grass powder on the scale. This is a popular and versatile spiritual material. The herbal medicine store has ground powder in stock.

  Then he used a measuring cylinder to measure 15 milliliters of golden liquid, which was the pure dew of boxwood soaked for a year, and finally added pure water.

  These spiritual materials did not react in the beaker. The flowers were still flowers, and the liquid was still liquid.

  Odysseus took out the "protagonists" of the magic potion, two extraordinary materials.

  First, the "striped monkey pituitary gland" that seemed to be twinkling with stars and looked somewhat beautiful was added.

  When the extraordinary material was added to the beaker, it immediately reacted with the spiritual material, making a "sizzling" sound.

  Then Odysseus opened the box containing the "bloody hyacinth flower". The blood-red flower lay inside, as if it had been soaked in bright red blood.

  The flower still looked very fresh, as if it had just been picked, and it occasionally moved as if it was twitching after death.

  When the small hyacinth was placed in the beaker, the liquid inside seemed to be boiled, bubbles appeared, and soon turned into a viscous liquid of white and red.

  Odysseus took a deep breath, picked up the beaker, and drank it all.  Chapter 25: Promotion to Combat Scholar

  The potion entered his mouth like a piece of cold jelly entering his stomach. After a second or two, Odysseus suddenly felt as if he was hit by a speeding train.

  His whole body seemed to fall apart, and every inch of his skin felt as painful as if it was pierced by needles.

  Then his head buzzed, and there was a severe tinnitus. His eyes were dark and he could not see anything.

  Odysseus tried to concentrate, and finally he did not faint because of the severe pain and tinnitus.

  He felt that there were giant hands kneading his muscles, tearing them off from his bones, gathering them in one place, and then relaxing them again.

  This repeated over and over again, Odysseus felt that his whole body was numb with pain.

  He tried hard to fight the pain and tried not to lose his mind. After an unknown amount of time, Odysseus's eyes were no longer black, and he finally regained some vision.

  He vaguely saw that the muscles on his entire arm were really twisted together by an invisible force, presenting a terrifying spiral shape. Soon, the muscles spread out again.

  Then, they were twisted together again.

  That was not an illusion. The potion was actually tearing his body apart, reshaping his muscles, tendons, and blood vessels!

  At this time, the pain in his head was like a piercing, and gradually "the latecomer took over".

  Odysseus felt that his vision was distorted by the pain in his head. The ground, the test bench, the ceiling, the beaker, the measuring cylinder, none of them were not spinning rapidly!

  The dizziness and pain destroyed Odysseus's spirit, making him feel as if he was in a storm and could fall down at any time.

  Fortunately, he digested the potion of "Secret Peeper" very well, and he usually used "meditation" to exercise his spirit. After passing a certain stage, the severe dizziness and pain quickly subsided.

  The "buzzing" tinnitus also disappeared, and suddenly, a strange and cold voice drilled into his ears: "...universe...pile up...jumping...knowledge...Karnal...endless..."

  Most of this passage was vague, and only a few words could be understood occasionally.

  Those unclear parts, like the roar of a beast, frightened Odysseus; or like the sharp noise of nails scratching a thin iron plate, making him extremely irritated; or like the ultrasonic wave that could cause harm, making him dizzy.

  Fortunately, this sound came and went quickly.

  But it was enough to make Odysseus's forehead bulge with veins, and he fell into the chair with a pale face and retched for a long time.

  A minute or two later, Odysseus was panting violently and leaning on the back of the chair to rest.

  It was like the feeling of a hangover, with weakness all over the body and a splitting headache.

  He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. The whole promotion process was actually only about three minutes. The pain before was less than two minutes, but he felt like a whole century!

  The discomfort afterwards was entirely due to the voice of the "Hidden Sage" after the promotion!

  Just after the promotion, the spirituality was already very unstable, and the two voices of the "Hidden Sage" made this instability worse, and there were almost signs of losing control.

  It's really a rip-off!

  Odysseus sighed: What is more deceptive than the existence of a true god in this path is that the only god in this path is an evil god!

  Then he found that he had just been promoted and half of the magic potion of "Fighting Scholar" had been digested.

  This made his mind relatively relaxed and less tense, so the discomfort all over his body quickly disappeared.

  After thinking about it for a while, Odysseus understood: I digested the "scholar" part of "Fighting Scholar" in advance!

  His research in the "Wild Knowledge" every Sunday and the experiments he conducted in the real world are like a scholar studying mysticism!

  In the past three years, Odysseus has done various types of research in the "Wild Knowledge" in his sleep for a total of about twenty years.

  Add the three years of research in the real world, that's twenty-three years! It's almost the same as his age.     The key is to have fruitful results, and it is certain that a part of the potion can be digested in advance.

  Then, Odysseus realized that digesting the potion of the "combat scholar" requires separating "combat" and "scholar". The focus cannot always be placed on "combat", because the name of the potion is "combat scholar", not "fighter".

  Obviously, "combat" is a guarantee or way for "scholars" to do research.

  Of course, studying "combat" can also be one of the studies for "scholars" to understand the world.

  Thinking of this, Odysseus suddenly smiled, with a feeling of "not being afraid of gangsters knowing martial arts, but being afraid of gangsters having culture".

  Then, while restraining his spirituality, he felt the changes in his ability and himself.

  First, Odysseus felt that his own strength was very "precise", and this feeling was very wonderful. For example, before Odysseus wanted to put a medicine jar high up, he must have used a ladder to put it up.

  But now, he feels that he can throw it directly up! And it must be exactly the same as the position he thought in his heart.

  The reason for this performance is that Odysseus already has superb fighting skills, which are like innate and imprinted in Odysseus' mind since birth.

  The magic potion of "Fighting Scholar" also reshaped Odysseus' body, allowing him to use all these skills.

  However, it also requires a certain amount of practice to allow the skills to be completely integrated with oneself and accumulate practical experience to become a qualified fighter!

  Odysseus had already planned that he would join the fighting club and practice fighting with the members of the club.

  Another change is that a lot of mystical knowledge appeared in Odysseus' mind, and this mystical knowledge allowed him to perform some more advanced ritual magic.

  In fact, when he became a "secret peeper", his extremely high spirituality allowed him to perform some magic and witchcraft with the help of rituals or formations.

  But at that time, all the knowledge was learned by himself and explored by himself.

  But now it is different. After Odysseus's promotion, he has some mystical knowledge, which allows him to perform magic such as "healing" through rituals, and can draw formations such as "defense formations" by pouring spirituality.

  Another huge change was that Odysseus clearly felt that his mind was more agile. He realized that the problem that used to take him three hours to think about could now be completed in one hour.

  Moreover, his ability to learn and understand knowledge was three times as much as before.

  If he completely digested the potion, it would even reach five times that of Sequence 9!

  Odysseus breathed a sigh of relief: After the promotion, it will also help my research.

  At this time, he really didn't want to move, so he spent the night in the lounge and the laboratory.

  ...

  In the abandoned West Balam dock area of ​​Backlund.

  Klein was lying in ambush in front of the overgrown warehouse and saw three figures approaching at a very fast speed.

  The one running in the front was Maric, who was responsible for attracting the enemy here. At this time, his speed was faster than a steam train.

  Behind them were their enemies, "Zombie" Jason and "Werewolf" Tyr.

  Arriving at the center of the abandoned dock, Maric turned around abruptly, raised the "Flame Arrow" and fired six shots at the enemy behind him. Chapter 26: Things Have Been Unsettled Lately

  In an abandoned West Balam dock, the battle between Maric, a member of the "Temperance Faction" of the "Rose School", and Jason, the "Zombie" and Tyr, the "Werewolf" of the "Indulgence Faction", began. Maric, who

  was just running away, suddenly turned around, took out a black revolver, and fired six shots at Jason and Tyr.

  At first, when the two members of the "Indulgence Faction" saw the revolver, they didn't take it too seriously. Both the "Zombies" and the "Werewolves" had excellent defense, and bullets from ordinary pistols couldn't even penetrate their skin.

  But when the bullets were fired, they were all a little confused and subconsciously dodged, because what was fired from the revolver turned out to be six small fireballs!

  Maric was mainly attacking Tyr, the "Werewolf". Because they were close, three bullets hit the "Werewolf", and his entire upper body was surrounded by flames, and his clothes and body hair were instantly ignited.

  The nails on Maric's left hand, which was not holding a gun, grew longer in vain. He rushed forward and stabbed into Tyr's chest.

  Jason rushed forward to rescue him, but the pistol in Maric's hand had been replaced by a pure white scepter. The three people present were weakened to a certain extent.

  Maric raised his hand and hit Jason with a "Purification Slash", cutting a deep golden wound on his chest.

  The golden color disappeared and turned into a burnt black. Jason's face became even paler and he took two steps back. The "Purification Slash" had a certain restraining effect on him.

  But he also knew that he had to rescue Tyr at all costs at this time, so he continued to move forward despite the severe pain.

  At this time, a figure wearing a black court dress, light golden hair, and a delicate face appeared in his eyes.

  That was the "ghost" Sharon!

  Jason was "possessed"! He pinched his own neck fiercely.

  Taking this opportunity, Maric dug out Tyr's heart, which was the only weakness of the "werewolf".

  The flames on Tyr's body had gradually dwindled. He covered his chest with a look of horror, feeling his own strength rapidly fading.

  At this time, the red ornament on Tyr's body attracted the attention of Sharon, Maric, and Klein!

  Tyr's clothes had been burned almost to ashes, but the exquisite ornament was not damaged at all. It was in the shape of a full moon, surrounded by one black and red gem after another, with the symbol of the moon and many mysterious signs in the middle.

  That was the "Crimson Moon Corona"!

  Klein and the other three had never thought that the enemy would let Tyr, who had the lowest sequence, hold this seal.

  But after a change of mind, they realized that this was indeed surprising enough.

  According to the previous plan, Sharon would definitely "possess" Jason, who was a Sequence 6, and Maric would block Tyr's support while besieging Jason.

  At this time, if Tyr took out the "Crimson Moon Corona", both Sharon and Maric would be weakened. The enemy's Sequence 5 "Ghost" would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to attack. In that case, the situation would be very passive for Sharon.

  Fortunately, Klein saw the power of the "Flame Arrow" and the Scepter last night, and rented them from the "Hermit".

  Klein's idea was simple at the time. "Zombie" Jason was not afraid of fire, but he would subconsciously dodge the bullets of the "Flame Arrow".

  Because Maric did not have the ability to use fire, and he had never used this extraordinary weapon before, Jason would definitely observe the weapon in Maric's hand first.

  This created an opportunity to kill Tyr!

  So they temporarily changed the plan, and Maric used these two magical items to try to kill Tyr first.

  The actual combat went more smoothly than planned. The "Flame Arrow" would not cause any substantial damage to a Sequence 6, but for a Sequence 7 Tyr, it would block his sight for two or three seconds and affect his judgment.

  Another thing they did not expect was that the "Crimson Moon Corona" was actually here with Tyr!

  Maric rushed forward to seize the "Crimson Moon Corona", and at this time Klein suddenly shot at the ground not far from Maric.

  The "enchanted bullet" forced out the "ghost" Steve who was about to possess Maric in the open space.

  Maric rushed forward and tried to hold Steve back.     Klein used the "flame jump" method to jump to the "werewolf" Tyr, who had not yet completely extinguished, and obtained the "crimson moon crown".

  There was no suspense in the subsequent battle. Klein weakened the two enemies, Steve and Jason. Sharon first sent Jason into the "Gate of the Underworld".

  Then the three people besieged Steve. Although this "wraith" still had a magical item, it was useless and he was soon killed.

  In this battle, Klein got a rich spoils of war.

  While cleaning the battlefield, Maric handed the scepter and the "Flame Arrow" and the 120 pounds of cash that he had prepared long ago to Klein: "I have to say, this is a very cost-effective deal."

  He asked Klein: "Can I buy the 'Flame Arrow'?"

  He didn't like the scepter very much because he would be weakened when using it.

  Klein said: "I'll ask for you."

  ...

  In the early morning, Odysseus stretched hard, his spirit and physical strength were well restored, and he was ready to go out to find a cafe for breakfast.

  But as soon as he arrived at the shop in front, someone knocked on the door.

  Odysseus looked at his pocket watch. It was only a little after seven o'clock, and someone came to buy herbs?

  He opened the door and saw that it was Max.

  The captain of the "Mechanical Heart" team, whose face had sharp lines and corners, observed Odysseus for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "You look energetic."

  "Not bad." Odysseus smiled bitterly, "The promotion process is indeed more dangerous than I thought."

  He knew that his good friend came to see how he was doing.

  Max handed Odysseus a cowhide bag, "I just bought red bean toast."

  "That's right, I was thinking about how to solve the problem of breakfast." Odysseus poked the fire on the stove, boiled some water, and went to grind coffee while chatting with his good friend.

  "Backlund has been in turmoil lately." Max took out a cigarette and lit it himself, saying, "Another extraordinary battle took place at the dock yesterday."

  He held the cigarette in one hand and closed the door with the other: "Captain Ikanser paid a considerable 'price' to learn that it should be a battle within the 'Rose School'.

  "Among them, there appeared a woman wearing a black court dress and light blonde hair; a man who could manipulate corpses and seemed to have a layer of black hair on his body; and a man with oil paint on his face and wearing a double-breasted long dress."

  Odysseus made coffee without any pause: "Are there any portraits?"

  "You may not know that Sequence 7 of this path has a strong anti-divination ability." Max smiled helplessly: "Especially the man with oil paint, even if we use the seal, we can't see specific information such as hair color and height. "

  Of course I can't see clearly!

  Odysseus thought: Since Captain Ikanser paid the price, then the seal you used must be the "Arrodes Magic Mirror". This guy is the lackey of the "Fool". Even if there is no interference from "Above the Gray Mist", he can't let you get useful information!  Chapter 27 Fight Club

  "I'll help you keep an eye out for clues in this regard." Odysseus handed Max a cup of hot coffee: "I remember you said that you have acquaintances in the Backlund Fight Club?"

  Max immediately understood that Odysseus planned to go to the club to practice fighting and martial arts: "Leave it to me."

  The members of the "Mechanical Heart" team also need to learn and practice martial arts, so they found the Fight Club for cooperation.

  Odysseus nodded, then took his cup of coffee, sat at the counter, and enjoyed his breakfast.

  After seeing off his good friend Max, Odysseus planned to take a break at noon today, but when his friend Kena came, the image of the Fool and the image of "The World" appeared in his mind again.

  "...Great Mr. Fool," "The World" said devoutly: "Please ask the 'Hermit' to prepare a ceremony to receive the weapons and rent rented yesterday.

  "I also want to ask if he is willing to sell the 'Flame Arrow'? "

  Odysseus had no choice but to quickly go to the laboratory, take out two candles and place them on both sides of the table, draw the corresponding symbols, and build the "spiritual wall".

  After lighting the candles and dripping homemade essential oils, Odysseus began to chant the honorific name of "The Fool" in a low voice and perform the bestowal ceremony.

  Soon, the candle representing Mr. Fool suddenly expanded, forming two illusory mysterious doors above the flame.

  The door opened a crack slightly, and a bright light suddenly appeared on the altar. The light gradually faded, revealing two extraordinary weapons and 100 pounds in cash.

  The rental of the scepter is 50 pounds, and the rental of the "Flame Arrow" is 20 pounds. Yesterday, "World" also ordered 30 bullets, and the bullets do not support returns.

  The total is exactly 100 pounds.

  Odysseus sighed in his heart that the rental business is also quite good!

  Then Odysseus was a little surprised: I remember that Klein has the ability of "Air Bullet", why does he still need "Flame Arrow"?

  But then he thought that even if Klein had the ability of "Air Bullet", he still bought "Enchanted Bullet".

  The power of the Flame Arrow is far inferior to that of the Enchanted Bullet, and it has no extraordinary effect. It is okay against "low-sequence" extraordinary people, but if it is used against a Sequence 7, it can only have the effect of surprise, don't expect it to cause much damage.

  But this weapon is very suitable for sneak attacks or use in encounters, which is very consistent with Klein's tactics.

  He pondered for a while, and told the "Fool" in a prayerful way: "The Fool who does not belong to this era... Please tell Mr. 'World' that it can be traded. A 'Flame Arrow' costs 500 pounds.

  "It needs maintenance once a year, and it can be used for five or six years. Each maintenance costs 100 pounds. If it is not maintained, it can only be used for about 1 year.

  "Well, but it will take more than ten days to deliver.

  "In addition, you can choose to order bullets from me, and each bullet is still 1 pound.

  "I can also provide a method to make bullets, which requires an additional payment of 100 pounds. "

  The bullets used by the "Flame Arrow" are not "enchanted bullets" and do not require carving or other operations. They can be processed with ready-made bullets.

  The only technical steps are to re-mix the formula of gunpowder and the formula of herbs for soaking the bullets.

  But these two formulas are relatively simple. If the price is too high, Odysseus estimates that Klein will choose to try his own divination formula, so it is better to sell it at a lower price.

  In addition, in Odysseus's view, the weapons made from his research results are not unsellable, but Odysseus is not too confident in selling them to ordinary extraordinary people.

  He is relieved to sell it to Klein. After all, the other party is unlikely to die inexplicably in a corner of the city like those wild extraordinary people, and the weapons on him will be seized by others and completely out of Odysseus's sight.

  Soon Odysseus received another reply from the "world": "I'll think about it."

  Odysseus smiled and thought that Klein felt that it still needed maintenance and it was a bit troublesome, so he considered it.

  It's not that he hadn't thought about solving the maintenance problem, but he studied it for a while and didn't find a reasonable solution.     Theoretically, it is not necessary to disassemble and maintain it. The "Middle Sequence" Extraordinary can continuously replenish the spirituality of the "Flame Arrow" to restore the effect of the array.

  But the problem is that it is impossible to control the amount of spirituality to be replenished. Those arrays are like precision instruments. A little more spirituality or a little less spirituality will not work.

  In fact, spiritual materials can maintain their effectiveness for one or two years in a box that prevents spirituality from spilling out. However, if there is no arrangement to prevent spilling out, and if it is in use, the spirituality will spill out quickly.

  Therefore, after making extraordinary weapons and completing maintenance, Odysseus must use rituals to pray to the God of Steam and Machinery to suppress the spilling of spirituality.

  As an informant of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, Odysseus's prayers can usually get a response from the gods. Even if there is no response, another ritual can basically get a response.

  After making extraordinary weapons, "craftsmen" also have this step of praying to the gods to ensure the "expiration date" of extraordinary weapons.

  After Odysseus's research did not yield any results, and he felt that most of the time, the one-year use period was acceptable, he finally stopped research in this area.

  Selling extraordinary weapons is not Odysse's main source of income, so after "The World" said it would consider it, Odysse did not continue to pay attention to this matter.

  After lunch, Odysse took a public carriage to the "Backlund Fight Club" in the Hilton District.

  Odysse had a letter of recommendation from Max and successfully met Federer, the head coach of the "Fight Club".

  This head coach, who looked to be 1.9 meters tall, but a little thin and not very strong, personally introduced to Odysse two ways to join the club:

  "The first way is to pay a 20-pound annual fee directly and become a member of the club.

  "You can use the club's facilities freely, find a suitable sparring partner, and communicate with other members.

  "The second way is to pay a tuition fee of 10 pounds and temporarily join the club as a student.

  "After completing a series of teaching, you will no longer be eligible to enter the club."

  Odysse thought: Obviously, the first way to join the club is for people like me who have a fighting foundation and want to communicate and practice.

  He said: "I choose the first way to join the club. "

  Federai nodded without surprise: "Mr. Max roughly described your situation in the letter. You have received strict combat training, but lack practical experience, right?"

  "Yes."

  "Please go and pay the membership fee first, and I will find a good sparring partner for you."

  Under the guidance of the waiter, Odysseus paid the membership fee, received the club badge, and entered the indoor venue.

  The sparring partner that Fedrei had found was already waiting at the door. He asked Odysseus to go to the practice area and asked: "What intensity of practice do you need?"

  "I don't know too much." Odysseus scratched his head: "This is my first time in a fighting club."

  The sparring partner was slightly stunned: "I understand, I will be careful."

  After arriving at the practice venue, the sparring partner said: "Let's start."

  His eyes blurred and he flew out.Chapter 28 Practice Fighting

  The sparring partner that Federer found for Odysse is experienced and has superb fighting skills. He usually sparred with senior members of the club.

  When communicating with Odysse just now, he was also a little surprised. He didn't expect Federer to let him practice with a novice.

  But when the sparring partner shouted "start", Odysseus took a step forward while extending his right hand, and hit the sparring partner's chest with his open palm, "knocking" him out.

  The sparring partner stood up, holding his chest. If it was a punch just now, he would definitely have been injured.

  Odysseus hurried to help: "Are you okay?"

  It was the first time he used fighting skills to fight others, and he didn't know how to take it seriously. He didn't expect that he could easily push the person out.

  "It's okay, it's okay." The sparring partner was a little embarrassed: "I wasn't ready just now, I wasn't ready, let's do it again!"

  It must have been careless just now.

  The two people fought against each other again, and each took a ready posture.

  The sparring partner saw that Odysseus's ready posture was a little strange, with his body slightly bent and his fists forward one after the other.

  This posture was a bit strange. The sparring partner asked, "What kind of preparatory posture is this?"

  Odysse was slightly stunned before saying, "Emperor Roselle's style!"

  This was actually the starting posture of Bajiquan in his impression. After becoming a "combat scholar", Odysse, who had only watched movies and related videos about Bajiquan, found that he was actually very proficient in this boxing style.

  But this is a "mysterious world" after all, and no one knows anything about Bajiquan, so he directly used Roselle as a shield.

  The sparring partner was slightly stunned: "Emperor Roselle can also fight?"

  But fortunately, he did not delve into it, but took a deep breath and prepared himself: "Begin!"

  This time, the sparring partner took the first step and swept his legs to attack Odysse's legs, which seemed unstable.

  Odysse squatted slightly, and his whole body bent like a cooked shrimp. He first blocked the sparring partner's attack with his two arms, and then he suddenly exerted force and pushed the sparring partner out with his shoulder.

  Odysse showed mercy and pushed with his entire shoulder instead of the hard shoulder peak.

  If the shoulder tip is used, it is easy to injure the sparring partner's internal organs.

  The sparring partner was surprised in mid-air. This blow pushed him out of the elastic training ground and he was probably going to fall on his butt.

  But just when he was about to land, he was suddenly pushed by a force and stood steadily.

  The sparring partner looked back and said, "Mr. Fred."

  At some point, the tall and thin Fred was already standing behind him: "You go and have a rest, I'll practice with him."

  The sparring partner was slightly stunned and stepped aside.

  Odysseus looked at Fred opposite him and smiled: "Sorry, I can't seem to control my strength."

  "I know," Fred took a ready stance: "I can see that you don't mean to hurt anyone.

  "Come on, get ready, start! "

  Fred swung his right fist violently, and Odysseus ducked again to avoid Fred's attack. At this time, Fred raised his right arm because of the punch, and his entire right armpit was completely exposed to Odysseus.

  Before the opponent's left fist hit, Odysseus attacked violently.

  But what Odysseus didn't expect was that Fred kicked out with his right leg at this time and could kick Odysseus in the chest first.     Odysseus immediately crossed his hands and blocked in front of him.

  Boom!

  The kick hit Odysseus' arms. Following the huge force of Fred's kick, Odysseus' feet left the ground, as if he was kicked out, but soon landed lightly on the ground.

  All this happened very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the fight between the two was over.

  At this time, Odysseus had time to think: the loophole created by Fred's punch just now was a trap!

  Fred said: "I understand what kind of practice you need. Today I will teach you the first point: eyes should be faster than fists!"

  Then he attacked again, and just like before, although Odysseus defended Fred's attack, he had no chance to fight back.

  Soon, their practice was gradually noticed by the surrounding club members, and they came forward to watch.

  Although Odysseus was always at a disadvantage, the fight between the two was still very exciting, and the fighting skills were brought to the extreme!

  After practicing for about an hour, Fred suddenly stopped: "That's it for today."

  "Thank you." Odysseus thanked sincerely.

  He did not leave the fight club immediately, but began to review the fights just now. He would practice immediately when he understood something and feel the experience.

  After being promoted, Odysseus had an extraordinary memory. He could basically remember every fight just now, so he reviewed the one-hour practice for more than three hours.

  During the review process, Odysseus suspected that Fred was also a Beyonder who was good at fighting.

  Just in the practice with the sparring partner just now, Odysseus could already feel that even though he had never been exposed to fighting before, with the help of the potion, his fighting skills were far beyond ordinary people.

  Only Beyonders could be his opponents.

  It was already evening when he left the club. The thick fog had shrouded the streets and alleys, and only the swaying horse lanterns could be seen in the distance.

  Arriving at the public carriage station on the street, Odysseus waited for the carriage with some people who were off work.

  He glanced at the club again, and a middle-aged man in his forties, a little sloppy, came into view.

  Odysseus noticed from just now that this middle-aged man had been observing him.

  After sensing Odysseus's gaze, the middle-aged man smiled generously, and then his gaze turned to the direction of the club.

  Odysseus did not sense any danger, so he did not take it too seriously.

  At this time, a newsboy passed by, selling evening newspapers at the station: "New news from the Loen Evening News: Mrs. Mary, a wealthy woman in the anthracite factory, is threatened by unknown sources... The warships of the Loen Kingdom and the Feysac Empire had a brief standoff in the southern part of Sonia Island...

  "And the Daily Observer's report on the current situation in the East District..."

  Odysseus recalled the reporter named Mike. He remembered that Klein had protected this reporter to interview in the East District: "Give me a copy of the Daily Observer." "

  He took out a coin from his pocket and handed it to the newsboy in exchange for a newspaper.

  On the front page of the Daily Observer, there was indeed a detailed report about the East District.

  After a while, the carriage came, and Odysseus sat on the carriage and continued to read. At this time, he saw a report about Ms. Mandy "recruiting new people" in the East District.

  Although it was not stated that it was Ms. Mandy, Odysseus knew that the report was talking about her.

  I believe that many people who have been to the "Nanmu Ballroom" can know that this is talking about Ms. Mandy.

  Odysseus couldn't help frowning. After all, it was a gray industry that could not be seen in the light. It was necessary to talk to the reporter. Chapter 29 The reporter who came to ask for help

  (Additional chapters for your monthly tickets!)

  Sitting in the public carriage, Odysseus thought again. He estimated that Ms. Mandy had already made corresponding responses.

  However, to be safe, he still had to go to the "Nanmu Dance Hall" tomorrow.

  ...

  No. 15 Minsk Street.

  Dingling dingling~

  Klein, who was about to enjoy dinner, heard the doorbell. He smiled helplessly: Now when I hear the doorbell, it's like hearing the ringing of a mobile phone before, which makes people avoid it.

  He walked quickly to the door. In his mind, the somewhat anxious reporter of the Daily Observer, Mike Joseph, appeared.

  Klein was slightly stunned. It was so late, why did this reporter come to see him?

  As soon as the door opened, Mike smiled and said, "Sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you."

  "Yes, I have disturbed you." Klein said helplessly, "It's so late, what do you want to see me for?"

  "I received a threatening letter." Mike said calmly, "I think I wrote something I shouldn't have written."

  This veteran reporter has encountered such a situation before, so he is relatively calm.

  Klein was slightly startled: "Come in and talk."

  After the two entered the door, Mike smelled the food in the living room: "Mr. Moriarty, if you don't want to be a detective one day, you can consider becoming a chef."

  "In response to your compliments, I should invite you to dinner." Klein smiled while making tea: "But I'm sorry, I only made one dinner."

  He handed the teacup to reporter Mike: "Let's talk about business."

  Mike took out an opened letter from his pocket: "I received this in the afternoon."

  Klein opened it and quickly browsed through it. The general content of this letter was that it pointed out that there was something "wrong" in today's "Daily Observer" and invited Mike to the "Nanmu Ballroom" to have a chat tomorrow.

  It was different from the threatening letter he remembered. The wording was very polite. If he didn't know that it was sent by Ms. Mandy, it really seemed like an invitation to Mike to dance and spend money by the way.

  Klein asked, "What are you going to do?"

  "I have to go," Mike said with experience, "It will be more troublesome if I don't go.

  " "But if I go by myself, it may be dangerous, so I have applied to the editor-in-chief for a commission of 10 pounds, hoping to hire you to protect me.

  " "Well, it's the same as last time. Even if there is no conflict, you can still get these commissions.

  "If there is a conflict, I will increase the commission based on your contribution."

  The last time I went to the East District, I only got 10 pounds in commission for the whole day.

  Finally, Mike judged, "I am quite clear about this kind of conversation. As long as I promise not to write about Ms. Mandy in the future, I don't think there will be a conflict."

  Klein was playing with a coin while listening. When Mike finished speaking, he suddenly bounced the coin up and caught it.

  After taking a look at the color of the coin, Klein smiled and said, "I'll take this commission."

  Mike breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, then we'll leave at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."

  Klein nodded: "I won't keep you for dinner. "

  After seeing Mike off, Klein walked quickly to the restaurant and prayed to the goddess in his heart that the dinner would not get cold.

  At eight o'clock the next morning, Klein, who had eaten breakfast early, took a carriage with Mike to the "Nanmu Dance Hall" on Ernst Avenue in the North District. After

  getting off the carriage, Klein was slightly stunned. He had previously thought that the "Nanmu Dance Hall" was similar to other dance halls, with a somewhat dark and vulgar decoration style, and street girls would be displayed outside like commodities.

  But what he didn't expect was that the "Nanmu Dance Hall" gave people a completely different feeling.

  First of all, this is a four-story building, and the front entrance is two to three times larger than that of an ordinary dance hall. On the left side of the door is a huge hand-painted sign.     It was unknown what dye was used on the sign, but even outdoors, it was still brightly colored.

  In addition to the name "Nanmu Dance Hall", it also depicted a young woman in a black dress, posing as if inviting someone to dance.

  The woman's image was not glamorous, but she had a lot of temperament, and her eyes and movements were generous and natural, which was obviously different from ordinary streetwalkers.

  But the black stockings that were just right exposed made people imagine.

  Klein suddenly had a very strange feeling, and it was not until he entered the door that he understood where that strange feeling came from: even in Backlund, this was a very rare and very clever way of publicity.

  ...

  No. 51 Henry Street.

  Odysseus came to the herbal medicine store early and replenished the herbs on the shelves.

  After Kena came, Odysseus gave a few instructions and then came to the basement in the backyard.

  There was a basement in this small yard, but it was blocked by Odysseus, and only he could enter it.

  The door to the basement was in Odysseus's room, and when the door was opened, there was a staircase leading down.

  Odysseus reached out his hand and injected spirituality at the right place, disarming all the extraordinary traps set up in this downward corridor.

  Going down the stairs, there is a room the size of a living room.

  This room is very empty, with only a hanger and a set of tables and chairs.

  On the hanger is a black windbreaker and a black hat, on the table are black pants and a silver mask, and on the floor next to the table is a pair of black leather shoes.

  On the two walls of this basement, there are two "teleportation arrays" that Odysseus spent a total of nearly 9,000 pounds to build.

  Like the array at 77 Hilton Avenue, it also uses the "eight-pointed star" array, with the valuable "Ahona crystal" in the middle, and various gems at some key nodes.

  Because the amount is too large, he has only reimbursed half of the cost from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery in bits and pieces, and there is still a long way to go before all the expenses are reimbursed.

  One of the "teleportation arrays" leads to a room in the "Nanmu Ballroom", and the other room leads to Odysseus's laboratory in the suburbs.

  The laboratory in the suburbs is his main laboratory.

  Odysseus changed his clothes, put on a mask, and injected his spirituality into the teleportation array leading to the "Nanmu Ballroom". An illusory passage appeared in front of him. He stepped in. Two or three seconds later, he appeared in a room on the third floor of the "Nanmu Ballroom".

  He opened the door on the third floor, which was facing the front desk on the third floor.

  The female receptionist at the front desk was slightly stunned, and immediately smiled: "Mr. Gal, you are here."

  While speaking, she shook the bell leading to Ms. Mandy's office.

  Odysseus, with most of his face hidden behind the mask, nodded slightly. After waiting for a while, the elegant Ms. Mandy walked over quickly: "Mr. Gal."

  Odysseus said: "I read yesterday's report."

  Ms. Mandy was somewhat panicked: "My work is not thoughtful enough. I have made an appointment with the reporter Mike. He and his hired bodyguards have arrived."

  Odysseus nodded: "You talk about yours, I will sit aside and listen."

  　Thank you for your monthly tickets. At present, the monthly tickets have exceeded 150, and one more chapter will be added for this.

  　　Although this is not a remarkable achievement, it is still a new book after all. In the author's opinion, this amount of monthly votes is quite good.

  　　By the way, I would like to announce the current standard for additional chapters. For every 150 monthly votes, 1,000 recommendation votes, and 10,000 reward points accumulated, there will be additional chapters.

  　　This standard seems a bit slow now, but it will be easy to achieve after the book is put on the shelves. At that time, we may have to increase the standard again (*^▽^*)

  　　Finally, thank you all for your support and voting.