"Achoo—!"
At 15 Minsk Street, Klein, who was preparing for an upcoming commission in the living room, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.
"Why do I feel—like someone is talking about me behind my back—" he muttered under his breath.
Klein was carefully wiping the brand-new camera in his hand. This was a crucial tool he needed for his current commission.
Just in the past two days, his landlady, Mrs. Starlin, had introduced him to another "cheating spouse" job. He needed to use this camera to capture decisive evidence of her friend's husband's infidelity.
"Sigh—" Klein couldn't help but sigh. Why were all his jobs like this?
Fortunately, the remuneration this time was quite generous. It was just that—taking on such private jobs always felt a bit—
As Klein pondered how to complete this photography mission without alarming the target, Irin's figure slowly descended from the second floor.
"What is our great detective thinking about?" She leaned against the stair railing, asking with a smile.
"Just pondering some detective work," Klein immediately put on a serious expression.
"Oh~ It seems someone is taking private jobs outside the guild again~" Irin said with a smile.
This—
Klein's action of wiping the camera froze slightly.
Seeing this, Irin continued to "twist the knife": "I heard that someone seemed to have messed up a commission at the guild a few days ago.
Now, if they secretly run out to take private jobs, and the higher-ups find out—"
After a few seconds of contemplation, Klein spoke in a business-like tone: "The identity of a detective is also part of the cover. So even if the higher-ups know, I will be fine."
"Besides," he paused, then added, "You are still living with me. I have to find a way to earn some rent."
Looking at Klein's serious demeanor, Irin could only sigh helplessly: "How boring. According to the normal script, shouldn't you be pitifully begging me, saying, 'As long as you don't report me, I'll do anything'?"
Upon hearing this, Klein's face instantly darkened. If it weren't for the Clown ability forcibly controlling his facial expressions, he almost couldn't maintain his composure.
"Oh, about the rent you mentioned," Irin said as if remembering something, "Actually—it can be reimbursed."
"Reimbursed?" Klein was surprised to hear this familiar word.
"That's right," Irin continued, "All reasonable expenses incurred while performing a mission can be applied for reimbursement from the organization.
You just need to say that the two of us living together is also a form of disguise. Then, the expenses incurred from this, including rent,
gas bills, food expenses, travel expenses, and even the money you spend on bullets, can all be reimbursed."
"Ah? That—that's possible?" Klein's face showed an expression of disbelief.
"Then why didn't you tell me before?"
"Hmm—" Irin pouted and said, "You didn't ask—"
==.
After paying the investigation deposit, Luo En left Aisinger Detective's home.
He first went to a nearby cafe for a simple lunch. Then, seeing that it was almost time, he headed back towards the Bravehearts Bar.
He saw Kaspars again. The limping old man, upon seeing him, hobbled forward to greet him.
"When does the gathering start?" Luo En asked.
"There's still some time," Kaspars said, "But Maric is waiting for you upstairs now."
Maric is looking for me? He actually didn't have Kaspars directly refuse my commission; instead, he actively came to find me.
Honestly, Luo En wanted to politely decline. But—after thinking about it, perhaps there might be some unexpected gains, or he could get some information about the Rose School of Thought.
So, he agreed to the request.
At least, my divination results didn't show any major problems.
He arrived at the card room on the second floor again. However, this time he didn't see the group of eerie Zombie card players.
They shouldn't be ambushing me. Otherwise, my spiritual intuition wouldn't have no reaction at all—Luo En thought cautiously.
He proactively asked, "Have you thought it over? Are you going to accept my commission?"
"No," Maric shook his head, "It's not me."
Under Luo En's slightly surprised gaze, he continued, "I have a friend who is short on money recently, so she is willing to accept your commission.
Investigating is not possible. But—protecting your safety is. "
"She is stronger than me, so you don't have to worry about safety. However—she is only willing to protect you for three days. And the cost is 1000 pounds." Well, coincidentally, I have already entrusted Aisinger Detective to conduct the investigation. What I fear most now is that the other party might discover something during the investigation, leading to an accident.
Maric's strength should be similar to mine, both at Sequence 6. So someone stronger than him should be at Sequence 5. —Luo En didn't think a Sequence 4 demigod would take on such a troublesome commission for a mere thousand pounds.
Sequence 5—is it a Wraith?
Luo En subconsciously scanned the room. But he didn't activate Spirit Vision, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
He pondered—Maric and his group shouldn't be the ones trying to harm me. They're probably part of the so-called "Temperance Faction" within the Rose School of Thought—If there's a Sequence 5 Beyonder secretly providing help, my safety would indeed be greatly assured.
If it weren't for those Sun Pathway charms before, Blood Admiral could have easily killed all of us. But—three days is too short. Aisinger Detective wouldn't be able to find any useful results at all.
After a moment of contemplation, Luo En spoke, "Three days is too short. I can increase the reward, but the protection period must be extended to at least a week."
Maric's brows furrowed slightly, and he subconsciously looked behind Luo En.
Is that Wraith behind me—Luo En guessed in his heart, following the other party's gaze.
Then he continued to raise the stakes: "I can pay a maximum of 2500 pounds. I can pay a 300-pound deposit first. After that, I'll pay half of the remaining balance every three days. But the specific start time of the protection period must be decided by me. Uh—don't worry, it will definitely be within the next one or two weeks."
Maric's gaze lingered behind Luo En for a while, then he nodded slightly.
"Okay."
After paying the 300-pound deposit, Luo En and Maric agreed that he would come back to him in a few days to officially activate the protection mission.
He planned to wait until Aisinger Detective's investigation had made some initial progress before seeking out this mysterious bodyguard. This would also avoid wasting that precious protection time.
Actually—Luo En had also suspected that this incident might be caused by the passive ability of that damned Calamity Priest. But—normally, he should be able to sense a Calamity brought on by a passive ability in advance. This kind of sudden situation, where someone got into his home, didn't seem like it.
He could only assume that he had already been targeted by someone.
Sigh—this world is really terrible. Dangers are everywhere, there's no sense of attachment at all. Can't there be some warm daily life—he sighed silently.
Then, he ordered a South Wales beer, found an inconspicuous corner seat, and patiently waited for time to pass, sipping it slowly.
It wasn't until it was completely dark that Kaspars hobbled over to his table and said, "You don't seem so stingy after all. Why did you just order one beer and sit here for half a day?"
Luo En shrugged.
As the old saying goes, save when you can, spend when you must.
Besides, the situation was special lately, and he couldn't let alcohol dull his vigilance. Moreover, he genuinely didn't like expensive, strong drinks.
"Is the gathering about to start?" Luo En asked.
Kaspars nodded.
Luo En took out two one-pound banknotes from his pocket and handed them to him.
Kaspars skillfully took them and said, "Follow me."
He led Luo En, limping, towards the bar's kitchen. From there, they entered the alley behind, circling to a dark house.
He took out a crude black iron mask from his pocket, which only covered the upper half of the face, and handed it to Luo En, chuckling, "Consider it bought."
Uh, actually—I have my own. Luo En remembered the pure white mask he had bought earlier in Bayam.
But he still reached out, took the iron mask, and put it on his face.
Just like Jiu Ping before, Kaspars also knocked a few secret signals at the door in a very rhythmic manner.
A moment later, Luo En was led into the living room by someone else also wearing a mask.
In the room, about a dozen people were already seated on the sofas and chairs around the coffee table. Without exception, they were all wearing hooded robes and identical iron-colored masks.
"I need someone to help me clear out a nest of beasts in the sewers," Luo En had barely sat down when a plump-sounding man spoke.
"I will offer four precious potions as a reward. Two of them can effectively stop bleeding and promote rapid wound healing."
He suddenly let out a low laugh and continued to describe: "As for the other two—with a month and a half of effectiveness, they can help any gentleman regain the impulsiveness of seventeen or eighteen, becoming a 'Beyonder in bed,' hehe, you know, the potions have a shelf life of a month and a half—"
This—
It sounds very similar to the potion Roy King sold me back then. Could it be that the two of them know each other?
No, probably not. Roy King should still be in Bayam now. This is probably just a 'consensus' in their industry. After all, that kind of potion sells well everywhere.
The gathering continued for a while, with some successful transactions and some failures.
The overall level of this gathering feels very ordinary. It can't compare to those gatherings in Bayam at all—
After all, at the gatherings in Bayam, one could encounter big figures of the level of Admiral of the Stars—Luo En thought to himself.
"I want to sell two weapons," a woman said at this moment.
Weapons?
Luo En's interest was instantly piqued.
The Monster Pathway's direct combat ability is indeed rather mediocre. But one thing is certain—that is, its spirituality is basically the most abundant among all Beyonders of the same Sequence.
He had made some rough comparisons before. As a Sequence 6, his total spirituality was already similar to that of Iceberg Admiral, Edwina, a Sequence 5.
So, as long as the negative effects of the Mystical Item were not too outrageous, theoretically, his vast spirituality could fully support using a large number of Mystical Items simultaneously.
"The first is a runic steel sword. Manufactured by the Eternal Blazing Sun Church. It inherently possesses powerful purification and exorcism effects, making it a natural bane for undead creatures like water ghosts, Wraiths, and Zombies. It can still be used for three more years. Of course, its sharpness is also enough to easily kill any living person." The woman introduced.
"500 pounds, or the Barbarian Beyonder potion formula for sequence 8, and you can have it."
It can restrain Wraiths and Zombies—this is very suitable for me!
After all, the Rose School of Thought is basically full of things like Zombies and Werewolves.
However—it's the Barbarian formula again? I remember, when I first came to this gathering, it seemed to be this lady, and she was also selling weapons at that time—could it be that there's a not-low Sequence 'Artificer' behind her?
As soon as he thought of this, Luo En couldn't help but recall that he still had several Beyonder characteristics that hadn't been sold yet.
He had asked the captain to help sell some, but many were still in his portable space. If they could be made into weapons...
Luo En raised his hand: "500 pounds, I'll buy it. With the Eye of Wisdom as a witness."
"Okay." The woman nodded, agreeing to the transaction.
With the bodyguard and investigation already commissioned, Luo En now only had one thing left to do.
After a moment of contemplation, he spoke, "I want the Assassin Pathway sequence 8 potion formula. Who has it?"
Assassin? The Eye of Wisdom glanced over upon hearing this.
Luo En looked around, but no one reacted.
Just as he was about to give up, a hoarse, deliberately feminine voice came from the corner—
"I have the formula you want."