It was already the 10th, and the first ten days of August would end today.
Under Matthew's service, Lex enjoyed his breakfast and listened to the butler's report.
"I have visited the residences of those gentlemen on the list, presented gifts, and scheduled meeting dates with their butlers."
"On the 15th of this month, Banker McGovern will welcome me at his home. He recently suffered the loss of his son, Welch, who unfortunately passed away not long ago. The gentleman is still immersed in grief. Hmm, this is what I heard from his butler."
Lex paused. Welch was Klein's classmate. I remember he had already died at the beginning of the original novel.
I recall it was due to a notebook from the Antigonus Family. Klein also died, but his body was taken over by Zhou Mingrui, who had Transmigrated.
So, Mr. McGovern was Welch's father. When I read the book before, I wasn't careful enough and seemed to have missed this point.
Lex nodded, signaling Matthew to continue.
The gray-haired butler cleared his throat and continued: "For Sir Deville, the time arranged with his butler is the 20th. I had a brief chat with the butler; Sir Deville's spirits were not very good before, but he has recovered now, so there shouldn't be anything special to note when we meet."
Matthew successively reported his work results from the past few days. Most visits had been scheduled, except for two who were traveling far away. The butler had excellently completed his work.
"Oh, and sir."
Matthew said, "Councilor Maynard is available to see you this afternoon. Also, when I called on him, I happened to see Councilor Maynard leaving. At that time, I saw him holding flowers, with a beaming face, seemingly going to visit a lady."
"But I heard that this councilor is already married."
Lex chuckled, "That's not strange."
It really wasn't strange.
According to the information Bison gave him, Lex knew that Maynard was a member of the New Party and had served as a councilor in Tingen City for over ten years. He was actively preparing to run for mayor.
His wife was even the daughter of a New Party leader, a Member of Parliament.
It could be said that Maynard's Family had deep roots. It was not surprising for such a gentleman to have affairs.
"What gift did we prepare for the councilor when we planned to visit?" Lex looked up and asked.
Matthew immediately replied, "Cigars and wine, both gifts from abroad, personally selected by your father."
Lex stood up and patted Matthew's shoulder: "Go buy another collection of poems, the kind filled with love poems."
The butler showed an 'I see' expression, then bowed his head and said, "I'll go do it right away."
After breakfast, Lex went to Chris's private hospital. He knocked on the door of the single room with a smile and met Kyle.
Today, Kyle seemed like a different person.
Not only was his hair cut very short, but his beard was also trimmed. Although he was only wearing an ordinary linen shirt and dark trousers, he looked much younger and more energetic than before.
He had emerged from the gloom.
"Good morning, Mr. Kyle."
Lex placed a bouquet of flowers on the cabinet in front of the hospital bed and greeted the lively lady on the bed with a smile: "Good morning, Ms. Lanci."
After Kyle's wife responded with a smile, the former Hunter called Lex out. The two walked down the hospital corridor, and Lex said with a happy expression.
"Mr. Kyle, I am already a Provoker. Just last night, I successfully advanced."
Kyle glanced at him and scoffed, "Are you still a child? Is it necessary to be so happy just for advancing to Sequence 8?"
Lex was stunned. He didn't know why, but Kyle's words and the expression on his face at that moment made Lex feel an urge to punch him.
Kyle continued, "In the mysterious world, Sequence 8 is still at the bottom. Do you know how many Beyonder at this level there are?"
"Maybe even a Sequence 8 beyonder creature could defeat you. Do you think you're invincible?"
Lex's good mood from the morning had vanished after Kyle poured several buckets of cold water on him: "I didn't think that."
"Didn't think that? Heh heh." Kyle showed an amused expression and looked Lex up and down, "How old are you? Why are you still like a child, only trying to hide and refute when your thoughts are exposed?"
"Is that all Amelia taught you? Did your Baron father not teach you social skills?"
"If you remain this naive and childish, I truly doubt how far you can go in the mysterious world."
"In my opinion, you might not even touch the threshold of Sequence 7 before you're dead in some ditch."
Lex was speechless, feeling angry and confused.
Angry because Kyle's words were too rude, and confused because the former Hunter was acting very differently today than usual.
Observing the expression on Lex's face, Kyle's lips slightly pursed, and the expression that made one want to hit him disappeared.
"How do you feel right now?"
Kyle returned to his original tone and manner: "Answer me, what were your thoughts just now? Your innermost thoughts."
Lex was stunned, vaguely guessing that Kyle was probably guiding him, so he truthfully said, "Just now, I wanted to hit someone."
Kyle let out a soft 'heh,' but without a hint of mockery. He nodded: "That's a Provoker."
"Besides the Beyonder ability to emit an aura that makes others detest you, we can also use words and actions to make the target you want to Provoke lose their reason, make their minds burn with anger, and then do impulsive things."
"This requires mastering a lot of information and having a sufficient understanding of your target."
It could be done like this?
Originally, besides the 'Provocation' aspect of their Beyonder ability, a Provoker could also use words and actions to make their target lose their reason!
"It's important to note that while a guy who loses their reason becomes impulsive and easier to predict, they also become dangerous."
"If you haven't made any preparations, such as setting up one or more traps, waiting for the other party to jump into them themselves, then you'll be in danger."
"Believe me, if they get a chance to catch you, they'll beat you to death."
The muscles on both sides of Lex's cheeks twitched slightly. It sounded like this Sequence was very prone to getting beaten up.
He rubbed his cheek subtly. However, a Provoker and the previous Hunter could cooperate. The Hunter sets traps, and the Provoker makes the target angry and irrational. This way, the opponent would be more likely to fall into the pre-set traps.
"In terms of the Hunter, this is the last thing I can teach you. From now on, you'll have to explore the path yourself."
Kyle showed an encouraging smile: "Remember, don't make an unprepared Provocation, unless you want to get beaten."