After reaching the agreement, the mysterious figure took out a fountain pen and a parchment that still had fresh ink on it. Placing them on the metal table, he slid them over to Ryan.
"Follow my instructions; I will tell you what you need to write on that parchment," the mysterious man commanded in a deep voice that carried a sense of authority and dominance.
Ryan looked at the parchment and thought to himself silently, Is this a binding contract?
A binding contract was a powerful spell. By signing or writing something on it, the signatory was forced to accept its contents. No matter what, the signatory would have to obey the terms at any cost. If he or she violated any of the conditions, they would suffer the corresponding punishment written on the contract.
Ryan had no choice but to accept the parchment, from which a heavy smell of ink wafted. The content of the contract read:
"The signatory must not reveal any information regarding the Judgemental, whether by writing in paragraph form, transmitting thoughts via inner voice, using dreams as cover, or employing any mystical means to reveal the information."
"The punishment for violating any single condition is sudden death."
This was the content of the binding contract. On the surface, it looked like a normal contract with just a few lines of text, but the terms themselves were immensely powerful, leaving no room for mischief or exploitation.
The term "mystical means" in the text referred to everything related to the supernatural. If you revealed the information using magician powers, it would count as violating the contract, triggering the punishment of sudden death.
Ryan's heart skipped a beat at the binding contract's terms. He couldn't help but admire the person who created it.
There is simply no room for loop-holes in this binding contract. What a powerful contract, Ryan added inwardly in his mind.
He picked up the fountain pen near the parchment and began to write. Seeing Ryan accept the binding contract, the mysterious man's voice rang out authoritatively.
"Write your real name, and after that, add 'I agree with the content of the contract' below your name. Lastly, drop your own blood onto your name," the mysterious man's deep voice commanded, heavy with authority.
The weight on Ryan's heart increased with every stroke of the pen.
After writing his name on the parchment, Ryan brought his finger to his lips and bit down. Feeling a sharp sting of pain, he held his bleeding finger above his name and exerted a bit of pressure. A droplet of scarlet blood fell onto the parchment, soaking his name in a dark color.
With everything done, Ryan put down the fountain pen and slid the binding contract back to the mysterious man's side.
Throughout the process, neither of them spoke. The entire room was silent, filled only with the sound of the fountain pen and the sliding of the contract back and forth.
The mysterious man observed the entire process with gravity, reviewing the binding contract repeatedly to ensure there were no mistakes.
He seemed to chant something under his breath, and the binding contract became transparent and ethereal before fading away amid a faint light from the ceiling lamp, as if it were consumed by its surroundings.
Ryan's body trembled slightly as goosebumps appeared all over his skin, making his hair stand on end. He sensed a terrifying gaze casting toward him from all directions, exposing his secrets.
This feeling didn't last long; it endured for only a few breaths before returning to normal. Cold sweat formed all over Ryan's face, soaking his back as if he had just taken a cold shower.
What was that terrifying gaze just now? It felt like I was standing completely naked among a crowd, Ryan sighed with relief that he hadn't attempted to escape his predicament. Otherwise, who knew what would have happened the moment he tried to flee this room?
The mysterious man nodded with satisfaction.
He stood up and extended his right hand, a rare smile playing on his face.
"Welcome to the Judgemental. I am the leader of the team; my name is Yean Fronzeir. You can address me as Captain Yean."
Ryan was stunned on the spot, momentarily caught off guard by the mysterious man's behavior. Just a moment ago, the man sitting in front of him was dominant, treating Ryan as if he were prey ready to be executed.
His every word was like a hammer slamming into Ryan's heart.
But now, not only had his tone changed to warm and cheerful, but his actions were also like those of an entirely different person.
Ryan stood up as well and extended his left hand toward Captain Yean's right hand.
"I shouldn't need to introduce myself, right?" Ryan asked with a mocking tone.
Despite everything that had happened, Ryan maintained his usual demeanor, carefree and jester-like.
"Can't you just put on a proper show for a bit?" Captain Yean tightened his grasp, veins starting to bulge on his hand.
Ryan's hand trembled in pain, unable to break free from the handshake. "My name is Ryan Gustuas. Nice to meet you, Captain Yean."
Ryan forced himself to smile, revealing his white teeth.
After exchanging greetings and becoming a member of the Judgemental, Captain Yean's behavior toward Ryan changed entirely.
Ryan was finally freed from his handcuffs. He moved his arms around to relieve the numbness. After stepping out of the interrogation room, Captain Yean led Ryan to meet the other members.
As it turned out, the interrogation room was located inside the main officer headquarters. Stepping out into the long corridor revealed dozens of similar rooms lining both sides. Some were completely dark, marked with wooden status signs indicating no active interrogation was taking place, while others were brightly lit with officers and suspects visible through the small door windows.
The corridor was far from quiet. The echo of arguing voices, muffled screams, and the loud bang of wooden chairs scraping against the floor carried down the hallway as a few unruly suspects attempted to resist their interrogators or break free.
After passing through a set of heavy double-swinging doors, they entered the main report hall. The hall was illuminated by a grand crystal chandelier hanging overhead from the ceiling, casting a bright glow over the crowd below moving back and forth across the room. Officers in dark blue uniforms moved between desks stacked high with paperwork, while civilians in ordinary attire waited in long lines.
This was the report hall, where locals and visitors brought their daily complaints and crimes to the authorities. The local residents were mostly there to report neighborhood disputes, property damage, or missing livestock, while foreign travelers stood near the front desks trying to explain to busy officers that their wallets or travel documents had been stolen in the town markets.
The hall was very chaotic, with some madmen even shouting at the officers for not helping them. Seeing this, Ryan couldn't help but ask inwardly:
Why did the officer refuse to help that man? Ryan pointed in the direction of the man shouting at the officer.
Captain Yean followed Ryan's pointing finger and calmly observed the scene unfolding.
"Bullshit! How long do I have to wait? My son has been missing for over a week, yet you keep telling me to remain calm!" The man grabbed the officer's collar and shouted with a furious expression.
The officer didn't grow angry at the man's action; instead, he tried to pull himself free from the man's grasp and said, "We really are doing our best to search for your son, but the information you provided us is too vague. We couldn't start the operation with clear direction; it's like searching for a needle in the ocean. Can you provide us with more details about your son?"
"My son... he has white skin, and he wore a silver ring! Yeah, a silver ring!" The man alternated between laughing and shouting, looking as though he had gone insane.
Captain Yean sighed slightly and said, "It's not that we don't want to help him, but the information he gave us is vague. He only mentioned that his son has white skin and wears a silver ring, without even providing where his son was last seen or his daily routine. When we ask him for more detailed information, he always says the same thing you just saw."
His brain probably suffered from the shock of his son going missing, devolving into madness... Ryan sighed helplessly, feeling sympathy in his heart toward the madman.
Captain Yean averted his gaze from the madman, turned to Ryan behind him, and said, "This is your workspace. From now on, you work here. You must come here daily every morning at 8:00 AM, and you can go back home at 12:00 PM, though you can choose to stay until noon as well. Handling everyday cases and reports can earn you contributions."
Hearing that this place was going to become his future workspace, Ryan was momentarily speechless. He quickly asked Captain Yean in confusion, "Wait, wait! Didn't you say that my job was going to be handling supernatural cases and taking on missions?"
Captain Yean pretended to ponder, saying thoughtfully, "Yeah, isn't it the same thing? By taking on reported cases, who knows if you'll run into a supernatural case?"
After saying so, Captain Yean seemed to think of an urgent matter and quickly gave Ryan one last explanation. "Don't worry, this is just the preliminary job you need to do before fully entering the Judgemental. Even I did this job in the past. Besides, isn't it an easy job? You can get 3 bins just by sitting in the office handling non-supernatural cases, and it's rare to encounter a supernatural case anyway."
"Keep handling the report cases. If you do your job flawlessly and successfully, you will get ratings from your employers. The higher the rating you have, the more contributions you earn. There is an overseer managing this place who should be wandering around here; go find him and ask him for detailed info. I have an urgent matter to attend to."
With that said, Captain Yean waved his hand toward Ryan with a creepy smile on his face.
Watching Captain Yean disappear at the officer headquarters entrance, Ryan couldn't help cursing inwardly.
Ryan looked around the chaotic hall, trying to find the overseer Captain Yean mentioned. However, the entire hall was packed with people.
Captain Yean didn't tell me the characteristics of that overseer. How can I find him? Ryan thought to himself with a darkened face.
In truth, it felt as though he had just set foot in Biusis town for the very first time, with no one to guide him.
"Forget it, I should go and ask an officer," Ryan silently muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a thought struck him like thunder, he couldn't help but gave himself a self-deprecating laugh.
"I am a swindler myself, yet right now, I got swindled by someone else instead."