Chapter 235: Writing Letters and Rosell's Memorial Exhibition
Deep in the Spirit World, where colors were mottled and directions indistinguishable, "Mr. Azik?"
Klein looked at the familiar, bronze-skinned figure beside him, his voice filled with disbelief, his body trembling slightly.
"It's me." Azik's voice was as gentle as ever. "I received the letter you wrote to me earlier."
"You received it!" Klein felt a weight lift from his heart.
Too many chaotic things had happened recently, and with Irin the Demoness by his side, he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to write to Mr. Azik.
It wasn't until this mission, disguised as a Red Gloves, became too absurd that he felt things were spiraling out of his control. He quickly found a spare moment to write a letter, informing Azik of his recent experiences and confusions.
He hadn't expected Mr. Azik to actually appear at the most crucial moment and save him.
"I saw your letter," Azik said with a hint of surprise in his tone. "I didn't expect you to join the Society..."
"Actually, I didn't want to either—but—" Klein's lips twitched involuntarily, revealing a bitter smile.
He recounted all the details that hadn't been clear in the letter, from the origin of everything, the ambassador incident, to how Charles and his group "helped" him solve problems, and then half-forced him into the organization.
His voice grew more and more agitated as he spoke, like a child venting emotions after being wronged. He couldn't help it; to him, Mr. Azik was the only person he could trust so completely.
"You've had a tough time." After listening to his student's account, Azik gently comforted him.
"Oh, right," he said, frowning slightly as if lost in an unpleasant memory. "Regarding the Society, I don't remember much. My impression is that it's an extremely strange organization, impossible to understand with common sense."
Strange, incomprehensible—Klein nodded silently. Indeed, asking him to impersonate a Red Gloves? Such a mission wasn't just absurd; it was utterly preposterous!
"But compared to other secret organizations, the Society's reputation and methods aren't bad. Joining them isn't too terrible a choice." Azik mused, then added, "I remember—they seem to be at odds with the Night Church, just like I—I used to be."
At odds with the Night Church?!
Klein's heart stirred. Could this be why they made them impersonate Red Gloves to tarnish the Church's reputation?
But did Mr. Azik also have grudges with the Church? Then he—
Klein was about to ask, but when he saw the slightly pained expression on Mr. Azik's face as he struggled to recall, he swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue.
Only after the other party's expression returned to normal did he ask, "Mr. Azik, did you specifically come looking for me because you knew I was in danger?"
"No," Mr. Azik shook his head slightly, giving an unexpected answer. "I just happened to be passing by."
Happened?
The word made Klein slightly stunned.
Coincidence? Coincidence!
I
Backlund, inside an inconspicuous hotel.
"So this is the teleportation stone, and the activation spell is 'Door'..."
Luo En sat at his desk, toying with a strangely shaped gem that glowed faintly blue.
He had "borrowed" one from Fors, under the pretext of helping research the side effects of Moon Language. Although Fors was a bit reluctant, she didn't refuse. After all, Luo En had just saved her, and she herself was eager to understand the truth behind that language.
"The Apprentice Pathway, and the spell 'Door'... rosell's diary mentioned a 'Mr. Door.' Could there be a connection between the two?" Luo En recalled a page from the diary he had read earlier and fell into thought.
"I'll do some more experiments with it next time there's a full moon." He carefully put away the gem.
"And then, there's these." Luo En's gaze turned to two items on the table.
One was a monocle with a cracked lens, and the other was a small iron cigarette case, containing the worm corpse with several strange rings on its body that he had previously vomited out.
The monocle's appraisal function seemed to be malfunctioning. It wasn't completely ineffective, but it certainly wasn't very reliable. The appraisal results were inconsistent, and the information provided was incomplete.
This could be said to be his biggest loss this time. Damage to such a convenient Beyonder item had a significant impact on him.
"Sigh—why am I so unlucky lately—" Luo En sighed, focusing his attention on the worm.
According to Fors and Xio, he had fainted only after spitting out this worm.
Although from its appearance, the worm seemed unrelated to the monocle, his spiritual intuition told him that there must be some kind of mystical connection between the two that he hadn't yet understood.
"Because I heard the 'eating language,' the monocle was damaged, and then I spit out this worm—" Luo En tried to analyze the logical chain.
"No, the information I have is too little. I can't deduce anything at all."
After much thought, Luo En picked up the camera beside him, took a photo of the worm, and then put it into his spatial pouch.
He picked up his pen, intending to write a letter to ask for help from Captain Iceberg Admiral Edwina.
He believed that with her extensive knowledge, she might know something. Moreover, after obtaining his new identification, he had also opened several bank accounts, and it was time to collect the bounties from Blood Admiral and other pirates.
Incidentally, he also wanted to ask the "Captain" if she had made any new discoveries regarding the mural photos.
After finishing the letter to Edwina, Luo En picked up his pen and hesitated for a while. Finally, he started a new page and wrote a letter to Cattelya as well.
She was also a knowledgeable Pirate General. But, how to put it, although they had known each other for a short time, Luo En always felt that Cattelya gave him a strange feeling, a sense of indescribable incongruity, not like the feeling he had for a pure friend—being with her always felt a bit uncomfortable—
There was none of the pure feeling of being able to calmly exchange knowledge that he had when with Edwina. She seemed to have a certain hostility towards Edwina.
Being with Cattelya felt like—a strangely familiar sense of aggression?
Just like—
A black-haired figure suddenly appeared in Luo En's mind without warning, startling him.
"Illusion! It's all an illusion!
Cattelya's reputation is still good. She wouldn't stab me in the back like Tracy would." Luo En vigorously shook his head, shaking off that absurd thought.
One Tracy was enough for him; if there were another Cattelya, he might as well just die.
Calming himself down, Luo En wrote a third letter, this time to Danitz. He asked Danitz to visit Roy King when he had time, to see if he could help him get the subsequent potion formulas. The price didn't matter, as long as he could get them.
With the Tyrant card in hand, although making money was risky, Luo En still had ways.
Moreover, he and Roy King had agreed that he couldn't go to him for potion problems, so if Danitz went on his behalf, it wouldn't be a violation.
After sealing the letters, Luo En took out several manuscripts covered with precise lines from his spatial pouch. These were gun blueprints he had drawn in his spare time recently. He had successfully drawn the M1887 lever-action shotgun design according to Loen standards.
"Not bad, it seems my drawing skills haven't gotten rusty—" Looking at the smooth lines before him, Luo En's lips curved into a relaxed smile.
He planned to go out later, mail the letters first, and then go directly to the patent office to apply for the patent for this weapon.
"Damn, this patent office is really shady."
Coming out of the patent office, Luo En couldn't help but complain.
Just submitting the application and filling out various documents was incredibly tedious, and he also had to pay several pounds in processing fees. This was just the basic fee; there might be review fees and annual fees later. This amount of money was definitely a considerable burden for ordinary artisans and inventors.
He couldn't help but let his thoughts wander: "It seems that inventors with little savings, even if they have good ideas, often can't afford the lengthy application process and fees. To monetize their inventions, they can only choose to cooperate with merchants. And merchants, to maximize their profits, will definitely use contract loopholes and information asymmetry to completely devour the ideas and profits of these inventors. In the end, what reaches the inventor's hands probably isn't even soup—"
Thinking of this, Luo En sighed softly.
"It's really shady."
Nearing noon, Luo En, who had been busy all morning, felt a pang of hunger. He walked into a seemingly clean coffee shop, intending to solve his lunch problem there.
"I'll have a mutton stew, an oat bread, and a cup of coffee, please. Make the coffee a little weak."
"Alright, sir." The waiter deftly wrote down Luo En's order and turned to leave.
While waiting, Luo En noticed a newspaper on the table, seemingly left by the previous customer.
"The date is still today's." He picked it up casually and read it with interest.
"Multiple terrorist attacks disguised as Church personnel occurred in the East Borough. The Aurora Order claims responsibility."
It's the Aurora Order again—this terrorist organization is really diligent—Luo En complained.
"A new type of transportation tool has been created, urgently needs investment, details to be discussed in person—"
New type of transportation tool? Is it something like a steam car? Luo En recalled seeing in some videos before he transmigrated, that in areas lacking fuel, there were indeed cars that didn't use oil but only burned firewood—that should also count as a type of steam engine.
His gaze continued to scan downwards, and soon, a news headline caught his full attention.
"Emperor Rosell Memorial Exhibition to be grandly held at the Kingdom Museum from next Tuesday to next Friday."
Rosell Memorial Exhibition?
Luo En immediately became interested and quickly looked down.
"This exhibition, hosted by the God of Steam and Machinery Church, will systematically display various invention manuscripts and precious relics from Emperor Rosell's life."
"Relics? Will there be rosell's diary?" Luo En murmured to himself.
Although rosell's diary mostly contained irreverent complaints and unnutritious ramblings, it did hide a lot of valuable information, with many precious mystical knowledge interspersed within.
Due to too many recent events, he hadn't searched for rosell's diary for some time.
This might be an opportunity. Officially exhibited by the Steam Church, it would certainly be things not commonly seen on the market. Perhaps he could obtain a lot of key information from it, including some details about his later years. Moreover, he could also take this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of this "senior's" life experiences.
"Sir, your meal is ready." The waiter's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Thank you." Luo En put down the newspaper and turned his attention to the food in front of him. Exploring secrets was important, but filling his stomach was the most immediate task.
In the basement of the Truth Union.
"So, you took advantage of the chaos to jump into the Tussock River, and swam all the way downstream to evade the Night Church's search?" Meihua 5
narrowed his eyes, listening to Klein's report, his tone unreadable.
"Mhm." To avoid exposing Mr. Azik, Klein used his Clown ability to keep his face taut, solemnly recounting how he had engaged in a fierce battle with the arriving Nighthawks squad, severely injuring a Red Gloves, and finally, before the "Sword of the Goddess" arrived, seized the opportunity to successfully jump into the river and escape downstream.
After all, the only way to escape from a bishop whose strength was comparable to a Sequence 4 demigod was to slip away before they arrived. After much thought, he still felt that jumping into the river to escape was the most suitable reason.
The Nighthawks were not Punishers and were not known for their swimming prowess, so this reason was logically sound.
As he spoke, he even deliberately pulled open his collar to show the bruised wound on his shoulder from Leonard's punch, to increase the credibility of his story.
"Hmm—no wonder I didn't see you when I went to the scene then." Meihua 5 nodded slightly, seemingly accepting the explanation.
"You went then too?" Klein was a little surprised.
"Otherwise, do you think Charles and his group could have returned so easily?" Meihua 5 shrugged noncommittally.
He looked at Klein and said with a smile, "If you have any other questions, just ask."
"Irin—and Director Charles, are they alright?" Klein hesitated for a moment, but still asked.
Although he was forced to join, through their interactions, he had indeed come to regard these people as companions.
"I arrived in time. They only suffered minor injuries, nothing serious." Meihua 5 answered truthfully.
"Oh, that's good—" Klein breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn't help but ask again:
"What about the casualties on the Nighthawks' side?"
As a former Nighthawk, he also didn't want the Church to suffer too many casualties.
"Oh?" Meihua 5's tone rose slightly, with a hint of playfulness, "What, are you very concerned about the Night Church?"
"No," Klein's heart tightened, and he quickly explained, "I'm just afraid that things will escalate too much, which would be detrimental to our subsequent actions."
"A reasonable consideration." Meihua 5 nodded noncommittally. "Don't worry, we also have no intention of directly confronting the Church. This was just a warning to them. On the Nighthawks' side, no one died."
He paused, then continued, "However, the Night Church has already discovered our existence. Our previous operations can no longer continue."
Hearing this, Klein nodded frantically in his heart.
Great! This damned mission can finally end! I'm free!
However, before he could fully relax, he saw Meihua 5 on the opposite side slightly curl his lips, revealing a mischievous smile:
"So, from tomorrow onwards, don't wear the Night Church's clothes."
He paused, then said in a cheerful tone:
"Change into the Storm Church's."
"Huh?"