After leaving Melissa's house, Lex originally wanted to visit former hunter Kyle on the way, as he lived nearby and could drop by to see him. However, when he looked at house number 5 on Daffodil Street, he gave up on the idea.
Kyle's house was dark, either he was out or had gone to bed early.
He could only return to the hotel.
Seeing that it was still early, Lex took out the traveler's almanacs, turned to a new page, picked up a pen, and wrote 'Yedgar Island' and some numbers on it.
Based on his observations, Lex wrote a record on the page, highlighting the Sea Island's harbor and the Yedgar statue in the city. He noted that the buildings on that Sea Island were mainly made of wood, due to the frequent earthquakes.
He wrote about the prison, recording that the prisoners there were often forced to sign labor agreements, and so on.
After he finished this travelogue-like record, Lex found that his spirituality had been significantly consumed.
He exhaled, put away the almanacs, cleaned himself up, and lay on the soft bed in the hotel.
Not yet sleepy, he stared at the ceiling above, watching a spider weave its web in the corner, his thoughts drifting to the Pyromaniac's acting principles.
Through this period of 'acting', Lex had accumulated a lot of experience and felt he could summarize it.
"The Pyromaniac's acting cannot be separated from flames, nor from destruction. This is the most superficial rule, evident from the potion's name alone. As for whether it can be extended to other meanings of 'flames', such as 'the fire of revolution', I cannot confirm without practical experience."
"Going a step deeper, the Pyromaniac's acting ultimately leads to disaster and creates destruction. One must have the awareness to create disaster and the courage to bear the consequences. Trying to act as a Pyromaniac while bypassing this point is basically unfeasible."
"Furthermore, when disaster is created and destruction brought about, the 'Spectator's' feedback is very important. The most obvious examples are when I assassinated the Intis Ambassador and set an entire street on fire, and more recently, when I sank the Big Eater. In both these incidents, the potion's digestion was very noticeable."
"This indicates that after creating a disaster, people's emotional feedback—such as fear, anger, and sadness—helps in digesting the potion. If the Spectator are 'Beyonder', the effect is even more pronounced. That's why after sinking the Big Eater, my potion digestion progress was quite significant, and the power of my flames increased."
"Of course, I also have the 'crimson king' label, so part of the increase in flame power benefits from the label's bonus."
"But no matter what, the Pyromaniac has nothing to do with words like gentleness or peace. Our very existence represents disaster."
On monday morning, Tingen City was enveloped in a faint mist, which only dissipated after the sun rose.
After breakfast, Lex returned to Daffodil Street, stood in front of former hunter Kyle's door, and pulled the doorbell.
A minute later, the door opened, and Kyle's wife emerged, radiant and looking completely transformed from two months ago.
She was first stunned to see Lex, then said joyfully, "Mr. Lex, why have you come?"
"Good morning, madam. Is Mr. Kyle home?" Lex handed the flowers he had collected from the florist to the lady.
Lanci accepted them without ceremony, then said, "Kyle is home; he'll be home all day today. But I have to leave, or I'll be late."
"So I'm sorry, I can't entertain you."
With that, Lanci turned back and called out, "Dear, Mr. Lex is here."
Footsteps echoed from inside the house, and Kyle, wearing a linen shirt, walked out of the living room to greet Lex in his wife's stead: "Come in quickly, it's cold outside."
Lex first stepped back a few paces, allowing Lanci to leave, before entering the house: "So early in the morning, where is Ms. Lanci rushing off to?"
"She's working at the hospital now, helping to care for some elderly people, handling their affairs after they pass, and so on."
"Ever since she got sick last time, she said it was like she had experienced Rebirth, so she wants to help others as much as possible."
Kyle opened the liquor cabinet and asked, "Would you like a drink?"
"No, I don't have a habit of drinking in the morning." Lex took off his formal wear and hat, hung them on the coat rack, then said, "How is the progress of the Tingen University laboratory project? Have they reported to you?"
Kyle was his agent; normally, the laboratory should report to Kyle periodically.
Kyle drank about half a glass of wine and nodded, "Yes, they send me a written report every month, with all sorts of detailed data and theories more baffling than myths."
"The report is in my study; wait a moment, I'll get it for you."
Lex wanted to tell him not to bother, as he probably wouldn't understand it anyway, but he was, after all, an investor in the project, so a show of interest was necessary.
A moment later, Kyle brought a paper bag. Lex opened it to find a thick report.
He pretended to casually flip through it, while hearing Kyle say, "I met with Professor Newman a couple of days ago, and he told me they've already started experiments within the university."
"Oh, they've started experiments so quickly, that's good news."
Lex happily put away the documents. If experiments were starting now, it might be put into use within a year or two, which was indeed good news for him.
"I think so too."
"Why are you back? How long will you stay in Tingen this time? I'm planning to move and have been looking for a new house recently. I have a few targets, would you like to come and see them with me?"
Kyle took out a pipe and stuffed some tobacco leaves into it.
Lex waved his hand, "No, I'll only be staying for three or four days at most this time."
"I have other things to attend to, so I won't be able to accompany you to look at houses. But if you do move, remember to write to me, otherwise, I won't know where to find you."
"Also."
He took out a pressure bottle and a design blueprint.
The blueprint was made by Melissa, containing detailed deconstruction, modular dimensions, and assembly instructions. It was at the bottom of the box from last night, which Lex only discovered when he took things out this morning.
"Please find a factory for me. I want to order a hundred of these bottles, and if needed, I will increase the quantity later."
"The bottle itself isn't special; it's mainly this pressure component..."
Biting his pipe, Kyle picked up the blueprint and glanced at Lex: "What do you want it for?"
"Hmm, you don't have to answer me; I was just asking casually."
"No problem, I'll get this done as soon as possible. But once it's finished, how should I notify you?"
At this moment, the convenience of the telephone became apparent, Lex sighed slightly, then looked around, picking up a copy of 'The Honest Man' newspaper from the table.