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'So much has happened in Caster City State during the days I've been cooped up inside?'
'Isn't this just screwing me over?'
'But how does the Liaison Officer on the other end know all this?'
'Could there be other Intelligence Officers in Caster?'
Wei'en guessed as much, but on the surface, he put on a bitter and remorseful expression. "Respected Liaison Officer, please forgive my incompetence. I beg you to give me another chance…"
"Actually, I also realized how poor my sources of intelligence were, so today I successfully passed an interview and joined a newspaper, in hopes of better serving the Ghost Soul School."
The figure was stunned for a moment. "You joined a newspaper? Which one?"
"...It's a small newspaper."
"The name!"
'Who digs for details like this?'
Wei'en lied through his teeth. "The Caster Trade Union Newspaper. It's a paper that specifically serves trade union organizations…"
CRACK!
The Liaison Officer nearly ground her teeth to dust. "The Trade Union Newspaper? I can't believe you came up with that! What kind of useful intelligence could a trashy paper like that possibly have? You should be aiming for the City-State Council Bulletin or the Church Weekly, at the very least."
"Well, their screening process is too strict..." Wei'en said in a small voice.
The ghostly blue flame suddenly flared, and a bone-chilling cold spread out, almost freezing him to death.
"Enough!"
Wei'en quickly lowered his head. The sweat on his body had already frozen solid, forming a layer of white frost on his forehead.
'What now?'
'This Liaison Officer looks like she's about to kill me.'
What he didn't know was that the same question was currently floating through the Liaison Officer's mind.
'The mood is so tense, it would be strange not to do *something*...'
After a long moment, she finally made up her mind. "Ahem. Given your recent poor performance, I've decided to punish you!"
'A punishment?'
'Okay, okay, a punishment is better than losing my life.'
"You haven't become an apprentice of the school yet, have you?"
Wei'en was waiting to hear his punishment and hadn't expected such a question. He answered carefully, "Ma'am, I was just about to exchange for the basic Meditation Technique... assuming you don't dock my pay."
"Dock your pay?"
The Liaison Officer froze for a second, then snapped to her senses and glared at him. "Did you think I was going to dock your 6 pence?"
"Of course not. I believe someone as wise as you would surely teach me a profound lesson, rather than just docking a mere 6 pence."
The Liaison Officer took a deep breath. If this went on any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to resist using Magic.
"To make sure you remember this lesson, I've decided to assign you a special mission!"
'A mission?'
Wei'en raised his head with difficulty and looked at the figure in the flames. "Please, tell me. Whatever the mission is, I will gladly accept it and do my utmost to complete it."
"I need you to investigate the disappearance case in the slums from three days ago. Your deadline... hmm, I'll give you two days! In two days, I expect to see the results of your investigation!"
'Investigate the slums?'
Wei'en thought about what he had encountered in the slums two days ago, and the system notifications that followed... He couldn't help but shudder, his eyes filled with lingering fear.
"M-Ma'am, could I possibly have a different mission?"
"You don't want to accept this mission?"
"No, no..."
The Liaison Officer said impatiently, "Whether you want to or not, this is your punishment. Either accept the mission, or I'll make you a missing person right now, just like the others!"
"...No, thank you. I accept your punishment," Wei'en said helplessly.
'I'll just try to muddle through for now.'
"Remember, you only have two days."
With that, the figure instantly vanished, and the ghostly blue flame went out.
The "telephone" returned to standby mode. The blue flame sigil on the cup's body pulsed with a rhythmic light, and a visible network of glowing veins flowed toward the Gemstone switch on its waist, as if gathering energy.
CLINK.
The sound of a few coins dropping was heard.
Wei'en snapped back to his senses, slowly straightening his back and moving his nearly frozen body.
Then, frowning, he walked over, opened a blue and white striped box next to the "telephone," and took out the 6 pence inside.
"There's good news and bad news..."
The good news was that he had saved up enough money. He could finally exchange for the basic Meditation Technique.
The bad news was that his boss had found out he was slacking off. He had to leave his room and proactively go out to gather intelligence.
Just thinking about going outside made Wei'en's face fill with melancholy.
In fact, he had gone out after absorbing his predecessor's memories.
The first few days were normal, but ever since he got that attribute panel, everything had become strange...
That was two days ago, the day after he'd spied on the Sutle Dog. He had gone to the slums two blocks away—the Laos District.
There was a bakery there where he spent 3 pence on a pound of black bread. On the way, he also stopped to watch a performance at an open-air circus in the middle of the district.
Everything seemed the same as always.
But as soon as he returned to his residence, he received several notifications.
[You have been corroded by Nightmare Realm Power. Your Spirit level is permanently reduced by 1. Evaluation: You won't be so lucky next time! Special Reward: Toughness +1.]
[You have gained the affection of an Abyssal Creature—the Bone-Eating Mother Worm. It greatly desires to reproduce on your body! Evaluation: It doesn't mind engaging in a trans-species romance with you. Reward: Survival Points +2.]
[Because your Toughness is greater than 8, the Bone-Eating Worm's infestation has failed! Special Reward: Toughness +1.]
[You have been targeted with killing intent by Mitch Sorrensen. Evaluation: A parasite host infested by Bone-Eating Worms. He longs to capture you and offer you to the Bone-Eating Mother Worm. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
[You have been targeted with killing intent by Zamir Tapa. Evaluation: A fanatic from the Abyssal Cult. He wants only to sacrifice your body and soul. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
[Bone-Eating Mother Worm: The most loving species in the Abyss World. It can release "seeds of love"—Bone-Eating Worms—on any creature. Creatures successfully infested by Bone-Eating Worms will lose their entire skeleton in a short period.
The Bone-Eating Mother Worm likes to preserve the target's skin as part of its permanent collection.]
At the time, Wei'en stared dumbfounded at the long list of notifications, especially the part about the Bone-Eating Mother Worm. 'Was this its version of "pretty bones are a dime a dozen, but interesting skins are one in a million"?'
What the fuck!
'Who the hell wants a "trans-species romance" with that thing?'
And those parasite hosts, Abyssal Cult fanatics... He really hadn't expected a tiny slum to be hiding so many "ambitious individuals."
In less than two hours, he had "happily" received six notifications.
If he went out for another stroll, who knew how many more perverts he would run into?
If he hadn't been corroded by some Nightmare Realm Power, which raised his Toughness by one, he probably would have been a goner two days ago.
So,
until he had the ability to protect himself, Wei'en was truly unwilling to leave this safe house.
And the intelligence reports he'd submitted these past few days were all just copied from a newspaper—the very Caster Trade Union Newspaper he had just mentioned.
As for joining a newspaper, that was just a white lie he had woven to protect himself!
In fact, he had a safer place to go.
But now, it seemed the plan had deviated slightly.
Wei'en took a deep breath, shaking off the terrible memories. 'Right now, the only thing to do is get stronger and save my own skin!'
With that in mind, he opened his wallet, dumped all his money onto the table, and counted it again.
One 1-gold-pound banknote, fifteen 1-shilling silver coins, and sixty 1-penny copper coins, totaling exactly 2 gold pounds!
Next, he pulled a blank application form from the blue and white striped box and, following the instructions for the "automated exchange machine," began to write out a transaction contract.
Although he found it hard to understand the principles behind the "typewriter," "telephone," and "automated exchange machine," his vast knowledge from his previous life allowed him to easily accept these magical items.
For example, this box, which he called the "automated exchange machine," was a device capable of teleporting items over long distances.
Every time he submitted an intelligence report, his pay would appear inside the box.
Furthermore, to exchange for items from the Ghost Soul School, he also needed to use this box.
Just like right now—
"To the esteemed Your Excellency, Kedir Khan Harrison of the Ghost Soul School's Item Management Department! The humble Caster City State Intelligence Officer, Wei'en Loft, requests to exchange for the basic Meditation Technique..."
'Damn it, the format for this transaction contract is so strict.'
Aside from his name and the item he wanted to exchange for, the rest of the content was pre-printed on the application form, impossible to change.
'Humble?'
'Humble my ass!'
However, Wei'en could only curse wildly in his head. If he were to actually question it to their faces, he probably wouldn't have many lives to spare.
According to his predecessor's memories, he knew the head of the Item Management Department was already an Official Mage, while the Liaison Officer from just now was likely only an apprentice.
But not all apprentices were the same.
Generally, anyone who had learned the Meditation Technique could be called an apprentice, or a junior apprentice.
As for that Liaison Officer, Wei'en guessed she was at least a senior apprentice, and possibly even on the verge of advancing to an Official Mage.
He didn't know the exact difference in power, but it was definitely beyond imagination.
'Ah, money, money...'
If he had the money, he could exchange for everything on the list at once.
Besides the basic Meditation Technique, there was also knowledge like "Introduction to Magic," "Introduction to Runology," "Introduction to Alchemy," and "Introduction to Magic Potions" available for exchange.
He never thought he'd still be worrying about money even after transmigrating.
After finishing the application form and checking it carefully one more time, Wei'en cautiously placed it into the box, along with his entire fortune—2 gold pounds.
Once that was done, he closed the box and pressed the activation switch on top.
HUMMM!
Following a slight vibration, the white stripes on the box flashed with light.
Wei'en watched the box nervously, not even daring to blink.
'Please don't let anything go wrong. That money was so hard to come by.'
'His predecessor had saved for over a hundred days to get that much...'
If something really went wrong, where would he get that kind of money again?
Fortunately, after a few minutes, the blue stripes on the box—which indicated there were items inside to be retrieved—lit up, and Wei'en's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled.
He hurriedly opened the box and took out the contents: a letter and three scrolls of parchment.