Mysterious: The Innate Sacred Body of Destiny

Chapter 235 Writing Letters and the Russell Memorial Exhibition

Chapter 235 Writing Letters and the Russell Memorial Exhibition

In the depths of the spirit world, where colors are mottled and directions are hard to discern, "Mr. Azik?"

Klein looked at the familiar figure with bronze skin beside him, his voice filled with disbelief, and his body trembled slightly.

"It's me." Azik's voice was as gentle as ever. "I received the letter you wrote to me before."

"You received it!" Klein felt a sense of relief.

Too many things had happened recently, and with the witch Irene by his side, he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to write to Mr. Azik.

It wasn't until this mission to impersonate "Red Gloves" went too far that he realized things were out of his control. He quickly found some free time and wrote to the other party to tell them about his recent experiences and confusion.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Azik actually appeared at the most crucial moment and saved him.

"I saw your letter," Azik said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "I never expected 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 the letter had failed to clarify, from the origins of everything and the ambassador incident to how Charles and his group "helped" him solve his problems and semi-coerced him into joining the organization.

His tone grew more and more agitated, like a wronged child venting his emotions. There was no way around it; Mr. Azik was the only person he could trust so much.

"You've had a hard time." After listening to the student's story, Azik offered a gentle word of comfort.

"Oh, right," he said, his brow furrowing slightly as if lost in some unpleasant memory, "I don't remember much about the 'Society.' From what I recall, it was an extremely strange organization, one that couldn't be understood using common sense."

Strange, incomprehensible—Klein nodded silently. Indeed, to be tasked with impersonating the "Red Gloves"—this wasn't just absurd, it was utterly absurd!

"But compared to other clandestine organizations, the 'Society's' reputation and conduct aren't bad, so joining them isn't a terrible choice." Azik pondered for a moment, then added, "I remember—they seemed to have some issues with the Church of the Night, just like me—I used to be."

Disagreements with the Church of the Night?!

Klein's heart skipped a beat. Could this be the reason they were asked to impersonate the "Red Gloves" to smear the church's reputation?

But did Mr. Azik also have a grudge against the church? Then he—

Klein was about to ask a question, but when he saw the slightly pained look on Mr. Azik's face as he tried to recall, he swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue.

After the other person's expression returned to normal, he asked, "Mr. Azik, did you know I was in danger, so you came to find me specifically?"

"No," Mr. Azik shook his head slightly, giving an unexpected answer, "I just happened to be passing by."

What a coincidence?

The word caught Klein's attention and made him pause slightly.

A coincidence? A mere coincidence!

I

Inside an unassuming hotel in Backlund.

"This is the stone that can teleport; the activation spell is 'Gate'..."

Lorne sat at his desk, toying with a uniquely shaped gemstone that shimmered with a faint blue light.

He "borrowed" a piece from Fors under the pretext of helping to research the side effects of the Full Moon Language. Fors was somewhat reluctant, but she didn't refuse. After all, Lorne had just saved her, and she herself was eager to figure out the truth behind the language.

"The 'Apprentice' pathway, and the spell 'Door'... Russell's diary mentions a 'Mr. Door'... Could there be some connection between the two?" Lorne recalled a page of the diary he had read before and fell into deep thought.

"Let's use it to do some experiments during the next full moon," he said, carefully putting the gem away.

"And that's it." Lorne's gaze shifted to two items on the table.

One was a monocle with cracked lenses, and the other was a small metal cigarette case containing the worm-like creature with several strange rings on its body that he had previously spat out.

The monocle's diagnostic function seems to be malfunctioning. It's not completely broken, but it's certainly not very reliable anymore, with inconsistent diagnostic results and incomplete information provided.

This was arguably his biggest loss this time. The damage to such a convenient and extraordinary item had a significant impact on him.

"Sigh—why am I so unlucky lately—" Lorne sighed, focusing his attention on the worm.

According to Fors and Hugh, he fainted after vomiting the worm.

Although the worm and the monocle seem unrelated in appearance, his spiritual intuition tells him that there must be some kind of mystical connection between the two that he has not yet understood.

"Because I heard the eating words, my monocle was damaged, and then I spat out this worm—" Lorne tried to analyze the logical chain.

"No, we don't have enough information right now to draw any conclusions."

After thinking it over, Lorne picked up the camera beside him, took a picture of the worm, and then put it into his personal space.

He picked up his pen, intending to write a letter to Captain "Iceberg Vice Admiral" Edwina for help.

He believed that the other party, with his extensive knowledge, might know something. Moreover, after obtaining new identification, he also opened several bank accounts, and it was time to receive the bounties from "Blood Admiral" and the other pirates.

He also wanted to ask the "captain" if any new findings had been made regarding the mural photos.

After finishing his letter to Edwina, Lorne picked up his pen and hesitated for a moment. In the end, he started a new page and wrote a letter to Cattleya as well.

She was also a learned pirate general. However, how to put it... although they hadn't known each other for long, Lorne always felt something strange about Cattleya, an inexplicable sense of unease, unlike the feeling of simply being friends—being with her always made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She completely lacked the sense of peace and confidence she felt when exchanging knowledge with Edwina; she seemed to harbor some hostility towards Edwina.

Being with Cattleya gives me a strangely familiar sense of aggression?

Just like...

A beautiful, dark-haired figure suddenly appeared in Lorne's mind without warning, startling him.

"An illusion! It's all an illusion!"

"Cattleya's reputation is pretty good; she wouldn't stab someone in the back like Tracy did." Lorne shook his head vigorously to shake off the absurd thought.

One Tracy was enough for him to handle, and then there's Cattleya too? He might as well just kill her.

After calming himself down, Lorne wrote a third letter, this time to Danitz. He asked Danitz to visit Roy King when he had time to see if he could get his hands on the next potion recipe; the price didn't matter, as long as he could get it.

With the "Tyrant" card in hand, Lorne still has ways to make money, even though it's risky.

Furthermore, since he had agreed with Roy King that he wouldn't go to him about potions, having Danitz go in his place wouldn't be considered a violation.

After sealing the letter, Lorne took out several sketches filled with intricate lines from his personal storage space. These were gun blueprints he had recently drawn in his spare time. He had successfully drawn the design of the M1887 lever shotgun to Lorne's standards.

"Not bad, it seems I haven't lost my drawing skills after all—." Looking at the smooth lines in front of him, Lorne's lips curled into a relaxed smile.

He planned to go out later, mail the letter first, and then go directly to the patent office to apply for a patent for this weapon.

"Damn, this patent office is really corrupt."

As he walked out of the patent office, Lorne couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

The application process alone involves a daunting amount of paperwork, not to mention the hefty processing fees. And that's just the basic cost; there are likely additional review fees and annual fees. For ordinary artisans and inventors, this is a significant burden.

He couldn't help but let his thoughts wander: "From this perspective, inventors with little savings, even if they have great ideas, often can't afford the lengthy application process and fees. If they want to monetize their inventions, they can only choose to cooperate with businessmen. And businessmen, in order to maximize their profits, will definitely take advantage of contract loopholes and information asymmetry to squeeze every last drop of these inventors' ideas and profits. In the end, what actually ends up in the inventors' hands is probably barely even a drop of soup."

Thinking of this, Lorne sighed softly.

"It's so dark."

As noon approached, Lorne, who had been busy all morning, felt a pang of hunger. He walked into a reasonably clean-looking coffee shop, intending to have lunch there.

"I'd like a stewed lamb, an oat bread roll, and a cup of coffee, a little weak."

"Yes, sir." The waiter quickly noted down Lorne's order and turned to leave.

While waiting, Lorne noticed a newspaper on the table, which seemed to have been left by the previous guests.

"The date is still today." He picked it up casually and looked at it with great interest.

"The Aurora Society has claimed responsibility for the multiple terrorist attacks in the Eastern District that occurred by people posing as church members."

"It's the Aurora Society again—that terrorist organization is really diligent," Lorne muttered.

"A new type of transportation has been developed and urgently needs investment. Details to be discussed in person."

A new type of transportation? Is it something like a steam-powered car? Lorne recalled seeing in some videos before his transmigration that in areas lacking fuel, there were indeed cars that didn't use oil and only burned firewood—that should also be considered a kind of steam engine.

His gaze continued downwards, and soon a news headline caught his full attention.

"The Roselle commemorative exhibition will be held at the Kingdom Museum from next Tuesday to next Friday."

Russell Memorial Exhibition?

Lorne immediately became interested and quickly looked down.

"This exhibition, hosted by the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, will systematically showcase the original manuscripts and precious relics of various inventions from the life of Emperor Roselle."

"Could Rosell's diary be among the relics?" Lorne muttered to himself.

Although Russell's diary is mostly filled with irreverent rants and trivial nonsense, it does contain a lot of valuable information, including many precious occult knowledge.

He had been too busy lately to search for Russell's diary for some time.

This might be an opportunity. The exhibits, officially from the Steam Church, are likely items not commonly found on the market, and we might glean some crucial information from them, perhaps even details about his later years. Furthermore, this could provide a chance to gain a deeper understanding of this "predecessor's" life.

"Sir, your meal is ready." The waiter's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Thank you." Lorne 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 first priority.

In the basement of the Truth Guild.

"So, you took advantage of the chaos to jump into the Tasok River and swam downstream to evade the Church of the Night's search?" (Club 5)

He listened to Klein's report with narrowed eyes, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Hmm." In order not to expose Mr. Azik, Klein used the "Joker" ability to keep a straight face and seriously recounted how he fought the Night Watch team that came to the rescue, severely injured Red Gloves, and finally seized the opportunity to jump into the river and escape downstream before the "Goddess Sword" arrived.

After all, the only way to escape from a bishop whose strength was comparable to a Sequence 4 demigod was to slip away before the other party arrived. After thinking it over, he still felt that jumping into the river to escape was the most suitable reason.

The reason that the person on night duty is not a substitute for the punishment and is not known for their swimming skills is logically sound.

As he spoke, he even pulled open his collar to show the bruises on his shoulder from Leonard's punch, in order to increase the credibility of his story.

"Hmm—no wonder I didn't see you when I went to the scene." The Five of Clubs nodded slightly, seemingly accepting the explanation.

"Did you go there too?" Klein asked, somewhat surprised.

"Otherwise, do you think Charles and the others could come back so easily?" Club 5 shrugged noncommittally.

He looked at Klein and said with a smile, "Ask me any further questions you may have."

"Eileen—and Director Charles, are they alright?" Klein hesitated for a moment before asking.

Although he was forced to join, he genuinely came to regard these people as his companions after spending time with them.

"I arrived just in time; they only suffered minor injuries and are fine," Club 5 replied truthfully.

"Oh, that's good—" Klein breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn't help but ask:

"What's the casualty situation on the night watch side?"

As a former night watchman, he also didn't want too many casualties on the church's side.

"Huh?" The Five of Clubs' tone rose slightly, a hint of amusement in it. "What, you're quite concerned about the Church of the Night?"

"No," Klein said with a start, quickly explaining, "I'm just afraid things will get too big and it will be detrimental to our subsequent actions."

"A reasonable consideration." Plum Blossom 5 nodded noncommittally. "Don't worry, we have no intention of having a direct conflict with the church. This is just to give them a warning. On the Night Watch side, not a single person was killed."

He paused, then continued, "However, the Church of the Night has discovered our presence, so our previous operations can no longer continue."

Upon hearing this, Klein nodded frantically in his mind.

Great! This damn mission is finally over! I'm free!

However, before he could fully relax, he saw the player opposite him, the 5 of Clubs, grin slightly, revealing a wicked smile:

"So, starting tomorrow, stop wearing the Night Church's clothes."

He paused for a moment, then said in a cheerful tone:

"Change into Storm Church attire."

"what?"