Tao Yu was planning to wait for the next gathering to gather materials, when he suddenly spotted a head of ssy blond hair.
A dwarf was standing tiptoe at the window, peering around curiously.
"Well look at you, how did you know where I live?"
Tao Yu walked over and patted her head, making her already disheveled hair even more chaotic.
"What are you going to sar on my head this ti?"
Hugh said sowhat annoyedly.
But then he pursed his lips and said,
"I do have my ways of finding things out. Are you proposing a business deal, cooperation? The boss said he would provide Roselle’s notes if you help too."
Tao Yu now had a fake million Gold Pounds in hand, which had gone undetected by Eve earlier, this suggested that it could still circulate in the Extraordinary World, at least at the lower levels.
Originally, he had little interest, but his attention was piqued upon hearing that it involved Emperor Roselle’s notes, so he nodded,
"What’s the mission? I’m very interested. Is it dangerous?"
"Indeed, there is risk. Co, let’s discuss this properly."
Having effortlessly overpowered him before, Hugh had a fair bit of respect for Tao Yu’s strength. Although their trust was still lacking, their previous encounters had been relatively pleasant.
Moreover, after Tao Yu had proactively sought him out last ti to buy information, he turned out to be an Extraordinary newbie with impressive abilities. Thus, they had a foundation for initial cooperation.
Having mingled in the streets for so long, Hugh too had his own ways of judging people. Your journey continues at .Côm
Soon after, the two returned to Fors and Hugh’s residence.
Upon seeing Hugh bring Tao Yu back, Fors, who was lying on the sofa, attempted to sit up several tis but failed, and eventually managed to roll off in a sowhat awkward manner.
She had incredibly poor athletic ability, even worse than an average person.
She smoked, stayed up late, lacked exercise, and the dark circles under her eyes never seed to fade.
Indeed, she must have so talent to not have starved to death...
Hugh ignored Fors clambering up and took out a piece of intelligence, a sketch.
"Our target is this man."
Tao Yu examined it carefully. It was a wild sketch of a man, quite well drawn.
"However, this can only be used as a reference; he possesses an extraordinary item or ’Sealing Techniques’ that allows him to change his appearance."
Hugh’s words made Tao Yu nod. Having gained a preliminary understanding of the Extraordinary World, he was aware of such extraordinary items, similar to Yuan Force artifacts.
Speaking of altering one’s appearance, he could do that too, although it was an external power, the level of forces involved was minimal, and it was mainly a technique.
His recent subtle adjustnts to blend in with the locals were also thanks to his second Deification’s "Sculpting."
Having beco an ’Assassin,’ controlling his body had beco even more second nature to him.
"Who is this?"
"One of the seven great pirate generals, ’Hurricane’ Zilinges, a ’Wind Favored’ of Sailor pathway Sequence Six, who also holds a powerful extraordinary item, capable of harnessing abilities from multiple pathways, but that item requires the consumption of one person every day."
Hugh’s brief explanation gave Tao Yu a frawork to work with.
The bounty was ten thousand Gold Pounds, and providing valid information could earn hundreds in reward.
More so, the fact that such an extraordinary item consud people was rather peculiar.
"Looking for a wanted criminal isn’t sothing we need to keep secret. Neither of us is good at this, why not continue to recruit soone who is?"
Tao Yu wasn’t short on money, so he was interested in quickly completing the task in exchange for the diary.
"What do you an?"
"Wasn’t it you guys who recomnded him to ? That great detective, Arrodes."
Tao Yu spoke outright.
"Hehe, great minds think alike, I was actually thinking the sa thing,"
Fors chuckled mirthfully, although she had written mystery novel plots before, the hair-loss-inducing task of deducing was not sothing she could accept again.
Better to subcontract with Miss Audrey’s reward.
"We can conceal Zilinges’s information and just reveal distinguishing features,"
she smartly suggested.
Tao Yu couldn’t help but roll his Byakugan,
"Please, the man’s a great detective. Hiding his na from him is as good as not hiding it at all. If he can’t discover that, then what’s the use of hiring him? It’s enough to keep the employer’s information a secret."
Tao Yu’s words made Fors, who thought herself very clever, reveal a slightly awkward smile. It seed, indeed, that was the case.
Yet Tao Yu couldn’t help but fall into contemplation, feeling sothing was off. If it were about himself, Hugh, and Fors, there would be a process of gaining each other’s trust.
But why would the noble young lady trust him enough to let him get involved?
After all, the noble lady liked the excitent of the Extraordinary World, and tales like the seven pirate generals were amusing enough to be of natural interest to her...
...
"So this is why you approached ?"
In the dimly lit room, as Arrodes sat on the sofa puffing at his pipe, he looked at the people in front of him with a raised eyebrow, holding the intelligence related to Zilinges.
"Yes, we’ve co to make money together, to collaborate and grow strong,"
Tao Yu pitched expansively to Arrodes.
"I certainly don’t want to be a soul captured by ’The Crawling Hunger.’"
Indeed, Arrodes was well-learned; the na of Zilinges’s sealing item wasn’t in the information provided, yet he spoke it outright, hinting that he vaguely knew its purpose.
To capture souls?
Was it because it captured souls that it was able to use other extraordinary abilities?
Tao Yu was a bit concerned. There should be a limit, right? Otherwise, if I capture a few divine spirits, wouldn’t I beco invincible?
"Just tell us if you’re in or out. We’ve already offered you a significant piece of intel. That’s a sign of good faith."
His words made Arrodes ponder for a mont with his pipe in his mouth.
"I can offer assistance, but I will not participate in the action. Actually, I believe it’s best to inform the official extraordinaries directly about this kind of thing," he said.
Arrodes glanced at the others, and seeing that they did not speak, he paused and added,
"Investigating privately is very dangerous."
"We’re just trying to get more accurate information about him, to claim the reward. Taking so risk is worth it; we’re not planning to confront him head-on," they responded.
"Based on the current intelligence, I estimate that he might be around the Tassok River banks in Joywood District..."
Arrodes’s capabilities were quite strong. As a ’Detective’ of Sequence Seven, he carried out simulations based on limited clues.
From the target’s unconscious standards for air quality to The Crawling Hunger’s need to kill one person every day, and his own proficiency in water combat, he estimated a rough area of operation.
That area was close to the slums, where disappearances were common, near a water source, and the air was better than the industrial district—everything fit the profile.
"By the way, Mr. Arrodes, I am looking to collect so extraordinary materials. Do you happen to have any, or do you know of any suitable extraordinary gatherings I could attend?" Tao Yu asked Arrodes, prompting him to take a longer glance at Tao Yu with his pipe in his mouth.
"Show what you’re looking for," Arrodes said vaguely, making no promises.
However, after Tao Yu showed him the auxiliary materials he was missing, Arrodes said he could procure them. They could be collected the next day and the price wouldn’t be high.
After all, Tao Yu had already bought the main materials with Gold Pounds from his beautiful superior.
These auxiliary materials were not rare...
...
"Now I need to go find so gang mbers. That area just happens to be my Domain. You all can go back and rest up. Didn’t Fors copy a new page of the diary?"
Eve said to Tao Yu, then adjusted her own collar.
As an Arbiter in the local underworld who was known for her fair dealings, many sought her help, and thus she had connections among the gangs.
However, seeing her petite figure retreating, Tao Yu felt sowhat moved.
Having interacted with her, although she hadn’t explicitly stated it, Tao Yu could sense that she was likely soone who had fallen on hard tis, possibly a young lady of a noble house in the past, but now forced to mingle with gangs.
"Let’s go. Let’s get the new diary page, and I’ll borrow your books to read too..."
Although Tao Yu had learned so knowledge of the Extraordinary World through them, he had also realized that this world’s Extraordinary World was quite complex. Both won still seed clueless; continuous study was needed...
...
Tao Yu received several pages of Emperor Roselle’s diary from Fors.
At least from what he’d seen so far, Roselle appeared to be an extraordinary of a high Sequence.
Even from just a few of his diary entries, Tao Yu received a lot of information about the Extraordinary World that Fors and the others didn’t have access to.
Tao Yu thought they were very valuable.
But this ti, instead of reading it on the spot, he brought the diary back ho.
As Tao Yu read the diary, he felt sowhat speechless.
He was once again revising his own preconceptions about Emperor Roselle.
He seed to be even more... well, more unrestrained than Tao Yu had initially thought.
Tao Yu, who wasn’t exactly a role model himself, pondered over his choice of words.
This batch of diary entries was almost entirely about the Emperor’s romantic escapades, his engagent, and becoming a ’Child of Steam.’
Then he learned that his real na was Huang Tao.
It seed he had so regrets about his Sequence choice, believing that the Marauder or the Diviner would have been better.
"Hmm? What’s this?"
Just as Tao Yu read about Emperor Roselle’s musings over the Marauder and the Diviner, he noticed what seed to be doodles underneath the diary page that didn’t belong there.
"A Fool that doesn’t belong to this age; a Mysterious Master above the gray mist; the Yellow and Black King who wields good fortune..."
Tao Yu muttered, feeling that this intrusion didn’t fit with the diary’s content.
"Since no one has successfully deciphered Roselle’s diaries yet, others might not notice anything wrong, but..."
Just as Tao Yu felt the discrepancy,
suddenly, a sense of being watched erged in his heart, startling him.
What the hell?
Is this a revered na of a hidden existence?
Tao Yu barely had a smattering of knowledge about the extraordinaries, and he lacked a deep-seated reverence for divine spirits. His fear stemd purely from their strength.
Luckily, he had kept his Divinity pressed within his ntal Body, preventing rash exemptions from revealing more significant issues.
All he could do now was act ignorant and rapidly contemplate in his mind.
"It seems there really is such a hidden existence. No wonder Fors and the others told to be careful, to keep reverence, that uttering the na could attract attention. This entity has a high standing..."
Tao Yu, lacking substantial knowledge about the extraordinary Domains or an inherent reverence for the divine spirits, feared them only because of their strength.
"The Fool, huh? Sounds clumsy, not famous, wields good fortune? Shouldn’t be too evil, right? If there really is such a low-key organization ford by a high-standing being, it would actually fulfill all my needs for finding support..."
The next mont, Tao Yu felt a force tugging at his spirituality, lifting it upwards.
Startled, he once again suppressed his Divinity at the core of his ntal Body to avoid conflict, then followed the force upwards, his perspective soaring infinitely high, as if arriving at a mysterious gray mist space above...
User Comments
0 comments from readers