Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 417 Background Investigation
Afterwards, somewhat bewildered, Yami was dragged to many places by Miss Zoe and met quite a few people.

Without exception, these people all kept many coyotes, and each coyote had many ears—Good heavens, are the wolves in Castells really that scary?

But those people didn't talk about their wolves. Instead, they all gave him strange looks. Yami was both afraid and confused, not knowing what was going on.

Finally, when Miss Zoe finally stopped, a large crowd had gathered around her.

Yami was quite flustered. He had no idea what was going on or why these adults from Castel cared so much about him.

After discussing it for a while, these people did nothing else but give me a small bag of food as payment for my help, and then let me attend classes.

He was still dizzy when he returned to his shack at the end of the day. He didn't know how much he had heard in class, but at least he had memorized some letters and spellings.

I lay in the shack for a while when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Yami, are you there?" A slightly aged voice came from the bed. Yami got up and moved the door panel that was a size too big to the side.

There are no proper houses in the slums. The shacks here are good enough to keep out the wind and rain. There are no locks at all, and knocking on the door is just a matter of politeness.

Standing at the door was Grandma Penny; her complexion was much rosier than before.

She hadn't eaten much these past few days, saving all her food for her granddaughter. Today, she went to the literacy class and actually got a free meal.

Although we couldn't eat as much as we wanted, everyone had some, and it was all proper food, and even some fish and meat, though the pieces were ridiculously large.

But once you eat it, it makes no difference.

"Grandma Penny, you look much better." Yami scratched his head and greeted her.

"That's all thanks to the people who helped us enroll. Without the food provided in the literacy class, I don't know how long I could have lasted."

"Uh, Castel is providing the meals; I only signed up."

“We wouldn’t have known about this without you, so we definitely have to thank you.” Granny Penny waved her hand. “I found out today that Castell is going to open a new factory in Blood Harbor, and he’s supposedly going to select people from the literacy classes.”

"A factory? What's that?"

"It's one. You don't need to worry about that. The work in the factory is tiring, but the pay is usually quite high. These Castel people seem very generous, so they should be generous when it comes to paying wages."

Have you seen the factory before?

"I've been to Rhine once, and I've seen the factories there. It's a great place; everyone's eager to get in."

Yami nodded in surprise, then remembered that his mother-in-law's family had just fallen into the slums, unlike him, who had never left Blood Harbor and had no experience whatsoever.

"Young man, I'm not counting on my wife. I'd be lucky to get a meal out of her hands. But you're still young. Study hard. If you do well, you might catch the eye of some big shots and get a chance to work in the factory."

Yami nodded quickly.

Although he was bombarded with questions in the morning, he didn't feel like he was anything special.

What's the use of being fast at counting? To help the bigwigs of Castells raise wolves?

Hmm, it doesn't seem like a bad option; it's at least a way out.

After saying goodbye to Grandma Penny, Yami lay on her simple bed, daydreaming about the future, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Maybe I can get a job in the factory too." In the shadows of the alley not far away, several pairs of eyes turned away.

"How's the investigation going?"

"It's basically done. The target's social relationships are quite simple. Go and report to Lady Zoe."

Soon, Zoe had a file on Yami in her hands.

She was Castells' diplomat. Diplomats do more than just negotiate; they also gather intelligence, disseminate information, spread rumors, and conduct espionage. These are all tasks of overseas personnel.

As for recruiting talent, that's simply part of her job.

Zoe did not bring Ami back to Castel immediately.

She knew, of course, how outrageous Ami's talent was. His mental calculation speed was simply incredible. Even if he didn't have any other mathematical talents, Castells would always have a place for him based solely on this calculation ability.

But Amiko is not a Castelian; he is a resident of Bloodharbor.

Getting him from the prince wouldn't be difficult, but Bloodharbor was a mixed bag, so after discussing it with the others, Zoe decided to conduct a background check first. After all, they would have to attend literacy classes anyway, so they might as well see what kind of person this young man named Yami was.

Now it seems he's an honest and upright person, well, maybe a bit naive. With that talent, he could earn some money even in Bloodharbor, instead of still living in the slums.

Personal character is not a necessary assessment criterion, but the Northern Expedition is.

Those who survive in the slums of Bloodharbor are most likely connected to the cult of evil gods, or even an organization as large as the Secret Order has to use the name of a cult.

People at the bottom of society don't have many options for survival.

This kind of investigation is more difficult and requires more visits, which is why Zoe asked him to come back first, to avoid alerting the enemy.

After the Church of the Mother Goddess was destroyed, the Secret Order infiltrated the lower echelons of Bloodharbor quite thoroughly. After some time, Zoe obtained the report in her possession.

But the results in this report...
“Grandma, are you saying that this young man has been to the Church of the Mother Goddess, the Doomsday Truth Cult, the Blood Cup Society, and even the Secret Order?”

Zoe's eye twitched.

She had been in Blood Harbor for a while and knew a lot about the situation there. These were all notorious cults, except for the Secret Order.

No. Even the Secret Order, Amy has drunk the holy water brewed by Josh.

The mother-in-law was also speechless: "He stayed at each church for a while, but he only went to freeload meals and didn't join."

These cults of evil gods often offer food as a lure to attract followers.

More generous organizations, such as the Church of the Mother Goddess, would even directly distribute food to the poor. Even if they wanted to trick people into offering sacrifices, they wouldn't use overly aggressive methods at first.

"So... he's been freeloading meals like this all this time?"

The old woman nodded: "Many cults have recruited him. For example, the Secret Order recruited him to work, but he didn't go. He just ate some free meals and then ran away. I don't know if he's smart or stupid."

Zoe recalled Amy's dazed look and couldn't quite tell what was going on.
Fortunately, the literacy class allowed students to freeload meals, which attracted him.

(End of this chapter)