Mystery: A Spark

As for food, it was naturally obtained through relief, begging, scavenging, or even theft and robbery.

When the warm spring arrives, those who are still able to stand will seek a new way to make a living.

However, this only applies to a small number of people, because most people cannot survive the cold winter in such meager conditions.

At that time, their bodies will be collected, burned, and finally placed in some unknown cemetery.

But this year, everything changed because of the rise of the Workers' Mutual Aid Association.

First, the shacks were demolished, and the area became an empty space.

Then came several roaring heavy excavators, which turned the place into a building foundation.

During the strike and demonstration, the site became a construction site.

It is clear that the Workers' Mutual Aid Association wants to build a building here, which will inevitably create a large number of jobs.

And these are jobs that don't require any technical skills, like carrying bricks.

So, the homeless people who should have been staying here waiting to die quickly became part of the brick-moving army.

And the workers during this strike have found a good place to go.

A half-day's work is enough to provide enough food for an adult to eat three meals a day.

Yes, you only need to work for one morning, and you'll have enough food for the whole day.

They even have a considerable surplus, which they can use to support their families.

Because the local custom is to eat only two meals a day.

Therefore, many responded.

People work there for a morning each day, then take a two-hour break at noon.

In the afternoon, they gathered together to begin their daily parade.

They started from the East Wing, crossed the Backlund Bridge area, and then arrived at the Memorial Square in the West Wing to begin chanting slogans.

This has become a routine these past few days.

No one knows how long the mutual aid society can sustain itself like this with its financial resources.

However, according to what Audrey heard, the losses suffered by factory owners from the strike in just a few days were already a considerable amount.

For those greedy factory owners, not making money is equivalent to losing money, which is worse than death for them.

Furthermore, many factory owners often rely on loans to maintain their cash flow.

If a factory's product manufacturing cannot keep up with the demand, it will cause a problem in one link of the chain, which will lead to a break in the cash flow.

As a result, they will suffer losses at best, and go bankrupt at worst.

Therefore, in Audrey's view, as long as the Workers' Mutual Aid Association can persist, this workers' strike will most likely end with the factory owners' compromise.

As for whether the Workers' Mutual Aid Association could survive, Audrey was not too worried.

Because when they could no longer hold on, a girl who wished to remain anonymous would provide them with financial assistance.

Yes, Audrey plans to use her financial power to help them if necessary.

However, she didn't actually think that day would come, or rather, she thought that most of the factory owners would not be able to hold on until that day.

Because the factory owner only suffered a financial loss, or rather, it can't even be called a loss, it's just that the factory stopped operating.

However, the workers' side faced the issue of survival.

This leads to a complete difference in their resolve.

Even though factory owners value money above all else, they can still distinguish between the huge losses caused by continuing to drag things out and the smaller losses after compromise.

"However, besides providing direct financial assistance, it seems there's something else I can do."

"After all, I'm an adult now, and I should take on more responsibilities."

Audrey murmured to herself.

Guided by someone, Audrey's frequent trips to the East End and the many things she experienced and saw there ultimately had a significant impact on the young girl.

Her near-death experience during the severe smog event, in particular, greatly changed her mindset.

This change led Audrey to gradually make a decision.

……

The Tarot will arrive on time at 3 PM.

After the crimson faded from her sight, Audrey saw an additional figure across the long table than usual.

Another new member has joined? Our Tarot Association is getting stronger and stronger... She glanced at the new figure with a mixture of pride and curiosity.

Just as she stood up and greeted the members as usual, she heard Mr. Fool chuckle and introduce them:

"This is our newest member, Mr. 'Moon'."

"Mr. Moon?" Audrey thought to herself. "I thought it would be a lady who would choose this card."

She first greeted the new members, and then greeted the other members in the usual order.

It begins with Mr. Fool and ends with Mr. World.

This order is not based on seating arrangement, but rather follows the patterns of the Tarot cards.

"The Fool" is the beginning that contains all possibilities, and "the World" is the ending that is perfectly sublimated.

This is a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder on Miss Audrey's part, a result of the Tarot Club becoming increasingly larger and more organized.

After sitting down, Audrey continued:

“I’m sorry, Mr. Fool, as I said last week, due to the situation in Backlund, I am unable to obtain the next volume of Roselle’s Diary. Please wait another week.”

She then looked at Alger the Hanged Man and said:

"The recipe for the Wind Chosen Potion you need is the same, and it will take some time before you can get it."

“Okay,” Klein said calmly.

"I understand." Alger sighed with some regret.

After listening to their conversation, Fors interjected:

“Dear Mr. Fool, I have received three pages of Russell’s diary.”

"That's right. The more members we have, the more channels we have, and many things will grow rapidly like a snowball..." Klein nodded slightly.

"very good."

Russell's Diary? "The Moon" Emlyn felt as if he had heard something extraordinary.

Under his questioning gaze, Fors materialized three pages of a diary and passed them on to Mr. Fool.

There were no unexpected developments in this tarot reading session, so Klein immediately began reading the few pages of Russell's diary that he had received.

In this diary entry, he first learned that the "Hunter" pathway would force a sex change at Sequence Four.

Fortunately, unlike the "Assassin" path, the "Hunter" path only turns women into men, so Klein doesn't have to worry about Arthur suddenly turning into a cute girl one day.

Just thinking about it made him feel... a little excited.

Wait a minute, speaking of which, "hunter" and "assassin" should be adjacent paths, right? What if Arthur doesn't want to be a man anymore one day? Wouldn't that be... Klein imagined what Arthur would look like as a woman and couldn't help but shudder.

It's not that he thinks Arthur looks bad after being gender-swapped.

On the contrary, he thought it was too beautiful.

So much so that Klein actually felt a tiny bit of attraction, which was quite shameful.

Yes, really only a tiny bit.

No, no, I can't let my mind wander... Klein cleared his mind of all distractions and refocused his attention on the diary.

In his subsequent diary entries, he learned about some of the things the Emperor experienced at the "Twilight Hermits' Society".

For example, when the Emperor asked about the meaning of the name "Red Priestess," the person who answered him was actually an ancient powerhouse, Hermes, the founder of human mysticism.

Furthermore, the Emperor believes that there are likely angel-level powerhouses with the "audience" pathway within the Twilight Hermit Society, such as the "Insightful One" of Sequence Two or the "Writer" of Sequence One.

As for the "Dreamer" Emperor of Sequence 0, he thought it was unlikely, because if that were the case, they wouldn't need to hide behind the scenes and cause trouble.

However, the way the Twilight Hermits meet is still very magical. Unlike the Gray Mist, it is a real dream that connects the entire continent.

This series of information made Klein feel that he had gained a lot.

At the end of the diary, it is written that after Emperor Roselle expressed his confusion about why the word "authority" appeared in his description of the gods, he received an answer from the old man Hermes.

However, what's really frustrating is that the diary ends right here. What follows is not Hermes's answer, but a record of the emperor's early life on the estate.

This made Klein, whose thirst for knowledge was not being satisfied, feel extremely agitated, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart, "Those who cut out chapters deserve to die a horrible death."

Of course, he didn't show his emotions outwardly; he simply leaned back slightly, letting the diary disappear from his hands, and said with a smile:

"You can start."

Alger looked at Audrey and said:

"Miss Justice, we have found the magical item you need. We should be able to get it in about one to two weeks."

"Let me tell you about its effects first, and then you can see if you are satisfied."

“Okay.” Audrey nodded and listened attentively.

"This magical item is a ring with a bright green gemstone on it. Anyone who is touched by this gemstone will have their injuries healed quickly."

"However, this recovery requires blood as a price. The more severe the injury, the more blood is needed to recover, and it must be human blood."

"Furthermore, if you soak the gemstone on the ring in water for one minute, you can create a potion that can treat diseases," Alger explained in detail the results of his efforts over the past few days.

Human blood… Audrey frowned and asked:

"And what about the negative effects?"

"First of all, the wearer can only be a woman, and she must be a woman who has never had sexual intercourse. If a man or a woman who has already had sexual intercourse wears it, he will fall into a strong desire to mate, and may even have thoughts about animals, such as fish in the sea."

"In addition, on the night of the blood moon, the wearer is required to drip a drop of their blood onto the gem."

“Otherwise, the gemstone will become dull, and the ring’s extraordinary power will weaken until it absorbs enough of the wearer’s blood,” Alger replied calmly.

As a veteran member of the Storm Church who had weathered many storms, he had few taboos about this topic and naturally spoke his mind.