Mystery: A Spark

"If a city-state were to possess the power of the Solar Path, they might indeed live better than us, and higher-order beings might emerge from there. However..."

Colin's voice carried a strange emotion as he spoke:

"Perhaps we can be a bit bolder in our guesses."

"Your Excellency, do you mean that the mysterious gathering that Derrick Berg participated in can be connected to the outside world?" Shadow's tone was clearly agitated.

“It’s still uncertain, and we need to continue having Derrick make contact,” Colin said, shaking his head.

The shadow pondered and said:

"The axe that Derrick obtained earlier, which could control lightning power, was clearly not a magical item, because it had no negative effects."

"Since the other party was able to hand over this weapon to Derrick, it means that the other party may have the ability to mass-produce this kind of weapon."

"But if a city-state possesses both the solar pathway and the ability to mass-produce such extraordinary weapons, then their sphere of influence will certainly be far greater than ours."

“Yes, but apart from that one time decades ago, we’ve never found a single living person outside,” Colin said in a low voice.

When this matter was brought up, Shadow fell silent.

After a while, he hesitated before speaking:

"Chief, regarding that person underground, we..."

"Just keep observing. Since the other party hasn't shown any malice yet, we shouldn't overreact. Let's just keep things peaceful for now."

"Our biggest concern right now is Derrick. We need to keep a close eye on him and make sure he hasn't been secretly corrupted. Then, we'll see if he can bring a turning point to Silver City."

“You must relay his requests to me immediately,” Colin said seriously.

"Yes, Your Excellency." The shadow in the corner wriggled and disappeared.

......

Inside a house in the Hillston district.

"Finally, I can come back to live here. It's been such a long time." Fors threw herself onto the soft sofa, looking exhausted.

She and Hugh had previously reported to the police what they had witnessed—the bloodshed committed by Zillingus.

Just to be on the safe side, they didn't go home after reporting the incident to the police, but instead rented a small apartment as a temporary hiding place.

During that period, they lived in constant fear and anxiety, terrified that one day they would be found and killed by Qilingus, or captured by the official extraordinary beings.

They only breathed a slight sigh of relief when news of Zilingus's murder came out.

Even so, she and Hugh didn't dare go home right away.

Instead, he stayed away for a few more days, and only dared to come back to live after he was sure things had calmed down.

“Indeed, I haven’t slept well these past few days. I never expected that the commission Miss Audrey gave us would end up like this.” Hugh sat down next to Fors and sighed.

"So, will you take on any more tasks from Miss Audrey in the future?" Fors asked, sprawled on the sofa and looking at Hugh.

"It depends on how much she'll pay this time. If... if she pays enough, it's not impossible," Hugh said hesitantly.

"So, what price do you think would be enough to meet your expectations?" Fors asked curiously.

"Well, I would be content if I could have three hundred pounds."

Hugh hugged his knees and looked out the window, saying:

"However, I'm worried that the information we gathered earlier won't be of much value to Miss Audrey, and she might not pay us much because of it."

"In that case, I don't know when I'll be able to advance to Sequence 8, let alone Sequence 6 or Sequence 5..."

She paused for a few seconds, then whispered absentmindedly:

"And I have no idea when we'll be able to get back what belongs to our family... I haven't seen my brother for almost a year..."

Fors smiled reassuringly:

"Once you've fulfilled your wish, please allow me to write your experience into a story; it will surely be very exciting and interesting."

"Well, actually I think that with Miss Audrey's generosity, even if things end like this, she will still give us a generous reward. After all, we've been busy for so long, and we've gotten Qilingus to show up on his own initiative."

"We played a part in the killing of Zilingus."

"I hope so... Sigh, why can't I have a lucky encounter?" Hugh haphazardly ran his fingers through his shoulder-length blond hair.

Fors frowned slightly and said:

"In the extraordinary world, adventures are often accompanied by danger. I still don't know what those whispers that appear during the full moon represent, or whether they will cause any bad changes. Haha, adventures without danger do exist, but they are extremely rare. Your wish is really hard to fulfill."

Unless we receive the favor of a legitimate deity, or the watchful eye of a benevolent, hidden being, it is difficult for us to discern whether this is a disguised evil god or demon.

Xiu straightened his back and drew a crimson moon on his chest, saying:

May the goddess protect me!

Fors leaned to one side and, imitating Hugh, drew a simple steam-powered holy symbol on his chest:

May the god of steam protect me!

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Just then, they heard the bell attached to the gate ring.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells."

Fors and Hugh exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

"Who could be coming at this hour?" Hugh stood up, intending to open the door.

Fors quickly grabbed her arm. Hugh turned around in confusion, only to find that her friend was already holding the bracelet with only two stones left in her hand.

Hugh slightly widened his eyes, thought for a moment, reached out and pulled out his triangular bayonet, then hid it behind his back.

After making preparations, Xiu cautiously approached the gate and looked out through the peephole.

Upon seeing the people outside, Hugh was momentarily stunned.

Seeing this, Fors whispered in her ear:

"Did you see who it was?"

“It’s that painter, Arthur,” Hugh replied in a similarly low voice.

Was it him? Didn't he go out to sea before? When did he come back...? Fors was a little confused.

However, despite her doubts, she nodded to Hugh and asked her to open the door.

Of course, Fors kept the bracelet in her hand the whole time, ready to run away with Hugh as soon as she sensed something was wrong.

Outside the door, Arthur watched the two figures inside and knew that the two best friends had not yet recovered from what had happened with Qilingus.

So he didn't rush him. After ringing the doorbell twice, he patiently waited for the person inside to open the door.

After Arthur had thoroughly tamed the puppy at home, he began to think about how to get the little guy to play the magician.

But this little guy is a dog, not a human, so things that are easy for humans to do are inconvenient for it.

Therefore, if Arthas wants to get the Master of Tricks to work, the best way is to find someone to take it and have the two of them perform together at the circus.

Because if a dog goes to the circus alone, it's actually quite easy for people to notice something's wrong.

Moreover, Arthas's partner should ideally be a magician who can digest potions, so that they can not only cooperate with each other, but also the human can conceal the dog's special abilities.

That's why Arthur came to Fors' house.

Because Fors had already digested the Apprentice Potion, he only needed to drink the Master of Tricks' Potion to advance directly.

She was also friends with the original owner of Arthur, and Arthur understood her; there was a fairly good foundation of trust between them.

The door opened, and Arthur greeted Hugh and Fors, who looked somewhat nervous.

"You two, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Arthur," Fors and Hugh replied curtly.

As mentioned before, Arthur, as a painter, was an artist, just like Fors, the writer.

So before Arthur went to sea, he and Fors had quite a bit of contact.

Naturally, Hugh, who was Fors's best friend, also knew Arthur and they became friends.

Arthur's gaze swept over Hugh's arm hidden behind his back, and he smiled knowingly as he asked:

"Has something happened to you lately? Why do you seem so tense?"

"Uh...it's nothing really. You know, it's just that we're two girls living here, so we need to be a little careful about our safety," Fors said with a dry laugh.

She loosened her grip on the bracelet and stopped being on guard.

Hugh, on the other hand, tucked the triangular bayonet into his clothes right in front of Arthur.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he said:

“You know, Arthur, when we’re operating in the East District, some people lack reason and aren’t so easily persuaded, so it’s reasonable for me to carry this tool to calm them down.”

Arthur coughed lightly, then said:

"Yes, I believe it."

"Um, Arthur, is there something you need this time?" Fors awkwardly changed the subject.

“After this voyage, I experienced some special things.”

Arthur looked at the two people in front of him and said with a smile:

"So I came to talk to you about the extraordinary individuals."

Chapter 108 Selling Crutches

Fors and Hugh sat side by side on the sofa, glancing at each other every now and then, both seeing the deep surprise in each other's eyes.

Across from them, Arthur sat calmly, his posture leisurely.

Just now at the door, he chose to be straightforward with these two instead of beating around the bush with riddles.

Because one of these two best friends is a reckless brute who acts faster with his hands than with his brain, while the other is a bit better, but has the same lazy, easygoing nature as Arthas before.

Moreover, there's no longer the threat of quill pens, so Arthur naturally doesn't need to beat around the bush when talking to people like he did in Tingen.

“Arthur, what did you mean by ‘Extraordinary’? Is it some kind of special profession?” Fors asked tentatively, pretending that she had never heard of Extraordinary before.