Mysterious: The Innate Sacred Body of Destiny

Chapter 404 Soda and Xiu's New Mission

"The most important thing is promotion—"

The security company arrangements have been basically finalized. Regardless of whether the audacious plan to wipe out the gangs in the East District is carried out, basic security work will definitely need to be done.

Regarding personnel, Lorne has already made preliminary arrangements. He plans to first hire a group of professional security personnel from the industry association in Backlund who were unemployed for various reasons but still had relatively clean backgrounds, thus establishing a basic framework.

Then, leveraging the connections of Congressman Macht and Dela Negan in the military, they recruited another group of veterans.

The company is in full swing with preparations, and the basic framework has been finalized. If circumstances allow in the future, Lorne still intends to try to execute the previously envisioned plan to "take over the East District."

"However, we still need some extraordinary subordinates among the security personnel—it's difficult to deal with real trouble with just ordinary people."

"Although we can hire some wild extraordinary individuals through bounties, their loyalty is too low and there are too many uncontrollable factors. The best way is to cultivate a group of trusted confidants ourselves."

Lorne mentally assessed his available resources: "The potion recipes I currently have access to are 'Monster,' 'Hunter,' 'Sailor,' 'Diviner,' and 'Thief.'"

The "Hunter" and "Sailor" paths excel in direct combat, making them well-suited as damage dealers. However, the "Sailor" path belongs to the Storm Church.

The core approach is likely to arouse their suspicion—"The hunter could get the formula from Danitz, or find a way to get rid of the evil spirit in the basement of the villa and extract from it—"

Thinking of the evil spirits beneath the villa, Luo En pressed his throbbing temples and sighed, "Alas—in the end, I still need to advance. Once I become a demigod, all problems will cease to be problems."

"So what if she's Tracy? Once I become Sequence 4, even if she's a Disease General," she'd be no match for me. That subterranean evil spirit, I can exorcise it myself and take its remnants—"

"Even if all the plans fail, it's okay. We can just give up the identity of James Scott."

"Whether you retire from public life or join another clandestine organization under a different identity, it's all fine. Any organization would be eager to have a wild demigod."

With that in mind, Lorne took out some stationery from the drawer, pulled out his pen, and wrote a letter to the "mysterious queen" Bernadette.

He now desperately needs the potion recipe for Sequence 4 of the "Monster" pathway.

Money, resources, or even high-ranking intelligence from sailors—Scott has plenty of those things now.

After writing down the main points of the purchase request, Lorne hesitated for a moment, then added a paragraph at the end of the letter, subtly asking the other party to inquire about the recent movements of "Admiral of Disease" Tracy, to see if she was still active at sea, or if any new intelligence had emerged.

"We still need some supporting evidence."

"As for Will Unsetin—I don't think he'll give me the potion formula so easily—" Lorne recalled the somewhat awkward conversation he had in his dream a while ago. The other person seemed to be worried about something.

"Aurora Club - East District —"

"The three major churches are currently on high alert. Perhaps we can take advantage of this tension and use their strength against them."

Bottle factory.

"Is this the sample that was produced?"

Lorne stood beside the roaring machine and picked up a glass bottle that had just cooled down from the conveyor belt. The bottle was clear, symmetrical, and uniform in size. Although it still had some air bubbles and other imperfections, it was already quite good.

He nodded slightly, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Good job, Owens. Your technique is indeed very good."

"You flatter me, Mr. Scott." Owens rubbed his hands together somewhat embarrassedly, his face smeared with engine oil, but his eyes were bright. "It's mainly because your funding is in place, and that idea of ​​vacuum suction cup feeding has really been a great help."

"One production line isn't enough." Lorne put down the bottle and waved his hand. "I'll invest more if we build two more production lines. Now we need your help to get this factory fully operational, not just to produce, but to mass-produce on a large scale."

"No problem, Mr. Scott! As long as I have the money, I can build the best machine!" Owens assured him, patting his chest.

"Very good. Also, what do you think of my idea regarding the bottle cap's seal?"

"Sealing with a serrated and corrugated cap is a very creative idea, and I think it has a high probability of success."

After leaving the bottle factory, Lorne did not get into the carriage immediately. Instead, he stood at the door, looked around at the surroundings, and even used his spiritual vision to scan the area.

"Very good, there are no problems around here."

Ever since Tracy's unexpected visit, Lorne felt he had become a bit eccentric.

"Premonition of disaster" can indeed help one to sense impending danger in advance, but fate is unpredictable, and unexpected accidents may suddenly occur, catching one off guard.

Just like this time when Tracy suddenly showed up at our door —

"Tracy isn't someone who gives up easily—since she already suspects my relationship with Brando, she'll definitely take further action."

I had to act as if nothing was amiss, while also remaining vigilant. Back at the Loggert Arms Factory, I quickly resolved a backlog of documents and reports.

Lorne took out a glass bottle that he had brought back from the bottling plant as a sample and placed it on his desk.

Although the fully automatic bottle-making machine itself was technologically advanced enough to serve as a stepping stone to do business with the "Steam and Mechanical Church," he still planned to produce actual soda products before taking action, as this would be more convincing.

Sugar, baking soda, lemon juice, purified water —

He found these simple ingredients in his makeshift kitchen and, according to his own understanding, made a simple version of lemonade.

"laugh"

As the baking soda reacted with the acidic substance, a large number of bubbles appeared in the bottle.

Lorne picked up his cup and took a small sip.

"hiss----"

The taste is slightly sweet and slightly sour, with a noticeable, slightly pungent carbonation. It's not particularly delicious, even...

It's a bit strange, but at least we can confirm it's not poisonous, and it is indeed carbonated "soft drink".

"All I can say is—he can drink, but he won't die from it."

"Cola's ability to sell globally stems from its unique, addictive taste and extremely consistent quality."

Before I traveled through time, I preferred a bottle of iced cola that cost only a few dollars to the specially made sparkling water from the beverage shop.

"For soda to become popular, its taste must not be significantly inferior to the freshly made sparkling water in restaurants these days —"

"Looks like I'll have to try making my own soda syrup."

"Sugar and water are the base, along with various flavorings —"

"You can use concentrated fruit juice, and spices like vanilla and cinnamon —"

Soda machines already exist in this era; most restaurants use manual air pumps, which are inefficient and produce unstable bubbles.

But Lorne knew that some advanced factories used steam-driven compressors that could compress carbon dioxide to 6 to 8 atmospheres and dissolve it in water. That kind of equipment was more in line with his plans for large-scale production.

As for the source of carbon dioxide, we could start by collaborating with some breweries or distilleries. After all, carbon dioxide is produced during fermentation.

The large amount of carbon dioxide byproducts can be collected at a very low cost. Moreover, partnering with wineries makes it easier to obtain fruit juice raw materials to make syrup.

Of course, the carbon dioxide produced during steelmaking can also be utilized, but that requires complex filtration and purification equipment. Perhaps the "Steam Church" could help solve this problem.

"Soft drink is a great product. Once it sells well, it'll definitely be a hit. This cheap, delicious, and thirst-quenching everyday consumable, once a brand is established and consumption habits are formed, will generate extremely substantial profits and cash flow. Moreover—"

He suddenly paused, as if he had thought of something.

"These consumer products, which cover a wide range and are deeply integrated into daily life, may also have unexpected and wonderful uses in spreading specific ideas, shaping images, and even subtly influencing cognition."

If it were used for missionary work—”

"Steam churches are unlikely to refuse such a good thing as being able to both make money and spread their faith."

"Belief--"

When the topic turned to spreading faith, Lorne suddenly fell silent for a moment.

He stared blankly at the still-bubbling bottle of soda in his hand, then shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "What am I thinking? Honestly—"

East Backland, it's still that familiar alley.

Hugh met the mysterious man wearing the golden mask again.

"This is the intelligence I gathered some time ago."

Hugh pulled a file folder wrapped in brown paper from his pocket and handed it over.

This contains a batch of "confidential documents" that Lorne had prepared specifically to deal with the investigation after their last meeting, as well as some semi-public information that Hugh had recently collected.

The masked man took the brown paper bag, tore open the seal, and quickly flipped through its contents in the dim light.

Loggert Arms Factory Recent Production Update

The establishment of the factory canteen and the workers' thoughts—

There are also various reports on the distribution of medicines by charitable foundations.

As before, this was the result of what appeared to be the hard work of a diligent "intelligence agent"—

The masked man didn't say much, only nodded slightly, and put the document into his pocket. Then, he took out a thick wad of banknotes from his pocket, counted out the agreed amount, and handed it to Hugh.

Just as Hugh took the money, thinking that this rendezvous would end smoothly like the previous ones, and was about to turn and leave, the masked man suddenly called out to her.

"Wait a moment."

"What's wrong?" Hugh stopped and turned around, his hand instinctively reaching for the triangular dagger at his waist.

"I heard you know the gatekeeper at Loggert Arms Factory? And you even helped him out?" The masked man's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled.

Upon hearing this, Hugh's pupils contracted slightly.

Sure enough, they found out about me helping Scott watch the factory.

I need to stay calm. He might not know about my personal relationship with Scott; perhaps he's just testing my intelligence sources.

"Hmm." Hugh quickly composed himself and nodded with a normal expression.

"When I was out in that area before, I happened to see the doorman being harassed by some gangsters and unscrupulous reporters, so I just helped him out and chased them away."

"Later, when I was gathering information, the doorman became a great source of information. I obtained or verified a lot of James Scott's daily intelligence from him."

What she said was half true and half false, yet it made sense.

Hugh is known for her kind heart in the East District, and her intervention to help someone who was being harassed fits her persona.

"Hmm." The masked man didn't say anything more, seemingly agreeing with the other person's statement.

"Take a look at this."

He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Hugh.

Xiu took it with some suspicion and unfolded it to take a look.

"Hiring — Recruiting — Senior Security Personnel — Protective Umbrella Company —"

Hugh quickly scanned the content, his brow furrowing slightly: "Is this—a job posting for bounty hunters?"

"You could say that," the masked man nodded. "This news only came out in the last couple of days. The mastermind behind this Umbrella Corporation is James Scott."

Before Xiu could express any doubt, the masked man continued, "He recently started a new security company and is in dire need of manpower—"

Scott is going to start a security company?

Indeed, with so many properties under his name and the rampant gangs in the East District, he definitely needs a strong security team to protect his interests.

But why tell me all this all of a sudden? — Is it because they think my information is too outdated, or have they discovered something and are testing my reaction?

Hugh pursed her lips, deciding to tell the truth to avoid arousing suspicion: "Sorry, I've been mainly keeping an eye on his social circle lately, and haven't been collecting much information about this aspect."

"This only happened in the last two days, so it's normal that you don't know about it." The masked man didn't seem to be blaming him.

"Do you want me to focus on gathering intelligence on this security company?" Hugh asked tentatively.

"Hmm." The masked man nodded. "You can try to focus your subsequent investigation on this newly established security company and find out its personnel composition and organizational structure."

"Sure," Hugh readily agreed. Anyway, he could discuss it with Scott later; he could decide what information to give him.

But, to Hugh's surprise, the masked man didn't end the conversation there. He looked Hugh up and down through the holes in his mask, as if assessing something, before slowly saying, "Actually, there's another special mission with even more lucrative rewards. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"What mission?" Hugh suddenly had a bad feeling.

"You could try applying and joining this umbrella company."

"ha?"

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