He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Lin has always been a sucker for good looks, both before and after meeting Ai. However, her standards have become extremely high, to the point that, aside from that fox, she hasn't seen anyone with a truly striking appearance in a long time.

Upon entering this carriage, Lin's intuition as a sucker for good looks was ignited, and she felt like her whole being was on fire—

That little girl hiding under the top hat, she smells so good!

She rushed over and said, "Hello... May I sit here?"

The middle-aged man next to her looked fierce, but the young woman was very approachable. A smile played on her lips, a smile that was four parts tranquility, four parts coolness, and two parts mystery: "Please make yourself at home."

Lin plopped down next to Virtue.

?

Won't this woman feel embarrassed?

Taking two barely perceptible steps away from Lin, Veltin felt that her earlier "Please feel free" was somewhat ill-considered, and she unusually fell into a state of existential doubt...

However, she soon began to discreetly observe the strange group of three, starting with Lin—

"Twenty-seven years old...no visible sexual characteristics, no bad habits, no aggression, deformed coccyx, scoliosis...a corporate slave?"

Uh……

Using his access to the think tank, he quickly got a general overview of Lin's chronic ailments. Virtue tilted his head, sensing something was amiss.

Why would a corporate slave go to the suburbs?

Squinting, Virtue felt she must have overlooked some details. She quickly noticed the weapon on Lin—but that didn't mean anything. It was an obsolete short cannon, with a lethality not much different from a fruit knife. In Nest City, it was considered a toy and still seemed harmless.

So, what exactly is she trying to achieve by deliberately getting close to me?

Feeling that she might be in some kind of dead end, Virtue was a little confused, but her intuition told her that the woman in front of her was definitely not a kind person and might have formed some kind of "attribute restraint" on her, so she must not let her guard down.

Seeing that Lin seemed to be getting closer and closer, and realizing that she couldn't handle the situation, the girl had no choice but to seek help from Sherlock, only to find that he had been entangled with another strange person.

The boy, who looked to be about the same age as Virtin, wore an inconspicuous black coat and black and red plaid trousers. He wasn't very tall, and his thick, curly black hair was a little messy, with stray hairs falling around his face like cat whiskers, adding to his lazy air.

He was wearing glasses, a pair of round-rimmed glasses with black frames. This kind of outfit is quite uncommon in the city; even the eyeballs themselves can be replaced as components. Outdated fashion elements like glasses have long been abandoned by the downtown aesthetic.

The middle-aged man and the handsome young man stood to one side, talking quietly—the former grinning foolishly, the latter with a shy and reserved smile on his face, looking harmless and gentle. The scene was quite harmonious for a time.

But Virtue was getting a little anxious.

"Sherlock..." She found herself unknowingly retreating to the corner of this row of seats, while the strange woman in front of her was still approaching her—what was most terrifying was that Virtin could not sense the slightest "hostility" from her, otherwise everything would be much simpler.

What's wrong with this person?

The girl felt the other person's hot breath almost touching her face. Suppressing the urge to attack, she raised her voice: "Sherlock!"

"I'm sorry." It wasn't Sherlock who responded, but the strange boy.

He walked over and, with practiced ease, grabbed Lin's ear and twisted it all the way around: "This guy's old habit has kicked in again, sorry."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—" Lin grimaced, making a token protest before fleeing to the other side of her seat after being released. "You hit me so hard, are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm really sorry." The boy gave Verdin an apologetic smile, gently adjusted his glasses, glanced at Lin, and choked off her next complaint.

"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her."

Virtue unconsciously tilted his head, and even Sherlock, who had been grinning foolishly to the side, cast a scrutinizing glance at him:

—Was that power just now a mystical technique?

In my memory, silence is one of the characteristics of the "Ember" principle, and the Silence spell is a basic skill of the Ember phase.

By using mystical arts right under his nose, Veltin had already labeled this group of people: qualified individuals whom even the Foundation didn't recognize, definitely novices just starting out in the mystical arts.

Then, a flash of iridescent light appeared in the girl's eyes as she took in the information about the person before her:

- Eileen (Demi-human Black Raven), 17 years old

- Authority Level: 1 (Citizen)

- Status: Second-year student at Kitakawa Shujin Private Academy

-No special files

High school student?

Veltin pondered: If there were naturally awakened wild beings among this group, then their strange behavior could be explained—normal people would certainly not go to the outskirts, but if it was to seek secret knowledge or collect mysterious items, then their motives for this trip would be traceable.

These unqualified individuals have just entered the mystical world and have not yet delved into it, so their knowledge and experience are mostly limited to that of "ordinary people." They have not committed any evil deeds, have not abused their power, have not faced the investigation of the Countermeasures Bureau, and have not received systematic guidance in mysticism, which is why they are unaware of even the name "Foundation."

However, compared to the swarms of insects hiding in other carriages, and those vile opportunists entangled with the cult, Virtin had a much better impression of the people in front of him—their natural awakening indicated that they were exceptionally talented, yet they were still willing to abide by the order of the lower city, making them, in a sense, potential high-quality colleagues.

However, Virtue was too lazy to guide them as new recruits. He quietly noted their information down in the think tank's notebook, preparing to consider subsequent procedures such as incorporation or recruitment when he got back.

When she turned her gaze to the last figure among the three, she frowned slightly: "A child?"

No matter how you look at it... it looks like a child.

Although the Nest City already had the "Return to Childhood (Physical Version)" modification surgery, Veltin always trusted her own judgment. Some intangible qualities do not need to be seen with the eyes. She could sense a quality in that little girl: a vague curiosity about everything, like a newborn kitten encountering the human world for the first time, always insatiable and extremely greedy, dissolving the unknown she saw into a medium for understanding the world.

Adults have a concept of hunger and satiety, and they may conceal this "greed," but children don't. Even more frightening is that, before their minds are fully developed, everything appears ambiguous in their eyes. Once this "boundaryless understanding" is extended to the realm of the mysterious…

This could lead to a loss of control.

The Foundation has tasted the bitter fruit of this tragedy, a horrific disaster caused by a twelve-year-old child that was brought under control only after inflicting almost irreversible damage on the nest, becoming one of the sealed "taboos".

Therefore, in the realm of mysticism, there is a saying that rivals the supernatural—when a child awakens to the power, he possesses the potential to dissolve himself, and even the world.

Anxiety rose in Virtue's eyes. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed the girl until now—even though the little one was the most conspicuous of the three, she seemed like an inorganic object, as insignificant as the other things in the carriage, like the seats and handrails...

She became serious and took a step forward, but was naturally interrupted by Eileen just as she was about to act.

"It's rare to meet someone in the same field you can really talk to in this area. Perhaps we could get to know each other?"

It sounded like he was just making conversation, but the bespectacled boy had an unreasonable air about him—both Virtin and Sherlock thought it would be rude to interrupt him, so they patiently waited for him to continue.

"This lady is Lin." Eileen pointed to the female office worker who was silenced and huddled in the corner, then pointed to herself, "Eileen."

Finally, he slowly squatted down, gently stroked the girl's hair, and raised one of her hands to her ear, making a cute gesture: "This is my little sister, Nee—she's very shy and doesn't like to talk much. Sometimes she might seem a bit impolite, I'm sorry, but she's actually a very well-behaved child..."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Sherlock started waving his hands, but only realized his overstepping of bounds after being glared at fiercely by Virtue.

If Ellen hadn't already demonstrated the arcane arts of the Ash Phase and clearly been a newcomer, Veltin would have definitely suspected that this guy might be a Moth Phase devotee who had secretly cast a spell on himself and Sherlock to appear so approachable.

As for the dual criteria... the girl ruled out that possibility after a brief hesitation: it would be a miracle for a wild qualified individual to come into contact with one criterion before it even sprouts.

…We still need to deal with the hazardous factors first.

"Nie, it's nice to meet you." Veltin walked up to the little girl and spoke in a tone that was used to coax a child, while meeting her bright red eyes. "It's a very nice name."

A few seconds passed, but Nie didn't react; his big eyes remained unblinking.

The young executive rubbed her temples in bewilderment—what should she do?

I really can't handle kids.

She looked up and saw Ellen standing to the side. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to break through that "glass paper" herself.

She asked sternly, "Has your sister already seen that red pond?"

As he said those words, Virtin was already mentally prepared for a falling out: the young executive had seen too many wild qualified individuals make a fool of themselves after their secrets were exposed—to see the Red Pool, one must be able to understand the Intangible Matter, be sensitive and have exceptional inspiration, and these two qualities usually mean an "unstable mental state".

To put it simply, you can't be qualified without being crazy.

When such groups leave their environment and break away from their familiar worldview and comfort zone, they often tend to develop in an extreme direction if they are not guided—this is one of the reasons why Tantric cults are rampant.

"Strange fellow...don't let me down."

Even though he didn't know why he cared so much about the people he had just met, Virtin silently prayed in his heart: "I just hope... they're not idiots."

As long as no clear aggression or murderous intent is displayed, a potential conflict can perhaps be avoided through conversation.

Sherlock, standing to the side, had already narrowed his eyes—

At a time of heightened tensions.

Eileen suddenly sighed, and under the surprised gazes of the two, she put on a relieved expression.

He spoke, his voice full of sincerity: "I've been waiting for you for a long time..."

He took off his glasses, a glint of light flashing in his hazy eyes: "I've always felt that something was missing from this world, and your appearance has finally filled that gap..."

"Wait..." Veltin seemed to sense some kind of field effect unfolding and tried to interrupt—

Too late! It's my turn now!

Eileen remained completely unfazed, bowing politely to the two of them: "Greetings to my fellow climbers on the path of ascension. If you'd like, I hope you'll listen to the rest of the story..."

Sherlock, Wilding: "..."

Development... something doesn't seem right?

Eileen gave a shy smile, then hid a subtle cunning in the depths of her gray eyes.

This adventurous encounter has finally come to fruition.

He took a deep breath: "Something strange has happened to me—"

"Just a short while ago, about a month and a half... or two months, I can't quite remember. I received a package from an unknown ID. Inside was a book and a piece of letter paper..."

Books and letter paper...who still uses those things these days?

unless……

The two of them fell into deep thought.

The gray-eyed boy paused for a few breaths before continuing slowly, "A mysterious person I've never met sent me a strange book. The cover had an abnormal texture, like something alive. If you got close, you could hear faint murmurs... When my mind was hazy, I opened it, and the moment the title page was turned, the book burst into flames right in front of me..."

Sure enough, he received a "secret message".

Veltin nodded with interest, resting his chin on the back of his hand to indicate that he was listening, while Ellen continued her presentation.

Just like an ordinary person who accidentally comes into contact with a mysterious place, this unremarkable high school student fell into a state of existential doubt after seeing the Red Pond. Later, she relied on her naturally strong heart to stabilize her mindset until she truly stepped into the mysterious world. When recounting this experience, Eileen's facial expressions were vivid and concrete: the fear in her memories and the dazed look in her eyes all proclaimed the authenticity of this story.

Finally, Eileen shifted the topic to the "letter," hiding his grey eyes in the reflection of his glasses, and whispered to the listener before him:

"When I had accepted that the world had a dark side, and thought that no matter what happened, things couldn't get any worse, I opened that letter. Its contents told me it was a...will, and the will's contents were to guide me to the outskirts to inherit the mysterious man's estate..."

"And that is how we met here."

……

Sherlock and Veltin listened intently, even becoming increasingly engrossed. After all, this was a story woven by a "moth," with the power of deception flowing within it. Without the addition of "malice," even Veltin couldn't detect this colorless lie.

Eileen hid her soft laughter in her even, slow breathing—

We can consider the first phase sorted out.

Tsk, just like me!