Old days, dice and investigator's manual

"Sir, you've been with us for so long. Is there anything important you need to discuss? Please sit down and talk." Isaac gestured to the seat opposite him.

After moving to the doorway, Isaac had Li Jiehao sit on his side against the wall. This was partly to leave room for the other party to talk, and partly to prevent the man from suddenly attacking Li Jiehao.

The man was silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Isaac and Li Jiehao, before glancing at the black dog on the table.

Having already been exposed, there was no point in pretending to be stupid any longer. He simply walked to the table, sat down opposite Isaac, with half of his body turned to the door, in a posture that suggested he could get up and leave at any time.

The man stared at Isaac for a few seconds: "I know you're from the FBI."

"Didn't you just say 'the FBI is investigating'?"

The man choked for a moment. After all, that sentence was just a temporary excuse to force the waiter to cooperate. Now that Isaac brought it up, it seemed that his words were incoherent.

Isaac's question wasn't meant to be sarcastic, since he wasn't sure if the other person was actually from the FBI.

The man cleared his throat, not dwelling on the matter: "Although you are from the FBI, the FBI can't necessarily protect your lives. You'd better stay out of the cult's affairs."

The only thing that comes to Isaac's mind right now is the Ghoul Order.

The question is, who exactly is this cult watching? Li Jiehao, or himself, or both?

If the target is Li Jiehao, it means the cult knows about his "ring retrieval" operation last night, and may even have been monitoring Jacob Hamilton for a long time. If the target is Isaac, it might be related to the previous clothing store incident, or it might be... more complicated.

"The cult?" Isaac feigned ignorance. "Which cult are you referring to? The FBI has quite a few cults to investigate. If you don't specify, how am I supposed to know which one to leave alone?"

"Don't play dumb. You know perfectly well what you did last night," the man sneered.

Li Jiehao's eyes darted away, but Isaac didn't respond, his expression remaining unchanged.

The man, feeling his threat had worked, leaned forward: "That ring is not something you should touch. Hand it over, and the cult can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, you FBI agents know what happened to Handel Beck."

"It seems the Ghoul Cult is responsible for Handel Beck's death?"

"Ghouls? Hmph, don't use such ignorant words to refer to us. You short-lived species cannot comprehend the vision of the immortals."

Li Jiehao, who was standing nearby, couldn't hold back any longer: "You've even started short-lived cultivation? Are you cultivating immortality or Frilian?"

The man glanced at Li Jiehao but didn't respond. He seemed disdainful, but in reality, he had no idea what cultivating immortality or Frilian meant.

"You murdered citizens in Vista and threatened FBI agents not to interfere. You seem to have a lot of confidence," Isaac said.

The man raised his chin, as if he had taken control: "The Order's hidden strength is not due to a lack of power, but rather to a greater cause."

"A greater cause?"

"When the cult's great undertaking is accomplished, you will witness it. For now, you only need to understand that if you insist on opposing the cult, it wouldn't be surprising if FBI agents disappeared or died unexpectedly." The man paused. "Of course, if you are willing to cooperate, then hand over that ring."

Isaac sifted through the information revealed by the other party. His attitude was tough, but he did not take direct action. It seemed more like he was there to test the waters, which meant that they were currently regarded as "objects that need to be warned" rather than "targets that must be eliminated".

"Well then, perhaps I can keep fishing..." Isaac made up his mind and said, "Even if I wanted to give you the ring, it's not in my possession."

"But as someone from the FBI, you know where that ring is, right?"

"It's in the FBI's evidence room. If you want it, go get it yourself."

The man stared at Isaac, trying to determine the truth of his words, but Isaac remained calm and allowed him to scrutinize him.

"No matter where the ring is, bring it out," the man said. "If you really do that, as I just said, the Order will consider accepting you and granting you longevity and foresight."

Li Jiehao listened in stunned silence. This person's rhetoric sounded like a pyramid scheme: first threats, then empty promises and offers.

Isaac did not directly refute this empty promise: "Judging from your tone, it's as if you're certain I'll obediently cooperate."

The man chuckled: "I know what you're thinking. You think you can use the ring as bait to set a trap and lure us out, or you can just take me down now and bring me back to the FBI for interrogation."

"But do you think I'm one of those fools you can manipulate at will? I possess great techniques, a level of understanding beyond the comprehension of mortals like you. If it really comes down to a fight, the two of you plus this dog are no match for me. Besides, there are plenty of people in the Order stronger than me. If things really come to a head, you'll be the ones who suffer."

The term "great art" was one that Isaac had seen several times in the FBI files. It was used to refer to extraordinary powers that could be learned and mastered. Similar terms included secret arts, mystical knowledge, and hidden knowledge.

However, the official term "great art" is rarely used to refer to this kind of power. Instead, many illegal organizations prefer to use this term to attract new members, since it sounds very grand and is more likely to arouse the longing of ordinary people.

The person in front of me was clearly a beneficiary of this rhetoric, speaking of the "great art" with undisguised pride, as if he had already joined the ranks of beings at a higher level.

Isaac didn't directly expose the man's bluff, but instead said, "Since you're so confident, why don't you just go to the FBI and steal the ring, or sneak in and steal it? Why do you have to use an FBI agent like me?"

"And as far as I know, that ring was deliberately put on the market by your cult, wasn't it?"

The man remained silent for a few seconds, his expression shifting between light and shadow, before finally letting out a cold snort: "The Order's foresight is beyond your comprehension. The ring will inevitably return to the Order; that is beyond question. Your cooperation or lack thereof only concerns whether you gain the Order's favor, but the Order's grand plan will not be altered by your cooperation."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "I've said what I needed to say. You'd better take care of yourself."

"Wait, you can't leave," Isaac said.

The man paused, wary. "What, you want to make a move?"

"You still haven't told me where I'm supposed to hand over the ring to you if I actually manage to get it. I can't exactly be carrying the ring around the streets looking for you, can I?"