Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Joey led Isaac through several turns in the alley, stopped in front of a door, knocked three times on the door panel, paused for two seconds, and then knocked twice more.

Starting slowly and then speeding up must be a pre-arranged code.

The two waited a moment, and then the door opened a crack, revealing an eye that glanced at Joey and then at Isaac behind him.

Isaac put his left hand into his pocket, while still holding his cane in his right hand.

When the door was opened, the man who had been following Isaac and Li Jiehao appeared, his wariness undisguised.

"Why did you bring him here?" the man asked Joey, staring at Isaac.

Joey shrugged: "He said he wanted to see someone in charge, otherwise he wouldn't hand over the stuff. The people we helped have already fought with him, but we couldn't take it from him, so we had no choice but to bring the person over."

The man frowned: "What do you mean? We agreed that the delivery would be made at warehouse number three in Deer Lane. You just need to hand over the goods to the person receiving them, and someone else will take care of the rest."

"Who took over? After the ring was handed over, did it end up in the hands of the Order or someone in the Boots Gang? I have no idea," Isaac said. "I risked stealing this ring, and I didn't say that I was using a group of gang members as a transit point. I handed it over to them, but I haven't even seen anyone from the Order. I don't know where to find you afterward. Why should I trust you?"

"They are in charge of receiving the goods, and afterwards... the cult will contact you naturally."

"I'm sorry, but I can't believe it. Although I can't stay in the FBI any longer, if the Order can't give me a definite guarantee, I'd rather go back and turn myself in. At least the ring isn't lost, and there's still a chance to get it back. If I really give you the ring, I don't think I'll get any leniency if I turn myself in."

"...Good sense of caution." The man said through gritted teeth, clearly thinking that Isaac was really clueless.

"If I hand over the ring, will you really accept me? I need an explanation."

The man was silent for a moment, then stepped aside to let us into the doorway: "Come in and let's talk."

Isaac entered the room, and Joey tried to follow, but the man glared at her: "What are you doing here? Go keep watch, if anything happens..."

"Yes, Mr. Glenn!" Joey nodded and bowed, then went out to keep watch.

Inside the door, a wooden table stood against the wall, with an oil lamp on the corner for illumination. Glenn sat down in the chair, making no offer to Isaac.

Isaac leaned against the wall by the door, one hand still in his pocket.

"I'm in charge of this ring with the Order. Now that you've seen the person, you can take the ring out, right?" Glenn said.

"Before that, answer my question: what will the Order do with me after I hand over the ring? This matter will eventually come back to me. If the Order just takes the ring and leaves me to fend for myself, then there's no point in me taking this risk."

"I told you, the cult will accept you."

"Simply 'acceptance' is too general," Isaac said. "If it weren't for..."

"What if it isn't?"

Isaac hesitated for a moment before saying, "...If we weren't moving tomorrow, I wouldn't have acted in such a hurry."

"Transfer?" Glenn's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood Isaac's predicament.

This kid is probably worried that he won't be able to get his hands on the ring after today, so in his haste, he took the initiative to get his hands on the ring before trying to negotiate with the cult.

That makes things easier to handle...

"So if you want me to hand over the ring, the Order should first explain how they will accept me, otherwise there's nothing to talk about." Isaac's tone was tinged with annoyance.

Glenn stroked his chin: "How do you want the Order to accept you?"

"The Order should have a base outside Vista. Send someone to get me there safely. Staying in Vista is too risky for me."

Glenn was a little surprised that Isaac directly proposed leaving Vista: "You've thought this through quite thoroughly."

Isaac remained calm, using "going to a base outside Vista" as a negotiating condition, rather than directly demanding to stay at the cult's base in Vista, which could reduce the other party's defensiveness to some extent.

"But the Order still needs to discuss escorting you out of Vista; I can't make the decision," Glenn continued.

"Then let's find someone who can make a decision to talk to me. I can wait here, but the ring won't stay on my hand for long."

Glenn scoffed, "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm stating the facts. Every day I wait, the risk increases. If you can't give me a clear answer, I'll have to find a way out on my own."

"What way do you think you can get away?"

Isaac paused for a moment, and Glenn realized that the kid was indeed thinking about his options.

I don't know if it's a bluff, but a person driven to desperation often makes irrational decisions. If he really leaves or takes the ring back to the FBI to "surrender," it will be much harder to get it back later...

"Alright, I'll take you somewhere," Glenn said. "You can stay in the safe house the cult has arranged for you for a few days. I'll contact the higher-ups during this time. As for the follow-up arrangements, we'll discuss them after they've made their decisions."

"You're just leaving me here? How can you be sure you won't just abandon me inside?"

"Are you still going on and on?" Glenn took a deep breath. "Then what do you think should be done?"

"I need someone from the Order who keeps their word to stay with me. If that's not possible, then take me to the Order's stronghold in Vista."

Glenn sneered, "Do you think that's possible? What if you're an undercover agent sent by the FBI? Bringing you into the base would be like inviting the FBI in for tea."

"I can't accept your proposal either. After the cult took the ring, they abandoned me on the side of the road. I don't even know who to hold accountable."

The two stared at each other, neither showing any intention of backing down.

After a moment, Isaac said, "The situation is that I'm afraid you'll take the ring and then abandon me. You're afraid I'm an undercover agent for the FBI. I can't provide evidence that I'm not an undercover agent, and you can't provide evidence that the Order won't betray me, so there's nothing to talk about."

He straightened up and made a move to walk towards the door.

Then, time seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Will Isaac Lessing back down against Glenn? Check value 60, Charisma bonus 14, final value 74."

Two phantom images of ten-sided dice appear: 23, check successful.

As Glenn watched Isaac turn around, a sudden sense of unease crept into his heart.

If this kid is serious and really leaves, then the cult might think that they have failed in their duties.

Perhaps we should keep this kid calm for now and let the person in charge make the decision...

Thinking this, Glenn called out to Isaac, "Wait!"

Isaac stopped in his tracks, his left hand, tucked into his pocket, clutching a twenty-sided die.