Chapter 223: Novigrad Be Improved With Vermin?
Lynn didn't need to spend extra money to buy the equipment and tools for the blacksmith shop.
Back in Beauclair, he had brought all of Taenseel's belongings with him.
Having a Runic Leather Satchel was incredibly convenient.
Many hands make light work.
Lynn called on Letho and the others, and they quickly helped Taenseel clean and set up the house, even preparing a grand opening ceremony.
While it might seem unnecessary on the surface, it was actually quite important.
Because it provided emotional value.
Once the blacksmith shop officially opened, he handed over the master-grade equipment schematics he'd found in Toussaint to Taenseel.
He had him and Berengar quickly craft them so the witcher brothers could upgrade their gear.
...
While Taenseel and Berengar were working overtime, the others Lynn had brought back from Toussaint also began their respective tasks.
Letho and his companions went to the city's notice boards to accept monster hunting contracts, dealing with monster problems both inside and outside the city.
Regis, on the other hand, took Ciri and moved to a village outside the city.
He resumed his old profession—a barber-surgeon traveling between villages.
Dettlaff and Kassia unexpectedly got along well.
They remained at the villa.
Additionally, Geralt was released.
Originally, when going to City Hall, Lynn had meticulously prepared several answers for Dudu to use in case of questions.
However, the City Hall staff didn't ask a single question.
They didn't care why "Alfred," who had previously filed a complaint at City Hall, was now withdrawing it.
They only cared about one thing:
Money.
Since the plaintiff withdrew the complaint, Geralt no longer had to stay in jail.
But the fine couldn't be refunded, oh no.
Lynn now understood why, in The Witcher 3, the city was controlled by gangs rather than City Hall.
How could Novigrad be improved with these vermin?
He wasn't one to suffer a loss.
After leaving City Hall, he immediately contacted the Syndicate, asking them to visit that night and "take" a thousand crowns from the City Hall vault.
The Syndicate did not disappoint Lynn's expectations.
Besides successfully retrieving the thousand crowns for him, they also managed to expand their beggar network to fifty individuals and gathered information on Security Officer Chapelle:
"Chapelle seems to know he has many enemies in the city, so he's very cautious. Besides spending most of his time on Temple Isle, he always travels with a large number of Temple Guards."
On a rooftop in Novigrad's Upper Quarter, Lynn stood with his back to Drek, overlooking the entire city from the rooftop.
He didn't really care about the Temple Guards.
The Syndicate wasn't just good at intelligence gathering; they were also skilled in assassination and direct combat.
Most of those Temple Guards were actually no different from Novigrad's city watch. Although well-equipped, they were mostly for show; they had no real experience in direct confrontation with an army.
The reason Temple Guards in The Witcher 3 could chase sorcerers all over the place wasn't because the Temple Guards were particularly strong, but because the sorcerers they were pursuing were too weak.
Sorcerers in this world are actually divided into many types:
Scholars, herbalists, alchemists...
And the type of sorcerer commonly perceived as skilled in combat, often called combat sorcerers, are actually a relatively small proportion of the overall sorcerer population.
It was precisely because most sorcerers were non-combatants that, in The Witcher 3, Triss had to organize their escape rather than eliminate the Eternal Fire and seize the city.
But the Syndicate members now with Lynn were not non-combatants.
They had all survived battles against Nilfgaard.
With the Syndicate's assistance, no matter how many Temple Guards Chapelle brought, it would be useless.
What truly made Lynn hesitate was the need to ensure there were no witnesses during Chapelle's assassination.
If even one person saw it, the mission would fail.
Otherwise, if others saw Chapelle being assassinated, how could Shasha then impersonate him?
So, Lynn envisioned that it would be best to eliminate Chapelle in a secluded spot, discreetly and without anyone knowing.
But how could a high-ranking official like Chapelle voluntarily go to a secluded place? He wasn't a game quest designer, deliberately simplifying assassination quests to prevent players from getting stuck.
However, to his surprise, there really was...
"In rare cases, Chapelle will bring only one guard and go alone to a certain cottage in a village outside the city."
"Go on."
Drek continued to report.
"The name of that cottage is 'The Red Queen's Race,' and the owner's name is Oscar Feras. His public identity is a painter, but in reality, people who visit his god-awful place aren't going for his paintings at all."
"They're going for a secret product called 'White Crystal.'"
Lynn frowned.
"'White Crystal'?"
The name itself didn't sound like a good thing.
And indeed, it wasn't.
"It's a type of anesthetic powder, but purer and of higher quality than ordinary anesthetic powders, with milder side effects and less harm to the body."
Lynn couldn't help but gasp.
Good heavens.
Lynn just kept thinking, good heavens.
Worshippers of the Eternal Fire believe the undying flame is a symbol of survival, guiding them in the darkness.
They view this flame as a harbinger of progress and a bright future.
Of course, everything is like this.
When proclaimed, it's all beautiful; when it comes to actually doing it, that's another matter.
But what's absurd is that Chapelle, the Security Officer of the Eternal Fire, actually had such a hobby?
If a superior was lazy, gluttonous, and a heavy drinker, while serious, it wouldn't be that serious.
But if the subordinates' superior was a drug addict.
Then that superior shouldn't expect to comfortably sit in an office like a presidential suite; what awaited him would only be a gloomy, damp, cold dungeon.
No wonder Chapelle only brought one guard.
No matter how fanatical the Temple Guards were, they couldn't possibly think anesthetic powder was a good thing.
Some might ask, couldn't Chapelle send someone else to pick up the goods?
The answer is, he really couldn't.
Anything done not by oneself, but through others, could lead to unexpected incidents...
Therefore, for something like this, it was definitely safest to do it oneself.
"Meaning, we just need to make that guy named Oscar cooperate."
Making Oscar cooperate wasn't actually a difficult task.
It didn't even require Oscar's personal consent.
Lynn, accompanied by Shasha, went directly to Oscar's cottage.
Then, with a master-level Axii Sign, he took control of Oscar.
Next, Shasha watched Oscar transform into his likeness.
Automatically gaining his memories and mannerisms.
Subsequently, Shasha, in Oscar's guise, wrote a letter to Chapelle, stating that he had invented a brand new, upgraded version and hoped Chapelle would definitely grace him with his presence.
....
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