Chapter 7: The Venomous Sting Gang
Margaret did not return to the divine realm of the deity he believed in; he simply died in great pain.
Nimrod picked up the serrated "Smiling Face" from the ground—an object that looked like it had grown teeth. On Margaret's face, where the skin had been peeled away, only exposed muscle remained, no longer bleeding.
He placed this mask on his own face, and his appearance and build gradually became identical to the recently deceased Margaret.
While taking off Margaret's clothes to change into them himself, he casually "processed" the corpse and stuffed it into a nearby box.
Of course, after extracting two Beyonder characteristics from the corpse, this "processing" was quite thorough, making the scene rather gruesome.
The potion feedback gained through acting as a Beyonder was indeed excellent. The potion feedback obtained by plundering the hope of a Sequence 8 Beyonder was even better. Nimrod felt another obvious small portion of the Beyonder characteristics within his body fragment.
After completing all this, he nodded with satisfaction, leisurely sat in the chair before him, and digested the memories and details he had just inherited in his mind.
Margaret's boss was Roger, the leader of the "Venomous Sting Gang," who possessed some mystical and sinister Beyonder abilities. Recently, there had been much friction between the Venomous Sting Gang and the Savoy Party, and something seemed about to happen.
Before obtaining Margaret's memories, he only remembered that Margaret was a Sequence 8 minor leader in the Venomous Sting Gang, completely unaware of this gang's actual background—although being a "Mystery Scholar" enhanced his memory, it couldn't help him recall things he hadn't remembered before crossing over.
Now things were different. From the memories he inherited from Margaret, he could see that the Venomous Sting Gang's leader Roger would use a mystical ritual completed through the symbolic meaning of "rebirth."
This was an ability Roger had used on Margaret when he was once cursed by another Beyonder's abilities, so Margaret remembered it particularly clearly.
In this world, the symbol of "rebirth" was, in a sense, equivalent to the Fallen Mother Goddess—Beyonders who could use mystical rituals different from the orthodox churches' doctrines were unlikely to be followers of the Earth Mother.
Considering their identities, Nimrod strongly suspected that the entire Venomous Sting Gang was an organization similar to the Gnosis Society under the "Witch Sect." However, as a gang as a whole, compared to the Gnosis Society, the Venomous Sting Gang as a "Beyonder organization" was smaller, with fewer people involved in the Beyonder world.
Looking at it this way, the Venomous Sting Gang's background became obvious: they were very likely an organization subordinate to those "Ladies" blessed by the Fallen Mother Goddess.
Now he had only killed a bottom-level minion, but when he later disguised himself as the gang leader Roger, or other people who could directly communicate with the Moon Lady, Night Lady, and other blessed ones of the Mother Goddess, the Fallen Mother Goddess might become aware of his situation.
After all, he was carrying a...
Nimrod looked at the Celestial Worthy attached to him with an indescribable expression, as if everything was understood without words.
If Margaret's memories were accurate, then he might have to change his original plan and not charge straight into the Fallen Mother Goddess's embrace.
Soon, knocking sounds came from outside the door. Nimrod cleared his throat, directly entered his role, and said to the door in Margaret's usual tone:
"Come in."
Two strong men in gang clothing respectfully walked in, but as soon as they entered, they smelled the thick scent of blood in the room and immediately changed their expressions.
"Boss, this is..."
One of them tentatively asked "Margaret."
"There's a traitor among you," Nimrod said without changing his expression or heartbeat. "This is a shameful betrayal. Heh, I never expected he would be bought by the Savoy Party."
Nimrod's tone was very low, looking extremely upset.
This made both subordinates involuntarily shiver. They swallowed and unconsciously looked at the bright red bloodstains at their feet, seemingly already anticipating the traitor's fate.
"Yes, it's truly despicable," the more clever of the two quickly expressed his feelings, showing that he and the traitor were irreconcilable enemies:
"Boss, where is he now? Do you need me to help you 'clean up' after him?"
There really are no fools who can reach this position... Nimrod nodded, with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, his tone carrying a hint of bewitchment:
"I don't want my room to become too dirty. You should understand what I mean. I need to report the Savoy Party's movements to the leader today. Remember to 'clean up' this place properly."
"Also, I hope you two are trustworthy people who haven't been bought by the Savoy Party. If there's a next time, it won't be me, but the boss who conducts a cleanup of the gang's brothers."
After saying this, he didn't even look at the box behind him and walked straight outside, while the two gang members looked at each other. After staring at each other for a long time, they opened the box and silently looked at the bloody corpse whose features were unrecognizable.
Nimrod walked along the street, heading toward the place where "Black Scorpion" Roger lived according to his memory.
He maintained a fast pace, walking quickly along the street, maintaining the mood and state that Margaret—this uneducated but cunning thug with intelligence enhanced by the potion—should have after experiencing subordinate betrayal.
However, his heart was quite calm, completely unaffected by the emotions he displayed externally. Within just a few minutes, he had already planned his next actions:
First, regardless of anything else, after obtaining Margaret's identity, he needed to report to the Venomous Sting Gang's boss Roger about being betrayed by his subordinate according to Margaret's identity.
After his report, Roger would very likely not check the condition of the corpse he had stuffed into the box. Even if Roger wanted to perform divination or check the corpse's condition, Nimrod had already used his "Fraud" Beyonder ability to influence Margaret's two gang subordinates, making them subconsciously process Margaret's corpse until it couldn't be used for divination.
Of course, to achieve this result, the first thing Nimrod had to do when seeing Roger was to use his Beyonder power to influence him, making him overlook the unnatural parts of this incident.
If he was blessed by an Outer God to such a degree that Nimrod's Beyonder abilities didn't work and he still cautiously chose divination, then Nimrod's anti-divination abilities would come into play.
Additionally, besides letting Roger know about "Margaret's" current situation, Nimrod's other purpose was to investigate Roger's condition and confirm whether he was truly blessed by the Fallen Mother Goddess, and whether the Venomous Sting Gang belonged to the "Ladies'" "Nightwatchers" subordinate organization.
If necessary, since this involved an Outer God, he could even consider making an anonymous report to the Church. As long as the Original Creator didn't possess the Eternal Blazing Sun, no one in the Church could divine his identity.
After about half an hour, Nimrod crossed Market Avenue and arrived near the train station, where Roger usually lived. With Margaret's identity, Nimrod easily entered and soon met the Venomous Sting Gang's leader, "Black Scorpion" Roger.
After explaining what had happened, Nimrod saw Roger's eyes suddenly become deep and dark, like connected to an abyss, immediately confirming his suspicions:
He was a Sequence 7 "Sorcerer" of the "Villain" pathway, the same sequence as the midwife under Lady Pualis that he had seen in Lumian's dream.
As a degraded version of the Fallen Mother Goddess's honorific name "Origin of Evil," extreme evil and abyss-like terror were among the greatest characteristics of Beyonders in this pathway sequence.
Roger didn't sense Nimrod's hidden observation. He simply nodded slightly and said to Nimrod:
"Don't worry, everything is normal. This is just a test from the Savoy Party against us. Heh, it seems it's time to teach these guys with dirty hands and feet a lesson, to stop them from using such disgusting methods."
Roger's tone was quite confident.
Hearing Roger's words, Nimrod deliberately sighed with relief and said to Roger with deliberately urgent tone: "Then our current territories..."
"Hmm, same as before, no need to worry about the Savoy Party's reaction," Roger answered, then instructed: "You encountered considerable danger this time, otherwise you wouldn't have directly killed your subordinate. Heh, we might even be able to make the Savoy Party spit out the fat in their mouths..."
Roger's tone carried strong suggestive meaning, as if his words hinted at plans to hand over territories that the Savoy Party would spit out to "Margaret" after this period passed.
Nimrod slightly lowered his head, showing a seemingly genuine smile:
"Thank you, boss!"
Seeing "Margaret's" reaction, Roger was somewhat satisfied. He turned around and said in a flat tone:
"Alright, you should go back now and do what you need to do. When we face the Savoy Party head-on, we might still need your help."
Nimrod nodded, with a smile he couldn't suppress on his face, and walked out of Roger's home.
However, after leaving for some distance, the smile on his face immediately disappeared, becoming the same calm but cold expression as usual.
He looked back, slowed his pace again as he walked toward the Mill Dance Hall, and spoke as if talking to himself:
"You're saying someone just divined me?"
"You intercepted it in the Source Castle? Good, since they didn't discover my true identity, it means my initial disguise was successful..."
"Hmm, I heard you. You really are a vengeful guy. Don't worry, I remember my promise. If God can't climb out of the Chaos Sea, the Fallen Mother Goddess shouldn't think about living comfortably on Earth either."
"Now I understand why your connections among the Outer Gods are so poor. With your vengeful nature, when you're down and out, others will definitely step on you a few times."
...
In the deep black night, "Black Scorpion" Roger suddenly raised his head, seeming to realize something, and looked around.
Sure enough, he was in a wilderness, the wilderness belonging to the "Moon Lady."
After realizing this, "Black Scorpion" Roger lowered his head and waited for the Moon Lady's arrival. Before long, a unique carriage pulled by two devils drove toward him. A lady with thick maternal radiance and wearing a mask sat on the carriage, carried by it to his presence.
"Moon Lady."
Roger respectfully spoke to this lady, waiting for what new instructions she would bring.
"What did you encounter today?"
After stopping, the Moon Lady spoke this seemingly disconnected sentence to Roger.
Although Roger was somewhat confused, he still quickly recalled everything he had experienced throughout the day and told the Moon Lady everything in detail:
The Moon Lady frowned slightly and after a long while said to Roger:
"Your fate shows traces of being deceived."
Roger's heart skipped a beat: "Deceived? Could it be..."
He recalled that among all the things he had experienced today, the most suspicious was Margaret, who had suddenly come to find him in the afternoon to tell him that his subordinate had been bought by the Savoy Party.
But he hadn't discovered anything abnormal about Margaret. Did the abnormality exceed his expectations, or had he been replaced by another Beyonder from the beginning?
If it was a Beyonder whose abilities included anti-divination, then his intuition might truly not work...
"It's not him."
After several seconds, the Moon Lady shook her head:
"Originally, I had the same idea as you, but I also performed divination on him and found no problems. Perhaps you were unknowingly influenced by other Beyonders, causing..."
The Moon Lady unconsciously frowned. She had come specifically to investigate Roger after receiving divine revelation. Now it seemed that some high-level existence had interfered with the "great cause" they were preparing to carry out in Trier.
The Moon Lady didn't continue pursuing this matter, but reminded:
"Be careful of the 'Oddball' cabaret."
"I suspect the traces of your fate being tampered with might be related to that place."
Chapter 8: Conspiracy Brewing (Protagonist Version)
"Godfather, I received a reply from Miss 'Magician.' She requires me to contact a swindler named Osta Truell, gain his trust, and promises to arrange psychological treatment for me with a psychologist this weekend."
Lumian sat in his room, looking at Nimrod, whose appearance had completely changed before him, his tone filled with a strange reverence:
He had never expected that Nimrod could kill a Beyonder with extraordinary powers and impersonate a gang leader in such a short time!
It had only been two days since he had "summoned" Nimrod here!
Although Lumian completely didn't doubt his godfather's strength, whom he had acknowledged in the dream, this amazing efficiency still made Lumian feel astonished.
Unknowingly replacing someone's identity was too perfectly in line with Lumian's image of a Beyonder hidden in the shadows.
Of course, Lumian's imagination of Beyonders mostly came from his sister and the books she had written. For this reason, the stronger and more mysterious the power shown by Nimrod, who had promised to resurrect his sister, the more confident Lumian became in him.
Lumian's current thinking was simple: whoever could resurrect his sister and help him get revenge would be his benefactor—even if it meant doing things that crossed his bottom line, Lumian was willing to do them.
Thinking of this, he took a breath with complicated emotions and said to Nimrod:
"By the way, Godfather, you disguised yourself as Margaret. Are you planning to use his identity to infiltrate the Venomous Sting Gang?"
His subtext was whether he needed to do some "dirty work."
"No, why would you think that?" Nimrod looked at Lumian strangely and replied with a slight smile:
"Sometimes trust in your godfather's morals too—your sister and I come from the same place and received similar education. Could your sister do such things that treat human life as worthless?"
Nimrod could see through Lumian's thoughts about him at a glance without much thought.
Lumian definitely thought that the main purpose of his considerable effort to disguise himself as Margaret was to gain a significant position in the gang, so he would definitely carefully maintain this identity.
But this was a fallacy born from Lumian's current limited perspective:
For Nimrod, the greatest purpose of "stealing" Margaret's identity was only to digest the potion; obtaining resources and gang status were just incidental.
If pressed, even if Nimrod directly abandoned his disguised "Margaret" identity now, he wouldn't feel any heartache.
But doing so would undoubtedly be quite wasteful. The value of the "Margaret" identity still had much to offer—even without doing things Nimrod was unwilling to do.
The corner of Nimrod's mouth slightly curved as he said to Lumian:
"I have a great idea, but it needs someone's cooperation—want to try it?"
Lumian asked somewhat puzzled:
"What idea?"
Nimrod's face showed a pleasant light smile:
"I can preliminarily judge that the Venomous Sting Gang's leader 'Black Scorpion' Roger is only a Sequence 7 'Sorcerer.'"
"Does this name sound familiar? That's right, it's the same Beyonder sequence as the 'Midwife' under Lady Pualis that we saw in your dream."
"You can also realize that this sequence isn't high. For me, quietly solving Roger isn't difficult, but before that, I need a suitable reason to see him, otherwise I might make him alert."
"When I came to see you just now, I already told you that I had already seen the 'Black Scorpion' yesterday and tested him somewhat. Now there's no suitable reason to meet him again."
"However, I happened to hint to him that another gang in Trier, the 'Savoy Party,' is now planning some attacks on the Venomous Sting Gang. Well, when the time comes, I need you to defeat me high-profile, make 'Margaret' mistakenly think you're a member of the Savoy Party, and go seek Black Scorpion's help again."
"When I see Black Scorpion Roger again, that's when I'll take him out. Since I can disguise myself as Margaret, I can also disguise myself as him to secretly control the Venomous Sting Gang."
"And when you defeat 'me,' you can claim to belong to another gang organization. As long as I take out Roger, you won't have to fear the Venomous Sting Gang's pursuit and revenge."
"Of course, if I don't succeed, I'll also timely pass information to you, and you can seek help from the Savoy Party then."
"Trust me, any leader hostile to the Venomous Sting Gang would be very happy to see a ruthless country boy come to them and become a sharp blade in their hands."
"Of course, this is just a backup option I'm mentioning—I might not be able to guarantee perfect disguise as Roger, but I'm confident I can guarantee killing this guy on the spot."
"If I kill and replace Roger's identity on the spot without letting the news leak, then whether it's the actual controller behind the Venomous Sting Gang or the actual controller behind the Savoy Party, they'll all know that a new force has come to Trier under the guise of a gang."
The former was himself, while the latter knew nothing about Roger's death.
"But they have no way to obtain information related to this force—ha, I can already imagine them scratching their heads and fighting with air."
Listening to Nimrod's words, Lumian's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he said to Nimrod with sincere admiration:
"This is truly a perfect prank, no, conspiracy..."
Speaking of this, Lumian felt that the word "conspiracy" seemed somewhat inappropriate. Compared to conspiracy, the method his godfather used was more like an open scheme!
Except for the currently unknown information that Margaret's interior had been replaced by another person, everything else would be predictable results after Nimrod executed this plan:
If the Venomous Sting Gang's leader was replaced, while the Savoy Party knew nothing about what happened inside the Venomous Sting Gang, and he was the "mysterious outsider" who killed Margaret and made the Venomous Sting Gang wary...
Then as long as he claimed or hinted that he belonged to a new gang organization, rumors about this unknown gang organization would inevitably appear in the local gossip.
Combined with the surface obstruction but secret cooperation behavior of the Venomous Sting Gang whose leader had been replaced, an organization that never existed but had a formidable reputation would quietly appear in Trier—no one could divine the high-level situation of this organization because this organization had no high-level members at all.
The high-level members of this organization were only him and his godfather from beginning to end. Once he had some territory, Lumian believed enthusiastic Trier people would actively come to find him and voluntarily become his subordinates.
Thinking of other organizations' high-sequence Beyonders divining for half a day but divining air, getting the message that this organization didn't exist and scratching their heads, Lumian couldn't help but feel an irrepressible smile about to squeeze out of his chest, making his tone light and cheerful:
"The only problem is that those high-sequence people might divine you or me."
But Lumian knew that he was sealed with pollution from the Ring of Fate, while his godfather's special circumstances seemed no less significant than his own, so this loophole didn't exist from the beginning.
What level of Beyonder would it take to divine through this level of anti-divination?
"We'll discuss more detailed matters later."
Nimrod gently shook his head:
"If our plan succeeds, then afterward, the Golden Rooster Inn and even more places originally controlled by the Venomous Sting Gang and Savoy Party will all be managed by you—but you know, I won't allow the things that happen in current gang-controlled areas to occur."
"There are plenty of legitimate jobs in this world that make money faster than gangs' dirty business. Since that's the case, those most sordid things shouldn't appear in my territory."
Nimrod's tone was unquestionable:
"Lumian Lee, as a partner who wants to profit from you, what I'm saying is just a simple sentence: I support your revenge. But..."
"But as your godfather, what I want to tell you is: don't forget what kind of person your sister Lee Xi, or rather Aurore, hoped you would become. When she's resurrected, I don't want you to have completely changed inside and out."
Lumian lowered his head. After two to three seconds, he raised his head, nodded, and said seriously to Nimrod:
"I'll do my best, Godfather."
Although he had only been at the Golden Rooster Inn for two days, he already knew the circumstances of the guests there. They were like himself before being found by Aurore. Although Lumian was reluctant to admit it, he... truly felt sympathy and pity for them from the bottom of his heart.
In the past few years, he had often heard his sister sigh and express dissatisfaction with the specific conditions of several countries on the Northern and Southern Continents, seemingly dissatisfied with the living environment of the lower classes.
Lumian originally didn't know why his sister would be so opposed to these two countries, but now every time he recalled his sister's words, he could glimpse the beauty of the peaceful country where his sister once lived.
"Let's not talk about such heavy topics. Change can't be achieved just by talking." Nimrod changed the subject, steering their conversation toward the previous direction:
"Regarding the task Miss 'Magician' gave you, well, I think you can do it. There shouldn't be any traps in the task Miss 'Magician' gave you."
"As for the weekend psychological treatment—I'll try to give you certain special qualities afterward, allowing you to maintain emotional stability during psychological treatment, so you won't expose our affairs due to violent emotional fluctuations."
"During this time, I still need to continue contacting people from the Venomous Sting Gang. There can't be any logical flaws before Margaret is killed by you."
"Besides, do you remember what I told you before?"
Lumian subconsciously looked at Nimrod taking out various Beyonder materials from his pockets, his voice actually trembling somewhat:
"This is..."
He guessed everything but was unwilling to admit it.
"Shadow poison flower, snake-bodied strange bird..." Nimrod said casually:
"I remember I already told you the 'Assassin' potion formula. Collecting these materials took me considerable effort—you didn't think I did nothing during the time you were getting here, did you?"
"Assassin..." Lumian watched Nimrod skillfully mixing various materials, finally seeing a very ceremonial potion glass bottle pushed in front of him with complex emotions.
In this glass bottle, the liquid was dark and easily overlooked, but staring at it too long would create an inexplicable thirst.
This was the "Assassin" potion!
Compared to directly consuming Beyonder characteristics from adjacent pathways or one's own pathway, after preparation, a potion wouldn't add too much tendency toward losing control and madness, but would, like Dunn, make Lumian's digestion more difficult and time-consuming.
Lumian gently closed his eyes, thinking of what Nimrod had told him before, thinking of the six years he had spent with Aurore, thinking of his dark childhood, thinking of his sister whose eyes suddenly became vacant at the end of his dream.
Lumian opened his eyes.
"Godfather, will drinking this potion help resurrect Aurore?"
"That's right." Nimrod said with certainty.
When Lumian jumped back and forth between the Hunter and Witch pathways, one yang and one yin, the female part would promote the gradual revival of Aurore's soul—this was a resurrection plan personally certified by the Fool and Adam.
Although quite twisted, it was indeed real resurrection, and in a sense, it also helped Lumian share some of the pressure from the "Calamity of Destruction" Old One's spirit.
—Although before crossing over, Nimrod had no impression of Lumian being eroded by the "Calamity of Destruction's" spirit. Perhaps he was too crazy, and even the "Calamity of Destruction" was just an insignificant influence mixed in his body.
Although this was indeed exaggerated, compared to the Original Creator, the Mother of Mysteries, and other demons and monsters, the Old One's spirit seemed quite benign indeed.
Nimrod pushed the glass bottle in front of Lumian and said seriously:
"Choose. This is your destiny."
Lumian was silent for a long time, grasped the bottle containing the "Assassin" potion with his palm, raised his head, and drank it all at once.
He chose power.
Only by becoming a deity could he have the chance to confront other deities and have the opportunity to resurrect his sister.
Half Moon Tiger · Author's Note,Chapter 9: Take a Step Forward, Then Return
Lord of the Mysteries: I Jump Back and Forth Between Two TimelinesBy: Half Moon Tiger4038 words, July 9, 2025, 10:52
Pain, cold.
For Lumian, who already possessed one sequence, consuming the "Assassin" potion was far more painful than the "Provocateur" - it felt like a hand was picking apart every muscle in his body one by one, then sewing them back together, making his body tremble uncontrollably.
After the pain receded like a tide, Lumian immediately enjoyed excellent sleep quality.
When Lumian struggled to emerge from the agony of consuming the potion, he found that Nimrod had disappeared from before him, leaving only a note on the table and a... dinner?
"Don't worry, the process of consuming the second potion went smoothly. The only thing that didn't go smoothly was you fainting. But since you're fine, I'll go play Magget. I'll come back tonight to discuss what happens next with you. Oh, I bought you dinner - remember to eat when you wake up."
Lumian sat on his bed, staring somewhat dazedly at the food still steaming before him. After a long while, he revealed a somewhat incredulous smile, as if awakening from a dream:
"Do you really want to be my father, or do people from the same place as sister all have this similar, caring personality?"
"Ha, my biological father never did things like this..."
After a while, Lumian's smile gradually faded, his lips slightly pursed. He sat at the worn table in his room, unscrewing the bottle of wine placed beside the food while slowly beginning to feel the improvements the "Assassin" potion had brought him.
For Lumian, the "Assassin" potion didn't bring particularly great improvements. The biggest enhancements were the "Assassin's" dark vision and the ability to concentrate all his body's strength into a single explosive point. As for physical improvements, he barely felt any.
Suddenly, Lumian made a surprised "eh" sound.
Compared to when he only had the "Hunter" pathway, he felt like he had gained an additional ability - he could now sense subtle mystical traces and discordant elements!
Moreover, Lumian instinctively felt that something would change when he entered a meditative state.
Upon sensing this change, Lumian immediately began "meditation" using the method his sister and the "Magician" lady had taught him in his dreams. After a while, he unconsciously opened his eyes and saw that the colors before him had changed considerably.
Simply put, some objects around him now had many colorful points of light - was this a change and ability brought by the "Assassin"?
Lumian immediately followed this intuitive state and walked toward the door. Looking up, he saw an unfamiliar hotel guest walking toward his direction, covered in many brilliant colors.
Hmm... he has different colors all over his body, but they look quite blurry, and I can't understand what these colors mean...
Normal extraordinary abilities should include knowledge in this area, right?
This couldn't be an ability that comes with the "Assassin" potion, but rather an improvement the potion brought me, could it?
Lumian fell into deep thought, and suddenly remembered something while his spirituality was burning:
How do I turn this ability off?
...
"Obviously, that's just spiritual vision."
Nimrod's words carried a hint of amusement as he spoke to Lumian, who had finally managed to turn off his spiritual vision. Lumian coughed politely but awkwardly:
"It's all the 'Hunter' potion's fault!... I had never experienced spiritual vision before, which is why this happened. If I had experience, would I be like this now?"
"You're right." Nimrod stared at the stubborn Lumian for a moment, then chose to comply: "Since your potion consumption process went smoothly, I won't say much more - I've already determined the next plan. Come, let me tell you about our plans for the next few days."
Hearing Nimrod's words, Lumian immediately perked up, looking at Nimrod with serious eyes and slowly nodding:
"Godfather, please tell me."
He was somewhat eager to take the first step "forward" - only by actually seeing hope for his sister's resurrection would Lumian feel truly alive, rather than being a walking corpse wasting his life.
"First, I'll return to 'Magget's' normal life routine for the next two days. Two days from now will be when we 'encounter' each other. 'Two days' is the shortest time I calculated using extraordinary powers that won't attract attention."
Nimrod, considering that someone had previously divined his situation without getting clues, used his "Decryption Scholar" abilities to analyze when the "Madam" behind the Thorn Gang would shift her attention from the gang to other matters, and used this as the basis for determining the overall timing of the upcoming operation.
The purpose of this operation was simple - the most important goal was to kill "Black Scorpion" Roger and create the shadow of a new organization arriving in Trier. Whether this shadow organization truly existed didn't matter; Nimrod just wanted to stir up chaos in Trier.
As long as those high-level beings were cautious due to various reasons, he could take the opportunity to obtain extraordinary characteristics or hunt down an Amon possessing Sequence 5 characteristics!
"During this time, you should continue following your own pace to complete the tasks the 'Magician' gave you."
"In this process, the 'aggregation' brought by the pollution sealed within you and the gods who have invested in you will inevitably draw you into this whirlpool in Trier. You don't need to hide anything - just show your most genuine state."
At this point, he chuckled softly, speaking in a relaxed tone:
"As for this operation, first, it's important for our infiltration of Trier, and second, it's a test for you - testing your progress in digesting your potion."
Nimrod picked up Magget's hat from the table and placed it properly on his head.
"No problem." The corner of Lumian's mouth revealed an unconscious smile as he spoke teasingly: "Godfather, you can't use extraordinary abilities beyond 'Provocateur' then."
Lumian couldn't even imagine how he would fight an extraordinary being with more special abilities than himself!
"Of course." Nimrod smiled.
Nimrod stood up and, after bidding farewell to Lumian, left his room, preparing to use the remaining day to continue playing the "Fire Thief."
Just then, Lumian seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly stood up, calling out to Nimrod:
"Wait, Godfather!"
"You haven't told me what name I should claim for our gang!"
Nimrod, stopped by Lumian's call, stood still, the corner of his mouth curling into a slight smile:
"Since Trier has such simple folk customs and the residents here are so enthusiastic and hospitable, let's call our organization 'Enthusiasm' (Note 1)."
He was sure this name would give those old-day survivors a special surprise.
Although Lumian keenly detected a hint of mischief in Nimrod's tone, he didn't pay much attention to it, simply nodding and watching as Nimrod left his room.
Lumian stood silently in place for several minutes, raised his hand to pat his cheeks, revealed a forced smile on his face, and took a step forward.
...
Nimrod slowly opened his eyes from within the gray fog, mentally outlining what he had experienced during this timeline jump:
First, he had successfully used the gray fog to smuggle himself to Trier, then concealed his identity and killed the Thorn Gang's minor leader "Evil Wolf" Magget. Finally, he discussed future plans with Lumian, preparing to resolve the Thorn Gang's apparent leader "Black Scorpion" Roger in the next timeline jump.
As for how to disguise himself as a "Provocateur"? Nimrod planned to find an "Artisan" to turn Magget's characteristics into an extraordinary item with some living characteristics. After all, with the Source Castle's existence, Nimrod could ignore most negative effects of such extraordinary items.
Of course, even without using this extraordinary characteristic, the combination of "Fire Thief" and "Dancer" could perfectly replicate the abilities of a "Provocateur."
Once I "possess" the Thorn Gang, I can start using their influence to protect the "Enthusiasm" organization I'm planning to establish and build up a trading company...
Regarding gang attitudes, Nimrod didn't plan to exploit ordinary people in areas under his control like the Thorn Gang did. Instead, he planned to establish a trading company that would provide certain assistance to ordinary people, creating his own order in Trier's underworld.
This was undoubtedly a long process, as Nimrod was currently only Sequence 6 and couldn't make fundamental changes. The current situation in Trier and even the entire Intis Republic was the result of mutual compromises between the nation and the churches - without sufficient power, it was difficult to change the entire country's situation.
But that wasn't a reason not to make changes.
What Nimrod needed to improve now was just the circumstances of ordinary people in "his territory." As long as it didn't damage the churches' core interests, their attitude would only be "tacit approval."
Although Nimrod could continue exploiting Trier's residents in the same way as the original Thorn Gang, he felt this would harm his conscience. According to his vision, this would be a win-win situation for both him and Trier's current residents. (Note 2)
As for the future - as Nimrod's sequence continued to improve, he would naturally gain more voice.
Nimrod stood up and simply organized his clothes - first packing away Magget's clothes and throwing them onto the Source Castle, then changing into his own clothes, and soon fell into peaceful sleep.
Early the next morning, Nimrod took a carriage to Mr. A's residence.
He did this because today was the first day he would officially begin managing company affairs as the great merchant and former noble Mr. Dionysos.
During the previous half month, since most of Fried Company's matters were still going through procedures and formalities, and the art workers arranged through correspondence with Miss "Justice" Audrey hadn't yet arrived, the company occupied relatively little of Nimrod's daily time.
But now things were different - although in the last Tarot meeting, Audrey had been somewhat shaken by his words about the Loen Kingdom, the recommendation letters from those literary salons had indeed been sent to various editors and writers, including one of Nimrod's "acquaintances."
That's right - the former novice "Apprentice," current bestselling author, and future "Angel of Stars" and continent-wide famous writer, Forsi Wall, had also been recommended to him by Audrey.
Thinking of how he had been so cautious about this angel slacker in Kordu Village before, Nimrod's mouth curled into a cold smile.
Now the tables had turned, Miss "Magician." Although you're very strong nine years later, you're currently just a Sequence 9 Apprentice. I'm going to make you work hard on your manuscripts!
This was precisely why Nimrod needed to get up early - to inform Mr. A about Qilangos before work and coordinate with him on how to kill Qilangos.
"Good morning, may the Lord's glory shine upon you, Mr. A."
Nimrod looked with a gentle smile at Mr. A, who was sitting in the shadows. At this moment, Mr. A wasn't wearing his identity-concealing black robe, but was somewhat awkwardly dressed in a tailored formal suit, seeming not quite accustomed to it.
Indeed, the Aurora Order in Backlund was also steadily changing, and this change began with Mr. A - setting aside his crazy demeanor during battle and prayer, Mr. A's face was beautifully androgynous, with an otherworldly beauty.
In terms of appearance alone, Mr. A could perfectly blend into high society gatherings. With a respectable identity, he could easily become an upper-class figure pursued by minor nobles.
A black-robed slime standing before crowds playing with flesh and blood would naturally cause panic, while a handsome, elegantly mannered member of high society would receive completely opposite treatment - just looking at Mr. A, Nimrod felt he could attract many believers to join the Aurora Order with his face alone.
"May the Lord's glory shine upon you, Saint." Mr. A spoke solemnly to Nimrod, his gaze unconsciously tinged with excitement - seeing the Saint standing before him, Mr. A felt as if his Lord was watching him.
He deliberately paused for two seconds before speaking directly:
"What do you need?"
"I need your help." Nimrod smiled at Mr. A: "A friend of mine gave me a commission: 'Hurricane Lieutenant General' Qilangos has infiltrated Backlund, and he needs our assistance."
"I have no objections, but I don't know why you care so much about this." Mr. A frowned: "Can you tell me the reason?"
"Because the person behind Qilangos is an enemy of the Lord."
Mr. A suddenly stood up:
"When do we kill Qilangos?"
Chapter 10: Company and Visits
Lord of the Mysteries: I Jump Back and Forth Between Two TimelinesBy: Half Moon Tiger4035 words, July 10, 2025, 08:30
After leaving Mr. A's residence, Nimrod sat in the carriage, contemplating what he needed to do next.
Earlier, Nimrod had barely managed to calm Mr. A's overly fanatical ideas, getting him to preserve his "useful body" and not constantly think about sacrificing himself for the Lord - to wait until Qilangos appeared before praising the Lord's glory.
Although the last sentence he told Mr. A was largely tactical inducement, Nimrod hadn't lied - Adam and the True Creator were indeed in a kind of left-brain-right-brain antagonistic relationship.
According to his memory, the reason Qilangos risked infiltrating Backlund was for the reward from assassinating Duke Negan, and the one providing the reward was none other than "Writer" Adam, who was preparing for his godhood ritual!
The "Visionary's" godhood ritual was "to make the era's development conform to one's expectations, then at key nodes, within the stipulated flow of the times, consume the potion." For Adam, the "expectation" in this ritual was the most important guarantee for his deal with the Goddess of Night.
The Goddess of Night needed an opportunity to kill the "God of War" and seize the "Twilight Giant's" uniqueness and extraordinary characteristics, and this opportunity would inevitably involve war. Adam also intended to guide the flow of the times toward war. It was because they shared the same interests that Adam and the Goddess of Night could reach cooperation.
Moreover, this was a "conspiracy" extending from ancient times to the present. After all, true gods balanced each other, and under the need to maintain the astral barrier, it was difficult to wage large-scale wars.
As for the stipulated flow of the times - although Nimrod didn't know its essential meaning, he knew its manifestation was the same temporal development as the old era, such as two world-level "wars."
Duke Negan was a huge factor obstructing war. Therefore, for Adam, Duke Negan had to die, and it had to be the kind of death that wouldn't let other true gods realize this was connected to him, removing himself from the entire whirlpool.
For this reason, after Qilangos failed, Adam arranged another assassination operation by "Jason Beria."
However, Adam's performance also gave Nimrod reassurance:
This proved that Adam wasn't omniscient and omnipotent before merging with the True Creator. This gave him some operational flexibility, allowing him to hide in the True Creator's shadow and attempt to sabotage Adam's godhood ritual.
Compared to Adam, having a conscious True Creator become the "Visionary" pathway's true god was a better choice for Nimrod - one that could better suppress God's will.
While Nimrod contemplated, the carriage slowly stopped, and the scenery outside had become the entrance of that square building with a style completely different from the entire street.
This was the Fried Company built with Aurora Order resources - Nimrod's current identity's foundation in Backlund, and also an important base for the Aurora Order and a subtle external propaganda tool.
Except for those cultural workers who required professional skills and work experience, the other employees here were all devout believers of the True Creator, carefully selected, who would absolutely not leak Aurora Order intelligence.
If it weren't for the fact that Aurora Order members were either illiterate or could only write praise for the True Creator, Nimrod would have wanted to bring all of Aurora Order's talent to work here. Unfortunately, that wouldn't do.
If he really let devout Aurora Order believers write for Fried Company publications, the Church of Storms would probably come knocking to investigate the company the next day.
Nimrod got off the carriage, carefully adjusted his collar, and stepped into this newly operational company.
...
"...In summary, this is our company's development direction for the upcoming period."
Nimrod sat at the head of the conference room, speaking to the editors and invited writers before him:
"Many of you here joined our company after receiving Miss Audrey's recommendation. I'm willing to trust your professional level and abilities, and I hope we can have deeper cooperation in the future."
"But at the same time, seniority doesn't mean everything in our company. Those with sufficient ability can get further promotion - likewise, we're not a rigid family business. As long as you can create sufficient profits, you'll receive compensation matching the company's earnings."
Nimrod stood up, speaking confidently to everyone before him:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a 'land of hope' - we will surely have a bright future!"
He indeed wasn't an expert in this field, but Nimrod had always been willing to leverage others' power - people of this era only differed from modern people in vision, but in terms of wisdom and experience, these elites weren't necessarily inferior to modern people.
But as the entire company's decision-maker, even without using extraordinary abilities, Nimrod, as an "Error" pathway beyonder, could unite these people and make them follow him wholeheartedly with certain benefits.
The reason Nimrod chose "cultural industry" as his entry point in Backlund was that in this era with a certain literacy rate, newspapers and other cultural products' viewpoints were synonymous with "public opinion."
And "deception," "instigation," and "guidance" were precisely what the "Error" pathway excelled at.
Additionally, like Klein investing in bicycles, with knowledge of future general developments, company-based investments were basically guaranteed profitable transactions.
After the meeting ended, Nimrod hadn't walked far before being stopped by a middle-aged man in formal attire with impeccable grooming. He turned around, waiting for the middle-aged man to speak:
"Mr. Fried, ahem, I'm the editor who contacted you before, previously responsible for cooperating with some bestselling authors... um, the bestselling author Forsi Wall, who's quite popular in noble circles, has also worked with me."
The middle-aged editor knew some insider information - this mysterious wealthy man's family had once been a noble of considerable status, but had lost their title early due to certain reasons. Coming to Backlund this time was to reclaim his title and integrate into noble circles.
Plus, Dionysos Fried also knew Miss Audrey of the Hall family, so he thought Mr. Fried would be interested in the works of Miss Forsi, who was close to nobles.
"Ah, I remember you." Nimrod smiled and nodded:
"I've also read Miss Forsi's works. I'm very interested in her work - are you planning to introduce her to cooperate with us?"
"No, not exactly an introduction." The middle-aged man waved his hand. "Actually, I know Miss Forsi has already signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with the company, but hasn't fully joined yet. I happen to have some personal relationship with Miss Forsi - perhaps we could reach formal, deep cooperation with her first?"
At this point, the middle-aged man tentatively said: "Of course, I also have contact information for many other slightly lesser writers. I think this might be what you need."
Nimrod looked at the middle-aged man, clearly understanding what this editor wanted to do - now that the entire company hadn't fully operated yet, the first "person to eat the crab" would naturally receive considerable attention later.
To put it simply, he was bringing his clients to jump ship, ready to make his mark.
"That's fine. You can arrange cooperation and contact matters with these writers later." Nimrod nodded and took out a business card from his wallet, handing it to the middle-aged editor:
"This is my subordinate's business card. You can contact him in the future."
"By the way, regarding Miss Forsi's works - ask if she'd be willing to publish serially in our soon-to-be-released newspaper."
Hearing Nimrod's words, the middle-aged man's face showed some difficulty.
This was because having worked with Miss Forsi, the middle-aged man knew her habits better: she wouldn't submit her manuscripts until the very last second.
But just then, Nimrod subtly mentioned:
"I know this will bring her more workload, but the corresponding compensation will also increase. This is also a different development direction our company will have from other publishers in the future. I think highly of you - you should know the weight of this work within the company."
With that, Nimrod politely removed his silk top hat, made a slight bow, and walked down the corridor, leaving behind the editor whose expression was gradually becoming serious.
For the sake of his future salary and position, he felt he needed to find a way to convince Miss Forsi, but this would undoubtedly be quite a severe task.
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man couldn't help but sigh, looking at the English words printed on the business card in his hand - then rubbed his eyes.
The address on the business card was quite normal, but the name... what was "AAA Personnel Department Manager..."?
Was this some new trend? This wasn't Trier...
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, falling into deep self-doubt.
...
After leaving the company, Nimrod got back into the carriage and spoke to the "Hermit" disguised as the carriage driver:
"Go to Minsk Street."
The "Hermit" nodded silently and drove the carriage forward quickly. After about ten minutes, the carriage stopped, and the "Hermit" said in a muffled voice:
"We're here."
Nimrod nodded slightly, got off the carriage, and looked at the building before him.
Compared to the heavily renovated Fried Company intended to become a landmark-like building, this house's appearance showed little difference from its surroundings - after all, private detective was also a profession operating in gray areas. Even with official backing, the Tingen team couldn't openly hang out a sign.
So the detective agency before Nimrod looked no different from the surrounding houses.
Nimrod walked to the door and pulled the doorbell. After a while, slightly hurried footsteps approached the door, and a somewhat lazy-sounding voice came urgently:
"Coming, coming—"
It was Leonard.
Before seeing the person, just hearing the voice, Nimrod had already confirmed the visitor was Leonard.
In this timeline where both Dunn and Klein were alive, the "Poet" Leonard of the Tingen team was obviously still the same sunny, cheerful big boy, in quite good mental health.
Leonard yanked open the door, clearly still eager to play detective.
However, upon seeing Nimrod's face, Leonard's forward motion suddenly stopped, then he stepped back step by step, smiled, and unhesitatingly closed the door.
Nimrod unconsciously confirmed in his heart whether the disguise on his face was still there - the result was obvious.
Clearly, even though Pales was criticized by Amon for "not mastering the skills of a Decryption Scholar well," he could still determine his true identity from Klein and his conversation on the train.
"Give my regards to Pales." Nimrod pushed open the door before him and casually asked Leonard:
"Klein isn't here?"
"Ah, he went to help a client with a commission - he said earlier that a detective agency without commissions would be conspicuous and easily noticed by 'that guy,' so he put a small ad in the newspaper." Leonard unconsciously said:
"Then unexpectedly, we quickly got a commission. To promote Klein's potion digestion, ahem, we gave him the task."
After all, Klein's sequence was still somewhat low, and none of them had experience playing a "Clown"... Leonard thought to himself.
For Klein's personal safety, he felt Klein should advance to Magician as soon as possible - once digested and passing the church's examination, Klein could directly advance to Sequence 7 using the merit accumulated last time.
Of course, Leonard had previously recommended Klein work at a circus, but Klein absolutely refused, so they had to give up.
Thinking of this, Leonard reluctantly poured tea for Nimrod and said somewhat anxiously:
"Are you here to find Klein today? He probably won't be back until this afternoon."
In Leonard's eyes, Klein was a companion with special circumstances similar to his own, while Nimrod before him was an ancient being occupying the body of an "Amon" clone that even the old man feared. Talking with such an ancient being, Leonard found it difficult to remain calm.
"Finding Klein is just one of my purposes." Nimrod shook his head, half-turning to Leonard: "Go call Mr. Dunn - I'm here today to discuss future cooperation with you all."
"Cooperation?" Leonard unconsciously repeated.
"Yes, cooperation." Nimrod's tone was light: "Related to 'that guy.'"