Chapter 26 MissedTitle of the Book:Mystery: From Apprentice to High-Dimensional OverlookerAuthor's name: BambooChapter word count: 3375 wordsUpdate time: 2022-09-23 15:30:01
The obsidian pendulum turned slightly clockwise. Douglas nodded, tightened the chain and wrapped it back around his wrist, then walked into the mess left by the fire and scraped the remaining ashes with the toe of his boot.
Since December, many small fires have occurred in various parts of the East District. In the dry weather, one or two fires would not be a big deal, but many reports show that these fires have no reason, and some even occurred in vacant buildings, which is quite bizarre.
The police collected a batch of such abnormal situations and handed them over to various churches. Douglas was ordered to travel around the East District for a few days and used pendulum divination to confirm that some of the fires were caused by extraordinary abilities.
"Which wild Beyonder would be so bold as to train his abilities..." He walked around the fire ruins but failed to obtain more information, so he dusted off his trouser legs, took out his notebook, wrote a first draft of the report, checked the time, and prepared to find a place to have lunch.
The end of the year is not a good time for most East District residents who rely on odd jobs to support their lives. Recently, the flow of people has become dense during the day, not because they are on holiday to buy New Year's goods, but because people have to spend more time looking for work. Douglas walked through the crowd, deliberately tucking his revolver into his waist to deter thieves who were rushing to achieve sales at the end of the year.
This job was mostly done by kids controlled by gangs. Just now, he accidentally saw a short-haired boy nimbly taking something out of a passerby's arms, then ducking into the crowd and disappearing in a few seconds, leaving Douglas no chance to warn him.
He closed his mouth in dismay. He had become somewhat numb to the situation in the East District. Apart from anything else, the original owner had survived by stealing when he was a child.
"We can't ask everyone to stick to morality when they can't survive..." He sighed silently, slowly adjusted his mentality, and suppressed the feeling of powerlessness. The exploitation and capital germination that came with the Industrial Revolution were, to some extent, the inevitable choice of the times. If we want to seek a further system, we can only rely on revolution.
However, this is a world with extraordinary abilities. Even though Marxism-Leninism is a required course for college students, Douglas couldn't figure out how to establish a similar system here. He just thought about it and turned into a pub and ordered something to eat. His mind was still empty, but his spiritual intuition trembled slightly.
He quickly reached down, grabbed a child's thin shoulder, and dragged him in front of him. The boy opened his eyes slightly in surprise, and immediately let go of Douglas' wallet and struggled violently.
Douglas raised his eyebrows, held the other person with one hand, and picked up the wallet with the other hand to check if there was anything missing. At this time, the boy looked at his face carefully, and suddenly stopped moving. He stood there obediently and called out, "Uncle Douglas!"
"..." Douglas, who had no impression of the other party, had a serious expression on his face, but was actually trying hard to recall who this kid was.
Fortunately, the boy was very observant and immediately introduced himself: "I'm Little John, Little John from Crutch Street."
With this self-introduction, Douglas' memory was finally triggered: "...Old John's son?"
Old John and the original owner were both bounty hunters. They knew each other when they were in a gang in Douglas. They would often meet up for a drink or something, so they were considered half friends.
"Yeah, it's me." Little John admitted it readily and simply stopped running. He stared at the fish fillet ordered by Douglas on the table.
This kid is really outgoing... Douglas put away his wallet, stared at the kid for a few seconds, and finally compromised and pointed to the seat next to him: "Eat."
"Thank you, uncle!" Little John smiled with his eyes narrowed into slits. He sat down without hesitation, took the plate and started eating.
"What is Old John doing lately?" After thinking of this relationship, Douglas casually asked about the other person's life.
Little John swallowed a mouthful of fish, wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, and said simply and disdainfully: "He's dead!"
"..." Douglas was shocked by the little guy's tone and repeated, "Dead?"
"Dead. He drank too much and fell asleep outside and froze to death." Little John answered affirmatively.
Well, a little drink can make you happy, but excessive drinking can kill you... Before Douglas could come up with any concrete ideas, Little John glanced at the big glass of beer next to him and said in a pretentious manner, "Uncle, remember not to drink too much, it's bad for your health!"
Thanks for your concern, it's not like I like drinking this stuff... Douglas responded vaguely, thinking that after the death of Old John, Little John would probably make a living by stealing people's wallets, so he watched him tolerantly finish everything on the plate.
As if sensing the change in his attitude, Little John glanced at him after he finished eating, then leaned close to him with his elbows on the table, looking mysterious, and whispered, "Uncle, is there anything you want to know? Anywhere around this street is fine!"
While eating and drinking for free, he also did not forget to sell gossip. The young man has a bright future... Douglas said "Hey" and asked, "Then, who is the arsonist of the recent fire? Do you know who it is?"
He asked casually with the intention of teasing a child, but unexpectedly, Little John raised his eyebrows, his expression seemed a little serious, and whispered: "I don't know, but before the fire, I saw a strange woman walking around!"
"...A strange woman?" Douglas suppressed the expression on his face and asked.
"Yeah, it's very strange, she doesn't look like someone from the East District. She has very long hair and a strong fragrance on her body." Little John answered seriously.
That's really not like people from the East End. In order to save water, people from the East End probably don't take a bath in the winter, not to mention the fragrance. Douglas put down his beer glass, leaned back in his chair, and seemed interested: "Where did you see her?"
"Right in front of the house where the fire broke out." Little John pointed in a direction. "It was very early in the morning. I don't know what she was doing there. I didn't see her face clearly, but I knew she had a very strong scent. I could smell it when the wind blew."
Douglas looked at him for a while, and Little John met his gaze naturally, without any sign of timidity. Finally, the bounty hunter smiled and rubbed the boy's head with his hand: "Okay, I get it. If you have any news in the future, you can come to me."
"Okay!" Little John let him finish rubbing, then excitedly made a gesture that it was all right, jumped off the chair, and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
After watching Little John leave, Douglas withdrew his hand from rubbing the top of his head, and found a short hair between his fingers. He looked at the hair with a strange expression, untied the chain of the obsidian pendulum, closed his eyes and began to use the hair as a medium for divination.
"Little John deceived me."
After entering a meditative state, repeating the above words seven times, and using his own spirituality to communicate with the spirit world and gaining a soul-out-of-body revelation, Douglas opened his eyes and, as expected, saw the pendulum rotating clockwise, indicating affirmation.
His mood suddenly became more complicated.
"What a talent! He's much more natural than me when I lie. Unfortunately, I'm just a Beyonder who has read the official archives…" Douglas put away his pendulum, then found a tissue to properly wrap up the hair and stuffed it into his pocket.
The reason why these fires are so strange is that when the police investigated, they found that no one present could explain the cause of the fire. There was no one smoking indoors, no children or cats knocking over candles, no arsonists witnessed, and some rooms even had no fuel or fire, but still burned fiercely.
Of course, there were no casualties, or the psychic might have revealed some truth.
Therefore, from the moment Little John said that he had seen a strange woman, Douglas instinctively felt that something was wrong. How could an extraordinary person who was able to hide from everyone's eyes and ears fail in front of a child?
In order to avoid the possibility that Little John was misled, he deliberately used the subjective word "deception". The result...
"The only question is, why did he lie to me?" Douglas looked at the clean plate with a bit of a smile, "Besides, this information is the reward for my dinner invitation. There's no money to be made for making up false information to deceive people... Uh, a prank? On a whim? You've reached the age of middle school, and you're pretending to be profound in front of me?"
Douglas really didn't understand the motive behind this unnecessary lie. He took out his notebook hesitantly, and took a long time to write down this inexplicable information, with the annotation: "If there are really no clues, go find Little John."
-
Little John skillfully climbed back to his home through the half-broken window - due to lack of funds, they had not yet replaced the windows. Fortunately, with Winkle who could make fireballs, the little bit of cold wind that leaked in was nothing.
He really liked Winkle. With this big sister around, the house was always warm and cozy. She would pay for the food, not drink, and tell strange stories! What about the Beyonder, the hunter of Feysac, the two-headed giant who was more than two meters tall...
Little John compared Winkle with the alcoholic Old John in many ways, and finally came to the conclusion: A father should be like Winkle!
Winkle, who didn't know she was a "favorite father", was flipping through the newspaper. When she saw him coming back, she knew it was time to eat. Little John took out a cheese and ham sandwich wrapped in newspaper and handed it to her. Winkle looked at the empty pockets after the child took out the food and raised his eyebrows in surprise: "You don't want to eat?"
She got to know the child too well in the past few days. Even if the sky fell, it would not delay little John's meals. Two meals a day were essential. As long as he had food to eat, everything would be fine.
"I've eaten." Little John pushed aside some newspapers and sat down on the bloodstained sofa with satisfaction. "Uncle Douglas treated me to fish and chips!"
"who?"
"Dad's old friend who could walk through walls."
Winkle chewed the dry bread for a few times before he realized: "...through the wall?"
"Yeah. One day they drank too much..." Little John, who couldn't sit still, jumped off the sofa and ran to the back wall of the kitchen to gesture, "Uncle Douglas went out directly from here! He didn't go through the door! But later he denied it and said I was mistaken..."
After saying that, he ran back and looked at Winkle expectantly: "Is Uncle Douglas also a Beyonder like you? Can he also make fireballs?"
The red-haired hunter put down his sandwich and scratched his head. Instead of answering, he asked, "What did you do together?"
Little John began to recount the story from the moment he was caught stealing money: "...Uncle Douglas asked me if I knew about your arson, and I told him exactly what you told me..."
I don't know which method the Beyonder uses to walk through walls, but it sounds very difficult to deal with... Winkle relaxed a little and patted Little John on the head: "Good job, continue tomorrow. If you meet Douglas next time, don't get close to him, and observe what he is investigating recently."Chapter 27 MovingTitle of the Book:Mystery: From Apprentice to High-Dimensional OverlookerAuthor's name: BambooChapter word count: 3902 wordsUpdate time: 2022-09-24 15:30:06
In mid-December, Backlund saw its first snowfall since the beginning of winter.
Douglas came to the Harvest Church as usual for morning prayer, reciting doctrine, and learning Hermetic texts, and then hurriedly wrote a routine report by the burning fireplace in the reference room.
Anthony glanced at the title of his report: "This seems to be something that should have been submitted this morning?"
"Father Schultz is considerate of a man who fell asleep right after moving yesterday." Douglas didn't even look up, and wrote line after line at a speed similar to that of copying homework during morning self-study in high school. "Especially since this man has been used as a punching bag by the 'combat scholar' and is sore all over."
"Fortunately, my students don't have such colorful lives as an excuse to delay their final reports." The vampire muttered and took a few sips of his tea before paying attention to the point, "...Oh, by the way, congratulations on your new home. Which house?"
"9 Covent Street, North Side."
"Very far."
As a vampire living in a villa in the suburbs, what right do you have to say that I live far away... Douglas wrote a full page of paper, and cast a speechless look in between blowing the ink dry: "The subway and the public carriage have solved the distance problem very well. By the way, do you want to come to my house as a guest? You and Antina will come together."
"I'm afraid Antina can't go." Thinking of her elder sister, Antonia laughed, "The idea of drug dosage production that you mentioned to her before is very interesting. She discussed it with other vampires. Now they are busy contacting the Steam Church to see if there is any possibility of cooperation."
Douglas narrowly avoided scratching the manuscript paper with the tip of his pen, and his expression was a little complicated: "Ah... then, how is the contact going?"
"It's not going well, so I'm busy. The Steam Church is very interested in the idea of new machinery, but the person in charge in Loen is not in a high position and cannot decide on such a large-scale cooperation. Moreover, running a pharmaceutical company for ordinary people is an unprecedented thing, and we have to consider the attitudes of other churches..."
Well, it seems that I won't see the assembly line for a while. I wonder if there is something similar in the emperor's manuscript... Douglas thought about it and suddenly looked at Anthony: "So while they are busy with their serious tasks, you are here touching... uh, being lazy?"
The young vampire took the written report and reviewed it, and was satisfied to find that there were no grammatical errors in it. "No, I will be responsible for contacting some factory owners in society and academic institutions such as Backlund University of Technology to see if there is a lower-cost solution."
"Okay, I was wrong." Douglas raised his hands in surrender. "I shouldn't have questioned your hard work. Speaking of which, my new neighbor, the young lady from the Moretti family, seems to be a student at Backlund University of Technology."
"Meretti...Melissa Moretti?" Anthony thought for a moment and remembered a girl in her late teens with black hair, brown eyes and simple attire who was introduced to her by the principal when she visited the research lab of Backlund University of Technology last week. "I met her during the visit. This Miss Moretti is a Sequence 9 'Generalist'."
"...Wild Beyonders? Or the Steam Church..." Douglas was stunned for a moment, "No, the Moretti family are all believers of the Goddess of Night."
He had just moved in and had not had time to invite his neighbors over as per the custom of the Kingdom of Loen. However, when he rented the house, he learned from the landlord that several households in the surrounding area all believed in the Goddess of Night.
"Mr. Portland Momont, the president of Backlund University of Technology, is a peripheral member of the Church of Steam. Ms. Moretti is his student and must be registered with them. I don't know the more specific details, but maybe you can ask. This does not violate the confidentiality code."
Anthony only spent a few hours as an escort during the tour. If Miss Moretti had not been so talented in mechanics and her explanations were not clear and organized, she might not have remembered her name.
Douglas was very concerned about this news. He would be busy studying and completing church tasks in the next few months, and Verity would be the only one staying at home for a long time. It didn't sound safe to have a Beyonder next door.
Regardless of whether there is an official background or not, the threat of "out of control" is the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all Extraordinaries. From a pessimistic point of view, the Extraordinaries themselves are a time bomb that has a chance of being detonated.
...Well, other neighbors are obviously in a worse situation. After I arrived, there were two time bombs on Covent Street. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I'll get Verity some self-defense items later? Talismans are not okay, they are too dangerous; potions? It's easy for her, a nurse-in-training who often comes into contact with medicines, to find out that something is wrong, which would be a leak; amulets are very safe, but they don't have much practical use...
While putting this matter on the agenda, he continued to write his report: "So after all this talk, can you please honor me by visiting my humble abode?"
"After the New Year, when Antina is less busy, we can go together."
"No problem. My landlord is planning to stay in Desire Bay for a while. From the end of the month to February, it will be just me and Verity at home. You're welcome anytime."
-
The townhouses on Covent Street were of a higher grade, with a small flower garden, a decent porch, larger oriel windows with better lighting, and other superior conditions. Unfortunately, after the attack on Backlund by the Feysac airship at the beginning of the war, although no houses collapsed, the streets and facades still had many signs of damage and repair.
However, due to its proximity to government offices, many institutions of higher learning and the Church of Night, properties on Covent Street are still very popular among the middle class.
"I didn't expect Mr. Thomas to hire someone to share the rent." Ruth Moretti sighed as she adjusted the position of her hair accessories while fixing her clothes in front of the mirror at the door.
She had been married to Benson and lived in 7 Covent Street for only a month, but she had already been deeply impressed by the Thomas couple, who were particularly concerned about their middle-class identity. The middle class usually did not need to share the rent with others.
Benson, who was dressed in a casual suit, came to his wife and helped her fix her hair. He explained, "The previous war undoubtedly damaged Mr. Thomas's business. He needs some time to rebuild. Renting out some rooms is one of the safest ways to save money."
When Melissa, who was dressed simply but decently, heard these discussions, her mind naturally emerged of last year's war when Mr. Thomas covered his face and avoided sight to collect bread at the relief center.
This elderly gentleman had a stubborn personality, and after the war he even stubbornly donated his youngest son's pension to the makeshift Backlund Reconstruction Foundation, only willing to make a living through his own efforts.
Maintaining their dignity seems to have become one of the rules of life for this couple over 50. If Melissa were two or three years younger, she would not understand the meaning of this stalemate.
However, after a few years of ups and downs in life, she realized that renting out part of the house instead of moving away from the neighborhood was a good result. After all, more middle-class people who went bankrupt because of the war had no room to struggle and disappeared from the public's sight, leaving only empty houses for sale.
Therefore, Melissa did not comment on this topic. The family packed up and left home, knocking on the door of No. 9 Covent Street next door. Tonight, a simple but formal dinner will be held here. As the landlord, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas followed social etiquette and introduced the new tenants to the neighbors - Douglas, who worked in the Church of Mother Earth, and his adopted daughter, Verity Cotton, who was a student at the Nursing College affiliated with the Church of the Goddess of Night.
The guests were curious about their relationship, age difference and different beliefs. So during the following conversation, both of them were asked many related questions.
Of course, men and women have their own chat circles. While Douglas racked his brains to talk about social current affairs and stock tax rates with those government employees, senior lawyers, and bank managers, Verity, who rarely participated in such social activities, quickly adapted to the rhythm and frankly told the women about his own experiences.
Of course, considering the respectability that these middle-class people pursued, she wisely did not mention their East Side origins, but only vaguely said that their family was not well off before.
The girl with long blond hair and bright eyes smiled shyly, but her tone was full of confidence: "Although my parents and my brother left me too early, Douglas has always been by my side like a family member... No, I should say that he has been a family member for a long time. He is like a doting brother and a reliable father."
Such stories of hard work leading to a happy ending are always popular, but Melissa was particularly moved: it was hard not to remember that she had experienced a similar life change a few years ago.
The little girl in front of her, who looked a little shy but had a happy smile, was so similar to herself back then... She raised her glass and glanced in the direction where the men were gathered.
Mr. Douglas was a lean, agile, and easygoing man, who had nothing in common with the bookish Klein Moretti. Of course, Klein had changed a little after finding a job, becoming more cheerful and confident... but he was still her best brother.
No, Melissa, how can you make such an impolite comparison... She sighed silently, returned to the topic, and smiled as she drew four-pointed stars on her chest: "Family is our eternal support and home. Goddess, I believe you will have a better life."
As believers of the goddess, everyone followed suit and made prayer gestures and sent blessings. After satisfying their curiosity, the topic diverged, and the married ladies began to discuss the current fashion trends. Verity didn't know much about these, so she approached Melissa, who was of similar age, to find common topics, and the two quickly established a friendship.
Because the next day was a rest day, after dinner, the gentlemen who had no special plans and got along well with each other simply set up a card table and played Texas Hold'em with a small blind of half a soli and a big blind of one soli.
Benson was very experienced in playing cards. He once taught Melissa that playing cards was like negotiating. One had to guess the other party's cards and conceal one's own. One also had to learn how to bluff and lure... But perhaps because all her learning abilities were focused on the mechanical aspects, Melissa was still not very proficient in this game.
She watched Benson win another hand, collected a few bills amid the joking complaints of his fellow card players, shook her head in amusement, got up and went to the bathroom, but when she came back, she happened to run into Douglas who had just come down from the card table.
The latter seemed to think about it for a moment, and then greeted her in a friendly manner: "Ms. Moretti? Thank you for taking care of Verity tonight. Well, I was worried that she would be too nervous. Fortunately, you are here."
"You are too kind, Mr. Douglas. I understand your concerns, but Verity has behaved very well. I think we are already friends." Melissa made way and responded to the topic easily. She had a good impression of Douglas.
"Really? Then I'm relieved." Douglas, who was much taller than her, raised his lips, smiled politely, and walked past her sideways. Melissa took two steps forward, but felt a certain scrutiny falling on her.
She turned around hastily, but all she saw was the closed bathroom door. Was it Mr. Douglas? Or...
Melissa, who had become a Beyonder and had some knowledge of mysticism, frowned slightly and subconsciously grasped the amulet necklace made by Klein himself on her chest. She did not ignore the intuition that spirituality had brought her just now. She remained slightly vigilant and returned to the bustling living room, and secretly observed Douglas who returned to the card table several times.
But nothing special happened after that. Melissa did find that Mr. Douglas might be even worse at playing cards than she was, and he lost several games in a row.
Douglas, who knew nothing about playing cards, took a look at the bottom card with a helpless look on his face. He almost couldn't resist the urge to take out the obsidian pendulum and turn the card game into a metaphysical duel.
Looking at the two of hearts and the five of spades, the corners of his mouth twitched. He simply covered his cards and stopped calling. He began to think about how to get two more meals from Teacher Melos to make up for the money he lost playing cards.
I lost 7 soli and 12 pence, which is enough for several days of food expenses... and most of it was won by Benson Moretti. What's going on? Your sister is a Beyonder, but you are not! And I haven't heard of any way to control good luck!
-------------------
Mr. Ke: I think you don't know what the yellow and black king who controls good luck is.jpgChapter 28 Apprenticeship RulesTitle of the Book:Mystery: From Apprentice to High-Dimensional OverlookerAuthor's name: BambooChapter word count: 3448 wordsUpdate time: 2022-09-24 15:30:06
The days passed as usual. One day, Douglas accidentally glanced at the calendar and found that more than a month had passed since he traveled through time.
He picked up the pen, crossed out the numbers on the calendar, and let himself be in a daze for a while.
He would still dream of his past life in his sleep, of that highly civilized society, of the days spent laughing with his family and friends, and then suddenly wake up, sitting on the edge of the bed and gazing at the red moon hanging high in the sky.
And he kept complaining that the red moon was ugly.
Later, the frequency of such dreams gradually decreased, while the memories belonging to the original "Douglas" became more active, and Verity, Antonia and others began to intrude into the dreams from time to time.
But more often than not, he could enjoy a wonderful dreamless night.
Recalling the experience of being possessed by the red gloves in his dream, Douglas guessed that the specialness of his time travel was gradually disappearing, and he was gradually returning to the original trajectory of this world.
The constant fusion of these two completely different lives made him start to examine himself and think about a philosophical question: "Who am I?"
"I'm Jing Wenying, a time traveler..." He stood up and walked to the dressing mirror hanging behind the door, silently staring at the reflection in the mirror, silently trying to find his own position in his heart, "I'm a person with morals, ideals, and culture. Uh, I haven't got a college diploma yet... Never mind, I'm just a young person with four qualities in the new era! I'm also a procrastinator with no ambitions. I'm an easy-going person who has a bottom line and is easy to get along with. I like reading, games, food, fantasy, and imagination..."
He recounted his past. Fortunately, although he no longer dreamed about it, he could still recall the old memories clearly, but they were hidden in the deepest part of his mind like treasures.
I will not forget who I am... But, Douglas looked at the mirror and thought to himself, "At the same time, I am also the only family of a girl in this world who is both a brother and a father; I am an official who secretly protects the people; I am also a newcomer to the extraordinary world, with reliable and respectable colleagues and teachers..."
Douglas was originally worried that such a change would turn him into, how should I put it, a mental quirk? Like split personality. But after sorting it out, he was relieved.
He is not the same person now, but the conflict is not that intense. It is like when people enter society, they have more diverse identities and new responsibilities, but that does not change the essence of a person.
After crossing over, he undoubtedly acted with the mentality and personality of "Jing Wenying", and some necessary cover-ups did not exceed her bottom line. "Douglas's" memory at most enriched his feelings about this world, but did not involve the fundamentals.
After realizing this, Douglas smiled calmly at himself in the mirror.
At this moment, his spirit suddenly leaped. Douglas was shocked to find that his body, mind, and spirit had entered a strange state. It was as if there was an illusory sound of breaking in his ears, and the magic potion in his body seemed to be dissolving and merging with his spirit.
This state came suddenly, but the process was natural and soothing, without causing any spiritual warning. So Douglas closed his eyes, meditated according to the method taught by Melos, and quietly experienced the indescribable unique feeling.
Although there was no warning, Douglas inexplicably felt that this was a sign that the potion was completely digested.
After his spiritual power gradually calmed down, he opened his eyes and moved his body. He could intuitively feel that his abilities had grown to a limit.
"However, how come this complete digestion happened so suddenly..." Douglas muttered, returned to the table, and pulled out the "Apprentice Rules" that he had summarized.
"First, maintain a strong curiosity, keep learning, and keep trying;
"Second, respect and follow teachers who are more experienced and knowledgeable than you, and regard them as guides;
"Third, don't be arrogant or overconfident. Know the upper and lower limits of your abilities and clearly define your own position."
These three rules are what he constantly summarizes, refines and practices based on his own experience. For him, these conditions are not harsh, and are even suitable for the current situation.
In addition, the original owner had been taking potions for nine years, and the power of most potions had been gradually mastered with the passage of time. After Douglas began to "play" step by step, he was very satisfied with the progress of his own potion digestion.
"It's just that complete digestion has always been a hurdle... Uh, why can examining oneself help digest the potion? Which rule does this comply with? 'Clearly define your own position'?
"Well, mental state has a great impact on Beyonders. Maybe it's because after I traveled through time, I have been subconsciously worried about this matter. It was not until just now that I untied the knot in my heart and achieved the unity of body, mind and spirit, which facilitated the digestion of the potion?
"Is this a blessing in disguise? But this reminds me that I should always pay attention to my mental state and adjust my mood in the future, so as not to leave any hidden dangers..."
Douglas added this note to the bottom of the rules, and then packed up his desk in a good mood and prepared to go out. Although he did not gain any new abilities, reaching the peak of his own strength still gave him a sense of security.
At least, I can run faster when I escape.
After his usual patrol of the East End and the Astronomical Observation Amateurs Association, Douglas sat in the public carriage and opened his notebook to review the completion status of recent tasks.
As a public school teacher, Eaton Vogg enjoyed a longer winter vacation, or annual leave, than other jobs. He said goodbye to his friends a few days ago and took his parents to the south to spend the winter. The landlord couple, who were in poor health, were also invited by their eldest daughter who had married out to leave Backlund and go to Disi Bay.
In this world, traveling and celebrating the New Year together seems to be quite popular. However, as a civil servant, Douglas does not take annual leave, and he has to report if he wants to cross a city.
The routine reports have all been submitted. Um, this week's classes are suspended. Teacher Melos is on a business trip. The make-up classes will be held after the New Year...
The rest, the East District... Douglas circled a name thoughtfully.
The intelligence dealer Fernando disappeared. Although there were signs that Fernando would mobilize his resources from time to time, he never appeared in public again.
At the same time, there seemed to be quite a lot of people secretly looking for this intelligence dealer. Even Douglas himself was subject to several targeted investigations, which made him realize that the people looking for Fernando were from MI9.
MI9 is an extraordinary agency directly under the government, and generally keeps a distance from the church. Douglas wrote the situation truthfully in the report, and was told by Father Schultz that Fernando might be involved in a spy case.
This completely dispelled Douglas' idea of intervening, and at the same time, the relevant information of the arson case was handed over to MI9, but he did not give out the seemingly plausible information about John Jr.
Now his work in the East End was a little easier, and Douglas planned to use his free time to take Verity to see some circus performances, both to celebrate the New Year and to prepare for the next sequence of "Roleplay".
The public carriage swayed a little as it turned the corner, and the ticket seller announced the stop loudly: "Rose Street!"
Douglas closed his notebook and ran out of the car. He saw several cargo carriages parked outside the golden Harvest Church, and someone was carrying something down. He walked slowly over and greeted one of them: "Ms. Jessica?"
A sturdy woman in a straw hat clapped her hands, looked back at him, and responded cheerfully, "Good afternoon, Douglas. Come on, just in time to help me move these in."
Jessica Downes was a Sequence 9 "farmer" who usually stayed in the Sainz family's manor in the suburbs, responsible for cultivating some precious plants and herbs. Douglas had only met her once or twice, but he was deeply impressed by her strength. After all, not every lady could have biceps thicker than your calves.
"Good afternoon. What are these?" Douglas knelt down and picked up a sack, thanking himself for not wearing formal clothes.
It's so heavy! He paused for a few seconds and finally managed to lift the sack. It must be about 50 or 60 kilograms...
If he hadn't been beaten for a month, no, trained, he wouldn't have been sure he could lift it. On the other hand, Jessica, with her arms bulging with muscles, carried a sack in each hand and walked into the church, smiling and asking him to follow.
Some men passing by on the street saw this and showed expressions of shattered values and self-esteem. Don't be afraid, that's the bonus of the "cultivator" potion... Douglas calmly took a step to catch up with the other party.
"These are, haha, according to Emperor Roselle, they are called 'welfare'." Influenced by Anthony, a Roselle fan, even Jessica could quote from the classics, "The rice, flour, and coffee beans produced in Fenepot are much better than those on the market. They are specially supplied to church members."
Douglas's steps stumbled for a moment, and he narrowly avoided a back injury from the heavy bag of rice on his shoulder. He asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Rice?"
He hadn't had a proper meal of rice since he came here! Affected by the previous war, the price of grain had risen. In Loen, most of the rice was imported by Feynaport. The price was so attractive that Douglas passed by the grain store three times without entering.
Unexpectedly, the church has such a simple mechanism for distributing New Year's goods… Douglas swallowed unconsciously and began to wonder whether he could be considered an internal staff member since he had not passed the internship period.
Jessica led him to the warehouse at the backyard of the church, where they met Father Schultz, who was directing temporary workers to move the goods. The two of them worked with the workers to move the goods back and forth for more than a dozen times, and finally unloaded all the goods.
Father Schultz was writing and calculating in a ledger. At last he looked up at Douglas, who had taken off his coat due to the heat, and said, "Write out a receipt and get your share."
"Really?" Douglas tried to control his emotions, but his tone was still excited, "Me too?"
"Although you haven't officially joined the company, the blood clan never consumes much rice and flour." The gray-haired priest looked at him tolerantly, "The quota that the blood clan doesn't need will be distributed to other churches in the suburbs and nearby cities to prepare for the Eucharist for believers. The rest belongs to you, not much, a total of 40 pounds."
He showed Douglas the detailed information of previous years. Considering that some vampires were carrying out missions in the southern continent this year, the total amount was more abundant than in previous years.
Douglas couldn't help but smile. He rubbed his face a little embarrassedly, then he drew the shape of the holy emblem of life on his chest with a straight attitude, and with his eyes closed, he recited with true emotion: "Praise the Mother Goddess!"
Whoever has food is my mother. Don't ask, the answer is that from today on, I will be a fanatical follower of the Mother Goddess of Earth!
Father Schultz was very satisfied with his pious performance. Before he could open his mouth to praise him, he saw the young man throw away his coat, completely losing his usual calmness, and jumped back into the church to fill out the application form.
"Like a rabbit being chased by a hound." Jessica made the comment as objectively as possible and laughed heartily.
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