Chapter 201: Luo En: I Need a Bodyguard
Luo En watched as Mrs. Griffin's expression instantly turned serious, and his thoughts couldn't help but sink a few points.
"Little Luo En," Mrs. Griffin suddenly turned her head and said in a very calm tone, "You—you're a Beyonder, aren't you?"
"You—you've been found out?"
"That's right, she probed me from the beginning."
Luo En no longer denied it and simply nodded.
Mrs. Griffin's face showed an expression of "just as I thought."
"You should—you're at least Sequence 7, right?" she pressed further.
"Actually—I'm already Sequence 6," Luo En thought silently to himself.
But out of caution, he merely nodded again and did not correct her judgment.
Mrs. Griffin once again scrutinized Luo En from head to toe, a meaningful smile appearing on her face: "It seems your trip out to sea this time was no ordinary journey."
She offered advice in the tone of a senior: "Little Luo En, Beyonders are not omnipotent superheroes. The risks behind this path are far beyond what you can imagine."
Hearing this, a hint of curiosity arose in Luo En's heart. He tentatively asked, "Madam, what Sequence are you now?"
Mrs. Griffin did not answer his question, only smiled and said, "That's a very impolite topic, you know."
Luo En could only give an embarrassed laugh.
Afterward, Mrs. Griffin recounted everything that had happened to Luo En in detail. This included a dangerous Beyonder who had illegally broken into the house and thoroughly searched his room, as well as how the dangerous individual's companion had suddenly appeared and rescued him when she discovered him and was about to act.
"What?" Luo En was a little surprised, "You mean, two Beyonders of not low Sequence once searched my room?"
"Yes, that's right," Mrs. Griffin nodded, adding, "One of them was at least Sequence 7 level. And the other was definitely higher than Sequence 7."
This—
Luo En's expression became somewhat solemn.
He didn't care about Sequence 7. Even Sequence 6 didn't scare him. He had even directly clashed with the Blood Admiral, a Sequence 5 Beyonder.
What truly worried him was another matter—he had been targeted by someone again. And this time, the target was his identity as "Luo En Di Sen Ke"!
Backlund was not the vast ocean. At sea, he at least had two "friends" of the Pirate General level. If he got into any trouble, he could simply leave, and others would look for the adventurer named Monqi Brando.
Originally, he had been overjoyed, thinking he could finally get rid of the troubles at sea. Who would have thought that this was merely falling from a small pit directly into an even bigger one!
"Could it be—that woman who gave me the potion back then? No, that's not right. If it were her, she wouldn't have dispatched two mid-Sequence Beyonders just to search my small rented room."
"Rose School of Thought? But they shouldn't know my true identity, right?"
"Or could it be—the followers of that evil god?"
The thought of the feeling of being spied on while bathing back then sent a shiver down Luo En's spine.
"However—to be able to easily drive away two mid-Sequence Beyonders, it seems Mrs. Griffin's true strength is absolutely not low either."
Luo En looked up and asked, "Madam, did they—did they take anything from my room?"
Mrs. Griffin shook her head: "I don't know about that. They definitely turned everything in your room upside down."
"Alas, this is also my mistake. As one gets older, one's vigilance is not what it used to be." Seeing this, Luo En found it hard to say anything more and instead comforted Mrs. Griffin a few times.
"Oh, right, Madam." Luo En seemed to remember something, opened his backpack, and the Orange Cat immediately poked out its small head.
"You—you don't mind if I keep a cat, do you?"
"Meow?"
Mrs. Griffin narrowed her eyes, carefully scrutinized Lachi for a few moments, and said, "Although the housing contract didn't mention anything about pets, not refusing doesn't necessarily mean permission—"
"Meeooww." Lachi seemed to understand her words and lowered her head, looking a little wronged.
"However," Mrs. Griffin's tone changed, and she said, "it's not impossible to make an exception. Consider it—a small compensation for my mistake this time. But, it absolutely cannot run into the kitchen. Especially, it cannot come into my room!"
"Of course! Thank you very much!" Luo En smiled and nodded.
Lachi immediately scrambled out of the backpack and nuzzled Mrs. Griffin's trouser leg, making her giggle.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Mrs. Griffin seemed to remember something, got up, and took a thick stack of letters from the cabinet in the living room, handing them to Luo En.
"Here, these are letters from your little girlfriend. Remember to write back to her. No, you've kept her waiting for so long, I think it would be more sincere to go and apologize in person."
Luo En took the stack of letters: "I told you, she's just a pen pal, don't overthink it."
"Yes, yes, yes—" Mrs. Griffin said as she walked towards her room, muttering, "These boys nowadays really don't understand girls' feelings at all."
To be honest, Luo En's mood was very troubled right now, and he didn't want to read these letters at all. But then he remembered that his pen pal was actually anxious enough to come knocking.
"Hmm—"
After a few seconds of thought, Luo En still opened the top letter and began to read it.
[Mr. Luo En, that idea you mentioned in your last letter is simply brilliant! I think it's very suitable for a novel! If you're interested in writing it yourself, I happen to have connections with a publishing house—Oh, by the way, can I borrow a few of those creative ideas?]
"It seems Rosell didn't copy all the works back then—" Luo En continued to read the next letter.
[A week has passed, why haven't you replied? Did something happen?]
[You've never gone this long without replying, something must have happened, right?]
[You must have encountered some danger, right?! Do you need money? I still have some manuscript fees here, take them first! You must write back! This is too much... But I really did go through a lot, like evil gods, cultists—island survival plus betrayal. Pirate Generals and such.]
Luo En looked at the thick stack of banknotes that fell out of the last letter's envelope and nodded silently.
It was a full hundred pounds.
This was not a small sum of money.
"Hmm."
"Another day, I'll go visit her in person and return the money."
Putting away the envelope, Luo En went up to his room on the second floor.
There were obvious signs that the room had been rummaged through. The most obvious was the window, which clearly looked like a new replacement.
Luo En quickly began to check his belongings to see if there were any important losses.
Fortunately, he hadn't lost anything. But—some of his documents and letters had definitely been thoroughly read by someone.
"Who exactly was it?"
Luo En fell into deep thought.
If he didn't find this hidden enemy, he wouldn't be able to live a peaceful life in Backlund anymore.
After much deliberation, Luo En finally decided to actively investigate the matter himself.
As for the plan to visit his Author pen pal, it was temporarily postponed. After all, in his current state, where he could be targeted at any moment, rashly contacting an ordinary person could very likely bring unforeseen danger to them as well.
But how to investigate was a problem. And how many unknown risks he would encounter during the investigation was also a problem.
To be honest, although he had encountered many powerful enemies at sea, those were mostly in the category of skirmishes, and he was mostly passively counterattacking.
Now, to actively investigate a hidden enemy of unknown strength, he definitely had to find a way to make everything as safe as possible.
Moreover, the fact that he had returned to Backlund might already be known to the other party. Therefore, he had to be constantly on guard against any potential attacks the other party might initiate.
"If the other party comes too suddenly, my 'Calamity' premonition might not respond in time."
He picked up a coin and divined:
"The people investigating me have great power."
It landed heads up.
"Okay."
"I will encounter danger if I investigate the other party myself."
Still heads up.
"I will be attacked by the other party."
Still heads up.
"Damn it!" Luo En cursed inwardly.
This was no longer something that could be solved by pretending nothing happened.
After much thought, he took out the mystical item box, which he hadn't used in a long time, from the storage space of "Diamond 3." He looked at the ancient wooden box and silently recited his question in his heart,
"How should I deal with this matter now?"
A moment later, the surface of the mystical item box trembled slightly. Soon, Luo En opened the lid and found a small piece of paper had appeared inside out of thin air.
On it, only a simple word was written—[Bodyguard].
"Bodyguard? You want me to—find someone to protect me?"
"Hmm—that's certainly a solution. But, couldn't you just tell me the specific way to solve this matter—"
"Tell me clues about the identity of the dangerous individuals, or how to find them. And I can only ask one question at a time, sigh."
Luo En silently grumbled about the "scammy" function of this mystical box.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a bodyguard. Finding a suitable helper to assist with the investigation would also work, but who should I find—" Luo En began to think seriously.
"Mrs. Griffin? Forget it, I can't keep putting my landlady in danger because of my affairs. For the time being, it's probably best if I move out."
After much thought, Luo En decided that it would be more reliable to hire a professional. Anyway, he wasn't short on money now.
But where to hire was a new problem. The helper had to be a powerful Beyonder, and their strength absolutely could not be below his own. Otherwise, they might not only fail to protect him but also become a burden.
"Hmm—"
At this point, Luo En suddenly regretted leaving the vast ocean so quickly.
At sea, he at least had the help of Edwina and Cattelya. Plus, their Sailors, he wouldn't have to worry about these things at all. "Why do I suddenly feel like my popularity with women is quite good—" Luo En couldn't help but grumble inwardly again.
"Seriously, what am I thinking? My friendship with them is pure."
"Besides, it's not like Tracy hasn't tricked me before."
Putting aside his jumbled thoughts, Luo En put on the disguise cufflink and slightly altered his appearance and demeanor.
"Lachi," he said to the Orange Cat that was sprawled on the bed, "Now, it's an extraordinary time—it seems my 'extraordinary time' has never stopped."
After an awkward moment, Luo En continued:
"In short, you stay home obediently for now. If anything unexpected happens, go to Mrs. Griffin for help immediately."
"Meow—" The Orange Cat nodded obediently.
Having done all this, Luo En left Rose Street, deciding to first check out the Gray Bear Bar. If possible, he might even be able to attend the Eye of Wisdom Beyonder gathering through there again, and perhaps find a suitable helper.
Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Luo En once again arrived in front of the familiar Gray Bear Bar.
He noticed that the burly man who was previously in charge of guarding the door seemed to have been replaced.
But he didn't think much of it and directly pushed open the heavy door and walked in. Perhaps because it was still early afternoon, there weren't many people in the bar, making it seem a bit deserted.
Luo En walked straight to the bar and said to the bartender who was wiping glasses, "A South Wales beer, please."
"5 pence," the bartender said familiarly.
"The price has dropped."
Luo En handed over a few coins and received a glass filled with golden liquid, exuding a rich malty aroma.
He didn't drink the beer but went straight to the point, asking, "Is Jiu Ping here? I have something I want to talk to him about."
The bartender didn't speak, he just looked up and waved towards a corner of the bar, as if greeting someone.
A moment later, Luo En felt someone slowly approaching from behind him.
Luo En turned around and saw an old man, seemingly over fifty, wearing a cheap linen shirt, limping towards him with an unfriendly expression. His face had a large, extremely hideous scar with torn flesh, and a typical rosy, inflamed nose.
"An ordinary person, not a Beyonder," Luo En observed the other party calmly, holding his glass.
"What do you want with that Fusak savage?" The other party came in front of Luo En, his tone cold.
"Where's Jiu Ping?" Luo En retorted.
"He scurried back to his Fusak hometown," the other party's face showed a hint of disdain, "Now, I am the owner here."
"Then who are you?" Luo En asked again.
"Caspars."