Sure enough, after about fifteen minutes, which gave Elara and the others a rare, brief moment of relaxation in the apocalypse, a middle-aged man in a waistcoat, his hair slicked back with pomade, who looked like the tavern manager, walked with steady steps to their booth.
He bowed slightly to Cassian and Elara, made a "please" gesture, and said respectfully:
"Honored guests, our boss would like to see you. Please, follow me."
Elara and Cassian exchanged a glance, then stood up and followed the manager towards the second floor of the tavern. Seraph and Jorah were left downstairs to "hold down the fort."
The manager led them to the door of a rather elegantly decorated private room. After pushing the door open, he bowed again, then turned and withdrew, leaving the space to them.
Inside the room, there was no sign of the information broker or tavern owner they had expected. The entire room was empty, except for a round table covered with a deep red velvet tablecloth, placed in the center of the room.
And on that round table, a full deck of playing cards was spread out, face down.
Cassian looked at the deck, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. It seemed this tavern's information trading had its own unique and interesting set of "rules."
In the corner of the room, a hidden camera's faint red light blinked, as if signaling them to begin.
After receiving this silent "permission," Cassian stepped forward first and, with his long fingers, casually flipped over one of the cards.
It was the Ace of Spades.
Then, Elara also stepped forward and flipped over a card.
After all the cards had been turned over by the two of them according to some predetermined rule, four cards, arranged in a special formation that seemed meticulously designed, were left in the very center of the deep red velvet tablecloth, appearing particularly noteworthy.
Those four cards were not ordinary playing cards, but four tarot cards, strangely illustrated and full of mystique.
The first card depicted a ferocious bolt of lightning tearing across the sky. Below the image was a single word—[THUNDER].
The second card depicted a scorching golden sun radiating immense light. Below it was a single word—[SUN].
The third card depicted a silver moon hanging high in the night sky, emitting a cool, clear light. Below it was a single word—[MOON].
The fourth card was the most peculiar. The entire face of the card was shrouded in a deep, nebula-like purple mist, making it impossible to see what was hidden within. And below it was a large, mysterious question mark—[MYSTERY?].
Cassian looked at these four strange cards, especially the one representing [THUNDER], and his blue eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed to have vaguely… guessed something.
He knew that these four cards very likely represented the four most powerful and central factions, or… ability users, in this trading post, or perhaps this entire region.
But Elara, with her memories of a past life, felt a storm raging in her heart when she saw these four cards.
Because she knew far more than Cassian. She not only knew what these four cards represented, but she even… knew some of the hidden, unknown… inside stories behind them.
[THUNDER], without a doubt, represented… Cassian, with his powerful dual water and lightning abilities.
[SUN] represented the leader of the northern Light Base, the "Sun King," whose power was unfathomable and whose temperament was violent and cruel, and who was about to arrive in S-City.
[MOON] represented Aurelia, the one with the top-tier healing ability, the "Sun King's" lover, who was currently trapped deep in the forest, her fate unknown.
And that last card, full of unknowns and variables, [MYSTERY?]…
Elara looked at that card, her expression becoming incredibly complex. Because she knew, this card didn't represent anyone else.
It represented herself.
Or rather, the her from her past life, the one who struggled to survive for ten years in the apocalypse, only to meet a tragic end, the one who possessed the dual abilities of space and time...
No… that's not right…
Elara instantly dismissed her own speculation.
The her from her past life, although possessing the immense potential of space-time abilities, had never truly developed due to Leon's suppression and her own limitations. In the later stages of the apocalypse, teeming with talent and powerful individuals, she was nothing more than an obscure nobody struggling to survive.
How could a codename like [MYSTERY?], placed alongside top-tier powerhouses like [THUNDER], [SUN], and [MOON], possibly fall upon her?
Unless…
Elara's brow furrowed slightly. A bolder, and even more startling, thought surfaced in her mind.
Unless, the owner of this tavern, or rather, the master of this intelligence network, possessed an ability that… wasn't ordinary.
And not just a little out of the ordinary.
Perhaps it was something… akin to "prophecy," "divination," or "fate perception"—an extremely rare, special ability capable of glimpsing a corner of the future or sensing the trajectory of destiny!
Only this could explain why her codename was listed alongside Cassian, the Sun King, and Aurelia—three key figures who would influence the entire landscape of the apocalypse in the future!
The owner of this tavern, he (or she), wasn't seeing the her of the present, but… the her of the future! The "her" who, after countless hardships and growth, would truly bring the power of space and time to its absolute peak!
This possibility sent a genuine chill through Elara. The feeling of having her fate spied upon made her extremely uncomfortable and put her on high alert.
She didn't dare make any more assertions now. She could only choose to remain silent and see how things unfolded.
"An interesting game," Cassian said, looking at the four symbolic tarot cards on the table, his voice calm. "So, what price must we pay for the intelligence behind these four cards?"
He was very composed, showing no surprise or panic at seeing his own codename among them, as if everything was within his expectations.
After a moment of silence, a voice slowly emanated from the surveillance camera in the corner of the room.
It was the voice of a very young woman, ethereal and clear, like a mountain spring, yet it also carried a fragile beauty, like glass, so exquisite it felt almost unreal.
"A price?"
The voice softly repeated Cassian's words, her tone tinged with a faint weariness, as if she had lost interest in everything in the world.
"For intelligence like this, I don't need crystal cores, nor any supplies."
"What I need… is a future."
"A… future where I can live safely and soundly… in this world that is about to completely collapse."
Her voice was faint, light, like a sigh that could dissipate in the wind at any moment, yet it carried an undeniable, heavy weight that echoed throughout the empty private room.