Chapter 40: God's Favor
"Is it appropriate for us to do private work like this?"
Lu Ze asked.
"Of course it's appropriate."
Leonard typed the contract terms on his typewriter without looking up as he replied, "Our team's rule is that anyone without a job can take on private work. Half the money goes to the team's coffers, and the other half is divided equally among the people who do the work. For example, your welcome dinner the other day was funded by the team's coffers."
After he finished typing, he looked up at Lu Ze and said with a smile:
"Look, now you have the money to buy your sister a skirt, right?"
So that's how you can make extra money.
Lu Ze pondered. And that made sense; security companies that didn't take on the work stood out.
After quickly drafting the contract in duplicate, Leonard took the document off the typewriter and leisurely returned to the front hall.
"Ma'am, this is our contract. We will track down your husband and find the person he is having an affair with, and you will pay him 10 pounds for this."
"Find out all the information about that bitch! I'm going to catch her in bed!"
Mrs. Pound waved her arms majestically.
"I've written down all your requirements in the contract," Leonard said with a smile, handing it over. "Of course, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, you must pay a deposit of three pounds first."
"I know that."
Ms. Pound paid the money, wrote her name, and then Luo Shan stamped the Blackthorn Security Company's seal on it. The contract was completed. "Then I'll wait for your good news!"
After seeing Ms. Pound off, Leonard turned around and looked at Lu Ze, "Frye is going to inspect the public cemetery this afternoon, so why don't we do the work?"
"sure."
Lu Ze replied, "But I haven't learned how to track, so don't blame me if I get exposed."
At the same time, he was calculating in his mind that, out of the 10 pounds reward, minus the 5 pounds to be handed over, the two of them could each get 2.5 pounds, which should be enough to buy a similar skirt.
"How could we really follow her? Not only would it be exhausting, it would also interfere with our daily work." Leonard laughed. "I was wondering if there's any way we can find out where her husband went to have an affair? Using your ritual magic."
So that's why you came to me.
Lu Ze thought about it and nodded, "Yes, but she might need her husband's personal belongings."
"Then let's go to her husband's company," Leonard said. "Tonight, there won't be many people around, and I can use my abilities. Maybe I can find something there."
The two agreed on a meeting time and place, and this little episode ended. They cleaned up the plates and started their afternoon work.
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At the same time, in a space that does not exist in the real world.
Endless gray fog flowed like water, filling everything before me. Massive stone pillars rose tall, supporting a majestic dome. The magnificent building lay silent within the gray mist, standing unchanged for eternity, as if at the end of time.
Directly beneath the dome, where the gray fog was thickest, stood a long bronze table. High-backed chairs were placed on either side of the table, in front and behind. The backs of the chairs shone brightly, a deep crimson fading into a darker shade, outlining all sorts of strange and mysterious patterns.
At this moment, a figure sat at the top of the long bronze table, and on the chairs on either side. A grayish-white mist enveloped their bodies, making only their figures and clothing colors vaguely visible.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
Audrey Hall called out in a brisk tone, bowing her head to the tall and mysterious being above her.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man."
She then spoke to the blue-haired man opposite her.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Justice."
The other two responded in kind.
After the greetings were over, The Fool, or Klein, remained enigmatic and tapped the edge of the long table with his fingers.
The other two people looked at him at the same time.
"I want to know the information about the Aurora Society," Klein said calmly. "The reward is that it can be used to offset two pages of Russell's diary."
Because of his colleague Lu Ze, he became more interested in this sequence and the corresponding secret organization.
"Mr. Fool, I wonder which direction you would like to ask the Aurora Society?"
[The Hanged Man] Alger asked cautiously.
In his heart, he had already begun to guess the purpose of Mr. Fool's question.
Is Mr. Fool, the ancient god suspected of coming back to life, beginning to understand reality through Alger? But why does he start with the Aurora Society? Does Mr. Fool want to use the Aurora Society to infer the true Creator's current situation?
Klein had no idea of the twists and turns that had accumulated in Alger's mind. He also had no idea what he wanted to know, so he simply replied calmly, "Just tell me what you know."
"Yes, Mr. Fool."
Alger suppressed his complex thoughts and said respectfully, "The Aurora Society is a secret organization that has emerged in the last one or two hundred years. They believe in the true, fallen Creator and believe that everyone possesses divinity and can ascend through trials to become an angel."
Klein nodded slightly. This was consistent with what he had learned from the Nighthawks' internal documents.
Seeing this, Alger continued his introduction:
"The Aurora Society has five Saints and twenty-two Divine Envoys. These Divine Envoys use letters as code names, calling themselves Mr. A and Mr. X... They are at least Sequence 7 Beyonders, with the strongest being Sequence 5. They are all very skilled at concealing themselves... Every time a Divine Envoy dies, a new one will replace him."
Klein had never heard of these.
"But apart from that, most of the Aurora Society members are lower-sequence Beyonders, mostly concentrated in the Secret Prayer and Listener stages."
Audrey, who was standing by, was so fascinated by what she was hearing that she couldn't help but interrupt, "Mr. Hanged Man, what kind of extraordinary abilities do they have?"
"The Secret Prayers are basically harmless. They only know some sacrificial knowledge and a small amount of ritual magic."
A "small amount" of ritual magic?
Klein recalled Luze's story. He once told him that he had learned a lot of rituals from potions.
Could it be that Lu Ze's situation is quite special?
Klein thought so. Surprised, his body couldn't help but move slightly in reaction, a bit too much.
Sensing something strange about Mr. Fool, the two people who were communicating immediately stopped and looked at Klein, as if waiting for him to say something.
Don't worry about me, just continue. Klein felt a little awkward, not knowing what to say to get by. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he simply chuckled:
"I've seen people who mastered a great deal of ritual magic just by drinking the potion."
He had originally intended to casually pass it over, but unexpectedly, Alger's body trembled, as if he had thought of something.
"Mr. Fool, please forgive my inaccurate description."
He bowed his head in apology, recalling the record in an ancient book of the Church of Storms. He originally thought it was just a fabrication by the author of the ancient book, but he didn't expect it to be true.
"As you said, there are indeed a very small number of secret praying people who, after taking the potion, will immediately master a large amount of corrupt and evil ritual magic."
"In ancient records, they were called the God's Favored Ones!"