That night, Kingston Road, Enki Town.
A week after the Inspectors from the Desi County Police Department left, Lex once again pushed open the door of the Sea Monster Tavern, his ears immediately filled with various noisy sounds.
He lightly pressed down on his felt hat, lowered his head, and quickly made his way to the bar, settling onto an empty high stool.
The Bartender, who seemed to always have a glass to wipe, glanced at him: "You haven't been here in a long time, Duke. I thought you had left again."
"In that case, your bounty will be subject to a storage fee."
Saying that, Sanchi pulled a box from under the counter. It was a locked box. He opened it, took out an envelope, and handed it to Lex.
"Count it. It's 600 pounds in total."
Lex took the envelope, felt its thickness, and sighed inwardly.
A Gang leader in a remote small town could casually produce a 600-pound bounty, which showed how profitable human trafficking was.
Doing that mission was truly the best thing.
He didn't count the money in the envelope; he just pulled out two 10-pound notes and pushed them to the Bartender.
"10 pounds for storage, and also, I want to inquire about something."
Sanchi glanced at him, said nothing, and took the money.
Lex put the envelope into the inner pocket of his trench coat: "I want to inquire about a person. Do you know a bestselling novel called 'wuthering heights'?"
Sanchi stopped all his movements and looked at the man in the iron mask in front of him: "Do I look like someone who reads novels?"
Lex shrugged: "It doesn't matter. Help me inquire about the author of this book, Fors. I want to know information about this author, such as her current address."
Through the Reader's message, Lex knew that this author named Fors was related to the Abraham Family. The Reader at that time said that if he wanted to know more about Abraham, he could try to contact this author.
"No problem."
Sanchi took out a small notebook, quickly jotted down Lex's request, then lowered his voice and said: "Is this your mission? Or your personal matter."
"Of course, you don't have to answer me. I have my professional ethics; I'm just curious."
"Fors, from the name, seems to be a female, a bestselling novelist. Could it be that you, Duke, like such intellectual women?"
Lex stood up: "When will there be news?"
Sanchi continued wiping his glass: "It won't take long. Tomorrow, no, come back the night after tomorrow."
"Oh, right."
The Bartender leaned forward and cautiously looked left and right before lowering his voice and saying: "Do you still remember that man named Bridge?"
Lex certainly remembered. He was the one who sold him the Shadow Gauntlets. He also wanted to hire him as a temporary bodyguard, and then he was killed by Gore, who had already become a 'Channel' at that time, on that multi-masted sailboat by White Beach.
"What's wrong?"
Sanchi put down the glass: "Someone has been inquiring about him these past two days, two people. One is very tall, fair-skinned, with dark green pupils, and a northern accent."
"The other is shorter, bald, wearing a top hat, in formal attire, with a goatee. There's a tattoo on his right palm, which looks like the emblem of some organization."
"They are inquiring about Bridge. Everyone who played cards with Bridge has already been approached by them."
"I don't know what they want to do, or what they are about to do. In short, be careful yourself."
Lex nodded, pressed down on his felt hat, and left the tavern.
As soon as he came out, he saw three people talking on the street opposite, not far away. Two of them, one very tall and the other shorter but wearing a top hat and formal attire, seemed to be the two Sanchi mentioned.
Lex didn't want to cause trouble, so he turned around and ducked into an alley. By the time he reached Mermaid Road, the iron mask had been put away, his long trench coat was draped over his arm, and he had taken off his hat, walking in his original appearance on this distinctive cobblestone street.
That day, after learning that the original owner was not the child of the Bison couple, this news seemed to stimulate the original owner's body, allowing him to gain more memory fragments.
These days, he finally digested these fragments.
Thus, he learned some of the original owner's deeply hidden thoughts.
The owner of this body had a strong sense of belonging and responsibility towards the Bison couple and this Family.
He disguised himself as a noble rake to lower his father's enemies' guard and buy time for his own growth.
At the same time, he also became a bounty 'Hunter' in the guise of a Duke.
He was secretly seeking ways to become a Beyonder and pre-purchasing Beyonder weapons.
He wanted to protect and strengthen this Family through his own efforts.
He had given a lot to this Family.
That's why Lex felt sad and ridiculous when he heard Bison's words that day. Moreover, these emotions were so strong.
Even after all this time, thinking about it now still caused him a faint pang of pain.
Lex shook his head, chasing these thoughts out of his mind.
"I've been looking for Leon these past few days, almost every day I take time to hunt, using it to distract myself and lay some groundwork."
"Tomorrow is the first day of August, the time should be ripe. Next, I should be leaving this town. I can take this opportunity to make some investments with my private property."
Lex walked, letting his thoughts wander.
"Bison plans to invest in the steel industry next. He believes the Kingdom will vigorously develop industry, and he is no longer satisfied with animal husbandry and the timber industry."
"Hmm, the steel industry isn't impossible to invest in. However, I have other ideas."
"If I use the development history of the Earth as a reference, if there is oil in this world, and if I can extract and possess it in advance, then I will control the important energy of this world."
"Hmm, finding oil fields and extracting oil is not easy; it requires a lot of investment."
"Additionally, the information industry is also worth investing in."
"This world already has telegraphs, in other words, it provides the technical foundation for the emergence of telephones."
"Hmm, compared to oil, the upgrade of communication technology is easier to achieve. I can make investments in this area in advance."
"Moreover, a 'Hunter' needs to collect intelligence. If I control the communication industry, then I can completely build a dark web, a developed underground intelligence network."
"I can even gain more and greater profits through this network!"
For a moment, Lex's thoughts were in a flurry. By the time he came back to his senses, he was already home.
The next morning, Lex saw his mother, Amelia, in the garden. This elegant woman was watering flowers and carefully removing some weeds.
"Mom, are you free now?"
Hearing Lex's voice, she turned her head. The morning light fell on her face, softening her features and radiating a holy Light.
"Of course, is something wrong?"
Lex nodded, and according to the plan, calmly said: "I feel that I am about to finish digesting the 'Hunter' potion."