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*****
"I hope so."
Hearing George's comfort, Klein felt a little better.
Deep down, however, he no longer held much hope of going home. What followed would likely be nothing more than gathering relevant data, further verifying his suspicions, and then losing hope entirely.
Fortunately, from the very beginning, he knew that finding a way home would be an extremely difficult and nearly impossible task.
So, he had always been mentally prepared.
Although his heart was filled with despair, he could still bear it.
Otherwise, he might have already lost control and turned into a monster, just like the Sailor they encountered today.
"You really are an optimist!"
After a long while, a slightly recovered Klein looked at George. Noticing that George didn't seem as hopeless as he was, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Though life treats me with a thousand torments, I treat life like my first love."
George smiled and shrugged.
In truth, Klein was lucky to have met him; in the future, if the opportunity arose, George would lend a hand to send him back.
Unlike George himself—searching for his own world in the vastness of Chaos, he had no idea how long it would take to find it.
"Yeah, if life gives me lemons, I'll squeeze out the juice of a smile."
As if infected by George's spirit as a fellow transmigrator, Klein suddenly felt much better, and his mood lightened considerably.
Facing things alone versus facing them with a companion results in completely different levels of psychological pressure.
It's like walking in the dark alone; one would be filled with terror. But if two people walk in the dark together, they might just be chatting and laughing.
"Hahaha, it seems we get along quite well!"
George patted Klein on the shoulder.
It was an interesting thing—to say a slang phrase or a joke and have someone immediately catch the reference.
"A mutual understanding between two old men who have been hanging together for who knows how many years."
Klein and George left the space above and returned to the main hall, taking their seats at the bronze long table.
"What do we do next?"
"Since you've joined the Church of the Evernight Goddess, work hard to increase your strength and climb the ranks. Strive to enter the Church headquarters.
"As one of the seven orthodox Churches, they should have some records regarding the prehistoric civilization."
George shared his thoughts.
"As for me, I'll wander outside the major Churches to see if I can find relevant information through other channels."
He also needed to understand this world better, especially intelligence regarding Angels and True Gods. Ideally, he wanted to find clues about the Original Creator.
"Alright, I'll do my best to find a way into the core of the Church."
Klein nodded. This had been his plan all along, but after seeing the scene above the gray fog, he knew hope was slim.
Still, it was better than no hope at all.
He was still somewhat unwilling to give up.
"You should be careful. The Church isn't actually that friendly toward wild Beyonders, even if you don't belong to an evil organization.
"It's only because you might be a Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 that the Captain is acting so kindly to keep you steady."
To the seven major Churches, all non-Church Beyonders were unstable factors.
Therefore, when the Church's Beyonder organizations discovered wild Beyonders, those belonging to evil god cults were caught and killed without exception, or used as guinea pigs for Sealed Artifact experiments.
If they were unaffiliated but behaved poorly, they would also be arrested and detained.
If someone became a Beyonder by accident and conducted themselves well in all aspects, the Church would first try to recruit them; if that failed, they would be placed under strict surveillance to prevent accidents.
There were many reasons why the two Church Captains were so friendly to George from the start.
First, George acted very amiably and immediately saved a Church member from losing control.
Second, George's ability to restore those losing control to normal was highly valued and extremely precious.
Third, George had generously revealed his identity, his parents, and his home address, once again showing goodwill.
Fourth, and most importantly, George was very powerful—likely not as simple as the Sequence 7 he claimed to be.
He could be a Sequence 6, or even a Sequence 5.
If such a powerful Beyonder were provoked, no one in Tingen City could restrain him, and he would cause immense destruction.
Thus, their friendliness was half a response to George's goodwill and half a tactic to keep him stable while waiting for instructions from the Church high-level.
If the high-level ordered George's arrest, they wouldn't hesitate to act against him.
Just now, when Captain Dunn left, he had signaled Klein to keep an eye on George to see if he could gather further intelligence.
His invitation for George to browse the Beyonder market was partly for future potion formulas and partly to fulfill the Captain's mission.
In truth, Klein felt George's actions were a bit reckless. If he were George, he wouldn't have exposed himself so early.
The Church had experts as numerous as clouds. If they truly decided to sequester George, even with his past-life Taoist knowledge and extraordinary physique, George would definitely be no match.
However, if George hadn't exposed himself, Klein would never have met him and learned the truth so soon.
One could only say that sometimes, fate is just that unpredictable.
"I'll keep that in mind."
George nodded. He didn't argue; all of this was within his expectations.
"By the way, this Tarot Club you've got going on is quite interesting. Count me in. We can use this method to contact me if there's an emergency."
Tingen City was too small; he wouldn't stay long.
But he couldn't lose contact with Klein. Klein was too weak—it would be bad if he accidentally died in some Beyonder incident and caused the gray fog to disappear.
Besides, the Tarot Club Klein organized was indeed quite interesting and a good way to gather intelligence.
"Alright, then pick a card."
Klein hesitated for a moment but eventually manifested a deck of Tarot cards with The Fool, The Hanged Man, and Justice removed.
It wasn't that he didn't trust George; it was mainly because George knew his real situation. Wouldn't it be incredibly awkward for George to watch him pretend to be The Fool?
Of course, the benefits were greater. With George there knowing the truth, the two of them could cooperate to fish for information.
At the same time, George was very strong. With a Sequence 7 Magician's powers plus his immense physical strength, he could likely handle a Sequence 6 with no problem and even go toe-to-toe with a Sequence 5.
Klein would have a powerful helper.
"This actually fits quite well."
George reached out and drew a card. A Tarot card labeled "Strength" appeared in his hand.
The Strength card, Number 8 of the Tarot, represents love and a strong will. It signifies that you have the ability to solve the difficult situations you currently face and have full confidence in your inner power.
He indeed had full confidence in his power, whether it was his inner or outer strength.
"Good. From today on, my codename in your Tarot Club will be 'Strength'."
(End of Chapter)