Preet, Tivian.
In the dead of night, in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Tivian's Southern District, Gregory, wearing someone else's clothes and using someone else's appearance, stood in the center of the warehouse. Looking at the motionless corpse lying on the ground in front of him, he couldn't help but say with emotion.
"Dead... A Chalk just died like that. I actually managed to kill a Chalk..." Facing the lifeless corpse of Attiff before him, Gregory felt a sense of disbelief deep down.
Gregory, being part of the official Extraordinary System, knew clearly that there were no more than ten Chalk-level Extraordinary individuals even within the Tivian Headquarters, and the total number of Chalks in the entire Preet Secret Police System was only around thirty.
Although Gregory was unaware of the situation within the military and the noble royalty, the numbers shouldn't be much higher. In Gregory's estimation, the official Kingdom Chalk ranks across all of Preet totaled at most eighty or ninety people, likely not exceeding a hundred. Therefore, Chalk-level Extraordinary individuals could absolutely be considered absolute elites, representing a highly crucial resource.
Thus, in Gregory's heart, the Chalk rank had always been an insurmountable, powerful existence—a station captain serving as the backbone force in the Headquarters, his superior, and the leader level in many Evil Societies.
The goal Gregory set for himself after joining the Headquarters was to strive to be promoted to Chalk before the age of forty. Thus, Chalk had always been the target of his struggle and his anticipated career endpoint. He had always been full of longing for this rank, and now... before he even successfully achieved the Chalk promotion, he had killed a Chalk with his bare hands. This feeling was quite strange for Gregory right now; he even felt that everything before his eyes lacked a sense of reality.
Gregory, feeling somewhat lightheaded, took several deep breaths, then looked down at the small knife he was holding. What he saw were several tiny iron-tipped darts sticking to his knife. As Gregory watched, these darts suddenly lost their adhesive ability and fell off.
'The key reason I was able to kill this Chalk was the assistance of Mister Detective and that lady. Their powers are both strong and strange, capable of creating invisible effects without showing their faces. I've never seen the effects of these abilities before... truly terrifying...' 'Mister Detective's organization, thankfully they aren't an Evil Society that would oppose the Secret Security Bureau, otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to face them...'
Looking at the small knife in his hand, Gregory thought with emotion. While marveling once again at the Detective's influence, a feeling of unease arose in his heart. He worried: if this powerful and strange organization, whose purpose was unknown, were one day to become hostile to the Secret Security Bureau and turn into Preet's enemy, how should he choose? How should he respond?
'There are simply too many mysteries surrounding them. It would be great if I could understand them just a little bit better...'
Gregory pondered where he stood after the battle was over. Just then, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Are you contemplating the meaning of life, Mister Shadow-Mask?"
Gregory's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the voice. He turned around and saw the mysterious lady, who had some connection to the Detective, walking towards him from the warehouse entrance. She was still wearing her mask.
"No, I was just feeling a bit emotional. I've never defeated such a powerful enemy before, Madam..." Facing Adele, who was walking toward him, Gregory said respectfully. Adele replied with a faint smile.
For your first time facing a Chalk, your performance... your skill is quite good.
"Not at all... I was only able to fight because of the assistance of you, Madam, and Mister Detective... Judging by that guy's performance just now, if I had faced him alone, ten of me might not have been enough..."
"Heh... how modest, Mister Shadow-Mask. Alright, let's skip the pleasantries now. Since the target has been eliminated, let's get down to business. Where is the hostage that the Detective mentioned needed rescuing?" Adele continued, speaking to Gregory, who then turned his gaze toward a small brick room not far away before responding.
"He's in there. I already checked earlier; he's alive, just unconscious."
"Mhm... good that he's still here. I've already notified my people to rush over from the perimeter. We'll leave the subsequent rescue and cleanup work to them. If you're busy, you can head back first, Mister Shadow-Mask.
"If you're worried about the spoils of war, you can wait a bit. According to the agreement between the Detective and me, he has other compensation to pay me, so most of the spoils from these guys belong to you. We will organize them and mail them to you after confirming their safety. Of course, if you don't trust us and want them now, you can take everything immediately, but the work of appraisal and safety confirmation will be up to you."
Adele said this to Gregory while pulling down the brim of her hat. Listening to Adele's words, Gregory turned his head to look at the several corpses lying on the ground. He was somewhat surprised that the Detective and the lady in front of him would give him the majority of the spoils. It turned out he hadn't worked for free.
"I don't have any means of appraisal here, so Madam, please take these things back first. I need to go back and get some proper rest now."
Saying this, Gregory yawned widely, waved goodbye to Adele, and quickly left the scene. Watching Gregory leave, Adele couldn't help but murmur.
"Facing the spoils of a Chalk-rank Extraordinary, he still chooses to go back and rest first? Is he especially trusting of others, or is he genuinely just tired? That's rather interesting..."
After speaking, Adele returned her attention to the battlefield where the fight had concluded, preparing to direct the subsequent cleanup work... After the battle in the Southern District ended, Adele had her subordinates, who were waiting in the perimeter outside the warehouse, rush over to clean up the battlefield. After clearing all Extraordinary traces, she ordered them to take all the corpses and Nunote back to her stronghold in East Tivian.
Afterward, the unconscious Nunote was temporarily placed in Adele's main base, and Adele's doctors immediately treated and diagnosed him.
Adele's doctors first treated and bandaged the wounds covering Nunote's body caused by torture. They then diagnosed the cause of his unconsciousness, confirming that he had been forced into a deep sleep state by some kind of drug. As long as he didn't continue taking the medication, he would wake up soon.
Sure enough, late the next morning, Nunote finally woke up leisurely in his hospital bed. Upon realizing he was suddenly inside a sealed hospital room, the newly awakened Nunote immediately raised his guard fully, wary of everything. No matter how the doctors explained that they meant no harm and that he was safe, he refused to listen, stubbornly believing that the current situation was a charade staged by the bandits to trick information out of him.
Facing the uncooperative Nunote, Adele was prepared. She took out a blank page that she had previously requested from Gregory and had her subordinate give it to the severely uncooperative Nunote in the hospital room. After receiving the blank page, which appeared to be torn from a notebook, Nunote was surprised to find the handwriting of the young lady of the Boyle Family whom he served, Nephthys! Moreover, the handwriting would appear out of thin air, segment by segment!
Nunote then began to cautiously examine the page. Nephthys's handwriting on the page told him that this was an Extraordinary Item used for communication, allowing two texts located far apart to write and communicate with each other. Nephthys was using this method to communicate with him.
Nunote initially didn't believe this claim. He thought that perhaps some mischievous spirit was inhabiting the paper, impersonating his young lady to trick him into revealing the secret of the hidden room. However, when the handwriting on the page, in order to prove itself, began writing many things only known to members of the Boyle Family, Nunote gradually wavered. And when the method to open the hidden room appeared directly on the page, Nunote completely believed that he was indeed communicating with Nephthys.
After all, the secret he had been guarding so carefully had been revealed directly by the other party. What was the point of resisting anymore? The bandits wouldn't try to trick him into revealing a secret they already knew.
After truly confirming that he was out of danger, Nunote breathed a sigh of relief. He relaxed considerably. After apologizing to the doctor treating him, he began to actively cooperate with the treatment, and then continued communicating with Nephthys, who was thousands of miles away, via the page.
"I never expected... I woke up from my unconscious state and found I was actually rescued. I thought I was going to be completely ruined by those bastards. I never thought things could take a turn."
Inside the sealed private hospital room, Nunote, wearing a hospital gown, sat on his bed, using a book to prop up the contact page and writing on it. A moment later, Nephthys's reply appeared on the contact page.
"This is thanks to the Society I am currently in. After hearing that Grandpa Nunote was captured, they immediately mobilized their forces in Tivian, found you, and rescued you..."
"A Society, huh..."
Looking at the handwriting appearing on the page, Nunote glanced around the hospital room. Thinking of the doctor who had provided him with professional treatment, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this truly was a major Society, possessing this level of medical capability even in a branch stronghold. Only such a powerful Society could have rescued him in such a short time.
Nunote had known before that Nephthys had likely joined some kind of Extraordinary organization. While he hadn't directly opposed it, he had repeatedly reminded Nephthys to be cautious of them, lest she be used or harmed.
But Nunote never imagined that this Extraordinary organization would be so effective. The butler of a relatively insignificant, peripheral member was kidnapped, yet they specifically organized a rescue operation. This treatment was simply too good.
Nephthys was currently only a Black Earth, and had clearly not been in the mysterious Society for long. Nunote naturally assumed Nephthys belonged to the lower-level, peripheral members. For a lower-level member to receive such treatment, Nunote could only conclude that the Society had expended virtually no effort in finding and rescuing him. Killing that group of bandits, who had a Chalk holding the line, might have been a simple matter for them. If even that was simple... just how strong was this Society?
For a moment, Nunote indulged in reverie, imagining what kind of Society would kill a Chalk and a group of Black Earths just for a lower-level Black Earth member. Just then, Nephthys's question reappeared on the contact page.
"Right, I have a rather crucial question to ask you, Grandpa Nunote. Do you know the identity of the group of bandits who kidnapped you? Why did they kidnap you?"
Seeing the newly appearing handwriting on the contact page, Nunote snapped out of his reverie. After serious contemplation, he continued writing on the page.
"I don't know their specific identities. I can only tell that they are Treasure Hunters from a Treasure Hunting Society in North Wu, just like your master and I used to be. As for why they attacked the house and kidnapped me, the reason is simple: it was to help that Ancient Undead find the Scepter of Resistance in the basement. They were cursed and had to obey the Ancient Undead's mission."
"What? Cursed?"
"Yes. From their conversations, I learned that they encountered that Ancient Undead during a tomb raid and were subsequently cursed by it. The Undead used the curse as coercion, forcing them to come to Tivian to steal the Scepter of Resistance. If those guys disobeyed or failed to steal it within the specified time, the Undead would directly curse them to death. They had no choice but to obey the Undead."
Recalling his recent memories, Nunote wrote this on the page. A moment later, Nephthys's reply reappeared.
"That Ancient Undead... did it actually learn the location of the Scepter?"
"That's right... Last year, didn't the Scepter temporarily fail because it lacked 'Qi'? At that time, the Ancient Undead's influence extended through its curse. I believe it was then that the Undead located the Scepter's whereabouts. Then, only recently, it found an opportunity to curse a group of Treasure Hunters, using the curse to drive them to steal the Scepter."
Nunote wrote the possible cause of the events on the page. After thinking for a moment, he continued writing.
"To be honest, the strength and persistence of that Ancient Undead are starting to exceed my expectations. This time, forcing people to steal the Scepter won't be the first or the last.
"That Ancient Undead seems to be growing stronger recently, Miss. As a bloodline descendant of the Boyle Family, you cannot escape entanglement with it. Danger could strike you at any time. Now might not be the time for slow, steady advancement; you need much greater power to cope with the crisis."
Nunote wrote this with an extremely serious expression. After his writing was complete, Nephthys's confused sentence appeared.
"Grandpa Nunote, are you suggesting..."
"I've decided to give you the rest of the Master's notes, Miss. Please make good use of them."