Business trip?

The reward Luther ultimately received was an Extraordinary Item, specifically the white bone flute in Azik's hand.

"Infuse the flute with your spirituality and blow into it to summon a random undead creature to do your bidding," Azik said. "It contains my blood, so you can use it freely for the first three times. But after the third time, the spirituality within the blood will be exhausted. Any undead summoned after that will likely refuse to obey your commands unless your strength surpasses its own."

"How strong must one be to use it freely?"

Luther asked curiously.

"At least reach the middle sequences."

Azik said, handing the bone flute to him.

Luther thanked him and reached out to take it. The bone flute felt extremely cold to the touch, its entire body a lustrous, pearly white, yet a trace of bright red pulsed within—that was likely Azik's blood.

After chatting with Azik for a few more moments, Luther stood up to say goodbye. He had come out under the pretext of practicing his marksmanship at the shooting range; if he dawdled too long, it wouldn't be good to be caught slacking off during work hours.

Luther took a public carriage back to Zotlan Street, getting off a stop early to walk the rest of the way and air out the smell of cigars from his clothes. When he stepped into Blackthorn Security Company, he found everyone present, and every face was beaming with joy.

What was going on?

"Did something good happen?"

He asked Roshan at the front desk, curious.

"It's payday today!"

Roshan said to Luther in disbelief, "I can't believe it! Luther, you actually forgot about a day like this? Hurry up and go to Mrs. Orianna, the accountant, to collect your share."

Oh, it was weekly payday.

Luther suddenly realized; today was Friday, the day the Night Watchers collectively received their weekly wages. He hadn't collected a salary for the past two weeks because he had needed money to settle in when he first joined the team, so he had drawn two weeks' pay in advance. In other words, this was his first official payday.

"I'll head over then."

He said with a smile, walking quickly toward the partition.

The team accountant, Mrs. Orianna, was in the first office on the right. She was a stylish woman in her thirties, wearing a green ruffled dress that looked intellectual and elegant, perfectly matching her gentle temperament. When she looked toward Luther, a friendly smile appeared in her emerald eyes.

"Good afternoon, ma'am."

Luther had already met her when he drew his advance salary. "I'm here to collect this week's pay."

"Alright, you and Dunn are the only ones left."

She took out a salary confirmation sheet. Sure enough, the spots for everyone else had already been stamped, leaving only his and Captain Dunn's.

"Is the Captain not here?"

Luther took his seal from his wallet, dipped it in the ink pad, and stamped the paper, asking as he did so.

"It seems he went to the Goddess Church; the Bishop has something to discuss with him."

Mrs. Orianna said, taking out a copper key to open the office safe and retrieving two banknotes. "Luther, I've heard from others that you've handled many major matters recently. At this rate, perhaps your salary will be raised soon."

"May the Goddess bless us; I hope your blessing comes true."

Luther laughed.

The Night Watchers had an internal salary increase mechanism. Merit was recorded based on the individual's contributions, and once a certain threshold was reached, they would receive a raise, along with priority for promotion opportunities. Additionally, the higher the sequence of a Night Watcher, the higher their base salary. Although Luther was currently at the base level of 6 pounds, given his outstanding performance recently, a raise was likely already on the agenda.

Especially since he wasn't allowed to be promoted, his salary increase would likely be higher as compensation.

Luther took the salary from Mrs. Orianna—two notes in total, one for 5 pounds and one for 1 pound. The 5-pound note bore the portrait of Henry I, while the 1-pound note featured William VI. Both men had similar faces, with serious expressions and thick beards.

Well, I've seen these enough times now that I don't feel any excitement.

Luther tucked the two banknotes into his wallet, thinking to himself.

The salaries for the Tingen City Night Watchers were covered half by the Goddess Church and half by the Ahowa County Police Department. At the same time, the Police Department provided them with corresponding police identities. For instance, Luther now had a set of probationary inspector uniforms, which he could wear when investigating cases to make questioning the public easier.

Furthermore, an even more wonderful aspect of being a Night Watcher was that their salaries were tax-free; what they received was exactly what they kept.

Luther put away his salary and took a glance at his wallet.

The salary he had previously drawn in advance had been almost entirely spent on renting a house, buying formal clothes for himself and his sister, and paying tuition fees. Fortunately, he had later received the house gifted by Old Neil, which not only covered the weekly rent but also left a surplus of 6 sule. Coupled with the 50 pounds he had received directly from the Lanerius case, his financial situation had improved significantly.

Luther had saved half of those funds, kept the rest with him, and given his sister about 3 pounds as pocket money. The little girl didn't know how to spend it and just stared at the banknotes in a dilemma.

However, listening to my colleagues chat, a Sequence 8 potion might cost over 400 pounds. I'd have to sell the house to afford it... Ah, right, I currently have two Magical Items. That bell isn't very useful; when the time comes that I really need money for a potion, I can consider selling it.

Luther pondered his assets as he walked out of the partition.

Just as he stepped out, he heard a happy female voice, "Well done! You helped me vent the anger in my heart!"

Following the sound, he saw the plump Mrs. Pound sitting in the hall, praising Blackthorn Security Company's capabilities with great excitement. Leonard, sitting opposite her, smiled awkwardly while offering perfunctory responses.

"Alright, I won't disturb your work anymore. Here, this is the remaining commission, plus an extra tip from me."

Mrs. Pound generously slapped the 7-pound balance from her wallet onto the table, along with a crisp 5-pound note.

"Ma'am, your generosity is impressive."

Leonard praised, his tone becoming much more sincere.

Hearing him say this, Mrs. Pound couldn't help but reveal an even brighter smile.

"Hahahaha! That's because I suddenly came into a large sum of money. My idiot husband, feeling ashamed, committed suicide in prison! Not only did I get the entire inheritance, but I also received a large pension from the company. This little tip for you is nothing at all!"

She laughed a few more times, but suddenly felt that something was wrong, because the expressions on Leonard and Luther's faces were far too serious.

"Are you saying, Mrs. Pound, that he is dead?"

Leonard asked, struggling to force a smile.

"That's right. I heard from the police that the idiot used a bedsheet to make a rope and hanged himself in prison." Mrs. Pound showed absolutely no sympathy for her husband. "He deserved it! I'm going to spend his money like crazy and use his wallet to keep a boy toy..."

After seeing Mrs. Pound out of the security company, Leonard and Luther exchanged glances.

"Do you believe Mr. Pound committed suicide?"

"How could I?"

No matter how they looked at it, he had been silenced.

Just then, the company door opened once again, and Dunn Smith walked in hurriedly.

"Captain."

The two went up to meet him, and Leonard said, "Mr. Pound has been silenced."

"I already know."

Dunn nodded. "It wasn't just him; the other high-level executives in the company who knew the truth also committed suicide on the same night."

Just as the two were shocked by the unscrupulous nature of the perpetrators, Luther saw Dunn shift his gaze toward him.

"Luther, are you interested in a business trip?"

He asked.