Transaction

While Altair was still shaking his head at the quality of the extraordinary materials for this gathering, a door deep within a room creaked open, and a hooded man walked out.

He casually surveyed the attendees with a condescending air.

Upon seeing Altair, the corners of his mouth visibly turned up. He summoned an attendant beside him, handed over a slip of paper, and pointed at Altair.

Altair, who was still observing the "blackboard," was interrupted by the approaching attendant. After taking the paper, he heard the attendant say, "Mr. A has something for you."

Hearing the attendant's words, Altair casually unfolded the paper and glanced at it. It read:

"The goods are ready. Proceed to the inner room for the transaction."

Altair turned his head and looked towards the depths of the hall, spotting Mr. A already waiting at a doorway.

Guided by the attendant, Altair arrived at the door without any obstruction. Upon opening it, he saw Mr. A sitting alone on a single sofa, with several sealed boxes on the coffee table.

Altair entered and closed the door behind him, walking directly to the seat opposite Mr. A and sitting down.

Mr. A spoke in a low voice, "The items you ordered last time are in these boxes. Would you like to inspect them?"

Mr. A's words immediately drew Altair's attention to the boxes. He casually pulled two towards him and said, "We have always recognized Mr. A's abilities. However, I apologize, but I still need to inspect them to ensure the correctness of the items."

Mr. A showed no hint of displeasure at Altair's actions, instead watching him conduct the inspection.

After using a silver dagger to break the "seal" and opening two boxes, Altair examined the contents of each.

One box contained: "A faintly blue, crystalline heart, flowing with dreamlike colors, as if a diamond illuminated by light."

The other box contained: A sphere, the size of a fist, entirely crimson, appearing to gently expand and contract like a heart, its surface semi-transparent, with liquid faintly visible flowing within.

After confirming the items, he casually closed the boxes.

Altair smiled and said to Mr. A:

"It seems Mr. A, your efficiency is quite remarkable. It's only been less than six days since we notified you of our intent to acquire these materials, and you've already gathered them."

Mr. A did not react to Altair's flattery, but calmly stated, "'Vampire' Extraordinary Trait costs 1700 pounds. We sacrificed some members to obtain this Extraordinary Trait, and its uniqueness warrants a premium."

"'Sequence Seven' Psychologist' Extraordinary Trait, 1200 pounds."

"'Sequence Seven' Witch' Extraordinary Trait, 1200 pounds."

"'Sequence Seven' Appraiser' Extraordinary Trait, 1100 pounds."

"'Sequence Seven' Arsonist' Extraordinary Trait, 1200 pounds."

"Five Sequence Seven Extraordinary Traits, totaling 7000 pounds."

Mr. A's words made Altair inwardly gasp, not because of the price, but because a Sequence Five was so desperate for money. With no other choice, he opened his wallet and handed over a stack of cash to pay the remaining balance.

He shook his head at the situation, thinking, No wonder the 'Aurora Society' transformed from a 'True God' organization in the Fourth Epoch to an 'Evil God' organization in the Fifth Epoch.

So their current reputation was earned through bloodshed.

After receiving the final payment, Mr. A began to inspect it on the spot.

Watching him inspect the money, Altair sighed helplessly, lamenting inwardly:

In this society, any organization needs funds to operate.

Especially a secret organization like the Aurora Society. Operating openly as an 'Evil God' organization means they can't receive donations from a large number of followers like 'True God' churches.

They also don't have any special ways to earn money through 'control.' Investments are slow to yield results and there's no guarantee of profit.

Therefore, the organization's operational funds can only rely on some 'High Sequence' individuals taking on jobs like assassinations to earn money and support the organization.

When Altair first saw this channel provided by Uncle Leif, he was deeply moved. It turned out that the 'On-Demand Assassination' business was already being undertaken by many organizations.

After counting the banknotes, Mr. A asked, holding the excess money, "Do you require anything else?"

Finding counting money too troublesome, Altair directly gave him ten thousand pounds, which, after deducting the remaining balance, left five thousand pounds.

Looking at the remaining money, Altair said to Mr. A: "I still need three more 'Witch' Extraordinary Traits, and higher sequences later on."

"We are acquiring traits and materials for the 'Hunter' pathway from low to high."

"For the 'Alchemist' pathway, only Sequence Six and above traits are needed."

"For the 'Spectator' pathway, only Sequence Six and above traits are required."

"We urgently need 'Traveler' or 'Mystic' Extraordinary Traits."

"Knowledge for crafting Extraordinary Items is also urgently needed."

"This excess money is a deposit. I will notify you to stop acquiring once the materials for a certain pathway are no longer needed."

Mr. A looked at Altair, who was still speaking, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you now and run off with the money?"

Altair didn't believe he would do such a thing. Although most of the "Aurora Society" members were "lunatics," it depended on the situation.

Someone going mad for no reason was a "lunatic," which was different from their kind of "mad" fanatical believers.

Altair looked at him and smiled, saying:

"I don't believe you would dare to do that. You should know the channel through which I contacted you."

"If anything happens to me, I believe the Aurora Society will face the full might of the Loen Army."

"You'll become a sinner of the Aurora Society. When others learn that this all happened because you were greedy for the top 5,000, I think they'll flay you alive."

Altair's threat didn't make the atmosphere in the room awkward. Mr. A also smiled, "You're right. Your performance makes me really want to guide you into joining our Aurora Society. You're even more 'crazy' than I am."

The simplest way to deal with a "madman" is to be even "crazier" than him, to make him afraid.

Altair stood up directly, putting away the box containing the Extraordinary Traits. "We have no conflict of interest. Cooperation is the best method, isn't it?"

"You lack money, and we have money. I lack Extraordinary Traits, and you 'have' Extraordinary Traits. Direct transactions align with both our interests."

"I'm leaving. I hope next time we meet, you can bring me more Extraordinary Traits."

Altair didn't wait for Mr. A's farewell. He walked out of the unremarkable detached house alone.

Only after getting into the carriage waiting for him at the street corner did he feel at ease. After the carriage had traveled a certain distance, the fully armed individuals who had been ambushing the house began to withdraw one after another.

Why would Altair attend Mr. A's gathering without making some preparations? He wasn't an idiot, jumping into a trap knowingly.

Before going in, Altair had instructed Simon and the others that if he didn't appear within a certain time, they were to forcefully attack the gathering.