Contract

"Don't come back next time, you wretches!"

As Lynch and Klein left the tavern, they could still hear Mr. Wright's angry roar.

Not only had they freeloaded a lunch there, but they had also shamelessly packed a portion of food each to save for dinner.

Mr. Wright not killing those two scoundrels was truly a surprise.

Lynch and Klein didn't care about Mr. Wright's anger in the slightest. With full stomachs and their packed food in hand, they asked for directions and finally arrived at the nearby Zolant Street.

When they stood at the entrance of the Blackthorn Security Company, they both wore expressions of relief.

They had finally arrived; the two stingy fellows had nearly walked their legs off all morning.

The two lifted their feet to climb the stairs simultaneously, quickly arriving at the door of the reception room.

Lynch and his companion knocked on the door, and finding no one opened it, they tentatively pushed it ajar.

Just as the door swung open, a girl inside suddenly stood up.

"Captain! Sorry, I wasn't sleeping! Ah, no... who are you two?"

The girl looked pleasant, wearing a dress common in Tingen, and she asked with an embarrassed expression.

"We're here to see Dunn Smith; he offered us a job opportunity."

Lynch said honestly.

The girl immediately had a look of realization.

"I see, Dunn mentioned you this morning. He said the handsome one would help me with shifts from now on. That's really great! I've been saying I need a partner; I'm really so bored. By the way, my name is Rozanne!"

Rozanne introduced herself excitedly, then looked at Klein.

She quickly shook her head.

"This gentleman probably isn't my partner; he looks quite, um, honest?"

Lynch saw Klein's face darken, especially since the newspaper on Rozanne's desk was the Tingen Honest Man Newspaper, which made the comment all the more fitting.

"Hmm, do I look like a playboy then?"

Lynch asked with amusement.

Rozanne immediately waved her hand.

That wasn't it either.

It was mainly that Lynch was handsome, which didn't really go well with being "honest."

She usually praised a person's looks first; only those who weren't handsome received praise for other virtues.

However, if she told Klein this, he would definitely cry, so Rozanne hid this fact out of a sudden pang of conscience.

"Oh my, don't ask so many questions. I need to contact the Captain quickly, you two wait here!"

Rozanne scurried out of the room, leaving behind a helpless Klein and a constantly chuckling Lynch.

After Lynch finally managed to suppress his laughter, Rozanne emerged from the room.

"The Captain is guarding the Chanis Gate today and can't come out. I'll take you down to find him."

Rozanne had calmed down by now and gestured for Lynch and the others to follow.

They walked through a corridor with several offices, and a head poked out from one of them.

It was Leonard.

Seeing Lynch and Klein, he immediately flashed a poet-like smile.

"I knew you would come. Welcome!"

Then, without waiting for Lynch or Klein to speak, he retracted his head and went back to playing cards with the people inside.

"He's just like that, don't mind him."

Rozanne grumbled, leading them to a door on the left at the end of the corridor. After opening it, she signaled for them to go down a few more levels.

After descending the stairs, they walked through a long passage. When they reached a fork in the road, Rozanne stopped to specifically introduce where each path led.

According to Rozanne, the left path led to the Saint Selena Cathedral, the right to the armory and archives, and straight ahead was the Chanis Gate.

Passing through this junction, they continued forward. Before long, they saw a pair of black iron doors standing there.

"The Captain is in there. You two go in! You must succeed in staying; I really hope you work with me!"

Rozanne winked at Lynch; she was truly too bored.

Lynch nodded. If Dunn went back on his word, he would throw a tantrum right here and go outside to shout, telling everyone there was an organization of Beyonders here. After all, he hadn't signed a confidentiality agreement yet.

However, Dunn clearly had no intention of going back on his word.

Seeing them enter, he took out two contracts and handed them over respectively.

"If you are certain, then sign these contracts."

Of course, they were certain.

Lynch took a quick look and signed it.

Dunn swiftly stamped the contract and handed them a copy.

"Very well, the two of you are now one of us. Remember to keep it confidential; you must be careful even with the contract."

Lynch acted as if he hadn't heard.

Where else was he supposed to hide the contract?

Should he tuck it into his waistband and carry it with him everywhere?

"Alright, if you have any questions, you may ask them now."

Dunn stood up with a smile and placed his pipe in his mouth to light it.

Lynch immediately heard Klein asking with particular curiosity about Beyonders losing control, so Dunn started from the creation myths, talking until Lynch's eyes glazed over.

It wasn't that he didn't like learning, but every point Dunn made reminded him of certain things mentioned in the original work.

Thinking about these things would attract attention, and the Stone of Myriad Phenomena was almost burning hot, its energy draining away rapidly; if this continued, he would truly be finished.

Lynch had no choice but to desperately force himself not to let his mind wander; there were some things he simply wasn't qualified to think about yet.

But the more he tried not to think, the faster his thoughts drifted.

After the conversation, Lynch discovered that the energy in the Stone of Myriad Phenomena was nearly bottomed out.

It wasn't until Dunn finished that he finally breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that if this went on, once the energy inside the Stone of Myriad Phenomena was completely exhausted, he would suddenly mutate right there in Dunn's office and provide Klein with a live lesson.

After Dunn finished explaining the situation that Klein and Lynch needed to know, he finally began to arrange their work duties.

Klein needed to walk the route from Welch's home to his own every day to see if he could recall the location of the Antigonus Notebook.

Yes, Dunn suspected that the one they handed over was a fake Antigonus Notebook; after all, there was still nothing on that notebook.

It didn't even have a shred of energy; they had tried various methods and couldn't find any difference between that thing and an ordinary notebook.

Therefore, they suspected that the notebook Klein gave to Lynch was a fake, used by the person behind the scenes to divert their attention.

As for Lynch's task, it was to visit his old coworkers every day, pretend to chat, and see if there was anything wrong with them.

Besides that, Lynch also needed to organize files with Rozanne, register cases, tidy up the equipment room, and study in his spare time to get into Tingen University as soon as possible.

"Getting into Tingen University isn't very difficult, as long as you put in some effort. The hard part is maintaining your assessment grades while working. We will provide the school with a certificate stating that you don't need to attend classes every day.

If you can truly graduate from Tingen University within five years and are willing to continue working here, it is possible to apply for a potion for you, allowing you to become a Beyonder.

Of course, if you find clues about the Antigonus Notebook, you can also become a Beyonder ahead of schedule. You can choose a potion that enhances memory, which will make your studies twice as effective with half the effort."