Late Night Visitor

"The Nighthawks told me to stay here just so I could lure you people out. I don't get it—I told Upton during the day not to contact me, so why are you here again? Are you really not afraid of getting caught?"

Lynch complained.

The man felt a bit guilty; he just thought what Lynch had said was unlikely to be true.

Especially the part about Klein being a Beyonder.

"By the way, let me tell you, although Klein is suspicious of me, he actually appreciates me quite a bit. I peeked at his letter; he wrote to his captain saying that as long as we can lure you people out, he intends to introduce me to the Nighthawks squad and make me a civilian staff member.

He thinks I reached out to stop him back then for the sake of his safety, and he feels I was just unintentionally dragged into this matter, so he's quite sympathetic toward me."

Lynch said with an amused expression.

The man immediately looked around vigilantly.

Lynch snorted.

"Alright, I've already pledged my faith to the Lord, so naturally, I wouldn't join any Nighthawks squad. I don't even look down on them!"

The man finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He sized Lynch up, a flash of envy crossing his eyes.

Legitimate Beyonders received treatment completely different from wild Beyonders like them; if they were caught, they would be locked away.

The fact that Lynch had such an opportunity was truly enviable.

If it were him, he would definitely betray the Lord...

Pah, pah, pah, he definitely didn't think that!

"Alright, I'm leaving now. I will report my conversation with you to Mr. Z. A word of warning: someone else is about to sneak into your room."

After saying this, he immediately tumbled out the window and left.

Lynch stood up on tiptoe, pulled a revolver from under his pillow, and carefully remained motionless.

It wasn't until his room door was quietly opened that he raised the revolver.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

The intruder immediately raised his hands.

"I just walked into the wrong place."

Who would believe that?

"I believe what you're saying, but my revolver might not. Walk out with me, and don't make me say it a second time!"

Lynch walked forward with the gun raised, and the man retreated in a hurry, keeping a distance of a few paces.

At this moment, the neighbor next door let out a cough, followed by someone talking.

Before Lynch could pacify the man, Leonard's voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Ah, the threat of fear, the hope of crimson.

At least one thing is true: this life flies away."

The air seemed to be filled with drowsiness; Lynch couldn't help but yawn, and then he snapped to attention.

The energy consumption of the Stone of Myriad Phenomena terrified him.

He begged Leonard to stop using his Beyonder abilities; he really had this under control.

At this moment, the person in front of him also recovered. He took the opportunity to crouch down, intending to get away from Lynch, but he soon froze.

Because behind him stood another man holding a revolver.

Klein.

He yawned and said helplessly, "Dunn said this was my mission, how did it end up at your place... Oh, right, you're sleeping in my room."

Klein immediately began to gloat.

Lynch ignored him. He and Klein forced the man downstairs together, where Dunn and the others took over.

They stood by the door listening to Leonard recite poetry, waiting for the final result.

Klein was still holding his revolver, worried about any potential issues, and looked much more composed, while Lynch looked rather nervous; he even covered his ears, as if worried about something.

In reality, he was trying his best to keep Leonard's ability from affecting him; he really didn't have any energy to spare.

After about ten minutes, it finally went quiet outside.

Dunn came over and knocked on the door.

"Alright, you two can come out now, it's over... Hmm, don't worry, we're fine."

Dunn glanced at Lynch's appearance and couldn't help but offer a word of comfort.

In his heart, he marveled at Lynch's sincerity toward his friends; having him stay inside to wait for the result must have been truly difficult.

Lynch would likely prefer to fight side-by-side with his teammates or help them block everything, just as he had always done.

Thinking of this, Dunn's gaze grew even gentler.

"By the way, Lynch, I tried to pull you into a dream earlier, but it didn't work. Were you not asleep at that time?"

After following this person here earlier, he had attempted to pull both Lynch and Klein into a dream; he had succeeded with Klein, but failed with Lynch.

Lynch was silent for a moment, not hiding the fact that someone had come to see him earlier.

"It was the organization I reported to you about. They sent someone over, saying they wanted me to hand over that Antigonus Notebook. They don't believe it's a fake."

Dunn nodded.

"I will give it to you on Monday. When you deal with them, you must be careful."

Lynch indicated that it would be no problem.

Dunn then looked toward Klein.

"This person is from the Hermit Order. They lost the Antigonus Notebook and are now searching for it... In short, Klein, Lynch, you have been given a chance to choose to become Beyonders. Aside from the pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess, you may choose any other."

Lynch had been listening to Dunn explain matters regarding the Hermit Order, and just as his mind began to wander, he heard his own name.

"Me too?"

He asked in astonishment.

Dunn nodded.

"When you contacted the Big Meat Church before, you were actually only a hair's breadth away, and now you've stumbled into this matter again. I think becoming a Beyonder will allow you to better handle things and assist us in finding the Antigonus Notebook, as well as striking at the Big Meat Church."

Lynch didn't care whether he was assisting or not; as long as he could become a Beyonder, that was all that mattered.

However...

Lynch fell silent.

He watched as Klein, standing beside him, excitedly asked about the Sequence 9 potion formulas currently possessed by the Nighthawks squad, and then saw the look of agitation on his face when the Seer pathway was mentioned.

Even though he tried his best to suppress it, Lynch, having read the original work, could still tell.

"Think it over carefully, and give me your answer on Monday!"

Dunn nodded, signaling for them to consider it thoroughly.

Lynch finally broke his silence and said, "Captain, can I wait a little longer? I want to accumulate some more merit. Perhaps then I'll be able to exchange for the pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess!"

Dunn laughed.

"Of course. You can even change your mind halfway through. However, I must tell you that the pathway bestowed by the Goddess is much better; at the very least, it is more stable than the Beyonders of other pathways."

Lynch nodded in agreement.

But he didn't take it to heart.

The pathway bestowed by the Goddess might be good, but to become a god, one would have to kill the Goddess. Did he have the guts for that?

He still had to find a way to generate a pathway.

Once he had enough energy to generate a pathway, he would find a way to pretend he had stumbled upon a formula during some mission and then consume it reasonably. Wouldn't that be great?

Why would he want someone else's pathway?

But naturally, he couldn't say that, nor could he even mention it.

He put on a look of longing and nodded, indicating that he would definitely find a way to accumulate merit and become a super-powerful Beyonder like the Captain and Leonard.

Dunn laughed, but he didn't say anything.

Instead, Leonard shrugged his shoulders and offered some well-intentioned advice:

"If you don't like studying, I suggest you don't get into this. This pathway doesn't improve your memory; it might even make it worse. Anyway, I just can't memorize those poetry collections. I'm about to despair from reciting poems!"