Spreading Rumors Again!

Evening.

Lynch left the police station and chose to walk home instead of taking a carriage, using the four pence he saved to buy two cups of iced lemonade by the roadside.

Of course, he had only intended to buy one, but the shopkeeper offered a buy-one-get-one-free deal, so he took the second one as well.

Earlier, after waiting for the man to leave, he had instructed the coachman to turn the carriage around and head to the police station.

Stalking Upton was a task better suited for men sent by Mountbatten, and if the plan truly succeeded, Mountbatten would certainly be able to secure a second-class merit.

Although he didn't know when he might become the police chief, at least he would be far more competitive than he had been before.

Lynch gave Mountbatten a rough outline of the situation, explaining that he had received intelligence that Upton was about to gather members of the cult for a mass self-immolation, but since he didn't know the exact time, Mountbatten would have to handle it.

Once the matter was successful, he would tell everyone that it was Mountbatten who had discovered the problem with Upton and that it was Mountbatten who had notified him.

This served the interests of both parties.

Neither he nor Mountbatten saw any issues with this.

The next day, Lynch had intended to bring the Antigonus Notebook to Dunn, but after some thought, he decided to keep it for now.

He felt the Antigonus Notebook still had some use, though he didn't know exactly what it could do, so he kept it with him for the time being.

Of course, Lynch still went to communicate with Dunn.

"The Antigonus Notebook was taken by people from the Big Meat Church; he said he needed to consult his superiors to verify whether it was real or fake."

Dunn nodded, indicating that was fine.

Even though he had taken a glance at the Antigonus Notebook at the time and deemed it a fake, it was still worth bringing back for professionals to examine.

"You look a bit off."

Dunn looked at Lynch with keen eyes.

Lynch was not as relaxed today as he had been previously.

Lynch sighed. Of course he wasn't doing well; after all, he was about to pull off a major deception against Dunn in the coming days, and he didn't even know if it would succeed!

Furthermore, he had joined a cult and become a believer of the True Creator—no one would dare believe it if he told them!

In short, the black-clad man's words had kept him from sleeping well last night, and he looked quite haggard today.

Thinking of Dunn's question, Lynch shook his head.

He certainly couldn't voice his concerns directly, so his thoughts raced, and he immediately came up with an explanation in his mind.

"It's the Antigonus Notebook. I'm worried that if it turns out to be real, they won't return it to us, or if they think it's fake, they might destroy it. I'm really worried they'll ruin the evidence."

Lynch said softly, his tone tinged with worry.

Dunn laughed.

He stood up, walked to the window, took out his pipe, and looked at Lynch. "Do you mind if I have a few puffs?"

Lynch wanted to refuse, but remembering that the original owner was also a heavy smoker, he knew the original would never have refused, so he nodded.

"I've noticed you haven't been smoking lately."

Dunn lit his pipe, took a few puffs with satisfaction, and then turned to ask Lynch.

Lynch thought for a moment and explained, "I quit. I used to smoke heavily because of the pressure. I didn't know what else I could do besides being a clerk; my life seemed to be stuck there. Later, after going through the incident with Klein and getting beaten up, I felt like I saw through everything. So, when I woke up, I didn't touch cigarettes anymore. I want to live a good life."

Dunn nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"That's impressive. I admire you, really. I can't even quit myself, even though I know it's not good. Alright, I'll put it out! It's not right to smoke in front of someone who has already quit. My apologies."

Dunn took one more deep drag and quickly extinguished the pipe.

"Alright, back to the previous matter. I understand what you mean. You're worried about those people taking the Antigonus Notebook and not returning it. That's only human nature, but why did you give it to them?"

Lynch was stunned.

Was Dunn blaming him?

How should he explain this? Should he just say later that he snatched it back from those people?

Lynch's brain spun rapidly, and he instantly thought of a solution, but before he could speak, Dunn laughed.

"You gave it to them because you wanted to infiltrate their ranks. As long as you can gain their trust, all these sacrifices are worth it. Besides, it was just a fake Antigonus Notebook anyway."

Lynch wore an expression of sudden realization.

"I understand. For the greater..."

Before Lynch could finish, Dunn had already completed his sentence.

"For the greater good!"

Fine!

Roselle said this too?

He really did say a lot!

"Alright, don't worry about such things."

Dunn offered Lynch another word of comfort, and Lynch nodded, preparing to leave and find Rozanne to give her the breakfast.

It contained a loaf of bread and a cup of iced lemon water that had been delivered last night.

He hadn't found Rozanne when he came in earlier, so he guessed she might have gone underground for something and intended to look for her again now.

"You don't need to follow Rozanne today."

Dunn stated this fact with a helpless expression.

"Then who should I follow? Brazier?"

"No, you will follow Old Neil and learn mysticism knowledge alongside Klein. You have already earned the merit to become a Beyonder, so these things need to be learned. From now on, you will attend classes with Old Neil every day, study your lessons in the afternoon, and go to the club to practice with your firearm. I heard you haven't been going."

Dunn looked up at Lynch. Even though there was no condemnation in his gaze, Lynch already felt a bit embarrassed.

He hurriedly tried to make excuses for himself: "I'll go right away. I've been thinking about studying these past few days; it's too hard. I feel like my brain is about to explode."

Dunn chuckled with a sense of schadenfreude.

"This is your duty, you cannot give up. However, practicing with your firearm is also very important. You are about to become a Beyonder, and you aren't far from becoming a full member."

"When you are out on field duty, the enemy won't care if you are studying. They only care about whether your aim is true and whether you will be killed by them instead."

Lynch nodded solemnly.

It was true; during this time, he had only felt that as long as he had a gun in his hand, there shouldn't be any problems, completely forgetting that he needed to practice.

"Captain, I'm going to fire a hundred practice shots today!"

Lynch clenched his fists.

Dunn shook his head with amusement; this guy would definitely end up with a sore shoulder from the recoil.

"You are only allowed to practice with thirty bullets a day. The bullets you didn't claim previously are void."

He didn't want this guy to grow to hate target practice, as that would be fatal for a Nighthawk.

"Go on! Oh, by the way, was what Rozanne said yesterday true?"

Dunn asked curiously once more before Lynch could leave.

Lynch immediately recalled the events of yesterday, and he felt like he wanted to fight Rozanne to the death again.

"It's fake! Captain, I swear to the Goddess, I really don't have any improper relationship with Klein!"

Lynch swore through gritted teeth.

Dunn pondered for a moment, then finally said helplessly: "That's not what I meant. I never believed you and Klein were together; I know you both prefer ladies. I was asking about what Rozanne said yesterday regarding you proposing to her."

Lynch:??

No, would this girl die if she didn't spread rumors for a single day!