023 Unexpected Windfall (2)

Green cleared his throat and gave the woman a slight nod. "Hello, beautiful lady. I'm Green Wilson."

"Sir, my name is Isabella. You can just call me Isa. Miss Franton sent me here." The woman rose and returned his greeting with impeccable manners. She picked up a delicate leather handbag from beside her, took out a small wooden box, and placed it on the tea table in front of them. "Miss Franton asked me to bring this to you. Please check it."

Green smiled, took the wooden box, and opened the lid right in front of her. Inside, on a velvet lining, lay a crystal pendant.

Green was no longer an ignorant outsider. The moment he saw the crystal pendant, he knew it was a magic crystal, and a faint magical halo flickered across its surface. He held the magic crystal in his hand and fed it a trace of magic power. It immediately reacted. The originally transparent, colorless crystal gave off a faint blue glow, forming the projection of a thick ancient book before Green. With a thought from Green, the pages actually began to turn!

The book contained the contents of the Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition.

Green withdrew his magic power, and the projection of the ancient book vanished at once. He looked at Isabella. "Did Miss Franton have any other instructions besides this?"

Isabella said, "Miss Franton said your soul was very interesting, with a color she had never seen before. She hopes to meet you again if she gets the chance, and wishes you good luck."

Green's heart sank. What does she mean by that? Could that woman see through people's souls? Did she discover that my soul is different? Did she realize I'm a transmigrator? The thought sent a cold sweat through him, but after shivering, he actually calmed down quite a bit. No, that's not right! This world doesn't even have the concept of transmigration. Even if she saw that there was something unusual about my soul, she wouldn't suspect anything from that side. Besides, this woman acts strangely. She gave me the Meditation Method for no apparent reason, but she doesn't seem to harbor any ill will...

But when someone offered a favor without asking, there was always some ulterior motive. Green would never naively believe that the mysterious woman was some living ** who had become lovesick after being shaken by his imposing presence and had come specifically to bring him warmth.

He had a premonition that no matter what the woman named Elizabeth Franton gave up now, she would eventually take it all back with interest—then multiply it tenfold.

That instinctively made Green think of a legendary existence—the devil!

But devils truly existed in this world. They were **, greedy, sinister, and vicious!

According to legend, devils existed in Purgatory. They were incarnations of sin, tempting humans to fall and commit unforgivable crimes, while the devils would ultimately reap those sinful souls. However, these descriptions of devils were not necessarily true. At least in Green's view, the notion that they were incarnations of sin was mostly a lie. Devils were probably an extraordinary race aligned somewhat toward chaotic evil.

Seeing Green's brows tightly furrowed, Isabella gave him a mysterious smile and said nothing more. She simply rose and took her leave.

Green did not ask any more questions either. He felt that this woman was no simple character, and asking would be useless anyway. He might as well wait and see what happened. At least for now, he had obtained a Meditation Method that could solve his pressing problem. As for what Miss Franton was plotting, Green no longer cared. Whether she was a devil or not, Green was confident that with the Graveyard, once he developed his strength, even a powerful Necromancer would fear no enemy.

Green gave himself a thorough round of mental preparation before finally beginning to study the contents of the Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition...

At roughly the same time, in the city hall of Landon City, a spacious and luxurious reception room was shut off from the outside by heavy velvet curtains. A massive crystal chandelier cast brilliant light onto the white marble floor, dazzling the eyes.

The mayor, the chairman of the city council, the president of the Magic Association, the chief of police, the commander of the garrison knights, and the noble capitalists led by Viscount Paul—more than a dozen people in total—represented the true ruling class of all Landon City.

Everyone sat around a huge solid-wood round table. The mayor and the council chairman occupied the seats at the head, with the others arranged down both sides toward the door. The people seated closest to the entrance were the president of the Chamber of Commerce and a relatively young baron, indicating that they held the lowest status among those present.

As the leader of the nobility and a major capitalist, Viscount Paul's seat was subordinate only to those of the president of the Magic Association and the commander of the garrison knights. He wore a well-tailored black tailcoat, his graying hair combed without a strand out of place. His thin lips were pressed together, and his expression was extremely solemn.

No one around the table spoke. The atmosphere sank into an eerie silence, broken only by suppressed breathing.

It was not until more than ten minutes later that the commander of the garrison knights finally spoke.

He was a tall, bearded soldier. He himself was only an Intermediate Apprentice Knight, but he came from a noble family and, relying on his family connections, had somehow served as the highest-ranking commander of Landon City's garrison for more than a decade. The commander pursed his lips and shook his beard before saying in a low voice, "Mr. Mayor, I'm afraid I cannot comply with your request. The knight order is the kingdom's garrison. Without orders from above, I cannot mobilize it. Besides, the strange phenomena that have recently appeared in Landon City are not something the lads of the knight order can handle. Some of those strange phenomena are even Formal Rank existences. This is the work of the Anomalies Bureau. We should not be the ones to shoulder it."

The mayor and the council chairman looked terrible, but the garrison was not subordinate to them, and they had no authority over the bearded commander. All they could do was negotiate with him patiently.

Unfortunately, the bearded commander had made up his mind not to deploy the knight order. No matter how eloquently they argued, he simply refused.

The others present also remained silent, each harboring their own schemes and unwilling to take a stand.

As time passed, the mayor's expression grew uglier, and his tone became harsher. "Everyone, we all agreed to promote the descent of the Yin Spirits upon Landon City. We even secretly cooperated with an evil cult organization like the Tower of Yin Spirits for this purpose. If this matter were exposed, it would cause an uproar throughout the kingdom and become the greatest scandal of all. Would any of you be able to remain untouched then? We have no way out now. We must complete the descent of the Yin Spirits! Once the Yin Spirits descend upon Landon City, accompanied by massive Psychic Energy contamination, countless magical items will be produced. I don't need to explain their value. Choose your path, everyone!"

After the mayor finished speaking, no one moved, but the expressions of some people changed.

At last, Viscount Paul spoke. "Everyone, Mr. Mayor is right. However, the people from the Tower of Yin Spirits have completely lost control. A few days ago, they even tried to kidnap my daughter. Those cultists are utterly deranged. We cannot rely entirely on them to summon the Yin Spirits. We must make another plan."

Everyone nodded in succession. The mayor immediately picked up the thread. "In addition, those three missing elves must be found. We no longer have time to look for other sacrifices. That bastard Lonanks, just for the sake of a perverted fetish, not only got himself killed but also caused us a great deal of trouble."

"I may have a way to find the missing elves." The instant the mayor finished speaking, a timid voice came from the doorway. The speaker was the rather inconspicuous president of Landon City's Chamber of Commerce, a fat, lecherous old widower with a paunch full of excess. As soon as they heard him speak, everyone turned to look.

The president of the Chamber of Commerce hurriedly jiggled his rolls of fat and said with a chuckle, "I know an extremely capable detective in Faerun City. He specializes in criminal investigations and solving cases, and he's also very good at finding people. His fee isn't low, though, and he's rather conceited about his talents. He rarely leaves Faerun City, so if we want to invite him here, Mr. Mayor will have to write him a letter personally."