After hearing Raphael's threat, Audrey quickly regained her composure. Pointing at the cards on the table, she asked him with a smile, "Are we really playing, or just pretending?"
Raphael paused before replying, "Really playing, of course. Fight Evil, with money on the line."
As he spoke, he took out his wallet and handed Audrey a few coins to serve as her stake.
A dozen or so minutes later, two police officers wearing badges depicting swords surrounding a crown knocked on the door. The younger officer produced a portrait and asked Markel, the owner, whether he had seen the person in it.
The person in the portrait was extraordinarily beautiful and wore a sweet smile. It was none other than Audrey Hall.
Markel was not a member of the Gang and had no experience dealing with the police. He kept the door half closed, trying to prevent the officers from seeing Raphael and the others in the living room, while immediately answering, "N-no, I haven't."
The two officers outside were responsible for keeping order across a few blocks. Although they frequently engaged in extortion and were little different from Gang members themselves, they also had plenty of experience dealing with ordinary people at the bottom of society.
When the middle-aged officer standing behind the other noticed Markel's unnatural expression, he immediately demanded sternly, "Where did you see this young lady?"
He sneered. "If we have to take you back for questioning, watch out-we might break your other leg!"
The younger officer simply shoved the door open and immediately spotted the three people playing cards in the living room.
Both officers' attention was immediately drawn to Raphael. Their gazes merely swept over Carter and Audrey.
Since Audrey had her back to them, was dressed in men's clothing, and had hidden her hair beneath a hat, she attracted neither officer's attention.
The younger officer immediately plastered a smile on his face. "Mr. Collins, w-what are you doing here?"
Raphael Collins gave the younger officer an unpleasant look. "Do I need to report to you when I come here?"
"That's not what I meant." The younger officer took two steps forward, scratching his head with a smile.
Those two steps sent Markel's and Carter's hearts into their throats.
Raphael, however, scowled and tossed down his cards. "My luck is fucking awful."
That was no act. He had no idea why he and Carter had lost several rounds in a row. In just a short while, Audrey had already won three soli and six pence.
In fact, Audrey had been using her Spectator Pathway abilities to carefully observe Raphael's and Carter's expressions and body language, accurately gauging what they were thinking.
Or she simply worked with Susie, having her use Psychological Invisibility to look at the other two players' cards.
All Audrey needed was to exchange a glance with Susie to get a rough idea of what cards Raphael and Carter held.
So even when her own hand was poor, she kept winning.
Raphael swept an irritated glance over the two officers. "The owner doesn't seem to have called the police. Go attend to something else, gentlemen."
The two officers hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, of course."
Then they immediately backed out of the room, remembering to close the door behind them.
Only after leaving did they breathe a sigh of relief. They now assumed Markel's earlier unnatural expression had been the discomfort of someone who had gotten on the wrong side of Raphael, the mafioso.
As far as that was concerned, they would only pray for Markel in private. They had no intention of getting involved.
In the apartment's living room, Markel and Carter let out long sighs of relief. Markel, in particular, had been so tense that he now felt drained and almost collapsed onto the floor.
Raphael lit a cigarette and said to Audrey, "You're quite good at cards."
Watching the gang leader's defeated expression, Audrey smiled faintly. "I'm all right."
As she spoke, she pushed her winnings toward Raphael. She had noticed how pained he looked when he took out his money earlier.
Raphael waved a hand. "You won it. It has nothing to do with me anymore."
Audrey nodded slowly and put the money away. Sure enough, she caught another trace of reluctance to part with it in Raphael's eyes.
At that moment, Carter asked, "Boss, what do we do now?"
"Head back to mafia headquarters," Raphael said. "Since the official Beyonders haven't found any leads pointing to us, all we need to do now is show up at headquarters as usual."
As he spoke, he glanced at Audrey. "Welcome to the mafia."
Audrey froze. "I... I refuse to join."
"I knew you'd be delighted." Raphael acted as though he had not heard her.
"I said, I refuse!"
"Yes, yes, I know you're delighted," Raphael said with a smile.
Audrey immediately wanted to use her abilities to make Raphael suffer a little, but remembering Mr. Fool's assignment, she ultimately restrained herself.
Afterward, Raphael redid Audrey's makeup, covering half her face with a thick beard.
Although she still had a certain rugged beauty, at least her features were largely concealed.
Then Raphael sent Carter to find a hired carriage and instructed Markel to say, if anyone asked, that the mafia had extorted all his compensation money from him.
If the police heard about it, they would at most lament Markel's misfortune. They certainly would not take the initiative to recover his compensation for him.
Inside the Cab, Raphael kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings. In truth, he was somewhat surprised that the official Beyonders had failed to discover any clues at all.
Previously, he had only known that his unusual constitution granted him anti-divination properties. Only now did Raphael realize that whatever made him special seemed to be of an extremely high level.
The Western Continent.
The underground altar of the Dark Hut's Ji Province branch.
Before the circular altar where the "Demon Lord from Another World"-Raphael, in reality-had previously been summoned stood an offering table bearing an incense burner, a pig's head, a sheep's head, and an ox's head. Behind the table was a jade spirit tablet engraved with the words "Demon Lord Xuanyin."
Chen Qingzhi, the branch master, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and a sheet of yellow paper floated up from the offering table on its own. He bit his index finger and used the blood from its tip to draw several eerie symbols on the paper, then swept the talisman across the jade tablet. "Make haste and obey the command!"
The talisman burst into flames. Chen Qingzhi stared intently at the jade tablet, and when he saw it begin to emit a faint glow, he immediately dropped to his knees and bowed. "Welcome, Patriarch!"
During his earlier conversation with the "Demon Lord from Another World," Chen Qingzhi had concealed the truth about many things. For instance, he could actually contact Demon Lord Xuanyin, the patriarch of the Dark Hut's Blood Sect, at any time, and he had a fairly clear understanding of the patriarch's current condition.
Moreover, he had summoned the "Demon Lord from Another World" on Demon Lord Xuanyin's orders.
In an instant, a spiritual consciousness descended upon the jade tablet. Kneeling on the ground, Chen Qingzhi immediately felt immense mental pressure, along with endless distortion and madness.
He sensed that the patriarch's condition seemed to have worsened. "Reporting to the Patriarch: several hours ago, this disciple used the method you bestowed upon me to summon a Demon Lord from the Otherworld."
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