Necromancer, What the Heck Is with Summoning a 055? Section 23

After spending some time with Chen Mo, Little Josie and Little John had noticed something: when it came to common knowledge about the continent, his ignorance was astonishing!

Whenever they happened to talk about legendary figures everyone on the continent knew, the customs of various nations, celestial signs, or the habits of magical beasts, the confusion in the young master's eyes was purer than that of a newborn foal.

Yet once he entered a major city, he was inexplicably adept at navigating social relations.

It was enough to inspire the two young mercenaries' respect.

What kind of family could raise a young master who seemed to have lived in complete isolation and done nothing but cultivate his emotional intelligence?

The two became even more attentive in serving him.

Following Chen Mo's instructions, Little John sought out an old mercenary he knew after they entered the city. A few cups of cheap liquor were all it took to get the man talking.

The old mercenary did not look to be doing very well. He couldn't even afford the leather armor that was standard among low-level mercenaries. All he wore was a suit of plant armor woven from stiff vines, its edges frayed and rough, its color faded and darkened. Only a thin, rust-spotted iron breastplate in the middle made it look halfway presentable.

According to Little John, wearing that thing was only slightly better than going naked. Without the iron plate in the middle, it could protect against miniature weapons like toothpicks at best.

At first, the old mercenary was somewhat reserved, but after a few rounds of drinks, he loosened up. He leaned back with one filthy boot planted on the bench and casually undid the straps of his breastplate, exposing an equally greasy lining. As he spoke, he occasionally patted the mercenary badge hanging from it.

"The one with the best relationship with the magic tower? That's got to be the Skill Level Assessment Office."

Little John was familiar with the Skill Level Assessment Office and explained it to Chen Mo in a low voice. It was the department responsible for testing mercenaries' ranks. For example, if Little John and Little Josie wanted to advance from unranked to bronze-stripe, they had to go to the office, pay the fee, take the test, and obtain certification.

It was an official subordinate institution of the Mercenary Guild, and it did indeed wield considerable influence.

The old mercenary overheard him and couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"What does a brat like you know? Don't go thinking the assessment office is all that grand. I'm telling you, the ones in Creek Moon have long since become private businesses!"

The old man knocked back a drink, turned his head to let out a loud belch, then turned back and continued.

"The money the Mercenary Guild makes belongs to the Creek Moon Federation, but the federation can't make all the money, can it? Doesn't it have to leave the lords under it a bite to eat?"

The old mercenary counted them off on his fingers. "The Skill Level Assessment Office, equipment repair station, mission intelligence office, potion and supply shops, mercenary simulation training grounds, medical and rehabilitation center, equipment appraisal and consignment shop, mercenary way station, mercenary canteen, long-distance transport teams... Which of them isn't a private business?"

"The biggest money comes from monopolies like the Skill Level Assessment Office and the mission intelligence office. Medicine too expensive? I don't have to buy it! Food's bad? I can find my own! But if you want to rank up and get a badge? Heh heh, sorry, there's only one place to go, with no other branches! Silver coins pour in. How much shining silver do you think they make in a year?"

Chen Mo sped up his questioning a little and finally asked everything he needed to before the old mercenary got completely drunk.

"Whose connections are behind it? Who knows? Some say it belongs to the guard captain's family, others say it belongs to the city lord's wife. Either way, they must have powerful backing!"

"They handle all the magic tower's recruitment every year. If you want a connection to the magic tower, you can't go wrong finding them!"

"Go ask Old Heitou at Big Foot. He should know someone."

"Yeah, he knows your grandfather too. Mention Old John and he won't ignore you. Don't worry!"

What followed was a long chain of introductions.

Just as dawn was breaking the next day, Little John knocked on the creaking wooden door of the Big Foot General Store in the dock district. The shop was filled with a musty smell. Old Heitou, who looked just as old, did indeed have some dealings with Old John. Squinting his dim old eyes, he listened to Little John's request, stroked his sparse beard, and pointed him in the right direction.

"A connection to the assessment office? That's beyond my reach. But 'Long Face' Old Charlie should know. That fellow's nickname is 'Cha Six Ears.' He knows everything!"

Following Young Master Chen Mo's instructions, Little John laid down a silver coin. "What do you think I should bring when I visit him? I'll buy it all here. You've seen a lot, so sorry to trouble you, but could you recommend something?"

Old Heitou thumped his chest. "Leave it to me! I'll make sure to pick something presentable and affordable!"

Carrying the gifts, Little John found the rather shifty-looking fellow in a small house in the alley behind the Three Eyes Tavern in the west of Clear Marsh City.

Old Charlie tapped the ash from his shiny pipe onto his shoe and accepted the gifts with a smile, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "The people at the Skill Level Assessment Office are far too important for little bugs like us to meet. But in this world, as long as you've got money, you can always find a way. It just takes a bit of work."

"Let me say this upfront: I can't guarantee whatever it is you want done."

"But I can arrange a meeting. Prepare this much, and I guarantee I'll get the person to come!"

Little John consulted Chen Mo, who was waiting in the carriage. Chen Mo clapped his hands. "Pay him!"

After collecting his share, Old Charlie told Little John to buy two sets of fine liquor, four bottles in all, and they went to the Packhorse Management Office in Clear Marsh City early in the morning.

"Fatty Bu, the chief of the third shed, is a shrewd operator, even if he loves liquor more than life itself. At this hour, he'll definitely be checking supplies in the shed!"

"We're sure to catch him there!"

Sure enough, the moment he saw the fine liquor they offered him, Shed Chief Bu's fat face, reddened by drink and women, broke into a broad smile. He thumped his chest and promised, "It's a small matter! Captain Zhao of the City Defense Guard Department's patrol squadron and I have been through life and death together! Wait for my good news!"

They waited two whole days for the good news, during which they put in another two jars of fine liquor and a package of premium pastries. Finally, Shed Chief Bu came back with the news, beaming: Captain Saige had agreed to grace them with his presence at a simple meal at a certain place and time.

At this level, Little John no longer carried enough weight. Chen Mo had to appear in person.

Captain Saige was a powerfully built man whose muscles stretched the city defense army's standard leather armor taut. His full beard was neatly trimmed, but his eyes held a shrewd, mercenary glint.

At the table, he chatted casually with Chen Mo without betraying his intentions, probing his identity in everything he said. Chen Mo had long since fabricated a flawless identity for himself, so he had no reason to be nervous. The atmosphere at the table grew increasingly lively.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Little John seized his chance and slipped a heavy little cloth pouch into Captain Saige's rough, large hand. The city defense captain weighed it, and the flesh on his face spread into a broad, enthusiastic smile. He opened his mouth, revealing his distinctive large yellow teeth; the food and meat he had just swallowed seemed almost visible deep in his throat. "Oh, what's this for? We're all friends, friends! This sort of thing... isn't proper!"

Despite his words, the cloth pouch seemed to grow legs and quickly slipped into the bulging purse at his waist.

"The assessment office, right? Don't worry! Leave it to me! I'll arrange it!"

Another two days passed.

Finally, in an obscure but exceptionally elegant and tastefully furnished upscale private reception hall in Clear Marsh City, Chen Mo met the key figure in his endeavor under the soft light of crystal lamps: Enchanter Vincent, a deputy director of the Skill Level Assessment Office who held real power.

Chapter 37: Difficult? Then It Can Be Done!

The room was elegantly and tastefully arranged. Wisps of delicate incense rose from a gilded burner, curling in the soft light of glazed lamps.

Deputy Director Vincent looked to be only in his early thirties and had an entirely ordinary appearance. He wore a well-tailored dark gray uniform, but the bald patch atop his head reflected the bright glazed lamps, showing signs of strain out of keeping with his age.

When they first met, Mr. Vincent seemed even friendlier than Captain Saige. Wearing a perfectly measured smile, he listened to Captain Zhao enthusiastically tell a few plainly risqué jokes to "liven up the atmosphere." He occasionally chimed in, attentively looking after everyone present without missing a beat.

Chen Mo sat upright across from him, his posture relaxed and his arms resting seemingly casually across his chest. His gaze occasionally fell on the unusually styled watch on his left wrist.

"Is that... some kind of special accessory?" Vincent seemed to notice that Chen Mo had been somewhat neglected and took the opportunity to strike up a conversation. "I don't seem to sense any mana fluctuations?"

Chen Mo openly showed him the watch. "A little thing made by a craftsman, for keeping time. My mother gave it to me."

His voice was low, touched with a barely perceptible loneliness. "Unfortunately, we're far apart now, and I don't know when I'll see her again. Out here on my own, I can't help looking at it from time to time."

There was a melancholy longing in the young man's eyes. The deputy director glanced at him a few times without showing any reaction, then looked away.

The little object looked exquisite and unusual, but it had no magical fluctuations, so it was probably just an ordinary item. The deputy director soon politely turned his attention elsewhere.

Chen Mo, meanwhile, sat a little straighter and continued staring somewhat absentmindedly at the watch screen, occasionally pressing a few buttons.

He was cheating!

On his chest was an ordinary-looking badge engraved with the emblem of a curved long saber and a straight-handled mace. He had commissioned it himself from a craftsman at the market.

Tucked against the lower edge of the badge, a miniature high-definition camera was quietly operating. Its recording system used Eastern Xia's most advanced facial recognition and capture technology to silently capture the slightest twitches of Vincent's facial muscles, the dilation and contraction of his pupils, the movement of his gaze, and his posture, continuously converting them into a stream of data.

A high-speed miniature processor in a concealed compartment at Chen Mo's waist fed the data into a database for matching and analysis.

It was a joint project undertaken by the Eastern Xia Northern Microelectronics Engineering Institute, the Eastern Xia Psychology Research Center, the Eastern Xia Jiangnan Prefecture Motion Capture Workstation, the Eastern Xia Central Capital University Microexpression Analysis Laboratory, and the Eastern Xia Criminal Investigation and Interrogation Special Task Force. It was called the Humanoid Microexpression Analyzer.

After multiple rounds of intensive testing and debugging, its assessments had reached an extremely high level of accuracy. However, it often produced two or three possible assessments, leaving the observer to analyze them in light of the specific circumstances.

The final analysis was sent in Xia State script to the screen of the Beidou Tactical Watch on Chen Mo's wrist.

If Deputy Director Vincent had possessed a heavenly eye, he would certainly have thought, Fuck, he's listening to my inner thoughts!

That's cheating!

At that moment, the following text was scrolling before Chen Mo's eyes.

[Posture analysis: target's torso leaning slightly backward, chin raised at a 15° angle, gaze slightly above the other speaker's eye level, focus blurred. State assessment: cautious, defensive posture; emotional assessment: suspicion, detachment.]

[Note: zygomaticus major contraction less than 30% of standard amplitude, no significant movement of the orbicularis oculi. Assessment: professional fake smile, social mask, no genuine pleasure.]

Chen Mo exhaled softly and addressed Deputy Director Vincent of his own accord for the first time.

"Director, I know you were very reluctant to attend this dull reception. To be honest, I didn't want to come either."

"So why don't we skip the pointless social niceties and get straight to discussing whether we can make a deal?"

The smile on Vincent's face grew even gentler. After resting on Chen Mo for a moment, his gaze swept over Little John, who stood somewhat awkwardly to one side. His misty gaze seemed to flicker.

[Gaze tracking: target's gaze sweeping rapidly, fixation duration <1.5 seconds. Microexpression capture: slight raising of the outer eyebrow. Assessment: curiosity, speculation, and puzzlement about the subject being observed.]

"Mr. Vincent!" Chen Mo tapped his fingertips on the smooth marble tabletop, producing a series of sharp knocks that even interrupted Captain Saige's nonstop "stand-up routine" beside them. "I think if you have any questions, asking them directly might save both of us a good deal of time."

"Time is life, isn't it?"

"You seem a little puzzled by my attendant. I can tell you directly: he's a guide I hired at random in White Stone City. I didn't even know him at all half a month ago. So you can treat me as a mage apprentice traveling without an attendant. There's no need to try to guess anything about me from that young mercenary."

"That would lead you to the wrong conclusions!"

"If you have any questions, ask me directly. Perhaps a frank conversation will help clear away some of the barriers between us."

Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly, and for the first time, his gaze truly focused on Chen Mo's face. The formulaic smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to freeze.

[Microexpression capture: target's gaze fixed on subject's face for >3 seconds, pupils slightly contracted. Assessment: vigilance, misgivings, self-doubt!]

Chen Mo met his gaze directly, without hesitation.

The frozen smile spread across Vincent's face again, as though the sharpness just now had been an illusion. "Hehe, I was the one being rude. We've talked for so long, but I haven't yet asked-your father is...?"

Chen Mo gave him a blunt, clear answer. "Mr. Vincent, my family is not in Creek Moon, and I have already left it for certain special reasons. They will contribute nothing to our discussion today, so which family it is has no bearing on our conversation."

"Unless someone in Clear Marsh City murders me, my family will have nothing whatsoever to do with the city! A family that can't bring you any value isn't as useful as the gold coins in my pocket, is it?"

Deputy Director Vincent's expression finally turned completely serious.

The statement was forceful, but its logic was clear.

For most family members who ventured out into the world, that was what a family was like. It might not bring you any benefits, but if something happened to a family member, it would most likely investigate for the sake of its reputation.

Put another way, helping him might bring no benefits, but harming him would definitely bring trouble.

The other party had made his meaning clear: as long as you weren't planning to harm me, you didn't need to concern yourself with my family. Just talk to me, and don't bring up anything else!

With emotions of [curiosity, probing], Vincent knitted his brows and asked the question Chen Mo had been waiting for.

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but your foundation is still very weak. To pay such an enormous price merely to enroll a little earlier... Why exactly is that?"

Chen Mo straightened slightly. The formal clothes he had paid thirty silver coins to have made set off his young, handsome figure, and he met Vincent's gaze without looking away.

He could use his cheating device to analyze the other man's thoughts, and a seasoned veteran like Vincent, who had fought his way through the world, should also be able to tell whether he lacked confidence.

Then he would let him see clearly.

Enunciating every word, Chen Mo said clearly, "If I can advance one day earlier, the resources I obtain will be ten or a hundred times what they are now. Tell me, shouldn't I be in a hurry?"