Victoria Intelligence Division and Transcendents

In the British Mist Capital, three black sedans slowly drove into a historic manor. Though it had rained only hours ago, there was no trace of water on the ground now. Every detail displayed the wealth of this household.

A British gentleman and six servants were already waiting before the main house. The elderly British gentleman at the front said, "It has been a long time, Miss Meifala. The last time we met... you were only twelve."

The tall visitor at the front, with long black hair draped over her shoulders, removed her hat, revealing a valiant feminine face. Even the silver wire-rimmed glasses on her nose lent her an added air of authority. "Walter Butler, please lead the way. I now work for the Victoria Intelligence Division."

The British gentleman smiled and led them into the residence. The young Yuffie and the little Karen were already waiting inside, with three steaming cups of black tea prepared on the table.

"Please sit," Yuffie said first. "I am the head of the Lamperouge Family, Yuffie Lamperouge."

"Pleased to meet you." Meifala sat down, her white-gloved hands folded together. Her eyes, narrowed into slits like a snake's, examined the two girls through her round glasses. "I am a civil servant under Her Majesty's government, the director of the Victoria Intelligence Division, Meifala Inheim Helsing."

"Victoria... Intelligence Division?" Yuffie asked.

"This is a special department established this year—more precisely, 135 days ago." Meifala spoke calmly. "Its public name is the Homeland Retrieval Committee under the Privy Council."

Only then did Yuffie recall it. This Homeland Retrieval Committee had recently become famous among the United Kingdom's upper class. It possessed law enforcement authority no less than that of the Royal Police, and its operations always involved the cooperation of multiple departments. Even the great nobles dared not obstruct it, instead ordering their subordinates and companies to cooperate fully.

It was said that the nobles and financial conglomerates had already held secret meetings and reached a consensus. The Lamperouge Family had originally been qualified to attend, but after the family head's death, only the underage Yuffie remained. She had yet to gain full control of the family business, so she had not been invited to this secret noble gathering at all. Instead, she had merely been informed of its conclusion—

Cooperate fully with the Homeland Retrieval Committee.

Only now did Yuffie learn that the Homeland Retrieval Committee was the Victoria Intelligence Division. She nodded and asked, "Then what questions do you have? If this is about yesterday's incident at the Black Briar Building, I believe the Lamperouge Family has already disclosed all the information we have. The one who hired Cards was most likely my aunt's family, Baron Flaxman."

"Rest assured. Other than the 'Killer' who claimed to come from the Immortal Palace, the case has been fully investigated. The Cards base hidden in the Mist Capital has also been uprooted. As for Flaxman... I trust the Lamperouge Family has its own plans," Meifala said.

"Of course. Then what does the Victoria Intelligence Division require?" Yuffie asked.

"I came because of the 'Killer' from the Immortal Palace," Meifala said. "So far, we still have not found any trace of him. Searches have been launched across trains, airplanes, and other locations, but I believe the chances of finding him are extremely slim."

Yuffie stroked Karen's little head and gave a bitter smile. "We want to find him too. The Lamperouge Family is willing to offer any reward for his service... but he disappeared."

"Yes, disappeared," Meifala said. "Not only was he caught on surveillance footage from five different directions, nearly a hundred people also witnessed his disappearance firsthand."

"It was not magic, not some mechanism, no hypnosis, no smoke. It was as though the matter composing him had completely disintegrated into the smallest particles and merged into the air."

Yuffie picked up her teacup and watched the rippling light on the surface of the tea. "His marksmanship was also... beyond the ordinary."

"Yes, and there is an enormous organization behind him that had thoroughly investigated Cards' operation." Meifala said, "He knew exactly which guests were assassins in disguise. He never hesitated to act. Every step and every shot was perfectly timed."

"Based on our Intelligence Division's analysis and the testimony of the Cards assassins, we unanimously concluded that this operation had been nearly perfect. Even if you had managed to resist the fully armed assassins, the bomb hidden on the ninth floor would have detonated, not to mention the assassins waiting on the perimeter."

"Brutal and simple assassinations—Cards has always favored such methods. Your chances of survival had been infinitesimal..."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Killer appeared and helped us," Yuffie said.

"Perhaps those involved did not feel it as clearly, but based on the clues gathered afterward, we discovered that this Killer from the Xuan Kingdom was extremely terrifying." Meifala sighed. "In such an intense gunfight, he could still protect some of the guests, kill the assassins in the fastest manner possible, and emerge completely uninjured... You know the assassination footage has been uploaded online, don't you?"

"I know, and it cannot be deleted unless the website servers are shut down." Yuffie smiled. "I truly never expected to become famous like this."

"Online, many people believe it was a movie. They think someone as cautious, calm, and flawlessly lethal as the Killer could only exist in films. In reality, he would be unbelievable," Meifala said. "And the organization behind him possesses immense power... Moreover, based on the positions of the video cameras, we questioned many people, but without exception, none of them had noticed the recording devices."

As Meifala methodically laid out the evidence, Yuffie also came to a realization. "So you mean that the Killer is an even more astonishing existence than Cards?"

"Yes. Though I cannot disclose the details, the organization behind the Killer is absolutely beyond everyone's imagination."

Meifala nodded. "And I came here to determine this person's purpose."

At that moment, Meifala and Yuffie both naturally looked toward the well-behaved little Karen sitting beside them. Karen blinked, shifted closer to her sister, and clutched Yuffie's sleeve.

"Without a doubt, he wanted to protect the two of you," Meifala said. "But judging from the Killer's actions, his most important objective was likely to protect Miss Karen."

"But my sister..." Yuffie gently hugged Karen, looking puzzled. "Is there... something special about her?"

Meifala paused and turned to look at the British gentleman. He immediately understood and gestured for the other servants to leave. Yuffie suddenly said, "Walter Butler does not need to leave."

Meifala did not mind. She had all her subordinates leave as well. Only after the four of them were left in the living room did Meifala say, "I suspect that Miss Karen possesses a special talent."

"A special talent?" Yuffie did not understand.

"Some financial conglomerates and nobles already know about this. The Lamperouge Family belongs to the class qualified to know, so I will speak plainly." Meifala looked at Yuffie seriously. "What do you think the Killer used to disappear?"

"Hm?" Yuffie did not understand why Meifala had abruptly changed the subject, but she still answered, "Perhaps... some unknown ability."

"That is what we believe as well." Meifala took a sip of black tea. "However, half a year ago, people possessing 'some unknown ability' began appearing one after another."

"Generally, such people are called Transcendents, and their special abilities... are called Superpowers."

Born into the nobility, Yuffie quickly understood the implication. "Could the Victoria Intelligence Division's purpose be..."

"That is right. Investigating Transcendents and seeking information on Superpowers are within the Intelligence Division's duties."

Yuffie fell silent for a moment. She was not an ordinary person, and she had experienced the unusual events of last night. Meifala had no need to lie, either. All she needed was a phone call to verify it. "You think my sister is one of them? But she is so young, and she has never shown any..."

"We do not know what ability your sister may possess either. The abilities of Transcendents are strange and varied. But testing whether someone has this sort of talent is not difficult..."

A treasure chest?

Only then did Ren Suo remember that after clearing the free game, he had received a treasure chest in addition to Merit Points. But he had been too sleepy and exhausted at the time, so he had gone straight to bed.

There was only one item in the Content Repository: a One-Star Treasure Chest.

"One-Star Treasure Chest: Don't expect any divine artifact to come out of this."

"Open it?"

Of course Ren Suo selected yes, but the next second, the system displayed a prompt: "Remaining treasure chest keys: 0."

Ren Suo blinked.

Did opening treasure chests require keys too?

Seeing such a perfectly normal requirement all of a sudden left Ren Suo somewhat dumbfounded.

"Do I... need to spend money..." Ren Suo was already prepared to take out his wallet. This Little World Game Console seemed unfathomably mysterious, and the events of games played on it actually occurred exactly the same way in reality...

Isn't it just money? Take it, take it!

Ren Suo knew he had definitely encountered an enormous stroke of fortune!

However, the system prompted: "Searching for key... Searching for key..."

"Maintain search status continuously? Note: upon successfully finding a key, 1 Merit Point will be deducted automatically. When Merit Points reach 0, the search will stop automatically."

What the hell? But it looked like no Merit Points would be deducted unless it found a key, so there was no harm in leaving it on. Ren Suo looked at his remaining fifteen Merit Points and decided to keep the search active.

"I shall tear apart the dawn and dusk of Half Li, let three feet of azure light turn and cleanse the dust of smoke~"

His phone suddenly rang. Ren Suo picked it up, glanced at it, and immediately answered. "Director Ye, what is it?"

"Yes, Little Suo. There is an urgent matter here. Can you come over before three?"

"What is it? Why so urgent?"

"I forgot while I was busy. Today is the civil servant medical examination, and newcomers who have not officially started work must attend as well. This is urgent and has to be completed today. I only just remembered that you new recruits had not been notified. The higher-ups require everyone to participate."

"Alright, alright, I'll come right away."