After closing the door, Bei Ya Si gestured for Xia De to sit anywhere he liked. But Xia De only glanced at the holy emblem of the Sun God, the Lantern Old Man, hanging on the wall, then took out his notebook and opened a page with writing on it.
It was about exchanging the 【Ghoul Finger Bone】 for 【witch's copy paper】.
"Why so cautious? It's very safe here, and no one will eavesdrop."
Bei Ya Si said casually.
Xia De immediately turned to the next page, which still contained the words he had prepared in advance:
"Worried about abilities that can eavesdrop on past time."
Just like the Miracle he possessed.
"Oh, Detective, this is our stronghold, there's no need to worry so much."
Bei Ya Si waved her hand, then saw the Detective turn another page, which read:
"Still need to be cautious."
"Oh? You anticipated what I was going to say?"
This time, Xia De didn't turn the page but simply nodded. So Bei Ya Si snatched the Detective's notebook, slammed it shut with a *snap*, and handed it back to Xia De:
"Just speak normally, it's really safe here."
"Ahem, alright then."
Xia De felt that if he didn't speak, the other party might get angry. He looked around and then asked:
"Do you agree to this bartering transaction?"
"Of course, I agree to such a good thing, Detective, you are indeed very reliable... Speaking of which, can you introduce me to this trading location? I won't report it to the Church, you can rest assured about that."
Bei Ya Si asked, but even though she was trustworthy, Xia De couldn't introduce Old John's Pawnshop. He thought for a moment and said:
"I'm afraid not, I just asked, but the shop owner said he doesn't do business with the Orthodox Church. However, if you need it, I can tell you a place where sensitive Knowledge can be traded, that's the Library."
The Black Raven Library had no specific connection with Xia De's group, so Xia De didn't have to worry too much about introducing Bei Ya Si there.
"Thank you so much then. I've been transferred here for three or four months, and I still haven't found a way in."
Seeing Xia De writing the address on paper, Bei Ya Si glanced at the time on the grandfather clock in the corner of the lounge and couldn't help but exclaim:
"A big City is great, all kinds of relics can be found. Detective, you've helped me again, but I haven't had a chance to repay you. You can come to me anytime if you're in trouble recently, but don't come to me the day after tomorrow, which is Wednesday. On Wednesday, our team has to go to Tobesk Station to welcome a distinguished guest from afar."
"That Thirteen Ring Sorcerer, Mr. Hogg Lundell, 'Sunlight Greatsword'?"
Xia De asked casually as he wrote. He had heard this news on Saturday afternoon.
"You even know that? Is our Church so heavily infiltrated?"
But Bei Ya Si didn't ask Xia De about the source of his information regarding this Thirteen Ring Sorcerer's arrival in their diocese.
"Let's get back to the main topic, Detective. Since it's 【witch's copy paper】, are you interested in copying my 'Sunlight Gun'? This is an ability that only high-level Ring術士 can use. Even if it doesn't directly teach you 【Sunlight Gun】, you will definitely gain other very powerful Miracles."
The brown-haired girl was slightly proud.
"I haven't thought about how to use this relic yet."
Xia De tactfully refused. It wasn't that "Sunlight Gun" wasn't strong, but he had a very good relationship with Professor Garcia. This Saturday, the Professor would bring news of the codex of sublime, and then he could ask the Professor to demonstrate some difficult spatial Miracles, which the Professor would certainly not refuse.
In fact, if the 【relic】 couldn't be brought into the white mist door opened by the time key, he would even want to try to copy the power of a god.
The voice in his head laughed.
"I know it's impossible, but one must always have dreams."
After returning from Black Stone Security Company to Old John's Pawnshop, trading the Secret Keeper Level (Level 3) relic 【Ghoul Finger Bone】 for two pages of 【witch's copy paper】, he then returned to Black Stone Security Company again to give one page to Bei Ya Si.
This back and forth took until noon. So he first returned to Saint Delan Square, preparing to go out for lunch with the cat at home.
When Xia De opened the door and returned home, the cat, who should have happily run over, suddenly stopped halfway up the stairs. The cat stared at Xia De with amber eyes, looking at him suspiciously.
Xia De thought there was something wrong with him, but then he remembered that he had hugged another cat not long ago.
"Hmm... you can even smell that?"
So he took off his coat and draped it over the shoe cabinet. Mia hesitated for a moment, then happily ran over.
Perhaps this cat was smarter than Xia De thought.
Since he had obtained a new 【time key】 from Old John, he naturally wanted to try it out. Although the key for fifth epoch - 1068 could only be used one last time in the early hours of Thursday, this one was new. Xia De was not sure if the rule of opening a key once a week was shared among different keys.
Time exploration could not carry any extraordinary items, so Xia De did not need to make any extra preparations for the adventure. He came to the door, inserted the key into the door, recited "May the World Tree bless me in infinite time," and then turned it—
The key wouldn't turn.
"Hmm?"
He pulled the wooden key out of his hand, tried again, and it still wouldn't turn. It was then that the woman's voice finally came, narrating the information she had obtained after touching the key:
【Outsider, you are currently in a mission of the 'Father of Infinite Trees', and you cannot open another door before it ends.】
"So after the mission ends in the early hours of Thursday, can I immediately open a key? Or wait another week?"
He asked again.
【Unable to determine.】
"Alright then."
He looked at the key in his hand with regret, then locked it in the study. He patted the cat's head, ready to go out for a meal.
(Mia running...)
In the eyes of the general public, MI6 is the most mysterious intelligence department in Delarion. And according to the Outsider's imagination, the strongholds of such intelligence departments are usually disguised as unexpected departments.
He guessed correctly.
When he went out in the afternoon, the sky was a bit gloomy, as if it was about to rain, so Xia De didn't take his cane but took an umbrella when he went out.
He followed the address given by the current Chief of MI6 that night, Mr. Dak Anlos, and found the "City Waste Disposal Management Center" located in Tobesk West District.
The management center's office was an inconspicuous gray small building, with a snuff bottle shop on one side and a shoemaker's shop specializing in rain boots on the other.
As Xia De stood downstairs with his umbrella, examining the small building, he couldn't help but sigh that secret agents, no matter which world they were from, liked this kind of strange government department as a cover.
He knocked on the door and entered. On either side of the door were two long benches, like those borrowed from a church's sermon hall. Inside, the other three directions of the entrance hall were wooden counters for reception, and between the counters were four identical black iron metal doors leading to different rooms and floors of the building.
People carrying files or holding notebooks came and went between the various doors, and the work here seemed very heavy.
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Xia De walked to the nearest counter, tapped it with his knuckles, and the sound of the wood was pleasant.
The yellow-haired female receptionist, who appeared to be writing a report, looked up at Xia De:
"Do you have an appointment?"
Her voice was monotonous and dull, probably having long lost her enthusiasm for work.
"Looking for Mr. Johnson."
Xia De replied.
"Door number two, go straight inside, enter the 'Equipment Maintenance Department' door."
After speaking, she continued writing her report. Xia De nodded, and seeing that everyone here was busy with their own work and no one cared about a stranger's visit, he walked towards door number two.
Behind the door was a long, narrow corridor, and the smell of toasted bread permeated the air.
Xia De walked straight inside, holding his umbrella, dodging the people rushing past, and observing the rooms on both sides of the corridor as he walked. But none of the doors were open; people would close the doors promptly whether they were entering or leaving.
The "Equipment Maintenance Department" was almost at the end of this corridor. Xia De politely knocked on the door and only entered after receiving permission.
Inside the room were rows of filing cabinets. The middle-aged man sitting behind the desk directly facing the door had been reading a newspaper. After Xia De opened the door, he tilted his head and glanced at the person who entered, his brown eyes surveying Xia De's attire from top to bottom:
"Mr. Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Anlos told me about you. Are you here to get your ID? Please wait a moment."
He then stood up and walked to the back of the filing cabinets, not even giving Xia De a chance to look closely at the newspaper on the desk, and returned with a small cardboard box.
He placed the box on the table:
"I am Giles Johnson. All your affairs will be handled by me from now on. Your ID."
Mr. Johnson spoke very quickly; he was probably a very efficient person.
As he spoke, he handed Xia De a palm-sized, military-green hardbound book. When opened, the left side displayed the MI6 logo and name, with the ID number and the surname "Hamilton" written below. The right side contained rules and regulations, probably something about police officers being obliged to provide assistance upon seeing the ID.
"It's quite formal."
Xia De thought to himself.
"If you lose your ID, you have to write a report to replace it. Don't take it out for others to see unless necessary. I don't know the reason for your recruitment, but you should know these basic things."
Xia De didn't know any rules, because he didn't have to do any work at all. It seemed that the gentleman in front of him thought he was a secret agent secretly recruited for covert work.
Mr. Johnson said, and then took out an oil-paper package from the box:
"Sidearm, Luger revolver, six-shot cylinder. This gun isn't easy to use, but Mr. Anlos instructed me to give you this type of gun."
He said with a slight hint of confusion, handing the oil-paper wrapped gun to Xia De. Xia De unwrapped it to inspect it and found that the style of this pistol was extremely similar to his 【gun of kindness】. He probably guessed that Jialinna had instructed him to be given a revolver to easily conceal his other gun.
"I thought it would be a Glas pocket single-shot pistol."
Xia De asked while inspecting his newly acquired weapon. The Luger revolver in his hand was a new gun, its black metal material felt cold to the touch. It had probably just been maintained recently, as the smell of oil was strong. He checked the cylinder; there were no bullets inside. He then pressed down the hammer, pulled the trigger towards the wall, and was satisfied to hear the *click* sound.
Although he already had a gun, that gun couldn't fire at all. Now that he had a real firearm, Xia De felt much like he did when acquiring a new Miracle.
"Glas pocket single-shot pistols are sidearms for official operations. If a secret agent carried that kind of gun, wouldn't it immediately expose his identity?"
Mr. Johnson glanced at Xia De, and Xia De nodded to indicate understanding.