socalfunplaces Chapter 287 The Deal and the Anxious Rest
Chapter 287 The Deal and the Anxious Rest
Chapter 287 The Deal and the Anxious Rest
"What do you mean?" Bernadette frowned slightly, puzzled by Lorne's seemingly random remark.
Lorne shook his head, offering no explanation. He couldn't quite explain that strange feeling himself, much less describe it in words.
"I'll try to help you with the Russell's diary. But that will have to wait until after I leave here."
"Can."
Bernadette nodded, seemingly frightened by the sudden backlash, and appeared quite "well-behaved" at this moment, neither pressing the issue nor probing further.
"That... monster... is there an adjacent path?" Lorne asked, as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"No," Bernadette answered with unusual decisiveness. "Of the twenty-two known paths of the gods, 'Monster' is the most unique; it has no adjacent paths."
"No? — Not necessarily —" Lorne muttered to himself, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
A strange intuition told him that he might have other options.
"Speaking of pathways, I'd like to ask another question: are the pathways of 'Singer,' 'Sailor,' and 'Reader' adjacent?" Lorne asked again, as if remembering something else.
Bernadette did not reply immediately, but simply looked at him quietly with a playful gaze.
"I can pay the fee."
"No."
Bernadette gently shook her head, declining his offer of payment. She hesitated for a moment, seemingly weighing her options, then said, "Since you were quite the gentleman just now—I might as well tell you. They are indeed adjacent routes."
She paused, then revealed more crucial information: "Besides that, they are also adjacent to the Mystic People," and—the "Audience" pathway.
The five paths are adjacent to each other—a knowing glint flashed in Lorne's eyes, and he murmured, "How extravagant."
The other party's answer resolved many of his doubts. The most important one was why the three major churches—"Storm," "Sun," and "Knowledge and Wisdom"—had been enemies for so long.
Because in each other's eyes, the other is "material" that can be used for promotion.
According to this theory, Lorne could roughly guess why the "Goddess of Night" and the "God of War" were enemies. They were most likely connected through adjacent pathways. This was the most fundamental conflict rooted in the aggregation of extraordinary properties and the law of conservation!
"Right, let's get down to business."
Bernadette stood up and slowly walked to Lorne, looking down at him with an air of superiority. At that moment, she truly lived up to her title of "Mysterious Queen," resembling a queen looking down upon her subjects.
"Is it serious business?" Lorne was taken aback by her gaze at first, then looked puzzled.
"Aren't you short of money?" Bernadette's lips curled into a confident smile. "I can lend you some."
She leaned forward slightly, revealing her queenly aura.
"For Cattleya's sake, I can waive your interest."
'
'
After a brief silence, Lorne shook his head.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. If I really borrowed two hundred thousand pounds from her, I'd be completely tied to this "mysterious queen." Then, I'd owe her not just money, but an insurmountable debt of gratitude.
The Queen's kindness is never enough!
"Thank you for your kind offer, but—" Lorne changed the subject, "I'd like to ask, do you buy potion recipes?"
"Potion recipes?" Bernadette nodded slightly. "Yes, I do collect some recipes."
There are so many extraordinary individuals in "Elemental Dawn," from all walks of life. Therefore, she consciously collects recipes from various sources, just in case.
"What? You want to sell me the formula?"
Lorne remained noncommittal, instead asking, "I'd like to ask, approximately how much is the Sequence 4 recipe worth?"
Sequence 4? Did I guess wrong? He doesn't want to sell, but wants to buy the "Doom Mage" recipe from me?
"Hmm————" Her fair fingers gently touched her chin as she fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
"Series 4 recipes are usually very rare and expensive. Even if you could find a source for them, the price would likely be over £30,000. Depending on the source, there would be a premium."
It was pretty much the same news I'd heard from the captain—Lorne knew it all too well.
"What? You want to buy the Sequence 4 recipe from me?" Bernadette asked.
"no."
He had only just been promoted to Sequence 5 and hadn't thought that far ahead yet.
"I happen to have a few demigod-level potion recipes that I can sell at a bargain price. Would you be interested?"
Ultimately, Lorne sold the potion recipes for Sequence 4 "Disaster Priest" and Sequence 3 "Sea King" of the "Storm" pathway to the "Mysterious Queen" for £100,000.
This is definitely a great price. Sequence 4 is in high demand but not available, and Sequence 3 is even more so.
Buying it for 100,000 pounds is definitely a steal.
Perhaps because she had been blinded by the mysterious white light when she was spying on Lorne earlier, Bernadette had gained a very deep understanding of Lorne's secrets. Therefore, she didn't ask any further questions about how these formulas came about.
This is also why Lorne chose to make the deal now, taking advantage of the other party's poor condition and the mix of unease and fear, to quickly complete the transaction and avoid any unforeseen complications.
This was an excellent opportunity for him. The Mysterious Queen was one of the few people who could stomach this recipe. She was a pirate queen and must have had a lot of dealings with the Storm Church. Only a powerful person of that level would risk consuming this recipe.
However, even with such an angelic formula, he still dared not sell it, for no other reason than the risks were too great.
The mysterious queen herself is probably not an angel.
For Bernadette, this was a good deal, since Lorne's offer was indeed very cheap.
She guessed that this was probably because Lorne was short of money and those formulas couldn't be sold anytime soon. Most importantly, reaching this deal would also help solidify their cooperative relationship.
After experiencing everything that happened tonight, a sense of hope inexplicably ignited in her heart.
She had a feeling that she might be able to find out the truth about something through the other person.
Therefore, maintaining friendly relations is necessary.
Since both sides were satisfied, the deal was successfully completed at an astonishing speed.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" Bernadette's tone was somewhat urgent as she sensed the changes in the spiritual energy around her.
"My magic won't last much longer."
"So you're not that confident after all," Lorne thought to himself. Then he asked a practical question: "How should I contact you? And how do I give you those Roselle diaries?"
"That is indeed a problem—" Considering that Lorne is still imprisoned, Bernadette pondered for a moment, "I can tell you how to summon my messenger."
"You should know what a 'messenger' is, right?"
"Hmm." Lorne nodded. He had heard of these special creatures that existed in the spirit world and could transmit information across vast distances.
"Alright, you've got it." Bernadette's lips moved as she recited a spell.
"An invisible creature that roams the spirit world, a strange spirit friendly to humans, a messenger exclusively belonging to Bernadette Gustav —"
Gustav —
Upon hearing this surname, Lorne was slightly taken aback.
Could it be—
Before he could say anything more, he saw Bernadette's body become transparent and vanish in the blink of an eye.
"Gustav—" Lorne looked around blankly and muttered to himself.
"Tch, boring. Turns out—they weren't old flames after all!"
"However, if I had known she would agree so readily, I would have asked for a higher price—"
The entrance to the Loggerhead Arms Factory.
Reminded by Fors, Hugh realized that Scott had been missing for several days and felt uneasy, so he went straight to the gun factory to see if he could find him.
At the factory gate, she ran into an old gatekeeper named Kohler, whom she knew fairly well.
Old Kohler also told her about what had happened recently.
"What?! Scott—he's been arrested by the police?!"
After listening to old Kohler's story, Hugh became visibly agitated.
"Scott isn't that kind of person!"
"Calm down, Miss Hugh! I also believe that a good man like Mr. Scott would never do anything bad!" Old Kohler quickly comforted Hugh when he saw that she was a little agitated.
"There must be some misunderstanding here. The factory manager has already hired a lawyer, and I believe Mr. Scott will be out soon."
Listening to old Kohler's words, Hugh did not feel at ease; instead, he became even more impatient.
Scott is a very capable extraordinary individual, and it's absolutely impossible for him to be implicated in a trivial case.
Could it be that he accidentally offended some nobleman or gangster, just like I did back then?
Don't recall how you once physically arbitrated a gang leader and were subsequently arrested.
No! I need to go ask around.
Visitor area.
Lorne leaned forward, head slightly lowered, staring at the petite figure in front of him who looked somewhat anxious.
"So, you just came straight here?" Lorne asked curiously, looking at Hugh in front of him.
He heard that someone had come to visit, and thought it was Ted with his lawyer, but to his surprise, it was Hugh.
"Um—Scott, you've been framed, haven't you?" Hugh asked with a worried expression.
"Of course. I didn't do anything, and they just locked me up for no reason."
"Have you offended someone—" Before Xiu could finish speaking, Lorne interrupted him.
"Listen, Hugh, I'm innocent, but I have a feeling this is complicated and complicated." Lorne's smile faded, and his tone became serious. "So, listen to me, don't get involved, and don't ask too many questions."
He then gave a reassuring smile: "Don't worry, you know what kind of person I am. I know what I'm doing, nothing will happen. What I'm most worried about right now is the factory."
He paused, then said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "What I hope for most right now is that you, being kind and capable, can help me look after the factory and prevent my hard work from being taken over by those opportunistic gangsters or thugs—I'll still need it to make a living when I get out."
"But—but—"
She didn't know that the other person was trying to comfort her and didn't want her to get involved in danger, but the more they did that, the more upset she felt, and a sense of powerless anger and sadness welled up inside her.
Judging from the other party's tone, this matter is not as simple as offending a nobleman or a gang.
It might have already involved a higher level.
"I—" She opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything more.
This kind of matter, which may involve official levels, is indeed beyond the reach of someone of her low rank.
Scott said this because he didn't want to be implicated.
But one thing she was certain of: Scott was innocent! He had absolutely done nothing wrong!
After the visit ended, Xiu rushed back home, looking worried.
"What should we do—do we really have to pretend nothing happened?"
-
If Scott has indeed been caught up in some kind of upper-level turmoil, she doesn't think he can easily extricate himself.
Only high-ranking figures can help with this kind of thing.
Hugh felt saddened once again by his own powerlessness.
Am I really incapable of doing anything?
Officials—Upper Class—Nobles—
!!!
As she walked, something suddenly occurred to her. A kind, noble figure, always filled with a sense of justice, suddenly appeared in her mind.
"Oh, right! Miss Audrey!"
"Perhaps I can ask her for help!"