Chapter 1020: The World Widens in an Instant (Part I)

"As you can see, in that winter of 1991, I reached a dead end." The low voice sounded again, still carrying a deep regret that could not be erased.

He sighed softly, as if deliberately wanting to end this heavy topic, and said, "But what shocked me incomparably was that for me, death was not the end. After experiencing a long darkness, I woke up again and appeared in an orphanage in East Berlin."

"I was at a loss, not knowing what had happened. But later, I quickly accepted reality and felt ecstatic because I had a second chance. And the better news was that the orphanage I was in was located in East Berlin, and at the same time, the director of the orphanage was a KGB agent."

"This was precisely a base where the Soviet Union secretly cultivated intelligence officers. These orphans were children who had lost their families due to the war. They were brought back to the orphanage to be cared for and would eventually become firm soldiers."

"I carried the memories of my previous life and was the oldest among the children, so my grades were the best. By rights, I could have stayed there and walked the same path, using the advantage of foresight to save my motherland."

"However, in the decades approaching the end of my life, I saw the truth of our demise. That was not something an excellent intelligence officer, a firm soldier, or a clever scholar could solve."

"All of us had problems. This country was already terminally ill. And even if I returned to my childhood, wanting to solve such stubborn ailments, just becoming an intelligence officer was not enough."

"And during this period, I discovered that compared to my previous life, I had become somewhat different."

Accompanied by the narration of the voice, the scene unfolded before Schiller's eyes again.

The sound of "da-da-da" came from the end of the alley. A child dressed like a typical German worker's family ran out of the alley, and behind him, several older children were chasing him.

"Wild child! Wild child! The wild child from the orphanage! Stole our bicycle parts and still want to run?! Hurry up and return the stuff to me!" shouted the oldest among the children behind.

The little child running in front turned his head, revealing the face of young Schiller. He showed a cold sneer inconsistent with his age and said, "It was you who stole the director's bicycle parts. If your parents aren't willing to educate you, I'll teach you a lesson!"

The children running behind flushed red. The tallest one among them rushed up in two or three steps and grabbed young Schiller's shoulder. Young Schiller turned around and hit his chest with his elbow, making him shrink his arm in pain.

But unexpectedly, two larger children suddenly flipped over the wall in front of young Schiller. They hit young Schiller on the back with a stick, knocking him to the ground. The leader walked over and said, "Damn little thief, did you think we hadn't prepared anything? You're dead this time!"

Young Schiller struggled to turn over, facing the child with the front of his body. He felt intense pain in his back; it must have been that blow just now that broke his ribs.

But he refused to show any weakness, gritting his teeth and glaring at the child walking over. And at the moment the stick fell, he instinctively used his hand to block it.

With a "bang," no pain came from his arm, but a scream came from the opposite side.

Amidst the splashing sparks, the wooden stick broke in the middle. The splashing wood chips scratched the eyelid of the child opposite, making him scream "ow" and retreat a few steps, covering his eyes.

Young Schiller looked at his arm and discovered that it was flickering with strange light. At the moment he concentrated, flames ignited on his hand. The other children were stunned, screaming and running toward the exit of the alley.

Enduring the pain, young Schiller climbed up from the ground and looked at his fair fingers. There was nothing on them, as if the flames just now had been a hallucination.

The scene around him began to change gradually, from an alley to a room. His fingers were still fair and tender, but this time, he was holding a thick book. On young Schiller's face, which had not yet shed its childishness, there was a seriousness and heaviness unique to an adult.

At this time, a chubby old man walked over and said with a smile, "Why are you reading again? Still reading those supernatural biographical novels? With this time, you should read more literary classics. Do you like reading Gorky?"

"Yes, Mr. Director, I like reading his 'My Childhood' the most. His experiences in his childhood remind me of us. Although the orphanage is still a bit difficult now, it will get better, won't it?" young Schiller said, looking up at the director from the thick book.

The director smiled and said, "You're the best at making me happy. Read if you want to. The bicycle parts you brought back will come in handy. I have to go deliver goods to the factory in a while..."

After speaking, the director left. Schiller put his gaze back into the book in his hand. After a while, he felt a bit sleepy, closed the book, put it by his hand, and curled up on the spot, wanting to take a nap.

And on the book he was using as a pillow, it clearly read—"Mysterious Legends of World Magic."

Soon, the sky darkened, and the children from the orphanage who had gone out to work returned one after another. They played games in the living room in front, while young Schiller was still hiding in his room studying that book.

After a while, he ran to the shelf, took a remaining piece of chalk from it, and began to write and draw on the ground.

After drawing a mysterious pattern on the ground, he took advantage of the orphanage caregivers not paying attention, closed the room door, and then pressed his ear against the wall, listening to the movement next door.

Discovering that the director hadn't returned yet, he confidently projected his attention into the pattern on the ground. Suddenly, a cluster of flames rose in the center of the magic circle pattern on the ground, and a phantom swayed back and forth in the center of the flames. A low voice echoed in the room: "Why awaken me, child? What do you want to obtain?"

However, young Schiller quickly wiped away the magic circle and stood on the spot, panting continuously, as if he couldn't believe everything in front of him. But soon, he widened his eyes, looked at his own hands, and another kind of light flickered in his eyes.

"In the year I was about to graduate from the orphanage and enter a more professional training institution, I discovered that I could use magic."

"In my previous life, in the decades before my life came to an end, I was a firm materialist, and I still am until now. Therefore, I regarded magic as a tool, a tool that could be analyzed and utilized."

"I did not give up my intelligence officer career. I successfully graduated from the orphanage with the best grades and entered one of the most professional and secret intelligence officer training institutions in East Berlin."

"That place was different from the butler school in England; it was specifically for training young staff officers and leaders of the State Security Committee."

"In the training school, I focused on learning knowledge related to intelligence work, but I didn't intend to just be an intelligence officer."

"During these years, I was still tirelessly studying magic, and then, I found the truth of this mysterious power."

"Magic is not a kind of energy, but a kind of talent. Magic talent is like a ticket, giving you the opportunity to borrow energy from various powerful creatures. Magic, in essence, is a transaction."

"Having learned this, a plan gradually took shape in my mind. But before that, I successfully entered the Soviet State Security Committee with the best grades the school had seen in ten years."

"In the First Chief Directorate of the KGB, I made repeated military contributions and performed excellently. Whether it was local counter-intelligence work or foreign intelligence officer work, I completed them quite excellently, so I was highly valued."

"Afterward, I was sent to work in the Fourth Chief Directorate, becoming a member of the decision-makers. But I knew this was not enough. So, I worked more actively, showed greater ability, and used my advantage of foresight to provide no small help to our intelligence work."

"Therefore, I rose rapidly in my career until I was transferred back to the First Chief Directorate and became the Deputy Director. And on that day, after the cheerful celebration banquet ended, I found the Director of the First Chief Directorate."

Accompanied by a burst of noise coming from the room, the smell of vodka drifted out. A young intelligence officer supported an older intelligence officer as they walked out of the room. The two came to the lounge next door, and the older intelligence officer sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette.

"Director, thank you for holding such a warm welcome ceremony for me. I also didn't expect that I could return to the First Chief Directorate so quickly."

"I also didn't expect it, Comrade Schiller. However, just being a Deputy Director is indeed a bit of a waste of your talent, unable to exert your revolutionary enthusiasm and ability. But I believe you will have a broader stage sooner or later..."

The young intelligence officer Schiller shook his head with a smile, and then he looked at the Director and said, "Indeed, Director. Not just me, we will all have a broader stage."

The Director of the First Chief Directorate looked at intelligence officer Schiller with some curiosity. He heard that intelligence officer Schiller had something in his words, but the next second, he froze on the spot because a cluster of flames appeared in Schiller's hand.

The flames reflected in his gray eyes, like a beach reflecting the sunset light. Intelligence officer Schiller looked at the Director of the First Chief Directorate and said, "Perhaps you have known about the existence of magic for a long time, but I am a magician."

Schiller's voice came again: "Perhaps you will feel a bit puzzled. Such a large country would not lack people with magic talent, and the high-level officials should not have just realized the existence of magic now."

"However, according to my previous research, the influence of ideology on a person's magic talent is very large. Simply put, as long as you don't believe, it cannot exert any effect. And my motherland does not believe in any ghosts or monsters."

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"Therefore, I became the first person capable of skillfully using magic and having the ability to participate in research work."

"Perhaps the intelligence officer comrades of the Eleventh Bureau have already found you. And this Eleventh Bureau, which you have never heard of and has never appeared in the public eye, is also known as the 'KGB Magic Energy Investigation and Research Bureau'."

"In other words, the Eleventh Bureau is the department of the Soviet Union responsible for investigating magic and mysterious events, and I am the Director of the Eleventh Bureau." ===== CHAPTER 1021 =====