Chapter 6: Executor Squad (II)

The third squad member sat together with Qiao Xi; not old, looking about the same age as Qiao Xi, so it was no wonder that earlier in the lounge the five of them only had Qiao Xi and him huddled together chattering about something.

"Hello, I am Joseph Dia, currently a Reader of Sequence Nine. The Sequence Eight demonic elixir I applied for hasn't been approved yet, but once it is, I can be promoted at any time; I am the squad's most recent newcomer." The young man sitting beside Qiao Xi, seeing Leiketon's gaze shift here, stood up, approached, and introduced himself with a smiling, gentle tone.

Joseph appeared to be from Luenburg, with brown slightly wavy hair, well kept; because the hair was naturally curly unlike the captain's meticulous style, it seemed more natural, a broad forehead, high nose bridge, deep‑blue eyes, chiseled features, skin close to wheat‑colored but a bit paler, wearing brass‑colored steampunk‑style glasses, about 1.8 m tall, roughly the same height as Qiao Xi, but his build was more upright.

Joseph's demeanor was more mature than Qiao Xi's; the ordinary brown long coat he wore gave him the air of a fashion model, yet the scholarly aura was equally evident. Leiketon felt as if he were facing a young university professor—approachable and easygoing, yet not lacking authority.

Leiketon's gaze lingered on him, analyzing his movements and expression in his mind while smiling and replying, "Hello, just call me Leiketon. You have now been promoted from squad newcomer to squad elder."

Leiketon's answer made the smile on his face appear a bit more sincere, and Leiketon internally judged Joseph to be someone with a strong desire to win, given his earlier emphasis on being ready to ascend to Sequence Eight at any moment.

He said he was the previous newcomer, implying he had also joined the squad not long ago, which helped bridge the gap between Leiketon as a newcomer and the others.

Overall, he was a decent person; his youthful competitiveness was harmless, and as a fellow squad member, Leiketon's impression of him remained positive.

After getting to know Joseph, Leiketon turned his gaze to the last squad member sitting in the far corner of the lounge; the person held an open book and had clearly been reading before Leiketon and the captain entered. Seeing the person's stare fixed on him, Leiketon walked over.

When Leiketon approached, the person stood up, a gentle smile on his face; his hair, meticulously styled like the captain's, showed a hint of pallor, yet his skin was smooth and wrinkle‑free, indicating good upkeep. His hairline was slightly high, his brows and eyes lowered, making his forehead appear broader, his nose straight, and his complexion very fair.

Only after he stood did Leiketon realize the person was almost as tall as the captain, upright yet slightly gaunt, though clearly once as robust as the captain in his youth. The standard brown long coat draped over a nearby chair back, he wore a dark‑coloured, collared knit sweater, a golden pocket watch at his chest, brown trousers and polished black leather shoes. One hand held a closed leather‑bound book; the other adjusted a single‑lens eyeglass on his left eye.

The gesture of adjusting the single lens made Leiketon's eyelid twitch, and the name "A Meng" suddenly sprang to mind.

"Whoa! Not possible! Not possible! The single lens is on the left eye and the style differs. Besides, this is the Knowledge Church's internal Executor Squad; A Meng wouldn't recklessly sneak in here," Leiketon kept reassuring himself internally.

"Hm? Seeing me so surprised? Did I remind you of some elder you don't want to face?" Leiketon's reflex couldn't escape the extraordinary person's eyes, and the person said with a slightly startled tone.

"The professor who assigned me homework!" Leiketon said half‑seriously. Though that wasn't the cause of his startled reaction, the person indeed resembled the supervisor who once pushed him to finish his thesis in university.

"Your reaction is just like Qiao Xi's back then—no, it seems you both had a memorable teacher," the person chuckled, moving past the topic.

"Indeed, it was profound! Back then I had nightmares every day!" Qiao Xi followed Leiketon, walking over.

"Hmm! Exactly!" Leiketon nodded, recalling his own university supervisor with deep agreement.

"Then you're unlucky, because for a long while ahead I will become your next professor," the person said, half‑seriously, half‑jokingly.

"Since you have joined our squad, His Excellency the Bishop has evidently cleared you of any issues. However, because you skipped Sequence Nine, your foundation is weak and your grasp of your extraordinary abilities insufficient. The Bishop will have the captain handle it, and the captain will have me handle it, so for a long time you'll be learning knowledge under me. The focus is mastery, so I'll periodically assess you!" The person's tone shifted from gentle to stern, fully assuming the professor role.

"Um..." Leiketon widened his eyes, momentarily at a loss for a reply, and turned to look at Captain Yikang Dun, who was silently watching the scene from behind.

"Haha! Right, I indeed plan to hand this matter over to Mr. Kesi. As squad captain, I lack the time to schedule and evaluate your learning tasks and progress," Captain Yikang Dun nodded in agreement with Kesi.

Leiketon turned his head expressionlessly, unable to hold back a thought: "I have a feeling my life ahead won't be very wonderful!"

"I am Kesi Qiyasi, a Keeper of Knowledge of Sequence Seven. Call me Mr. Kesi, just like they do; of course, you may also call me Teacher Kesi," Leiketon's shift in expression seemed to please Kesi, whose tone became lively.

"Alright, Teacher Kesi," Leiketon quickly adjusted his mood.

"Mr. Kesi, first arrange the books Leiketon needs, and tomorrow begin teaching him some basics of mysticism. I'll first take him to examine the remains of that Morse Ascetic Order member, hoping to obtain extra information. Members of the Morse Ascetic Order are adept at interfering with spirit‑communication and divination; we haven't gathered much info yet," Captain Yikang Dun said.

Then, turning to Leiketon who was looking his way, he nodded, "Follow me!".

"Alright!" Leiketon nodded, following Captain Yikang Dun with some unease.

When the captain previously mentioned the former self being lured into devouring an extraordinary trait, Leiketon had many questions, but feared exposing that he wasn't the original Leiketon, so he restrained himself from asking about it.

He didn't expect the captain to speak of the remains; knowing the person was dead eased Leiketon somewhat, yet he realized he still couldn't learn what truly happened before—why the original self swallowed the extraordinary trait and what followed.

"You're worried?" Captain Yikang Dun asked again after leaving the lounge.

"Hm? Worried about what?" Leiketon didn't catch what the captain was asking.

"We killed that Morse Ascetic Order member, but his soul was subjected to a certain influence; our spirit‑communication yielded poor results, so I want you to see if you can recall any information he inadvertently mentioned," Captain Yikang Dun said while walking.

"Actually, the best option would have been to have Jessica hypnotize and guide you to recall the relevant memories, but your current condition isn't ideal; a rash hypnosis could have extra effects, so we can only let you try recalling on your own," the captain explained the reason.

Finally he added, "You don't need to worry too much; we already know most of the necessary information. You were merely a victim and didn't know any useful details. We hope that this Morse Ascetic Order member unintentionally mentioned some important content in front of you. Most of these cult members have mental issues, so such occurrences are fairly common."

"Ah, I see," Leiketon nodded slightly.

He then asked, "Captain, how did you investigate this? After I obtained that extraordinary trait, I haven't left the house, nor noticed anyone coming to my home."

Captain Yikang Dun turned to glance at Leiketon before saying, "This is the unfathomable supernal world; investigating an ordinary person doesn't always require a little effort."

"Huh?" Leiketon was stunned, then suddenly recalled that the Reader Path's Sequence Four is called Prophet; at this stage extraordinary beings begin mastering higher‑level mystic knowledge of the destiny realm, thus gaining the ability to "foresee."

"What did you think of?" Captain Yikang Dun, seeing Leiketon's sudden enlightenment, noted it differed from his expectation; there was no progression from confusion to shock to curious questioning.

"Is it what they call prophecy?" Leiketon, already knowing the answer, asked with curiosity.

"You reacted quickly; it seems you're not completely ignorant of the mystic world, which is good—if you were totally clueless, the Morse Ascetic members would be harder to manipulate," Captain Yikang Dun remarked, surprised Leiketon grasped prophecy so fast, then offered his own plausible explanation.

"Hmm," Leiketon suppressed his urge to complain, thinking to himself, "People on the Reader Path are always so talkative and love to over‑interpret? Suddenly the future looks worrisome!"

(End of Chapter)