Chapter 141: Mr. K

After a second of pause, Osta, who wanted to complain, forced a smile:

"You look really terrifying like this."

"This is a classic image in literary works," Lu Mian said deliberately in a smug tone.

Osta didn't respond, choosing to put on his own iron mask to hide the expression on his face.

After walking a few steps forward, he stopped and knocked on the door on the right.

"Two long pauses, plus one short pause, then another long pause..." Lu Mian observed Osta Trul's performance with the eyes of a "Hunter."

It was only the time of two breaths before the dark red wooden door slowly opened backward.

What first met Lu Mian's eyes was a thick light yellow carpet, followed by classical-style tables, chairs, sofas, and display racks.

At this moment, a figure was standing in the shadows created by the gas wall lamp by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Like Osta Trul, he wore a black robe like an ancient wizard and a large hood, so much so that Lu Mian couldn't help but mutter:

Dressed like this, can you even see clearly who is standing in front of you?

"Mr. K, Charles is here." Osta walked in and said respectfully to the figure who was nearly one meter eighty tall.

Lu Mian followed closely.

*Clang*, the door behind him closed on its own.

Mr. K turned his body and looked at Lu Mian:

"Why do you want to participate in our gathering?"

His voice was low and hoarse.

"For potion formulas, for Beyonder characteristics, for magical artifacts, for mysticism knowledge. It can't be for love or faith, right?" Lu Mian answered in a deliberately cynical tone.

Immediately after, he chuckled softly:

"I know, this isn't what you want to hear. But it doesn't matter, I don't mind talking about my affairs."

Lu Mian's voice then became low:

"In a disaster brought about by extraordinary power, I lost all my relatives.

"This not only caused me to suffer painful torture, but also made me understand one thing: those so-called orthodox gods cannot save us!

"From that day on, I pursued extraordinary power, pursued a way to forget all the pain. I want to become strong enough, I want to let those who gave me misfortune taste all this torture."

Mr. K, wearing a large hood, seemed to be staring at Lu Mian without interrupting his story, while Osta Trul was extremely shocked—Charles's words were filled with undisguised pain; his desire for the Samaria Spring was not fake!

After Lu Mian finished speaking, Mr. K seemed to nod and said:

"Participating in our gathering requires following two rules:

"One, no matter what happens, you cannot make a move directly during the gathering.

"Two, do not attempt to follow other participants."

Only these two? Lu Mian didn't expect the constraints to be so few.

He didn't even need to think seriously to find several loopholes on the spot:

"If I can't make a move directly, can I use the 'Provocation' ability to anger the other party to death?

"Not attempting to follow doesn't mean I can't do something else to the target...

"Does selling fake materials, fake formulas, fake Beyonder characteristics, and fake magical artifacts also belong to the permitted items?"

Lu Mian controlled his impulse to retort and nodded:

"No problem."

As he answered, he felt Mr. K's gaze moving over his body, as if checking every piece of flesh and every inch of skin.

This made him feel as if he were being stared at by a poisonous snake.

After a few seconds, Mr. K continued:

"If you don't want to expose what you possess or what you are seeking, you can write down your own transaction needs on paper in advance, and have my attendant transcribe them to a mobile blackboard to show all participants. If you feel it doesn't matter, you can also propose your needs on the spot.

"Similarly, during the gathering, you can complete transactions through my attendants, or you can come forward directly.

"What you also need to remember is that transactions have risks. I cannot guarantee that all items, all materials, and all answers are true. Of course, you can choose to pay me to notarize them, which can effectively reduce the risk."

The ability of a "Notary"? Lu Mian remembered the content in Aurora's witchcraft notebook.

This was Sequence 6 of the "Sun" pathway, and most Beyonders of this pathway belonged to the Church of the "Eternal Blazing Sun."

Based on this premise, Lu Mian suspected that Mr. K himself might not be a "Notary"; it was more likely he possessed a corresponding magical artifact.

Lu Mian quickly restrained his thoughts and said to Mr. K:

"Can I write down my needs now?"

Mr. K gave an "un" sound and pointed to the desk on the right side of the room:

"Write them there. My attendant will come to collect them."

Lu Mian walked toward the brown desk displaying magazines like *Psychic*, *Lotus*, and *Mysteries*, spread out the letter paper that emitted a faint fragrance, picked up the dark red fountain pen, and wrote deliberately:

"1. I have a Beyonder weapon that has been damaged. Looking for someone who can repair it. Price negotiable.

"2. Purchase information on a strange creature: The creature is suspected to be a spirit, with a female appearance, long green hair wrapping around its body, full of seductive power, capable of making people have wet dreams with her as the protagonist. Other details unknown. Reward depends on the value of the information provided, ranging from 10 verl d'or to 100 verl d'or."

Lu Mian originally wanted to write down "3. Summary of experience in playing a 'Provoker'," but after pondering for a few seconds, he finally gave up this idea.

He remembered that in that nightmare, Aurora said that mysticism knowledge like "Acting Method" and "Law of Beyonder Characteristic Conservation" was extremely precious and not something ordinary Beyonders could know. And he was currently pretending to be a newcomer who had just stepped into the extraordinary world due to a disaster and was trying to obtain more knowledge and resources.

If such a person could write the word "Acting," he would inevitably be suspected by Mr. K.

Of course, Lu Mian didn't feel he was pretending; he really was a newcomer who had just stepped into the extraordinary world due to a disaster and was trying to obtain more knowledge and resources. It was just that the disaster he originally encountered involved a very high level, allowing him to come into contact with powerful figures like Ms. "Magician," so his high-end knowledge was rich, while other common sense was lacking, and he was currently making up for it with Aurora's witchcraft notebook.

After putting away the letter paper and pen, Lu Mian followed Osta and left here, turning into the room at the very end of this corridor.

This room seemed to be used for holding salons. Sofas, chairs, round tables, coffee tables, high stools, etc., were placed at will, creating a leisurely and relaxed atmosphere.

At this time, several participants had already arrived. Some wore black robes and hoods that could almost cover their faces, some were disguised as clowns, demons, etc., and some covered their faces with rough, exquisite, half-face, or full-face masks.

For a moment, Lu Mian even thought he was attending a masquerade ball.

He separated from Osta Trul, entered one after another, and each found a seat.

Lu Mian chose a high stool, just missing a glass of absinthe.

Before long, Mr. K entered and sat on the single sofa representing the convener, while his attendants wearing masks and gloves moved in a mobile blackboard, which was filled with transaction needs.

Lu Mian took a look, and the first thing he saw was the purchase of Beyonder characteristics:

"Seeking Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 8 'Fighter' of the 'Warrior' pathway, 15,000 verl d'or, negotiable."

A Sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic can sell for 15,000 verl d'or, or even higher? Lu Mian froze for a moment, then felt what it meant to be heartbroken, what it meant to regret to the point of wanting to drink from the Spring of Oblivion.

The Margot he had just hunted was exactly a Sequence 8 "Provoker" of the "Hunter" pathway!

And Lu Mian, for the sake of insurance, didn't entangle with Margot until the Monsuri Ghost arrived, leaving the battle site in advance.

Although he later borrowed the exchange of fate to get the thousand-plus verl d'or on Margot, this was really quite a bit less compared to the value of a "Provoker" Beyonder characteristic.

It took a few seconds for Lu Mian to barely adjust his mindset.

He had made the best choice at the time. If he had continued to entangle, who knew what accidents might have happened, or if he might have been targeted by the authorities. If that were the case, Margot would definitely have died, but he might have fallen into other crises.

Lu Mian then looked at other transaction information:

"One elf dark leaf, 180 verl d'or."

"Two pages of original Roselle diary, 300 verl d'or."

"Need Sequence 6 'Corrupt Baron' potion formula, 65,000 verl d'or."

"..."

Lu Mian browsed through it roughly and deeply understood why his sister Aurora spent money like water.

"We can begin." Mr. K looked around and said hoarsely.

His attendants called out those items one by one. Some had no response, while others completed transactions covertly through the attendants.

Lu Mian watched silently, mainly to familiarize himself with this kind of occasion and collect intelligence.

As the gathering neared its end, the attendant by the mobile blackboard finally read out Lu Mian's first need.

The scene was silent.

After more than ten seconds, a man sitting in the corner of the long sofa laughed in a low voice:

"Most people who are good at repairing magical artifacts and Beyonder weapons are in the Church of the 'God of Steam and Machinery.' You can go there to find them."

He had his face painted with oil paint, as if he were pretending to be a primitive person in the jungles of the Southern Continent.

No one paid attention to this unfunny joke. Mr. K's attendant described Lu Mian's second need.

The participants of the gathering looked at each other, seemingly knowing for the first time that there was such a strange creature.

Sure enough, they are all low-sequence Beyonders with no knowledge... Lu Mian felt a bit disappointed and mocked in his heart.

At this moment, the man who had just made the joke said with a desire to share:

"This reminds me of one thing, hehe, no intelligence fee.

"At the confluence of the lower reaches of the Selenzo River and the Ryan River, there is a small town called Ornet. Many middle-class people in Trier like to go there to play with sailboats and swim.

"At the beginning of last year or even later, three cases of female deaths occurred there in succession. The cause of death was weakness due to being too indulgent, and they had no partners either on the surface or in secret. The only clue is that they all described to friends before their deaths that they had recently had a beautiful wet dream."

PS: Thanks to friends Wei Wenchuan and Ma En for the silver alliance rewards.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 142 =====