Chapter 146: Conditions

Fake? Lu Mi twitched his right eyebrow, as if he had heard fate's ruthless mockery of Charlie.

Charlie abandoned his already fragile principles, slept with Mrs. Ai Lisi for a few days, got involved in a murder case, lost his job as a trainee waiter, and what he got in return was just a fake diamond necklace?

For some reason, Lu Mi suddenly had an urge not to submit to fate like this.

Although this was not his own business, it made him feel a bit of empathy.

Screw your destiny!

You mocked me, so I must mock you back, provoke you back!

At this moment, Lu Mi vaguely grasped another acting principle of the "Provoker," but it was still too crude and not accurate enough.

He looked at Charlie and asked thoughtfully:

"Do you think Mrs. Ai Lisi deceived you, or did the people at the pawnshop see that you were down and out, unable to appraise the authenticity of the necklace, and deliberately found such a reason to lower the price to the minimum?"

"I, I don't know." Charlie was incomparably dazed and painful.

After a pause, he added with difficulty:

"I suspect it's Mrs. Ai Lisi. Look, there are so many people coming here to mortgage things, and the appraisers handle dozens or hundreds of items every day, many of which are valuable items. It's impossible for them to only deceive me, right?

"She, how could she..."

Charlie couldn't continue.

Is it not allowed for the pawnshop to equally deceive everyone, lowering the price as much as possible, and lowering it more for more expensive items? Lu Mi inwardly criticized and chuckled:

"Why not?

"Many rich people don't get rich by kindness and diligence. If they can deceive you with a fake one, why give you a real one?

"Maybe Mrs. Ai Lisi is such a rich person, or maybe not even that rich, relying on living at the White Swan Hotel to deceive young people like you."

Lu Mi did not deny all rich people, because among that group, a large portion of people indeed got rich by talent, talent, diligence, and opportunity, for example, Aurora.

After being teased by him, the muscles on Charlie's face twisted significantly.

He muttered resentfully:

"Yeah, during this time, Mrs. Ai Lisi didn't treat me to a big meal even once; she always asked me to go for room service at seven or eight in the evening..."

You are really easy to deceive; are you really a Limu person? Lu Mi couldn't help but raise his hand to cover his face.

He then stood up and said:

"Take that necklace back, and let's go to another pawnshop to see.

"What if it's real?"

Charlie froze for a moment and said:

"Okay, okay!"

He was also not very willing to give up.

Lu Mi added another instruction:

"Be careful to check; don't let them swap the necklace."

"Hmm." Charlie tried hard to lift his spirits, "I looked at that necklace every day for a while and remembered every detail of it!"

After getting the diamond necklace back, Lu Mi accompanied Charlie to find two other pawnshops in the Observatory District.

The appraisal results were the same as before; the necklace was fake and could only be pawned for 11 to 15 Jin Bang.

Charlie became more and more depressed and more and more broken.

Lu Mi glanced at him and comforted him:

"At least it can still be pawned for a dozen Jin Bang, enough for you to last for more than a week, and you'll have spare money to go to the cafe on White Coat Street to treat the waiters to drinks and have them introduce you to a new job."

Including rent, Charlie spent about 1 Jin Bang a day, and even less if he didn't go to the underground bar for a drink.

"Yeah..." Charlie sighed.

Disappointed to the extreme, after accepting reality, being told this, he instead felt that life still had hope.

Lu Mi thought for a moment and said:

"Other possibilities cannot be ruled out, for example, the pawnshops here have private contact and communication, specifically to deceive people like you who are poorly dressed, mortgage valuable items, and don't have corresponding invoices. Do you want to take the necklace to a specialized jewelry store for appraisal?"

"That would cost a fee." Charlie showed a difficult expression.

It would be fine if it was appraised as real, but if it was fake, his already meager assets might shrink by one-third to one-half.

Lu Mi sighed and said:

"Give me the diamond necklace, and I'll help you find a friend to appraise it, the kind that doesn't charge a fee.

"You should still have some money on you, enough to last through today, right?"

"I still have 2.6 Jin Bang." Charlie handed the diamond necklace to Lu Mi with expectant eyes.

Lu Mi put away the necklace while saying with a smile:

"Aren't you worried that if it's appraised as real, I'll return a fake one to you and tell you that those pawnshops have no problems?"

"..." Charlie's expression stiffened once again.

After a second, he let out a breath and said:

"I believe you, and besides, I already consider it fake."

Lu Mi waved his hand, said goodbye to Charlie, and walked toward Purgatory Square.

…………

Near the catacombs, Ao Si Ta Te Lu Er was wearing a black hooded robe, facing the bonfire, sitting in his old spot.

"Don't you ever change places?" Lu Mi walked over and asked with amusement.

Ao Si Ta chuckled:

"My divination and interpretation have a certain degree of accuracy, and quite a few people have introduced friends to come over. If I change places, wouldn't I lose the customers I've accumulated? Those are all Jin Bang!"

"What do you mean by accumulated customers? They are clearly accumulated fools." Lu Mi said half-jokingly and half-mockingly.

Ao Si Ta didn't dare to refute.

Lu Mi then asked:

"I have something to find Mr. K for; how should I contact him?"

So he wasn't here to find me... Ao Si Ta breathed a sigh of relief and said quite quickly:

"Those who have attended the gathering can go directly to the headquarters of "Spirituality" magazine, which is the building where we hold our gatherings, 19 Sheer Street. Knock on the door of Room 103 with a rhythm of three long and two short and one long, and someone will take you to see Mr. K afterward.

"If you don't want to go in person, you can send a letter. The address is Room 103, 19 Sheer Street, Boulevard District, and the recipient is Guillaume Pierre."

What a fake name... The rhythm of knocking on the door usually is different from the rhythm of knocking on the door before the gathering... Mr. K didn't even tell me these things; does he think Ao Si Ta would tell me? Lu Mi nodded, said goodbye to Ao Si Ta, and returned to the surface.

Passing by the entrance to the catacombs, he saw another group of visitors holding lit white candles, following the administrator through that naturally formed archway and entering the "Empire of Death."

Withdrawing his gaze, Lu Mi went all the way out and took a public carriage to 19 Sheer Street, Boulevard District.

He lowered his duckbill cap and knocked on the door of Room 103 with the rhythm of three long, two short, and one long.

With a creak, the dark red wooden door opened.

Appearing before Lu Mi was a young man with delicate features and brown hair draped down like an artist.

He sized Lu Mi up for two seconds with dark brown eyes:

"Who are you looking for?"

"I am Xia Er, and I have something to find Mr. K for." Lu Mi said straightforwardly.

The young man tilted his head slightly, as if listening to a tiny sound.

Soon, he said to Lu Mi:

"Follow me."

This young man walked all the way to the side of the quite classical-style room and opened a secret door hidden in the dressing room.

There were stairs leading to the underground, with gas wall lamps embedded in black grids on both sides of the walls.

Lu Mi entered the basement, passed through a short corridor, and arrived at a quite spacious room.

He suspected that there were other exits here, perhaps even connecting to some area of underground Trier.

At this time, Mr. K was sitting on a red high-backed chair, his face hidden in the shadow brought by a large hood.

This convener of the gathering looked at Lu Mi without speaking, bringing a terrifying sense of oppression.

Lu Mi pressed his duckbill cap and said with a smile:

"Good morning, Mr. K. I have something I need your help with.

"You decide what price I need to pay."

Mr. K was silent for a few seconds and asked in a low, hoarse voice:

"Does the Poison Thorn Gang know that you killed Ma Ge?"

As expected... Lu Mi was not surprised at all that Mr. K had mastered part of his intelligence.

When he attended the gathering, he deliberately used bandages to cover his face, restoring the state he was in when he killed Ma Ge, just to let Mr. K know about that matter, thereby displaying the value he possessed and his relatively impulsive and extreme personality.

And this could also "gain the trust" of Mr. K.

Lu Mi shook his head:

"It's another problem..."

He then told the whole story of how he met Charlie, how he helped him get out of a predicament but was hated by Su Shanna Ma Disi, how he was almost killed by that weird creature, and fortunately, the official Beyonders arrived in time, without a single lie, just not mentioning many details.

This corroborated with the intelligence he wanted to purchase at the gathering.

"You want to seek protection?" Mr. K asked in a low voice after listening quietly.

Protection? Aren't you overestimating yourself? A more accurate word should be protection! Lu Mi muttered silently for a few sentences and nodded solemnly:

"Yes."

Mr. K said in a hoarse voice:

"That should be a soul-type creature, very much like an evil spirit. Under normal circumstances, as long as you move out of the Market District, it can no longer affect you. But the official Beyonders have clearly set their sights on this matter. If you move away now, you might be suspected. Moreover, if Su Shanna Ma Disi has remembered you, or even marked you, then you might encounter attacks wherever you are. Many abilities can transcend distance limitations; it doesn't need to truly leave its 'territory'."

No wonder those two ladies didn't suggest I move away... Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully:

"Then what should I do?"

Mr. K said slowly:

"I can provide a certain amount of protection, but you need to do one thing for me."

"What thing?" Lu Mi asked quite "urgently."

Mr. K clasped his hands in front of him and said:

"Join any gang in the Market District and become a leader."

Does the organization behind Mr. K want to indirectly control the Market District? Lu Mi answered without hesitation:

"No problem!"

Mr. K nodded slowly and grasped his left index finger with his right hand.

Immediately after, he pulled hard, forcibly tearing that finger off, revealing a bloody wound and white bones.

Lu Mi felt a sense of pain just by seeing it.

What was surprising was that neither Mr. K's wound nor that finger had blood seeping out; they were just lingering at the edges, twisting, retracting, and gradually "healing."

"Take it; it can help you at a critical moment." Mr. K threw that severed finger toward Lu Mi.

At the wound on his left palm where the finger was missing, the flesh and blood were wriggling violently, as if about to grow a new one.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 147 =====