Chapter 310: Incomprehensible Choice

Anthony Reid, who was middle-aged and fat, was stunned for a moment, and only after a while did he laugh self-deprecatingly:

"My emotions were a bit agitated at the time, and I didn't read the truth of this sentence.

"'Spectators' really still have to sit in the audience."

Lu Mian sat down again, smiling:

"No, the problem is not here.

"Why did I jump off the high stool at that time, why did I go behind you and whisper in your ear? The purpose was not to let you see my subtle expressions and unconscious body language.

"At that time, your emotions had already begun to agitate, so you couldn't interpret the true meaning of this series of actions of mine."

Anthony Reid was silent for a few seconds:

"This is one of the reasons. Another reason is that such performance is very consistent with your usual style. I don't know if you have noticed it yourself, you occasionally act cool, or to use a more popular word now, show off.

"Just now, I thought those behaviors were what you would do in that situation and on that occasion, the purpose was to show yourself and enhance the persuasiveness of your words, so I didn't have any suspicion."

Lu Mian laughed:

"A young man like me will inevitably have the desire to act cool and show off. This itself can also cover up the real purpose well. No, both are real, so others couldn't see through it."

This is like he likes to put one hand in his pocket, spin fire crows, and walk toward the enemy while bombing them. One is because this is indeed cool, and the other is to take the opportunity to hold Mr. K's fingers to guard against accidents.

Anthony Reid nodded thoughtfully:

"Surface purposes must have enough authenticity to mislead 'Spectators'."

Lu Mian raised his right foot, rested it on his left knee, and pulled the topic back to the right track:

"We haven't investigated the people and forces behind Yu Ge Artois because there are more important things to do now. Rest assured, after next week, we will truly follow up on this matter and have corresponding intelligence sources."

His plan is to let Jenna ask the "Purifiers" about the follow-up of Yu Ge Artois's matter to see if there is anything that can be "helped."

As the person who assassinated Yu Ge Artois, Jenna's concern about the progress of the investigation and her hope to catch all those people is completely understandable and will not arouse the suspicion of official Beyonders. And Jenna herself has this idea and tendency, so she doesn't need Lu Mian to incite her, just remind her.

At that time, if the "Purifiers" have anything inconvenient to come forward or inconvenient to do, they can imply Jenna and her friends to do it by revealing intelligence, which will inevitably bring useful information to Anthony Reid's investigation.

Anthony Reid's deep brown eyes reflected Lu Mian's figure, listening quietly to his words.

This information peddler nodded imperceptibly:

"I will stay for another period of time."

Communicating with Beyonders of the "Spectator" pathway is really easy. I don't need to make up stories to find reasons to persuade him; he can judge whether what I say is true or false himself... Lu Mian smiled and pointed to the bedside:

"Sit."

In this way, he doesn't need to reveal Jenna's true identity and the fact that she has become an informant for the "Purifiers."

Anthony Reid stood by the door, not moving, and said to himself:

"My encounter, you have almost guessed it. Is there anything else you need me to add?"

"I want to hear a more detailed version," Lu Mian didn't be polite.

After experiencing things like the Poison Sting Gang, the "Blessing Society," the Cordu Village disaster, the death of the Rul Michel couple, and the Guerville Chemical Plant explosion, he was extremely disgusted with those evil gods and their believers, no longer as indifferent as before.

The original him felt that whatever others believed in had nothing to do with him. Now he has completely changed this view, believing that dead evil god believers are good believers, otherwise he doesn't know when they will bring disaster to him and the people around him.

So, he wasn't lying to Anthony Reid just now. He really intended to investigate Yu Ge Artois's matter when he had free time, to ferret out more evil god believers.

And this could also please Mr. K and the "Aurora Order."

Of course, a wanted underworld boss helping official authorities crack down on cultists sounds really strange.

Anthony Reid's expression became gloomy:

"At the end of the war with the Loen Kingdom, I and my comrades were stationed at a traffic artery on the northern foothills of the Hornacis Mountains. Our commander was Major Yu Ge Artois.

"We were divided into three companies, each occupying different places, both guarding against Beyonder squads from the Loen Kingdom crossing the dangerous road to get behind us, and resisting attacks from the front.

"That night, I was awakened from my sleep by sudden gunfire and artillery fire, seeing comrades become corpses one after another, seeing their heads shattered, bodies torn apart, and the ground was a large area of blood..."

Speaking of this, Anthony Reid gasped, seemingly recalling the stimulation he received at the time.

He stopped for a few seconds before saying:

"I had some adventures in the middle of the war, improved my sequence, and didn't report it to Yu Ge Artois. Relying on corresponding abilities, I broke through the encirclement with four wounded comrades and retreated to the rear.

"Two of them stayed on the retreat mountain road forever, forever. I still remember their eyes full of pain and unwillingness to this day.

"I originally thought that one of the other two positions was broken, or that Loen's airships took advantage of the night to drop troops behind us, but later I found out that the reason was that the company personally led by Yu Ge Artois retreated actively after encountering tentative attacks, without notifying us!"

Lu Mian

"Yu Ge Artois gave the order to retreat; didn't the soldiers of that company have any doubts? Didn't they ask to notify their comrades at the other two positions?"

"Yu Ge Artois was our commanding officer and had always been very good at giving speeches. Moreover, he falsely claimed to have an order from General Philip." Anthony Reid said with a hint of pain, "At the time, the soldiers of that company all thought he had already issued orders to the other two positions. I still don't understand to this day; they weren't under any pressure from being pursued, so why did Yu Ge Artois have to sacrifice us? Firing a signal flare wouldn't have wasted much of his time, nor would it have brought him any harm."

"Perhaps he was just too nervous and forgot about it." Lu Mian had no intention of defending Yu Ge Artois, a dead man; he was simply pointing out a possibility.

Anthony Reid shook his head:

"He wasn't a raw recruit who had just arrived on the battlefield. In several previous battles, he had commanded very well and had also been tested by adversity."

Lu Mian didn't speculate further, watching as Anthony Reid continued to recount:

"After discovering the truth, I and two other comrades kept reporting Yu Ge Artois to the Military Police and the military court, but it had no effect. They would only tell us that we couldn't replace evidence with conjecture.

"The three of us watched helplessly as Yu Ge Artois moved into politics after the war ended, rising higher and higher.

"My other two comrades were already in poor health, and they passed away one after another amidst such anger and pain. When Yu Ge Artois announced he would represent the Enlightenment Party in the Market District parliamentary election, I came here."

Lu Mian nodded slightly, then turned to ask:

"Is 'intelligence merchant' an identity you use to cover yourself?"

"No, for these past few years, I have been relying on selling intelligence to make a living." Anthony Reid gave a self-deprecating smile, "Besides, such an identity is also beneficial for me to investigate Yu Ge Artois."

"Any gains?" Lu Mian asked very naturally.

Anthony Reid answered with a dejected expression:

"Yu Ge Artois's political career looks very normal. He followed General Philip into politics and received his promotion. Later, because of his outstanding speaking ability, he gained the appreciation of several senior Enlightenment Party members. At the same time, he also established connections with several original noble families in specific affairs, possessing his own network of resources."

"Is there a problem with General Philip?" Lu Mian asked straightforwardly.

Anthony Reid slowly exhaled and said:

"I hadn't started investigating this general yet when he passed away. The official announcement was that it was due to illness."

After Lu Mian asked a few more questions, he said:

"I'll communicate with you again once I've obtained more intelligence."

"Alright." Anthony Reid could see his sincerity.

…………

After leaving the Auberge du Coq Doré, Lu Mian returned to the safe house on Rue des Blouses Blanches, opened the tin cabinet, and moved out the thick stack of documents on Spirit Realm creatures.

A notebook was tucked inside titled "Spirit Realm Observations." Lu Mian had only flipped through two pages when he experienced abnormal feelings of a bloated head and irritability and anxiety.

His current goal wasn't to understand the Spirit Realm, but to find a suitable Spirit Realm creature, so he closed the notebook and focused on reading the introductions to different Spirit Realm creatures.

For some reason, after just over half an hour, Lu Mian felt his energy was over-consumed and his head felt a bit empty, so he had to finish early, lie on the bed, and enter a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Lu Mian arrived at Apartment 601, 3 Rue des Blouses Blanches, and rang the doorbell.

Franca was already up, having changed into her usual shirt and breeches, and looked at Lu Mian:

"What are you doing here so early?"

Lu Mian glanced at Jenna in the living room and said with a smile:

"Didn't you say Jenna was going to advance to 'Instigator' today? I'm here to take a look."

Franca frowned and muttered:

"You're quite concerned about her, aren't you?"

"Of course." Lu Mian replied with a brilliant smile, "Once she becomes an 'Instigator,' she'll be qualified to help me deal with Guillaume Bénet. Although I can't count on her for a head-on fight, doing a sneak attack, scouting the surrounding environment, and guarding against possible accidents shouldn't be a problem."

Jenna let out a "heh" to show her disdain, while Franca clicked her tongue in a way that was both annoyed and amused:

"Your mouth is just like it's been smeared with honey."

"The digested kind?" Lu Mian was very self-aware.

(End of chapter)