Chapter 374: Main Task

Lu Mi didn't quite understand what Gardner Martin relied on to determine that Vermond Sauron hadn't died, but it seemed the other party didn't intend to explain, so he had to give up on pursuing the question.

He was now only concerned with one question:

"So, is my task considered finished?"

Obviously, combining the fact that Count Pu Yifu liked to make wax heads for friends he knew and that the one who attacked him just now was a wax figure, Lu Mi believed he had already been suspected by the other party, and further contact would be very dangerous.

Gardner Martin shook his head slowly:

"No, it must continue."

He held his cigar, stood up, and paced a few steps toward the floor-to-ceiling window:

"The fact that you became the King after choosing after Pu Yifu will definitely make him suspect your background, but he will want to figure out the true reason for that event even more. The subsequent attack by that wax figure was also mainly for this purpose.

"Therefore, he will still invite you, using different methods to test you and squeeze out your hidden secrets. For us, this is an opportunity—an opportunity to confirm the true state of Vermond and other Sauron family ancestors.

"And through this, we can grasp the reason for the gradual decline of this once exceptionally powerful family. This has very important significance for us, who are also mainly on the 'Hunter' pathway; it is our current main task.

"Simply put, the current Sauron family is like that Red Tianebao, long since in disrepair but hiding many secrets, with guards capable of deterring prying eyes. What we need to do is figure out the castle's defensive loopholes, confirm whether those secrets will pose a fatal threat to us, and then find an opportunity to break through the guards, bypass the traps, and take away the treasure.

"Rest assured, I will secretly provide protection for Pu Yifu's subsequent invitations; the risk you need to bear is not great."

Lu Mi thought for a moment and said:

"'Sir,' you previously said our main task was to find the true entrance to Trier in the Fourth Epoch."

How could the main task change just like that?

Gardner Martin took a puff of his cigar and revealed a smile:

"These two things already exist with a certain connection and serve the same purpose, but you don't need to know for now."

What purpose? In other words, the current focus of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" is on exploring the underground, finding the entrance to Trier in the Fourth Epoch, and investigating the reason for the Sauron family's gradual decline over these two or three hundred years, trying to bite off a piece of fat from them? According to Mr. K's statement, one of the reasons for the Sauron family's decline was that for a period of time, multiple important members went mad and died in succession... Gardner Martin and I are mainly responsible for the Sauron family direction, while other members, including 'Supervisor' Olsen, explore the underground? Lu Mi had a relatively clear understanding of the recent plans of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order."

And this was also his main task.

Of course, he only knew what to do, not why.

"Yes, 'Sir'." Lu Mi didn't say anything more and agreed.

He vaguely had a premonition that this would be his opportunity to digest the "Pyromaniac" potion and take a step further on the "Hunter" pathway.

You know, according to Lady "Magician," the Sauron family was a powerful force that once possessed "Hunter" angels.

Gardner Martin didn't ask how much gold Pu Yifu had offered to the "King," signaling that Lu Mi could leave and wait for the next invitation from that titular Count.

While passing through the renovated hall, Lu Mi saw the butler Faustino, also an official member of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order," leading a person wearing a black cloak inside.

That person was of medium height, less than 1.75 meters, dressed relatively loosely and wrapped tightly, making it impossible to see his specific appearance and body features.

Lu Mi could only judge preliminarily that he was a male based on his walking posture, height, and stride size.

Faustino nodded at Lu Mi, which counted as a greeting, and then led the mysterious person hurriedly through the hall and into Gardner Martin's study.

Who could it be? Coming over late at night to discuss what? Lu Mi withdrew his gaze and left No. 11 Spring Street with a flurry of thoughts.

Market District, Chaos Street, Golden Chicken Hotel.

After Lu Mi went up to the second floor, he suddenly increased his footsteps, making a *dong-dong-dong* sound.

He returned to Room 207 unhurriedly, lit the calcium carbide lamp, turned the armchair, sat down, and looked at the ajar door with a smile.

After twenty or thirty seconds, slight footsteps came from the direction of Room 201.

Those footsteps were hesitant at first, then firm, soon reaching outside 207, and knocked lightly on the door.

"Please come in." Lu Mi raised his chin slightly and said.

The visitor was indeed Laurent. He was wearing a linen shirt and black trousers, completely different from the formality he had every time he went out.

After closing the door behind him, Laurent looked at Lu Mi and said:

"Mr. Dubois, I would like to borrow 500 Felkins from you."

Lu Mi was stunned for a moment, not expecting this development.

He thought this guy had come to beg him not to expose his true identity.

Who knew he would actually run over to borrow money!

"Why do you need 500 Felkins?" Lu Mi's expression didn't change at all.

Laurent said in a slightly deep voice:

"I am about to become one of the deputy editors of the *Little Trier* newspaper. Although I am only the one with the least seniority, I can't continue to live here anymore. I have to regularly invite colleagues to my home for gatherings and establish a good relationship with them.

"So, I want to borrow 500 Felkins to rent a good apartment in places like the Observatory District or the Memorial Hall District, move my mother over, and hurry up and let her learn how to host a small banquet.

"Once I receive my salary, I will repay the loan in installments. What interest rate do you think is better?"

This is both borrowing money to consolidate his job and actively handing me a handle, while giving me some benefits so that I won't ruin his good deeds... Lu Mi thought a little higher of Laurent and nodded thoughtfully:

"I don't need interest. You will definitely be able to come into contact with some news, information, and advertisements worth paying attention to or surprising at the *Little Trier* newspaper. I hope you will organize them regularly and give me a copy."

While speaking, Lu Mi took out his wallet and counted out five banknotes with a face value of 100 Felkins:

"Just pay it back within this year."

Laurent breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and said:

"No problem."

After watching this speculator write an IOU and leave Room 207, Lu Mi took out the 5 heavy gold bars offered by Count Pu Yifu from his pocket and tossed them in his hand.

With this windfall, he had already saved gold worth 75,000 Felkins, along with 2,000 Felkins not yet converted into gold and the remaining 4,000 Felkins in activity funds.

"It won't take long to complete the contract for the 'Armor Shadow' and summon it again..." Lu Mi played with the gold bars for a while, left the briefcase containing the "Torture" gauntlets on the armchair, washed up, went to bed, and waited for the inevitable nightmare.

In a daze, Lu Mi saw Red Tianebao again, with its beige outer walls stained with aged blood.

In a dazed state, he walked in and arrived at the grand drawing room where the King Cake game was played.

Miss Ai Luodi, the painter Ma Lun, *Little Trier* editor-in-chief Kang Nai'er, and other guests who often attended Count Pu Yifu's banquets were all sitting in the sofa area, as if waiting for Lu Mi's arrival.

Laurent and the temporary female companions of several other guests were not here.

This made the scene look like another or a past salon.

Lu Mi approached the sofa area step by step, and Count Pu Yifu and the others stood up one after another, standing respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty the King." They greeted in unison.

Lu Mi scanned them coldly, almost instinctively:

"Hmm?"

Count Pu Yifu and the others were stunned for a second and said:

"Your Majesty the Emperor!"

Lu Mi nodded slightly, sat on a single sofa, and watched these guests sit around him.

They chatted aimlessly, the topics divergent and vague.

Suddenly, the novelist Anuo Li raised his right hand and scratched his face.

With a *rip* sound, he tore off a large piece of skin, revealing wriggling flesh and blackened capillaries.

Almost simultaneously, the painter Ma Lun and the others either picked up table knives and stabbed their own hearts, or bit the necks of their companions beside them.

In an instant, the entire drawing room became exceptionally bloody, with terrifying scenes everywhere.

Lu Mi's thoughts jolted, and what he saw before his eyes changed immediately.

He was in another hall of the castle, surrounded by countless lit white candles, guarding a coffin.

That coffin was made of bronze, its surface already covered in rust, and it was unknown how many years it had been placed here.

Sadness and helplessness, as if losing a loved one or a pillar of support, rose in Lu Mi's heart. He slowly extended his right hand, trying to stroke the rusty bronze coffin.

Just then, the lid of the coffin opened to the side with a *creak*, revealing a deep gap.

A palm with deep red, almost black capillaries protruding fiercely reached out, holding a heart that was withered to the extreme but overflowing with a little blood.

That heart was still contracting and expanding lightly, almost imperceptibly.

After seeing this withered heart, Lu Mi's thoughts became chaotic rapidly, stained with a certain madness.

His right palm felt slightly hot, and he woke up from the dream suddenly.

He wasn't surprised or panicked about the nightmare at all. While calming his instinctively accelerating heartbeat, he recalled the various details in the nightmare.

Gradually, Lu Mi furrowed his brows.

In the first scene, the vast majority of King Cake game participants eventually went mad; they either self-harmed or harmed others, but there were three exceptions who were still normal people until the scene changed.

One was Lu Mi himself, one was Count Pu Yifu.

And there was one Lu Mi hadn't expected:

That Miss Ai Luodi!

She wasn't as reserved and obedient as she appeared, and she also had her own secrets... Lu Mi smiled silently.

As for what the bronze coffin, the dead body, and the withered heart in the second scene represented, he couldn't interpret them at all, only guessing that this might be related to the secrets of the Sauron family.

Like last time, Lu Mi had several nightmares again that night, but the clarity and completeness of the dreams gradually decreased.

By the time dawn was approaching, the nightmares were completely gone.

After getting up, while his memory was still clear, Lu Mi hurriedly wrote these situations into a letter and sent it to Lady "Magician."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 375 =====