Chapter 641: Bribery

Gazing at the open door of the mechanical elevator, and at the tall, thin black shadow cast beside him, Lumian raised an eyebrow and turned his head slightly.

He realized a person had appeared behind his diagonal side, somehow, without him noticing.

The man was male, tall and slender, wearing a very intricate black robe with overlapping layers, his face pale as if he had never seen sunlight, his black hair crowned by a fluffy black hat with a single white feather, gently swaying at its edge.

Lumian withdrew his gaze and stepped into the mechanical elevator; the tall man with deep brown eyes followed in complete silence.

Lumian extended his right palm, gripped the brass handle inside, and pressed it down to the number indicating the third basement level, hearing a click.

Once Lumian had selected his floor, the tall man with the white-feathered hat made the same motion, pulling the brass handle to the eighteenth basement level.

After a brief wait, the sound of steam hissing came from afar, gears began turning, chains tightened rapidly, and the luxurious interior of the mechanical elevator slowly descended.

Neither of the two men inside spoke; an unusual silence filled the cabin.

Soon, the elevator stopped at the third basement level. Lumian stepped out leisurely and walked toward Suite 7 without looking back.

Only when the sound of metal chains pulling away grew distant behind him did he murmur silently to himself:

"Mr. Iverista?"

Iverista, who lived on the eighteenth basement level, whose servants were all the dead.

The way Iverista appeared and the state of his servants made Lumian suspect he was a "Soul of Resentment," Sequence 5 of the "Prisoner" Path.

The "Prisoner" Path is controlled by the "Rose Sect," and whether "Temperance" or "Indulgence," both factions are inseparable from this secret organization; there should be few "Soul of Resentment" outside the "Rose Sect."

A rare wild "Soul of Resentment," or perhaps the vanguard of the "Rose Sect" targeting Port Pales? Hmm, the possibility of a "Temperance" member cannot be ruled out—at least during this brief minute or two, I saw no traces of long-term indulgence in Iverista… Lumian decided to record his observations in his letter to the "Magician" lady.

Whether good or bad, let the professionals decide!

Back in Suite 7, Lumian saw Ludwig sitting at the dining table, using a silver spoon to scoop food from a ceramic soup pot.

The dish was topped with a layer of cheese mixed with egg, some parts lightly charred; through the large hole Ludwig had dug, Lumian saw pork, beef, fish, shrimp, shellfish, potatoes, and tomatoes stewed together, their rich spices mingling with the meat's aroma, filling the entire living-dining room with an irresistible, saliva-inducing magic.

Ludwig ate quietly; Lu Jianuo stood up and asked eagerly:

"Would you like some? This is 'Isao,' a local specialty—different chefs use different ingredients, so the flavor varies."

Ludwig turned his head slightly, glanced at Lu Jianuo, said nothing, and continued eating, only speeding up.

Lumian sat beside Ludwig and smiled at the boy, whose mouth was smeared with cheese and juice:

"I originally planned to bring you a better midnight snack, but then I changed my mind."

"What kind of midnight snack?" Lu Jianuo asked, eager and curious.

"You wouldn't want to know," Lumian smiled like a demon.

The midnight snack he referred to was the corpse of the "Serial Killer" Bram.

He had initially considered bringing back a few pieces for Ludwig to eat, to see what "nutrition" the boy would absorb and what intelligence he might reveal—but after considering he had already questioned Bram and performed "Spirit Communication," and given Bram's position and the anomalies of the Andrelade family, he likely knew little, so Lumian cautiously abandoned the idea of feeding Ludwig.

—From his observations, Ludwig regained some strength after eating enough, lessening the severity of his sealing; if given the corpse of a Sequence 7 adept, he might undergo a qualitative transformation, and Lumian feared his own strength might be insufficient to handle the possible consequences—being cooked and eaten by Ludwig.

Ludwig's silver spoon paused for two seconds.

"If you didn't bring it, why mention it?"

Oh, annoyed already? Lumian chuckled inwardly:

"I'm telling you we've arrived in the adventurers' paradise, a land of chaos—you'll have many chances to eat good things from now on."

He was hinting to Ludwig—behave well, and I won't forget to find you "delicacies"!

Ludwig shoved a soft, stewed potato into his mouth and mumbled:

"I don't want to go to school."

Meaning, as long as he didn't go to school, everything else was up for negotiation? Of course, provided there was sufficient food payment… Lumian stood up satisfied and returned to the bathroom attached to the master bedroom, turned on the faucet, and began washing up.

Splashing, warm water flowed from the brass faucet at a comfortable temperature.

Lumian soaked his towel, wrung it out, and pressed the steaming cloth to his face, feeling utterly refreshed.

—The Aurela Hotel used steam engines to power the mechanical elevators and other machines, requiring constant boiler operation and water heating, so 24/7 hot water was one of its selling points.

…………

The next morning, Lumian, wearing a golden straw hat, appeared on Cania Street beside the Resurrection Square in Port Pales.

This had once been the colonial administrative center of Intis in the Matani Federation; everywhere were road signs and shop names marked in Intis script. Lumian easily followed the rows of Intis plane trees to a four-story, cream-colored building with lavish Intis-style architecture.

The sign on the building displayed the name in Dutan, Intis, Highland, Rune, and Fursak languages:

"Port Pales Patrol Unit"

Beneath the sign were five lines of identical instructions:

"Handles only supernatural incidents."

They've thoroughly considered the needs of adventurers from different nations filing reports… Lumian joked to himself and entered the cream-colored building.

The lobby was nearly empty; only a receptionist sat idly on a chair, flipping through today's local newspaper.

He was a thirty-something native with dark brown skin and jet-black hair, a lean face and deep brown eyes.

"I'm here to file a report," Lumian said in Intis.

The native looked up, rose slowly, pushed aside a partition, and shouted something into the back.

Lumian barely understood him speaking in Dutan:

"Send someone who knows Intis or Highland…"

You're doing it wrong—if you don't know foreign languages, don't waste time reading newspapers, study properly… Lumian mentally scolded the receptionist, maintaining a gentle smile as he waited patiently for another patrol member to appear.

Within a minute or two, a young man with messy brown hair, as if he'd gone to bed with wet hair, pushed open a door from the depths of the lobby.

He wore a white shirt and an unbuttoned yellow vest, one hand in his pocket, approaching Lumian and speaking fluent Intis:

"What are you reporting?"

Lumian studied the young man—for clearly from the Northern Continent, a cigarette tucked between his fingers, eyes brown-yellow—for a few seconds, then replied with a restrained smile:

"I've discovered a murderer."

The young man, with sharp features and decent looks, laughed and pointed to the door:

"Murderers go to the police across the street."

Directly opposite the Patrol Unit was the Port Pales Police Headquarters.

Lumian kept his restrained smile:

"It's a serial murderer."

"Serial murderer…" The young man, cigarette in hand, muttered silently, his expression suddenly turning serious:

"How do you know?"

"I found many severed lips—human lips—in his house," Lumian replied with the same restrained smile.

"Severed lips?" The young man, still unbuttoned, asked urgently and seriously, "Where's his house?"

Lumian thought back:

"I can't spell the street name, but I can take you to the scene—I'll find it, somewhere near the 'Carnivorous Flower' bar."

The young man forced himself to calm down, took a drag from his cigarette:

"What about the murderer? Did you see what he looked like?"

"He's dead," Lumian answered honestly.

The young man froze for two seconds:

"How did he die?"

Lumian's lips slowly curled into a smile, no longer restrained:

"I killed him."

The young man's expression froze instantly.

He stared at Lumian, then after several seconds said:

"You're an adventurer, here to claim the bounty?"

Bram's serial killings all occurred locally, so there was a wanted notice signed by General Quilariel—but it contained no name or description, only case details, since no suspect had been identified.

Lumian smiled:

"Sort of—but you can claim it instead."

The young man frowned:

"What do you mean?"

"The bounty is yours," Lumian said without hiding his intent to bribe.

The young man studied Lumian for a moment:

"What do you want?"

"I want the case files and collected evidence from the serial murders four years ago," Lumian answered frankly.

There might be something in there Ludwig can eat.

The young man fell silent, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Finally, he scratched his brown hair:

"You can read the case files and examine the evidence, but you can't take anything—only copy it.

"Also, I need to verify the scene first—confirm it's the same serial killer."

"Fine," Lumian extended his right hand and smiled. "Good cooperation."

The young man reached out and shook his hand:

"Good cooperation. You can call me Caume. What's your name?"

Lumian smiled again:

"Louis Berry."

Louis Berry… that name sounds familiar… Caume, while trying to recall, walked into the door at the back of the lobby, preparing to find two teammates to accompany him.

(End of Chapter)