Chapter 168

After the pistol, Mr. Johnson continued to hand Xia De new things:

"Gun license and bullets; your monthly bullet quota is 50 rounds. When you use them up, come back to collect more next month, but to collect new bullets, you must specify the use of the old ones. Those damn guys in the black market selling guns caused a lot of trouble a while ago... Keep your gun license safe; if you lose it, go directly to Ridewich Yard to replace it; it has already been filed for you."

Xia De took the box of heavy bullets with the strong smell of oil with one hand, which made Mr. Johnson raise an eyebrow.

He continued to take things out of the cardboard box, this time a sheet of paper:

"Your recruitment consent form; you can sign any name you want, it's mainly for the convenience of checking accounts. The establishment of Military Intelligence Section 6 belongs to the Royal Army, so you have to sign this."

So Xia De signed "Sherlock Holmes"; it seemed every organization he came into contact with was troubled by bookkeeping.

Mr. Johnson reached out to take something for the last time, this time still a document:

"A statement agreeing to have taxes withheld; this way, before Section 6 pays your salary, they can directly help you pay your taxes."

Xia De looked hesitantly at this sturdy middle-aged man, feeling surprised for the first time since arriving here:

"May I ask... does Military Intelligence Section 6 also have to pay taxes?"

Mr. Johnson sneered:

"Needless to say, reimbursements don't need to be taxed, but how could basic salary not be taxed? Only death and taxes are inevitable... Sign the same name as the one above, don't misspell it. Last time, a guy made up a very complicated name, and as a result, when he came to sign his name again the second time, he actually forgot what he had written."

He shoved a fountain pen to Xia De, and Xia De read it carefully before daring to sign; the dark blue ink was very conspicuous on the printed material. The Outsider now realized the characteristics of this steam era; "Only death and taxes are inevitable" turned out not to be a saying unique to the people of his hometown.

"Salary is settled once a month; come here at the beginning of every month to collect it, and come directly to me. The 20-pound monthly reimbursement requires vouchers; any voucher is fine, but the types cannot be singular. Oh, I also have to warn you, although for the sake of work, an agent's expenses may be in various places, even if you can get receipts from Luo De card casinos and brothels, we won't accept them, not of any amount."

Mr. Johnson said repeatedly; judging from his expression, he had probably experienced such things.

"Do you accept donation vouchers from the church?"

Xia De raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we accept them; these are even better, making it easy to do the accounts, but they must be real vouchers."

"No problem."

He nodded; it was simple to help get some donation vouchers in the capacity of Priest Ao Gu Si. If that didn't work, going to find Miss Annette to get some receipts from the Divination Association would not be difficult either.

He was gradually learning this routine as well.

"Although I don't know the reason you were recruited, remember to write a report when you collect your salary every month. There is one more thing; you probably have tasks arranged separately by the director, but you should also pay attention to other things in the city."

Mr. Johnson coughed, his tone very serious when talking about business, and his expression and eyes became earnest:

"Not long ago, a military Delake Type II integrated steam bomb exploded by the Terrarel River; if there is any news about this, remember to report it. Not only the City Hall and the military, but even the Zhengshen Sect is investigating this matter."

Xia De certainly knew about this, and was even very familiar with the lady who fought the fish-man and detonated the bomb to shatter it:

"Is it goods that flowed out of the black market?"

He tried to ask.

"Of course that's impossible; this kind of steam bomb has not yet been mass-produced on a large scale and is only used in a small range within the Royal Guard."

Mr. Johnson scratched his hair:

"The higher-ups suspect there is a mole in the Royal Guard, who knows?"

Xia De did not respond; at the time, Miss Feilian said it was bought from the black market. Now that he thought about it, it was highly likely that she had obtained it from that Princess Lei Qianya Cavendish for self-defense.

"The Zhengshen Sect also has a bounty for this matter, and it is very high. The bounty was suddenly added late Saturday night, and I don't know what happened..."

Mr. Johnson muttered. Xia De thought about the time; that was probably after he had deployed his Mystery Domain to resist the gaze of the Evil God. In other words, the Zhengshen Sect had indeed linked the fish-man on Friday and the Mystery Domain on Saturday together.

But fortunately, the Evil God's gaze affected divination, and coupled with his habit of carrying the 【Twenty-Sided Dice of Fate】 when out and about, as long as he did not actively expose himself, no one could find him.

"I understand; is there anything else that needs attention?"

Xia De wanted to skip this topic.

"Things worth noting... and this, the bounty amount is very high."

Mr. Johnson pointed to the newspaper pressed under the empty box; it was the Tuobaisike Morning News, and most of the layout reported the aftermath of the child disappearance cases in the city:

"This matter has already attracted the attention of the higher-ups; the City Hall and Military Intelligence Section 6 have both offered very high bounty amounts."

"Because the number of missing children is too high?"

Mr. Johnson glanced at Xia De:

"Of course not, it's because a Viscount lost a child... Let's not talk about this; just remember to pay attention to it. Finally, there is a very critical matter. The day after tomorrow, which is around noon on Wednesday, Wang Hou Diana is going to Tuobaisike Station to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We received news not long ago that the Gray Gloves are going to launch an operation against members of the royal family..."

Captain Lades had vaguely mentioned this point; even the citizens had heard of this matter, and Military Intelligence Section 6 would certainly know about it too.

"... But later it was discovered that it was another organization acting in the name of the Gray Gloves... We have some intelligence personnel, you know, probably double agents or something, who confirmed the situation; the Gray Gloves also don't want to trigger a war between the two countries because of this."

He looked at Xia De, and seeing that Xia De had an understanding expression, he continued:

"Mr. Anluosi suspects that the mysterious organization intends to take action against Wang Hou Diana, so you can pay attention to news in this regard."

This matter had nothing to do with Xia De; he was just a salary thief who took a salary but didn't work, and had no intention of getting involved in political events.

Mr. Johnson was still talking, and he joked:

"Of course, there is no definite news yet, and it may not necessarily be a conspiracy plotted against the Wang Hou. But if something really happens on Wednesday... our dear Director Anluosi will probably be sent to work at the 'National Cemetery Management Association'; I heard that is a leisurely job."

"In my hometown, this kind of exile is usually called 'guarding the royal mausoleum'."

While cooperating with Mr. Johnson to show a smile, Xia De also said to the woman in his heart, and then received a chuckled reply.

Just like that, Xia De, who had only dealt with the aftermath of a hidden foreign agent half a month ago, officially became a member of the Delarion Kingdom's intelligence organization, "Military Intelligence Section 6." Although he didn't work and only took a salary, this identity would certainly be of great help in the future.

The job came from Miss Miss Jia Lin Na, the Great Witch of the Witch Council. As Xia De held his umbrella and walked toward home, he was still curious about what exactly she saw in him.

"If it were just Luo De cards, it shouldn't be enough to treat me so well... Even if the other party really doesn't care about these things, these helps are a bit too much. Is it that I'm overthinking, or is there really another motive?"

He looked at the city rain scene of the steam era, thinking while walking forward.