nownovels Chapter 45 Target
Chapter 45 Target
Evan was still dressed in formal attire, which was naturally inappropriate for him to walk openly in the Backlund Bridge area, as it would be too conspicuous. Fortunately, he had worked hard all afternoon, sweating profusely, and had already endured the side effects of the sealed artifact in advance, so Evan could use "Golden Gaze" without any side effects throughout the day.
As the sun was about to set, people dragged their tired bodies home from the factory after a long day's work, leaving the streets a mess of people. But most of them didn't go home; instead, they went to various bars for a drink to relieve their fatigue or to find prostitutes to satisfy their desires.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, without being "seen" by others, Evan arrived at the safe house he had prepared in the Backlund Bridge district, changed into a set of work clothes, and headed to the Brave Ones bar a few blocks away.
When Evan arrived at the Brave Ones Bar, he found it to be incredibly crowded. Two unusually tall and burly men were guarding the entrance, watching the customers warily to prevent any trouble.
It was peak season for the bar, and even before entering, Evan could feel the heat, the strong aroma of malt liquor, and the chaotic noise.
As expected, Evan saw a boxing ring in the center of the bar, where two burly men were boxing. The people below the ring were either cheering or cursing, their emotions running high, clearly having placed bets.
On the other side, another group of people were cheering, but this time they were cheering for dogs. When the game ended, everyone quickly started cursing and throwing away their betting slips, clearly having lost.
However, some people were dissatisfied and emotionally accused the organizers of allowing the dogfighting to breed, which made the dog they bet on today obviously weak and listless. Naturally, no one paid attention to their complaints, and the burly men guarding the arena simply picked them up and threw them outside.
Evan had never seen "a dog catching a mouse" before, and he was quite interested in it. He had just used the pennies he had left over from yesterday's exchange to bet on a dog, and unexpectedly, he made a profit in the end.
Having received his winnings, Evan didn't wait for the next match. Instead, he squeezed through the crowd and headed towards the bar, swatting away several hands that reached out to him along the way.
Evan sat down in a chair, tapped the bar, and said to the bartender:
"Give me a South Wales beer."
The bartender looked up at Evan, his face lighting up with surprise. He clearly recognized Evan as the customer who had tipped him the day before. He quickly poured Evan a large glass of beer and then pointed to a row of private rooms on the side, saying:
"Kaspars Kanlinen is in billiard room number three."
Evan nodded, took a sip of the beer that tasted more like juice, then grabbed a handful of the pennies he had just won and gave them to the bartender before heading toward billiard room number three.
Evan knocked twice on the door, then pushed it open and entered. The people playing billiards inside stopped what they were doing and looked at Evan, this uninvited guest.
Upon seeing that it was Ivan, Kaspars Kanlinin said to the other two:
"You guys can go out now, you can play again next time."
The two burly men, as if used to it, put down their cue sticks and left the billiard room, closing the door behind them as they went.
Evan naturally walked to the pool table, picked up the cue stick, aimed at a ball, and made a shot.
Watching the billiard ball go into the pocket in a perfect four-ball motion, Kaspars Kanlinen mentally praised, "Great technique!" and then said to Evan:
"I can take you to a place where the people are very capable. As for whether you can join them, that depends on your performance, and that's not something I can control."
Evan nodded, scored another goal, put down his cue, then took out a 10-pound note from his pocket and handed it to Kaspersky Kanlinen, saying:
"Consider it a success that you've fulfilled your request, but let me warn you, if you try to lie to me, you'll be in big trouble."
Kaspars Kanlinen took the gold pound, then examined the watermark against the gaslight and said:
"Don't worry, I'm still a very trustworthy person and I wouldn't do anything to ruin my reputation."
As he spoke, he handed Evan an iron mask and explained:
"When you get there, wear a mask. Those people don't show their true faces, so you'd better do some disguise..."
As they were talking, Kasperas Kanlinen fell silent, because Evan, dressed in workers' clothes, seemed to have plenty of money, clearly having put on a good act.
Just as Kasperas Kanlinen was about to leave with Evan, Evan said to him again:
Do you accept collection requests on behalf of others?
"Take the job! Why not take it if you can make money?"
"Okay, if someone comes to you and gives you something, saying it's for the 'child,' you should accept it. For each time you accept it, I'll give you 1 sule as a reward."
Kaspars Kanlinen turned to look at Evan, scrutinized him from head to toe, and said:
"To be honest, I'm starting to suspect you might be a foreign spy. Won't the things you've received implicate me?"
Evan chuckled softly, shook his head, and said:
"It won't implicate you, so are you going to answer or not?"
"Go ahead and answer it, why won't you? Even if you are a spy, it's none of my business. I don't know anything about you. The Kingdom of Rune isn't mine, so I don't need to worry about it."
After saying that, Kasperas Kanlinen led Evan out of the bar through the back door of the kitchen, and after wandering around, he brought Evan to a dark, pitch-black house.
After gesturing for Evan to put on the mask, Kaspars Kanlinen knocked on the door at a certain frequency.
After waiting for seven or eight seconds, the small wooden board on the door was pulled open, revealing a pair of eyes scrutinizing Evan.
Evan remained calm and showed no impatience. Finally, the door opened, and a man also wearing an iron mask handed Evan a hooded robe and then said to Kaspars Kanlinin:
"Okay, you can leave now."
After Kasperas Kanlinen left, the masked man led Evan into the dark house.
The only light source in the entire room was the candle on the coffee table. Under the dim, yellowish light, the room appeared shadowy, and with a dozen or so people dressed in the same robes, one might mistake them for a mysterious and evil religious ceremony.
Evan's arrival briefly attracted the attention of the others, but once he found a seat and sat down, everyone looked away and continued their previous transactions.
"I'm looking to buy the potion recipe for Sequence 9 'The Audience'. I'm willing to offer £230."
Evan never expected that his first time attending a secret gathering of extraordinary individuals would lead to hearing a request to purchase a potion recipe, and such a specific request at that, which sparked a lot of thoughts in his mind.
After waiting for a while, no one responded to the purchase request, which obviously frustrated the buyer.
"You've already tried to buy it many times. If it really doesn't work out, try a different sequence. Like Emperor Roselle said, you don't have to hang yourself on one tree, do you? If you're willing, I can sell you a copy of the 'Sailor' potion recipe. Isn't that better than having an audience?"
Clearly, a seasoned attendee wanted to promote their formula.
The buyer shook his head in distress, politely declining the sales pitch.
Seeing that he hadn't sold his formula, the salesman wasn't disappointed and tried to sell it to others, but most of the attendees were already extraordinary individuals and obviously wouldn't buy a formula they didn't need.
At this moment, a woman completely covered by a long robe, with a box at her feet, spoke:
"This is an extraordinary weapon called the Shadow Blade. It can hide itself very well, does not reflect light, and can counter divination. It is difficult to defend against in battle, and at the same time, it can cause a continuous bleeding effect. If it does not receive effective treatment, the person stabbed by it will bleed to death."
"It can be used for two years, 500 pounds, or the 'Barbarian' potion recipe."
Upon hearing the description of the weapon, Evan was startled. It wasn't because he was particularly fond of the extraordinary weapon, but because the woman selling it was the most important reason he had attended this mystical gathering.
While reading the original work, Evan was deeply impressed by the "lawyer" who could continuously sell extraordinary weapons, which indicated that she had at least one "craftsman" behind her, and possibly even a Sequence 5 "astronomer" from the Common Knowledge pathway.
In the mysterious world, the various paths are not equal; some paths are deeply loved by everyone, while others are universally hated.
It is clear that 'Craftsman', 'Witch' and 'Pharmacist' are the former, while 'Hunter' and 'Criminal' are the latter.
The weapon was very effective, immediately igniting everyone's shopping enthusiasm. They bid against each other, and the final price was 650 pounds before a winner was decided.
Evan didn't bid at all. Everyone else was very interested in this extraordinary weapon. It was his first time attending this gathering, and he didn't want to become the center of attention or the object of everyone's hostility. Besides, he didn't need this weapon.
Later, some people raised their own needs and showed off the extraordinary materials they could sell, but most of them did not make a sale or find a buyer, which is the norm for gatherings.
After everyone else had spoken, Evan, who arrived last, also stated his needs:
"I'm looking to buy all the blood of the Black Abyss Demon Fish or the eggs of the Agate Peacock. I can offer 800 pounds for each item, or the 'Barbarian' recipe through the lawyer's route."
These words immediately drew the attention of everyone present. Everyone stared at Evan, and the woman who had previously sought the Barbarian recipe and had a craftsman behind her excitedly exclaimed:
"How about I buy the Barbarian recipe for 550 pounds?"
Evan chuckled and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I only accept barter, not gold pound transactions. In my opinion, gold pounds are the most useless thing in the Extraordinary World."
Upon hearing this, the entire gathering fell silent, even the woman who had been so confident remained quiet, finally saying:
"I will do everything I can to help you acquire these two materials, and please be sure not to sell the formula to anyone else."
The trading of potion recipes usually has certain restrictions, such as not being able to sell them again at the same gathering. If Evan sells the recipe at this gathering, she will likely lose another chance to obtain the "Barbarian" recipe, since the gathering organizer, the Old Man with the Eye of Wisdom, can "notarize" the transactions.
Evan, however, was clearly unwilling to be bound by this restriction and did not respond to the request, which made the woman even more anxious.