CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 256: ENCOUNTER WITH THE TACTICAL BUREAU, EXPERT IN IMAGINING SCENARIOS

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

London Thames River Bank, 85 Albert Street, Lambeth District, third-floor office of the National Land Inspection Committee.

"Thank you for your understanding," Mefala said, her perfect standard Mandarin indicating she was conversing with an official from the Mysterious Country. "So, the first batch of guards will arrive in Lianjiang City in three days for deployment. Please ensure you are prepared for the handover."

After the brief call ended, Mefala put down the landline receiver, sighed, and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples tiredly.

The phone rang again, but this time it was her cellphone. Glancing at the caller ID, she answered, "My dear Countess, what can I do for you?"

Euphy chuckled on the other end, feigning seriousness. "Hmm, please bring a cup of coffee to my room. I want it hand-ground by you."

"My dear Countess, I’ve been busy all month with your sister’s travel arrangements, dealing with those politicians and foreign intelligence departments... I feel like I’m aging prematurely. Maybe you should make me coffee instead?" Having become more familiar with Euphy, Mefala, who was only in her twenties, felt comfortable enough to drop her formal facade and chat with her casually.

"As a Count Ranpelrouge loyal to the royal family, how could I possibly make coffee for someone else?" Euphy declared righteously. "But you could come over and hug Karen to absorb some cute energy; not everyone gets this opportunity, you know."

"Yes, yes..." Mefala casually responded, then suddenly realized something. "Is the ceremony at Karen Hall over?"

"It’s over," Euphy replied. "She’s really enthusiastic about this trip."

Mefala suddenly stood up in the office. "Then the Second Secret Realm..."

"Has been found."

Found? Ren Suo was rather surprised to see this message on the intranet. He felt such sensitive information shouldn’t be made public. While the intranet was somewhat secure, they, as Researchers, were public servants with officially vetted, impeccable backgrounds. Why would there be a need to announce such news?

Upon closer examination, Ren Suo realized why the state chose to release it on the intranet.

This Second Secret Realm was surprisingly located 300 meters below sea level, in the public waters of the Pacific Ocean (9.79, -175.60), and it posed significant developmental challenges.

Britain had originally discovered it. Now, the Second Secret Realm was being developed jointly by multiple countries. Its peculiar location meant there was no value in keeping it secret. Furthermore, the convergence of various national warships in one area of the high seas couldn’t be hidden. Therefore, it was better to disclose the Secret Realm’s location openly, allowing Researchers to ponder if a pattern or secret connected the locations of the Seven Secret Realms.

However, Researchers were more curious about how Britain had found the Secret Realm beneath 300 meters of the ocean’s surface in international waters.

"Divination? Wish Fulfillment Magic?"

"It couldn’t be Clairvoyance."

"Could they have connected with the Lord of Billion Brilliance?"

"Could there be a Magician from World Tree among the British? Judging by their appearance, the Magicians look like ancient Celts."

The Researchers were abuzz with speculation. As Ren Suo read their wildly divergent ideas, he was amazed—some even suggested that Supernatural Forces like the ’Round Table,’ ’Creation Council,’ or ’Eden’ were backing Britain.

However, this was just a digression, as Ren Suo’s real purpose on the intranet that day was to gather information.

Three days after completing "Midnight Walker," Ren Suo spent his Points to search for ’Cards.’ Two days later, the intranet had unearthed exhaustive details of this assassin organization.

The Card Organization was indeed a historic assassin group, having appeared around the time of the First Industrial Revolution and enduring for over a century—a long existence for an assassin organization.

Initially, Cards was merely a tool of murder for British aristocratic capitalists. Gradually, their operations expanded throughout Europe. During the same period, several other assassin organizations competed with them. However, only Cards managed to survive the wars by also developing intelligence and mercenary services, thus remaining active into the new century.

Cards was on the verge of decline. Assassination had become increasingly difficult in the rapidly advancing technological era. Furthermore, they dared not accept contracts on significant figures, choosing their targets sparingly; otherwise, the wrath of powerful forces could eradicate them completely. Thus, they were reduced to acting as cleanup crews for influential people, handling their messy and dirty jobs.

However, with the resurgence of Spiritual Energy, not only did the Card Organization receive financial backing from consortiums, but many mercenary groups also emerged—undoubtedly transnational corporations developing their own combat forces.

But since Cards had never ventured into the Mysterious Country, the intranet lacked detailed intelligence on them. However, Ren Suo did notice something: the assassin in "Killer’s Blood Feast" was indeed sent by Cards.

This organization, appearing as an enemy in two games, is surely doomed.

Ren Suo glanced at his Research Points, feeling secretly delighted. His previous speculations about Magicians and the World Tree Organization had all been settled, and even his discussion thread, "Eat Shit to Save the Demonized Person," had been officially adopted.

Moreover, his theory from a discussion he initiated—guessing that male and female Magicians had different functions—was validated by a male Magician in the Seventh Secret Realm. Consequently, Ren Suo earned double Research Points, bringing him very close to becoming a Level 3 Researcher.

Compared to other scholars conducting research in various institutes, Ren Suo’s progress completely bypassed the significant barrier of educational background. His answers didn’t involve technical aspects but rather accurately guessed the operational patterns of Supernatural Forces. Consequently, the account ’Researcher Suo’ had subtly come to be known on the intranet as—the Master of Conjecture.

Master of Conjecture? So be it, Ren Suo thought. His Research Points were soaring, which meant his salary and monthly Spirit Stone stipend were also climbing.

However, this also meant that members of the Fairy Palace–Ren Naiser Special Case Group frequently sought his input. But when it came to technical aspects, Ren Suo truly had no clue, further cementing his reputation as the Master of Conjecture.

After completing his Cultivation, Ren Suo began his fifth day’s game strategy.

The city on the fourth day was Silla Seoul, a densely populated metropolis with over twenty million people. That night, Ren Suo managed to stretch a four-hour session into twelve, serving over two hundred clients. Afterward, he was so exhausted that he immediately fell asleep.

Except for the last few clients, the desires of the others were easy to discern. Therefore, Ren Suo, not wanting to waste Merit Points, decided to personally record their life stories and extract keywords to ponder carefully.

After some serious contemplation, Ren Suo realized that the pressures on Half-Demons around the world largely boiled down to a few common themes:

My boss is an idiot.

My friends are idiots.

My parents are idiots.

My partner is an idiot.

My children are idiots.

And I am an idiot too.

Once these truths are laid bare, all stress simply melts away.

As for the other Demons and Ghosts, Ren Suo would first assess if he was confident in dealing with them. If not, he would resort to ’poisoning the shit.’ Consequently, of the over two hundred clients on the fourth day, at least fifty were defeated this way.

The city for the fifth Midnight Walker was—Shenhai City.

Shenhai City, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, is known as the ’Eastern Paris.’ It was also the first free trade zone in the Mysterious Country and the core city of the Yangtze River Delta urban cluster. As one of the most important continental ports for incoming and outgoing cargo, Shenhai, along with Sky Capital, Lianjiang, and Abyss, is counted among the four ’super-first-tier cities’ in the Mysterious Country with the most expensive real estate.

The moon wasn’t bright on this fifth night. However, the location for this Midnight Walker session seemed to be a park very close to the city center. Not far off stood silent skyscrapers, and the neon lights from nearby roads provided some illumination for the female shop owner.

This time, the Midnight Walker location was not in dense woods but beside a dormant fountain. It directly faced a placid lake bay, its shimmering waves creating a rather comfortable atmosphere.

The female shop owner set up her food cart, sat down, and opened episode 31 of "Over My Dead Body," watching it while waiting for the first customer.

Usually, the first customer would arrive within five minutes, but this time it was even quicker—

Just one minute later, a girl wearing Black Body Armor sat in front of the food cart.

"Hello."

She looked at the female shop owner and said, "Dai Yuxing of the Shenhai Tactical Bureau, sending greetings to the Fairy Palace Food God."