If you were to ask Goethe what kind of person he hated most, the answer would definitely be those who played the ‘mysterious riddle game.’
Looking at Morey, who was clearly heavily injured but still trying to act all mysterious, Goethe rolled his eyes in frustration.
“Let the ‘riddle master’ go die!” he muttered under his breath.
Sitting with his arms crossed, Goethe coldly asked, “You think I’ll play along?”
“Heh, you really have no sense of humor.” Morey gave a light cough before weakly propping himself up, dragging his body to sit on the couch. He then continued, “I found the ‘Fog Killer’s’ lair in Lustre!”
“Not just that, I’ve destroyed the whole place, including his subordinates!”
“And the ‘Fog Killer’ himself? He’s injured, worse than me!”
Saying this, Morey smiled triumphantly.
“Now it makes sense!”
Goethe immediately grasped the ‘Fog Killer’s’ plan. It had been a clever ruse, acting injured or truly being injured, yet still ignoring Morey and heading straight back to his lair.
And in doing so, he used his lair in Lustre to delay Morey’s return, while having his subordinates land the fatal blow on him.
It had to be said the ‘Fog Killer’ was ruthless, cold-blooded, and willing to invest heavily.
Not only did he use his own lair and subordinates as bait, but even he himself had been willing to become part of the trap!
However, now it had all come to naught.
The lair was destroyed.
The subordinates were lost.
And the ‘Fog Killer’ himself was severely wounded.
Goethe felt like he could finally let out a breath of relief.
But he didn’t show any sign of relaxation in front of Morey. Instead, his tone was deep as he spoke.
“I was staying in room 802.”
“You were attacked?” Morey immediately realized what had happened.
“Yeah,” Goethe nodded. “Lucky for me, I managed to avoid it.”
Morey stared at Goethe for four or five seconds before responding.
“Sorry.”
Morey looked genuinely apologetic.
Goethe simply shrugged.
“No need to apologize. We’re just business partners.”
Seeing Goethe’s lighthearted response, Morey’s guilt grew. Just the day before, he had promised to do everything he could to ensure Goethe’s safety, yet when the ‘Fog Killer’ showed a weakness earlier, he had forgotten all about it.
If Goethe had died because of this, Morey would have carried that guilt for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen!
Morey felt a sense of relief in his heart.
Then the idea that had been brewing in his mind earlier, the one about wanting a deeper collaboration with Goethe, became even clearer.
No!
It wasn’t just ‘deeper.’
It was much more ‘intimate.’
“Of course it’s necessary.”
“I told you before, we’ll be collaborating even more closely in the future.”
“And now, you’ve shown you have that ability far beyond what I expected.”
“So…”
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“I want you to join us.”
Morey emphasized, then extended his invitation.
Looking at Morey’s sincere expression, Goethe wondered if he had overplayed his part, after all, they both knew what this was really about. It was a matter of helping Morey fill his manpower gap, while Goethe would achieve his goal of learning ‘Supernatural’ knowledge under even easier conditions than before.
Yet why did it feel like Morey was so easily ‘fooled’?
A strange feeling bubbled up in Goethe’s chest.
He began to recall the little details about Morey.
The first time they met, Morey seemed to have trouble interacting with strangers, almost like he had social anxiety.
The second time, Morey had dressed as a woman, looking downright creepy.
By the third meeting, however, he had become sincere, almost like an innocent, na?ve person.
“Could it be…”
“Multiple personalities?”
Goethe quietly wondered.
“Of course not!” Morey seemed to have read Goethe’s thoughts. He quickly denied it with a smile and said, “I’ve just been influenced…”
“The power of the Supernatural is far more complex, bizarre, and... dangerous than you imagine.”
“Danger?”
“Supernatural powers can affect the user?”
Goethe furrowed his brow.
“Mm.”
“Most of the time, it’s within a controllable range, but sometimes, it becomes uncontrollable.”
“For example: using Supernatural power that exceeds one’s endurance.”
Morey explained.
“Specifically?”
Goethe pressed for more details.
When it came to a important issue that might affect him, Goethe wouldn’t hold back.
“Gaining immense power for a short period or using certain tools!”
“The former is more complex, but the latter?”
“Just like me!”
“The first time we met, I used the ‘Identification Pocket Watch,’ which caused the negative effect of ‘social anxiety.’”
“And just now, when I drank the ‘Magic Potion,’ normally, I would only develop an interest in cross-dressing, but after being injured, my personality became more sensitive, fragile, and sentimental, like that of a woman.”
“Sorry, sorry!”
“I didn’t want to break my promise to protect you, but when faced with an opportunity to kill the ‘Fog Killer,’ I…”
“I’m so sorry… I…”
Morey’s words began to falter as he covered his face and started crying uncontrollably.
What was worse, the effect of the magic potion began to wear off.
Morey returned to his original form.
A middle-aged man with graying hair, dressed in women’s clothing, sat on the couch, covering his face and crying…
Goethe felt a sudden pang in his chest.
This situation was even more difficult to handle than the previous attacker.
He furrowed his brow and sighed lightly.
“It’s not your fault.”
“You’re already planning to compensate me, aren’t you?”
“Right!”
“I’ll compensate you now!”
Morey said, lifting his head. His makeup was smeared from crying, and his face… became even harder for Goethe to look at.
Fortunately, the negative effects seemed to be fading.
Morey regained control over his emotions.
He straightened up, looked at Goethe seriously, and made the invitation again—
“As compensation, Goethe, I will be your sponsor and invite you to join our organization.”
“Of course, not as a full member.”
“For the next 3-6 months, you will act as an external member, and only after completing your ‘probationary period’ will you go to headquarters for testing and become a full member.”
“Of course, if you have ‘talent,’ everything will be simpler.”
“Talent?”
Goethe asked, focusing on the key point.
“Yes!”
“Those with talent will undergo a free ‘baptism’ at the headquarters and receive true ‘supernatural power.’ Those without talent, or with insufficient talent, will undergo a series of training sessions before being given another chance. If they fail the second time, they will have to accumulate achievements to exchange for a second ‘baptism’ opportunity.”
“Only if both attempts fail will they be assigned to action teams, support, or logistics departments.”
Morey answered confidently.
However, compared to earlier, Morey had started to recover, and his speech became more vague.
Goethe didn’t mind.
This was only natural.
Just like there’s no reward without effort.
If he didn’t join this organization, there was no way to learn the secrets.
So, when faced with Morey’s third invitation—
“Well then, Goethe, would you be willing to join us?”
“Yes.”
Goethe answered quickly and confidently.
Morey’s place was the only one where he could currently access and learn Supernatural power. Other places might exist, but who could guarantee that they’d be better than Morey’s?
At least here, representing official Supernatural power, Goethe saw ‘order.’
Moreover, he hadn’t forgotten what Morey had said about being ‘erased from memory’ according to normal procedures, along with the undesirable consequences that came with it.
A threat?
Maybe.
But what Goethe saw more was: opportunity!
Upon hearing Goethe’s affirmative answer, Morey smiled.
The official Supernatural power agent from Lustre struggled to stand up from the couch. His face became serious, and his tone formal—
“We listen to secrets, we keep secrets, we accept secrets!”
“Welcome, Secret Keeper!”
