I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

Chapter 128 Horrifying Losses (4k)

Xia Lin was startled.

He recalled some vague omens about his career path and opened his mouth to ask again, but the woman shook her head, interrupting him: "That's all I can see. The Eye of Fate cannot see deeper. You should go."

After saying that, she lowered her eyes and said nothing more.

Damn it, riddle tellers are so annoying.

He turned and walked out of the prophecy room.

Equipment depot.

Alice led him through two corridors to a spacious hall.

The walls of the hall were covered with all sorts of standard equipment: swords, shields, armor, and bows and crossbows—each piece bearing the emblem of the Silver Flame Church.

"Armor or weapon?"

Xia Lin thought for a moment, then remembered that the only part of her body that lacked protection was her head: "A helmet. I'm fully protected now, except for my head."

Alice glanced at him, then simply nodded and gestured to a staff member next to her who was distributing equipment.

Half an hour later.

Xia Lin walked out of the armory, holding a black helmet in his hand.

The helmet is semi-covering, protecting the top of the head, forehead, and back of the head, while extending to the ears on both sides to expose the face.

The material is specially treated stainless steel with a matte black paint finish that does not reflect light, ensuring that your position will not be revealed in battle.

Most notably, at the top is a small, silver arrow emblem, symbolizing the Silver Flame Church.

Xia Lin put on the helmet and tested its weight.

It's lighter than I expected.

He concentrated and activated his recognition technique, and several lines of text appeared in his field of vision:

[Hidden Needle Helmet (Green)]

Effects: Physical defense +2, vision impairment -1 (slight), concealment +1 (matte coating).

Special mechanism: Activating the hidden mechanism inside the helmet will cause the silver arrow on top to pop out three inches instantly, which can be used as a surprise attack at close range.

Description: One of the standard equipment of the Silverflame Church, it combines protection and concealment, making it suitable for investigators who need to operate discreetly.

Comment: "Never underestimate a person wearing a helmet; you never know what's hidden on their head."

"7

Xia Lin took off his helmet. At least—this trip wasn't a waste.

Xia Lin was in a good mood as he left the equipment depot.

With the helmet in hand, even though the prophecy was still a bit of a mystery, at least I wasn't missing any limbs.

He weighed the new helmet in his hand and suddenly remembered something.

"By the way," he said, looking at Alice walking ahead, "I have a question."

Alice continued walking: "Speak."

"That—space ornaments." Xia Lin caught up with her. "I saw that Garu and Kyle both have those rings that can store things. Our research team members should have this kind of perk too, right? Where do we get them?"

Alice stopped and turned to look at him.

The expression on his face—how should I put it—was like he was looking at an innocent and adorable newcomer.

"Space decorations?" she repeated, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Of course. But one," she drawled.

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat; this matter didn't seem as simple as she had imagined.

"That's a perk after you become a full-fledged employee," Alice said slowly. "You're just a temporary investigator right now, understand? Temporary. You need to prove you have the ability to complete tasks independently first. Only after you complete your first assessment task can you enjoy the subsequent perks."

Xia Lin frowned slightly: "An assessment task?"

"Yes." Alice nodded. "And I must remind you, even if you pass the test, those spatial decorations won't be free."

Most of them are secondhand items left behind by the previous church members, or dirty items confiscated during missions.

Although it's secondhand, it works perfectly. However, you'll need to pay a fee to exchange it.

She paused, then added, "The price depends on the condition. Cheap ones are fifty or sixty gold coins, while expensive ones are one or two hundred. You know, magical items that involve spatial storage are never cheap."

Xia Lin fell silent.

There was also an assessment. And you had to pay for it yourself.

He silently considered it in his mind.

After that trip to the forest, I still have some savings left from selling materials and paying the guide fee, so it's not that I can't buy things.

I need to save up some more money before considering decorating my space.

However, from another perspective, the church's system is reasonable.

If new employees were given space decorations worth hundreds of gold coins, those adventurers who grab them and run away would have already plundered them all.

Even the wealthiest church cannot withstand such turmoil and will go bankrupt sooner or later.

"Alright," Xia Lin nodded. "Where do we get the assessment assignments?"

Alice turned and continued walking forward: "Come with me."

Mission Hall.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, Xia Lin saw a space that was much more deserted than she had imagined.

The room was small, with a few mission notice boards hanging on the four walls, sparsely covered with a few pieces of parchment.

In the very center was an L-shaped wooden counter, and behind the counter was no one.

Xia Lin paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Alice.

Alice was clearly used to this scene.

She walked straight to the counter, reached out her hand, and tapped the countertop a few times, neither too hard nor too softly.

"Knock knock knock".

No response.

Xia Lin peeked behind the counter and discovered a dilapidated rocking chair in the shadows behind it.

A person was lying in the rocking chair, or more precisely, an old man, curled up in the chair that was clearly smaller than him, emitting soft snores.

That old man was really too old.

His face was covered in wrinkles like a dried-up riverbed, his white beard hung down to his chest, and the hair on his head was sparse and almost bald.

He wore a grey church robe with the emblem of the Silver Flame Church embroidered on his chest.

Xia Lin even suspected that he would stop breathing the next second and go directly to see the god he believed in.

"Old John," Alice raised her voice and knocked on the counter a few more times, "wake up, there's a new guy."

The old man in the rocking chair stirred.

He let out a muffled murmur.

Then, those cloudy eyes slowly opened.

Old John's gaze lingered on Alice for a moment before turning to Charlin behind her.

"Oh—" Old John slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Alice. Another newcomer?"

He yawned and said in a nonchalant tone, "If I remember correctly, this is the third new person you've been responsible for training this month, right?"

Alice remained unfazed: "Yes."

Xia Lin stepped forward and stood in front of the counter.

"Old John," Alice pointed to the old man, then to Xia Lin, "This is Xia Lin, the new temporary investigator."

Old John is an elderly man who has worked at the church since his grandfather's generation. If you have any questions, you can ask him.

Old John grinned, revealing a set of teeth missing several times. "Of course you can ask me. But kid—" He tapped the counter with his withered fingers, "My services aren't free. If you want to know anything, you'll have to pay."

Xia Lin: "————"

That's way too direct!

"However," Old John changed the subject, smiling broadly, "since you're a newcomer, I can give you three free consultations. After that, you'll have to pay."

He paused, then sighed, "Honestly, Alice. You mentors have to teach new students from scratch every time, it's exhausting. If I could choose, I'd rather have some peace and quiet."

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat.

He astutely grasped the key words in Old John's words: "mentor" and "training new people".

Xia Lin turned to Alice, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

"Alice," he asked cautiously, "I'd like to ask—how difficult is this assessment task?"

Alice raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Xia Lin then looked at Old John and phrased it differently: "Mr. John, those two new recruits... I mean, the two mentored by Alice, did they pass the assessment?"

Upon hearing this, Old John revealed a meaningful smile.

He slowly raised his right hand and extended one index finger.

Xia Lin felt a pang of bitterness: "One? That's a 50% pass rate? That's way too low!"

"No, no, no." Old John shook his head, his smile becoming even more sinister. "What I mean is—none of them passed."

"Then they—"

Old John raised his index finger and pointed upwards.

ceiling.

More precisely, it's the area above the ceiling.

Xia Lin stared at the finger pointing to the sky, remained silent for three seconds, and then her smile froze on her face.

Old John: "Those two have gone to heaven!"

He nodded, withdrew his finger, leaned back in the rocking chair, and began to sway leisurely.

Xia Lin gasped.

Loss rate — 100%?

He suddenly sensed something was amiss and abruptly turned to Alice: "How many new recruits have you mentored in total?"

"How many philosophers passed the vote?"

Alice remained silent, but a hint of unease flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Old John let out a hoarse laugh from his rocking chair: "Hahaha—Little Well, let me tell you. Alice is a new mentor at the church, and her pass rate is always at the bottom. Bottom, huh? It means last place."

He drew a circle with his hand and mouth: "Zero. Up to now, a breakthrough of zero."

He added, "I hope you can step up your game this time and help her achieve that breakthrough from zero to one. Otherwise, with this result displayed here, it won't look good for you, right?"

Xia Lin looked at Alice in shock.

Those eyes were fixed on Old John, their gaze carrying a clear warning. But Old John was clearly not afraid of this guy, and continued to rock his rocking chair with a smile.

How many years has it been?

None of the new recruits she mentored passed Yizhe's test?

They're all dead?

Suddenly, Xia Lin's mind was filled with the miserable days of working for his boss in the laboratory in his previous life.

Those senior students who worked day and night on experiments, wrote reports, were exploited, and ultimately had their graduation delayed —

Isn't this much worse than working illegally?

At least working illegally will allow you to survive.

He took a deep breath, turned to Alice, and said with a serious expression, "Alice, I'd like to request a change of mentor."

"Application rejected."

Xia Lin frowned: "Why? Isn't this church policy? Shouldn't newcomers have the right to choose their mentors?"

"Yes," Alice nodded, "but you were appointed under special circumstances. According to the decision of the higher-ups, your mentor was assigned by me and cannot be changed. This is a special control measure taken to prevent the information from leaking out."

She paused, then a slight smile played on her lips: "So, accept your fate."

Xia Lin fell silent.

He looked at old John.

Old John shrugged, looking like he had no other choice.

Old John looked at Charlin's slightly serious face and suddenly smiled.

"Little Don, don't be afraid." He waved his withered hand and said slowly, "Generally, the church won't send newcomers like you who are just starting out to deal with those deadly evil things."

Don't worry, they're just simple investigation tasks. Be careful, and there shouldn't be any major problems.

He paused, then added, "Seriously, if you go straight to dealing with demons or undead, that's really sending you to your death."

The church may be stingy, but it's not that inhumane, is it?

After hearing this, Xia Lin felt a little more at ease.

Simple investigation task —

There shouldn't be any deaths, right?

He looked at old John and forced a smile: "Thank you for your guidance."

Old John waved his hand, retreated back into his shabby rocking chair, closed his eyes, and soon began to snore softly again.

One hour later.

Xia Lin walked out of the mission hall with a sheepskin scroll in his hand.

He stood in the corridor, unrolled the scroll, and carefully read its contents.

The handwriting on the parchment is neat and clear, clearly a copy made by a specialist:

[Mission: Investigate the strange noises coming from the jazz house]

Type: Investigation Location: West End of Oak Avenue, Upper Town, Sir Wesley's Residence Note: The client is Sir Wesley's butler.

According to reports, strange noises, similar to the roar of some kind of wild animal, have been frequently heard coming from the back garden in the middle of the night for the past week.

The butler claimed to have witnessed a dark figure flash by. Even more strangely, a man disappeared from the garden that very night, neither alive nor dead.

The knights took this matter very seriously, but did not want to make it public, so they commissioned the church to send people to investigate the cause secretly.

Requirements: Upon completion of the investigation, submit a detailed report. The report must include the time, location, description of the phenomenon, possible cause analysis, and any supporting details.

The quality of the report directly impacts the success of the mission; remember this.

Xia Linya read the parchment twice from beginning to end, silently noting down the key information.

Sir Wesley House, West End of Upper Town, at the end of Oak Avenue.

Strange noises in the middle of the night, more than when he disappeared.

Investigation, not combat.

He put away the scroll, feeling a little more confident.

Investigative missions—are missions that involve direct combat safer?

At least we don't have to confront them head-on.

As he was thinking, he suddenly realized Yi Zhe's very practical question: he had been busy all day, where would he stay tonight?

Xia Lin found Alice waiting for him at the end of the corridor.

"Alice," he said, walking over, "does the church have—free accommodations?"

Alice raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

Then she laughed.

"Free accommodation?" she repeated, her tone clearly mocking. "What do you take the church for? A daycare? An orphanage?"

"To be honest," Alice straightened up, "even I had to find my own place to live outside the church. The church only provides a workplace, not food and lodging. Free accommodation? Dream on."

Xia Lin was silent for a moment, thinking to herself that this church was really stingy.