Unable to repay my student loans, I had no choice but to work part-time as a demon hunter.

Chapter 116 A Grand Project

As darkness fell, Gordon returned to 9 Knightsway Road.

The gas had been reconnected to the first floor of the office, and the wall lights hissed, illuminating Vera, who had seven commissions laid out in front of her.

"Business is open? What are all these things?" Gordon observed.

"They're all from people we've been looking for. We're dealing with the Blackwater Hermitage soon, so I collected these reports." Vera observed carefully.

Gordon read slowly.

The reports were largely the same: the dockworker who went missing three days ago, the two children who never returned home, the boatman who went out on the river and never came back.

He realized that now someone would actually find No. 9 Knight Road and entrust the hope of finding his relatives to them.

Has the police opened a case?

"They were posted. Then there was no news. Some were said to have drowned, and others were written as having been eaten by demons. Only their families told me they wanted to find them, even their corpses." Vera stacked the seven commissions together and patted them on the counter.

"Um----"

"What ideas do you have?" Vera asked inquiringly.

"Tonight we'll organize these reports, and tomorrow we'll search in order of the locations where they disappeared. It would be best to find anything they left behind—clothes, shoes, even a piece of cloth. I can follow the clues to find traces."

"Okay." Vera looked at the seven requests, seven families who had lost loved ones. "Take the body home, whatever it may be."

"And this too." Gordon took out the potion "Low Profile Hunter".

"————!" Vera was immediately surprised when she saw the Source Essence Potion.

It was like a wisp of night, not reflecting light even under lamplight, which caught Vera's attention.

"Found it at the Earl of Montfort's house, at the Source Material Exchange. Different ranks of nobles have different quotas."

"What effect?"

"A potion that enhances stealth. Small in size. Its essence is the hunter of shadow, night, and inconspicuousness, suited to your domain."

"Give me?"

"I have no need to stealth."

"You're always sneaking around."

"I'll only touch you secretly."

"Waaah."

"In short, it will make you more agile and deadly, and as long as you can seize the initiative, many battles will be resolved."

"You've read 'The Hunter's Rules'."

"Yes. A good book."

Vera took a deep breath, examined the potion carefully, and then drank it down in one gulp.

The moment she drank the potion, she took a few steps back, sat on the sofa, pressed her forehead, and felt the new source energy enter her body, joining her soul and flesh.

"So sour—" Vera pursed her lips.

Suddenly, she felt something folding over her from all sides, trying to crush her and compress her body and bones to an extremely small size.

She had two feelings at the same time: she felt like she was being crushed by reality, but she was also surprised that she could fold herself up to be so small.

Smaller, more minute, almost non-existent, and undetectable.

Gordon had been watching Vera's changes closely. In the process, her features gradually faded from his perception. Even with Gordon's keen senses, he had to concentrate fully to notice her, otherwise he would feel as if Vera did not exist.

After about ten minutes, Vera withstood the weight of the small source material and did not experience any rejection reaction.

"Have some water." Gordon handed her a glass of water.

After she finished drinking her water, she got up from the sofa and walked past Gordon.

He could still sense her, but the vibrations had become very faint.

It's like dropping a needle into the ocean in the middle of the night. There will be some disturbance, but before the ripples can spread, the water will return to calm.

Vera was already quiet when she walked, but now she was almost in a state of perfect stealth.

With the addition of the eel bone amulet, she is likely to catch powerful enemies off guard when facing them.

"I can hardly see you anymore," Gordon said.

Vera now stood in the darkness, her charcoal-black new hunting outfit making her seem almost invisible—quiet, deadly.

A sense of lightness rose in his heart, and Vera blinked, then returned to take Gordon's hand, which was still warm.

"Thank you, Gordon."

Her tone was very serious.

Even though they already had a considerable amount of experience living together, sharing money, housing, and beds, she would still express her gratitude solemnly when receiving gifts.

She knew what Gordon had done for her and wouldn't take it for granted.

"You're welcome. Shall we go and rest?" Gordon looked up at the second floor.

"Wait a minute." Vera held the seven commission documents and studied them intently, referring to the map of Lundenim. "These are our first batch of commissions, and they're very important."

"Roger that, Miss Cartrett."

The gaslight illuminated Vera's profile, her expression one of intense concentration.

Vera never dared to hope to help others before; she was lucky if she could even take care of herself. But now that she has sorted out her life, she has finally vaguely rediscovered a bit of her original aspirations that she had almost forgotten.

Help those who need help.

On the other side, at No. 17 Bailu Street.

The residence of Lady Elizabeth the Generous was very unassuming, with only a dark green gate that did not look imposing. Behind the gate was a three-story terraced house with a simple appearance.

However, whether it was the driver or the passerby, everyone would slow down as they passed by, and no one dared to stop and look.

At this moment, Lady Elizabeth the Generous received three strategies for governing the Blackwater Hermitage from Gordon and the Earl of Montfort.

She read the letters.

The handwriting is clear and easy to understand, the content is simple, and there is also a kind of burgeoning ambition between the lines.

This ambition is quite unique.

It wasn't the kind of thing where they wanted a promotion, land, or a title.

Instead, a young man boldly declared that he wanted to drive change in the world.

As she read one of the passages, Elizabeth tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

"Distinguishing between the Empire's enemies and its friends is the primary approach to resolving the cult issue. The leaders and ringleaders must be resolutely punished. Those in the middle and those wavering need to be actively courted—and those less involved should be given leniency—" Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "What do you think?"

Sitting opposite her was a tall man, the diligent Secretary Leonard.

He was always on the move, pushing forward with work and making inspections, dedicated to advancing Logris's state apparatus and making the complex...

The bureaucratic, administrative, and military systems concentrated their efforts to achieve the established goals.

"Whose advice was this? Or has the River Conservancy Commission finally come to its senses?" Qin Mianqing looked up.

"If civil servants had even a tenth of the insight in this letter, we would have far fewer problems. This was written by Gordon Vick."

"I've heard of this name."

"A student sponsored by the Elizabethan Charitable Foundation, a friend of the Montfort family, the initiator of the Blackwater Syndrome, a trainee investigator, and if my information is correct, he is also highly skilled in Source Matter and co-founded a demon-hunting agency. What an energetic man. He's only 20 years old."

"That sounds good. Young people should keep busy with work and studies, so they are less likely to get into trouble." Qin Mianqing nodded.

Elizabeth handed him the letter, and the diligent man read it down.

Gordon didn't say anything profound; he simply used simple logic to analyze the Blackwater Hermitage's problems.

The Blackwater Hermitage's main members are the poor inhabitants of the riverbank. They provide them with shelter and food, establish a sense of belonging and ritual for them, distinguish between insiders and outsiders through Blackwater baptism, and ultimately package survival and personal dependence into a faith.

Why couldn't the empire completely eradicate them?

Because they are like river water; scooping away a basin of water won't reduce the amount.

As long as structural unemployment persists, food shortages continue, and affordable housing remains scarce, another wave of people will jump into the river and be taken away by the fisherman's henchmen.

"He suggested that I push for a grand public works project." The diligent minister nodded. "More work, more construction, to make Lundnium a city the world longs for. Yes, that's how it should be."

"It's not just about large-scale construction; he wants you to hire ordinary people who would otherwise become 'wet feet.' Recruit unemployed dockworkers, salvage workers, boatmen, and day laborers. Replace the Blackwater Hermitage with wages, makeshift shelters, and worker organizations."

"It sounds more useful than the relief described by philanthropists."

"Yes, Gordon argues that relief money can only feed a person for a day, while a job can provide for a person for months or even years. That's exactly what I like about it. As long as we're heading in the right direction, every pound we invest doesn't necessarily have to serve the purpose of just one pound."

Indeed. They all began to think about it. One person's consumption is another person's income, and one person's employment brings stability to a family. This principle is very straightforward, but not many people in this era can understand it clearly, and Gordon has put this idea on the table of the few discerning people in the empire.

When the diligent minister read to the end, Gordon did not ask for a position or funding, but humbly stated that he had only made a small contribution to the cause of the empire.

"He didn't ask for anything. He has other things on his mind now."

"He's no ordinary person," Elizabeth said slowly. "No wonder I chose to invest in him."

She gave Gordon an education, and now Gordon is returning knowledge and governance strategies to the Empire—the very kind of positive cycle she had longed for.

"Yes, this person is also very insightful. In this way, the management of the Blackwater River will actually become the next economic growth point." Qinmianqing looked up, pondering how to recruit this person to the empire's service.

"The Earl of Montfort's seal is also there."

"That old fox—he plans to make his daughter a star at the summer festival."

The images of three women quickly came to mind.

Charlotte Monford is the only daughter of the Monford family and has the right to inherit approximately 10 gold pounds. She is studying at the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Luanna Ravenhurst. From the Ravenhurst family, one of the most prominent banking families in Lundnim.

Her wealth flowed not only within the Logris Empire but also through investments and operations across the entire continent of Probia. Her surname represented a purely ancient accumulation of wealth and a secret network that spanned the continent.

There's also Vidori Cavendish. From one of the nine ducal families of the Logris Empire, she also has the potential to become a leader among the young nobles.

In comparison, although Charlotte was of noble birth, she was no match for the other two.

Only the Earl of Montfort's selfless dedication and strategic planning over the past two months brought about this summer ceremony.

On the one hand, it can avoid the risks that may arise during the lengthy process of transporting, delivering, refining, and incorporating the source material. On the other hand, it also allows the Monford family, which had fallen behind, to return to the upper echelons' attention. "—Will you go? Leonard. The person who refines the potions for the three of them must be an experienced alchemist." Elizabeth looked at the Diligent Minister.

"No, I need to inspect a royal warship that is about to be launched." The Diligent Minister nodded. "But you should go, at least to control the situation. The alchemists of the Hermes School are eager for fame, the Wild Hunt may launch an attack, and the Primal Knowledge Council may also have people infiltrated. With you there, the ceremony will not turn into a source war."

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