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

Eve observed it carefully and felt that it might indeed be useful for cultivation.

"This source material will definitely come in handy, but I'm not sure whether to use it as fertilizer, a watering can, or bury it in the soil to give it encouragement," Gordon observed. "It's best to test it first."

"I'll give it a try, a small-scale experiment." Eve sat down in an armchair by the balcony, knees together.

Then, she casually took out a small medicine box, took out three dark blue glass bottles, and handed them to Gordon.

[A calming tonic. It can significantly restore energy, reduce fatigue and lethargy; it tastes terrible, but the effects are very strong.]

"Overuse of Source Energy, prolonged mental strain, and mental pollution can be used to treat insomnia, not just in treating it." Eve handed the bottle to Gordon.

"Sure, sure." Gordon carefully stored them away in the deepest bottle. "By the way... so many plants. Does Miss Grant know alchemy? Although I'm good at making potions, I don't have time to study these plants."

"Of course, but that requires a lot of water-based spiritual crystals. Does Mr. Vic know of any good channels in the city?"

"My company has it." Gordon thought to himself, feeling that everything connected. "If I put in a little more effort, it will become the largest supplier of aqueous crystals in Lundnium, and I can give you very, very favorable prices."

How much of a discount is there?

"It makes you feel like knowing me is the luckiest thing that ever happened to you."

"I'm looking forward to it," Eve smiled.

Gordon was about to leave when his attention was drawn back to Eve's strange records.

Several sheet music pieces were posted on the wall, and some texts related to music were spread out on the table.

"These are..."

"The spoils from Green Shade Mansion, the boxes you sent you contained some strange melodies. I tried to recreate them, but they weren't pleasant to the ear."

"Have you sung this before?"

"Yes, just to prove it, I don't have a singing voice to be proud of..."

"It sounds strange, but I'd like to hear it." Gordon handed the sheet music to Eve.

Eve glanced at him and took the sheet music.

The setting sun had slowly sunk below the rooftop, and she lit all the gas lamps, their warm yellow light spreading out.

She re-identified the syllables and then sang the melody softly.

The melody begins very lightly, like the tide gently lapping against the rocks, or the splashing sound of sailors rowing.

But gradually, she began to sing ancient syllables that were difficult for humans to produce, which instantly pierced Gordon's ears and sent a chill down his spine. He fell into a suffocating abyss, as if he were being watched by something enormous, and that it could swallow him whole at any moment...

Seeing Gordon's performance, Eve also stopped singing, put down the sheet music, and a rare hint of shyness appeared on her face.

"I'm sorry. I haven't received any vocal training." She placed the sheet music on the table.

"No, it sounds great," Gordon quickly replied.

"Junior, you don't need to flatter me about this."

"It's true, it's very important." Gordon clutched his chest and took a breath. "I've heard this song before. I heard lead singer Ellen sing it at the Evangelistic Sale, and I've heard it somewhere in the countryside. This song evokes images of the sea, I can feel it. It's beautiful, really, please continue."

Eve didn't reply for a moment; she looked down at the sheet music.

"So, it seems I have my first listener," she said.

Eve started singing again.

Gordon took a deep breath. This time, he focused his mind and began to listen to the strings.

Yes, that's the melody.

He had heard a similar song that night at the Rice Pump Station, when the mermaid crawled out of the drainpipe and began to devour Harold's corpse.

After Eve finished singing the four sections of the score she had translated, not only Gordon, but she herself also felt a kind of damp and profound imagery.

"It seems this is a sacred chant from a high-ranking being. If it were sung by that being's retinue, it would likely have an even more incredible effect."

"What will happen?"

"Perhaps it will be a flood that engulfs the world." Eve smiled. "When that happens, junior, you'll have to protect me."

……

……

Gordon returned to 9 Knight Road at 8 p.m.

He glanced at the counter on the first floor, where the commissions were neatly stacked. Next to them, a map of Lundenim had several thumbtacks used to mark the locations of the disappearances, connected by red lines. Vera was clearly eager to find the missing person.

"Vera?" Gordon greeted her, then went up to the second floor, played his listening horn, and listened to the surroundings.

The room on the second floor was dimly lit.

He wandered around, past the sofa on the second floor. He sensed that someone was indeed there, there was Vera's scent, but no one was there. It was eerily quiet.

"Vera? Don't scare me."

[The Low-Profile Hunter: The Invisible Threat]

Gordon whirled around, one hand already gripping his wrist, the other across his waist, the world violently reversed, and the carpet came crashing down on him.

"We caught them."

"How many times has this been done to deliberately attack an investigator?" Gordon was forced to the ground.

Vera didn't answer, but leaned down and kissed him, a kiss that was both direct and forceful.

Gordon's hand moved up and down Vera's back, probing her body temperature through her black riding outfit.

After they had kissed enough, Vera pushed Gordon onto the sofa, sat on him, and rubbed her forehead against his while unbuttoning her clothes.

"You smell like Eve again."

"We were just having an academic exchange, really."

She didn't get angry or ask any questions; she just moved closer, trying to cover up Eve's warm, fragrant scent with her own.

Every time brings a new feeling. Gordon had to admit it.

Vera's 1.89-meter frame filled out her clothes, revealing her long, strong legs, fair skin, short, dark brown hair, and breathtaking beauty. Furthermore, after refining the new source essence, she gained an alluring, almost ethereal quality...

It's a very contradictory experience; it's huge, yet its presence is minimal.

"I've found a clue to that beast's source material," Gordon said while rubbing it.

"Hmm?" Vera paused slightly.

"Forty-five days later, the Wild Hunt will hold a banquet in late August... They will release a powerful beast. If we can obtain the essence of that monster, we can use a higher and more complete beastly form to devour or reverse the 'Burning Instinct'."

"Where?"

"We don't know yet. We don't know the rules, who the participants are, where the venue is, or how to get around afterwards. It looks like we're throwing a bunch of hunters and monsters into a pot and putting the lid on. The Wild Hunt is the one wielding the ladle, more dangerous than the monsters themselves."

"I want to go."

Gordon looked into her gray eyes, which conveyed a clear and unwavering longing.

"The Wild Hunt enjoys the chase and death. We might have to run around in there."

"But I've waited too long for this moment, Gordon. I want to run and fight there."

"Okay." Gordon nodded. "We'll participate."

"Okay." Vera jumped up and down excitedly, making the sofa creak.

"But it has to be done my way: first investigate the participants, confirm the location, prepare an evacuation route, and arrange supplies in advance. I might even have to plant Uncle Gray among the most powerful enemies to kill them."

"You can give it a try."

"If we can't get the source material, we'll settle for second best and try to get out unscathed. The Wild Hunt likes death games, but we'll use our brains to escape."

"They also steal other people's things."

"Yes, there are definitely many items that we are connected with."

"it is good."

"Then I'll be away from Lundnium for a few days. I need to go and check on things with Gray, and do some more intensive training."

"A few days?"

"Three to five days, depending on how things go, but I will definitely be back before the Midsummer Festival."

"Then you'll have to give me the quantities for these few days in advance."

"Can something like this be delivered ahead of schedule?"

"Yes. And it must be possible."

Vera grabbed Gordon by the collar and pulled him up from the sofa.

……

……

Before going to the hunter school, Gordon went to Clock Tower Street and Sinclair's spiritual workshop to see if his cane had been repaired.

The magnificent Blackthorn Lee walking stick—without it, Gordon always felt inadequate. Like a soldier without a gun, like a student without a pen!

A light rain fell last night, and water is still dripping from the eaves everywhere. Underground, a network of steam pipes is laid out, and hot air is constantly rising from the grid. Rows of precision workshops are arranged on both sides, from which the sounds of hammering and banging can be heard.

Gao Deng dismounted and walked into the alley.

The Sinclair spiritual workshop looked more crowded than before. The worktables by the window were filled with gun barrels and bayonets of various models. Further inside was the assembly table, where Gordon saw Blackthorn Lee's cane waiting for him.

[Blackthorn Lee's Cane. Previously the Youth Edition, now the Supreme Flagship Edition.]

"Sinclair," Gordon greeted.

"Mr. Vic, I was just about to take it to you; it's fixed now." Sinclair pointed to the cane.

"Okay, okay." Gordon picked up the cane, stroked it lovingly, and felt the familiar pull on it again.

The texture of the cane has been re-polished, the surface is coated with anti-fouling paint, meteorite iron is embedded inside, the conduits are re-woven with mithril, and the spiritual pathways have also been redrawn.

Its head was fitted with a guide wheel and a locking device, and then covered with a layer of high-quality steel. It could be used to control the Divine Thread, or to knock a person's head unconscious when necessary.

"How is it?" Sinclair smiled.

"Very good. Very energetic." Gordon gripped Blackthorn Lee's cane.

The Unbroken String and the Tide of Fate were simultaneously drawn in, and the power of the two source materials flowed along the circuit toward the staff without any repulsion.

"When I was halfway through, I also did some extra work on its outer shell." Sinclair tapped the head of the cane. "If you infuse it with source energy, it can store and release energy, and the effect at close range seems to be quite strong."

Gordon wanted to try it immediately, but in the end he only let a faint trace of spirituality flow through the staff.

If the source energy were fully injected into it and then released, it might blow up Sinclair's workshop.

He could only sigh with relief that the money hadn't been wasted.

"Thank you very much, and then..." Gordon pulled out the blueprints for the reactor from Montfort Spiritual Industries and handed them to him, "I also came here today for this matter. I have a factory..."