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

"good."

Gordon finally had the proper investigator's gear.

He handed the old badge to Martin, then pinned the new badge to his coat, and picked up the notebook, vaguely seeing a faint spiritual connection between the pages.

What are the benefits of taking notes?

"The orders recorded on it have administrative significance and cannot be easily altered. That is to say, what you write down, once torn from the paper, becomes an order that others need to carry out," Martin explained.

"I wish we had this sooner," Gordon thought.

In the future, when there is a need to mobilize people and requisition supplies, there will be no need to go through complicated procedures and formalities. Gordon only needs to write down the words on this piece of paper and take it out, and the person on the other end will bow his head and carry it out.

For example, just now at the FitzRoy family, he could simply write down relevant information in his notebook, show it, and then do whatever he wanted with the Empire's authorization...

"Don't forget, you now represent the Logris Empire itself." Martin noticed that Gordon's expression was becoming increasingly strange.

"I understand, I understand. I've always been a well-mannered person." Gordon turned to Shirley. "You're an intern investigator now too."

"Yes!" Shirley touched her trainee investigator badge, feeling incredibly confident. "I hope to become as excellent as the investigator!"

"Very good, very good." Gordon said with his hands behind his back. "Your first task is to strengthen the security of the Sherwood Laboratory Building, protect our research subjects, keep out suspicious visitors, record any attempts to sneak in or spy, and at the same time, do not reveal to irrelevant personnel what we are protecting."

"Understood." Shirin saluted Gordon.

Her trainee investigator badge was polished to a shine.

Despite lacking source material, Shirin rose through the ranks from a lowly patrol officer to a trainee investigator through her own hard work, making her cherish this hard-won opportunity even more.

Even if it's just to guard the door for Gordon, you have to make sure the door looks nice.

"I'm leaving." Martin said as he departed.

"Aren't you going to continue in charge of the Blackwater River?" Gordon turned his head.

"I heard this case has been assigned to you. An investigator is usually capable of being 'self-sufficient,' which means doing everything that's on his assignment." Martin turned to the side.

"So what case are you investigating now?"

"The 'Children of the Night,' an organization dedicated to acquiring heretical legacies both domestically and internationally, uses unethical methods. I suspect they are either resurrecting an ancient immortal like the Fisher King, or planning to create a new one themselves. Hmm... neither of these is conducive to the long-term stability of our country."

"Why are there so many bad guys in Lundnim?"

"It's always the same." Martin gave Gordon a long look. "Well then, goodbye, Gordon."

"Goodbye."

The two investigators then parted ways, each heading toward their own case.

:

Gordon went down into the underground laboratory.

The further down you go, the more humid the air becomes.

Ningning lay by the water's edge, her tail submerged in the water, her arms crossed. Upon seeing Gaodeng, she immediately propped herself up.

"Hello, expert."

"Hello, Ningning." Gordon squatted down next to her. "We're going to take a boat out to sea."

"The sea!" Ningning's eyes lit up.

She hasn't seen the sea in a long time.

Ningning was far from the divine realm of Baal. To her, the sea felt closer to home than the sewers, and it didn't feel as unsettling as the smell of Lundenim.

Seeing Ningning grinning foolishly, Gao Deng thought of something else.

"Why have you been hiding in the suburbs? No one has seen you for twenty years before the Blackwater River flooded in March."

"We're injured," Ningning said. "The Fish King and the bad fishmen hurt us. Fufu and Linlin aren't feeling well, so we're looking for clean water in the suburbs, but clean water is becoming increasingly scarce."

Mermaids need clean water, but the water quality in Lundnium is clearly poor, so they probably need to swim to a secluded place to rest.

"Stretch your tail over here."

Ningning obediently turned over and placed the fish tail on the edge of the pool.

Gordon examined Ningning from the tip of her tail down to her white belly. Most of Ningning's scales were still tough, but a few scales were noticeably dull in color and would fall off with a touch.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, it just feels uncomfortable." Ningning turned around.

Gordon examined Ningning's gills on her neck and found slight hyperplasia and dark deposits inside.

The symptoms of a human turning into a fish are obvious, but the symptoms of Ningning turning into a strange fish are not so obvious and are easily mistaken for normal characteristics of a mermaid.

But Gordon had already realized that Ningning had also been infected with Blackwater Syndrome.

This might also be why Ningning seems a bit silly; after the mermaid came to the human world, she was obviously deeply affected by all kinds of pollution.

"Hmm... there's a problem," Gordon said.

"Will I die? I can't die before I kill the Fish King," Ningning worried.

"You can't die even after killing the Fisher King; you must live well."

:

"We live only to kill the Fishing King."

"How can you think like that? Does killing the Fisher King mean you won't live anymore?"

"Mission accomplished, no need to live anymore."

Gordon paused for a moment, then carefully corrected her attitude towards fish ecology.

"What a foolish fish. Is this all the order you received? You must have many other purposes for living, many important things to do, to swim around, to eat fish you've never eaten before, to see what other places the world has to offer, to bask in the sun. Killing the King of Fisheries might just be part of your wonderful fish life!"

Ningning floated on the water for a while.

After she was created, she lived a life of ignorance, receiving orders and striving to fulfill them.

Today was the first time someone told her that besides following orders, she also had her own "fish life".

"Anyway," Gordon waved his hand, "once my ship is ready, I'll take you to clean waters so you can sunbathe, drink plenty of water, and get plenty of sunshine to boost your metabolism. Your black water syndrome will gradually improve."

Ningning hid underwater and then blew a huge bubble, which burst in front of Gordon, probably indicating that she was very happy.

"Then there's...the craftsmanship of weapons." Gordon thought of something else.

If Ningning is willing to share the method of making spiritual weapons, it will prove that establishing an alliance with the mermaid does indeed have great strategic value.

"Weapons." Ningning raised her hand.

More than a dozen blue symbols appeared from the air, each with a different shape, their spiritual energy flowing slowly along the complex structure. Then Ningning began to disassemble them.

She didn't attend classes; instead, she kept drawing various patterns according to her own habits and describing their uses.

Gordon recorded them with sunglasses, trying hard to memorize the content and sort out the patterns.

The most crucial element of any creation or object is its core. It can be a complete source substance or a spiritual crystallization of a certain nature. In short, it must be able to provide extraordinary power.

Next comes the conductor circuitry: single wire, double wire, composite wire, branching, closed loop... It determines how power is transmitted and specifies the operating sequence.

Finally, there's the character 梚.

Ningning drew a lot of pinyin characters, including "start", "stop", "increase", "decrease"... as well as "explode" and "shoot", which are the most important for Lei Qiang.

Some characters determine its triggering and activation, some determine its performance and effect, and some are responsible for controlling its direction, distance, and range of action.

Gordon realized that the creation of all spiritual circuits is essentially about writing a spiritual grammar into objects to achieve various functional designs.

The circuit is like a physical circuit, while the pinyin is like a graphical program, responsible for making judgments and executing them.

The challenge lies in recognizing enough spelling characters, designing routes, knowing how to arrange them, and selecting the correct materials.

An hour later, Gordon drew the first prototype of the Thunder Gun in his notebook.

:

Under Gordon's plan, the Thunder Spear will be a long-handled weapon that can quickly and nimbly unleash long-range lightning strikes, with the word "shoot" as its primary target.

"Is this how it's drawn?" Gordon showed the prototype to Ningning.

"That's not how it is at all!" Ningning wagged her tail happily and drew several suggestions for improvement on it.

Gordon is an expert in alchemy and investigation.

In terms of spiritual craftsmanship, Ningning is the real expert.

"Okay..." Gordon felt it was better to leave it to Ningning. "I'll go prepare and collect the appropriate materials."

The materials are very expensive. For example, one kilogram of fine gold costs 200 gold pounds, and a truly perfect lightning spear would cost several thousand gold pounds to build. It would probably only be able to build a prototype, and Charlotte would have to help achieve the perfect effect.

"I'm tired, play with me." Ningning held out her hand.

"Then let's play for a while." Gordon sat on the ground.

He manipulated the water with his maneuvering, sometimes summoning a large group of palm-sized transparent fish on the surface of the water for Ningning to chase, and sometimes creating water jets to massage Ningning's belly, tail, and cheeks, as if turning the pool into a powerful massage bathtub.

The sounds of water and laughter filled the air as Ningning rolled around happily in the water.

She finally had a short, carefree time.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, inside an observatory in Lundnium.

A planetarium hangs in the center of the round table, its brass track slowly rotating.

Faint starlight fell from the dome, illuminating the celestial symbols for each participant.

Critical: "Stargazing begins. Recent unusual events in Lundnium."

After a brief silence, a familiar voice spoke first.

Mars: "I've discovered something terrible. St. Bartholomew's Monastery has been destroyed! Someone launched an attack during the annual summer auction, and the entire monastery almost collapsed, with many people with special abilities caught in the crossfire! You must be careful!"

Qingguan: "We all know..."

Mars: "How is that possible?"

Eclipse: "We also know that the attackers came from the Blackwater Hermitage. The Empire subsequently mobilized a large number of troops in retaliation, and the heavy rain stopped yesterday, which suggests that a large-scale purge took place underground."

Mars: "Why are you guys always a little faster than me?"

Critical Point: "...Continue to monitor related messages. Are there any other anomalies?"

The shoemaker said, "The rain has stopped, but people outside Lundnium are still hearing singing, as if they are calling for something. If anyone wants to know any clues, they can come find me after the meeting."

:

Eve kept this in mind.

Critical Point: "Understood. Continue."

Black Hole: "Midas Industries has purchased a batch of woven spiritual crystals transported from the southern continent. There will be no restock on the market for 6 months."

Mars: "What's the point of weaving patterns? To make carpets?"

Black Hole: "Possibly related to internal uses of Midas Industries, some kind of computing equipment or automated control engineering."

Critical: "Very good. A lunar eclipse?"

Eclipse: "The Wild Hunt is acquiring large, living Otherworldly beings that are aggressive enough, requiring them to be strong in combat, possibly for the banquet."

They then discussed some noteworthy things about Lundnium and the surrounding area. Eve listened silently.

Spurred by the Crimson Incident, Hermes Academy began to intensify its selection and training of elite talents.

The Sun-Splitter Alliance is still searching for the Sun-Splittering Sword, which can kill the sun and end its tyranny once and for all.

The Doomsday Gospel Church is again nurturing a large, terrifying evil spirit. According to existing evidence, the creature's appetite and size are steadily increasing.

Critical: "Next, the transaction."

Scorpio: "I can provide a 'real' source material identification."

Black Hole: "What is Reality?"

Scorpio: "That is, the truth, the thing we have been searching for, the pure truth that is close to the essence itself."

After a brief silence, the black hole opened.

Black hole: "I need it. What will you give in exchange?"

Scorpio: "Regarding the Noble Destiny Ritual, I need to know if anyone in Lundnim has recently inquired about, prepared for, attempted to perform, or already performed this ritual."

Black hole: "I roughly know where the ceremony took place, but how do I prove it?"

Scorpio: "This ritual leaves behind a lot of shed skin and shed teeth. As long as I find some of them, I can confirm the condition of the beneficiary."

Black Hole: "Understood. I will retrieve some materials for you to prove that the Noble Destiny Ceremony was performed. You will be responsible for identifying the 'true' source matter. The specific procedures and confidentiality measures will be handed over to you by Critical Eye."

Critical: "Yes."

Scorpio: "Very good."

Critical Eye: "I need to acquire clues about the 'Deep Bottle' myself. I recently discovered that it was a low-level item that once entered the Sealed Items Management Hall and was borrowed some time ago. This item is one of the key items that this meeting is pursuing and should not be outside our protection scope."

Lunar Eclipse: "I'll look into it."

:

Critical: "Very good."

The trading and observation continued for some time.

As the starlight faded one by one, Critical announced the end of the meeting. Eve opened her eyes and walked out of the planetarium.

The gains from this meeting were quite clear.

The enigmatic member "Black Hole" is arguably one of the most mature and composed mystics Eve knows. With his involvement, there's a high probability that they can figure out who participated in the ritual and murdered the mermaid.

Then...

The leader, "Critical," explicitly stated that he wanted the extremely deep bottle.

Eve thought of the strange little bottle that Gordon was carrying.

Although I'm not entirely sure, the bottle does look like it can hold a lot of things.

Linjie explicitly requires that all objects of the "boundary" nature not leave the monitoring of the Primordial Knowledge Conference, and if the clues are clear, he will not hesitate to take action to seize them.

Lunar Eclipse agreed, knowing that with this person's methods, the investigation wouldn't take too long.

She felt it necessary to remind Gordon to be careful.

Eve planned to remind her in person and explain the pros and cons.

She could already picture Gordon frowning in thought after hearing the news, thanking her, and then asking what to do. Eve would then suggest checking the item and, while she was at it, checking Gordon. Okay, that's what she'd do.

: