Mystery: Starting from the Shadow World

Chapter 22 Melissa

After the meal, Admiral sat stiffly in his chair with his eyes closed. His deep-seated inferiority complex prevented him from truly showing that he had adapted to the current situation.

Philip sat opposite him, propping his cheek on his fist, his other hand's fingers tracing the edge of the table, and calmly asked, "What did you see in me this morning?"

"Black, darkness!" Admisor blurted out excitedly, then reluctantly recalled for a few seconds before slowly explaining:

"A mad, terrifying darkness, endless, and within it burning... a warm fire, an ever-burning flame."

As expected of the "monster" route.

Philip couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew that the path mastered by the School of Life could involve fate, but he hadn't expected it to be this outrageous. With only half of Sequence Nine, he had already seen the general outline of the Shadow World.

"If the sequence were higher, I'd probably be able to see even more, maybe even the essence of things," Philip thought to himself, his earlier idea now even more firmly established.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Why were you in that underground trading market?"

"I," Admisor's tone changed slightly, "I didn't manage to snag any temporary work at the docks this morning, and I had no money for food or sleep. Only there were the police not chasing me away."

The Poor Law stipulated that people could not sleep in places like parks and streets. This was intended to discourage homeless people from being lazy and to encourage them to work hard, so the original intention was not problematic.

But in practice...

That's a different story.

Looking at the young man in front of him, dressed in tattered linen clothes and blue-gray trousers, who appeared to be only around twenty years old, Philip rested his chin on his hand, his eyes darting around, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled.

"Admiral, you have a choice."

"I can get you a new set of clothes, I can save you a chair at the dinner table in the evening, you can sleep here at night, and you'll have £1 in pocket money every week, and I won't restrict your freedom too much."

There is only one condition.

Admiral's breathing became heavy. He overcame his initial restraint and timidity, and couldn't help but ask, "Yes, what is it?"

"all."

Philip raised an eyebrow slightly and continued silently, "The price will be everything you have from now on. It might be doing small things, it might be risking your life, it might be sacrificing your soul. Who knows?"

As for how long you can enjoy this happiness? That all depends on 'fate's' arrangement. As for the price of going against it, believe me, you wouldn't want to know.

The restaurant fell silent.

Admiral lowered his head, his expression inexplicably calm, and spoke without any emotion, "That sounds..."

"It will make me live more like a human being than I ever have before."

He stepped down from the chair, then knelt down on the spot and kowtowed deeply to Philip, saying in a low and devout voice, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Philip was startled by this action and blinked. "I only wanted to raise a consumable item, how come you've gone straight for a suicide squad?"

Never mind, the results are all pretty much the same.

It's more convenient for a suicide soldier, because he wants the other party to become an extraordinary being before observing him to see if he can discover anything more. If he can't, he can continue to nurture him into the next higher sequence and keep observing.

This investment work cannot be completed in a short time, and it will have to wait until he is more adept at navigating the extraordinary path. The reward is only to understand the possibilities of the shadow world and to have a subordinate with "heavenly eyes," but it is still a viable option.

The unknown is always unsettling.

Of course, this is just Mr. Fool's backup plan for not answering questions. If he could get the answer from this unknown being, he could skip this process and the energy it takes.

Boom!

dong dong!

In the afternoon, a knock on the door made Philip, who spent his days reading on the sofa, stand up, open the door, and see a familiar figure:

His colleague, Klein Moretti.

and also

"Hello, my name is Melissa Moretti."

A dark-haired, brown-eyed girl stood before Klein, introducing herself somewhat reservedly. She bowed, then looked at Philip with a curious gaze, "You're my brother, Klein's colleague?"

Philip paused for two seconds, then subconsciously glanced at Klein, who also gave him a knowing look, and explained with a smile, "My sister, Melissa. When I told her I was coming to visit you, she wanted to come along."

Upon seeing the other person's gaze, Philip immediately understood and smiled nonchalantly, "Yes, my name is Lawrence, Lawrence Slytherin."

Led by Philip, the two entered the living room and sat down on the sofa. Melissa placed the bag she had been carrying on the coffee table and pushed it towards Philip.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Mr. Slytherin, these are some mini muffins we bought. We hope you like them."

"Thank you, I like it very much." Philip looked at the food in the bag and replied with a smile, "Klein never told me he had such a beautiful, kind, and polite sister."

Klein shook his head and laughed helplessly, "Please, I have no reason to bring this up."

Melissa's gaze swept over the two of them, she pursed her lips, and then asked:

"Mr. Slytherin, how is my brother doing at work? I mean, has he been struggling at work or being disliked by others?"

No, not at all.

Philip looked at Melissa, who was worried about her brother's work and life, and then at Klein, who had a strange expression, and found it amusing. "Your brother does a good job at work, so there's no need to worry about that."

Hearing Philip's words, Melissa seemed relieved, and her whole demeanor brightened. "That's good, thank you. Oh, and I hope you can keep an eye on him in your daily life."

"Melissa, you're always so concerned. The atmosphere in our company is really great."

Klein, who was standing next to him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Melissa hadn't asked any tricky questions. He hadn't rehearsed his story with Philip beforehand, and it would be troublesome to explain if something went wrong.

Lawrence had no idea that Blackthorn Security Company specialized in the search, collection, and preservation of antiquities. Klein thought to himself, but seeing Melissa's expression, he knew she had achieved her goal and spoke up:

"Melissa, you should go back first. I still need to discuss some matters with Lawrence regarding the follow-up work."

"But..." Melissa hesitated upon hearing this.

Klein continued, "Benson is still packing our things at home; you could go help him. Also, what we're about to discuss involves a confidentiality agreement, so we can't let anyone else know."

Upon hearing this, Melissa didn't say anything more, politely got up to take her leave, and gave the space to her brother and his colleagues.

(End of this chapter)