OBS Chapter 124 The Witch Cult's Mission
Chapter 124 The Witch Cult's Mission
Chapter 124 The Witch Cult's Mission
As Lanius walked out of the Tingen branch of the Backlund Bank in the northern part of Tingen, he looked at the telegram in his hand and smiled smugly.
He had just personally deposited the funds raised yesterday into the bank and inquired whether the Tingen branch of Backlund Bank had successfully reconciled accounts with its head office in Backlund.
In this era without information networks, accurate account reconciliation was difficult. Often, someone would deposit money in an account in Tingen, take a steam train to Backlund to withdraw the money, only to find that Backlund had no idea about the account.
In general, when customers urgently need to withdraw cash in another location, the branch will issue them a sight draft payable on demand, allowing them to withdraw money directly in another location.
However, this only applies to small amounts of gold pounds. In cases like Lanius's, where hundreds of thousands of pounds are deposited into the bank, the relevant information is already notified to Backlund headquarters via internal telegram the moment he opens the account and the money enters the bank.
Therefore, if Lanius wanted to go to Backlund to collect his money, he needed to confirm whether Backlund had officially deposited his money into their account. This was a decision made by his usual cautious approach, as he wanted to ensure that his plan would be foolproof.
Lanius now felt a sense of urgency, not only because of the evil god’s offspring growing in Megaus’s womb, nor only because of the increasingly prominent inverted cross mark on his abdomen.
It was because of a 'rumor' he overheard this morning that his iron mine wasn't that big.
Furthermore, today's newspapers reported on a factory owner who misappropriated cash for investment, resulting in a bloody conflict because he failed to pay his workers' wages.
Lanius knew perfectly well whether he owned a super-large iron ore mine or not. The rumors were only circulating among the common people and their reach was not very wide, so they wouldn't have much impact on him. However, the very existence of the rumors spoke volumes—some smart people were beginning to realize what was going on.
If it were just this, Lanius wouldn't be so panicked; as a 'fraudster,' he could easily persuade those who had doubts.
But the prospect of bloodshed frightened him. The newspaper reports weren't just pointing to the factory owner embezzling wages; they were also providing evidence to question the owner's reckless investments, which had led to the irrational appreciation of the related shares.
Although it did not directly address the authenticity of the iron ore mine claimed by Lanluus, it subtly pointed out the inflated value of the shares related to the mine and the suspicion of manipulation of the stock price by certain individuals.
As a "fraudster"—no, as a "deciphering scholar"—he had a feeling that the bubble of his scam was about to burst, and he needed to get out as soon as possible, otherwise he might never be able to get out.
Moreover, for some reason, Lanius had a vague feeling that he was being watched from yesterday to today, but his attempts to probe him were unsuccessful, which made him wonder if he was being paranoid.
But now that he was in the middle of it all, he dared not be careless. He decided he couldn't just walk away like that. If someone was really watching him, that would be a death sentence. He needed cover.
I'm having dinner with the Mei Gao's family at a fancy restaurant tonight, so I'll use these people as a cover.
Lanius made the decision so readily, put on his top hat, and walked toward the private carriage of his temporary employee.
"I didn't expect this guy to be so perceptive. He could sense us even from this distance. If we hadn't been careful, we might have already been exposed. Who do you think he is? Why did the higher-ups order us to keep such a close eye on him? Even if he's an extraordinary being, it shouldn't be this serious, right?"
Shortly after Lanius left in his carriage, another carriage emerged from around the corner. The two men inside watched Lanius's carriage disappear into the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, one of them asked the older man a question.
"I don't know, but based on what we've been tracking these past two days, he doesn't seem like a nice guy."
Who cares! We'll just do what we're told. Keep an eye on him. Why should we worry so much when we're just following orders?
The older man took a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on his nose, continuing to look in the direction Lanius had left.
After a night's rest, Evan was full of energy again. Today, he planned to follow Zeril again and then go to MI9 to look up some information to prepare for his next move.
Just as he was about to disguise himself and leave the apartment, his spiritual intuition told him that there was a letter in the mailbox outside the door and that there was no danger.
Evan frowned and took it out, discovering it was a letter written in coded language. Natasha from the Witch Cult wanted to meet him at their usual spot.
Evan rubbed his lower back, gave a wry smile, but had no choice but to head to the West District Hotel as instructed in the letter.
As expected, before Evan could even get to the point of conversation upon arrival, he was dragged to the bed for a thoroughly intense sexual encounter, giving Evan, who hadn't yet reached Sequence 6, a true taste of what it meant for 'ultimate pleasure to be ultimate pain.'
He sincerely hoped that he could be promoted as soon as possible, otherwise he would be drained dry sooner or later.
The witch Natasha obviously had other things to do and couldn't stay in the hotel for long, so after she finished having her fun, she dressed while assigning tasks to Evan.
"You're a smart man. When we met at the club the day before yesterday, you should have known you had a task for you. Your task is to befriend the Third Prince, Edsac Augustus, gain his trust as soon as possible, and then find an opportunity to introduce him to the dancer who caused the little commotion that day."
"That woman was part of the organization! I saw Edsack Augustus's eyes light up when he looked at her."
"I shouldn't need to push him; I can get close to him easily, right?"
Completely naked except for a thin blanket, Evan sat up upon hearing this, seemingly incredulous that the dancer was a member of a witch cult, and simultaneously raised his own questions.
At that time, Edsack Augustus was so smitten with Triss that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets; there was no need for him to interfere.
"That dancer is Triss, who used your safe house for screening before. She's called Triss now. I originally thought this would be easy. But I took her to several dinners where Edsac Augustus was present, and every time he was all eyes on her. But he was all lust and no guts. He always kept his distance and refused to say a word. So I had no choice but to come to you."
You need to become Edsack Augustus's confidant as soon as possible and find a way to guide him. Haven't you been relying on that extraordinary item made with the hypnotist's special properties to create an "audience"? Isn't this perfect?
Evan understood that his plan to eliminate Mrs. Sharon had led to Triss arriving in Backlund two months earlier than planned.
At this time, Ince Zangwill had not yet finished his work in Tingen, so it was impossible for him to collude with George III and the Witch Cult as in the original story, allowing him to use 008 to arrange for Triss to successfully reach Edsac Augustus's side.
Therefore, the Witch Cult is now facing the Third Prince, who is somewhat chauvinistic and self-important, and is at a loss as to how to deal with him.
Arranging Triss to be by Edsac Augustus's side was to make him take the blame for the Great Smog of Backlund. If they did too much, not only would the three major churches notice the clues, but MI9 might also find out in advance. So the Witch Cult came up with a solution that was not a good one.
Make Evan and Edsack Augustus befriend each other, influence him as friends, and encourage him to pursue love.
The best person to provide this guidance is the "audience," and Evan has a powerful "Hypnotist" artifact, making him the perfect candidate for this task.
Evan inwardly exclaimed that this was a golden opportunity. It was an excellent chance for him to investigate the "Conqueror" seal artifact of the Augustus royal family. He had been wondering how to investigate it in depth, but he never expected that the Witch Cult would assign him such a task. This was a godsend for him.
However, he still pretended to be embarrassed and said:
"People like this have been involved in politics since birth, and they don't trust anyone from a young age. It's easy to get acquainted with them and become nodding acquaintances, but difficult to become friends, and even more difficult to become friends with whom you can confide in private. Besides, I'm digesting potions very quickly now, and I've collected all the materials for the 'witch.' Who knows, maybe one day I'll become a 'witch' and turn into a woman. You should think of another way to handle this."
Hearing that Evan had collected all the "witch" potions, Natasha abruptly stopped putting on stockings, but quickly resumed, rolling the black stockings up to her thighs, while inwardly cursing the already confirmed dead Mrs. Sharon.
It was because Mrs. Sharon gave Evan the "witch" potion recipe that his control over Evan became so weak, allowing him to collect the relevant materials so early on.
But precisely because Evan had already joined MI9, it was inconvenient for him to use certain means to directly control him. How could Natasha not feel resentment towards the deceased Mrs. Sharon?
"Sometimes when men hit it off, their friendship can grow rapidly, regardless of how long it takes. We all know that. It all depends on how much effort you put in. If you can get Triss to Edsac Augustus's side, I can promise to help you advance to Sequence 6 'Pleasure'. How about that?"
As for your concern that your identity might be exposed after being promoted to witch, there's no need to worry. I've already reported your situation, and my mother has come up with a solution. You'll find out soon enough, so don't worry.
Evan was very curious about what kind of method could prevent him from turning into a woman. If there was such a method, why didn't the Witch Cult use it before?
Regardless, Natasha had already said so much, so Evan couldn't refuse any longer. After all, she was a witch with countless blood on her hands, and she wasn't so easy to talk to.