Lord of the Mysteries: I Married the Queen Mystic

The intelligence mentioned by the 'Leader' at the Mysticism Research Society meeting somewhat exceeded Xio's expectations, even making her feel a sense of unfamiliarity with Backlund...

"I want to issue a mission," said 'Hound', who had quickly reviewed the intelligence provided by the 'Leader'.

After paying a 50-pound intelligence fee, he continued, "Help me investigate who this person had contact with before his death."

As he spoke, he unfolded a portrait, "I will provide detailed information about this person, along with a list of some individuals he had contact with during his lifetime. For every new contact not on the list, I'll pay 10 pounds... no upper limit. Also note, only contacts within the last three months are acceptable."

Odis saw that it was a portrait of the deceased informant for the 'Mandated Punishers'. This was already the third time he had encountered this person.

The first was when Enoch reported that someone was looking for this informant. The second was on the night of the underground fighting match, where he saw the person in the flesh during the fight, only for the man to soon become a corpse lying on the ground.

This was the third time he had seen this face...

Odis knew very well that this man had been killed by the Royal Guards. This likely involved nobles, even secrets of the royal family. So he considered it best not to meddle.

Then he pondered further, 'Was there any collaboration between the Royal Guards and MI9 in the assassination of this informant? Now Hound, who is from MI9, is investigating who the informant had contact with before his death. It seems that after killing him, they didn't get the results they wanted...'

At this moment, Xio raised her hand, "I can take on this mission."

If detailed information was provided, the 10-pound commission was quite generous. She thought she could review the materials first... perhaps she might stumble upon some clues.

"The newcomer is quite enthusiastic," Hound said with a smile, "Anyone else willing to take this mission? I've brought three copies of the materials."

Soon, two other members also accepted the mission. 'Hound' had always been reliable in terms of credibility, and the commission for this mission was indeed substantial.

After 'Hound' finished issuing his mission, the usually reticent 'Lion' (Byron) suddenly spoke, "There's new progress on my previous investigation..."

"...After roughly a week of surveillance in the East Borough, I discovered that someone has been quietly abducting homeless people. I followed them and eventually found out they were keeping the victims in a warehouse in the dock area. There, I saw Capim."

The other members were slightly taken aback. One of them said indignantly, "This doesn't seem surprising. That bastard will get his due sooner or later!"

Several other members also condemned Capim. Even in Backlund's Beyonder circles, the man had a terrible reputation.

Odis interrupted the condemnations and asked Lion, "It seems you plan to continue investigating?"

"Yes!" Lion said firmly, "I want to gather more evidence and then hand it over to journalists to expose this villain's atrocities! You might not know this, but in that warehouse, the fate of those homeless people is utterly tragic. They're sorted like livestock... those who are weak or sick are simply thrown into the deep waters of the Tussock River. Each of them has a stone tied to their body. None of them can resurface..."

Xio suddenly interrupted Lion, "Wait... you said each of them has a stone tied to them?"

"Yes. Horrible, isn't it?"

"Don't you see the problem here?" Xio first asked rhetorically, then answered her own question, "If they didn't meet Capim's requirements, it would make more sense to just drive the weak homeless away. Why go to the trouble of tying stones to them?"

By now, most members had realized the issue... this was far too much effort. To these human traffickers, a homeless person might not even be worth the rope used to tie the stones.

Lion also understood this, "They... they're silencing witnesses."

The living room fell silent for a few seconds before Hound spoke up with a warning, "I've heard of Capim. He has powerful backing. I suggest you stop investigating."

His reminder was already an act of goodwill.

Lion looked at the Leader across from him, then asked, "Do you have any advice?"

Odis replied, "It's clear you weren't planning to take our advice anyway."

Lion froze for a few seconds before saying, "I... I just..." He took a deep breath, "I've never considered myself a good person. I've seen too much darkness in Backlund. But this time, I feel Capim's actions have crossed a line... my line."

"...It's hard to imagine hundreds of lives being thrown into icy water, struggling, screaming. But they're too weak. Their cries don't even reach the shore."

The living room fell silent again for a second or two before Odis finally said, "If you're in danger, you can come to me. I'll do my best to keep you alive."

'After all, Capim is about to meet his end soon anyway. Stepping on a grasshopper in autumn shouldn't cause any trouble...'

Lion stood up, "Thank you. Thank you. I knew you wouldn't stand by and do nothing."

Hound and Peacock shook their heads, seemingly baffled by Lion's actions.

Xio gave the Leader a deep look, then glanced at Lion. Byron's resolve had exceeded her expectations... and so had the Leader's promise.

'This doesn't seem like the kind of scene that would play out at a Beyonder gathering.' She mused.

'Elephant' suddenly spoke, "If something happens to the 'Leader', will the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery send someone else to host the gatherings?"

Peacock shot him a look, "Will you die if you don't speak?"

Elephant explained, "I'm just curious. After all... this gathering is quite good. At the very least, I feel safe attending."

Odis chuckled, "Perhaps they'll send someone else."

The topic ended there. Intelligence trading soon resumed...

After several successful transactions, one member said, "Everyone, there's something I find very puzzling... why do strange things appear after a Beyonder dies?"

Someone else asked, "Did you kill a Beyonder?"

"It wasn't me," the member replied without elaborating.

At this point, the member 'Wild Wolf' said, "To be honest, I have the same question."

This question immediately revealed who among them were wild Beyonders and who belonged to organizations.

Members like Hound, Peacock, Wolverine, and Elephant clearly had no such doubts.

"This is high-level intelligence," Odis said, "But it's not untradeable. I can explain some of the principles behind it. Total price, 500 pounds. This information is worth that much."

"Wow~"

No one had expected this intelligence to be so expensive!

Fortunately, the 'Leader' had said total price... a unique transaction method in the Mysticism Research Society meetings. As long as the buyers collectively pooled the total amount, the transaction could proceed.

For example, if the total price was 500 pounds and ten people participated, each would pay 50 pounds.

This made the sum much more manageable...

Though Xio knew the concept of Beyonder characteristics, she didn't understand the specifics, so she also joined the transaction, reluctantly paying 26 pounds and 7 soli.

But the moment she received the answer, her hesitation vanished. The Leader's provided intelligence stated:

Those are called Beyonder characteristics, and they're likely the most valuable possessions of a Beyonder.

Beyonder characteristics cannot be destroyed or diminished. They merely transfer from one vessel to another...