Royal Crown University, King’s Campus.
At dusk, inside a stone room within the gathering place of the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge.
A gas lamp on the table illuminated the dim space. Beside the table stood an ornate chair, on which Thorn Velvet, wearing a mask, sat. In his hand was a small box containing two small black spiders.
"North Pine Forest, Lot 38, at 9 PM? Hmph, time is a bit tight..."
Thorn Velvet muttered coldly as he looked at the two spiders in the box. This reconnaissance mission had not disappointed him. He had obtained crucial information about the mysterious organization known as the Rose Cross Order.
“After so many days, these guys have finally settled on a base and are planning some kind of meeting to finalize their plans against us.”
“According to the intelligence, they have no more than five core members near King’s Campus, and the rest aren’t even Beyonders. That means their ranks are only at apprentice, with maybe one Black-rank leader. Their overall strength is quite limited. I wonder why they’re opposing us with such meager resources?”
Thorn Velvet pondered this with some confusion, but then he thought that the best way to answer these questions was to crash their meeting and capture one of their core members for interrogation.
Coincidentally, this time, all the core members of that society were gathering together, with no lackeys, and their numbers didn’t exceed five... This was the perfect opportunity to strike.
"They want to formulate a plan to wipe us out? Then we’ll strike first and take them all down..." Thorn Velvet muttered as he stood up from his seat, looking around. He began preparing to gather his forces to deliver a surprise to the so-called Rose Cross Order."It seems I can also request some extra manpower to solve this problem once and for all."
...
Green Shade Town, outside the east gate of King’s Campus.
At dusk, Dorothy stood alone outside No. 37 in Green Shade Town, looking at the somewhat old stone house. She gently knocked on the door and waved at the lens installed on it.
Soon, the door opened. Unlike her previous visits to No. 37, this time the door wasn’t opened automatically but by someone.
The person who opened the door for Dorothy was a girl in a white nightgown with short gray hair. It was Beverly.
"You came to open the door yourself? Weren’t you doing experiments downstairs?"
Seeing the girl, Dorothy expressed some surprise, while Beverly replied with a dazed look.
"Experiments? I’ve been at it for eight hours straight. I’m exhausted. I’m taking a break now."
"Automaton get tired too? Don’t you just wind yourself up a couple of times? If you have enough fuel, even a train can run for a whole day," Dorothy asked with confusion, to which Beverly replied with a hint of annoyance.
"Come on... Working continuously for too long causes wear and tear on many parts of the body. I’m a high-precision mechanical puppet, don’t compare me to those clunky steam engines. I need to rest now, have some tea, and relax. If I don’t take care of myself, I’ll be replacing body parts more often than underwear."
With a teasing tone, Beverly waved her hand and then turned to enter the house. Dorothy followed, closing the door behind her.
Soon, Dorothy arrived at a tea table inside the house. Beverly sat down, took a sip of her "tea," which had a strong smell of engine oil and floating iron filings, and said to Dorothy.
"You came at the right time today. The postage fee I collected from the Serenity Bureau last time has arrived. As agreed, 30% of it is yours."
"Oh, the money’s finally here? How much did you get?" Dorothy sat down on the sofa and asked, to which Beverly immediately replied.
"Not much, just 300 pounds. After some negotiations, we finally settled on that."
"300 pounds? Wow, you really squeezed that much out of them?" Dorothy exclaimed in surprise, remembering that Beverly had only asked her for 50 pounds in postage fees before.
"Tsk, delivering important documents back to the Serenity Bureau—how is that squeezing? It’s just fair compensation.”
"By the way, they also asked me who sent the package. As per your request, I told them the sender was a ‘detective.’ They said if you want the reward, you’ll have to meet them in person. They have some questions for you."
Beverly sipped her "tea" and spoke slowly.
Dorothy, sitting on the sofa, raised an eyebrow and said, "Meeting them... That might have to wait. I’ve been quite busy lately..."
"If you’re so busy, why did you come to see me? You’re not here to ask for my help, are you?"
Beverly put down her teacup and looked at Dorothy, who nodded and replied, "Pretty much... But first, I want to ask you something. Is King’s Campus considered your territory? If something related to mysticism happens there, would you handle it?"
"King’s Campus? That, along with the entire Royal Crown University, is mainly the royal family’s territory. When it comes to mystical affairs, it’s under the Serenity Bureau’s jurisdiction. I’m just here to manage shares and collect money for the old man. If something happens there, it’s the Serenity Bureau’s problem, not mine.”
"I’m affiliated with the White Craftsmen’s Guild, and the guild’s base in Tivian is in the city. That’s my territory. I just live here because the environment is nice. In all of Tivian, including you, no more than three people know I live here. Without a high-level referral, I don’t entertain strangers."
Beverly explained. Hearing her words, Dorothy was slightly taken aback and began to ponder.
“Royal Crown University is the royal family’s territory... and mystical affairs are managed by the Serenity Bureau. But the Eight-Spired Nest has been causing trouble in King’s Campus for so long, and the Serenity Bureau hasn’t done anything about it. Did they not set up any surveillance?”
Dorothy thought with confusion. According to Nephthys, the Scholarly Society of Mystical Knowledge had caused quite a bit of trouble in the past and was even shut down at one point. Logically, when they caused trouble, it was the authorities who cleaned up the mess. If the Serenity Bureau knew that the young masters and ladies of Royal Crown University might cause trouble from time to time, they should have some monitoring system in place. But why, when the Eight-Spired Nest has gone this far, has there been no reaction from the supposed monitoring system? Isn’t that a bit odd?
Dorothy pondered this but soon refocused on the current issue.
“Since they know nothing about the Eight-Spired Nest, I’ll just have to inform them. According to Beverly, she won’t interfere with school matters, so in the end, I’ll have to go to them. Also... I need to make some additional preparations for tonight.”
With this in mind, Dorothy looked at Beverly and said, "First, I want to ask if you have any tools that can detect spiritual traces around an area and defend against mystical reconnaissance, especially small mystical puppets? Preferably something suitable for a base."
"Yes, there’s the Illuminating Beacon. It’s the most common mystical detection tool. Both our guild and the church can produce them. There are many on the market. A bit of Lantern can last a long time. Any abnormal spiritual traces that come within a certain range will trigger an alarm. Many societies use these to defend against reconnaissance. Even the Serenity Bureau uses them. They’re reliable and durable.”
"However, they do have some drawbacks. Each Illuminating Beacon has a limited detection range, and they’re quite conspicuous when lit. If you know the detection range, it’s easy to bypass them. They’re fine for monitoring small areas, but if you need to cover a large space, you’ll need multiple beacons, which can be costly.”
"Higher-end versions have a larger detection range and can even detect hidden Beyonders that don’t reveal their traces. But if you’re just detecting ordinary mystical puppets like spirits or visible spiritual traces, the basic ones are sufficient."
Beverly explained. Hearing her description, Dorothy thought for a moment and then asked.
"So, how much does a basic Illuminating Beacon cost?"
"300 pounds. If you buy it, I’ll throw in a Lantern spiritual storage for consumption," Beverly said straightforwardly.
Hearing this, Dorothy’s mouth twitched, and she gritted her teeth before saying, "Fine, deal. You can keep my share of the money for now, and I’ll make up the difference later."
"Deal~"
After closing the deal, Beverly seemed to relax a bit. She crossed her legs and smiled as she sipped her engine oil tea.
After finishing the first transaction, Dorothy moved on to the second matter.
"I also need your help with something else. Can you act as a courier again and deliver a message to the Serenity Bureau for me? It’s urgent and needs to arrive within an hour."
"Another message? Sure, as long as the postage is settled, everything’s fine."
"The postage will be the same as before—collect on delivery. Try to squeeze as much as you can out of them. If you can’t get much, I’ll make up the difference later. If you get a lot, we’ll split it," Dorothy added, and Beverly nodded after taking another sip of her engine oil tea.
"Same model as before? Fine, but how much I can squeeze depends on how important the information in your message is. So, tell me, what do you want me to say to them?"
Beverly asked, and Dorothy replied seriously, "Tell them... Around 9 PM tonight, at North Pine Forest, Lot 38, north of Royal Crown University’s King’s Campus, a group of evil society members will be gathering. This society is called the Eight-Spired Nest. They use the Fear Torture Method to accumulate spirituality by brutally torturing innocent people. They are extremely cruel, and their combat strength involves Black-rank members. I hope you can take action.”
"If they ask who provided the information, just say it’s the ‘detective,’ same as last time."
Dorothy finished speaking, and Beverly had already memorized her words.
...
The setting sun cast its fading light on the streets of Green Shade Town. Dorothy, who had just left Beverly’s house, strolled under the sunset and opened her pocket watch to check the time.
"6:25... A little over two hours left. I hope both groups won’t be late and will arrive on time for their little meeting..."
Looking at the time, Dorothy muttered. She had been at King’s Campus for quite a while now. The location of the ruins had been investigated, and everything was ready. It was time to go in and take a look.
"I hope... those guys can keep the hunters busy for a while.”
"But first, I need to make some preparations."
...
Soon, time flew by, and the sun set as the moon rose.
Daylight faded, and night fell. The bright moon hung high in the dark sky, and a cool evening breeze rustled through the tall trees in the dark forest, creating a soft rustling sound.
This was a forest north of King’s Campus, originally a logging site for timber. However, after Crown University established a natural sciences department studying flora and fauna many years ago, the area was designated as an ecological observation site, and logging was prohibited. The forest was restored, and the small villages that had sprung up on the edges of the forest due to the logging industry gradually declined. Apart from a few forest rangers, most people moved away, leaving behind empty houses.
North Pine Forest, Lot 38, was one of them.
At the edge of the desolate village, in the dark forest, the two-story building of Lot 38 stood, its windows emitting a particularly noticeable light. This brightly lit scene was completely different from its usual silence.
In the distance, several figures stood in the darkness. There were about ten of them, dressed in various clothes, armed with pistols, all male. The leaders were two men wearing wooden masks, though the patterns on their masks were slightly different. One of them was Thorn Velvet.
"Chad... are you sure it’s there?"
The man next to Thorn Velvet pointed ahead and asked, to which Thorn Velvet immediately replied.
"Of course I’m sure, Amin. I just sent someone to ask the villagers. That’s Lot 38. It’s been empty for years, and tonight it’s suddenly lit up like this. It’s definitely suspicious."
Looking at the distant lights, the man named Amin, who seemed to be of equal status to Thorn Velvet, took out a lens and peered at the lights.
He then put it away and said, "That’s the light of an Illuminating Beacon. It’s certain that there are Beyonders inside. They’ve hung the beacon to keep their secrets."
"Hmph... They’re being cautious, these people. But no matter how much effort they put into counter-reconnaissance, they never expected their intelligence to be leaked."
Looking at the distant house, Thorn Velvet chuckled. The feeling of having everything under control, of looking down on the foolish actions of his opponents, gave him pleasure.
"They’ve hung Illuminating Beacon in the house. Given the size of the house, they must have covered the entire place. If we send spiders in for reconnaissance, they’ll definitely be detected."
Looking at the distant lights, Amin said, and Thorn Velvet replied directly, "Sending spiders in would alert them and make them flee. So there’s no need. According to the intelligence we have, there aren’t many combatants inside—at most one Black-rank and three apprentices, or maybe two Black-rank... No more than five people in total. We have two Black-rank members here, five apprentices, and some others. With the element of surprise, we can take them all out in one go."
Thorn Velvet spoke confidently. Hearing his words,
Amin nodded and said, "Hmm... You make a good point. But without knowing the exact situation inside, there’s still a bit of risk. What if we encounter some unexpected situation?"
"If we encounter an unexpected situation, we’ll deal with it. If we can’t handle it, we still have our trump card. No need to worry."
"True... Then let’s not waste any time. We’ll act now."
"Agreed."
After nodding to each other, the two Eight-Spired Nest leaders began assigning tasks to their subordinates, instructing them to sneak toward Lot 38 and surround it.
As they approached Lot 38, Thorn Velvet and Amin could hear faint, indistinct voices inside and see shadows moving behind the lit curtains, as if many people were whispering and plotting inside.
Seeing this, everyone was convinced that there were people inside Lot 38.
After confirming that all his men were in position, Thorn Velvet looked at Lot 38, just a few meters away. The people inside seemed unaware of the outside activity, their murmurs continuing uninterrupted.
"This is the price for messing with the wrong people, Rose Cross Order..."
Muttering to himself, Thorn Velvet took the lead, pulling out a pistol and firing several shots at the windows of Lot 38. At his signal, all his men, positioned around the house, suddenly stood up and began firing their guns at the building.
In an instant, gunfire erupted, bullets flying everywhere. Under the barrage, the doors and windows of Lot 38 were shattered, wood and glass breaking as bullets penetrated from all angles. The sound of gunfire echoed through the dark forest.
Finally, after everyone had emptied their magazines, Thorn Velvet and Amin dropped their guns, drew folding short swords from their clothes, and charged into the house at lightning speed, determined to eliminate any survivors immediately.
However, when they burst through the doors and windows into Lot 38, they were stunned by what they saw.
Inside Lot 38, wood splinters and glass shards littered the floor, and the place was riddled with bullet holes, a scene of utter chaos.
But amidst the bullet-riddled wreckage, there were no bodies. The house was completely empty, with no flesh or blood in sight.
There was no one inside Lot 38. All that remained was a damaged, non-functioning phonograph in the corner, riddled with bullet holes, and a wooden mannequin on the table, pierced by countless bullets. The bright lamp on the ceiling swayed slightly in the breeze from outside, casting moving shadows.
There was no one inside Lot 38. But outside, many eyes were watching them.