When Wayne woke up groggily, he saw that the sky had already brightened. He was covered with a thin blanket, lying in the cargo compartment of the Detective Agency's freight carriage.
Inessa was leaning against the carriage canopy, propped up by her custom bolt-action rifle, sitting sideways in the driver's seat, quietly resting with her eyes closed, seemingly having been on guard for some time.
Lina, who had changed back into a dress, was now somewhat furtively taking things from beside Wayne. Wayne looked in that direction and realized he was practically sleeping in a pile of junk, with all sorts of miscellaneous items around him.
Noticing Wayne was awake, Lina, who was holding a Feathered Serpent version of a “dragon-head short club,” looked over: “You’re awake?”
After speaking, she seemed to suddenly remember something, then leaned close to Wayne’s face, holding up two fingers: “What number is this?”
Hmm…
Wayne was still a bit dizzy at the moment, and Lina was holding up her thumb and index finger, with the other three fingers bent.
According to his habits from his previous life, this gesture represented “eight.” According to the customs of some countries on the Old Continent, it represented “two.” Windsor and America did not have such a habit of counting with fingers. If it were in the West, this generally represented a “pistol”…
Seeing Wayne hesitate, Lina quickly stood straight again, with one hand on her hip: “This seems a bit bad, Inessa. Although Wayne didn’t lose control on the spot, he feels like he’s become an idiot… I remember he has no other relatives left. So, who should inherit his shares? Should they be donated to the Blackstone Town council?”
“Thank you for not thinking of just outright taking my shares…” Wayne interrupted Lina’s nonsense with a hint of helplessness. After sitting up in the carriage, he propped his forehead with his fist. “How are the others doing?”
“You didn’t become an idiot?”
Lina tilted her head and brought her small face closer, hesitantly confirming Wayne’s reaction through the gap under her fist. “Everyone else is basically fine. Sanders and Connal were cursed and contaminated when that guy erupted in mist, but not severely. They had already self-rescued before the monks arrived. Everyone else at most suffered some minor external injuries; only you might have been in life-threatening danger.”
Wayne frowned slightly, “‘wisdom Sage…’”
Just as he said this, Lina’s index finger went up to her lips, and the corner of her eye glanced left and right at her surroundings.
Wayne thought for a moment and immediately changed his words, “When He appeared, weren’t Sanders and Connal also there? Why are they both fine?”
Inessa’s voice came from behind Wayne at this moment: “Because they did not ‘directly observe’ him.
“Normally awakened Extraordinary Persons will instinctively evade when sensing the influence of higher existences, but investigative type Extraordinary abilities can sometimes be very dangerous, potentially accidentally detecting higher existences that they should not be looking at, leading to their own loss of control or madness. This is also why the phrase ‘one cannot directly observe a deity’ is universally recognized.
“I probably knew you had similar Extraordinary abilities, Wayne, but I didn’t expect you to investigate when His projection descended… As their rank increases, mid-tier and above Extraordinary Persons often gradually strengthen their sensory abilities in this regard, but they are basically vague spiritual intuitions, not as useful as investigative type Extraordinary abilities. But even so, they would not easily ‘directly observe’; the risk is too great.”
Wayne turned his head upon hearing this, feeling a bit confused, “I had already stopped using my Extraordinary ability in time…”
“Perhaps you had already noticed the exact location of the projection and still unintentionally looked at it.”
Inessa seemed to be pondering the possibilities. “Most ordinary people cannot directly see Demons or even higher existences. Even if they do, only a distorted image will remain in their memory—but this does not mean they will not be affected by ‘direct observation.’ It’s already very fortunate to have survived.”
Lina finally confirmed that Wayne should still be rational, and her beautiful face moved a bit closer: “So, did you gain anything this time?”
“Another near-death experience, which made me appreciate the preciousness of life even more?” Wayne tried to summarize his insights.
“I’m not asking you about that.”
Lina’s eyes were shining. “Directly observing higher existences without losing control or going completely mad usually yields some Extraordinary knowledge. This is also why wild Extraordinary Persons were able to emerge from the era of ignorance and gradually form various organizations, cults, and schools of thought. Since you were affected and fortunately fine, and His projected phantom this time seems clearer than usual, you should have gained something.”
Holy crap?
Although it sounded like a good deal, Wayne, having experienced it firsthand, could already imagine the tragic survival rate and the heroic level of recklessness of his predecessors back then…
Wayne’s mental “RPM” had not yet returned to its normal state, and his thoughts were still a bit of a mess.
He tried his best to recall. His mind at the time was indeed like being washed by a giant wave, and some “flashes of inspiration” were vaguely left behind, but it was still a bit difficult to summarize them into language and speak them out right now: “I’m still a bit dizzy. I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”
Lina didn’t insist. She seemed to be busy with something else anyway. She picked up the “snake-head club” in her hand and prepared to turn and leave, “You promised not to go back on your word. We can also offer suggestions if there are any unclear details. This is Extraordinary knowledge obtained from Him. Some organizations that believe in Him are willing to spend money on this.”
“Wait a moment,” Wayne pointed to the “snake-head club,” “What is this?”
Lina immediately handed it over: “I plan to call it the ‘Scepter of Coatle.’ Although it looks like an ancient artifact, its actual production time is probably no more than fifty years. However, that cultist did indeed summon a phantom of Coatle with it before, so it should have been truly tainted with His aura. This might be a product of the Silent Sect after a successful ritual, and it also indicates that that guy’s status within the Silent Sect was actually not low.”
Wayne played with the “snake-head club,” which had already developed a patina, for a moment. “So what are you going to do with it?”
“Of course, it’s to be handed over to the Holy Spirit Church.” Lina’s answer was without hesitation. “This should be the most valuable item at the scene, theoretically even more precious than those few lumps of Extraordinary materials hidden under your butt.”
Wayne’s face was full of suspicion, and he even wanted to pull out his gun.
This isn’t the Lina I know… or else she’s possessed by a “ghost.”
Fortunately, Lina quickly half-covered her mouth and leaned close to Wayne’s ear, “The Sage has already taken the phantom projected by Coatle and most of the aura in the scepter as a ‘contribution.’ If we hand it over to the Cathedral, the Holy Spirit Church should not pursue the matter of the missing Extraordinary materials too much.”
Wayne’s hand, which was secretly reaching for his gun, stopped.
Alright, it’s indeed her.
