Xia De's face fell into shadow as he lowered his head. The fountain pen in his hand couldn't be opened casually; once opened, it could never be restored.
He currently had two tasks: one was to transmit this item to Carson Rick's Gray Gloves intelligence network, and the other was to report this matter to MI6. But before deciding which one to do, or to do neither, Xia De still wanted to see what kind of intelligence he had obtained.
With a gentle pull, he removed the pen cap, and the deformed, broken metal wire immediately dangled out. Xia De carefully took out the slender strip of paper from inside. This time, the content wasn't numbers; it was directly readable delarion:
"On the last day of this month, your goods are in the warehouse with a red door plate on Punjab Avenue in Middlesburg."
Xia De narrowed his eyes:
"MI6's intelligence is problematic. The Seth Principality isn't trying to align with the Carson Rick United Principality; the Seth Principality is helping to transship a batch of sensitive goods."
Goods worthy of Carson Rick deploying a high-level spy like Gray Headed Eagle must be extraordinary. Although Xia De didn't know what they specifically were, it was clear that the intelligence he held was of great value.
Middlesburg is adjacent to the Seth Principality, and as an important transportation hub City on the eastern border between the two countries, everything made sense.
"So, which task will you do?"
She asked, laughing, by his ear.
Xia De thought for a moment, then reinserted the paper strip into the pen cap and capped the pen. He took a deep breath, and as he inhaled, some invisible air currents flew out from the fountain pen in his hand.
Time was reversed to twenty seconds ago, and the sealed information in his hand returned to its original state.
"I definitely have to report to Chief Anlos, after all, I'm taking his salary."
He looked at the fountain pen in his hand and tucked it into his waistband:
"But I can't explain the origin of this thing, so this intelligence cannot be given directly to Chief Anlos."
He walked towards the auditorium on the third floor:
"An amateur agent like me certainly couldn't have discovered Virgil Cameron contacting anyone. But I'm very dedicated, so I asked to trade commemorative coins with him, and chatted a bit more during the transaction. Because my friend Priest Augustus went to Middlesburg, when I occasionally mentioned it, he seemed very wary. That's enough. Afterward, I'll find a way to transmit more detailed intelligence to Chief Anlos."
Xia De nodded.
"Then what about the intelligence in your hand?"
"MI6's task must be completed, and the Gray Gloves' task must also be completed. Since I was mistaken for 'Gray Headed Eagle,' I naturally have to play the role. Of course, only this once, for those two thousand pounds."
He didn't refuse to admit his purpose at all. Originally, he didn't want to get involved in such matters, but for the two types of special blood, he was really short on money now. And the rewards offered by Carson Rick's spies were simply too tempting.
"Only this once. After this time, Gray Headed Eagle will be truly dead."
He said in his heart. As he re-entered the auditorium, he still felt a bit sorry for Sparrow Hamilton Detective, who had left all his property to him. But then he thought that the intelligence he gave to MI6 was not complete, and he did perfectly complete the task that Sparrow Detective failed to complete.
"Does this count as a win-win?"
"You mean you won twice?"
She was still so fond of laughing.
Tifa pulled out a chair for Xia De. After Xia De thanked her softly, he caught the cat that suddenly jumped up.
After sitting down, he looked across. Mr. Cameron, finally relieved after successfully transmitting the intelligence, finally began to enjoy the game.
The two smiled at each other:
"Of course not. I mean, the party that should get the intelligence got the intelligence, and the party that should get the information got the information. MI6 and the Gray Gloves, both won."
He stroked his cat. Under the light of the crystal chandelier above, the cat's fur appeared golden.
The cat obediently squatted down, tilting its head and looking at Xia De with large amber eyes. Xia De, in turn, reached out and picked up the last card that hadn't been cleared from the table, flicked it between his fingertips, and tossed it to the dealer. He smiled and said:
"Deal."
Although the main purpose of this trip to Tobesk was to transmit the crucial intelligence he held, it was impossible for Virgil Cameron, as a seasoned card player, to have no thoughts about the title of the 1853 Great City Player rhode cards King.
Therefore, after shedding his psychological burden, Xia De's opponent finally displayed his highest level.
In the first round of the second game, Mr. Cameron, with three cards totaling 19 points, decisively chose to stop drawing cards, forcing Xia De, who had three cards totaling 18 points, to draw a fourth card, and then unfortunately went bust and lost the first round.
Seeing Mr. Cameron, who had been in an unusual state earlier, return to normal, the guests who came to watch the final also became excited.
Xia De said nonchalantly:
"Lady Luck has favored you again, Mr. Cameron."
"Yes, Mr. Hamilton, I think this game has finally become interesting."
Their conversation was very harmonious, not at all like enemies vying for a championship title.
The scene in the second round was very similar to the first. Mr. Cameron got 20 points with three cards. He smiled, held up the cards, showed them to the surrounding guests, and then motioned for Xia De to look at his cards.
In Xia De's hand, the three cards were sun 11, Moon 1, and Moon 7, totaling 19 points, still one point behind Mr. Cameron.
Among them, Moon 7 was 【Northern City · Coldwater Port City】, but since less than half of the deck had been used, it had no effect.
"Deal again."
Xia De said, and so the card, placed on an iron ruler engraved with an ouroboros pattern, was delivered face down to Xia De's hand.
Xia De pressed the card under his hand, lifted a corner to peek, and raised an eyebrow.
"How is it?"
Mr. Cameron asked suspiciously.
"3 points."
"Then that's 22 points, you've gone bust again."
He smiled.
"No, Sun 3."
Xia De picked up the card and showed its face to the opposite side:
"Sun 3 【Origin · Silver Moon】, the card number can be adjusted between 1-5 points. I'll adjust 3 to 2, so I have 21 points."
The crowd murmured. Xia De paused to let the referee and guests understand his explanation, then tossed the card to the side of the table:
"I win, deal."
In the third round, after both sides received their hole cards, Mr. Cameron lifted a corner of his hole card, looked at it, and said with a smile to Xia De:
"Look, my luck is back, King."
Xia De also glanced at his hole card and flipped it over as well:
"Sorry, the first face-down card is 【Genesis Darkness】, which wins directly regardless of any rules or conditions, and its priority is greater than any other rule."
Mr. Cameron was stunned, narrowed his eyes, and flicked the card held between his fingers aside:
"I'm one of the few people who can lose to two different Founding series cards in one game. Two to four, I still have a chance, please continue dealing."
In the fourth round, for the first two cards, Mr. Cameron's first face-down card was unknown, and the second was Moon 5. Xia De received Sun 2 and sun 13.
Xia De naturally continued to draw cards, while Mr. Cameron hesitated for a moment before drawing a third card, which led Xia De to tease him:
"Hesitation leads to defeat."
"No, no, hesitation is just to make oneself more cautious."
Mr. Cameron's remark was a proverb popular in southern Delarion. When he read it in a Seth Principality accent, Xia De had to think for a moment to understand the meaning of the pronunciation.
"Look, my caution was very useful, 20 points."
Mr. Cameron flipped over the third card and placed it with the first two: Flower 13, Moon 5, and Moon 2.
"You're really lucky. In four rounds, you got 19 points, 20 points, a King, and 19 points respectively."
Xia De said with a smile, looked at his own cards, and frowned slightly.
"But no matter how good my luck is, you won the first game, and I'm still behind in this second game."
Mr. Cameron clasped his hands together, watching Xia De draw cards.
"Bust again."
Xia De flipped over his hole card, but wasn't dejected:
"Sun 2, sun 13, Flower 7. 22 points. But Flower 7 is 【genesis - balance】, I went bust, so I can draw again."
Xia De tossed the three cards aside and motioned for the dealing to continue.
People whispered. Although Xia De praised Mr. Cameron's luck, he himself had genuinely drawn 【Founding】 series cards for three consecutive rounds.
The first card drawn again was Moon 9 【Demon · Soul Stealer Bishop】, which had no effect since the opponent had already stopped drawing; the second was Flower 6, a normal card; the third card was Moon 6.
Totaling 21 points.
Xia De heard Tifa take a deep breath behind him, clearly also drawn into the tense card game. The other guests also praised Xia De's luck, and Mr. Cameron frowned, making his effeminate handsome middle-aged face appear a bit downcast:
"Such a thing exists?"
He couldn't understand.
Xia De was temporarily leading six to two, winning consecutively with three 【Founding】 series rhode cards.
In the fifth round of the second game, Mr. Cameron smiled again after flipping over his first card:
"Today's luck is really strange, look, special card - Moon 1 【Great Age of Steam · Textile Weaver Leaving Work】."
The pattern on the card was a bustling crowd at the entrance of a textile factory at dusk, after work.
"If this card is drawn as the first or third card, one can roll a die. If the die roll is 5 or 10, then I can choose whether to adjust the points down by 1 digit when calculating the points for this round."
"What an interesting rule."
Xia De nodded, then watched Mr. Cameron roll a die prepared by the Prophet Association, but unfortunately it was a 6, so the rule was invalid.
