Chapter 25: Tell a joke, Old Blue is a social phobia
"The Hanged Man is indeed a mentor... I'll leave the job of training the newbie to become a veteran to you..."

After Old Blue finished complaining in his heart, he said to Miss Justice across from him:
"Except for a small part, the intelligence I shared is not considered confidential within the organizations. The confidentiality level is not high, and its value is not even as high as the latest decision of the king and the prime minister that you shared."

"Just consider it as a reward for Miss Justice's sharing of information before." Old Blue saw that Miss Justice was going to say something else, so he continued:

"This is actually good for me. It shows my abilities, knowledge, and channels. After all, Mr. Sun and I are new members. If we want to integrate into the gathering, we have to pay a certain price. Mr. Sun has already shared his strange living environment and sacrificial rituals, so I also need to express my gratitude. I hope to get along well with you all in the future, for Mr. Fool and for the future of the Tarot Club."

This statement also completely dispelled Audrey's idea of ​​offering monetary compensation, as that would give people the impression that she only knows how to solve problems with money. She said:

“You are such a generous and knowledgeable gentleman.”

Sun Derrick seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he was organizing his words or worried about something.

"What do you mean by 'For Mr. Fool'? The future of the Tarot Club? A gathering of traitors?"

Klein the Fool complained in his heart, "Mr. Priestess is really a social expert... Of course, this is actually based on his extraordinary knowledge. Only in this way can he casually answer questions related to Mr. A as a stepping stone to integrate into the group..."

There was a few seconds of silence above the gray fog, marking the end of the previous question and the beginning of the next topic.

The Hanged Man Alger said:

"Miss Justice, Mr. Priestess, I have received intelligence that the great pirate Qilingos, known as 'Vice Admiral Hurricane', has secretly landed and sneaked into Backlund. I don't know what he wants to do. I hope you can help me find his whereabouts..."

"Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingos? One of the seven pirate generals?" Audrey's eyes widened slightly, and she almost couldn't keep her audience state.

“Sure enough,” Old Blue thought to himself, “Alger still proposed the task of finding Qilingos… He didn’t answer Justice’s question just now because he wanted to test me. Now it seems that he entrusted me with the task of finding the ‘male bestie’ because he thinks I am also very powerful? Haha, I am only Sequence 8, the same sequence as the great Mr. Fool…”

Priestess Old Blue listened quietly, not as excited as Miss Justice. That was the state of an extraordinary novice.

He was thinking, is there a chance to ambush in the Municipal Park in advance, and after Qilingos assassinates Duke Negan, jump out and kill him with a "Lance of No Darkness"... and also gain "Creeping Hunger"... and also get the Sequence 6 "Wind-loving" Beyonder characteristic, killing three birds with one stone! Old Blue's eyes lit up.

Alger solemnly introduced the danger of Qilingos, mainly to Miss Justice, reminding her not to try to deal with Qilingos. In this regard, Alger was still very kind.

He suddenly turned his head, looked at the Fool and said:

“Mr. Fool, can I ask your followers to help me at a critical moment? I will pay a price that interests you.”

The fool smiled and said:
"The premise is that my beloved happens to be in Backlund."

Old Blue couldn't help but look at Alger again, thinking, "He is really bold. 'Pay the price you are interested in', such a vague sentence, he is just bullying me that Klein is not a real evil god, otherwise with this test, Alger's life will be in danger..."

"What's so special about Qi Lingos's magical item?" Audrey asked with some confidence.

She carefully counted the resources she could use, and surprisingly felt that she had a good ability to find people in Backlund.

——Father’s connections, his own social circle, extraordinary friends, etc.

Apparently, she had severely underestimated an experienced, cunning, and adaptable pirate general.

Alger didn't hesitate and answered directly without thinking:

"The real name of that magical item is unknown, but those who know it call it 'Creeping Hunger'... Qilingos was originally just a 'Wind Blesser' with good extraordinary abilities in the fields of water, wind, and weather... But later he became almost omnipotent... For example, he could enter other people's dreams, summon light to purify the dead, and change into different people's appearances, etc." Alger described it in great detail, "We suspect that these are all brought about by the magical item 'Creeping Hunger'..."

Before he finished speaking, Derrick Berg, the "Sun" who was listening quietly, blurted out in astonishment: "Shepherd!"

"Shepherd? The shepherd that the priestess just talked about?"

"shepherd?"

Justice and the Hanged Man spoke at the same time. They had just heard this name, but the corresponding ability was like a mystery. The priestess did not explain it in detail, but just said "powerful, weird"...

Derrick was a little flustered. No matter how silent, reserved, sad and depressed he was, he was still just a teenager.

He stammered and explained:
"What I mean is that the characteristics listed by the Hanged Man are very similar to the extraordinary abilities of the Shepherd class. Each Shepherd can devour the souls of others, including resentful souls and evil spirits, and drive these souls in a unique way, using their abilities accordingly, just like shepherding lambs for the gods."

"So, no one knows how much power the Shepherds have. It all depends on how many extraordinary souls they devour. This makes them look very terrifying, almost equal to high-sequence strongmen."

"But one suspects that there is a limit to the number of souls that the 'shepherd' can devour and herd, but they can be replaced."

Klein the Fool wanted to hold his forehead. Little Sun is still too young... This news is very important information... You actually said it out loud! But what the priestess said is right. If new members want to integrate into the party, they must pay a price. Only then will the senior members be psychologically more likely to accept them...

Miss Justice felt a little heavy-hearted. She had realized what level Mr. A's gathering was at... Although it was much lower than the Tarot Club, it was not something she, who had just become a Beyonder, could resist with Xio and Fors...

Even if she was just an extraordinary novice, she didn't think that "Arbitrator" Hugh Dilcha would be able to arbitrate Mr. "Shepherd" A...

"Even if Mr. A is not lustful, but wants to recruit followers of the Aurora Society, it still makes me feel uncomfortable... Alas, it's a pity that I can't pay enough. Please ask Mr. Fool to take action and easily deal with that disgusting guy..."

"What about Mr. Priestess? If he is a High-Sequence Expert, can we ask him to eliminate Mr. A? Oh, he wasn't even surprised by what Mr. Sun said... He already knew the ability of the Shepherd, and was also aware of the ability of the Wriggling Hunger... He didn't mention these when he introduced the Shepherd just now..."

"That's right. After all, this is very important knowledge. Even Mr. Hanged Man doesn't know it..."

"Mr. Sun blurted out and instantly recognized the 'Creeping Hunger' with the 'Shepherd' ability. This shows that he is relatively simple and lacks more extraordinary experience than me..."

"This also shows that Mr. Sun, an ordinary person who is not even a Beyonder, can access Beyonder knowledge at the Shepherd level. I don't understand where he is... Maybe I need to ask Mr. Fool or Mr. Priestess..."

Miss Justice fell into deep thought, but temporarily gave up her impulse. She nodded gratefully to the "Sun", thanking him for giving everyone a new guess about the "Creeping Hunger", so that they could make a more reasonable and effective response.

"Mr. Hanged Man, I am willing to accept this commission, but I cannot guarantee that I can find Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingos." Audrey turned and looked across.

"There is no better answer than this. Regardless of whether you succeed or not, as long as you make the attempt, I will pay you a certain amount of money later, such as some secret knowledge and intelligence. If you succeed, perhaps I can directly provide you with the main materials of the 'Mind Reader'. Of course, the premise is that we have to know what it is." Alger promised with a rare generous attitude.

It was indeed generous. The Hanged Man finally stopped bullying the newbie and announced the reward he could offer.

That's how transactions are. It's never about what the other party wants, but what you can offer.

If the other party wants it, should we give it to them? Either it is fraud or they are running away.

"Deal." Audrey pursed her lips and replied with a faint smile.

Next, with Klein's permission and help, Alger conjured up a portrait of Qilingos.

This one of the seven pirate generals had a distinctive wide chin, his brown hair was tied into an ancient warrior's bun at the back of his head, and his dark green eyes seemed to be smiling, but they were unusually cold.

　Second update, thanks for watching!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)