Chapter 7: 7. Chapter 7: Codename

Chapter 7: Codename

"You may address me as, The Fool."

The brief answer quickly dissipated within the magnificent temple and the pervasive fog, but in the hearts of Audrey and Alger, the voice echoed for a long time, stirring ripple after ripple.

It was a title they hadn't expected, yet felt was exactly how it should be—a title that perfectly embodied images of mystery, power, and the uncanny!

After a few seconds of silence, Audrey stood up, lifted her skirt slightly, bent her knees, and performed a curtsy to Zhou Mingrui

"Respected Mr. Fool, please allow me to make a presumptuous request: would you be willing to act as a witness to our transaction?"

"A small matter." Zhou Mingrui’s thoughts raced, and he replied in a manner befitting his persona.

"It is our honor, Mr. Fool." Alger also stood up, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed.

Zhou Mingrui pressed his right hand down in the air and smiled

"Continue."

Alger nodded, sat back down, and looked at Audrey

"If you can obtain the Ghost Shark blood, have someone send it to the 'Warrior and Sea' bar on Pelican Street in the White Rose District of Pritz Harbor. Tell the owner, Williams, that this is what the 'Captain' wants."

"After I confirm it, would you like me to send the potion formula to an address, or shall I tell you right here?"

Audrey pondered for a moment, then smiled

"I choose the more confidential method—right here. Although, this will certainly test my memory."

Since Mr. Fool had agreed to witness the transaction, it meant there would be future "gatherings" of this kind.

Thinking of this, she suddenly tilted her head, looked at Zhou Mingrui with bright eyes, and suggested with great interest

"Mr. Fool, would you mind having more 'attempts' like this in the future?"

Alger listened steadily, his heart stirred as well, and he quickly chimed in

"Mr. Fool, don't you think this kind of 'gathering' is quite interesting? Although your power transcends our imagination, there are always fields in the world that you may not understand or be proficient in. The lady opposite clearly comes from a noble background, and I have my own unique experience, knowledge, channels, and resources. In the future, she and I might be able to help you with trivial matters that are inconvenient for you to handle yourself."

In his view, since he had been pulled here without any defense or power to resist, it meant the initiative lay with the mysterious Mr. Fool. It wasn't certain that he could refuse or stop participating in the "gatherings" even if he wanted to. Therefore, it was better to dig deeper and extract the benefits of this encounter, using the gains to compensate for his passive and disadvantageous position.

The three parties at the long table had different backgrounds, different resources, different information channels, and different understandings of the mysterious realm. If they could communicate and cooperate to a limited extent, it would produce incalculable and immeasurable wonderful effects!

For example, the resource exchange just decided upon, or if he wanted to kill someone, he could ask a "gathering member" who had no apparent or actual connection to him to help. This would perfectly mislead the investigation in another direction.

A lady of noble birth... Is my performance, my accent, that obvious? Audrey’s mouth hung slightly open, and she was stunned for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded without hesitation

"Mr. Fool, I think this is a very good proposal. As long as the 'gathering' becomes regular, if there are things you find inconvenient to handle personally, you can certainly delegate them to us. Of course, provided it is within our capabilities."

From the beginning, Zhou Mingrui had been weighing the pros and cons. More "gatherings" would indeed allow him to gain more extraordinary secrets and occult knowledge, which would be helpful for his future return. For instance, the "Spectator" potion formula that should appear at the next "gathering." Likewise, it could help him obtain information and gain some assistance for his current life in reality.

However, the more "gatherings" there were, the easier it would be to expose his own true nature!

Sure enough, no matter which world it is, there is no such thing as only having benefits... Zhou Mingrui extended his right hand again, tapping the edge of the long table with his fingers.

Considering that the summoning and dismissal of the "gathering" were under his own control, even if some problems were exposed, they would be within a controllable range. The benefits clearly outweighed the drawbacks, and Zhou Mingrui quickly made his decision.

He stopped his tapping and smiled at the four expectant yet nervous gazes

"I am a person who likes equivalent exchange."

"I will not have you help unconditionally."

"Every Monday at 3:00 PM, try to be alone. Once I have experimented a few more times and figured some things out, perhaps you will be able to ask for leave in advance, so you won't have to worry about being in an inappropriate setting."

This was his agreement to the proposal from Alger and Audrey.

Audrey had just turned seventeen and had always been sheltered; she still had a very youthful heart. Hearing Mr. Fool's answer, she couldn't help but clench her fists and wave them lightly in front of her chest.

"Then shouldn't we give ourselves titles? After all, we can't communicate using our real names." Before Alger could speak, she said with bright eyes and great enthusiasm.

Although my true situation might not be hidden from Mr. Fool, that guy opposite is also a bit dangerous. I can't let him know who I really am!

"Good idea," Zhou Mingrui replied briefly and easily.

Audrey immediately put her mind to work, speaking as she thought

"You are Mr. Fool, from the Tarot cards. Since this is a regular, long-term, and secret 'gathering,' the titles should be consistent. Hmm, I'll pick from the Tarot cards too."

Her tone gradually became cheerful

"Decided, my title is 'Justice'!"

This was one of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards.

"And you, sir?" Audrey looked at her "companion" opposite with a smile.

Alger frowned slightly, then relaxed

"The Hanged Man."

This was another Major Arcana card.

"Okay, then we are the founding members of the Tarot Club!" Audrey blurted out happily, then looked a bit timidly at Zhou Mingrui, who was shrouded in gray fog. "Is that okay, Mr. Fool?"

Zhou Mingrui shook his head with amusement

"You can decide such small matters yourselves."

"Thank you!" Audrey was clearly very excited.

Then, she looked at Alger again

"Mr. Hanged Man, could you repeat that address from earlier? I'm afraid my memory isn't deep enough."

"No problem." Alger was quite satisfied with Audrey's seriousness and repeated the address.

After reciting it to herself three times, Audrey continued with great interest

"I heard that Tarot cards are just a game invented by Emperor Roselle and don't actually have the function of divination?"

"No. In many cases, divination comes from within. Everyone has spirituality and can connect to the spirit world, to information about themselves from a higher level. It's just that ordinary people cannot perceive this, let alone interpret the 'hints' they receive. When they use divination tools, this information is presented through the tools. A simple example is dreams and dream interpretation." Alger glanced at Zhou Mingrui, and seeing no reaction, he refuted Audrey's statement. "Tarot cards actually belong to this kind of tool. They use more symbols and more reasonable elements to help us interpret 'hints' more conveniently and accurately."

Zhou Mingrui appeared nonchalant, but he was actually listening very carefully. It was just that his mental exhaustion was becoming severe, and his head was throbbing with pain.

"Understood." Audrey nodded in agreement, then emphasized, "That's not what I meant. I'm not questioning the Tarot cards. I heard that Emperor Roselle actually created another deck of cards—secret cards that symbolize certain unknown powers. There were twenty-two in total. After completing them, he referred to them to invent the twenty-two Major Arcana of the Tarot as a game tool. Is this statement accurate?"

She looked at Zhou Mingrui, seemingly wanting to get an answer from the mysterious Mr. Fool.

Zhou Mingrui only smiled and did not speak, casting his gaze toward "The Hanged Man," as if testing him.

Alger subconsciously straightened his back and said in a deep voice

"Yes, it is said that Emperor Roselle saw the Blasphemy Slate, and that deck of cards hides the mysteries of those twenty-two divine pathways."

"Twenty-two divine pathways..." Audrey repeated in a tone full of longing.

At this moment, Zhou Mingrui's headache intensified, and he felt the invisible connection between himself, the crimson stars, and the gray fog beginning to waver.

"Alright, let's end today's gathering here." He decided immediately and spoke in a low voice.

"As you wish." Alger bowed his head in salute.

"As you wish." Audrey imitated "The Hanged Man."

She still had many questions and many thoughts; she was completely reluctant to end it.

As Zhou Mingrui cut the connection, he smiled and said

"Let us look forward to the next gathering."

The "stars" brightened again, and the crimson light retracted like water. Just as Audrey and Alger heard Mr. Fool's words, their figures became more blurred and increasingly illusory.

In less than a second, the "projections" shattered, and silence returned above the gray fog.

Zhou Mingrui felt himself rapidly becoming heavy, the surroundings drifting away. First, his vision went dark, and then there was brilliant sunlight.

He was still in his apartment room, still standing in the center.

"Like a dream... What exactly is that gray fog world... And who, or what kind of power, created the changes just now..." Zhou Mingrui sighed in a low voice, full of confusion. His legs felt like they were filled with lead as he walked toward the desk.

He picked up the pocket watch he had left outside to confirm how much time had passed.

"A one-to-one time flow," Zhou Mingrui estimated.

Putting down the pocket watch, his head throbbing with pain, he could no longer support himself. He sat in the chair, lowered his head, and used his left thumb and middle finger to massage his temples.

After a long time, he suddenly sighed and said in Chinese

"It seems I won't be able to go back for a while..."

Only the ignorant are fearless. After witnessing such magical things and learning about the extraordinary realm and the mysterious world, Zhou Mingrui dared not recklessly attempt the "luck enhancement ritual" in Futhark and Loen again!

God knows if other situations might arise. They might be even more bizarre, more terrifying, or even make life worse than death!

"At the very least, I must have a deep grasp of occultism before I can try again," Zhou Mingrui thought helplessly.

Fortunately, the so-called "gathering" could provide him with help.

After another silence, he muttered to himself with feelings of frustration, loss, pain, and melancholy

"From now on, I am Klein."

...

Klein tried to turn his thoughts back to methods and plans to alleviate the negative emotions in his heart.

Perhaps next week he could overhear the formula for the "Spectator" potion...

The "gathering" just now was truly magical. People from different parts of the world, turning thousands of miles into inches, communicating face-to-face, exchanging what they had... Uh, this sounds a bit familiar...

Klein was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. While pressing his temples, he mocked himself in a low voice

"Online social networking platform, anyone?"