Embers of Embers

Chapter 379 Onboarding
"So what's going on?"
Arthur boarded the carriage, and Lan Jade, who had been following him, was sitting in the car. When he saw him coming back, he asked directly.
"It's not bad. He didn't just pull out his gun and kill me. Instead, he was willing to have a good talk...but the conditions he wanted were a bit difficult."
Arthur glanced at the several carriages standing outside. In the Winchester office, joyful laughter continued one after another.
It seems that all of this is in Lorenzo's plan. When he is willing to take the initiative to appear, everyone is already in his script, and it is developing as he expected. Arthur can be sure that he has even expected his own When the time comes, perhaps when the conversation between two people might get nasty, these women will come to the rescue.
"What conditions?"
Lan Jade was a little confused. She didn't think Lorenzo would make any greedy conditions.
"He wants to meet Queen Victoria...even I can't easily meet her, let alone Lorenzo."
Arthur had a headache because of this. Although the Victoria royal family rarely appeared in front of the world and was troubled by the King's Curse, Arthur always had a strange premonition that this mysterious royal family was far from as fragile as it seemed. They still rule Yin Erweg today, and this is the best proof.
It's hard to explain this feeling, but I have to say that every decision made by the Victoria royal family was extremely accurate.
Some people still don't understand why they gave up steam technology in exchange for armor technology. Even Arthur had a headache for a while, but later he figured it out.
This problem is not difficult to solve. Jiuxia is so far away from the Western world that the Western world can basically ignore their existence. And judging from the current development, there are no technical barriers to basic steam technology. As long as there is a steam engine , its principles can be easily deconstructed. There is no need for Inverg to hold on to these, all it needs to do is to be ahead.
While other countries are still undergoing industrial reforms, Perpetual Pump has relied on these accumulated technologies to develop third-generation armor that can be mass-produced. In the future, this will be the backbone of the fight against monsters, but similarly, when the war begins At this time, this will be the legion that changes the situation.
Arthur didn't dare to think about what happened next. He had also thought about this in the dead of night. When the demons were eradicated, where would they go?
He rubbed his head tiredly and leaned back in the chair.
"I will report this matter to the queen. I hope it goes smoothly. Is there anything else going on next?"
As the carriage started slowly, Arthur asked about Blue Jade's recent affairs.
"The negotiations with the Evangelical Church are still going on. They have completely angered us this time, but the new pope responded that all this was not his instructions, but Father Anthony's private actions..."
"A scapegoat? In fact, we all know what is going on, but no one wants to break up if it is not necessary."
Arthur closed his eyes, and his heart was filled with anger, wishing he could kill Anthony himself, but due to various factors, he couldn't do so.
This is the world of adults. There is no good or evil, only pros and cons.
Lan Jade didn't continue to say anything. She was very good at hiding her emotions. She had the same anger, but just like Arthur said, now is not the time to start a full-scale war with the Evangelical Church.
"What about Gallo Nalo?"
This is one of the factors that hinders their revenge. Although the Glorious War was victorious, the enemy behind the White Tide Strait was not defeated.
"According to intelligence, they also have an internal organization to fight against demons, but it seems to be directly linked to the army, and it is reported that their senior officials have found a collaborator who can help them complete all this... The rest is not clear. Gaulnaro is always wary of us."
Arthur opened his eyes and stared straight ahead into nothingness.
Demons do not appear exclusively in a certain area, but are active everywhere in the world, and Gaulnaro is no exception. The supreme rulers of all countries are more or less aware of these abominations. thing, and everyone has tacitly kept this secret and controlled everything secretly.
However, judging from the current intelligence, the ones who know the most about demons are Yin Erweg and the Holy Gospel Papal State. Only these two countries can militarize part of the demons' power.
Arthur is not worried about these. Due to erosion factors, researching demon technology is much more difficult than steam technology. If not handled properly, it may trigger another Holy Night.
"What is somewhat noteworthy, however, is that the ties between Gallo-Naro and Leber have recently become closer, and they have collaborated to establish an industrial zone. What exactly they are doing is unclear."
Ying Erweg set off the industrial revolution, and this reform spread to the surrounding areas. Among them, Leiber was the country that developed the fastest since then.
"anything else?"
Arthur continued to ask.
These matters do not seem to be the responsibility of the purification agency, and for so long their scope of authority has only been within Inverge, and even overseas colonies have rarely been involved.
But Arthur knew very well, he knew very well what role the purification agency played in the hands of the Victoria royal family. When the threat of monsters was too great, they would be the wall of human reason, but when the war between people started , they will be the most cruel flesh and blood machines.
Arthur doesn't want that to happen. Rather than fighting with humans, he wants to destroy all the monsters.
However, he may not do this, but he must be fully prepared. He may not kill randomly, but he must ensure that the sharp knife is always in his hand.
"If there are others, they are the envoys from the Viking countries. They have never left, but stayed in Old Dunling and became a hub of communication. Recently, a group of visitors from the Viking countries have arrived. "
"Is that so?"
This information has little impact on the current status quo, but Arthur still likes to understand, which makes him feel that the situation is still under control.
"But here is something that will cause you a lot of headaches. I think you may need to think about it carefully."
At the end of the story, there was a slight smile on Lan Jade's face. It was more of a bad smile, as if she was looking at some unlucky person.
"what's up?"
Lan Jade took out a document from her bag.
"This was placed on your table today. I put it away for you. I think it's better for you to see it at this time."
"what is this?"
Arthur took the file and opened it with some confusion.
"CV."
"CV?"
Arthur's hand stopped, and he didn't understand why he should give something like a resume to himself. Shouldn't this kind of thing be given to personnel?Wait, do the cleanup agencies have such positions?
"Yes, don't you need a resume to apply for a position?"
Lan Jade couldn't help it any longer, and Arthur took out the resume with her looking forward to it.
The entry point is a familiar black and white photo, followed by a familiar name, a familiar resume, and the position you want to apply for.
"Do you want me to reject her directly?"
Lan Jade asked. Surprisingly, this time Arthur didn't show the expression of being about to be pissed off. Instead, he fell silent while looking at the resume.
Arthur did not rush to answer. Looking at this resume, his memory could not help but be dragged back to that desperate storm.
After surviving, Arthur felt a little unreal every time he recalled all this. It seemed that he should have died there, but was saved by one miracle after another.
He still remembered the red shadow that cut through the rain curtain. Before he knew it, she had grown up and even said she was doing better than Arthur.
"Let me think about..."
Arthur thought for a moment, then asked.
"Kestrel is quite free now, right?"
"Well, he has been responsible for finding Lorenzo's movements before, and now he is on vacation." Lan Jade replied.
Joey's life and death are still unknown... No, to be precise, he is dead. In that state, no one thought he could wake up again, and with Joey's "death", Kestrel took over part of his Work.
He was once a small gangster from Xiacheng District. He resolutely joined the purification agency for employee accommodation and a good retirement life. After going through great storms, Kestrel has now become a backbone. Coupled with his outstanding performance in the storm, he said Maybe he will take Shrike's place in the future.
"Call him back and let him bring Eve with him."
"Oh... what?"
Lan Jade was about to destroy the resume, but suddenly she was stunned, as if she doubted her own ears. She looked at Arthur with a look of disbelief.
"what happened?"
"Just...just..."
Lan Jade didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Yes, I gave up and let her do what she wanted. Besides, this can be regarded as a kind of motivation for me."
Arthur didn't look at Lan Jade's ridiculous expression. He tilted his head to one side and looked at the dim world outside the window. As the carriage moved forward, the light from the street lamp swept over his face.
"Yes, fighting monsters is very dangerous, but as long as you kill them all, this threat will no longer exist, right? Just like she wanted to be a police detective before, as long as all the criminals are caught , wouldn’t she, the police detective, be safe?”
Arthur said a strange fallacy, but it was also a fallacy that he firmly believed.
Lorenzo is right. In the past few years, the purification agency's understanding of demons has become clearer. Maybe... maybe this ancient curse will be broken in his own hands?Even if you can't do it yourself, being a witness to all this is a great honor.
……
After sending these women away, Lorenzo looked back at the stacked orders, walked to the table and picked up a few casually and glanced at them.
The work content is all kinds of weird, such as catching the mistress, poisoning the husband, stealing the opponent's business intelligence, opening up smuggling channels...
Wait, why is this getting weirder and weirder?
The image of the women in Lorenzo's mind suddenly became sinister.
It's not like Lorenzo has never done this kind of work before, but now that it's more or less officially open for business, Lorenzo feels that he should at least do something aboveboard, ethical, and legal.
"Uh, this, this, and this, they all look like they can't be done."
Lorenzo crumpled up several orders full of resentment and killing intent, and then threw them into the trash can.
How bad it is to fight and kill, I am not a killer now, but a serious detective.
Suddenly Lorenzo's movements stopped, and something caught his eye out of the corner of his eye.
"Madam, the event is over, why don't you leave?"
Lorenzo looked at the dark stairwell. It was difficult for ordinary people to glimpse the darkness, but this was not a problem for Lorenzo, as a demon hunter.
He saw a woman in black standing there. She should have sneaked in with those women, but they all left, and she was still here, presumably for something.
After being discovered by Lorenzo, she did not panic and walked out of the darkness calmly.
Her whole body was wrapped in black clothes, and her face was covered with a black veil. Lorenzo couldn't see her clearly, but he could smell a cold fragrance, which Lorenzo often smelled. The fragrances are all different and impressive.
"Mr. Lorenzo Holmes."
The woman spoke. Lorenzo thought she would be a young woman, but her voice sounded a little old.
"I hear you're a professional and take on some 'shady' jobs, right?"
Lorenzo looked at the woman shrouded in darkness. After a while, a begging smile appeared on his face, then he sat back in his seat and said to her.
"Ah...does it sound like another murderous job? I'm a detective, not a killer."
Lorenzo suddenly felt bored. He had thought that this woman would cry to him a sad story and then entrust him with an interesting job, but now it sounded boring.
"No, it's a job to find someone. A friend of mine is missing. I hope you can find him."
"Oh?"
Lorenzo's expression changed slightly, it was hard to imagine that a job of finding someone would be side by side with "darkness", and he began to feel a little bad.
"Talk about it."
"You haven't promised me yet, so I can't reveal too much."
"But if you don't explain it clearly, how do I know what kind of job this is?"
Lorenzo looked nonchalant. Although he said he had no money to support his family, he was just talking after all. Now he has so many weird orders, even if he doesn't do these, Lorenzo can still He chose to blackmail Arthur. After all, after working for the purification agency for so long, they seemed to have not paid him yet.
He likes interesting jobs, but hates troublesome ones, especially this kind of secretive ones.
"A friend of mine disappeared in Nalo, Gaul..."
"Okay! Don't talk anymore!"
Lorenzo stopped her immediately and even stood up in excitement.
"What... what's wrong?"
The woman was a little confused and didn't understand why Lorenzo was so excited. She was even more confused about what Lorenzo said next.
"I reject!"
(End of this chapter)