Chapter 127: What You Think Doesn’t Matter. It’s What I Think That Counts
“Portal, black robes, underlings of the Thousand-Eyed Demon...”
Wayne received Do’s message and wondered why the demon’s underlings would be targeting Kristen. He had encountered them before. Every single one of them was foul-mouthed and quick to act on orders made by their lower head.
Londan had no shortage of service providers. If they were feeling pent-up frustration, they could’ve just paid to satisfy their needs. It didn’t make sense for them to go to such lengths at the risk of exposing the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s plan. They only had one life and wouldn’t have the guts for that.
Wayne couldn’t figure out the reason, but perhaps the Church of Heavenly Father might know something. Tonight, he’d pass the information to Mona and let the church worry about it.
Late that night, he emerged from the sewers and nodded at the small truck parked in front of Mona’s house. Even a starved camel was bigger than a horse[1], as they said. The church had prepared everything he needed in only one day.
He opened the car door and slipped into the passenger seat. When he noticed Mona in the driver’s seat with an expression that screamed she had seen through him, he snorted in annoyance.
It took you two whole nights to recognize a good guy, and you call yourself a Blue-rank detective? You’ve dragged down the standards of the entire industry.
“Where to?”
“Somewhere secluded. This place isn’t suitable for opening a portal,” Wayne said slowly. “And remember to add ‘master’ next time. You’ve been captured and enslaved by me. You must show you’re conflicted rather than maintaining your poker face.”
Makes sense! Mona nodded. Although the Archbishop hadn’t spelled it out, she had confirmed the fact. The bastard was on their side.
She was well aware of the difficulty of going undercover. She had only been doing it for two days, but she was already mentally exhausted. The despair that she could lose everything at any moment was unbearable. This bastard spent every day among demons and demon minions, constantly threatened by mortal danger. She couldn’t even imagine the pressure he was enduring.
Thinking about it this way, she could forgive getting groped a few times.
The truck slowly started up. Wayne raised his hand to stop her and said gravely, “You’re wearing high heels?”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
“Take off your shoes. From now on, no high heels while driving.” Wayne made the order with his thoughts, emphasizing the gravity of the issue.
Ten minutes later, the truck stopped by the side of an alley. He sat in the truck and used the key to open a portal, directing Mona to carry the alchemical materials through it one by one with great care. Not a single bump was allowed. She obediently followed the order, busying about without a single complaint.
A bystander would say she had been tamed at first glance.
***
Ruined ancient city number three, courtyard.
Mona looked at Wayne as he made tea on the sofa and finally understood why a sofa, a tea set, and a fire rack would be included in the alchemical materials.
“Stop slacking off and set up the alchemy circle quickly. We have a lot to do tonight. Once you’ve completed the circle, I have other tasks for you.” Wayne crossed his legs and lowered his cup of tea, urging her along loudly. It was unforgivable to slack off during working hours.
Mona scowled, but worked extra hard on setting up the circle according to his instructions without a word.
The materials needed weren’t precious, just large in the required amounts. And the magic circle demanded extremely high precision in its making, too mentally and physically taxing for ordinary people.
Wayne wasn’t willing to suffer through the process. He wasn’t going to offer his work to the demon. Outsourcing the work to a clergy member, and everyone profited. This was a win-win-win situation.
“It looks like you’re enjoying yourself, Bruce!”
A portal opened, and the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s clone arrived for inspection. Seeing Wayne lounging on the sofa while the cleric he controlled worked nonstop, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Excellent. What a devilish act. The kid had real potential.
“Master, I humbly welcome your arrival.” Wayne stood up, bowing slightly with a hand on his chest like a butler would.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon was even more satisfied. This servant’s etiquette reminded him of his most prized disciple, Sigma. Their resemblance made him like Wayne even more. Unfortunately, his new dog had once served the Lord of Blood. Even though he had taken him, Wayne’s faith in blood was only suppressed, not eliminated. Ultimately, he wouldn’t make a trusted confidant.
“Get over here and greet my master, Mona.” When the Thousand-Eyed Demon remained silent, Wayne called his acting prop over. Mona approached him with her head lowered, quietly addressing him as ‘master’. Her aggrieved tone fit her character as a helpless slave.
“What’s going on?” the Thousand-Eyed Demon asked disapprovingly. “Your servant seems to retain her will.”
“Master, I’m too weak to completely control her. I can only implant my thoughts to make her obey my commands.” Wayne looked hopefully at the Thousand-Eyed Demon after saying that.
The demon ignored the unspoken request. He was only a clone and couldn’t grant more power. Instead, he said slowly, “Bruce, power isn’t about raw strength, but how you use it. You could easily erase her thoughts and turn her into a mindless puppet. If you can’t do it, I’ll help you.”
Mona shuddered, lowering her head deeply and holding her breath.
“That would be dull. Compared to a puppet, I much prefer watching her struggle.” Wayne slapped her bottom hard. She shook, her fists clenched white.
“Kekekeke—” x2
Both demons cackled hard. The Thousand-Eyed Demon nodded approvingly. “Good. You’re truly a bad character. What a shame it’ll be if you don’t go to hell.”
“Thank you for the praise. I learned from you, Master,” Wayne said humbly. “I used two of the tricks you taught me on her. I’m getting good results. She already knows how to climb on top of people proactively.”
“Play around if you want, but don’t get too serious. Remember to destroy her after everything, or she’ll destroy you.” The Thousand-Eyed demon thought of a certain demon lord who had made him addicted. He ended the conversation and asked instead, “How’s the alchemy circle coming along? Any progress on the sixty-six corpses I asked you to collect?”
“The circle is still being set up. It’ll be done in two days. The corpses will take more time.” Wayne lowered his head. “The faithful of hell are hidden deep in Londan. I know the whereabouts of a few friends and plan to bring their corpses over tonight. After that, I’ll have to search for more and collect them as I go.”
“Good, they didn’t make the wrong friends.” The Thousand-Eyed Demon praised him again. Bruce looked more and more like he had the potential to become a demon. If hell weren’t already overcrowded and territory weren’t insufficient as it was, he would have wanted to properly cultivate this servant.
“You have one month. Given your ability, you can definitely complete the task. Serve me well, and you’ll be well rewarded when the time comes.” The Thousand-Eyed Demon gave him empty promises.
Sounds awfully familiar. Wayne thought about it and concluded that he had made the same promise to someone. He bowed and said, “Master, the chance to show my loyalty to you is the greatest reward you can grant me. I want nothing else.”
The Thousand-Eyed Demon stared at him, suddenly seeing Sigma in him. With a sigh, the demon said regretfully, “If only I had met you before Blood did...”
“Master, who is Blood?”
“Hahaha, you’re right. Who is Blood indeed.” The Thousand-Eyed Demon patted Wayne’s shoulder, developing genuine appreciation of his talent. After a month, he would personally perform the ritual to transform Wayne into his familiar.
After the demon’s departure, Wayne sat on the sofa. Mona came over and whispered into his ear, “There’s still a month, I think...”
“Shut up, what does this have to do with you?” Wayne glared at her.
She slowly sat on his lap immediately, putting her arms around his shoulder and leaning into his ear. “There’s still a month. I think—”
“What you think doesn’t matter. It’s what I think that counts.” Wayne rose to his feet with a blank face, throwing her to the ground. “No flirting with your master during office hours. After you get off work, you’ll have plenty of time to serve me.”
Mona blinked, finally realizing her mistake. She suppressed her curiosity and went back to working on the alchemy circle.
This woman’s forgetting her place! Wayne frowned at her. She didn’t know how to convincingly play someone being controlled. She was climbing onto his lap today; she would be sitting on his face tomorrow. If this went on, she could compromise his cover and expose him to the Thousand-Eyed Demon.
No good. He had to give the church a heads-up. The messenger was too clever and came up with ideas constantly. She needed to be put in her place.
Two hours later, the alchemy circle already had a rough shape. Wayne sent a mental message to Mona to call it a day. Since he had said that the circle would take two days to complete, he certainly wouldn’t finish it in one night of intensive work. Why was his subcontractor working so hard?
“Come on. Let’s catch some corpses.”
***
Western District.
Mona parked the car by the roadside. While she did her thing, Wayne sat in the back seat, waiting for her return.
He was too kindhearted to witness overly bloody scenes, so, along with the alchemy circle, he also outsourced the job of collecting sixty-six corpses.
Mona emerged from the apartment building carrying a large suitcase. Tossing it into the trunk, she got into the car, removed her high heels, and started the engine.
“Master, the target is eliminated. No traces are left at the scene, and I forged her handwriting to leave a letter saying she’s gone traveling abroad,” Mona said to the rearview mirror. She was still awkward about addressing him as ‘master’, but Bruce strictly followed the code of conduct for undercover work and refused to reveal his identity even after they had reached a mutual understanding.
She played along. After saying it a few more times, it wasn’t as embarrassing as it had been initially.
Wayne opened the file and checked the cultist’s information under the dim streetlight. This was a third-rate actress who worshipped the Lord of Lust, one of the Seven Demon Lords. She had a messy private life, beautiful like a flower, but with the heart of a venomous snake. Through bedding people and sucking them dry, she maintained her youth and beauty.
It sounded very much like a succubus, and indeed it was. According to Mona, the Lord of Lust, whom the actress worshipped, took the form of a succubus. She was hell’s prized flower and acted as both a courtesan and a bawd; all her creations were born in her image.
The actress gained youth and beauty, while the men she bedded suffered terribly. At best, they became impotent, and at worst, they lost ten years of their life.
“A follower of Lust...” Wayne glanced at Mona as she drove. “Women like her wouldn’t catch my master’s eyes even if offered for free, but you’re different. You’re clean and pure. If I hadn’t marked you as mine and reshaped you, my master would certainly take you away.”
Is this information, or just idle chatter?
Mona asked tentatively, “What would Master’s master do after taking me?”
“How would I know? Wouldn’t you think on your own?” Wayne huffed. “That’s enough for tonight. Deliver the suitcase to base number three, and you may go.”
“Master, do you have any other instructions?”
“Yes—you talk too much. If you can’t suppress your curiosity, don’t bother coming to me anymore.”
***
“Why are you so curious about everything?” At the cathedral, Gunther chided Mona after her briefing. “Don’t do anything beyond your assigned tasks. You’re undercover. Self-preservation is your primary mission. If you’re exposed, we’ll lose our leads.”
Mona nodded. She had learned to speak less during the latter half of tonight’s operation.
“Also, you don’t need to meet me every night from now on. It’ll increase the risk of you getting exposed. For important intelligence, contact me via radio in the future.” Gunther waved at her and told her to leave in disguise. He then began to study the newly gained information.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon was searching for virgins, which reminded him of many evil rituals. Without sufficient intelligence, he couldn’t determine which specific one it might be.
Bruce had delivered the most crucial pieces of intelligence he knew to the Church of Heavenly Father, but based on the information, Gunther concluded that Bruce hadn’t been included in the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s inner circle, preventing him from learning what was truly important. In the short term, the church would have to rely on its own intelligence network for more critical information.
The church had two such networks in Windsor. Between them, Gunther chose the Free Mage Alliance. He had already contacted them, and it was about time for the appointment.
He left the cathedral alone and drove over ten kilometers to an unremarkable bar. In a private room on the second floor, three elderly men had been waiting for some time.
“You’re late, Gunther,” Director Planck said.
“I brought the latest information...” Gunther pulled out a chair and sat down. Closing his eyes, he sensed his surroundings to confirm that a soundproofing barrier was in place before continuing, “What about your end? Have you identified Bruce? Is he a member of the Free Mage Alliance?”
“It doesn’t appear so at the moment.”
“Then put him on the target list and eliminate him when the time comes,” Gunther said.
“No rush with that. We decided to keep him around.”
Planck stroked the antique silver coin in his hand. He happened to know a genius who could use the corresponding faith magic with the right artifacts. Coincidentally, the genius had recently prevented the descent of the Lord of Blood on Dragon Heart Island. To make a bold guess, perhaps he had picked up a strange artifact afterward that allowed him to use blood magic. However, there was no need to tell Gunther that. They weren’t that close.
As for the confirmation of whether Bruce was Wayne, someone else had volunteered for the job. Planck’s authority level was lower, so there wasn’t much he could do about it.
While the group discussed the matter, Auston, in the adjacent room, sat on a sofa playing with an antique silver coin, his hair slicked back.
“Bruce...”
“Wayne...”
Though he hadn’t confirmed that they were the same person, Auston was already eighty percent convinced. If possible, he’d be happy to give the information to the Thousand-Eyed Demon for free, telling him to stop hiding. There was an undercover agent on his side!
Unfortunately, Auston couldn’t do that.
While he despised Wayne, he never intended to kill him. The honey trap and the old man scheme were simply meant to drive Wayne away from his wife and daughter. If Wayne really was Bruce, Auston might hold him in higher regard.
“We’re similar, aren’t we?” Auston said slowly.
Behind him, Megan nodded and said, “Master, he’s almost identical to you. The young lady is too kindhearted. If anyone could inherit the Lando family, it would be him.”
Auston’s eyes twitched. It was exactly because they were alike that he hated Wayne. Also, don’t ever mention his precious daughter and the cement barrel in the same breath. His heart couldn’t take it.
“Master, when do you plan to start training him?”
“He’s working for a demon right now. Whether he can survive the next month is a question. Why would I waste my time training him?”
Auston closed his eyes. “Note this down. In one month, if he’s still alive, invite him to my business gathering.”
1. From Dream of the Red Chamber, meaning that a wealthy family in decline will still be richer than a family that’s impoverished to begin with. It’s later widely used for other aspects, such as power, status, influence, etc. ☜