During the intermission of the party, Varina was led by the waiter to a certain compartment on the second floor of the house.
As expected, it was Xio and Forsi waiting for the transaction inside.
Forsi sat on the only chair in the cubicle, while Xio stood behind her and to the side, towering over the seated Forsi.
"Long time no see, ladies, how are you doing lately?"
Varina said hello while raising the brim of his hat and pulling down his scarf to reveal his face.
"Varina, it's really you," Xio took a step forward, "You didn't show up for a month, and you missed five parties."
She expressed her doubts in a factual way so as not to sound like she was questioning someone else's privacy. After all, their relationship was still fragile.
Forsi also stood up and said hello: "Long time no see."
"Well, I was working hard to obtain the Sequence 9 potion, so I couldn't spare the time to come here."
Varina smiled and then said: "Now, I am a true Beyonder, so I come to you for help."
"What are you busy with?" Xio asked enthusiastically.
"From what you said, it seemed that your movements were restricted before?" Forsi frowned, "Did you agree to any harsh conditions in order to become an Extraordinary?"
"I'd better answer Ms. Fors's question first."
Varina nodded and smiled at Xio, and then said: "They should be a secret organization, and I am currently a relatively high-ranking peripheral member."
"I don't know some of their things, and I can't say anything about them. In short, I don't want to have too much contact with them, so I came to you for help."
Having said this, Varina looked at Xio again and asked, "I wonder how your fighting ability is, Xio?"
"I would like to ask you to help me train my body mastery and teach me some fighting skills, is that okay?"
Forsi asked before Xio could answer.
She asked: "Can you first tell us which sequence of extraordinary you have become?"
Xio glanced at Forsi, swallowed back the answer she was about to say, and looked at Varina with curiosity and exploration in her eyes.
"Sequence 9 'Assassin', good at hiding and bursting with power, and has a flexible body."
Varina not only told the path, but also briefly introduced some of the path's abilities to reassure the two ladies.
Anyway, ordinary wild Beyonders like Xio and Forsi probably only know a lot of information, similar to the fact that the Witch Sect is a not very good secret sect, and its members are all witches.
They won't know that "Assassin" is the pre-sequence of the Witch.
Varina believed that as long as the key point was not exposed, it would be okay for him to maintain a superficial friendship with them.
"Your sequence is indeed rare, I have never heard of it." Xio suddenly realized, nodded and said, "No wonder you have to pay such a high price to get the magic potion."
Then, she said: "My fighting ability is not bad, I should have no problem coaching you."
"When do you plan to start and where do you plan to do it?"
Such a simple question really stumped Warina. He really couldn't think of a suitable place for practice.
"I'm free at any time, it's up to you to decide," Varina threw the question back, "Just choose a time and place that is convenient for you."
"Well, then..."
Xiu thought about it and finally made a decision: "Then let's meet at the entrance of Green Park in the West District at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. It's a suburb and it's relatively easy to find an empty space with no one."
"Okay." Varina nodded.
He didn't mention that he would practice shooting in the afternoon. This was because he could practice shooting in the morning tomorrow and spend the afternoon practicing fighting.
Anyway, he has no job now, neither formal nor informal, so he can plan his time freely.
After the main things were discussed, they chatted casually for a few more words, and then left the cubicle one after another.
Returning to the hall, Varina stopped paying attention to the transaction and just waited for the party to end and leave.
…
A new day, morning.
Wariner arrived at the Shul Shooting Club with the neighborhood's most famous Schinkee pie in hand.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast in the lounge provided by the club, Varina walked to the underground shooting range.
Still rapid fire training.
When more than half of the bullets were consumed, Varina had shot the 10-meter target more than ten times in a row, so he decided to push the target further to 15 meters and shoot the remaining bullets.
When the waiter went to adjust the distance of the target, he sat on the sofa not far away to rest and wait, not expecting anyone to come up and talk to him.
"Hello," the visitor greeted, "Are you a recent member?"
"I haven't seen you here before?"
The person who came was a man with short tawny hair, who was quite mature and handsome. He walked to the sofa next to him and sat down, and said proactively: "Introduce yourself, I am Zerrell, Zerrell Victor Lee, a private detective."
Zerrell? It sounded familiar to Varina, and he remembered it after thinking about it for a while.
Isn't this the unlucky detective in the original work who was involved in the dispute over the third-generation Difference Engine manuscript and died tragically, with his body even dumped in the sewers of the East District?
Is he also a member of this club? Why is he talking to me?
"Well, I just recently joined the club."
Varina responded with a cold nod, avoiding introducing himself.
"I think your marksmanship is pretty good. Have you practiced before?" Zerrell didn't flinch because of Wariner's attitude. "Sorry, I'd like to ask, what do you do?"
"Yeah, I've practiced before." Varina said casually.
This concept was too vague before, and even the practice he just performed could barely be regarded as having been practiced before.
"As for what I do," he paused and added, "I'm a bounty hunter."
Varina couldn't tell people that he was an assassin or jobless, so he borrowed Xio's profession.
"Then it seems that my thinking was a bit wrong," Zerrell smiled and shook his head, "I thought you were also a detective."
"But bounty hunters are better."
He changed his tone and revealed the reason why he took the initiative to talk:
"I recently took over a commission with a high commission, which is a bit tricky. I wonder if you would be interested in knowing about it?"
Varina began to feel irritable, but he couldn't express it, so he could only pretend to be a little moved and asked:
"What kind of commission and how much is the commission?"
He planned to wait for the other party to tell the specific contents of the commission, pretend to think about it, and then find a reason to reject the other party and end this unexpected conversation.
"For a job search, the commission depends on the result. The employer is willing to give up to 100 pounds."
Zerrell first gave an overview of the commission, and then explained:
"What we are looking for is a young man named Varina Attano, who disappeared in the East District more than a month ago."
Varina: "??!"
