In the night fog, the association's motorcade slowly drove into the "Silence Street" downstairs of the Explorer Center.
This place is also shrouded in night fog. The hall, which was usually darkened at night, was now brightly lit.
"The association has launched an emergency plan..." Moonlight whispered, "If the Moses Ascetic Society hadn't taken action first, there would probably have been more than one Ace-level explorer going to Thirteenth Street..."
He turned his gaze to the window: "It seems that there are quite a lot of Aces staying in New Testament City during this period."
Following the moonlight, Sean passed through the fog and saw the powerful explorers waiting at the association.
Passing by a car parked on the side of the road, Sean saw a young woman sitting in the driver's seat of the black car. She was not wearing a mask, and her eyes scanned every window of the convoy, her expression on her face. It was very impatient to go up.
Sitting in her co-pilot was a lion with glowing red eyes. The one in the back seat near Sean was a scarecrow with a terrifying face. The passenger on the other side was very tall and could not see his true face. , I can only see that his chest seems to be burning with a furnace fire...
"Ace level." Sean narrowed his eyes and felt a strong sense of oppression.
At the end of the empty silent street, there was a biplane parked. A man in a pilot jacket was leaning against the plane. Only the outline of the man and the plane could be seen in the thick fog.
The strange thing is that Sean can see a spiritual reaction in the biplane - that plane is a spiritual "creature".
"...Ace level again."
The car stopped downstairs at the Explorer Center. Sean got out of the car and saw a figure wearing a windbreaker and a jazz hat standing in the fog not far away. His hand was placed on his lips, and a red cigarette butt lit up.
The other person was just smoking, but Sean felt as if he was being stared at by countless gunmen, and there was a strange sense of oppression on that person... very similar to the deep-rooted bartender at the Sulfur Tavern.
"Well...it's still Ace level." Sean could feel that these top explorers on standby in the fog were a little dissatisfied that they couldn't sleep well tonight.
Staff from the association brought a stretcher on wheels. At this time, Catherine was still in a coma, and several association personnel put her on a stretcher and pushed her into the Explorer Hall.
There is a group of people waiting in the lobby. Catherine now needs special treatment for her soul, and the relevant equipment and personnel are in the building. Sean and Yueguang watched people take Catherine into the elevator. They looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You are quite capable." Austin hugged his chest and said nonchalantly, "Nearly half of the high-level combat forces in New Testament City were awakened by you, and you even invited the saints...
"I hope you can report this incident properly," Austin said with a graceful back, leading the two of them to another elevator. "Otherwise, the Divine Court will definitely be very angry with us."
Although Austin looked a little stern on his face, Sean could hear the meaning of "If you report as frankly as possible, the association will protect you."
Inquiries about the incident are still conducted separately. Sean was taken to a separate room, and the person responsible for questioning was still Richard Norman, who was wearing the "Martyr of Truth" mask.
Sean saw his humble colleague regain a little bit of his bad mood because he was about to be questioned.
Considering that he would have to stay up late, Richard even thoughtfully asked the staff to make strong coffee and enjoy it together.
Sean picked up the coffee cup, blew on the sugar-free and dairy-free espresso, took a sip, and began to talk about his trip to Undercurrent Street.
Sean deliberately skipped the details of Catherine's search for her mother Jennifer's whereabouts in Wannu Cave and his discovery of the true identity of gambler Jock.
Moonlight didn't know about these two things in the first place, so it didn't matter even if there was no communication beforehand.
On the way back to the association, Sean considered and weighed the whole thing.
First of all, the association encourages explorers to complete exploration tasks that do not have official rewards. The missing organ case on Thirteenth Avenue was such a task. Because of the special identity of the deceased, it had not received the attention of the Holy Court and the Association.
However, after all, Sean and his team purified a "sinker" who had extremely bad influence. This achievement cannot be ignored.
After saying that he had purified "Gambler Jock" through gambling, Richard Norman was quite excited: "Mr. Sean, according to the secret exploration data, Jock is a sinker and is the target of the King class. Trouble..." He shook his head in disbelief, "You were able to solve such a big trouble this time. This is really a very rare achievement!"
Sean knew it in his heart: "If force was really used to purify Jock, even if there were a dozen of him at that time, they would all be buried in Undercurrent Street - using gambling to solve a sinker is a very special case.
"Even so..." He smiled bitterly in his heart, "I almost lost and became a lonely ghost wandering the Undercurrent Street forever..."
Now when I think back to the final narrow victory, I still feel a sense of fear when I was carried away due to excessive concentration.
Sean did not indulge in Richard's compliments, not only because the process was too dangerous to bear, but also because he was now worried about Catherine's condition and the possible punishment she would face.
Every step of their journey is worthy of commendation. The only sensitive thing is that in order to get rid of Finks' pursuit, Catherine used "forbidden magic". Moreover, this taboo behavior almost caused the serious situation of "the arrival of the evil god" .
When Catherine was unable to break away from the performance, in order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Moonlight followed the captain's initial request and used Explorer Poker to inform the association's risk control department.
In addition, the Trappist Order and Society staff witnessed Catherine's escape from the role of the Red Lord.
Therefore, Sean could not hide anything in this matter. He could only truthfully explain the huge sacrifice made by the captain after they were forced into a desperate situation by Finks.
While narrating this passage, Sean could clearly see the expressions of surprise and admiration on the faces of Richard Norman, who was listening, and the "first witness" who was recording.
An explorer who dares to sacrifice himself before a crisis will win the admiration of almost every colleague.
After finishing the story, Sean asked Richard directly: "Please tell me, what kind of punishment will Catherine receive?"
When asking this question, Sean was quite nervous: if this trip to Undercurrent Street ruined Catherine's career as an explorer, he would think that he was guilty.
"Finding Jennifer is one of Catherine's life goals. If she cannot continue to serve as a explorer, her pursuit will become more difficult..."
Richard Norman patted the back of the hand of the young man next to him who was recording the conversation on a typewriter, signaling that his next words should not be recorded.
The young witness seemed to trust Norman so much that he took his hands off the green typewriter.
"As an inquirer and a representative of the association, I don't have to and can't answer your question." Richard spread his hands, "However, in my opinion, your action fully demonstrated the explorer's courage and Spirit of cooperation. From a personal standpoint, I would like to tell you about the association’s previous handling of similar incidents.
"There is a high probability that Miss Hailey will be dealt with in this way, but everything will be subject to the association's final decision."
Sean nodded gratefully.
“Since this involves an ‘emergency escape’ plot, Miss Hailey’s actions will not be considered malicious.
“So her explorer status and level will most likely be retained.
"However, she has caused actual risks and damage after all. Even if the association does not impose punishment, the Divine Court will make strong demands for punishment. Therefore, her reward for this mission will be deducted as punishment."
Sean was slightly relieved: this was much better than what he had imagined.
Richard adjusted his mask and continued: "After Miss Catherine wakes up, she will undergo a month of closed observation to ensure that the evil god will not leave any figurative or literal 'seeds' on her body. .
"In addition, since you failed to fulfill your obligation to dissuade Ms. Hailey before using forbidden magic, you will also be punished...perhaps the reward will be halved."
Considering that this was a self-recruitment mission and it had caused a relatively bad impact, Sean had no extravagant hope of receiving the reward from this mission. After hearing Richard's reply and learning that he might actually get paid, Sean even felt a little surprised.
After this, Richard Norman conducted detailed inquiries about Henry's disappearance. Henry's death itself was due to his own insistence. Sean had nothing to hide, so he had other intentions when he joined the team, and he lost his soul for a so-called "molar dice". come out.
Of course, he did not mention that the ivory dice, which actually had no magic power, was on his body.
After the inquiry, Richard Norman actually took the initiative to shake Sean's hand: "This is the second time we have met.
"Last time you wore the mask of the 'Unknown Man'...
Norman paused and said seriously: "You are already an excellent explorer. I can feel that over time, you can grow into an outstanding explorer. I hope you will act more safely and protect yourself. The association is very much looking forward to your future performance.”
Sean believed that Richard Norman represented not only himself but the attitude of the Association.
In short, he knew that he was now a potential newcomer that was being watched by the association.
