Chapter 6 - 6

Chapter 36 Michael's Fantastic IdeaTitle of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 3394 wordsUpdate time: 2024-10-05 18:39:07

When Michael woke up, he looked at the clock on the wall which pointed to nine o'clock and felt like the sky was about to fall.

"I actually slept for so long... and didn't even have breakfast... ahhh, my plans are all messed up!"

Coupled with the abnormal pain in his brain as if he had a hangover all night, the self-disciplined Michael felt even more irritable.

After taking one look at his blood-stained and leaky clothes, he could no longer bear it, so he got up and walked into the bathroom amid Big Eyes' exaggerated praise which was never repeated every day.

Three minutes later, after washing up and changing into clean clothes, Michael did not rest but immediately rushed to the next "battlefield" - the kitchen.

After searching for a while, Michael only found a few slices of uneaten toast, two or three eggs, and a large glass of milk in a glass container.

It is now May, and the temperature in Feyneman is getting higher and higher. In this era when electricity has not yet been developed, Michael is afraid that the food will go bad and dares not buy too much stock.

"Alas, I feel helpless for some reason because I can't tag Roselle." Michael complained in his heart: "Emperor, why didn't you work harder and carry out the second industrial revolution in one go so that my fellow countrymen could enjoy the coolness."

After the joke, Michael also came up with today's breakfast at Winston's house.

Crack an egg, stir it thoroughly, then pour in an appropriate amount of milk. Then soak the toast in the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes. Wait until the toast is fully flavored and then put it on the preheated pan and fry until both sides are golden brown.

Then fry an egg and add the remaining milk, and a standard Loen-style civilian breakfast will be served.

After the meal, Michael sat back on the sofa in the living room with satisfaction, found a pen and paper, and began to make plans for the next few days.

Catching the murderer must be the top priority. Thinking that tomorrow is Monday, Michael picked up a pen and wrote on the paper, "Meet with informant Charlie to investigate the abnormal situation in the bridge area and the river area."

In his opinion, wherever one passes, there will inevitably be traces left. Since the murderer had kidnapped homeless people in these two places, there must be an eyewitness.

Michael thought about it and quickly wrote "Investigate Violet". It is also worth noting that the murderer only targeted innocent women who worked here.

Apart from these, the remaining investigations are all huge workloads, which cannot be completed by one person in a short time. Michael can only hope that the Church of Mother Earth and the Feynaport Police can give him some strength.

Finally, Michael wrote "Digest the potion as quickly as possible" on the blank space of the paper.

After the battle with the pseudo-wolf, Michael deeply realized his own shortcomings. He planned to follow the two existing role-playing rules to digest the potion as quickly as possible, and then exchange it for the formula and materials of Sequence 8 "Doctor" through Irina.

Putting down the pen, Michael picked up the itinerary and blew away the dust on it. Then he stuck the paper with the itinerary for the next few days in the most conspicuous place in the bedroom.

After selecting a few bags of suitable seeds from the drawer, Michael found the necessary tools and carried them all the way to the garden behind the house.

Planting flowers also requires certain steps. The first step is to select suitable seeds. Based on the knowledge that came with the potion, Michael picked several types of flowers that are suitable for planting in summer.

When encountering seeds with harder shells like golden oranges, Michael would first soak them in warm water and place them in a warm and suitable place to ripen and sprout. Only in this way would the survival rate of the seeds be high when sown.

The next step is to prepare suitable soil, which must ensure good air permeability and nutrition. It is generally prepared with peat soil, garden soil, river sand, etc. The proportion is increased or decreased according to the type of flowers to avoid clumping.

Fortunately, the previous tenant of this house was very fond of gardening, which saved Michael the trouble of buying high-quality soil.

The third step is to make a hole. Depending on the size of the flower seeds, decide whether to use your fingers to dig a hole in the soil when planting the seeds.

After digging the hole, Michael picked up several different types of seeds and spread them evenly, then watered them and took care of the plants.

By the time Michael finished his work, it was almost noon.

Wiping away the sweat from his forehead, Michael closed his eyes and indeed felt the potion in his body being digested bit by bit. The noisy and chattering that occasionally sounded in his ears also became quieter.

"But this is still too slow. At this rate of digestion, it will take me at least a year before I can take the Physician potion."

Michael scratched his head in distress.

"Ah, are you planting flowers?"

Suddenly, a pleasant voice came from behind him. Michael turned around and was stunned when he saw that the person coming was Irina.

"Well... are you trying to digest the potion?" Irina put her hands behind her back and looked at the flower garden with a smile. Although her tone was a question, it was very certain.

"Yes." Michael felt that there was nothing to hide, so he generously confirmed Irina's guess. Then he asked curiously, "Shouldn't you be at work at this time? How come you have time to come to my place?"

Irina's smile faded slightly, but her tone was still cheerful as she said:

"Archbishop Antonio, who is in charge of this case, was afraid that we would get tired, so he gave me and the captain half a day off. I had nothing to do, so I had to come and see what my partner was doing."

Michael twitched the corner of his mouth, "What do you think I am? A monkey in a zoo?"

"By the way, Irina also knows how to act, and she's taking the same approach as me. Maybe she can give me some inspiration..."

As his thoughts raced, Michael cleared his throat and asked sincerely, "I am thinking about the core role rules of the 'cultivator'. What do you think a true cultivator is?"

Irina glanced at Michael and smiled, "To digest a potion, you can't just look at the surface, you have to look at the deeper core contained under the name of the potion.

For example, the Sequence 9 'Fortune Teller' can be summarized as 'someone who peeks into and fears fate'. What we need to do is grasp the essence, rather than just perform in form."

Michael frowned and nodded thoughtfully.

He squinted his eyes, put his dirt-covered fingers under his chin, and fell into deep thought.

What is the essence of a farmer?

Literally speaking, cultivators refer to people who engage in agricultural labor.

To further summarize the characteristics, farmers always work hard, use farm tools, and are good at turning wasteland into arable land.

Clearing the land... By the way, farmers can also be understood as pioneers, or another description is people with pioneering spirit.

Michael caught a flash of inspiration and his eyes lit up.

Recalling the various achievements of his previous life, an idea that was very pioneering in the current world immediately appeared in his mind.

"Um...your face is covered with mud." Irina saw Michael immersed in thought, so she kindly reminded him.

"I have a bold idea."

Michael said this out of the blue.

After he finished speaking, he keenly noticed that Irina's face stiffened for a moment, as if she remembered something bad.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked with concern.

"No, it's okay, it's just that what you said just now reminded me of someone." Irina waved her hand and replied.

"Who?" Michael asked curiously.

"Know Frank Lee?"

Seeing Michael shaking his head, Irina hesitated for a moment and then said, "It's normal that you don't know him. Frank Lee is an orphan who grew up in a monastery under the name of the church. He is a person... with many strange ideas."

"He had a chance to become a bishop, but he was almost brought to trial because he tried to cross bulls, cows and wheat so that calves could grow in the fields."

When she said this, the expression on Irina's face was as if she had seen a demon. She paused for a long time before she continued:

"Now he has left the church and I heard he went to sea and became a pirate."

"It's an interesting idea." Michael thought to himself. Of course, he would never say this in front of Irina.

Michael put away his extra thoughts, brushed off the dirt on his hands and said, "Don't worry, my idea is normal. I plan to cultivate hybrid rice."

Fenaport is blessed by the power of the Mother Earth, and the soil is fertile, suitable for growing various types of crops, including rice.

"Hybrid rice." Irina regained her usual calmness and elegance, and said with a smile, "This topic was tried by a church member a long time ago. He used the three-line breeding method and found some suitable wild male sterile plants as the basis for breeding hybrid rice, but the effect was not ideal. Later, he also proposed methods such as driving the production of pollen, but none of them worked."

Irina paused and said carefully, "So I advise you to change direction. The idea of ​​hybrid rice has been proven to be impossible."

Michael smiled confidently and asked, "Has he tried the two-system method?"

"Utilizing the hybrid advantages between subspecies in the two-line method?" Irina, who is also a "farmer", immediately understood Michael's idea.

"Indeed, compared with three-line hybrid rice, two-line hybrid rice not only has free pairing and simplified breeding procedures, but also has a shorter breeding cycle and more diverse sterile lines."

Irina nodded repeatedly, and in her academic state she immediately saw the flaws in this method.

"However, using this method, sterile line breeding and combined seed production will be limited by time and space conditions."

Michael's expression remained unchanged as he easily refuted: "These shortcomings are not difficult to solve with the presence of extraordinary power."

Irina was completely convinced. She chuckled and said with emotion: "I'm really curious about how your brain works. You always come up with some new ideas."

"I'm not that great... Besides, in my opinion, no one has proposed the two-line hybrid rice before, and it's just that with the extraordinary ability of the 'Harvest Priest', there is no need to study this kind of thing." Michael replied calmly.

Irina passed over the subject.

"Can I help you?"

Michael suddenly wanted to make a joke.

He spread his hands and said with a smile: "Then can you provide me with a piece of land?"

Irina didn't even blink when she heard this, and readily agreed: "No problem. How much do you want? Is one thousand acres enough?"

Michael choked on his saliva and started coughing. He had forgotten that Irina was Feynapotter's princess.

He quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, I was just joking. I actually wanted to ask if you have any potions or spells that can make plants grow quickly. Sell me some."

"Of course, I can teach you how to make the Abundance Charm for free." Irina said very generously.

"That's really a big help."

Hearing Michael say this, Irina raised the corners of her mouth.

"Then how are you going to thank me?"

Michael was stunned at first, then he smiled and said, "You treated me to a meal last time, so this time I'll let you taste the specialties of my hometown."

"Homeland?" Irina said, "I remember you seem to be from Loen. Are you going to cook food from there?"

Michael opened his mouth and was silent for a while. He said in a deep voice:

"No, it's a hometown that's even farther away."Chapter 37: The Fertility SpellTitle of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 2266 wordsUpdate time: 2024-08-11 16:21:00

"In fact, in normal battles, we don't use spells very often. Most of the Mother Goddess's guards use a combination of magical plants and extraordinary potions."

"The more commonly used types of spells are only the 'Abundance Spell' and the 'Healing Spell'. The former is used in conjunction with magical seeds, while the latter serves as a substitute for potions."

"After all, most of the time the enemy won't give you a chance to drink the potion. In comparison, a spell hidden in your pocket that can be used after reciting the spell is better."

Since they were going to the nearby commercial street to buy things, the two did not take a carriage but walked home.

On the way back, Irina saw that there were few pedestrians passing by on the road, so she took this opportunity to constantly popularize common knowledge about the Church of Mother Earth to Michael, her future companion.

Michael listened with great interest along the way. Of course, it would be better if he could take less.

Michael glanced helplessly at both sides. On the left was a large bag of clothes, shoes, and various food ingredients, and on the right was a small bag of mystical materials. If it were his old self, he would have been exhausted.

"I'm so stupid, really. I only knew that it would be tiring to accompany a woman shopping in the 21st century, but I didn't expect it would be the same after traveling through time."

Irina caught a glimpse of Michael's expression, and suddenly leaned closer, lowered her head, and sprayed her orchid-like breath into his ear: "Do you want me to get you some?"

Michael was stunned for a moment, looking at the girl's crystal clear eyes, like two pools of autumn water, he opened his mouth:

"Really? Thank you very much."

As he said that, Michael quickly stuffed a small package in his right hand into Irina's arms, and his expression seemed as if he was afraid that she would go back on her word.

It's so funny, I'm a pure Sigma man.

Irina took the bag of occult materials, her eyes curved, and she laughed out loud: "Haha, buddy, if you are so ungentlemanly, other ladies will hate you."

Michael had a smile in his eyes, but he didn't agree in his heart.

When they reached No. 17, Xiwahu Street, an unexpected person called out to Michael.

"Detective Hulls, you're finally back!"

Grace, wearing a light green dress, ran excitedly from the door of her house to Michael.

She was about to say something, but her eyes were attracted by Irina, who was sweet-looking and elegant, standing next to Michael.

Claire's eyes shifted to the shopping bags in the two people's hands, and then her face quickly became flushed, and her speech became stuttering.

"You two, when is the wedding going to be held? I, I, I will definitely be there!"

Michael narrowed his eyes, patted Claire's shoulder with his free hand, and smiled kindly.

"Ms. Claire, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want."

Irina also smiled politely and said, "Miss, you misunderstood. Mr. Hels and I are not in that kind of relationship. We are just friends."

This time, Claire's face turned even redder.

Michael took his hand back and sighed, "Tell me what you want to talk to me about."

As he spoke, Michael was already ready to accept the commission. He now thought that he was already a Beyonder, so as long as the commission was not difficult, it would not matter if he took it patiently, just as a way to save money.

However, to Michael's surprise, Claire raised her head and waved her hands quickly, saying, "I don't have anything to bother you with. I just want to tell you a piece of news. That is... my novel based on you has been picked up by an editor and will be published soon."

"Based on me?" Michael said with a frown.

"I'm really sorry for not asking for your consent in advance." Claire thought Michael was unhappy, so she immediately bowed and apologized, "I'm willing to split the royalties with you 50-50, please forgive me."

"Why do they always bow and say sorry... Is this the 'bowing spirit' that has spread to another world?" Michael secretly complained in his heart.

"Okay, there's no need for royalties. You just used me as a prototype and didn't break any laws, so there's no need to apologize." Michael said halfway, then smiled and said, "But I want to read the book for free after it's published. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes, I will definitely send you a copy after the book is published." Claire nodded quickly like a chick pecking at rice.

"Then let's go back. Good luck to you too." Michael waved his hand, and just as he turned around, he staggered again because of Claire's words.

"Thank you, thank you. I wish you two everlasting love and happy families. No, no, I wish you everlasting friendship..."

Irina looked at the sky, and the red glow reflected in her eyes became more and more obvious.

…

After entering the house, Michael set out a clean and tidy long table and placed all the purchased occult props such as crystal balls, candles, holy emblems, incense, cauldrons, ritual silver daggers, etc. on the table.

"Teacher Irina, please."

Irina shook her head and laughed at the name Michael, walked to the ceremony platform, picked up the silver knife with gorgeous patterns engraved on the surface, and began a detailed explanation.

"Making a spell is a type of ritual magic. When performing ritual magic, we need to create a spiritual environment where no one can disturb us."

"The method is very simple. Just use auxiliary items to guide your own strength, and then determine the spell until the ceremony is over."

While she was speaking, Irina had already set up the ceremony table. She placed three candles, symbolizing herself and the gods, in the center of the table, and placed bells, silver cups and other auxiliary instruments in order around it.

Irina pointed the consecrated silver dagger at the pile of instruments on the table and explained, "Compared to the Secret Peepers and Diviners, the Cultivators are not good at ritual magic, so they need the assistance of these items."

"I'll show you how to do it next. Please listen carefully."

"The first step is to enter meditation and accumulate energy..."

Irina closed her eyes, and when she opened them again her pupils suddenly darkened, and there seemed to be an invisible wind swirling around her.

She stepped forward and spiritually lit three candles in the prescribed order, then walked around the long table.

Michael clearly felt the spiritual power gushing out from the silver knife, connecting with the air, and finally completely isolating the ritual platform from the surroundings.

Irina stood in front of the long table that had become an altar, put down the silver dagger, picked up a bottle of life essential oil, and dripped it on three candles of different colors.

With a hissing sound, a mysterious thin mist gradually filled the entire room.

Irina picked up a lead disc with hollow patterns and devoutly recited the spell symbolizing the Mother Earth:

"I pray for the strength of life"

"I pray for the strength of the earth"

"I pray for the Mother God's favor"

"Please grant me the power to complete the 'Spell of Abundance'"

…

The second after Irina's voice fell, the candlelight suddenly became brighter.

Michael watched with his own eyes as the soft holy light flowed into the lead sheet in Irina's hand. She waved a silver knife and filled the symbolic patterns on both sides of the lead sheet with her spirituality.

The pattern representing the Mother Goddess of Earth then lit up, emitting soft green, fresh emerald, and grayish radiance, rippling outward like rippling water.

Suddenly, a distorted dark red light erupted from the altar, as if the whole house was shaking.

But the storm came quickly and went away quickly.

The abnormality was fleeting, and in Irina's hand lay quietly a talisman covered with forked patterns and emitting an amber glow.

The girl turned around and showed Michael the gem-like disc in her hand.

"It worked. 'Spell of Plenty'."Chapter 38 OrphanageTitle of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 4141 wordsUpdate time: 2024-07-26 07:23:53

"Take it and try it." Irina handed the 'Abundance Charm' to Michael with a gentle smile.

"How do I use this?"

Michael took the lead talisman, turned it over and read it, then humbly asked for advice.

Irina leaned over and took out the flower pot she had prepared from her feet. "Say the word 'growth' in ancient Hermetic language, then infuse it with spirituality and throw the talisman here."

As she spoke, she had already thrown a small seed into the flowerpot.

Michael clenched the lead-colored sheet tightly, secretly thanking his luck that the original owner happened to know ancient Hermes among the languages, so he didn't need to learn it.

After reciting the "growth" spell in a flat but not slow tone, Michael poured his spirituality into the spell, and then immediately flicked his wrist, dropping the "abundance spell" in his palm squarely into the flowerpot.

The flakes fell into the soil and quickly melted away. A scarlet moonflower soon broke through the soil, sprouted and matured.

In just a few seconds, the seeds go through several months of growth and bloom into gorgeous flowers.

"It's amazing." Michael exclaimed sincerely.

Compared to the "farmers" who only have brute force, this intuitive extraordinary ability seems really magical and convenient to Michael.

Michael also believed from the bottom of his heart that the upper limit of the "Farmer" path was very high.

At just Sequence 7, he has the ability to quickly ripen plants and transform them into new varieties of plants. According to his understanding that the ability of extraordinary paths is constantly enhanced and derived outward, the demigod-level "cultivator" is very likely to directly rewrite the genes of organisms and create many new species like the God in the Bible.

The potential for developing the extraordinary abilities of the "Farmer" path alone is so great that he couldn't help but wonder, if these various extraordinary abilities could be applied to production and life, human society would progress to what a terrifying degree.

After all, only when human society progresses can Michael enjoy a peaceful life better.

Irina turned the flowerpot with the moon flower in her hand and nodded with satisfaction.

"It seems that this talisman is very well completed and has a good effect."

Irina put down the flower pot, crossed her hands, made a gesture of holding a baby, and said devoutly: "Praise you, merciful mother."

Michael was ashamed. He was originally a shallow believer of the Mother Goddess of the Earth. However, he had now joined the Mother Goddess's guards but had never prayed to her. If the faithful believers of the temple knew about this and accused him of having "impure faith", he would be in big trouble.

Thinking of this, Michael also imitated Irina and prayed: "Praise you, merciful mother."

Irina spoke at this time, pointing her index finger at the ritual table that had not yet been cleaned, "How about doing a spell yourself?"

"Of course." Michael answered readily. He understood it, but putting it into practice was another matter.

If you only know theoretical knowledge, it is easy to encounter the following situation:

Brain: Got it.

Eyes: Got it.

Hand: You farted!

Michael walked to the ritual platform, used meditation to adjust his mental state, and made sure he had calmed down. Then he picked up the unfinished spell carved by Irina, lit the candle, and chanted the spell.

Irina watched the show from the side.

The success rate of a novice's first attempt at making a spell is generally around 50% to 60%.

She had already thought about how to comfort Michael appropriately after he failed.

"Wow." A mild exclamation sounded beside the ceremony platform.

"Oh, did you fail? Don't be discouraged, this is a normal thing..."

"It worked."

Michael silenced Irina's subsequent attempts at comfort with a casual remark.

"Success, success?" Irina's beautiful eyes were slightly stunned. She couldn't believe that Michael, a novice who was not good at ritual magic, actually succeeded in one try.

"It should be successful. I'll give it a try." Michael said, repeating the operation again.

When she saw the moon flower breaking through the soil, Irina inexplicably wanted to cry, thinking back to how she had failed several times before she succeeded.

Irina quickly found words to comfort herself.

"Luck, this kind of thing also has a probability, yes, it's all luck."

At this time, Michael took out several half-finished talismans and chanted the spell again.

As a dazzling light lit up in the living room, Irina saw with her own eyes several high-quality talismans lying in Michael's palm. This was a treatment she had never had before.

If her inner faith had not prevented her from questioning the Mother Goddess, Irina would have most likely said, "Mother Goddess, you are biased!"

In the end, Michael made a total of seven "Abundance Charms" and even two "Healing Charms".

He stopped not because the Mother Goddess no longer responded, but because he had run out of materials.

If someone told Irina now that Michael was the biological son of the Mother Earth, she might not really believe it.

"After learning the 'Spell of Abundance', the research progress of hybrid rice should be much faster."

Michael didn't notice Irina's envious and jealous expression at all. He put away a bunch of talismans and couldn't help but sigh at the huge cost of studying the mysticism.

This trip cost him nearly 150 gold rizos just for the mysticism part.

Fortunately, metal like lead is not expensive. If one uses gold to make talismans like the believers of the Eternal Sun do, that would be really expensive.

"Haha, maybe that's why the Eternal Sun is the patron saint of business."

Gathering his scattered thoughts, Michael began to tidy up the ritual utensils on the long table. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare today's lunch.

Irina sat at the dining table according to etiquette and waited quietly.

As a princess who had tasted all kinds of court cuisine since she was a child, Irina didn't actually have high expectations for this lunch, as long as the taste was acceptable.

She could see that Michael was very particular about his cooking. Abalone, sea cucumber, fish lips, king oyster mushroom, tendon, flower mushroom, cuttlefish, quail eggs, rice wine, various spices, etc.

Regardless of his knife skills, Michael at least put in all the ingredients he needed, and judging from the faint aroma wafting from the kitchen, the seasoning of this dish must be up to standard.

More than two hours later, Michael brought a pot of steaming soup and placed it in front of Irina.

The moment she saw the dishes, Irina completely put away the distraction in her eyes.

The girl opened her rosy lips and looked curiously at the porcelain pot on the table. Her nose twitched slightly, and she was instantly captivated by the aroma of the dish.

"What is the name of this dish?" Irina asked very seriously.

Michael wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel and introduced it with a smile: "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a very famous dish in my hometown. By the way, you need this to eat it."

Michael handed Irina a pair of homemade wooden chopsticks.

"The tableware invented by Emperor Roselle..."

The knowledgeable Irina recognized the two wooden sticks in her hands at a glance.

Swallowing slightly, Irina picked up a piece of steaming abalone and put it into her mouth.

"This! It's soft and tender, with a rich meaty aroma, but not greasy, and it's delicious!"

Irina praised generously.

Upon hearing this, Michael smiled and sat down, enjoying the food together.

After a pleasant lunch, Irina left first because she had other things to do.

Michael naturally would not try to keep him, and he spent the entire afternoon in the back garden, concentrating on cultivating hybrid rice.

…

Monday, 12 noon, quayside.

The slightly hot sea breeze blew past the figures coming and going on the dock. The dock workers, wearing cheap and worn-out work clothes, had more or less numbness towards life on their faces as they repeated their mechanical work.

Michael disguised himself and arrived at the dock area at the agreed time. He stood on a step with a wide view, overlooking the entire dock area under the strong sunlight.

The dock area is actually not very large. This is because the city of Feynaport is located inland and the entire city is divided into two by the Seine River. The already underdeveloped water transportation relies entirely on one river, and the land area allocated to the dock area is less than half of the dock areas in other capitals.

The truly famous port can be seen in the coastal city of Seville at the estuary, along the lower reaches of the Seine River.

Michael moved his gaze while thinking, and finally saw the informant Charlie teasing pigeons from a distance in an inconspicuous corner of the dock area.

"I really can't believe he has such leisure time."

Michael muttered something, then pretended to walk to Charlie unintentionally and greeted him first: "You're here early."

When Charlie heard Michael's voice, he shuddered all over. He didn't even care about the pigeons that were flying away, and immediately turned his head to look.

Seeing Michael, who was wearing a gray-blue work suit and a black cap, staring at him coldly, Charlie shuddered and laughed dryly:

"Hey, I'm just afraid of wasting your time."

"They are really good at speaking..." Michael twitched his lips slightly, "With their big eyes, maybe the two of them can publish a book together, called "The Art of Language"."

After secretly complaining a few words, he took a serious look at Charlie's outfit. When he saw the logo of the Workers' Association embroidered on the collar of Charlie's clothes, Michael frowned and said:

"Are you...changing your career?"

Charlie scratched his head. "I can't help it. It's not easy to be a thief these days. The striped dogs are patrolling too often. Even if I'm out walking in the middle of the night, I'll be caught and questioned. I don't want to starve to death, so I have to come to the dock to find a job."

Gu——

As soon as Charlie finished his indignant words, his stomach made a louder sound, making him look embarrassed and he raised his hand to cover his stomach.

Michael raised an eyebrow, "Haven't you eaten yet?"

"Recently, I haven't had much income..." Facing Michael, a man who never showed his emotions, Charlie didn't know what to say and could only answer honestly.

Michael was silent for two seconds and turned away.

"Come with me."

"Ah, where to?" Charlie asked subconsciously.

Michael didn't stop walking and walked straight to a cafe not far away.

In the corner where the sea breeze blew, only Michael's faint words could be heard.

"I'll treat you to a meal."

Three minutes later, Charlie sat uncomfortably in a corner booth of a street corner cafe, watching the waiter in a red vest and white shirt bring out dish after dish.

There is a piece of affordable steak drizzled with black pepper sauce, a greasy roast chicken, a 5-pound piece of whole wheat bread, as well as French fries, grilled fish, a salad, and two cups of coffee for free with each purchase.

"Gudong." Charlie did not hide his desire. He stretched out his finger with the tip pointing downward and asked hesitantly:

"So many...are all for me?"

"Of course. How can you have the energy to collect intelligence for me if you don't eat enough?" Michael leaned back in the old armchair and pulled the plate of salad over with an expressionless face. "Except this, everything else is yours."

After saying thank you, Charlie started eating impatiently. He hadn't had such a sumptuous meal for a long time.

Michael had just had lunch, so he was naturally not hungry now.

Besides, he looked down on such cheap food that was too greasy, but for a worker like Charlie who had to do heavy physical work, such oily food was just right.

Only after Charlie wolfed down his food did Michael put down his coffee cup and asked:

"You know 'Violet'?"

Charlie rubbed his slightly bulging belly with a happy expression, and nodded after thinking for two seconds, "I didn't know at first, but recently the news that a group of striped dogs took over the place spread in the bridge area, so I found out."

"Hey, if you want to listen, I can tell you in detail."

"No."

Michael rested his elbows on the table, crossed his hands and rested his chin on them. After a moment of silence, he said:

"Besides this incident, have there been any strange incidents in the Bridge District or the River District recently?"

"Strange things?" Charlie raised his hand and scratched his ear. "Well, other than this, the others are just trivial matters."

"I will judge whether it is a small matter or not. All you have to do is report." Michael tapped the greasy table with his fingers and spoke in the tone of a superior.

"Well, let me think about it..."

Michael didn't urge him any further. He slowly picked up a small tomato from the salad and put it into his mouth.

"So sour…"

In order to maintain his image, Michael suppressed his bitterness, kept a calm expression on his face, pretended to accidentally drop the knife and fork, and quickly lowered his head.

vomit--

Pain Mask.jpg

"Ah! Now I remember there was such a strange thing happening recently."

"Eh, sir?"

Hearing Charlie calling him, Michael sat up straight with an expressionless face, and calmly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

"Tell me about it."

Charlie put away his suspicious gaze, and after a while, he lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know the welfare home in the bridge area?"

"Orphanage..." Michael immediately recalled the little girl he had helped not long ago. His expression eased a little and he nodded affirmatively.

"What strange thing happened there?"

Charlie squeezed his throat and deliberately said in a low and hoarse voice: "I heard that a few days ago, several members of the Manha Party passed by there. They claimed that the welfare home that had been abandoned for 20 years actually... actually heard the sound of children playing!"

There was a crisp sound of metal falling to the ground.

Michael ignored the fork that fell to the ground, and said word by word with a stiff face:

"You just said that the orphanage has been abandoned?"

"Yes, it was abandoned a long time ago due to a fire. A pastor from the church even went there to hold a memorial service."

Hearing Charlie's answer, Michael leaned back in his chair with his eyes wide open, muttering to himself:

"It has been wasted for twenty years, it has been wasted for twenty years..."Chapter 39 The BetrayerTitle of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 3157 wordsUpdate time: 2024-07-26 15:51:21

Earlier, Irina, who received a letter from the archbishop, took a rented carriage from home and prepared to go to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore for an examination.

The merits accumulated over a long period of time were enough for her to exchange for the "Harvest Priest" potion. Due to the pressure brought by this case, after Irina digested the "Doctor" potion, she immediately applied for a special assessment from the Holy Temple in preparation for promotion to Sequence 7.

After being promoted, she plans to visit the charity foundation she previously invested in to see if there is any place that needs money.

Just as Irina was thinking, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Captain Mario? Irina was sure she was not mistaken. Her thoughts raced. She immediately stopped the carriage and looked out the window from afar.

Mario was wearing a cloth shirt at this time, holding nothing in his hands, with a calm expression as if he was just taking a walk.

But as his teammate, Irina could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Mario. There was definitely something wrong with his expression, pace and constantly wandering eyes!

"There aren't many daily necessities stores around here, and the captain lives in the southwest area, which is far away from here. So we can rule out the possibility that he's just wandering around... Who is the captain following? The serial killer?"

On one side is the promotion assessment, and on the other side is a close comrade who is obviously problematic. Irina is unable to make a decision and is caught in a vortex of confusion.

"Miss, are you going to get out of the car or not? I'm in a hurry to pick up the next customer."

Seeing that Irina refused to leave the carriage, the coachman complained unhappily.

Seeing that Mario was about to disappear in the crowd, Irina calmed down and finally made a decision.

She casually pulled out a 5-gold rizo note from her riding pants pocket and slapped it on the seat, saying generously, "No need for change."

Amid the coachman's brilliant smile, Irina got off the carriage, kept her spirits highly alert, and quietly followed Mario from a distance of several meters.

While tracking, Irina was also paying attention to the surrounding environment and planning her walking route.

As she walked, she suddenly found herself at the graystone street in the Seine district.

Irina frowned. This was near the place where the second victim was killed. She looked forward and noticed that Mario had just pushed the door open and entered a bar. On the old wooden door was the name of the bar written in Fenet's handwriting - Black River Bar.

"Is he really investigating something..." Irina thought for a moment and felt that she might be overthinking.

The poor environment in the Seine district immediately made her think of leaving.

Just as she was about to leave, Irina saw Mario, who had just entered the bar, suddenly run out of the bar in a hurry.

Her heart tightened, and without having time to think, she quickly followed Mario.

Unfortunately, Mario was a Sequence 7 Beyonder after all, and his physical strength and speed were much stronger than Irina's. When he ran at full speed, he left Irina far behind.

After running for a while, she lost Mario.

Irina panted heavily, and after more than ten seconds, she raised her head and her eyes moved.

"Where have I run to?"

The girl had a bitter face as she took in the unfamiliar scenery around her and soon confirmed a cruel fact - she was lost.

"I clearly didn't bring the 'Ducati Ring' with me, so how come I couldn't find the way? Now I haven't been able to help the captain, and I'm going to be late for the special assessment. Wow, I'm so angry!"

Different from the elegance and dignity she usually displays in front of outsiders, Irina is actually a little willful or... childish in private.

But she is an adult after all. Even though her cheeks are about to burst, Irina still tries her best to stay calm and recall the way she came.

When turning another corner, Irina suddenly heard low voices of conversation coming from the alley on the side.

Irina frowned slightly and continued to remain highly alert. She tiptoed to the corner and eavesdropped on the conversation between the two people in the alley.

"You should be more restrained recently. They have already noticed the clue of rose seeds."

"Humph, you don't need to tell me, I know my limits."

Rose seeds... are the murderer and betrayer!

Irina leaned against the brick wall, her beautiful eyes wide open, and she gritted her teeth secretly.

Although she was very angry, she knew that she could never be a match for the two men, and the murderer alone was enough to kill her.

But if we miss this opportunity to catch the murderer and the traitor in one fell swoop, we may never have it again.

Irina pondered for two seconds, reached into her pocket, and held a triangular piece of paper that was cold to the touch.

She took a deep breath, then calmly stuck her head out and bumped into a pale face.

"What are you looking at?"

Irina's breath was choked, and she was almost stunned by the sudden attack.

Fortunately, she came to her senses in time and instinctively stepped back to distance herself from the man who suddenly appeared.

The next second after Irina stepped back, the man threw a punch with full force at the place where she had been standing. The terrifying explosive force seemed to tear the air apart, making a dull sound of breaking through the air.

Irina's nerves tensed up when she saw this scene. If she had been a second later, it would have been her head that would have exploded.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the man was frozen in place, Irina took in the man's height and facial shape.

He had golden hair and a white mask on his face that only revealed his eyes. He was wearing a high-end Loen-style suit, without a bow tie or a cane.

"Wow, that's a good reaction. What about this?"

Almost at the same time as the man finished speaking, Irina pulled her hand out of her pocket and revealed a triangular amulet that seemed to be made of gold and had the symbol of order engraved on its surface.

"Judgment!"

As Irina uttered a quick and urgent ancient Hermes language, the dark golden talisman immediately transformed into a golden one-handed sword that exuded oppression.

Irina flexed her wrist and swung the hilt of her sword forward without thinking.

Boom!

The flames suddenly lit up, and several red fireballs with a hint of blue exploded in front of Irina, and the smell of sulfur quickly filled the air.

"So the murderer is a Sequence 6 'Devil'... Oops, I didn't prepare today, and the 'One and Only Crown' can only be used twice..."

Irina was extremely nervous, but she couldn't show any fear in this situation. If she showed any fear, she would be dead.

"What kind of spell is that!" The masked demon looked at Irina in shock and fear, and his "devil's premonition" was flashing wildly, which meant that the seemingly weak prey in front of him had the ability to kill him.

Irina certainly would not answer the masked demon's question. She held the golden sword and gave an order in ancient Hermetic language with dignity: "No dirty words are allowed here!"

The masked demon's magma-like eyes just lit up, and he was about to open his mouth to utter the filthy words that only belonged to the demon.

Suddenly, it was as if his vocal cords were torn off by some mysterious force. The mouth behind the mask opened and closed, but no sound came out.

This is a high-level talisman made with the ancient code of the Castilla family and the blood of a "Hand of Order", a talisman that can unleash the power of a demigod.

While the masked demon was stunned, Irina kicked on the spot and swung out the "Only Crown" for the last time, representing the "punishment" at the demigod level!

call out!

Thick vines suddenly broke out from the ground and tightly wrapped around Irina's limbs from behind, so that the "punishment" only hit the masked demon's right arm.

"It's that traitor... It's over..."

Irina struggled hard, but it was in vain. Her body was entangled tighter and tighter by the mutated vines, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Seeing Irina lose the "only crown", the masked demon roared and was about to kill her.

However, to everyone's surprise, the traitor from the Church of Mother Earth actually stopped the masked demon.

"She can't be killed!"

Irina turned her eyes with difficulty, but she only saw a tall figure wearing a black robe with hoods, wrapped tightly all over.

"Why? This bitch cut off one of my hands!" The masked demon roared and even pushed the traitor.

The betrayer was not angry, and calmly explained: "She is the daughter of Carlos III. If we kill her, the royal family will be involved, and the uncontrollable variables will increase, which is not good for you or me."

"I've already given her hypnotic powder, you listen to me..."

Irina's consciousness became increasingly blurred. She could not hear the betrayer's voice clearly, but she felt it was vaguely familiar.

Before her vision went completely black, Irina stared with wide eyes, fixed on the wheat-ear-shaped bracelet that had just been accidentally exposed when the betrayer was pushed by the masked demon, as if she wanted to imprint this scene in her mind.

…

When Irina woke up again, she found herself lying on a makeshift bed in the duty room of the Mother Goddess's personal guards.

She tried to get up, but she felt so weak that she could only make small movements like turning her head and moving her fingers.

Hearing the noise, a tall figure walked up to Irina. It was Mario.

Mario asked with concern: "Little Irina is awake, is she feeling better?"

"team leader..."

Irina opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that even the simple sound of her voice caused her to feel a burning pain.

"Don't be in a hurry, drink some water first." Mario carefully helped Irina up like a kind father, and then took a glass of water from the desk next to him.

After drinking a cup, Irina finally felt better and let out a long breath. She thanked him in a weak voice, "Thank you, Captain. I feel much better now."

"That's good."

Mario took the glass and put it back on his desk, closing a drawer. "By the way, why did you faint in the river district?"

After hearing these words, Irina's brain, which had just been dizzy, started working again in an instant.

After organizing her words, she turned her head and quickly repeated to Mario everything she heard and saw in the alley.

Then, Irina couldn't hide her curiosity and asked, "Captain, why did you go to the River District?"

Mario frowned, hesitated for a while, and made up an excuse to say, "I'm going to investigate something over there."

"Is that so..." Irina trusted her captain and stopped asking questions.

However, just as she looked away, an unintentional glance caused a crack in this trust.

Irina stared blankly at Mario's unclosed desk drawer, where a wheat ear-shaped bracelet was hanging quietly.Chapter 40 Moonlight GateTitle of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 5099 wordsUpdate time: 2024-10-25 00:14:02

1 p.m., Grandin Street, Bridge District.

Next to Michael was Charlie, who was forced to follow him. The two of them were standing together in front of the gate of the long-abandoned orphanage.

"Look, sir, I told you I didn't lie to you. It is indeed abandoned." Charlie said with a feeling of grievance.

Michael frowned and didn't respond. He believed in his memory. The last time he came here, this welfare home was indeed intact, with lawns, fountains, and gardens...

"Hmm... I see. I understand where the problem lies." Michael thought to himself, "My memory must be correct, but so are the other people's memories. So the problem must be with the orphanage itself."

After figuring this out, Michael instantly understood why he felt the orphanage was weird last time.

He sent Della back not too late, and it was impossible for such a large orphanage to only take in one child.

But at that time, there was not a single child in the entire welfare home, nor was there any sound of children playing.

"There is something fishy here..."

Charlie looked at the orphanage in front of him that was overgrown with weeds and swallowed his saliva. He took two steps to the side, approached Michael and whispered, "Sir, you've seen this place, can we leave now?"

"Who told you that we've finished?" Michael walked straight to the rusty iron gate without even turning his head. "Come on, let's go in and take a look."

"But, eh...wait for my husband."

After hearing Michael's request, no matter how reluctant Charlie was, he had to take a step and quickly follow Michael's pace.

The door opened, and Michael saw a desolate and decayed scene. The stone fountain built in the most eye-catching place of the orphanage no longer gushed out clear spring water, and the beige marble was also covered with traces of time, showing its desolation.

Michael looked forward, focusing on the parts of the buildings that had not yet been destroyed, and spent a few seconds roughly restoring the welfare home's appearance before its death.

The main body of this welfare home is a standard L-shaped two-story house, not too big. In addition to the main building, there is also a small flat-roofed house similar to a warehouse on the right side of the fountain, but now it has been burned down to only some broken beams and walls.

Michael continued to move, he walked in front, and the trembling Charlie followed closely behind, looking around from time to time.

"Is it so scary? It's daytime now." Michael looked at Charlie, whose body was almost shaking like a sieve, and said with a somewhat speechless expression.

Charlie's facial muscles twitched, and he forced a smile that was uglier than crying on his ugly face, and said in defense:

"I don't know what's going on, but I suddenly feel that this place is so scary..."

"...I now have to doubt whether the reason you can't become a thief is because of the increased police patrols or because of your own abilities." Michael said the most hurtful words in the calmest tone.

Charlie opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute.

...

The two of them stepped over the obstacles on the ground one after the other and entered the main building of the welfare home.

The appearance of the building can more intuitively reflect how big the fire was. The walls, which should have been completely white, have mostly been smoked black, and only in the top corners can the original color of the wall be vaguely seen.

Michael withdrew his gaze, climbed over the obstacles, and together with Charlie, the two of them basically figured out the internal structure.

"It can be seen that this place was quite wealthy before the orphanage was burned down... Not only did it have two separate bathrooms, but it even had a room dedicated to placing a piano..."

This made Michael suspicious. If the facility was built according to the original configuration, the cost of building it would be a lot even today. But such a luxurious facility was built in the Bridge District where the public security was so chaotic...

With all kinds of questions in mind, Michael and the other man returned to the most spacious living room.

Suddenly, Charlie exclaimed.

"Sir, there seems to be something glowing in this fireplace!"

"Let me see." Michael looked in the direction of Charlie's finger, and sure enough, he saw a flash of light in the gap of the fireplace blocked by a pile of debris.

Michael frowned, turned his head and said to Charlie, "Go, clean up these things around the fireplace."

"Okay." Charlie rolled up his work sleeves, walked forward without saying a word and picked up a dark cylindrical object.

After the garbage was cleared away, Michael was finally able to see the entire fireplace.

This is a very classic stone fireplace, which is in a herringbone shape. The dark stone wall is surrounded by a layer of blackened iron fence, and there are still some black residues left inside.

Michael leaned over and put his head into the fireplace.

After a while he discovered the source of the flash - there was a pendant stuck in the gap of the fireplace.

The pendant was not big, and the entire shell was a very beautiful golden color. Michael guessed that it must be made of real gold, and only this could explain why the pendant would not be melted by the fire.

Michael hooked the pendant with his fingers, then pulled out and opened the pendant cover.

He was slightly surprised, and his eyebrows twitched slightly - there was nothing wrong with the photos here.

The paper photo was only slightly yellowed at the corners, but otherwise had no damage.

Michael looked at it carefully.

Photography technology was not very developed in that era, and the only colors available were black and white, but you could still vaguely see that the photos showed a boy and a girl, two children.

The girl looked a little older, smiling brightly, and hugging a boy who was shorter than her with her arms, looking very happy.

Michael took out the photo and casually threw the pendant to Charlie behind him.

"It's pure gold. You should be able to get 25 gold rizos for it at a pawn shop. Here you go."

Charlie was overjoyed when he heard this, and kept thanking Michael.

Michael didn't care. His eyes were attracted by the words engraved on the fireplace. He hummed unconsciously:

"Don't open the door when the big bad wolf comes, he puts on sheepskin to deceive the lambs;

Don't take the candy that Dr. Bird gives you, it's sweet at first but bitter later;

Don't drink the soup cooked by the pig chef, because you will get a mouthful of blood in one sip.

Sister Tree told you not to look back, and once the rope was hung, you were hanged;

When the finger teacher plays the piano, remember to applaud after listening;

Don't feel sorry for the little baby, I'll use your skin and bones to sit in the cradle."

Charlie listened with a look of horror and said, "Sir, what are you singing?"

Michael replied expressionlessly: "A nursery rhyme... probably."

"Who would sing such a weird nursery rhyme to their kids?" Charlie couldn't help but complain in his heart, and his fear of Michael who sang the scary nursery rhyme with a calm face increased.

"Okay, there's nothing worth exploring here, let's go."

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, "It's finally over."

Just when he thought he could leave today, Michael smiled and said:

"One more thing..."

...

After being strengthened by the potion, Irina felt that her body had almost recovered.

But wounds on the body are easy to heal, but once a crack occurs in the heart, it is difficult to mend it.

Irina walked out of the health room, her mind constantly recalling the past.

Mario has been her captain since the first day she joined the Mother Goddess's Guard, and the two have been working together for almost two years.

Irina knew that Mario's wife and daughter left him early because of the war, so when faced with herself, who was of the same age as his daughter, he would always give her the most help within the scope allowed. She has always regarded Mario as her second father.

But now some of Mario's actions have forced Irina to suspect that this captain whom she most respects might be the despicable traitor.

"No, not necessarily. It could just be a coincidence. The captain happens to have an identical bracelet..."

"But...if it was just a coincidence, why didn't the captain tell me the real purpose of his going to the River District?"

When Irina lowered her head and thought about something, she didn't look at the road and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ouch!"

Irina covered her forehead and looked up to see the face of the man in front of her who was as tall as the captain. She quickly apologized:

"I'm sorry, Archbishop Antonio!"

Antonio, with a golden beard and a kind smile, waved his hand generously to indicate that it was okay.

Then, he asked in a gentle voice: "Irina, what's wrong with you today? You look distracted, did something happen?"

Irina opened her mouth when she heard this, wanting to tell the highly respected archbishop in front of her, the archbishop who hated evil, about her suspicion of the captain.

After hesitating for several seconds, she finally shook her head and lied, "It's okay. Maybe I haven't had enough rest recently."

"Really? Then we have to be careful. Being too tired is not good for us to maintain a good mental state." Antonio didn't finish his words, but Irina understood what he wanted to say.

out of control.

"Could the captain have a mental problem?" Irina suddenly had this thought.

After a pause of a few seconds, she withdrew her attention, looked at Antonio, and said hesitantly:

"Well, so... I'm sorry, Archbishop, my current condition may not be suitable for taking potions. Regarding the special assessment..."

Archbishop Antonio narrowed his eyes kindly and said, "It's okay. I can postpone the special assessment for you until a week later. Just come to the cathedral and let me know when you've rested."

He added with a smile: "This is in accordance with the rules."

"Thank you, Archbishop." Irina thanked him sincerely.

Antonio shook his head, crossed his arms, and made a gesture of holding a baby. "At this time, we only need to praise the merciful mother."

Irina nodded and crossed her hands, "Praise you, kind mother."

On the other side, Michael came to the National Library again.

Charlie parted ways with him halfway and went to collect more detailed information about the rumors of the haunted orphanage. He is probably busy in the bridge area now.

Michael rubbed Hels's slightly stiff face and strode into the library.

Less than ten minutes later, he found a report about the orphanage fire twenty years ago in the newspaper storage area. It read:

"In 1329, a fire broke out in an orphanage on Grandin Street in the Bridge District, causing dozens of casualties...

According to the police investigation at the time, the cause of the fire was determined to be improper use of the fireplace, which caused the fabric sofa to burn, triggering a series of subsequent chain reactions...

Only six children survived the accident and have now been adopted by a new charity..."

Michael was reading the newspaper intently when suddenly a man walked up to him and gently patted his shoulder. "Hello, do you remember me?"

"What a cliché pick-up line..." Michael looked up impatiently and found that the person coming was the son of the first victim.

"Charles?" Michael said with a slightly surprised expression.

"I'm glad you still remember me." Charles bowed. Because they were in the library, he lowered his voice. "Thank you so much for last time. You made me understand that blindly tolerating will not bring true peace. Thank you very much."

"It's a small matter." Michael replied with a perfunctory smile.

"Well, come to think of it, I still don't know your name..."

"Hulse, I'm a detective."

Charles suddenly realized, "The last time you sneaked into Easton College, it turned out to be to investigate..."

Michael curled the corner of his mouth and was thinking of saying something casually to send Charles away.

At this time, Charles glanced at the newspaper on the table and said in astonishment:

"This welfare home...are you interested in it?"

"You know?" Michael immediately recognized Charles' tone and asked, raising the newspaper in his hand.

Charles was silent for a few seconds, then slowly said, "My mother was one of the six children who survived the orphanage fire."

Michael's keen intuition was triggered, and he immediately asked, "Besides your mother, do you know the names of the other survivors?"

It wasn't mentioned in the newspaper, and he was just thinking about where to look for it.

Charles nodded. "My mother often mentioned them to me, so I remember that their names are..."

As Michael listened, he matched the names of several survivors with the names of the victims of the previous five serial murders, and found that they were exactly the same!

What concerns Michael even more is that the sixth survivor is not one of the potential targets now.

Michael stood up suddenly, said thank you and left quickly, without giving Charles any time to react.

...

After writing this information into a letter and sending it to the Moon Flower Café, Michael rushed back home, opened his mailbox and found the information that Charlie had just delivered.

Charlie had a limited vocabulary and his handwriting was very ugly, which made it difficult for Michael to read.

It took him a full hour to sort out Charlie's information. All the rumors of haunted incidents appeared on full moon nights.

"Full moon night... this is a limited-time event." Michael scratched his head, opened the door, and sat down on the sofa in the living room with a frown.

"My Lord, you seem to be troubled. Please tell your loyal servant. Perhaps I can help you solve your problem."

Michael glanced at the serious eyes at the round table, thought for a moment, and asked, "If there is such a strange phenomenon that only appears on a full moon night, what do you think it is?"

Big Eyes immediately replied: "If it is a being that only appears on full moon nights, you might be able to try using the Abraham family ring."

As he said this, invisible ripples appeared in his big golden dragon pupils.

...

At eight o'clock in the evening, after much deliberation, Michael listened to Big Eyes' advice and took a carriage to the welfare home.

He took out the silver ring engraved with Abraham and, following Big Eyes' instructions, hung the ring on the iron gate of the orphanage.

I waited a few seconds and nothing happened.

"Haha, I actually believed the nonsense of a sealed object." Michael laughed at himself and prepared to pick up the ring and leave.

At this moment, something strange happened!

Suddenly, cracks appeared on the surface of the ring under the reflection of the moonlight, and then an illusory and distorted crimson color emerged from the tiny cracks.

In an instant, a vortex with a blood-red edge and a pitch-black center appeared in front of Michael, constantly releasing suction in an attempt to swallow him.

"Michael!"

The moment half of Michael's body was sucked into the whirlpool, his hand was suddenly grabbed by someone.

Michael looked at the newcomer in astonishment and shouted, "Captain Mario, why are you here?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain it to you later."

As he said this, Mario took a deep breath, gripped the ground with his feet, and tried his best to pull Michael out of the whirlpool.

However, facing this strange vortex, even his Sequence 7 power was useless. Instead, it sucked the two of them in together. At this time, it was too late for Mario to let go.

The two figures were quickly swallowed up by the whirlpool and disappeared completely. Then the whirlpool slowly faded, twisted and collapsed until there was silence.

A few seconds passed.

A figure suddenly walked out of the darkness.

The figure was wearing a black robe with a hood that had a strong mysterious feel, and his hair was unusually long, hanging from his head to his ankles.

If Michael was present at the scene, he would have recognized him at a glance. This person was the man in black robe who had read fortunes for him in the circus.

The black-robed man narrowed his eyes, facing the empty street, and said softly:

"Now that you're here, why don't you come out and see me, Ms. Isolde?"

As soon as the black-robed man finished speaking, a graceful figure appeared in the crimson moonlight.

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, with a pair of enchanting bright red eyes, silver hair cascading down to her ankles, and her bare feet suspended a few centimeters above the ground.

The silver-haired girl looked towards the place where Michael and the other disappeared, and then said calmly:

"You should know what this means. If he dies, your mother will never let you go."

The black-robed man smiled and shook his head, "Everything I do now is under His watch."

The implication is naturally that the girl's mother has acquiesced.

The black-robed man suddenly sighed:

"A drama is about to reach its climax. Will the brave warrior holding the sword slay the dragon in the end, or will he become the new evil dragon?"

"What's the meaning?"

"The revelations of fate cannot be spoken directly."

The girl snorted coldly, "It's just as he said. Riddlers like you should be beaten up if you see them."

"Riddler... what a nostalgic term." The black-robed man smiled and shook his head. "We don't have much time left. The prophesied day is about to come. We have to hurry up."

After the black-robed man finished speaking, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

The silver-haired girl stared at the rusty iron gate and finally could only sigh:

"Good luck, □□."Chapter 41 The hidden truth (I)Title of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 2486 wordsUpdate time: 2024-08-29 21:58:44

Michael was awakened by a strong feeling of hunger. After mumbling in his sleep, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling where a gas lamp was hanging.

"Where am I?"

Michael sat up slowly, and a thin quilt slipped off him.

The chilly feeling on his chest immediately made him notice that something was wrong.

Michael lowered his head and slightly lifted the lace neckline on his chest to make sure that he was wearing women's clothing.

"Am I... traveling through time again?"

Michael looked at his slender arms as white as jade, took several deep breaths, and took a while to accept the fact that he had become a woman.

He turned his neck and took in the surroundings.

This was a very small room, covering an area roughly the size of three standard bathrooms placed side by side. Although the four walls were coated with lime water, they were still very dirty, with plaster seeping out in many places.

There was a dressing mirror with fine cracks on its surface in the room. Two steps away from the mirror was the door of the room. A clock was hung on the top of the thick wooden door.

Michael was lying on a hard bed with an old iron bed frame covered with faded sheets. There was a double-door wardrobe next to the bed.

The room has no windows, the four walls are all painted white, and the furnishings are so simple that it gives people a very depressing feeling.

Michael turned his gaze to the wall clock at the door and looked for a few seconds and found that the three hands of the clock all stopped at one point, not moving at all.

"This place is like a prison. Even the clock is broken..."

Michael muttered inwardly, threw back the quilt, got off the bed, and stood in front of the dressing mirror.

"Is this me now?" Michael looked at the girl in the mirror with waist-length brown hair, a round face and a sweet appearance, and muttered, "She's pretty."

He couldn't help but turn around in front of the mirror, and the white nightgown that fell to her knees danced, revealing the girl's unique fair skin.

"What a novel experience." Michael thought to himself.

Although he had dressed as a woman once before, completely transforming into a woman and dressing as a woman were two completely different feelings.

It's like cosplaying a character and traveling through time to become that character. In the former, you clearly know that you are fake, but in the latter it is a completely new life.

Normal men would definitely feel uncomfortable when faced with gender reassignment, and Michael certainly felt the same way, but not to a strong degree.

Gender is actually not that important to him. As long as it does not affect the peaceful life he wants, he doesn't mind abandoning everything else.

Boom boom boom.

There were crisp and rhythmic knocks on the thick wooden door.

"Amelia, are you awake?"

Michael didn't say anything, he was thinking about how to answer.

However, the person outside seemed unable to wait any longer. He only had time to hear the sound of the door being unlocked, and then a large figure pushed the door open and walked in.

Michael was slightly stunned. He knew this person. This person was none other than Julia from the haunted orphanage.

Julia glanced at Michael and frowned.

"Why didn't you speak just now? And why haven't you changed your clothes yet?"

Michael was about to explain, but Julia seemed possessed. She raised her hands and grabbed her hair, repeating:

"Amelia is a bad girl, Amelia is a bad girl, Amelia is a bad girl..."

"Bad boy, you must be punished!"

As the last sentence fell, Michael's mental warning was triggered. He immediately realized that something was wrong, but there was no room for him to maneuver in such a narrow space.

Julia's flesh and blood collapsed in an instant, turning into a monster with pus all over its body and red eyes.

The monster Julia stretched out her arms with a ferocious face.

Michael's eyes turned blood red.

He is dead.

"Ha-hu, ha-hu, ha-hu."

Michael raised his hand and pressed it on his chest. When his consciousness returned to his body, he saw the bright ceiling again.

"Damn it, what the hell place did I end up in? I died before I even got out of the door."

Michael held his aching head and sat up. After looking around, he murmured, "It seems that I have gone back to the first time I opened my eyes... There is no time."

Michael stopped thinking and didn't even think about the reason for his flashback. He immediately got out of bed, jumped to the closet, and picked up a white dress with an old and simple style.

Michael was very glad that this was not his first time wearing women's clothes, and he changed his clothes in just a few seconds.

Michael still did not relax. While there was still time, he quickly searched the room.

From the inexplicable death just now, he only got one useful information, that is, Julia was a monster, and he was probably killed by her because he did not change his clothes.

Michael focused his attention on the closet in front of him. It was the only place in the entire room where he could hide things, except under the bed.

The closet had only two layers, with three equally old dresses hanging on the top layer. The interior was clearly visible, so Michael focused his attention on the two drawers on the second layer.

This time he really found something. There were two notes in the left and right drawers of the second layer.

Michael read the second note first.

Written in pencil on it were the following:

"When you see this, it means I'm dead."

Michael raised his eyebrows and continued reading.

"My name is Kru, a Red Glove from Loen. Time is limited, so I will write down the rules of this strange welfare home that I have discovered, hoping it will be helpful to those who come after me."

1. No one is allowed to enter the dean's office unless she allows it.

2. Do not waste food.

3. The bedroom must be kept clean and tidy. Julia or Laura will check it every morning.

4. It is best not to disobey any adult in the welfare home.

5. Don't look in the bathroom mirror at midnight.

The writing stopped abruptly, but Michael did not pause. He turned to the back of the paper and continued reading.

6. Any form of conversation is prohibited in the music room.

7. If someone calls your name from behind at night, don't look back.

8. Don't resist anyone wearing a wolf mask.

9. Only the main gate of the welfare home is allowed to enter and exit. Do not try to climb over the wall.

At the end of the note was a line of words written in blood.

"Don't trust anyone here, except you, they are all monsters!"

"Hmm... Judging from the force of the pen and the spacing between each word, this person named Kelu must have written this note in a very critical situation."

Michael gently stroked the note with his fingers and noticed with his sharp eyes that there were traces of burns on the corners of the note.

Without much thought, Michael immediately took out another note.

This is a schedule.

[7:00~7:20 wake up]

[Arrive at the cafeteria before 7:30]

[Eat breakfast from 7:30 to 7:50]

[Class starts at 8:00~9:00]

[9:00~11:00 free time]

Michael didn't read on because time was running out.

He quickly hid the note and cleaned up the room in less than a minute according to the rules revealed on it.

Boom boom boom.

This time, Michael took the initiative to step forward and open the door.

But the wooden door got stuck just as a gap appeared, large enough for an arm to pass through.

When Michael looked, he saw an iron chain as thick as a baby's wrist hanging outside the wooden door.

"Haha, it feels more like a prison now." Michael tried his best to keep his facial expression from twitching, so as not to let Julia outside notice that something was wrong.

The door was opened, Julia put away the key and looked around the room carefully.

While Julia was examining, Michael was thinking.

"This is most likely the welfare home before it was abandoned, but whether it is true or not is debatable."

Michael thought, "Mario was sucked into the vortex with me. He should also be in this orphanage... I wonder what he looks like now..."

Here, seeing that the room met the requirements perfectly, Julia turned around, showed a very kind smile on her face, and ruffled Michael's hair.

"Amelia is indeed a good child. Come on, go to the cafeteria and have breakfast."

Michael remained calm on the surface and nodded obediently.

Before he put one foot halfway to the door, Michael accidentally glanced at the clock above his head.

Suddenly, he found that the clock had moved forward a large space at some point.

Click.Chapter 42 The hidden truth (Part 2)Title of the Book:Secret: I just want to farmAuthor: Be a FireflyChapter word count: 2460 wordsUpdate time: 2024-07-28 10:35:59

"Time, death..."

Michael withdrew his gaze, suppressed the doubts in his heart, and walked out of the door with awkward steps.

The schedule clearly requires everyone to arrive at the cafeteria before 7:30. If he fails to arrive at the specified time, it is likely to cause other unknown changes again.

Michael stood in the corridor, observing everything around him as he walked.

He noticed a thin, long-faced woman who was wearing similar clothes to Julia's just walked out of the next room.

Michael speculated that the long-faced woman was most likely Laura, the other nurse mentioned in Cru's note.

He didn't look at it any further, but turned his head and walked forward, intending to go to the cafeteria.

Of course, without any memory, he definitely didn't know where the cafeteria was, and he couldn't be sure what time it was, but he had a brain.

He didn't know but the other kids certainly knew that as long as they followed behind them, Michael would arrive at the cafeteria on time.

As a result, before he had taken a few steps, Michael saw five or six girls who were slightly younger than him surrounding a boy and insulting him.

Michael stopped and listened for a while, curled his lips, and thought to himself:

"Children are children after all, especially in this age without the Internet. The most vicious words a few children can say are: 'You are dirty, you are ugly, you are disgusting,' which are not very offensive."

Michaelton felt bored and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed the eyes of the boy they surrounded.

Calm and experienced, that's not the look of a child, but more like the look of a middle-aged office worker who has experienced a lot.

Michael thought about it, stepped forward and protected the boy.

"Aren't you going a bit too far?" He narrowed his eyes and said coldly.

If he said this in the male version, even if he had no expression on his face, a trained look would be enough to scare a crying baby into shutting up.

But now with such a sweet face, the power of these words has obviously been reduced by more than half, as can be seen from the expressions of these girls.

The girl with flaxen curly hair who was in the lead took a step forward and said with disdain, "Amelia, have you thought it through? Are you going to go against me just for a crybaby like Leonard?"

Michael sighed, "Childish." He crossed his arms and tilted his head, "So what? I'm always here to fight you if you want."

"Hmph, so vulgar. I will tell other girls not to play with you!" The curly-haired girl pointed at Michael with a rude and domineering look on her face.

"Wow, I'm so scared." Michael rolled his eyes and said sarcastically.

"You!" Michael's words obviously made the curly-haired girl very angry. She gritted her teeth and said viciously: "Since you insist on doing this, from now on you will be my, Louisa's, enemy forever!"

After saying that, Louisa turned her head and called to the girls behind her: "Let's go!"

Michael's expression froze when he heard this. He stared at the backs of the girls and the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed.

"Thank you." At this moment, the little boy Leonard behind Michael spoke up to express his gratitude.

After saying that, the little boy turned around and was about to leave.

Michael came back to his senses and blocked Leonard's way. After hesitating for a few seconds, he uttered a word, "Captain?"

Leonard paused as he walked around Michael, his slender eyes staring at the girl in front of him in disbelief.

"Are you Michael?!"

"Although I don't want to admit it...it's me." Michael nodded helplessly.

Mario still couldn't believe it. He circled around him twice, and after a few seconds of silence, he said hesitantly: "You are...pretty."

Michael coughed and changed the subject, "The most urgent thing now is to find a way out. Let's exchange information first."

Mario pointed to the orphanage children who were gradually moving away in front of him and said, "We'll talk as we walk."

The two walked side by side, and other children from welfare homes passed by them from time to time.

"Captain, have you ever died?" Michael asked in a low voice.

Mario, in his boyish state, tried his best to control his expression and said, "If possible, could you not be so frugal with your saliva next time?"

"It seems that you have died before." Michael answered irrelevantly and then asked: "Captain, have you noticed the clock in your room?"

"Yes... I think the same as you. I'm afraid that every time we die, the clock will move forward one big space." Mario replied.

"But we can't be sure how many lives we have left. Maybe twelve, maybe less."

Michael said this without pausing, and asked again: "I have another question, are our death retracings synchronized?"

"I don't think so, because I've died twice... You didn't go back twice, did you?"

"Indeed, no. It seems that this death regression is not a regression in terms of time..."

Michael narrowed his eyes habitually, pretending to be thinking.

Mario calmly provided some information: "The 'Harvest Priest' has an ability called 'Soul Stitching', so I am very sensitive to spirits. In my opinion, our current state is almost the same as being possessed by a vengeful spirit."

"The spirit has taken over the body?" Michael's eyes flashed, and he continued the conversation.

Mario nodded. "That's about it."

Michael pondered for a moment, took out the two notes from his chest, and then, under Mario's reluctant gaze, stuffed the two notes into his palms.

"This is the note I found in my room, Captain, take a look."

He organized his words and continued, "Then, I suspect this is most likely the welfare home from 20 years ago."

"Among all the known gods, no one can reverse time." Mario expressed his doubt in a tactful way.

"We didn't cross time, but broke into a space." Michael stretched out his two hands and made a square. "Let's assume that the Feynaport City we were originally in is Space A." He changed his palms and made a rectangle. "And this is Space B, which is based on the orphanage twenty years ago."

"Space A and Space B exist at the same time but are separated by a barrier, which makes it impossible for us in Space A to observe the existence of Space B. The vortex that pulls us in is the crack in the barrier."

Michael waved his finger, drew a circle, and concluded, "So I suspect this is probably a small spiritual world opened up by a demigod-level powerhouse or a seal of the same level."

"Well, that's a bold idea." Mario paused for two seconds and responded.

"But this is just speculation after all. We need to investigate further." Mario said and suddenly remembered something. "Before you came in, you asked me why I was in the orphanage, right?"

Before Michael could speak, Mario spoke up, "I received information from an informant that the five victims were orphans. I thought it was no coincidence, so I started an investigation and found out about the orphanage."

Mario's voice stopped abruptly and the two did not continue chatting because they had already arrived at the cafeteria.

Michael looked at the cafeteria in front of him. It was called a cafeteria, but it was actually just a slightly larger restaurant with an extra long dining table.

The dining table was approximately five meters long, with ten armchairs placed on each side. The floor of the cafeteria was covered with plain tiles, and there was an old-fashioned chandelier overhead. Apart from these, there were no other furnishings.

Michael and Mario did not move. They were not sure whether the seats in the cafeteria were fixed. It would be no fun if they sat in the wrong seat and triggered the death flag.

It was not until two children laughed and exchanged seats that the two of them chose to sit down in adjacent seats.

"It's breakfast time, kids, hurry up and finish your meal."

After everyone sat down, a tall, fat man wearing a pig-skin mask walked out from the kitchen, holding a kitchen knife that was still dripping with blood, and shouted.

The corners of Michael's mouth twitched. He had a premonition that if he wasted food, the "Pig-Headed Man" would not hesitate to chop off his head with the kitchen knife.

Michael collected his thoughts and looked at the food on the table.

He was stunned.

"Is this for human consumption?"