Part 1 The Joker Chapter 6 The Extraordinary One
The same Lune language, the same stark and taut feeling.
Where is this? What do I want to do? I want to know too …… Zhou Mingrui calmed down and repeated the two men’s questions wordlessly.
And what impressed him the most was not the sentences formed by the words, the meanings implied by the sentences, but the panic, vigilance, trepidation, and awe shown by the man and the woman!
Inexplicably pulling two people into this gray fog world, even as the “perpetrator” of his own, is also exceptionally shocked and stunned, let alone belonging to the passive side of them!
In their opinion, this kind of thing this kind of encounter is already beyond imagination, right?
This moment, Zhou Mingrui thought of two choices, one is to pretend that he is also a victim, hide the real identity, in exchange for a certain degree of trust, wait and see what happens, fish in troubled waters, the second is to maintain the mysterious and unpredictable image in the eyes of the man and the woman, take the initiative to guide the development of things, and from which to obtain valuable information.
Too late to think more and more speculation, Zhou Mingrui seized the idea that flashed in his mind and quickly made a decision to try the second approach.
Utilizing the other party’s current state of mind to grasp their greatest advantage!
After a few seconds of brief silence above the gray mist, Zhou Mingrui let out a light laugh, his tone flat, his voice low but not deep, as if responding to a visitor’s polite greeting:
”An attempt.”
An attempt …… an attempt? Audrey Hall looked at the mysterious man shrouded in gray and white mist, only to find things absurd, funny, frightening, and bizarre.
She was in her bedroom, in front of the dresser, and then she “came” to this place full of gray fog!
It was unbelievable!
Audrey took a breath, put on an impeccably polite smile, and asked apprehensively:
”Your Excellency, is the attempt over? May we be allowed to return?”
Alger Wilson wanted to make a similar attempt, but the experienced man was more composed and resisted the impulse, just remaining silent as an onlooker.
Zhou Mingrui looked at the questioner, vaguely able to see the other party’s figure through the blur, it was a young girl with soft blonde hair, tall, but the exact appearance was less clear.
He did not rush to answer the girl’s question, turned his head to look at the other side of the man, the other side of the hair dark blue, like seaweed messy, medium body, not very strong.
At this moment, Zhou Mingrui suddenly had a realization, wait until he is more powerful, or know more about this gray fog world, maybe he can really see through the haze, see the young girl and the man’s appearance clearly.
In this incident, they are guests, I am the host!
With a change of heart, Zhou Mingrui immediately sensed some details that he hadn’t paid attention to just now.
The sweet-voiced young girl and the calm and introverted man were both quite illusory, tinted with a slight red color, just like the projections of the two crimson “stars” on the gray fog.
This projection is based on the connection between himself and Crimson, a connection that is invisible but can be truly grasped by himself.
Cut this connection, the projection will dissipate, and they can return to …… Zhou Mingrui nodded his head imperceptibly, looked at the blonde girl, and laughed softly:
”Of course, if you make it official, I can let you go back now.”
Audrey who couldn’t hear any malice breathed a sigh of relief, believing that since the gentleman who could do such amazing things had given his promise, he would definitely keep it strictly.
Her spirits calmed a little, she was in turn in no hurry to offer to leave, and her turquoise eyes rolled from side to side, flashing with a strange luster.
She said apprehensively, expectantly, and with a leap of faith:
”This is really a marvelous experience …… Well, I’ve been looking forward to something like this, I mean, I like mysteries, I like miracles that transcend nature, no, my point, I mean, Your Excellency, what should I do in order to become extraordinary?”
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, even to the point of being a bit incoherent with excitement, the dreams that sprouted when she was a child while listening to her elders tell her all sorts of wonders and strange stories seemed to have finally come to fruition.
In the work of just a few words, she had already forgotten the fear and trepidation she had felt before.
Good question! I also want to know the answer …… Zhou Mingrui spat to himself.
He began to think about what kind of answer he should use to maintain the mysterious and unpredictable image.
At the same time, he felt that standing and conversing like this seemed a bit LOW, shouldn’t such a scene have a temple, a long table, and numerous back seats carved with ancient patterns and full of mysterious feelings, while he himself was sitting at the very top, quietly gazing at his guests?
Zhou Mingrui’s thoughts had just fallen, when the gray fog suddenly rolled over, startling Audrey and Alger.
In an instant, they saw one more towering stone pillar around them, and saw that they were enveloped by a wide dome above them.
The entire structure was spectacular, grand, and lofty, like the legendary king’s palace of the giants.
Underneath the dome, surrounded by gray mist, there was a long bronze table, ten high-backed chairs on the left and right, and the same seats on the front and back, and on the backs of the chairs, bright flashes of crimson and darkness outlined strange constellations that didn’t correspond to reality.
Audrey and Alger were seated opposite each other, in the position closest to the top.
The young girl looked to the left and then to the right, and couldn’t help but mutter in a low voice:
”It’s truly magical ……”
Indeed magical …… Zhou Mingrui stretched out his right hand, the amplitude is very small rubbing the edge of the bronze long table, the surface does not move.
Alger also looked around, and after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly opened his mouth, answering Audrey’s question instead of Zhou Mingrui:
”You’re a Rune, right?”
”If you want to become an Extraordinary, join the Church of the Goddess of the Night, the Church of the Lord of Storms, or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.”
”While the vast majority of people never see an Extraordinary in their lives, to the point of suspecting that the same is true of the Church, and even within several of the major Churches, a number of clergymen think similarly, I can tell you unequivocally that in the Arbitration Court, in the Inquisition, and in the Executioner’s Office, the Extraordinary are still there, still fighting the dangers that grow in the darkness, just in far, far fewer numbers than they were in the early days of the Black Iron Age or before, the number is much, much less.”
Zhou Mingrui listened intently, but his body movements tried their best to show the unconcerned attitude of listening to a child’s story.
Relying on Klein’s residual general knowledge of history, he knew that the “Black Iron Age” referred to the current Era, that is, the Fifth Era, which began one thousand three hundred and forty-nine years ago.
Audrey listened quietly and let out a light breath:
”Sir, I know everything you said, and even more, such as the Night Watchers, such as the Substitute Punishers, such as the Mechanical Heart, but I don’t want to lose my freedom.”
Alger gave a low, vague laugh:
”What kind of person doesn’t want to pay the price to become an Extraordinary? If you don’t consider joining the church and accepting the test, then you can only go to the royal family, the few nobles whose family history is over a thousand years old, or, by luck, hunt for those evil organizations that are hiding.”
Audrey subconsciously puffed out her cheeks, then looked left and right in a panic, and only after she was sure that neither “Mr. Mysterious” nor the guy across the street had noticed her small movements, did she follow up:
”Is there no other way?”
Alger fell into silence, after a dozen breaths, he turned his head to look at the “Mr. Mysterious” Zhou Mingrui, who was quietly observing without uttering a word.
Seeing that the other party did not comment, he then looked back to Audrey, said with deliberation:
”I actually have two Sequence 9 magic potion formulas in my hands.”
Sequence 9?Zhou Mingrui muttered darkly.
”Really? Which two copies?” Audrey was obviously well aware of what a Sequence 9 magic potion formula represented.
Alger leaned back slightly and replied in a tone that wasn’t quick or slow:
”You know, if humans want to become truly extraordinary, they can only rely on magic potions, and the name of the magic potion comes from the ‘Blasphemous Tablet’, after the continuous translations from Giant, Elvish, Ancient Hermetic, Ancient Forsak, and Contemporary Hermetic, there have long since been changes to match the characteristics of the times, the name is not the the point, the point is whether it can represent the ‘core symbol’ of this magic potion.”
”The Sequence 9 formula I have in my hands, one is called ‘Sailor’, it will give you excellent balance, even on a ship covered in a storm, you can walk freely like the earth, you will also gain excellent strength, as well as phantom scales hidden under your skin, which will make you as hard to catch as a fish, and as nimble in the water as nimble as a sea-folk, and can easily dive for at least ten minutes even without any equipment.”
”Sounds great …… Storm Lord’s ‘Sea Familiars’?” Audrey asked rhetorically, half in anticipation and half inquisitively.
”In ancient times, it was indeed called the ‘Sea Favorite’.” Without making a pause, Alger continued, “The second Sequence 9 formula is called ‘Audience’, and as for how it was called in ancient times, I don’t know. This magic potion allows you to get outstanding spirit and keen observation, I believe that you have seen operas and plays, and can understand what ‘audience’ stands for, like a spectator, scrutinizing the ‘actors’ in the secular society, judging from their facial expressions, their demeanor, their mouthing, their unseen gestures a glimpse of what they really think.”
At this point, Alger emphasized:
”You must remember that no matter whether it is an extravagant banquet or a lively street, the audience is always just an audience.”
Audrey’s eyes glazed over as she listened for a long moment:
”Why? Well, that’s a follow-up question, I, I think I’m liking the feeling, ‘audience’, how do I get the recipe for ‘audience’? Trade you for what?”
As if he had been prepared for this, Alger answered in a hushed voice:
”Ghost shark’s blood, at least 100 milliliters of ghost shark’s blood.”
Audrey nodded excitedly at first, then worriedly asked:
”If I can get it, I mean if, how should I give it to you? And how should I make sure that after you get the ghost shark blood, you will give me the formula of the magic potion, as well as the truth of this formula?”
Alger said in his usual tone:
”I’ll give you an address, and when I receive the Ghost Shark Blood, I’ll send the formula back to you, or just tell you here.”
”As for guarantees, I think you and I will be reassured enough if we have the testimony of this mysterious Excellency.”
As he said this, he turned his gaze to Zhou Mingrui, who was seated at the top:
”Your Excellency, you are able to pull us here, possessing a greatness that we cannot imagine, and the witness you make, whether it is me, or her, will not dare to go against it.”
”Right!” Audrey’s eyes lit up with excited approval.
In her opinion, Mr. Mysterious, whose methods were unimaginable, was indeed a sufficiently “authoritative” witness.
How could she and the guy across from her have the guts to deceive him!
Audrey half-turned her body and looked sincerely at Zhou Mingrui:
”Your Excellency, please be the witness of our deal.”
At this time, she realized that she had actually been forgetting a certain question that was too impolite, and busily asked again:
”Your Excellency, how should we address you?”
Alger nodded slightly and followed with a solemn question:
”Your Excellency, how should we address you?”
Zhou Mingrui froze for a moment as he listened, his fingers on the long bronze table gently tapping, the contents of his previous divination flashing through his mind.
He leaned back and withdrew his right hand, his ten fingers crossed against his chin, smiling as he looked at the two men:
”You guys can call me ……”
Speaking here, he paused and spoke in a light and calm tone:
”The Fool.”