"It's fine, this is already quite good," Xio hurriedly said, then pondered with some confusion, "Money.. ocean… Could it be that I'll be thrown into the sea because of some unexpected encounters?"
She genuinely couldn't think of any danger related to both money and the ocean.
However, Evah had already guessed what was going on. Connecting it to the original story, the divination he conducted clearly pointed to an event in the novel: a month from now, Xio would take on a commission from Audrey the Justice, which would lead her to provoke Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos, nearly resulting in her death.
Speaking of Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos… Evah lowered his eyes slightly, a thoughtful glint in them.
To be honest, Evah wasn't particularly interested in Creeping Hunger. For ordinary Beyonders, this item might be considered a divine artifact, but without sealing it, it required consuming a person every day. Even when sealed, it still demanded a human life after each battle. If not fed, it would backfire on its user, which was quite troublesome.
Unlike Klein, who had the Sefirah Castle to suppress Creeping Hunger, Evah would risk a backlash if he used it without satisfying its needs, potentially leading to a disastrous outcome.
When it came to relying on external forces, Evah would rather spend time building rapport with Beyonders from various pathways and borrowing their powers. However, if he could obtain Creeping Hunger, he could at least sell it for money or use it as a favor to gift to someone else.
What truly piqued Evah's interest was the intelligence held by Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos. This pirate general knew the coordinates of an island teeming with numerous extraordinary creatures. Although that island was connected to Adam, Evah was eager to explore it once he had sufficient strength.
Who knows, maybe he could even obtain the Blasphemy Card of the Storm Pathway!
Adam wasn't exactly unwilling to invest in him, after all.
Moreover, the island was home to a wealth of extraordinary creatures—a natural resource bank. Even if Evah couldn't use them himself, they could be sold for a profit.
Of course, all of this hinged on one condition, when the Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos incident occurred, Evah needed to have the ability to take him down.
With this in mind, Evah glanced at Xio and hinted, "Could it have something to do with certain pirates?"
Since he planned to get involved in the Quilangos affair, Evah naturally needed to lay some groundwork.
"Pirates?" Xio was momentarily stunned.
"Here's what I'm thinking," Evah continued. "You're a bounty hunter, and Backlund is a port city. What if, in the next two months, you go out to sea for some reason, or a pirate sneaks into Backlund and you just happen to encounter them?"
Evah spoke earnestly, and he was telling the truth. "Many pirates carry bounties, which perfectly aligns with the conditions of money and the ocean."
Xio's expression lit up with realization. Though there was no concrete evidence, she had to admit Jack Jone's reasoning made a lot of sense.
"I understand. Thank you, Jack. I owe you one," Xio said seriously, adding silently in her mind, If the divination turns out to be true.
"I thought you'd waive my future commission fees," Evah teased with a smile.
Xio replied earnestly, "Roselle once said, 'Even with your own siblings, you must settle accounts clearly.'" She then grinned and added, "And trust me, my favor is worth more than 40 pounds."
"Fair point," Evah said, as if seriously considering it for a few seconds before nodding.
After chatting a bit longer, Lou Lin took his leave.
He still had plenty to do.
After Jack Jones left, Xio soon departed the café as well. After ensuring no one was following her, she returned to her apartment, where she found a certain "salted fish" lazily sprawled on the sofa, reading a novel.
Xio wasn't surprised. She poured herself a glass of water and sat next to Fors. "I met a wild Beyonder like us today," she said.
"What?" Fors glanced at Xio, her expression somewhat languid. "Which pathway? You didn't get into a conflict with them, did you?"
"No, he's a Seer," Xio replied, recounting the day's events. She then added with some worry, "Do you think what he said is true?"
Xio didn't fully trust Lou Lin's words, but deep down, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about the divination's outcome.
"Well… it could be fake. But it might also be true," Fors said, finally getting serious. She sat up straight, thought for a moment, and reassured her, "Besides, the divination only suggests a potential life-threatening situation, not certain death. Maybe you'll take down the other party and claim their bounty."
The "other party" clearly referred to the possible pirate.
"That's true…" Xio nodded, agreeing with Fors's perspective, though she let out a sigh.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Worst case, you stay home for the next two months, or I'll stick with you," Fors said, as if making up her mind. "With me around, no matter what danger we face, we can escape."
Xio immediately understood what Fors meant. Her friend had a magical stone bracelet that could consume its stones to "travel," instantly teleporting from one place to another.
"But won't that worsen your condition?" Xio asked with concern. She knew Fors had been cursed from using the bracelet, hearing terrifying murmurs every full moon.
"It won't. Besides, my condition isn't that bad anymore," Fors said with a smile, masking her unease.
Her condition was actually far from good, but to keep Xio from worrying, Fors chose to hide the truth.
"Alright…" Xio, unaware of her friend's deception, nodded, her worries easing significantly. Then, something occurred to her. "If Jack's divination is accurate, we could interact with him more in the future. Regardless, divination is a useful ability."
Fors nodded in agreement.
…
Though he had successfully made a deal with Xio, Beyonders gatherings weren't held every day. According to Xio, there wouldn't be any gatherings for the next two days, but Evah was in luck—on July 2nd, a relatively high-end Beyonders gathering was scheduled, and she could introduce him to it.
Evah wasn't in a rush. He took his time crafting a new alias and arrived in Tingen on June 30th. Barring any surprises, he'd likely be traveling between Tingen and Backlund for the next two months.
Admittedly, without teleportation abilities, this was a bit of a hassle, but with steam trains available, Evah could manage.
On the same day, Klein arrived at Tingen University. Over the past few days, he had cleared his name, been proven innocent, and received an invitation to join the Nighthawks.
After some consideration, Klein chose to become a civilian staff member of the Nighthawks. His visit to Tingen University on June 30th was due to the original host's interview invitation with the university. Though Klein no longer intended to teach there, he still needed to explain the situation in person.
(End of Chapter)