Chapter 137: Chapter 98: She’s Just Here to Ruin My Dao Heart

Sure enough, after waiting for a moment, she didn’t hear any sounds of a fight outside.

’Hee hee, maybe two people who are always at odds can end up becoming friends. Just like Yuan and Na... Na-who was it again? Oh well, I can’t remember.’

But what she didn’t know was that Melbel, upon reaching the door, looked at a wary Wei’en and said in a low voice, "You’d best keep your distance from Her Eminence. Otherwise, that sword strike from last night will surely find your head!"

With that said, he vanished, completely unconcerned with Wei’en’s reaction.

[You have been targeted by Melbel Osiris’s killing intent. Evaluation: You’re in luck. He’s already eaten and probably doesn’t want a snack. Reward: Survival Points +2.]

’Her Eminence...’

So the person this Guardian Knight cared about most really was Kali.

Wei’en calmly glanced at the spot where he had vanished, then turned and opened the door to his residence. ’Good. I’ve also been itching to shove my gun in your mouth and blow your head off!’

He went up to the second floor and saw Miss Zombie waiting by the staircase. He smiled and handed her the bag in his hands. "I bought you a new dress. Want to go try it on?"

"A... dress?"

A red glint flashed in Shawa’s pale, vacant eyes as she stared blankly at the bag in her hands. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

In her entire, unending existence as one of the undead, this was a first.

"I’m sorry your dress got ruined before. I just wanted to get you a new one..."

WHOOSH. SLAM.

Wei’en watched as Miss Zombie spun around and vanished into her room. "...I hope you like it."

DONG, DONG DONG...

BOOM!

Just then, accompanied by the tolling of the evening bells, a low rumble of thunder echoed through the sky.

Wei’en returned to his attic bedroom and looked out the window at the pouring rain and the small patch of night sky visible from it.

’What the hell? I must be seeing things.’

Despite the night sky being thick with storm clouds and pouring rain, the red moon remained perfectly clear, as if it were hanging even lower than the clouds!

But he knew that was impossible.

’Is the corrupting power of the red moon unaffected by anything?’

So far, Wei’en only knew of one power capable of warding off the corruption: the light of the Dawn Church, which included their lanterns, streetlights, and candles.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

’Tch. What’s the point of thinking about this? It’s all too far beyond my reach.’

Wei’en opened his pocket watch toolbox and took out the tools of an Intelligence Officer: a telephone, a typewriter, and a blue and white box.

’Batman has one identity by day and another by night. I’m an Investigator by day and an Intelligence Officer by night, too. So why is there such a huge difference?’

’I’m not asking to be able to drop a fortune to buy a bank just to get a farm, but can’t I at least escape the daily tyranny of black bread?’

Wei’en shook his head, dispelling these fanciful thoughts. ’Work, work. I still have a lot to do today.’

Because he was staying with the Council yesterday, he hadn’t gotten a chance to fleece the Shadows. He absolutely couldn’t miss out today.

At this thought, inspiration struck. His fingers flew across the keys of the "typewriter," churning out thousands of words in a magnificent stream.

"New Era, 1578, August 15. My apologies. For the past two days, the Caster City State has been holding a grand celebration. The Dawn Church announced that its Saintess Candidate will be heading to the Secret Investigation Department to study..."

"Furthermore, I discovered that the attack on the port’s cargo ships by the *Black Pearl* was intended to force the various ship-owning nobles of the Caster City State to hand over..."

"On the path to knowledge, death is not the end. —Recorded by Wei’en Loft, Intelligence Officer, Caster City State."

The celebration was a mandatory report. It was such a major event that if he didn’t report it, the other Shadows would.

As for why he chose to add the report about the *Black Pearl*... there was no other reason. He just wanted to earn a little extra cash. They should at least give him a hundred gold pounds for it, right?

CLINK.

’It’s here.’

Wei’en hurriedly opened the blue and white box. When he saw what was inside, the smile on his face froze. "Six... 6 pence?!"

’Fuck, why is it so little this time?’

’I remember last time, I got several gold pounds for a piece of intel I thought was unimportant. What happened this time?’

Little did he know that far away in Klande, Intelligence Department Liaison Officer Olivia Tapia was holding his report, a joyful look on her face. "Hmph! I’ll just deduct all your pay!"

Wei’en gloomily took the money out of the box. "What’s going on? Is the Liaison Officer on her period or something?"

Luckily, he had finished the commission from Ceres Manor and received a nice sum in gold pounds. Otherwise, he would’ve had to pull an all-nighter making Magic Potions to sell in the Nightmare Realm World.

With that in mind, he took out the exchange list. He looked over the item names and their costs in gold pounds, jotting them down on a piece of parchment.

After his recent battles, he had gained a clear understanding of his own abilities.

His strengths lay in his powerful sustained combat ability. Both the regenerative power of his Calamity Seed Contract and the instant-death trigger of his death attribute allowed him to prolong fights indefinitely.

To put it bluntly, he could wear his opponents down through attrition. The moment they revealed an opening, he could sink his teeth in and never let go.

But his weakness was even more obvious: he couldn’t break through the defenses of those with strong close-combat abilities...

This had nothing to do with his own magical power; it was simply that his current methods of attack were too one-dimensional. His offensive strength relied purely on the power of his gun.

Therefore, when choosing spells, Wei’en focused on those that were powerful and specifically designed to counter Close Combat Extraordinaries.

At the same time, he also selected two defensive spells—Bone Wall and Spirit Shield, which were the most common spells used by Wizard Apprentices of the Necromantic and Spiritual Secret schools.