3. A Simple... Experiment?

Following the fragments of memory in her mind, Angel arrived at the Silver Crown Restaurant at the other end of Daffodil Street.

From the outside, the restaurant appeared to be mid-range in terms of price, specializing in a variety of cuisines. Customers could order à la carte or choose from reasonably paired set meals. The signature dessert wine made this place particularly popular among returning customers.

It was breakfast time, and despite the Silver Crown's relatively higher prices compared to other restaurants on Daffodil Street, it was eighty percent full. Angel wanted to find a seat against the wall, but she ended up sitting in the middle of the restaurant.

This inevitably made her the center of attention, with both dining guests and passing waiters occasionally glancing at her, then quickly looking away as if afraid of being caught. Male guests with families might have been more restrained, but the waiters behind her were quite unabashed.

"Maybe I should just find another place..." Angel felt uneasy, not expecting to attract so much attention as soon as she stepped out. She began to regret coming to this restaurant. Buying something on the street and taking it back to her place might have been a better choice, yet the aroma of food from the neighboring table made her hesitate.

As she was deliberating, she noticed a table in the corner becoming available as its diners left. She quickly called over a waiter to express her desire to change tables.

Thanks to her sweet smile and a 5-penny tip, the waiter quickly cleared the table in the corner, sparing her from the burning gaze of the crowd.

Less than 10 minutes after she sat down, a Fenepote pasta served with cream of mushroom soup and a vegetable salad was brought to her table. Although Angel had no geographical information about "Fenepote," the main dish resembled spaghetti with meat sauce, and she found the salty and sour sauce satisfying.

After quickly enjoying a hearty breakfast, Angel declined the complimentary dessert wine and left the Silver Crown Restaurant.

Excluding the extra 5 pennies spent on changing seats, the meal cost her exactly 2 solis. If she ate like this for every meal, she would spend over 2 pounds a week, knowing that the average worker in Tingen City earned only about 1 pound per week. Even with Cole's "inheritance," she wouldn't last long, not to mention the other daily expenses.

Having just filled her stomach, Angel immediately regretted her extravagant behavior.

——————————

June in Tingen is not the hottest period of the year, but today the sun is exceptionally bright. Even the ethereal chimes from the distant cathedral cannot dispel the heat generated by the sunlight.

Angel found a hooded cloak to cover her face, finally avoiding the awkwardness of being continuously scanned by people's gazes. However, the price to pay was the rapid increase in temperature under the scorching sun, which was almost unbearable even for her, who has a constitution beyond ordinary people.

"Forget it, there doesn't seem to be much to gain today. If it really doesn't work out, I might as well go out again at night. Indeed, looking for these grey industries during the day is too difficult." Angel wandered around several streets, scavenging through Cole's memories, and came to a few shops that operate grey industries in secret, but did not find the fake credential channel she needed. Only a middleman said he could try to think of a way, but he asked for fifty pounds as a deposit and a month's wait, which Angel decisively refused.

Holding out until the afternoon, Angel, who hadn't even taken care of lunch, finally lost her patience. She carried various seasonings, bread, potatoes, and lamb she bought along the way back to the alley on Daffodil Street. The various garbage in the alley had significantly increased since she left in the morning, mostly kitchen waste from various households. If no one cleaned it up, it would probably fill the entire alley in a few days.

Carefully bypassing the piles of garbage on the ground, she returned to her residence through the back door. She hung the cloak that concealed her appearance by the door, sorted the seasonings into the bottles and jars that had been cleaned again, marinated a bit of the lamb to prevent it from spoiling in the hot weather, and threw the rest into the basement.

Then, she went through each room to check the doors and windows, and finding that the strip of paper placed in the door crack before leaving had not moved, she finally felt relieved.

After finishing everything, she took a shower. Angel lay on the sofa next to the bay window in the living room, her stomach growling as she reminisced about the delicious breakfast.

"Having not slept all night, I'm really feeling sleepy now. Might as well sleep until dinner time, then solve both lunch and dinner together..." Bathed in the sunlight from the window, Angel felt her eyelids getting heavier. Just as she was about to lose consciousness and embrace sleep, her sixth sense suddenly issued a warning: there was danger in the study!

Angel sprung up from the sofa like a spring, grabbed the revolver from the table, and charged into the study by pushing the door open.

On the desk, that brass badge was emitting a dangerous signal.

Intuition told Angel that she should stay away from this badge, leave the study, but there was also an impulse in her heart, hinting at the uniqueness of this badge.

With one hand tightly holding the gun, aiming at the brass badge, she raised her other hand towards the badge.

The moment her fingertip touched the badge, like the light shed by the red moon last night, the badge burst into deep red waves, engulfing the entire study.

At the same time, in one of the luxurious villas of the Backlund Capital, and on a three-masted sailing ship in the stormy seas of the Sonia Sea, the same deep red light was shining on two other people.

——————————

The deep crimson light came quickly and left just as fast. Angel soon regained her sight, and at the same time, felt a lightness in her right hand as the revolver she was tightly holding vanished into thin air. She felt a cold sweat break out on her back and instinctively took a few steps back, observing the unfamiliar surroundings.

In the midst of the grey-white fog, besides her, there were three other people. Not far to her right was a tall, long-haired girl, shaking her head to look around; directly opposite and a bit further away was a man with messy short hair, of average build. Angel could feel his gaze on her. They were hidden in the fog, their figures blurred and faces unclear, only their body outlines and hairstyles could barely be made out.

Apart from the two, at an even greater distance, was a mysterious person enveloped in thick fog. His figure was distinctly different from the other two, like a phantom, fluctuating uncertainly in the mist.

Quickly assessing the situation on the field, Angel moved closer to the girl's position, forming a relatively tight triangle with the short-haired man, then faced the mysterious person, asking politely yet vigilantly.

"May I ask who you are?"

At the same time, the other two also spoke up in unison.

"Sir, where is this place?"

"What do you want to do?"

The mysterious person chuckled softly, replying in a low voice, "A simple experiment." The ethereal answer came through the fog, his tone like conversing with a friend, mild and graceful.

A simple experiment? Hearing this answer, akin to a joke, Angel felt no impulse to laugh, only a chill throughout her body. This mysterious person, merely wanting to conduct an experiment, had captured her from Daffodil Street in Tingen City at noon through unknown, unimaginable means.

He had done the same to the other two as well! The other two victims were obviously shocked by such an answer, falling silent for a long time. The girl asked with a hesitant tone, "Sir, is the experiment over? Can we go back now?"

"Of course, if you formally request it, I can let you go back right now." Like a professor answering a student's question from the podium, the mysterious person chuckled in response, without a hint of malice.

Thank you, I want to leave now, please—Angel only dared to think this in her heart, unable to voice it in the presence of this mysterious person of unknown power. Moreover, after receiving the promise that she could leave at any time, she became somewhat curious about the origin of this fog.

The long-haired girl seemed to be lively in nature, showing a completely opposite side to her previous caution after receiving the safety promise: "This is truly a wonderful experience... um, I've always looked forward to such miracles beyond nature... What I mean is, sir, how can I become a Beyonder?"

"Beyonder" is the term used in this world for people with supernatural abilities. It seemed the girl was not yet a Beyonder, but what about the tall, silent male? Was he an ordinary person or, like herself, Beyonder?

As Angel pondered secretly, the fog around them swirled and surged, revealing towering stone pillars, covered by a dome above. Like the court of giants, the grand and majestic architecture instantly enveloped them.

A bronze long table also appeared under the dome, with the mysterious person appearing in the high-backed chair at the head of the table. Ten chairs on each side stretched to the end of the table, plus the empty seat opposite him, totaling twenty-two seats.

Angel's vision blurred, and she found herself instantly seated in a high-backed chair, next to the mysterious person at the head, with the short-haired man also "taking his seat" opposite her. She slightly turned her head to the left, and indeed, the curious girl was on her left.

The mysterious person was stroking the edge of the long table, indicating that all these changes were his will; the short-haired man seemed determined to remain silent, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest—this defensive posture inadvertently revealed his inner unease; the girl, however, was still looking around, observing the other people at the long table.

Angel recalled fragments of memories about magical potions in her mind and carefully answered the girl's question:

"To become Beyonder, the only way is through magical potions. You can join various churches of the true gods to obtain magical potions legally, or you can purchase formulas through unofficial channels and mix them yourself."

"Yes, by your accent, you are from Loen, right?" The man with short hair took over the conversation, "You can join the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Church of the Lord of Storms, or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. In the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind, the Beyonders have always been fighting against the dangers that lurk in the dark. They welcome those who can contribute."

Thanks to her gradually recovering memory, Angel was not unfamiliar with these churches, but she knew little about institutions like the Nighthawks and the Inquisition.

Perhaps they belong to the Beyonder combat organizations of the churches—like the Order of the Temple Knights.

"Sir, I know everything you've said, and even more, such as the Night Watchers, the Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind. But, I do not wish to lose my freedom."

The girl's response was surprising. Perhaps she was not as naive and ignorant as she had appeared before. At least she had quite a bit of understanding of the Beyonder world she was interested in.

"Where is there such a good thing as becoming Beyonder without a price to pay? Either join a church and accept regulation, seek help from families with ancient legacies, or, as the lady said, buy formulas with money and mix your own magical potions at your own risk."

"However, a magical potion made from a wrong formula is no different from poison."

The girl looked excited when she heard that money could solve the problem, but she looked down in disappointment after hearing the last part and was silent for a while before asking, "Is there really no other way?"

Angel guessed that the girl might come from a wealthy family, and solving problems with money seemed not too difficult for her, but she obviously did not want to join a church and be officially regulated, nor did she want to risk her life trying unreliable magical potion formulas.

"It's not that there are no other ways."

Angel felt it was her turn to speak now. The short-haired man deliberately highlighted the difficulty of obtaining magical potions, obviously laying some groundwork. Since Angel picked up on this, she didn't mind taking advantage of it. She looked towards the mysterious person at the head of the table, who remained silent and did not interrupt their conversation, and then calmly replied:

"I have a formula for a Sequence 9 magical potion..."

"Really? Which one?" The girl asked eagerly.

Angel was pleased with the girl's reaction and continued:

"This formula is called 'Assassin'. The user of the potion can have enhanced vision and night vision like an owl, excel in combat and dodging, make their body as light as feathers for a short time, and concentrate all their strength in a single strike to easily kill the target—just like its name suggests."

"It sounds like a potion focused on combat abilities..." the girl murmured, seemingly not very satisfied with the effects of the potion.

Upon seeing this, Angel hurriedly added, "The Assassin's Potion mainly enhances physical abilities, but just strengthening vision and night vision is an effect many potions cannot achieve. The enhancement of physical movement abilities is not only useful in combat; riding and dancing also require bodily coordination abilities."

She paused for a moment, and seeing the girl deep in thought, she continued, "This is your only chance to become a 'Beyonder'. Are you really going to give it up?"

This was also what Mrs. Sharon once used to persuade Cole Granger to become an "assassin."

If there were other options, Angel would not want to hand over the "assassin's" potion formula. Through Cole Granger's experience, she was well aware of how many troublesome crimes an assassin could commit that would vex the police.

But the other party was clearly a wealthy young lady, naive to the ways of the world and longing for the Beyonder, very much like those rich second-generation she had seen in her previous life who played extreme sports. These people generally would not have the courage and motivation to practice the actions of an "assassin," as could be seen from her dissatisfaction with the potion's focus on combat.

Therefore, Angel shifted the focus to the potion's improvement of vision, as well as the enhancement of noble sports like "riding and dancing."

The girl hesitated for a moment but finally made up her mind, "That sounds not bad, so, what do I need to exchange with you?"

Angel immediately answered, "A friend of mine needs a legal 'identity' to travel within the Loen Kingdom, whether you solve it through money or connections, deliver it to Tingen City within a week, plus an additional hundred pounds."

This was a reasonable offer. In Cole's memory, Mrs. Sharon had mentioned that just the formula for the "assassin" potion could sell for more than two hundred pounds outside.

And Angel was also willing to pay a hundred pounds to obtain a new identity as soon as possible.

"A legal identity..." The girl pondered for a moment, understanding Angel's request, "I got it, I will find a way to solve it..."

When the two initially reached a tentative intention to trade, a man with short hair who had been watching coldly spoke up:

"I have two formulas for Sequence 9 potions as well…"