On the street where Queens and West meet, in the quiet, shadowed alley. Even without looking up, Hugh Dillchar could see the grand palace complexes and the soaring Gothic clock towers in the distance. This was the highest region in the entire Bekland, the seat of the Royal House of Roon. Its status in the north-south continent and across the world was equal to, or even surpassed, that of the White Maple Palace of Intis and the Ormil Palace of the Fsaak Empire—though its name was neither romantic nor ancient. It was called the Sodrak Palace, a word in ancient Fsaak meaning "balance." Hugh turned his gaze away from the renowned "Clock of Order" and toward the other side of the alley. In the shadows where the gas lamps could not reach, a figure slowly emerged. The figure wore a golden shell mask that revealed only the lower half of her face—exactly the enigmatic person who had previously sold Hugh the "Constable" formula and who had regularly entrusted him with various tasks. When they spoke privately, both suspected the other was from MI9. "Any developments this week?" the man wearing the golden mask asked as per routine. Hugh shook his head. "No, prior to the incident, no one had inquired about Captain Carpin." She paused, hesitating slightly. "Shall we continue investigating this matter?" The masked man remained silent for a moment. "We don't need to anymore—though if anyone else hears anything relevant, please keep me informed immediately." "Today I have a new assignment for you." "What kind of assignment?" Hugh fully entered his bounty hunter mode, preparing to assess the risks. The masked man smiled. "A simple one—actually, the one you've always dreamed of." "Go ahead," he said. "Your task is to seek out the primary materials used by the 'Magistrate' and the 'Interrogator,' especially those that can be directly formulated into potions. If anyone responds, we will cover the costs." "The materials we acquire will belong to me?" Xu asked aloud, her most pressing concern. "No, don't you think such a straightforward task deserves such a high fee? Of course, if we could 'fish' the right person out like catching a fish, the primary ingredient of the potion would be yours—something we could certainly negotiate." The man in the mask chuckled. "But I don't even know what the primary ingredient of the 'Inquisitor's' potion is..." Xu said, hesitating. "I'll tell you that shortly—that's precisely the reason for our advance payment. Even if we don't find the target, you'll already have the core components of the Sequence 7 potion formula, worth over 600 pounds. I'm sure you've already recognized our generosity." The man spoke with a persuasive tone. Indeed, generous... But who exactly were they seeking, and why were they willing to go to such lengths to find them? Well, assuming he's from MI9, it's likely that recovering the "Arbitrator" pathway extraordinary materials during this mission is also part of his objective—there's no waste of money at all. As a fairly seasoned bounty hunter, Hux had instinctively thought of several things. After a moment's consideration, she nodded. "I accept this commission." "Good," the man in the mask said, his tone light as he glanced around. "The primary ingredient of the 'Interrogator' potion is the horn of the Flash-pattern Black Snake and the dust of the Lake Spirit." After speaking, he slowly retreated, re-entering the shadows and vanishing at the corner of the alley. "He actually told me the primary ingredients of the 'Interrogator' potion..." Hux was momentarily still. Only now did she fully appreciate just how seriously the force represented by the man in the mask regarded this mission. "I don't know who the target is, but the key seems to be a special ingredient that can be directly formulated into either 'Peacekeeper' or 'Interrogator' potions..." As she thought this, Hui suddenly froze. She remembered something—when she had been promoted to Sequence 8, 'Peacekeeper,' she had used exactly that special ingredient, one that could be directly formulated into the corresponding potions, purchased from Vorths! This... was it? Their target? Hui instinctively decided to keep this secret, absolutely not telling the man in the mask. She gently rubbed her baby-faced cheeks and stepped out onto the street, heading toward the public carriage to return to the Joewood district. At that moment, she spotted a brown carriage passing by, and her gaze was immediately drawn to the emblem on it. The emblem—a flower with two rings—wasn't particularly striking, yet Hui stared straight ahead, as if her gaze had frozen. Only after the carriage had drawn away did she turn her gaze back, her mood suddenly sinking deeply, even though she had returned to their shared rented house—still not fully recovered. Upon noticing that her friend seemed off, Folly poured two glasses of red wine and carried them over. "What's happened?" she asked, sitting across from her and offering one to Thorne. Thorne looked down at the red wine, remaining silent for a full two minutes before speaking in a slightly hoarse voice: "On the way back, I encountered someone I used to know." "Who?" Folly asked promptly. "The Viscount of Stafford," Thorne replied. Folly thought carefully. "Ah, I believe this Viscount is the head of the royal household guards?" As a best-selling novelist, she often received invitations from noble patrons who appreciated literature, attending afternoon teas and galas. Following her profession's habit of gathering material, she would naturally make an effort to learn more about the more prominent members of the nobility. It was at such gatherings that she met Viscount Glairint. "Yes, he once, once served as my father's deputy," Hugh said, slightly hesitating. "Your father?" Firth knew that Hugh came from a declining noble family, with some secrets, but wasn't clear on the specifics. Hugh lifted a glass of red wine, took a long sip, and choked, coughing several times. After a moment, she continued: "Our family belonged to the court nobility; at our height, we even held the title of Count of the Palace." "Count of the Palace? What is that office?" Firth asked, half curiously, half using the question to ease her friend's emotions. "It's essentially the royal spokesperson—the noblest of the royal household," Hugh recalled with a glow of pride. "From then on, our family acquired the true territorial estates befitting a count. Under my father, though no longer as prominent, we remained trusted by the former king, William VI the Resolute, serving as commander of the royal guard and head of the court household. Her tone grew increasingly subdued, marked by an unmistakable sorrow: "Seven years ago, he was accused of involvement in a rebellion and ultimately executed, his title and lands revoked. 'Our family fell from grace; many of our members died without cause, and to survive, we changed our surname and left the county of Easthorne.' 'I never believed my father would have rebelled—his loyalty to the royal house surpassed even his devotion to the goddess! For whatever reason... In short, I left my mother and my brother, and came to Baelor to seek opportunities, hoping to restore both our family's honor and my father's reputation.' While Hodor's account of certain details remained vague, Faelth paid no attention, sighed, and said: 'This will be extremely difficult.' She then brightened with a smile: 'But I will support you!' And I have a mysterious Tarot circle behind me!' she added mentally. ... The 2nd Waterlily Street, Tiren City. Melissa looked up from her math problems, turned her head toward the door, and watched Benson remove his half-crown hat. "Where have you been? The results aren't announced until tomorrow, aren't they?" "I can find out tonight—I happen to know two municipal employees who are in charge of the unified exam." Benson gave a slight smile. In early December, he had registered for the municipal employees' unified exam, applying for a position with relatively less competition. Throughout the process, he had built friendships with several municipal staff members and many of the test-takers through his charm and interpersonal skills. "How did it go?" Melissa unconsciously set down her round-bodied steel pen. Benson's expression immediately grew serious, but just as Melissa was about to speak, he brightened with a radiant smile. "I passed! In fact, I did very well—among the top ranks!" “That’s wonderful indeed…” Melissa stood up and walked a few paces. “You’ll need to start preparing for the second round of exams at the end of January. It’s in Beckett—arrange your luggage in advance. When do you plan to leave?” Watching her sister fuss over one thing after another, Benson entered the living room and smiled. “My plan is to head to Beckett after the new year, and rent a house there. Regardless of the exam results, I intend to stay in Beckett and make a go of it. Meanwhile, you can take advantage of the holiday season to transfer to the technical school in Beckett, and prepare for the entrance exams to the University of Industry and Technology in June.” Just a month ago, Beckett Technical College had been restructured and officially upgraded to the University of Industry and Technology. Melissa listened quietly, her lips subtly parting. With a soft, gentle voice, she replied, “That sounds good.” ...On a Friday afternoon, at the Crag Club. Crane stepped out and hired a carriage to take him to the Red Rose manor of Prince Edsack. It was a place Talim frequently visited in the days just before his death. As a competent detective, he simply couldn't afford to ignore the investigation—without doing so, he'd be entirely unaccountable for the 100 pounds he'd been paid. No matter how sluggish or indifferent he might be, he had to maintain a certain appearance. Sitting inside the carriage, Crane admired the gradually clearing landscape outside and murmured to himself. After the morning's practice, he had a good grasp of the overall improvements in various abilities: extraordinary skills such as "commanding fire" and "fire leaping" had strengthened by about 30%, while the power of air blasts and the length of the water-based false breathing pipelines had even doubled. Skills in divination and combat had also seen clear enhancements. The abilities "paper man substitute" and "harm transfer" remained largely unchanged, though due to the growth in spiritual essence, he could now use them more frequently. Wobbling along, Caine finally reached the Red Rose manor and explained his purpose to the two soldiers stationed at the entrance. After being conveyed, he met the elderly housekeeper he had seen earlier. "You may inquire of anyone here," the meticulously dressed man with white hair paused, adding, "except that young lady." That's exactly what I'd like—to avoid any complications... Caine smiled calmly. "Very well!"