abnabooks Chapter 149 'The Arsonist': Extraordinary Characteristics and a Shift in Identity
Chapter 149 'The Arsonist': Extraordinary Characteristics and a Shift in Identity
Chapter 149 'The Arsonist': Extraordinary Characteristics and a Shift in Identity
Watching Ian Wright's departing figure, Evan felt that he would become the father of all the homeless children in the East Side in the future.
From now on, I will possess the most loyal force.
Most importantly, this force is young and highly malleable.
After taking another sip of coffee, Evan pulled out an exquisite cigarette case.
What an exquisite cigarette box! If I remember correctly, this box of cigarettes was made from the finest tobacco leaves from the Southern Continent, rubbed on the thighs of beautiful young women. Legend has it that every puff carries the fragrance of a young woman. With the long-distance transport and the pursuit of nobles and wealthy merchants, each small box is worth at least 100 gold pounds. Respected Deputy Director Jonas is truly wealthy!
Evan looked the exquisite cigarette box up and down, mentally complaining about his boss, and then with a snap, he broke through the spiritual wall, opened the cigarette box, and found a gem inside that looked like a flame and emitted high temperature.
Evan quickly covered himself up, but the surrounding guests still felt a momentary change in temperature. They looked around but found nothing, and could only conclude that it was their imagination, and continued talking to their companions.
As expected of the arsonist's extraordinary characteristics, this means I've now collected all the materials needed to upgrade both "Arsonist" and "Witch." Furthermore, due to the developments in Tingen these past two days, I've also fully digested the "Provocateur" and "Instigator" potions, and can now concoct the potion upgrade.
Because Evan was behind the Tingen incident, the potion in Evan's body was digested at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye after the incident.
Evan, who lives in a mysterious city with deep connections to the "Hunter" and "Assassin" paths, vaguely senses that since he has become an "arsonist" and a "witch," he should also experience the situation where he immediately digests most of the potion after taking it.
This made Evan sigh, both the Hunter path and the Witch path are extraordinary paths that go against human nature; the less human nature one has, the faster one advances.
But the thought of becoming a "witch" and turning into a woman gave Evan a headache, and she even regretted not revealing sooner that she had drunk the "assassin's" potion.
In this way, it's a mixed bag. With Robert's connections, as long as he undergoes some further scrutiny, he can still live in the light of day. However, this offends both the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society, because in their eyes, Evan's actions constitute betrayal.
Evan's decision to continue following the instructions of the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society in order to obtain the potion formulas and potions for the Assassin's Path meant that he was destined to face this predicament today.
I should have asked the demigod behind the lawyer if I had any extraordinary abilities related to the "Faceless Man." Even if I couldn't change my nature as a woman, I could at least conceal my appearance so that people wouldn't immediately know I'd become a woman.
Now we can only hope the witch cult is reliable. Natasha promised to help cover up her female identity, but we don't know if she'll actually keep her word.
Actually, there is another way, which is to temporarily delay the promotion time, wait until the extraordinary characteristics of the Faceless Man are found, and then promote him to the general level after the craftsman has made an extraordinary item that can cover his appearance.
Unfortunately, after careful consideration, Evan rejected this option. Because of Robert's unexpected change of heart, he was thrust into the limelight and brought into the sight of all the bigwigs in Backlund's political arena, completely ruining his previous idea of making a fortune in silence.
The Church of the Night has openly supported Evan; he is no longer Robert's brother, but one of the secular representatives supported by the Church of the Night.
From then on, his every move would be observed by others and studied under a magnifying glass.
Moreover, as time goes on, the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society will pay more and more attention to him, and Evan's life will be increasingly scrutinized by demigod-level witches. This makes Evan, who has been in this world for less than a month, feel very insecure and eager to improve his strength.
Therefore, Evan will absolutely not stop his promotion unless absolutely necessary.
After making his final decision, Evan placed a £1 note on the coffee table and then left the café.
After returning to his lodgings, Evan changed his clothes and sent a signal to Natasha of the Witch Cult to meet that evening.
Then he went to the Brave Ones Bar to inform Sharon and Maritch that MI9 was going to operate that night, so that they could prepare in advance on how to hunt the "zombies".
After confirming that Sharon and Marich did not need any further help, Evan attended several other extraordinary gatherings held secretly in the East End and Backlund Bridge districts. Finding nothing he was looking for, he returned to his residence, changed into a formal suit, and took a taxi to the Earl of Ahova's mansion in Queens.
Evan had a room in this mansion, so returning here was no different from returning to his own home. After greeting Mr. Hope, he knocked on the door and entered Robert's study.
Then it was discovered that even during the parliamentary recess, Robert was still busy reviewing reports piled up on the entire table.
Hearing the door open, Robert looked up slightly and saw it was Evan, then lowered his head again, writing as he spoke:
"I heard you guys have a big operation going on tonight, and you even drafted the report and made the suggestion. Why aren't you overseeing it? How come you have time to come home?"
Evan took off his coat and threw it aside, then tossed himself onto the large sofa in Robert's office, saying listlessly:
"I'm fine when I'm not sticky, but once I start, it's never as good as me."
Robert stopped writing, frowned, and looked at Evan, who was lying on the sofa looking rather disheveled, and asked:
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing went wrong, it's just that I've become too popular lately and may have aroused public outrage. I think if something unexpected happened and I stumbled, many people would be happy to see it, so I withdrew and let them handle things."
Robert, who had also experienced the ups and downs of politics, understood Evan's current predicament after a little empathy. This kind of thing was all too common; after all, the pie was only so big, and if you took a bite, someone else would have to take one less.
Robert was never one to stay put. He used to argue with the Duke of Negan every day because the Duke refused to give him a piece of cake. So he smashed the pots and pans, causing the Duke of Negan's blood pressure to spike every day.
Evan's intrusion is remarkably similar to Robert's sabotage of the project, except that Robert did so under the guise of reform, while Evan used actual results to refute Robert's claims.
Following the defeat in the Southern Continent War, calls for accountability from various parties for the military intelligence department grew louder, and there were even rumors of cutting funding for MI9, leaving MI9 in an extremely awkward and anxious position.
When Evan first joined MI9, he solved several cases and cleared up a number of backlogged cases, which brought honor to MI9 and made everyone very happy.
However, after Evan began frequently contacting disillusioned members of MI9 and became a recognized spokesperson for the Church of the Night,
People's opinions of him have changed.
On the one hand, Evan's dominance on the intelligence battlefield further highlighted the incompetence of MI9, whose performance in a year was not as good as Evan's performance in just half a month.
Meanwhile, fueled by the Church of the Night, Robert, and Evan, a widely circulated claim emerged that MI9's intelligence operations failed because the real workers were sidelined; they were the true backbone, and those currently in power were just crooks occupying positions without contributing anything, and should all be purged.
This argument, coupled with Evan's achievements during this period, seems quite reasonable.
This is why Jonas couldn't resist plotting against Evan after they reached an agreement, and this is also why Evan had to subtly warn Deputy Director Jonas.
Evan, who has only been in MI9 for less than a month, has already threatened the fundamental interests of some people in MI9.
Robert sighed. Jonas was his classmate, and their noble status made them quite similar in status. But he never imagined that one day he and Evan would become rivals for power with him.
"Deputy Director Jonas and others don't want me to be too high-profile and hope I can slow down, but the reality is that it's no longer possible."
Seeing that Robert looked somewhat dejected, Evan couldn't help but speak up to remind him.
Once Evan became the acknowledged spokesperson for the Church of the Night, he no longer represented himself personally, but rather an entire force.
Those ostracized because of Mason Deer desperately want to return to the stage; the Church of the Night hopes he can represent the church's interests as much as possible; Robert hopes he can become his accomplice in controlling MI9; all of this pushes Evan to not back down when it comes to dividing the spoils.
Robert smiled when Evan reminded him and then said:
"I understand without you reminding me. Once you enter this circle, you're often not in control of your own destiny. I've seen this kind of thing far too often."
Actually, facing Jonas was within my expectations. Since I converted to the God of Storms, I have in fact become one of the spokespeople for the Church of Storms.
So I want to expand the Storm Church's influence, but if I ask you to align yourself with the Night Church, I can't undermine you. So who might I be targeting?
It could only be the steam-powered church and the most influential royal family, so I was mentally prepared to be on the opposite side of Jonas. I just didn't expect you to be so outstanding, accelerating this process so much, so I'm just a little sentimental.
When Ai Wen heard Robert's words, he felt relieved. If Robert really cared about their past relationship and told him not to have a conflict with Yannas, it would be tantamount to him wearing a hat.
"Regarding tonight's operation, I also gave Major General Jonas a heads-up, hoping he won't breach the agreement."