“…”
When the others heard Maggie's words, they fell silent.
As the only [Sequence 8] in the circus organization, her status is still very high. Especially after the leader and the old guy were killed, this only two became the only one.
But she is not very popular on a daily basis, and other members don’t like to deal with this girl, mainly because she has some mental problems.
Except when she is dispensing medicine for the organization, she is not seen. The rest of the time she likes to be alone in the corner, talking to herself all the time, and even laughing excitedly and dancing occasionally.
The circus members found this kind of mentally abnormal person terrifying.
"Since Maggie won't express her opinion, none of us can convince the other, so let's just act on our own."
The burly man in the vest said.
"Okay, but everyone else has to come with us."
The short-haired girl took a deep breath and pointed at the people leaning against the wall in the shadows.
The bearded man and the burly man in the vest looked gloomy, but then Maggie spoke again:
"No, they can't go with you."
"Um?"
The short-haired girl's fingers paused, and the cigarette ash fell.
"Why? How can we two extraordinary people act without the help of external members?"
"It's none of my business!"
A fierce expression suddenly appeared on Maggie's face, and she stared straight at the short-haired girl.
"Now that they're all gone, who will test the drugs for me in the future?!"
The others were suddenly shocked.
It wasn't just because of Maggie's sudden anger, but also because of what she said.
Testing medicine?
They had never heard of this matter. Could it be that...
"Captain, you hid it from us and used peripheral members to test the drugs on you?!"
The burly man in the vest said in a deep voice.
"Outstanding potions all require sacrifice... Otherwise, how do you think the 'Spirit Tranquility Potion' and the 'Blood-Growing Bottle' came from?"
Maggie said.
The other four people couldn't help but lower their heads and look at the two medicine bottles on their waists, remaining silent.
The peripheral members leaning against the wall did not react.
At this moment, Maggie suddenly changed from a sitting position to a kneeling position, and then lay on the ground, sniffing something like a dog.
The others frowned, thinking she was having another attack.
"There's a rat!"
Maggie whispered.
"It's normal to have rats here. This is an abandoned factory."
The short-haired girl threw the cigarette butt into the fire and said helplessly.
“There are lots of rats!”
Maggie continued.
Everyone realized something was wrong, and those who were sitting quickly stood up and looked towards the door together.
The dense swarm of rats had surrounded them without them knowing.
There are pairs of small, black, reflective eyes at the doorways, pillars, rusty machine tools, beams and windows.
"Damn it! Someone is watching us!"
The short-haired woman pulled out a short knife.
Da...da...
In the dead silent factory, besides the crackling sound of the burning fire, there was only the sound of slow and crisp footsteps.
"I have an idea, what do you think?"
A young man's voice came.
In the shadows, many rats scurried away, and a man in a black suit, a black hat, and holding a silver cane slowly walked up to them.
"Who is your Excellency?"
The bearded man asked with a serious look.
"Jack, Jackspeight ..."
The black-haired young man stood tall, holding a silver cane in one hand and pulling down the brim of his hat with the other.
He smiled politely and continued:
"Everyone at the Circus, you can call me Mr. Spade."
"Jack of Spades? You were wanted by the whole city a while ago. What are you doing here?"
The man next to the short-haired girl said coldly.
"Well... I'm just concerned about your future, so I came here to give you some advice. I just said I have an idea, why don't you listen to it?"
Chen Lun smiled.
"Oh? What's your idea? Tell me about it. Maybe..."
The man was halfway through his speech when he suddenly raised his arm and pointed the flintlock at the black-haired young man.
His eyes were cold and his finger was on the trigger.
BANG!!
A bloody hole appeared between the man's eyebrows, his eyes widened, and then he fell to the ground.
Everyone was startled and turned around to see a black-haired young man holding a revolver with smoke coming out of the muzzle.
"Well, he was the one who was about to start it... you can't blame me."
Chen Lun kept smiling as he looked at the remaining four people.
Then, he pointed the revolver at the short-haired woman.
"Ma'am, were you planning to rush over and stab me while that guy was shooting?"
The heavily made-up woman's heart skipped a beat.
Her expression changed slightly, and then she put away the dagger in her hand and forced a smile.
"Absolutely not, Your Excellency, you misunderstood."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned into a shadow and ran quickly to the back.
As [Conspiracy Faction Sequence 9 - Thief], she was agile and quickly rushed to the back door.
He skillfully opened the rusty iron door, squeezed out, and escaped from the factory.
She walked along the dark alley, turning many corners, and finally left the entire industrial area and came to the street. Looking back, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was chasing her.
"Huh... Fortunately I ran fast. That inexplicable guy is too mysterious. I always feel that it would be very dangerous to face him..."
The short-haired woman walked quickly forward and saw a carriage parked on the side of the road.
She was delighted and hurried over to wake up the sleepy driver, telling him to go to the train station.
Then she opened the car curtain, sat on the leather bench, and began to think about her next move.
"Let's leave Amber City first. That damn guy made me lose a lot of money... The big forces behind the leader should have layouts in other cities. Maybe we can give it a try.
It would be dangerous for a wild superhuman like me to not quickly find an organization to rely on.”
Suddenly, she discovered that there was a mouse at her feet in the carriage, looking up at her.
Boom!
The boots crushed the mouse to death on the carriage carpet, splashing blood.
The short-haired girl was still in shock. She opened the curtain and rushed out without paying any attention to the moving carriage.
Glancing at the driver who was driving with his back to her, she reached out and stole the purse from his waist.
Then he rolled on the ground to release the force, looked at the valuables in his hand, and was shocked to find that it was actually a dagger.
It clearly felt like a purse, so why did it turn into a dagger...?
The driver carried a short knife with him, which could be explained as self-defense, but why...
This dagger looks so familiar, so similar to mine?
She looked up, her eyes widened, and she found herself back in that dilapidated factory.
The fire was still burning, and the black-haired young man was still in front of him.
The other companions looked solemn and looked at her strangely.
The man's magnetic, deep laughter suddenly rang in her ears:
"Look, she's ready to take action. She's even picked up the knife..."
The short-haired girl looked terrified with her mouth wide open.
"No, no...I didn't!"
BANG!!
A gunshot rang out, echoing inside the dilapidated factory building.
"Don't act rashly!"
The bearded man grabbed the wrist of the burly man in the vest and growled.
Maggie sat behind the fire, looking completely unconcerned.
The crowd leaning against the wall slowly gathered around and walked out of the shadows. They were a group of expressionless men and women. They were all wearing black pajamas and holding short knives in their hands.
"Don't do anything!"
The bearded man stopped the peripheral members.
The two extraordinary people died one after the other, just a few seconds apart, at the muzzle of the black-haired young man's revolver. The bearded man and the burly man in the vest were both terrified.
Especially the death of the short-haired girl was extremely strange.
In their eyes, she seemed to be sleepwalking, with changing expressions, laughing and being frightened, talking to herself, and finally picking up her dagger, as if wanting to fight to the death.
"Your Excellency, please say whatever you want to say..."
The bearded man took a deep breath and spoke.
"It would be better if you just listened to what I had to say earlier."
Chen Lun shook his head and put away the revolver.
He placed the silver cane in front of him, folded his hands, placed them on it, and looked directly at the three men.
"It is not easy to step into the mysterious realm and become a superhuman. The leader and superhuman combat power of your organization are basically gone. Facing the upcoming manhunt, you can only flee..."
He smiled softly.
"Instead of traveling a long distance, why not stay in Amber City? I am willing to take you in."
The bearded man and the burly man in the vest frowned. It was obvious that he wanted to recruit them. However, the man in front of them had an unknown origin and was hard to trust. Moreover, they had never thought of changing their boss so easily.
“Puchi——Haha!”
At this moment Maggie suddenly burst into laughter.
Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions.
"You are such a shameless guy, you can say such beautiful things!"
Maggie laughed until tears came out and said loudly.
Chen Lun raised his eyebrows.
He recognized the girl, "Sick Doctor" Maggie.
In the previous life, he was dug out by players together with the "big eater" Dolly and beaten to death by a group of players.
The reason why I have some impression of her is that this girl is a little special.
When she was fighting with the players, she threw bottles desperately, the ground was full of poisonous gas, and when she went crazy, she even killed herself.
He was spitting blood from his mouth, smiling frivolously, taking colorful potions randomly, killing one thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of his own, which really disgusted the players.
The problem is that she is [Nature Faction Sequence 8 - Healer], not [Earth Faction Sequence 7 - Alchemist], and their potions are completely different.
The pharmacist, who is supposed to focus on curing diseases, seems to have gone astray and become like a "Breaking Bad" character .
What's even more outrageous is that after discovering the undead body of the Fourth Scourge, Maggie not only did not show any negative emotions such as fear and retreat, but was extremely excited, shouting "My dream can come true!", and then died tragically at the hands of the player.
Chen Lun suddenly had an idea.
He took a step forward, and the bearded man and the burly man in the vest reflexively bent their bodies and touched their waists.
But when they saw that the black-haired young man showed no signs of taking action, they breathed a sigh of relief and then wiped the sweat off their foreheads awkwardly.
"Maggie, you were driven out of the Natural Cult, right? They regarded you as an alien and did not agree with your views."
Chen Lun looked down at the girl with messy hair and said softly.
The Natural Cult is not one of the seven orthodox factions, and they are not allowed to preach within the empire, so it is difficult to see them in ordinary big cities.
But things are not absolute. There are traces of them in the Coleridge Forest, located on the northern border of the empire. Due to its geographical location, the empire's jurisdiction over that area is limited, so it has become the main habitat of the natural sect.
Maggie was a little surprised. She stared at the good-looking face in front of her and was silent for a few seconds before she said:
"How do you know that?"
Chen Lun smiled slightly and looked at her deeply.
"Destiny guides me..."
Maggie muttered the word fate and seemed to understand something.
"Join my team. I agree with your ideas and will support you in doing what you want to do in the future..."
Chen Lun spoke slowly.
Maggie chuckled, tilted her head and looked at him, questioning:
"Does fate also tell you what I want to do?"
Chen Lun leaned down slightly, pulled the brim of his hat, and looked at the girl calmly from under his black hair.
"Of course, it tells me that you want to change the world... Combine nature with flesh and blood to create an unparalleled healing elixir, make the world free of pain, and do what even gods cannot do."
Maggie's pupils shrank slightly under the light of the fire.
Then, she heard the black-haired young man's words again, slowly speaking:
"I can provide you with funds, materials, venues... and excellent drug testers. They are immortal and willing to sacrifice themselves for your cause because they share the same aspirations as us."
Maggie's heart beat faster, her face flushed, and her eyes stared at him.
Finally, she stood up.
"Is everything you said true?!"
"certainly."
Chen Lun smiled politely, stood up straight, and then extended his hand.
"Ms. Maggie, I, Jackspeight, sincerely invite you to join my team."
Maggie giggled, wiped her hands on her clothes twice, and shook hands with Chen Lun.
"Okay! I'm willing to join!"
Chen Lun nodded with satisfaction, then let go of his hand and turned to look at the bearded man and the burly man in the vest.
Seeing this, they knew it was time to express their stance.
The two looked at each other and finally nodded with gritted teeth.
"Okay, Sir Jack, we are also willing to join..."
"But what should we do with these peripheral members? They have all signed a 'shadow contract' with the group... the former leader. Although the former leader is dead, they can only obey our orders."
The bearded man said in a deep voice.
After hearing this, Chen Lun couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The bearded man and the burly man in the vest looked puzzled, and then surprise appeared on their faces.
The black-haired young man raised his hand, extended his index finger, and wrote casually in the air.
Flames emerged from his fingertips, paused in mid-air, and transformed into strange and profound words, eventually combining into a familiar contract text.
"This is... 'Shadow Contract'!"
"How come even you can...?!"
The two men's hearts were pounding. This was the contract ritual . Why could this Sir Jack also perform it?
The image of the black-haired young man once again became mysterious and unpredictable.
"Since one of the signatories is deceased, it will be much easier to deal with... It seems that your former leader was not very generous. He only used one [Low-Sequence Conspiracy Faction Mysterious Matter] in the contract signed with these thirty-two peripheral members."
Chen Lun said softly and took out two copies.
It was thrown casually into the text formed by the flames, and finally merged into it, covered with a layer of gray shadow.
Many expressionless men and women closed their eyes and saluted Chen Lun.
At this moment, he seemed to have become the king who was protected.
When the bearded man and the burly man in the vest saw this scene, their heartbeats couldn't help but quicken, and they felt a sense of awe.
The black-haired young man turned around and looked at them. The two of them immediately bowed their heads slightly to show their respect.
I heard the other party's voice:
"What are you waiting for? Go sign your name."
“?!”
The bearded man and the burly man in the vest were stunned for a moment.
The two looked at each other, and finally gritted their teeth and signed their names on the "Shadow Contract".
Because they know that if they don't sign, there will be no way out.
Chen Lun looked at the two names on the contract with satisfaction. The bearded man was called "Golov" and the burly man in a vest was called "Patton". Both of them belonged to [Conspiracy Faction Sequence 9 - Thief].
"The Thief is agile and not easily noticed, so he is quite suitable to help me with some chores..."
Chen Lun thought.
With a flick of his finger, he signed his pseudonym "Jackspeight" in the corner of "Conspiracy Contract".
All the flaming words burned fiercely, and finally exploded and dissipated with a bang, like a small firework. At the same time, everyone present heard a distant clinking of glasses.
bite--
Then, the illusion of being stared at disappeared in an instant, and a faint whisper came:
"I bear witness."
A feeling suddenly arose in everyone's heart that whoever violated the contract might suffer irresistible horror.
Chen Lun took a deep breath and secretly marveled at the power of those high up in the conspiracy sequence, which made his hair stand on end.
Fortunately, the content of this contract requires these circus remnants to obey his orders, but it does not impose any restrictions on himself.
[Has become the new head of the circus, C-level mission: Circus, completed! ]
[Obtained mission rewards: 7000 experience points, 15 gold pounds, 1 regional reputation, and [Conspiracy Faction Mysterious Book] *1]
Chen Lun bent down, picked up the two strange objects on the ground, and threw them to Golov and Patton.
"You can use these two things."
Then, he casually explained the effects and costs of the two strange objects, which surprised Golov and Patton.
Although it is just a [D-level monster], it is amazing that it can obtain information just by taking a glance without trial and error.
They immediately recalled the conversation between the new leader and Maggie.
Destiny's guidance...
The two looked at each other and seemed to understand the truth.
Did the leader achieve this because he possessed the power of destiny?
What a mysterious and powerful force this is!
"Thank you for your reward, Captain."
Golov and Patton bowed their heads respectfully and saluted Chen Lun.
Chen Lun waved his hand gently and then smiled:
"You're welcome. The team will still need you in the future. Work hard, and I will find a way forward for you so that you can go further in the mysterious field."
"Yes, Captain."
Golov and Patton lowered their heads even lower.
Chen Lun nodded and looked at the group of peripheral members. These people were the killers originally trained by the circus. By taking diluted extraordinary substances, they gained strong physiques and received rigorous training, and finally "produced" the elite.
Each of them is comparable to the two elite bodyguards around Butler Feldman.
"Well... the extraordinary organization I've been looking forward to has finally taken shape. Next, I still need to work hard..."
He thought to himself.
"Captain, will our organization still be called 'Circus' from now on? But..."
Golov spoke at this time, his tone somewhat hesitant.
Chen Lun knew what he wanted to say.
The power behind the circus is an extremely large supernatural organization. There are many groups similar to the "Circus" in the Trisur Empire, spread across many cities.
Chen Lun was not unfamiliar with this; it was called “Mutual Aid Association”.
This organization was behind many of the major missions in previous versions. The one that impressed Chen Lun the most was a "chief assassination case." The chief of a small kingdom bordering the southwest of the Trisur Empire was successfully assassinated by a killer sent by the "Mutual Aid Association," which in some ways "changed the dynasty."
At that time, the killer used an A-level weird item - Closing Speech, a plain-looking double-barreled shotgun, to kill the chief with one shot.
Chen Lun knew this famous strange hunting rifle. Its characteristic was that it could cause more fatal damage to those in high positions. It was the weapon most coveted by assassins...
"As I recall, the 'Black Knife Brotherhood' was separated from the 'Mutual Aid Society'."
Chen Lun thought.
"But the most elite members of the Mutual Aid Society did not leave..."
Now that the circus has changed hands, if the name still remains, the Mutual Aid Association will definitely send someone to investigate if they haven't received any contact for a long time. With a little inquiry, according to the gallery incident, the circus was almost wiped out. By connecting the two, it is easy to find out the current situation of the circus.
Doing so will cause unnecessary trouble.
"It doesn't matter, just keep this name."
Chen Lun smiled.
He hadn't said anything more, which was that he was just trying to lure people from the mutual aid society to come. These guys were hiding very deeply, and it would probably take some effort to find them, and he really needed them in his subsequent plans.
So just let them find it themselves.
Moreover, Chen Lun liked the name "Circus" and had no intention of changing it.
"Is it because I chose the [Fate Faction]...?"
He couldn't help but shake his head.
Then, Chen Lun asked Barton to take one-third of the peripheral members to Xiashuitan to take over the Iron Fist Gang. After Gary's death, he rarely paid attention to the Iron Fist Gang, which was still in a state of disarray.
It would be a good choice to let Barton, a superhuman, be the leader of the Iron Fist Gang. With the addition of these dozen peripheral members, the Iron Fist Gang will definitely become the strongest force in Xiashuitan.
When the public beta is launched, it can also be used as the first stop to attract players. At that time, a series of screening will be carried out, and then qualified players will be recruited into the circus.
"Maggie, Golov, take the rest of the people and come back with me."
Chen Lun watched the backs of Patton and others disappear at the factory gate, then turned around and gave orders.
"Yes, Captain."
…
…
…
The next day.
Chen Lun sat at his desk, writing and drawing with a pen. The content written on it was his plan to be completed step by step.
Build the circus into a reasonable, legal and legitimate extraordinary organization.
When the paper was filled with words, he took it and read it several times, imprinting it in his mind, and then revised it after thinking it over.
Immediately, fire appeared out of nowhere in his hands and burned the paper.
Although Chinese characters are used for writing, it is unlikely that anyone in this world can understand them, but to be on the safe side it is better to burn them.
"Well... Next, let's wait for Noah to arrive."
Chen Lun pondered.
Then, he took out the [Mysterious Book of Conspiracy Faction], intending to get the sequence pathway contained in it.
The name of the book was "Closing the Door Carelessly". He took a look at it and felt as if he had forgotten something, but it was not very important, so he shook his head and turned the page.
[You discovered the mysterious book of conspiracy faction! ]
["Closing the door casually " (progress 5%)]
[By reading carefully, you gain 25 experience points]
[You have discovered the hidden knowledge of extraordinary paths (complete)! ]
[Conspiracy Faction Sequence 9 - Thief]
"With the three hidden pathways complete, six of the seven pathways to the True God Sequences have been mastered, leaving only the Deep Sea Faction's Sequence 9..."
Chen Lun closed the book, took back the Blood Poetry Ring, and planned to find some time to read all five books and get the accompanying experience points and reward points.
Meow……
With a meow, the little white cat Bibu jumped onto the table and leaned forward affectionately, looking forward to Chen Lun's touch.
"Hey, you came just in time, little guy."
Chen Lun grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and gently lifted it up.
Immediately, in the stunned eyes of the little white cat, he took out the [Order Revolver] and casually placed it on the revolver.
"It needs warmth, just sleep on it, dear."
Meow!