Mystery: Gray Walker

Chapter 42 The Peeping Tom and the Potion

"Let me introduce myself, Olivier Tours, a Night's Watchman at Oberhafen, affiliated with the Church of the Night. It seems Clarice has told you quite a bit."

Green's heart skipped a beat.

He dared not say that he learned all this information from the Garden of Fragrance, after all, they had mentioned that there seemed to be some "minor conflict" between the Garden of Fragrance and the Night Watch.

Green gave a vague reply, then changed the subject: "Where's Clarisse? Why didn't she come?"

He asked this deliberately because Martha from the Garden of Eden had mentioned that Clarice seemed to be in trouble and barely able to protect herself. But when Green and she escaped from William's house, she was unharmed.

Unless Clarice clashed with the arriving Scarlet Order, and he was the catalyst for the whole incident, Green needs to find out what happened, whatever the reason.

Olivier looked at Green and fell into a brief silence before finally speaking, "She can't come for the time being."

"Why?" Green pressed.

Olivier didn't answer immediately. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "She... had a bit of an accident and fell into a coma. We're trying to figure something out."

coma?

Green felt a chill run down his spine. Judging from what the other person was saying, it seemed to be far more than just being unconscious. He instantly understood the meaning of Martha's words, "She can't even save herself."

An ominous thought uncontrollably entered his mind: out of control.

He had experienced loss of control and personally witnessed the terror of having his reason torn apart and being dragged into an abyss by strange ramblings.

If Clarice also lost control because of him, he would probably blame himself for a long time, after all, she went on the risk to save him.

The Scarlet Cult... must pay the price!

Although Olivier's words matched the information he already knew, he still couldn't completely believe them:

"I'm very sorry to hear this. But... why should I believe you're a member of the Night's Watch? Just because of a single sentence?"

Olivier did not answer immediately, but instead took out a leather ID holder from his pocket, flipped it open deftly, and displayed it in front of Green.

The document clearly displays a photograph of Olivier Tours and the inscription "Special Advisor, Saint George Hospice".

The certificate states in a small line at the bottom: This certificate holder authorizes mental health risk assessment and emergency intervention.

In addition, it is printed with intricate patterns and the seals of the Church of the Night and the municipality.

Green's gaze lingered on the identification for a few seconds before he nodded slightly. At least on the surface, the other party wasn't lying.

"Alright, Inspector Olivier. I can fulfill the deal with Clarisse, but only if you tell me the specifics of the deal. She only said she would be my guide, but didn't specify what I was supposed to do."

Olivier put away the documents. "The contents are not complicated. We have received reliable intelligence that some relevant documents from the Revelation Records have recently been acquired by the Oberhafen Historical and Archaeological Society and are currently stored in their internal archives. These documents may involve some...sensitive historical information."

Another revelation recording session?!

Green was startled and almost blurted it out.

Fan Huayuan's task for him was also to infiltrate the History and Archaeology Society, with the same goal of finding documents related to the "Records of Revelation"! These two groups, the Night Watch and Fan Huayuan, had completely overlapping goals?

Moreover, Olivier also mentioned "sensitive historical information"? This is more specific and seems more... significant than Lillian's vague "related documents".

"As officials, why don't you just go directly to them? Why go through all this trouble?" Green asked, frowning.

Olivier took out a cigarette, hesitated for a moment, then handed it to Green, "Want one?"

Green accepted it. "Thank you."

Olivier took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled heavily: "Ha, we've looked into it. Those old guys won't admit it, and they've always been quite hostile towards the authorities. They're a bunch of stubborn old men."

"A young person who has never appeared in official circles will be relatively easy to gain their trust. We need you to use your identity and... expertise to find a way into the archives, find and confirm the existence of those documents, and preferably figure out what they are about."

He paused, glancing meaningfully at Green, "As for how to gain the trust of those old guys... I believe you should be able to find a way. Clarisse chose you for a reason."

Olivier looked directly into Green's eyes and said something that surprised Green once again:

"Mission successfully completed. I can recommend you to join the Special Operations Group. You will then receive the organization's protection, basic occult knowledge training, and a decent, stable salary."

Join the Night's Watch? Become a member of the official organization?

Green was genuinely surprised this time.

It was completely different from the "one-off, dangerous deal" he had envisioned. It meant a relatively legitimate channel, an identity that could be made public, a stable income and resources, and... the protection of a large organization.

This was incredibly tempting for him, who was being targeted by the Scarlet Cult and semi-coerced by the Prosperous Garden. Moreover, the job would be more "respectable" than working at the Port Authority.

But Green knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Joining the Night's Watch means potentially being drawn into a deeper vortex, and it means adhering to the organization's discipline and bearing the corresponding responsibilities and risks.

Moreover, he is currently burdened with a "debt" from the Prosperous Garden, creating a conflict between the two mission objectives...

Is it a spy within a spy...?

"This... is too sudden. I can give it a try, but I'm not sure if I can complete such a difficult task. After all, you said yourself that those old guys are very stubborn."

Green responded cautiously, neither immediately agreeing nor completely refusing.

Olivier nodded, seemingly understanding his caution.

"I'll do my best. But there's one thing I need to remind you of."

He flicked his cigarette ash, his tone turning serious. "From what we understand, we're probably not the only ones eyeing these documents. If... I mean if, during your investigation, you encounter other people or groups equally interested in these documents, avoid them if possible, and don't engage in direct confrontation."

Other forces? Green immediately thought of the Prosperous Garden.

Is Olivier hinting at something? Or is it that besides the Night's Watch and the Garden of Prosperity, there's a third or even a fourth party coveting those documents? Just how many things are involved in the secrets of the Revelation Society?

He felt a headache coming on; the pool was deeper than he had imagined.

Olivier finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in a crack in the wall. He paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then looked at Green again, his eyes filled with inquiry.

"Also, there's something I'm curious about," Olivier said slowly.

"While searching for you, I discovered a strange phenomenon. Your aura... seems to have been subtly shielded or interfered with by something. If I hadn't been through Clarisse and had some special methods, I probably wouldn't have been able to find you. This... did you do it yourself?"

Green's heart sank.

Concealing one's aura? That was a "gift" from the Garden of Prosperity, though it might be more than just concealing one's aura; there was also that potion.

He opened his mouth, but found himself unable to offer a reasonable explanation. He couldn't very well say that another organization had helped him, and that they had given him a mission similar to yours, could he?

Green could only remain silent, avoiding Olivier's gaze.

The alley was quiet for a few seconds, with only the faint sounds of the city coming from afar.

Olivier, observing Green's reaction, did not press further but instead sighed softly.

"It's alright. Everyone has their secrets, especially in our... world. Being able to conceal your presence to some extent might not be a bad thing for you. At least, it will make it difficult for those hyenas with keen senses of smell in the Crimson Order to find you for the time being. It's a form of self-protection."

"Thank you for understanding," Green said curtly.

"No need to thank me, I just hope you can live up to Clarisse's expectations."

After saying that, Olivier reached into his coat pocket again, this time pulling out not identification or a cigarette case, but a small, slender-necked glass bottle wrapped in dark blue velvet.

The bottle was only the size of a thumb, and inside it rippled a strange liquid that seemed to have melted starlight, sometimes appearing dark blue and sometimes silvery white, emitting a faint glow in the dim alley.

Olivier handed the bottle to Green with a solemn gesture.

"This is the 'Secret Seeker's' potion, Sequence 9," he said casually, as if he were talking about an ordinary item, but the words made Green's breath catch in his throat.

"I've invested in Clarice's promise... She believes in you and thinks you have the potential to become a 'peeping Tom'."

The secret of the Demonic Potion!