Chapter 40 Decision
After a brief meditation to clear his mind and avoid being affected by negative emotions, Angel turned his gaze to the right side of the imaginary table in his mind.
There are naturally many benefits to joining the Night Watch. According to Dunn, the salary of a full member is double the current amount, which is 6 pounds per week, equivalent to an annual salary of more than 300 pounds. This does not include the "extra money" obtained from completing Mrs. Green's commission last week, and the weekly salary will gradually increase according to the number of years of work.
In this era, an annual income of more than 300 pounds was considered quite generous. The average worker's weekly wage was only about 1 pound, and temporary and unstable jobs like dock workers earned even less.
If I refuse to become a formal member, not to mention the 6 pounds weekly salary, I'm afraid the 3 pounds that I get as an informal member will also be gone, right?
The 200 pounds or so she inherited from Cole Granger alone wouldn't last her long. Furthermore, the ingredients for the potion needed for advancement weren't cheap. Even considering the Sequence 8 "Instigator" potion, the price of any one of its main ingredients exceeded her entire fortune.
Of course, if you leave the night watchman, you can find another job to make a living so that you don't end up eating up all your savings.
I have outstanding marksmanship and good close combat skills. I can be an ordinary mercenary. I heard that the security companies and private detectives in the entire Tingen City are very busy, so joining now might be a good choice.
Or, he could learn from his predecessor, the time traveler Emperor Roselle, and sell some of the advanced knowledge and ideas in his mind. It is not impossible to become rich overnight.
After hesitating for a moment, she filled in the first word on the right, "stable income."
In addition to income, the benefits of being a member of the Nighthawks are also something she has felt deeply in recent days.
The hundreds of bullets she fired during shooting practice these days alone are probably worth several pounds, not counting the free use of the shooting range by those with police badges. Others need to pay a fee to use the shooting range, which costs 3 soli per hour.
Weapons are also free to receive. A revolver costs a full 3 pounds. According to Old Neil, as long as the weapon is slightly worn, it can be replaced for free, which can save a lot of expenses.
If she becomes an official night watchman, she will also obtain the status of "trainee inspector", which sounds like a high police rank. It is very beneficial for daily life and handling ordinary disputes. As long as she takes out the police badge, in the eyes of ordinary people, she will naturally stand on the right side.
There are also various materials for practicing mystical rituals, most of which can be claimed. This time, when making the "Storm Gathering" and "Phantom Phosphorus Eruption" bullets, the success rate exceeded expectations, and a lot of materials were left over during the process. If converted into cash, it is not even less than the fixed income.
I also heard that there are high pensions for those who die. But I have no relatives, so what does the pension have to do with me?
Angel thought of Cole's sister who was studying at a university in Backlund, Angel Granger's nominal cousin. If he died on the job, the pension should be given to her, right?
Putting aside this unlucky thought, Angel filled in the third word, "safety" corresponding to "danger" on the left.
This is not a contradiction. There are indeed dangers in joining the Nighthawks, but she has not forgotten that she killed Madam Sharon and has been registered with the "Witch Sect".
Madam Sharon had also revealed to Cole Granger the size of the sect, revealing the presence of more than one Sequence 4 Beyonder, a powerhouse at the level of "demigod." The fact that he was still alive and well was probably because they didn't have time to care about a minor figure like him, not because he was completely safe.
As one of the most famous cult organizations in the Northern Continent, the "Witch Sect" has done things including but not limited to assassinations of politicians, sacrificial rituals, and large-scale massacres. It is blacklisted in every Orthodox Church. Anyone who joins the Beyonder armed forces of the Church of the Goddess of Night, even if they are high-ranking members of the "Witch Sect", needs to consider the subsequent impact if they want to kill official Beyonders on the list. Their own safety will undoubtedly be better guaranteed.
At worst, when facing pursuit, having some extraordinary teammates is better than fighting alone. When multiple low-sequence extraordinary people unite, their combat effectiveness can exceed that of a single mid-sequence extraordinary person. This was well verified in the battle to kill Mrs. Sharon.
Speaking of other Beyonders, Angel suddenly thought of the talisman-making method that Old Neil taught him, as well as the "divination course" that Klein had promised him.
Extraordinary people of different sequences can not only cooperate in combat, but also complement each other's strengths in mystical knowledge. Cole Granger was originally an assassin, and his mentor and boss, Mrs. Sharon, was also promoted from the assassin sequence. The only knowledge she could teach him was related to assassination and instigation. He was like entering an information cocoon and closing himself off.
But within the Night Watchmen, not only are there several extraordinary people from different paths who can share their knowledge with each other, but they can also read the documents within the church and obtain various mystical knowledge that is difficult for outsiders to obtain.
Thinking of the "Hanged Man" who spoke eloquently at the "Tarot Club", and comparing himself with his own ignorance when exchanging information, Angel filled in the fourth word, "occult knowledge", into the form.
In this way, there are four keywords on each side, which looks more symmetrical and beautiful.
Similarly, on the scale in Angel's heart, the choices on both sides are equally heavy.
He was once again faced with the same decision he had made the day he received Mrs. Sharon's letter.
Should I refuse to join the Nighthawks and face this strange but vast world alone again, or become a formal member and fight together with the teammates I have gradually become familiar with these days?
Dunn Smith asked her to leave her choice until the day the church responded, but Angel knew that if she couldn't make a decision today, she would also be unable to make a decision on that day.
Her eyes wandered between the two ends of the intersection, unable to make up her mind.
This was no solution, so she added a ninth word in the middle of the form: "Go home."
Yes, go home.
It has been more than 10 days since she came to "this world". She has her own identity, a temporary job, killed the most threatening enemy, and made many friends.
But this is not my home. My home is in Liverpool, England, not in Tingen, Ahowa County. I am a modern person in the 21st century, not a resident of this... mysterious steam age!
But Angel had no idea how to get home.
She had learned in detail about the life of Emperor Russell Gustav, the most famous king of the Fifth Epoch, a suspected... no, a confirmed time traveler, and his magnificent life.
According to records, Emperor Roselle continued to create works and innovate technologies that were beyond his time until he was assassinated in the White Maple Palace in his old age. This suggests that he never found his way "home" and instead spent his entire life in this world.
Of course, maybe after his death, Emperor Roselle's soul, which did not belong to this world, returned to Earth, but such a thing could not be verified at all, and there was only one chance for such an "attempt", so Angel did not intend to try it so early.
Then, the only remaining solution is to look for it in mysticism.
Perhaps the various churches held records of time travelers? Or perhaps they had left behind methods for reaching other worlds? If that were the path, joining the Orthodox Church would undoubtedly be a good start. By accumulating contributions and gradually rising through the ranks, one should gradually gain access to these hidden knowledges.
Or he could try to find other living travelers. If there were one, two, or three, there would be three. This world already had Emperor Roselle and himself, so there might not be no third traveler.
You can publish a missing person notice in English in the newspaper, buy space to draw a large nuclear radiation warning sign, or use some jokes that only modern people can understand. As long as it is knowledge that does not belong to this world, it will attract the attention of potential time travelers.
If you want to do this, leaving the Nighthawks and regaining your freedom is a better option.
This puts us in a dilemma again...
Adding new keywords did not make Angel's choice any easier. She sighed and decided to go to Old Neil to get the bullets first, and then take her time to make a decision.
Turning right from the intersection, she came to the iron door of the armory and knocked gently, and soon received a response.
"Is this Angel? Please come in."
Pushing open the door and entering the armory, Old Neil was still dressed in his long robe, sitting at the table, studying the pages of Emperor Roselle's manuscript. There were already several sheets of paper covered with symbols on the table, and a pot of coffee with a unique aroma was steaming.
Seeing Angel come in, he said without looking up, "Are you here to collect today's bullets? Wait a moment while I finish drawing these symbols."
He took a pencil and wrote and drew on the blank paper, copying a few characters from the manuscript onto it. Angel recognized that one of the characters seemed to mean "sun" or "date", but she was not sure. Her knowledge of Chinese was limited to the few Chinese characters used in pursuit of fashion on GG, or the famous quotes tattooed on the bodies of celebrities. She could only sigh in regret when faced with a page full of square characters.
After writing a few Chinese characters like painting, Old Neil breathed a sigh of relief, put down his pencil, and looked up at Angel.
"Isn't Klein with you today?" He glanced behind Angel and saw that only one person had come. He asked in confusion, "Don't you usually... Oh, I remember. He's on his day off today."
He brushed off the pencil shavings on his robe, stood up, picked up the keychain beside him, and swiftly entered the armory at the back.
"Same old situation?"
Old Neil's voice came from inside the door, but before Angel could answer, he returned to the outer room with a box of bullets.
"30 ordinary pistol bullets. No need to sign. You're the only one using this caliber anyway."
After handing the paper bullet box to Angel, Old Neil returned to his lazy self as a "Rossel Researcher". He sat back in his chair, ready to continue his decryption work.
"By the way, Klein said you're very interested in divination. I just taught him last week. You can come and listen if you have time."
"But you practice shooting with him every morning, and I heard you even taught him a few moves. I think you might as well ask him directly. This young man learns quickly, and he's a fortune teller, so he might be able to teach you better than I can."
Old Neil smiled, lowered his head and continued to draw Chinese symbols crookedly.
"Thank you. I'll find a chance to ask him."
Angel's mind was full of his choice of staying or leaving. Faced with this problem, he didn't dare to make a promise and could only deal with it perfunctorily.
Leaving the armory with the bullets, Angel returned to the second floor of Blackthorn Security. Having wasted considerable time in the basement worrying about the future, she was surprised to find it was already nearing noon. The heavy clacking of a mechanical typewriter could be heard from Mrs. Orianna's office. In the reception room, a waiter from the Old Ville restaurant registered the number of people and portions of lunch and was about to leave when the white-haired "author lady," Siga Teon, spotted Angel emerging from behind a partition and called out to the waiter.
"Wait a minute, there's one more person... What set menu did you order?"
She turned back to ask Angel.
Angel had been eating lunch at the Blackthorn Security Company these days, delivered by the Old Vile Restaurant. She had become quite familiar with the other Night Watchmen, especially Siga Theon. Because he wanted to "get information" from her, he would grab Angel and chat with her during every meal. Apart from Klein, he was the Night Watchman member she interacted with the most.
"No, thank you. I'll go back and eat at noon."
Angel declined Ms. Teong's invitation. Today was Monday and she had a Tarot Club at 3 p.m. In order to avoid being delayed on the road and missing the time, she decided to go back to Daffodil Street for lunch.
"Oh—" The white-haired lady let out a deliberately drawn-out sound, putting on a sad expression. "He's off today, so why aren't you eating here? I was the one who knew you first..."
"Stop, stop!" Angel quickly interrupted her performance. "You're the third person to bring up Klein today. Is this a dead end?"
"But Leonard is also resting today!" Xijia showed a sly smile, "Are you admitting it yourself?"
"I……"
Angel was speechless and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"Ahem..." It was the waiter at Old Vail's who came to her rescue, even though it wasn't his intention. "If you don't add an order, I'll leave first?"
The two of them then realized that there were outsiders present. Angel shook his head and repeated, "I'm not eating here at noon, so there's no need to add my portion."
After watching the waiter quickly leave, Xijia Teong turned around and continued, "I heard that you are going to be 'regularized'?"
The news spread so quickly...
Angel was surprised at how quickly office gossip spread. He nodded and replied, "The captain mentioned it to me and said he's already applied to the Holy Temple. I haven't received a response yet."
"You do need to be cautious. This is different from a civilian position. Once you join, well... you know."
Xiga originally wanted to say a few more words, but looking at Angel's melancholy expression, he smacked his lips and decided not to put pressure on her.
Looking at Xijia Teon's rare white hair, Angel's heart moved and asked, "Did you hesitate before becoming an official member?"
"I didn't really think about it that much, because I had no choice." The white-haired woman narrowed her eyes, seemingly lost in memory. "Unlike you, I was just an ordinary person before joining the Nighthawks. An out-of-control Beyonder with a Mechanical Heart went on a killing spree in the South District, and I luckily survived. The captain saw my good skills and invited me."
"I had nightmares for a whole year, reliving that moment every day. When he asked me if I wanted to take the potion and become a Beyonder and a full member, I agreed without hesitation."
"I simply think... becoming a Beyonder gives you the power to protect yourself and others. It's a pretty clichéd reason, right? Like a cheesy novel that no one reads."
Angel was keenly aware that Xijia Teong seemed to have omitted some content, but she just listened quietly.
"I just think that you don't have to choose the most appropriate one, but you should choose it so that you don't regret not choosing the other one," Xijia concluded. "After that, I haven't had nightmares since."
"Ah, the more you talk about it, the more it sounds like the novel that was rejected by the editor." As if she felt the atmosphere was a bit dull, she changed the subject and talked about a topic that interested her.
"I think with some changes, it could become a best-selling novel," Angel joked. "But you have to be careful not to break the rules and reveal the secrets of the Nighthawks and the Church."
"That's okay. I can use the Mandated Punisher or a member of the Mechanical Heart as the protagonist!"
The two smiled at each other.
——————
Angel walked out of the reception room and went down the stairs to the first floor. Looking back, he saw the sign of "Blackthorn Security Company" still hanging on the corner where the stairs turned. Passersby would not be able to find the sign at all if they did not look carefully.
"Alas, I may regret this choice later, but if I don't choose this way, I may regret it immediately?" Chewing on Xijia Teong's advice, Angel sighed and walked towards the public carriage station on the corner of the street.
In the glare of the sun nearing noon, Angel could no longer see the imaginary table in her mind, but she still stretched out her right hand as she walked and wrote a word in the grid in the air that only she could see.
"partner".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
