Chapter 579 A Careful Plan
The plan to forge an identity was formulated by Klein. The two of them carefully designed it and ensured that it could not be traced back to the maritime identity with a total value of nearly 150,000 pounds.
"My primary target is the Antigonus Family Notes, stored within Saint Samuel Church. According to the Night Watchmen's regulations, it must be locked deep within the Chanis Gate, protected by a team of Night Watchmen and several internal guards. It also possesses multiple seals to prevent external intrusion."
Sitting in a cafe on the outskirts of Conant, Klein wrote on a piece of paper while whispering his plan to Angel.
Both of them used the Faceless Man's ability to change their faces into ordinary southern Loen faces, which made Angel a little uncomfortable. She stared at the blond man opposite her and always felt that he looked a bit like the annoying Anderson Hood.
Klein didn't notice her gaze and continued to describe his plan.
According to the plan, he would be a mysterious wealthy man who came to Backlund from Disi County in search of development, trying to contact the upper and middle class forces in Backlund and get close to the Church of Evernight.
In this way, he could gather intelligence and, while continuing to investigate the smog incident, find an opportunity to invade the Church of Evernight, enter the Chanis Gate, steal Antigonus's notes, and search for the formula for the Sequence 4 potion.
Of course, such an identity would inevitably be subject to certain scrutiny when interacting with the upper echelons. He also prepared a corresponding disguise to cope with different intensities of scrutiny. Even if the last layer of his identity was exposed, he would only be an ordinary Beyonder with a criminal record, not "Former Night Watchman" Klein or "Crazy Adventurer" Gehrman.
"At least I can't reveal my identity until I find and kill Ince. Otherwise, I'll definitely alert him. A demigod who can monitor and rewrite the 'story' around him, if he's determined to escape, no one can catch him..."
Klein paused for a moment while holding the pen and explained.
"Is this the reason you arranged a triple identity for me?"
Angel also recalled the tragedy in Tingen City and the Backlund smog. He was silent for a long time before asking back.
Under the other party's arrangement, she would return to Loen and Backlund as a young single woman who had lived in Intis for a long time.
The advantage of this identity is that it allows one to naturally connect with Backlund's upper-middle class circles. Being single, beautiful, and wealthy—if one possesses two of these three adjectives, one will be wildly sought after by Backlund's wealthy businessmen and lower-class aristocrats. Moreover, she possesses all three.
"Much gold, me?"
Angel couldn't help but laugh when he heard Klein's "arrangement."
The gold pounds she now had on her barely broke through ten thousand pounds after receiving the payment from the Hanged Man, but it didn't last long. After helping Elaine advance part of the repair costs, the amount fell back to nine thousand five hundred pounds. This amount of money was enough for her to live a prosperous middle-class life, but it was probably not considered "rich" in Backlund.
What's more, I still owe the messenger lady 10,000 gold coins. If we each pay half, my assets will be reduced again... She thought with some distress.
Although those Beyonder traits and magical items could be sold for a considerable sum, they could only be sold back in Backlund, and most Beyonder gatherings were unable to undertake transactions of this magnitude.
"You are already richer than me, and I will pretend to be a rich man and try to approach you, a beautiful single lady, and eventually reach a cooperation in a reasonable way."
Klein ignored Angel's complaints and drew a heavy line on the manuscript paper, enclosing himself, Angel, and Backlund together.
"Similarly, once you come into contact with genuine aristocrats and military personnel from the upper-middle class, you'll face various identity and background investigations. Purchased identification alone won't be enough. You'll need a secondary 'persona': a Beyonder who has acquired wealth through less-than-legal means, laundered it in Backlund, and prepared to live the life of a superior person."
This was a very reasonable "setting." Once Angel's Beyonder identity was scrutinized by the Orthodox Church, it would almost certainly be exposed, making the source of her wealth appear less legitimate. Therefore, it was necessary to rationalize it in a way that the investigators could accept and imagine.
This was also the reason why Angel had to return to Backlund as a Loenese who had "lived in Intis for a long time." There were constant frictions of varying sizes between the two countries, and cooperation between the official Beyonders of Night and Storm and the military was almost impossible. Subsequent investigations were fraught with difficulties, which provided room for fabrication.
Of course, this is not without loopholes. If the Steam Church's "Mechanical Heart" leads the review, they may ask their colleagues at Intis for help, and the second fake identity will be exposed quickly, which will require the last identity to cover it up.
"...A female witch who was persecuted by the Witch Cult, fled Intis, and came to Backlund, which had just been cleansed of the Witch Cult, to survive?"
Although he knew that his last identity needed to be somewhat unexpected in order to satisfy the official Beyonders who were inquisitive, Angel still opened his eyes wide in surprise when he heard Klein's plan.
"This will best satisfy the 'Mechanical Heart' who is pursuing Intis to delve deeper into your past. This identity also gives you the opportunity to join them and redeem yourself as an informant. As long as they have something to offer you, the unidentified wealth and various forged identities won't be a big deal.
"Besides, I don't think I'll ever need this identity. The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery primarily preaches to teachers and scholars with certain professional knowledge, emerging factory owners, and low-level workers. It rarely involves the nobility and the military. Even if they were suspicious of your identity, it would be difficult for them to intervene and investigate."
As expected of a veteran "Faceless Man," he had even considered the investigator's reaction in advance... Angel curled his lips and secretly glanced at the information in front of Klein, which belonged to him. However, Klein covered it with his hand and put it into a file bag.
"...Ahem, I haven't decided on my own yet. When you return to Backlund, you'll know my identity."
Klein explained hesitantly.
Based on the different identities of the two, they will return to Backlund in batches in different ways, and then create their public identities.
Klein will set off today, taking a steam train through South Willshire and East Tucker County, heading straight to Backlund, where he will operate under a brand new identity.
Angel would travel westward across the entire Disi County, enter the neighboring country of Ma Xi, return to the Kingdom of Loen with a new identity, and then go to Backlund.
This is the most important step in "whitewashing" one's identity and the foundation of the first disguised identity. Therefore, the two had to leave various traces in person to deal with the inevitable scrutiny, rather than relying solely on money to buy fake identities.
Even before the "official meeting", the two people do not know each other's name or appearance, so as to create a real "first encounter" atmosphere.
I always feel like he's hiding something... Angel stared at the sealed file bag, hummed a few times in slight dissatisfaction, and let Klein go for the time being.
…
Disi County was close to the western border of the Kingdom of Loen. Angel took a steam train from Connacht early in the morning and crossed the border in the evening, entering the small country of Masi, which was sandwiched between Feynaport and Loen.
Angel, who was crossing the land border for the first time, found that the border inspection here was unusually relaxed. No one investigated her fake identity and just looked at her ticket and identity documents before letting her go. This was completely different from the borders of Loen and Intis, where conflicts were rumored to occur constantly.
Of course, this is related to the fact that after Masi gained independence from Feynaport 600 years ago, it has been playing both sides as a neutral small country. Compared with the tensions between several major countries, this place can be said to be like a holy land.
After settling down in the border town of Essen, Angel immediately went to get a new identity and left some inconspicuous clues according to his plan, but they could not withstand scrutiny, such as the train ticket stub from Intis through Lenburg and Feynaport, around the central plateau to Masi, and witnesses of his accommodation and shopping in the local area.
This is not difficult with the help of demigod-level divination and instigation.
During this period, she reused the "Hypocrisy" ring to make subtle adjustments to her appearance, changing her hair color to the black color common in Loen, slightly widening her cheeks, and making her eyes a little bigger than before. This adjustment, combined with the changes to her body caused by the "Pain" and "Despair" potions, allowed her to appear completely different from her Tingen period, and she only bore a three-fourths resemblance to "Angelica Sage".
Most importantly, even without using the ability of the "Faceless Man", these changes can be disguised through changes in wigs and facial muscles, allowing Angel to have a long-term image that does not rely on the "hypocritical" ring, avoiding the negative problems that arise from wearing this ring for a long time.
This was a bloody lesson learned by the "Ring of Madness"... She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, quite satisfied with her disguise.
This way, all we need to do is set out from Ma Xi tomorrow and head all the way back to Backlund...
She sorted her identity documents, various clothes, weapons, and magical items into categories, making herself look more like a traveler who had come all the way from Intis. Then she looked at the crimson moonlight outside the hotel window and imagined what Klein, who had already embarked on his journey, was doing at this moment.
Oh right...I have important things to do myself!
Angel quickly withdrew his gaze, set up a spiritual wall in the hotel bedroom to block out possible prying eyes, and then sat at the desk and played the harmonica that he had never had the chance to use since making it.
The lavender harmonica emitted silent vibrations, automatically issuing a call through the ritual solidified within it.
A moment later, a tuft of black emerged from the spiritual world in Angel's sight, and the curled-up black cat, Winsa, rolled onto the table. Its blue eyes appeared on the surface of its pitch-black fur and looked at her.
I always feel like it's showing weakness. Is it because I haven't summoned it for too long because I'm worried about its position?
Angel chuckled, then quickly frowned and said seriously:
"I have been promoted to 'Despair'. It is time to have a serious talk with you about the 'Witch Cult' and your past."
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