Chapter 57

Chapter 57 – Rules

“So… Poison Recognition is tempting. Some societies would use it to corrupt others, right?”

In the library, Dorothy summarized what Audric had said earlier and then asked in return. The other person responded slowly.

“Yes, Poison Recognition can arouse the desire for corresponding spiritual knowledge. As long as the dosage is controlled properly, societies with this secret transmission can indeed have an effect like medicine, stirring up people’s desire and worship towards corresponding spirituality. Many societies also use Poison Recognition to corrupt others…

“For example, if an ordinary person is slightly influenced by the Poison Recognition in the ‘Cup’ secret transmission, they will develop a deep curiosity about the ‘Cup,’ wanting to learn more about it. After gradually consuming more of the ‘Cup’ Poison Recognition, this curiosity will turn into worship. People’s subjective thinking ability will decrease, their mentality and character will be distorted, making them easier to control. Some societies use this method to cultivate fanatics who would sacrifice themselves for the society.”

After Audric finished speaking, he slowly drank some tea from his desk. Dorothy pondered thoughtfully beside him.

‘A small amount of Poison Recognition given to ordinary people can stimulate their curiosity and even worship towards spirituality, damaging their spirits and reducing their judgment, eventually turning them into easily controllable fanatics… Those drivers who risked their lives that day might have been trained this way…’

Thinking about this, Dorothy confirmed the dangers of corruption and continued to ask Audric.

“Then, is there any way to prevent corruption?”

After drinking water, Audric continued to speak with a blank expression.

“10 pounds…”

Hearing Audric’s words, Dorothy quickly opened her wallet to pay, but after rummaging through it, she frowned tightly.

‘d*mn… I’m out of money…’

Looking at the remaining 6 pounds in her wallet, Dorothy couldn’t help but curse inwardly. In a short time, she had spent 60 pounds on information, which immediately put her in a dire financial situation.

“Hehe… Miss Meyshos, it seems you’re a bit short on cash now. If that’s the case, let’s save the rest of your questions for next time.”

Seeing Dorothy’s expression, Audric continued to smile. Dorothy coldly closed her thin wallet and put it back.

‘Sigh… I need to think of ways to earn extra money. Studying mysticism really costs a lot…’

Seeing that Dorothy had no more money for lessons, Audric stood up to leave. At that moment, Dorothy suddenly asked him.

“Oh, sir, do you know any specific information about the Crimson Eucharist?”

Dorothy asked Audric. Since she could buy knowledge from him, could she directly buy information about the Eucharist here? If she could, it would save her a lot of trouble.

Hearing Dorothy’s words, Audric was momentarily stunned, then turned to look at her slowly.

“The Crimson Eucharist… Of course, I know a lot about them, even more than the An Yin Bureau does. But if Miss Meyshos wants to buy information about the Eucharist from me, I’m sorry, according to our rules, anyone who does business with us is considered a client. We won’t sell any information about clients, no matter how much money is offered…”

Audric continued smiling as he spoke, and Dorothy continued to ask.

“You said you dislike the Eucharist, so why would you still do business with them?”

“Hehe… Miss Meyshos, I’ve already told you before. According to the rules of the Artisan Guild, we remain neutral and do business with no one. Refusing a transaction itself is a form of taking sides. Although I personally don’t like the Eucharist, the guild’s rules take precedence over my personal preferences, so I cannot refuse to do business with them.”

Audric continued explaining. After hearing Audric’s words, Dorothy smiled and replied.

“Rules… It seems that your society, ‘Stone,’ values rules very much. No wonder some people say you are stubborn.”

Thinking of the report from the An Yin Bureau about Gray Hill, which described them as stubborn, Dorothy said.

“About the same. After all, ‘Stone’ inherently embodies concepts such as rules, contracts, and trade. As a society of ‘Stone,’ we naturally uphold the principles of ‘Stone’…”

“Goodbye, Miss Meyshos. I need to clean other areas now.”

As he spoke, Audric picked up a duster and walked out of the library. In the quiet library, only Dorothy remained sitting at the desk, lost in thought.

“‘Stone’s’ principles… Though somewhat annoying, they also provide reassurance.”

Dorothy thought, feeling relieved rather than disappointed that Audric refused to sell information about the Eucharist. If Audric truly valued rules above everything else, as he claimed, it was best for her.

After all, if Audric could sell information about the Eucharist for money, he would also sell her out for money. A monetary offensive is usually countered by a bigger one.

Moreover, Dorothy herself was currently broke and had no means of mounting a monetary offensive.

Gathering her thoughts, Dorothy focused on the envelope in front of her. This was the divination technique she had bought for 40 pounds. Now, she was considering using it to divine information about the Eucharist.

Opening the envelope, Dorothy took out the letter and scanned it briefly, then suddenly found herself in a dilemma.

Her money wasn’t wasted. Audric had written down various simple divination techniques in the letter, including coin divination, tea leaf reading, pendulum divination, and staff divination… The methods were simple, but the key was the required items.

Any form of divination requires the participation of two types of spirituality: ‘Lamp’ and ‘Enlightenment.’ She had plenty of ‘Enlightenment,’ but she didn’t have any ‘Lamp’ at all…

She had no idea where to find the secret transmission or items related to ‘Lamp.’ Buying them from Audric would surely cost hundreds of pounds.

“Sigh… Money is always lacking when needed…”

Rubbing her thin and empty wallet, Dorothy sighed.

Now, she could only hope to find some spirituality in the Dream Realm for free. She went to the Dream Realm every few days to explore, but due to the short duration of her actions there, apart from getting a secret transmission from the little fox during her first visit, she hadn’t gained anything yet.

“I need to find a way… to obtain spirituality or catch those guys without relying on divination…”

As she spoke, Dorothy began organizing the current information and contemplating her next strategy.