Bait
Sitting comfortably on the sofa in her suite, Dorothea enjoyed the warmth from the roaring fireplace while leisurely sipping hot coffee. During this time, she continued to analyze the golden base obtained from Sander, attempting to decipher its relationship and state with the Key of Reading Crystal and the Dark Gold Society.
After previous experiments and referencing information obtained from Beverly, Dorothea had roughly deduced the current status of the golden base and the associated crystal.
“If my previous deductions were correct, after the theft at the Pure Flow Church in Adria, the Dark Gold Society learned about the extraordinary nature of the Light of Maria through the information preserved in the church’s museum and Azamu’s legacy. They would then begin more thorough protection and research on the Light of Maria. This is the reason for the anomalies in the crystal’s historical records later on.
“Initially, the Light of Maria was considered an ordinary object by the Dark Gold Society, so they did not pay much attention to how it was stored. The Light of Maria was likely kept with other precious items by the Dark Gold Society, with a low preservation level and few extraordinary measures used.
“But once the Dark Gold Society realized the value of the Light of Maria, the situation changed. They immediately upgraded the security level for the Light of Maria, adding more extraordinary measures to protect the crystal. They began to store these crystals more securely.
“The records of the crystal are stored in the Great Library of the First Dynasty. The Great Library should have some means to scan and preserve all the information about the Key of Reading worldwide in real-time. However, after the Dark Gold Society upgraded the security for the Light of Maria, the new extraordinary measures affected the scanning process. Therefore, in April last year, the historical records of the Light of Maria crystal suddenly disappeared from the Great Library.”
Lying back on the soft sofa, Dorothea pondered this in her mind, trying to think like a member of the Dark Gold Society and consider how they might handle the Light of Maria.
“The reason for the reappearance of the records is likely that the Dark Gold Society started research on the Key of Reading Crystal to activate its ability to reveal the location of the ruins of the Star Number Repair Association. These studies included various experiments, some of which required the crystal to be in a normal state. Thus, it couldn’t always be kept in a high-security environment. While extraordinary security measures can conceal and protect the crystal, they also interfere with it. The crystal has shown unusual activity multiple times in the Great Library’s records, which could be due to these experiments. They must be trying to activate the crystal in their own way.
“If I were a researcher for the Dark Gold Society, I would certainly consider the impact of extraordinary security measures on the crystal. Measures that isolate external extraordinary detection also isolate internal detection’s impact on the outside. If the crystal’s operating principle involves spontaneously conducting extraordinary interference to find targets, security measures could affect the crystal. Many experiments require the security to be removed before they can proceed, leading the Great Library to re-detect the crystal’s position and resume recording its status.
“The researchers of the Dark Gold Society repeatedly experimented with the crystal, repeatedly taking the Light of Maria out of and putting it back into the secure environment. This caused the historical records in the Great Library to become intermittent. Based on the information from the Great Library, the Dark Gold Society’s research on the crystal was not going smoothly. Their experiments lasted for almost half a year, with the frequency gradually slowing down. This suggests that their research on the crystal has been progressing poorly and they have gradually lost interest.
“It is estimated that because they did not succeed for a long time, they chose to temporarily abandon the research on the crystal recently. Therefore, since the end of last year until now, the record of the crystal remains completely missing. The Light of Maria was sealed again by the Dark Gold Society but in a higher security environment.”
Dorothea speculated in her mind, realizing that the crystal may have been sealed for a long time in a high-security environment by the Dark Gold Society. Her brow furrowed as she slowly stood up from the sofa, walking around the thick, luxurious carpet in slippers while continuing to think.
“The few Key of Reading Crystals in the possession of the Dark Gold Society and the one in Azamu’s possession are different. They are not individual entities but part of the high-tier Key of Reading Crystal ‘Guiding Key.’ They need the golden base to function together. Therefore, no matter how many experiments the Dark Gold Society conducts, they cannot activate the crystal’s effectiveness. Federico, who was once the chancellor of Faraluo, probably has some understanding of the rumors about the Light of Maria. He likely realized that those crystals needed to be recombined onto the golden base to function.
“Therefore, they started searching for the golden base throughout Faraluo. But finding the base is not easy. Whether in legends or historical books, after the crystal of the Light of Maria was taken out to make a necklace, the golden base completely disappeared.
“After the crystal was taken out, there are no clear records indicating where this unremarkable, unnoticed golden artifact went. During the Cold Moon Revolution, many Bourbon treasures were seized by the Dark Gold Society and scattered among the people. Many valuable treasures originally kept by Bourbon were lost during that chaotic period. However, most of these treasures were exhibited due to their high profile and kept in the palace. The golden base, which did not fit Faraluo’s general aesthetic, was deeply sealed away and returned to its original place during Charles’ exhibition.
“If I hadn’t quickly found the firsthand records from the Charles era in the Faraluo National Museum, even Sander wouldn’t know that this thing is still stored deep underground in the national museum. It survived the chaos of the Cold Moon Revolution because of its extremely low profile and other less important artifacts.
“I estimate that the people of the Dark Gold Society might have scattered with most of the Bourbon treasures across Faraluo. That’s why they carried the crystal around Faraluo, possibly hoping to activate the connection between the crystal and the base through experiments, to see if the crystal could find the base. But all attempts failed, which is why the crystal’s records moved continuously in Faraluo.
“In my mind, I thought, and then Dorothea slowly walked to the balcony, looking at the bustling city in front of her. With a relatively clear understanding of the Dark Gold Society’s actions, she prepared to verify her assumptions. If accurate, she would use this to formulate her next plan.
“Before doing so, Dorothea decided to assess her current spiritual condition to determine how to proceed with her plans.
“During her stay in Faraluo, Dorothea learned many secret stories through various channels, which enriched her spirituality to a certain extent.
“Firstly, the promotion ceremony of the Red Tier of the Path of Desire extracted 4 points of ‘Cup’ and 2 points of ‘Enlightenment.’ The puzzle and the truth revealed in the Palace of the Goddess added up to 5 ‘Cup’ and 2 ‘Enlightenment.’ The secrets about King Charles obtained from Sander contributed 2 ‘Cup’ and 1 ‘Enlightenment.’ A detail from the past inheritance war in Faraluo added another 2 ‘Cup’ and 1 ‘Enlightenment.’ An overview of the National Adoration Monarchy gave Dorothea 3 ‘Lamp’ and 2 ‘Enlightenment.’ The secret story of Robert and Federico didn’t extract much spirituality due to the short historical distance.
“In summary, after visiting Faraluo, Dorothea gained 13 ‘Cup,’ 3 ‘Lamp,’ and 7 ‘Enlightenment’ from various secrets. The ‘Cup’ is a significant addition and is quite satisfactory.
“Since Dorothea barely used abilities at the Red Tier level, her spiritual consumption was minimal. Under the enhancement of Spiritual Proficiency, she only conducted profiling on many mortals and Fernand in the Palace of the Goddess, consuming 1 point of ‘Shadow,’ and striking a lightning bolt, consuming 1 point of ‘Stone.’ The consumption of controlling living puppets was negligible. In summary, Dorothea’s current spiritual condition should be:
“31 ‘Cup,’ 15 ‘Stone,’ 24 ‘Shadow,’ 19 ‘Lamp,’ 20 ‘Silence,’ 46 ‘Enlightenment.’
“Sigh… With Spiritual Proficiency, the consumption of spirituality has significantly eased. Although the amount of spirituality needed for advancement to the Golden Tier is considerable, with the significant reduction in consumption, it shouldn’t take long to meet the demand.
“With so much spirituality as support, facing the Dark Gold Society directly will be more reassuring. Next, some verification work needs to be done…”
After sorting out her spirituality, Dorothea looked at the cityscape in front of her and thought in her heart.
…
The next day, Dorothea began verifying her guesses. The method was simple; she asked Adele to find Sander again and asked him to help look up some information. With Sander’s covert assistance as a top official in Faraluo, the information Dorothea wanted was quickly found.
According to Dorothea’s earlier guess, last year, the Dark Gold Society likely conducted nationwide collection investigations for Bourbon treasures to find the golden base. This would inevitably intersect with the activities of the Amniotic Sac Sect and the Faraluo government’s secret police, who were also collecting Bourbon relics. As the head of the Faraluo government’s secret police, Sander might hold some clues.
As expected, based on the information provided by Sander, there were indeed a few cases involving ‘Stone’ extraordinary beings in various extraordinary conflict events in Faraluo last year. Among them, two instances involved ‘Stone’ extraordinary beings fighting with members of the Amniotic Sac Sect who were collecting Bourbon treasures, over two seemingly North Ufeiga-originated golden artifacts. Dorothea carefully examined the cities where these ‘Stone’ extraordinary beings appeared and found they matched the historical records of the movement of the Maria crystal.
Dorothea also asked Sander’s people to check the personnel changes at the National Museum last year and discovered some anomalies. Officials at the Faraluo National Museum hired several employees with questionable identities due to bribery, without thorough review. These employees were assigned to key storage rooms and were reported for unauthorized access to collections but were let off due to bribery.
Later, due to Sander strengthening the management of Bourbon relics by deploying secret police to the National Museum, the bribery incident was uncovered. The employees who had bribed their way in received early warnings and evacuated the museum.
The time these employees entered the National Museum coincided with when the crystal arrived in Froz. Due to the presence of the Archbishop and the dense concentration of official extraordinary forces, they could not act on a large scale here but could only conduct small-scale infiltration.
Dorothea identified them as agents of the Dark Gold Society sent to the National Museum to search for the golden base. However, the number of infiltrators was limited, and the storage boxes in the museum were numerous. Without relevant archival guidance, it was difficult to find the desired artifacts within a short time. Even if they tried to check the archives, the sheer volume of documents made it impossible for them to find anything within the time frame, especially since they lacked Dorothea’s strong book-reading skills. They were driven out by Sander’s orders.
After receiving this series of information from Sander, Dorothea confirmed her previous guesses. The Dark Gold Society was still searching for the golden base and trying everywhere in Faraluo, but they could not clearly identify where it was. Although they tested the National Museum, the effort was not substantial because they could not truly confirm the base was there. After encountering resistance, they immediately withdrew to avoid losses.
…
“Now… The objectives of the Dark Gold Society are pretty much confirmed. What should I do next?”
During the day, in a park in Froz, Dorothea sat on a bench, feeding a group of pigeons gathered in front of her while thinking in her heart. Now, she had a specific idea of how to deal with the Dark Gold Society.
“Since the Dark Gold Society is also looking for the golden base, I just need to release a message claiming its existence to lure them out. This is currently the best way to track their movements.
“The key is how to disseminate this message without arousing suspicion and successfully lure the Dark Gold Society into a trap. Given their cautious behavior in withdrawing from the museum, luring them out without raising suspicion requires some skill.
“After scattering all the pigeon feed, Dorothea wrapped herself in a small windbreaker and seriously thought, watching the pigeons voraciously competing for food, various thoughts emerged in her mind.
“The simplest method is to host an exhibition and extensively advertise it in newspapers, listing the golden base among the displayed artifacts. However, this would be too obvious a trap. The golden base is not considered a particularly valuable artifact in the public eye; Faraluo people generally dislike its design, even ignoring it during the Cold Moon Revolution. Suddenly holding a grand exhibition to display such an item would likely be seen as a trap by the Dark Gold Society. Usually, artifacts used for newspaper advertisements in grand exhibitions are prestigious items, and ordinary people don’t recognize the value of the golden base. Frustrated by their inability to find the base, the Dark Gold Society, if suddenly seeing a minor artifact being heavily advertised in the newspapers, would likely be suspicious rather than excited.
“This problem can be solved by making the exhibition smaller, but a smaller exhibition lacks sufficient publicity, possibly failing to reach the Dark Gold Society’s ears and attract their attention.
“Similarly, even if not hosting an exhibition, other forms of advertising the golden base would face similar issues. The fundamental issue is that the value of the golden base is not well understood by ordinary people… or even ordinary extraordinary beings, making it unsuitable for any large-scale publicity. Such content would not easily convince the Dark Gold Society.
“Watching the many pigeons, Dorothea frowned in deep thought. Although she knew the Dark Gold Society was seeking the golden base and could use a fishing strategy, configuring the bait was a big problem. The Dark Gold Society’s Red Tier is not a careless fish; she must hide the hook well in the bait.
“Sigh… Is there any way to achieve widespread publicity without alerting the Dark Gold Society?”
Taking a deep breath, sitting on the bench, Dorothea thought seriously. Soon, she had an idea.
After this idea came to her, Dorothea decisively took out “Navigation of the Literary Sea” from her bag, unfolded it on her lap, and flipped to a page. It was the contact page for Nephnis.
Looking at Neph’s contact page, Dorothea thought for a moment, then picked up a pen and wrote on it.
“Hello? Senior Neph, did you have a happy winter break? By the way, your vacation isn’t over yet, right? Are you interested in traveling to Faraluo? I’ll treat you!”
