Ren Yanan walked briskly to the secluded park where she usually trained. As soon as she walked in, she saw Xie Yuanguan standing motionless under the old lamppost, frowning as if he was thinking about something.
When he heard the sound of footsteps, he came back to his senses. He turned to look at Ren Yanan and said lightly, "You're here."
"Yes, teacher."
Ren Yanan raised her hands and stretched her body. She said excitedly, "I'm ready. I can start training at any time."
"Okay."
Xie Yuanguan nodded. His expression suddenly became serious. He said slowly, "Before you start training, I have something to tell you."
Ren Yanan stopped and looked at him doubtfully.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to guide you in your training often."
"Why?"
Ren Yanan was shocked. She seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes widened and she said, "Teacher, could it be that your injuries have relapsed and you can't be saved … Ouch!"
Before she could finish, Xie Yuanguan interrupted her. The latter was furious. He said angrily, "Whose injuries have relapsed?
Can't you think on the bright side?
What are you thinking about all day? "
"Who told you to put on such a serious expression …" Ren Yanan mumbled as she covered her head. Seeing Xie Yuanguan's eyes widen and raise his hand, she was shocked and quickly changed the topic. "Teacher, you still haven't told me what happened."
Xie Yuanguan glared at his disciple. He then said, "I've joined Nocturne."
"Nocturne?
Teacher, is that the newly established supernatural organization in White Crown Province that you mentioned? "Ren Yanan showed a curious look.
"It's a reorganization. But it's almost done. Their people found me yesterday and invited me to join Nocturne. I've already agreed."
"But teacher, didn't you say that Paper Cards is after you and it's not good to expose your identity?"
"That was true in the past, but Nocturne is now an official organization. As long as I join the Nocturne, I will have the identity of an Imperial officer. When that time comes, Solitaire will have to think twice before trying to harm me."
At this point, Xie Yuanguan paused, and his expression became slightly excited. "More importantly, they said that there might be a way to heal my old injuries."
"Really?" Ren Yanan's eyes lit up.
"I only have a certain amount of confidence." Xie Yuanguan pursed his lips, a complicated expression on his face.
His old injury had accumulated over the years. Over the years, he had tried many methods to treat it, but none of them could be cured. At most, they could only alleviate the pain and prevent it from worsening. This really made him disheartened. Now that he heard that Nocturne might have a way to cure his injury, he couldn't help but feel excited and nervous.
If his old injuries could be healed and he could regain the strength of a knight at his peak, he wouldn't have to hide like he was now. He could show himself openly, and even if Solitaire had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to send people to kill him.
But if the treatment failed …
For a time, Xie Yuanguan could not help but become worried.
.....
"Who are those people outside?"
After entering the office, Meng Xiaotong sat down on the leather sofa and casually asked.
Major Connor didn't care and replied with a chuckle, "They are all important figures in Linyang City. Since we need to clean up the order, we called them all over to give them a good beating, so that there won't be a few troublemakers in the next restructuring operation. It won't be good if there's blood."
After explaining himself, he turned around to look at Lin Lichuan and reached out his hand passionately.
"This must be Major False White. I've heard a lot about you. Speaking of which, it's all thanks to you that you dealt with the guys from the Secret Service. Otherwise, if they succeeded in their plot, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
Major?
Lin Lichuan glanced at Meng Xiaotong, who was sitting calmly, and instantly understood. However, on the surface, he didn't show it. He reached out and shook hands with Major Connor and lightly said, "You're welcome. I was just trying to protect myself."
"Major False White is really modest."
Connor laughed, turned around, took out a kraft paper bag from the drawer of his desk, and handed it to Lin Lichuan.
"This is Major False White's ID that Nocturne issued."
"Thank you."
Lin Lichuan took the paper bag, opened it, and took out the small booklet inside, and carefully looked at it.
The workmanship of the booklet was very delicate. Judging from the style, it was almost the same as the identity certificate of the Special Management Committee that he had seen before, except that it was more delicate. The logo and badge had been replaced with the symbol of the Empire's Eagle Lion, and the photo on the front page was his appearance with the clown mask.
Looking at the small but thick booklet in his hand, Lin Lichuan couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
Whether it was in the White Crown Federation of the past or the current Empire, military officers were considered the elites of society. Many ordinary people worked hard for their entire lives to obtain the rank of military officer, and most of them were only lieutenants. Major Connor, who climbed to the rank of major in his forties or fifties, was already considered very good.
In comparison, the process of him obtaining the rank of major was very easy. It couldn't be said to be laborious at all, simply because he had mastered powerful supernatural powers.
The great difference between ordinary people and Extraordinaires was obvious.
After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Lichuan quickly came back to his senses and put the ID back into the paper bag.
Major Connor was a shrewd old man. When he saw this, he lightly tapped his forehead, as if he had remembered something, and said with a smile, "I almost forgot. I still have to prepare military uniforms, casual clothes, epaulets, collar, and other supplies for Major False White. These are all standard items for a field officer of the Empire. My subordinates are very careless, so I have to personally instruct them. I'll have to trouble the two of you to wait here for a moment."
After saying that, Major Connor smiled at the two of them and turned to leave the office. Before he left, he even made sure to gently close the door.
From the beginning to the end, he had been very warm and friendly. He didn't look down on Lin Lichuan and Selina because of their age. They were both majors, but the latter's status as an Extraordinaire was naturally higher than that of an ordinary officer like him. He had a bright future ahead of him, so of course he had to befriend him.
With the soft sound of the door closing, only Lin Lichuan and Meng Xiaotong were left in the office. The girl looked at Lin Lichuan and shrugged lightly.
"If you have any questions, you can ask them now."
Lin Lichuan waved the paper bag in his hand. "What's so special about the rank of major?"
Meng Xiaotong changed to a more comfortable position on the sofa and slowly said, "After Nocturne was reorganized and expanded, all the original Nightwalkers were given the rank of major, and so was I."
"Originally, a Gold rank Extraordinaire like you could at least be promoted to colonel, but because you're a new member with almost no experience, even with the captain's guarantee, the higher-ups can't fully trust you. So, after much consideration, they only gave you the rank of major. However, the captain said that after you've carried out a few missions and eliminated the higher-ups' doubts, she'll help you promote your position and rank."
Lin Lichuan nodded indifferently. He wasn't that interested in military ranks.
"What about aunt?"
"Nocturne originally had four apostles. Other than Lord Shu Xinge who was promoted to chief of Nocturne and received the rank of major general, the other three apostles were promoted to imperial military officers."
Meng Xiaotong explained slowly, "This time, Nocturne's reorganization has absorbed many local Extraordinaires of the White Crown Federation, and its power has greatly increased. So, the original member ranking system has been changed accordingly. In the future, there won't be any distinction between apostles and Nightwalkers."
Lin Lichuan's expression changed when he heard this. "Local Extraordinaires of the Federation?
Then the Special Management Association … "
"Of course, they're also within the scope of absorption. After all, the Special Management Association is the largest Extraordinaire force in the White Crown Federation."
After a pause, Meng Xiaotong glanced at him and continued, "But you don't have to worry about the Special Management Association finding trouble with you because of the past. Not to mention that they're no longer an organization, Nocturne won't allow them to bring up the past."
"I understand." Lin Lichuan wasn't worried about this in the first place.
"There's one more thing. Empty Fist will also join Nocturne."
Lin Lichuan was stunned. "Isn't he injured?"
"That's right. Speaking of which, this matter is also related to you. Didn't you use a miraculous ability to heal the captain's injury?
So, the captain used this as a condition to convince Empty Fist to join Nocturne. "
"I can't guarantee that I can heal Empty Fist's old injury."
"This doesn't matter. Just do your best. At most, you can think of other ways. With Nocturne's current power, they can more or less find a way to heal Empty Fist's old injury. Although the final effect may not be as good as your ability."
At this point, Meng Xiaotong smiled slyly. "But of course, it's best if you can succeed. This way, you'll have made a great contribution and added a powerful combat force to the organization. At the same time, Empty Fist will also owe you a favor. He's a veteran knight. His favor can't be bought no matter how much money you spend. This way, you'll be making a big profit."
"Making a big profit huh …"
Lin Lichuan pondered for a moment. He didn't reject the idea of healing Xie Yuanguan's injury. After all, it was just a small matter. Not to mention, Xie Yuanguan was Ren Yanan's teacher.
It was just that Xie Yuanguan joining Nocturne was beyond his expectations. He couldn't help but worry if Ren Yanan would be dragged into this. The latter's simple personality was not suitable for the complicated and dark world of the Extraordinaire.
But soon, he came back to his senses and laughed.
"With Yanan's luck index, I don't need to worry about her safety."
After secretly sighing, Lin Lichuan looked up at Meng Xiaotong and continued to ask, "How can I get Meteorite Stones?"
This was the main reason he joined Nocturne.
"Nocturne cadres have the same salary and benefits as ordinary imperial officers of the same rank. In addition to the normal salary and benefits, there is a certain quota every month. The quota can be exchanged for money or Meteorite Stones. Hmm, let me think, the monthly quota for a major is about 16,000 Tania Coins. In Meteorite Stones, it's about 12 grams."
Lin Lichuan quickly calculated in his mind. The exchange rate between Tania Coins and White Crown Coins was about 1: 12.3. 16,000 Tania Coins was about 200,000 White Crown Coins. This alone was more than the annual income of 99% of ordinary people.
But it was obvious that no one would foolishly exchange their quota for money. In fact, exchanging it for Meteorite Stones was more cost-effective. After all, Meteorite Stones were expensive and rare. If one wanted money, they could sell it on the black market and sell it for a much higher price.
As if she had guessed Lin Lichuan's thoughts, Meng Xiaotong smiled slyly and said, "If you want to exchange your quota for Meteorite Stones and sell them on the black market, it's not impossible. The higher-ups also turn a blind eye to this kind of thing. In fact, a lot of Meteorite Stones on the black market enter this way, but very few people do that."
Lin Lichuan nodded in understanding. The importance of Meteorite Stones to Extraordinaires was self-evident. In contrast, money was not worth mentioning most of the time.
"Many people in Nocturne accumulate their quota for four or five years and then directly exchange it for Meteorite Stones. This way, they don't have to find a way to refine Meteorite Stones."
Even for a peak Silver like Meng Xiaotong, Meteorite Stones were fatally attractive. When this was mentioned, the girl's eyes flashed with desire.