chsdbacks Chapter 6 Invitation
Chapter 6 Invitation
Lucius was astonished. A precise location of fourteen miles? How could this evil name be extracted so quickly and accurately?
Felix noticed Lucius's confusion and chuckled.
"That's how evil names work. When someone is strongly associated with the target, like when you're present, the evil name becomes unusually active, making extraction the easiest part."
Lucius only half understood. Now that the evil name had been successfully extracted, there was nothing more for him to do.
He took a breath and turned to Felix:
"Officer Felix, does this mean I can go back now? I'd like to go to the registrar's office to inquire about graduation."
"Of course you can." Felix did not object.
He took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, snapped the cover shut, and then said something Lucius hadn't expected:
"However, Mr. Lucius, please allow me a little more of your time before we go after Marcus..."
"Would you be interested in joining us?"
Join us… Lucius pondered the meaning behind those words, not immediately agreeing, but cautiously asking:
"Can I?"
Felix showed no impatience, and like a patient interviewer, began to explain point by point:
"First, the fact that you were able to come into contact with the secret teachings without any preparation and survive shows that you have a high level of talent. People with such high talent are needed by the church, the nobility, and the esoteric sects."
"It seems I'm much more popular than I thought," Lucius joked, listening to Felix's praise.
"Even if I might not graduate in three days and can't find a decent job?"
Felix smiled slightly, not letting him steer the conversation off course, and continued:
"Secondly, the preliminary test results prove that you are not a bad person at heart. Dealing with such incidents is often dangerous, and we need to entrust our backs to a reliable person."
Lucius once again thanked his past life for his upbringing; at least he considered himself a good person, neither good nor bad.
"Third," Felix's reasons this time were completely different from the first two, his tone shifting to a more pragmatic rhythm:
"You are a history student at East York University and you also have knowledge of tracerism."
Only a very few top scholars in the entire Kingdom of Horn can master this ancient language; well, probably less than 50 people.
Most of them are concentrated in the Royal Academy of Elon; there are fewer than five in Hel City, and you are one of them.
He lowered his hand, making a fist with three fingers, and his tone became more direct:
"When dealing with incidents, we often need to translate various secret texts, runes, ritual records, and rubbings of inscriptions written in ancient languages."
In the past, we could only hire university professors or archaeological experts to do this work.
The problem is that the outsourced staff do not have sufficient security privileges, and each collaboration requires signing a cumbersome confidentiality agreement. After the translation is completed, the materials also need to be desensitized.
Moreover, the fewer people who know about this, the better. You can't bring an old scholar who studies Anglo-Saxon tombs to the police station and tell him that his job today is to translate a spell to summon something.
"We need someone who understands ancient languages and is also part of the system to do this job."
Felix concluded with certainty, "This person is in Hull City, and it's only you."
Lucius suddenly realized, couldn't help but laugh, and said in a half-joking tone:
"So you not only value my talent, but also my academic ability."
Felix didn't deny it; he shrugged nonchalantly, a rare, unformal smile appearing on his lips.
"Rare talents are rare everywhere."
"So, Mr. Lucius, would you like to join us?"
"I don't seem to have a reason to refuse," Lucius stated his assessment.
Felix suddenly stopped smiling, and his expression became serious:
"No, you can refuse. We will not force anyone to fight against the cultists."
This is a job where you could die at any moment. Marcus is just a small-time cultist, and you may encounter beings ten or a hundred times more dangerous than him in your future missions.
If you cannot afford this risk, you can leave now, and we will respect your choice.
Lucius was taken aback. So humane?
Faced with a newcomer who has just awakened to his potential, a promising talent with obvious abilities, they were actually willing to let him go?
"However..." Felix's voice continued, as if he had been prepared for this turn of events all along.
Sure enough, there were conditions, Lucius sighed inwardly.
"However, if you choose to refuse, you will need to sign a confidentiality agreement." Felix maintained a businesslike tone:
"The agreement will bind you to ensure that you do not spread occult knowledge to any ordinary person, whether through writing, speaking, or any other means."
The consequences of violating the agreement won't be written down, but I can tell you it won't be any kind of legal process you're familiar with.
"At the same time, in your future daily life, you will need to submit a travel application report to both the Hull Police Department and the police department of your destination when you leave Hull to go to other places."
Please specify the purpose of your trip, length of stay, contact information, and any travel companions. This report must be submitted at least three business days before departure.
"In addition, you need to receive free psychological counseling once a month from St. Audrey's Church."
The counselors are part of our system. They use a standardized process to assess your mental state to determine if it is stable and if there is any potential risk of it spiraling out of control.
"These," he concluded, "are the safety measures that must be implemented when dealing with all non-systematic sequencers."
"What a hassle," Lucius thought to himself. He had to report his travel plans and go to therapy every month.
This sounds like we're being monitored.
However, on the other hand, perhaps this is precisely what the other party intentionally wanted to make him feel troubled, thus making him more inclined to join in voluntarily.
This technique of "choosing a slightly better shackle" is used in any bureaucratic system.
If he chooses to join, he becomes a paid internal member with authority and resources; if he chooses to refuse, he becomes an external risk source that needs to be continuously monitored.
Both paths lead to being incorporated into the system; the only difference lies in the degree of freedom.
Felix seemed to have read his mind, and the serious expression on his face softened slightly:
"Mr. Lucius, this is not something we are deliberately making things difficult for you. It is a necessary security measure to deal with all non-system sequencers at present. An unsupervised sequencer is a potentially huge risk."
He looked at Lucius, as if waiting for the young man to understand the seriousness of his words:
"Not only for himself, but also for the ordinary citizens around him, the sequence pathway empowers him and changes him in some way."
This change is almost imperceptible at first; it progresses slowly without the person being aware of it, until it crosses a certain irreversible boundary.
He paused, then gestured with his chin towards the two chalk-carved human figures on the floor of the teaching and research office.
"Do you think Ethan and Ava had the worst ending? At least they died cleanly and didn't implicate anyone."
"The casualties caused by a truly out-of-control Sequence user—I mean, a genuinely out-of-control Sequence user—cannot be contained in this small research lab."
"Therefore, if you don't join us, we must ensure that you don't pose a risk."
He withdrew his gaze and fixed it back on Lucius's face:
"The purpose of these measures is not to control you, but to protect you and your surroundings. This is the most basic rule for survival for a sequencer in this world."