It had been a week since the incident with the psionic lifeform.
The intense feeling of melancholy hadn’t appeared again during this time, which made Jay think whether the earlier event had actually been a mere accident.
It didn’t make sense for the psionic lifeform to make its presence known and then disappear afterwards without even having a proper interaction with him.
Perhaps it had been forced to remain dormant once more for his safety, as he didn’t seem to have enough power to withstand its mere presence.
If it had truly done so, then Jay was grateful for its conscientiousness.
However, the truth of this possibility depended on how developed the psionic lifeform’s sentience was at the moment, as well as its attitude toward him.
Before, the dangers of the metaphysical world had only been mere knowledge provided to him by the elders.
Now that he had the misfortune of having experienced it himself, he swore to do his best not to let it happen again.
In the end, the incident had served as a catalyst for his desire to improve.
During this time, he had already set up the embryonic form of his online investigation sideline.
It was only considered ‘embryonic’ since he was still in the phase of setting up its foundations.
Using anonymous e-mail services, he provided hints about unsolved matters that he saw on news outlets, social media, and even online forums, messaging the relevant party.
He also made it clear that it was a one-time favor, and subsequent requests would incur a cost.
In his plan, the requests would be sent to a proxy anonymous e-mail account, which was the easy part. The difficult one was the transference of remuneration.
He had to find a balance between the customer’s convenience and his own confidentiality.
It wouldn’t be good for business if he made customers go through lengthy processes just to pay for an uncertain service.
It also wouldn’t be good for his mental health if he had to fence every transaction through many different channels just to make the money legitimate and untraceable.
That would’ve meant that he had to spend more time processing the remuneration than doing the actual work. It just wasn’t feasible for him.
After a while of deliberation, he decided to settle on virtual debit cards.
Of course, he added another layer of insurance by preparing several proxy accounts on different mobile payment service apps. The amount on the virtual card would be transferred to one of these accounts in rotation.
Every once in a while, he would transfer some of the funds to his personal mobile payment service account, according to necessity.
He wasn’t quite certain if it would work in the long run, but there was no point in overcomplicating matters when he had already performed his due diligence.
If metaphysical means ever became available to him, he would consider incorporating it in his existing setup or even replace it entirely.
For now, he was satisfied with this course of action.
He also instructed his potential customers to keep their correspondence a secret.
Even if there were outliers here and there, the rumors that arose would essentially serve as advertisement for his services, although he would like to keep these situations at a minimum if possible.
Perhaps he would have to include a little bit of intimidation during his correspondence with customers.
He could attempt this by casually revealing private information about the customer, if he could get one, every once in a while.
Of course, he had to maintain a delicate balance while doing it, lest he offend the customer, or even frighten them.
It wouldn’t be good for business if it ever came to that.
Although he had made significant progress in his secret endeavors, Jay didn’t neglect his ordinary life by any means.
If anything, the recent events had made his appreciation for the mundane life even stronger.
He realized that he needed to maintain a semblance of normalcy in his life if he didn’t want to lose himself to the never-ending mystery of the metaphysical world.
Even his brief interaction with the psionic lifeform had induced considerable distress in his psyche.
He can only imagine the mental and metaphysical resilience he needed to survive worse situations in the future.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
During this time, he didn’t reject his friends’ invitation to a Friday night drink at the nearest popular drinking place.
He also spoke more to his parents during their regular correspondence. Even mere sessions of web novel reading had become more appealing to him.
It was in these moments that he remembered that he was still the same young man who just wanted to live a happy life.
It was a simple wish, yet it was actually anything but so.
He swore to himself never to forget this simple desire no matter how deep he went into the rabbit hole.
Even if the world around him crumbles, he should at least try to find a little bit of happiness in the turmoil.
Otherwise, what was the point of living a dull life? He might as well sleep forever to save himself from the suffering.
-
“Thank you for the information. It had been of great help to us.
Would you be interested in further cooperation? Your help would be indispensable to our endeavor.”
“You’re welcome. Yes, certainly, although it’s no longer free this time.
You may send your request with the corresponding clues in image format to this e-mail address. A reply containing the results of the investigation and the payment details would be sent within three working days.
Rest assured that you will be satisfied with the quality and price.”
At the moment, Jay was in correspondence with a potential client, a private investigator. They were currently exchanging messages through an anonymous e-mail service.
If he played his cards right, he would have a reliable long-time client, which he could squeeze plenty of juicy information from.
“You could also choose not to pay, but that would be the end of our cooperation.
You wouldn’t want that. Right, Ms. Anne?”
Of course, Jay didn’t forget the subtle intimidation at the end of his message.
Even though it was only a name, he wasn’t supposed to know that, considering that he had only come across this potential client somewhere in an online forum.
He could’ve opted to go for other oddly specific details, such as the date when she took the picture, but that would imply a far more dangerous image of himself.
It wouldn’t be good for business.
“Yes, we wouldn’t. You can expect a request from us in a few days’ time.
We are also willing to provide ample remuneration, as long as the quality is satisfactory. Thank you for your time.”
Jay couldn’t determine the other party’s expression at the moment, but he was confident that it was certainly unpleasant.
Nobody liked the feeling of being observed without their consent, especially when it involved a weird stranger on the Internet offering to investigate matters based on mere images.
What was worse was that the stranger had actually proven their capabilities in another instance beforehand, which only enhanced their strangeness.
Jay was only bluffing when he issued the subtle threat in the message.
He had only managed to acquire minimal information about the other party through the posted image in the forum.
When he used Identification on the image, he also used it on the entirety of the latter, not just the individual representation of the captured objects.
The information he acquired from the entire image included, but not limited to, the one who took the picture, the one who posted it, and the corresponding dates.
He had some confidence that the person on the other side of the correspondence was the same person who captured the picture and posted it on the forum.
However, it was quite strange that the last name was missing from the information set. It seemed like he would have to take special note of this woman.
He was inclined to think that it was somehow related to the metaphysical world, although he wasn’t actually worried about it.
He felt that his precautions were already enough, as long as Mr. Arthas had told him the correct information, which he didn’t doubt at all based on his instincts.
As for whether the client deserved his services, that would depend on their upcoming request.
If they ever weren’t, then the authorities would have free files falling into their laps.
-
Late night, on another part of the same city, in an office unit somewhere.
Two young women were discussing matters in front of a laptop. They had just finished a correspondence with a stranger on the Internet who claimed to provide the service they needed.
“What do you think, sis? Can we trust this person?”
“Hard to say. Besides, we don’t need to trust them. We’re merely doing a transaction, and we would still be verifying the results with our own methods.”
“But didn’t you read their message? They actually knew my name! I don’t believe this person doesn’t have malicious intentions. It’s just too creepy.”
“If they had bad intentions, why stop at your name? They could just mention a private matter just to make the threat clear.
From what they did, it seems like they only wanted to make transactions with us. The subtle threat they made was only there to reinforce their position. It could even be a bluff, for all we know. You worry too much.”
“Yeah, you’re right, sis. It seems that I let it get to my head. I mean, who wouldn’t? A random stranger just casually mentioned your name, in an anonymous correspondence, no less.
Alright, I just need to remember that this is only a transaction, nothing more. Thank you, sis.”
“Yeah, no problem. Just don’t lose yourself in the possibilities without considering your own merits. If you ever get into a confrontation with this person, my bet would be on you, of course.”
“Yeah, yeah, now you’re just stroking my ego.”
“That’s the truth, though.”
-
On the southern outskirts of the city, in the local observation base of Kawal.
Arthas and Vergil were having their late dinner while doing their own thing. Arthas was reading a book, while Vergil was watching funny videos on his phone.
They had a shift for later, and since they had nothing to do anyway, they just went early to the observation base.
Although they were doing other things, they would still have some conversations from time to time.
Arthas’ student, Jay, would often come up in these conversations.
“Last time we checked the young man, it seemed that he had already recovered from the setback quite wonderfully. Our decision proved to be correct, no?”
Arthas sighed as he replied.
“It was your idea. I just felt like you had a point, so I allowed it. That psionic lifeform was supposed to be a boon, not a source of threat, despite the side-effects.
Although the situation ended up fine, even if it strayed far from our original intentions, it also could’ve ended up badly.”
Vergil raised his eyebrows in incredulity.
“Would you even let others decide for you? Even if I didn’t say anything, you would still subject him to that test, only with more details though.
Say, was it actually a great idea to gift the psionic lifeform to him? We just found out after its capture that it seems to possess a certain uniqueness beyond our understanding.
Although we promised him that he could have it, would it really be a good thing for him?”
Arthas became thoughtful as he closed his book after hearing his friend’s question.
“I don’t actually know, my friend. I just had the feeling that we were meant to give it to him. I can’t explain it to you right now, as even I can’t identify the source of the premonition.
However, I am now certain that the young man was somewhat involved with the unidentifiable anomaly we sensed in the past.
Don’t worry, though. I don’t mean to harm the young man. I just want to follow this strange feeling and see where it leads.
If things ever went wrong, I could still take the last step, even if it means losing what I currently have.”
“Alright then, you’re the teacher, so the responsibility falls on you. Just don’t expect me to wipe your ass every time you mess up.”
Now, it was Arthas’ turn to raise his eyebrows in incredulity.
“You? Wipe my ass? I think you’ve got it backwards, my friend. Don’t fool yourself.”