Chapter 94: Identification (1)
An unexpected gift from Joanna.
Oliver accepted it gladly.
It wasn't just that he liked books; there was also a sense of expectation or hope when she gave a gift, and he was curious about her intentions in offering such kindness.
Perhaps after reading this gift, he could ask her.
Thus, Oliver began reading the "Pater Bible" that Joanna had gifted him.
During meals, while teaching Rosburn numbers and letters, reading the puppet-related books he had taken from the corpses, studying the coded language on his own, or conducting personal black magic experiments, he devoted nearly all of his remaining time to reading the "Pater Bible."
As a result, he came to realize that this book was rather peculiar.
The basic structure of the "Pater Bible" was this:
It described the stories of the characters within and, at significant moments, presented conversations or passages, offering interpretations on how people should live, essentially providing guidelines for life.
The issue, however, was that, from Oliver's perspective, it was quite vague.
It wasn’t that the stories themselves were bad.
However, stories and passages can often be interpreted differently by each reader, but the "Pater Bible" presented its own arbitrary interpretations, insisting that this is the way it must be.
Books are meant to impart knowledge and broaden one’s thinking, but in that sense, this "Pater Bible" failed to fulfill the function of a book.
Moreover, it was riddled with contradictions, lacked coherence, and often contradicted its own assertions, which consumed even more time and effort to understand.
Still, since it was a gift from Joanna, Oliver took the opportunity to rest while recovering and continued reading the "Pater Bible."
Even Forest didn’t say much about it, simply mentioning that he would look for a suitable job in the meantime.
Truly a kind person.
Time passed slowly, and during that time, the city surprisingly offered substantial compensation to those who participated in the cleanup of the Contaminated Zone, as well as to the families of the deceased.
Forest explained that it was the result of the relentless negotiations between the Broker Association and the city.
Originally, compensation was to be provided only to the families of the deceased, and the amounts were to be given as a lump sum. However, due to the city’s poor handling of paperwork and the greater-than-expected damage to the brokers, the city compromised.
Self-employed fixers would receive three times the amount listed in their original contracts, while fixers forcibly conscripted by the city were compensated based on the number of missions they had accomplished and their corresponding pay.
And this compensation wasn’t just for the dead—it applied to Oliver as well.
"In that sense, here’s 30 million Landa."
Oliver stared at the 300 banknotes, each worth 100,000 Landa.
"...Is it common to give this much?"
"Definitely not. The city does have a large budget, but they never spend it freely. If they think you’re an easy target, they’ll squeeze you dry. There’s even a saying that the worst villain in Landa is the city itself."
Forest spoke as fluently as a river.
It wasn’t just his smooth talk—Oliver could sense that Forest truly felt this way about Landa.
Forest spoke again.
"...But that’s both a weakness and a strength. When they find something useful, they’re willing to invest heavily."
"Invest?"
"Yes, invest. For example, the compensation you received is much more than what other fixers got."
"Really?"
"Yes. A fixer who survived a battle against Puppet is something special. That means they want to maintain a good relationship with you. That compensation is a sign of that."
"That’s nice, but it feels a bit burdensome."
"You’ve got it right. It’s not all good. It’s their way of saying they’ll work you hard if they need to. Of course, you could use this as an opportunity to get in with some big players and rise higher, but I doubt that’s what you want."
It was true.
Oliver’s goal involved building connections with influential figures, but he didn’t intend to work under them.
For one thing, being affiliated with an organization or individual meant he would have to prioritize their work, and he might be forced to do tasks he didn’t want to do.
It just didn’t sit well with him.
"Just out of curiosity, is there a way to refuse the money?"
"Refuse?"
"Yes, it feels a bit overwhelming. I’m not rich, but I have enough money to get by."
Forest pushed the wad of cash toward Oliver.
"No, just take it. The city hates it when people reject their generosity, regardless of the person's intentions."
"That’s unfair."
"Of course it is. This is Landa. Haven’t you learned anything from this city?"
In the end, Oliver followed Forest’s advice and stuffed the money into his Greedy Pouch.
After all, if it came down to it, he could always abandon his current identity.
"...Still, I’d like to save that as a last resort. I’ve built up too much to throw it all away now."
Oliver thought about his career as a fixer and his relationships with Forest, Murphy, the old man from the bookstore, and Joanna.
As his Greedy Pouch greedily swallowed the large bundle of cash, Forest brought out several folders and placed them in front of Oliver.
"Are you done resting yet?"
Oliver glanced at the folders as he answered.
"Not yet."
Inside the folders were requests, specifically targeted at Oliver.
As Forest mentioned, the terms were generous, starting at a minimum of 5,000 Landa and even going up to 100 million Landa for some jobs.
The types of jobs varied greatly.
Some were requests to destroy a glass factory in the U-District, while others involved terrorizing the smuggling market in the V-District, or assassinating unaffiliated gangs in the X-District.
"These jobs seem more aggressive than the ones I’ve taken before."
"As the money increases, so do the bold requests. But not all of them are like that."
That was true.
In addition to destruction and assassination, there were also security and guard jobs. One particularly notable request was to protect an auction house in the L-District and its auction items.
The auction items included the mummy of a king, a golden crown, and a throne brought from the colonies. While it was interesting, nothing immediately grabbed his attention.
Actually, it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested—he just didn’t feel like working at the moment.
Money was nice, but money was ultimately just a tool.
Oliver was more interested in repairing and modifying the puppet he had acquired during the cleanup of the Contaminated Zone. If successful, it could become a useful tool not only for his curiosity but also for his work as a fixer. The problem was, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
To experiment safely, he would need a secure space, isolated from the outside world.
However, in his current situation, it wasn’t something Oliver could obtain right away.
"Hmm... It's disappointing, but maybe I should put the experiments on hold and take some jobs to save up? Buying a warehouse won’t be cheap. Or maybe I could negotiate for a warehouse as part of a deal?"
As Oliver slowly formulated a plan to acquire a warehouse, a sudden thought struck him.
In order to purchase a warehouse, not only would he need money, but also an identification card, which Murphy had once mentioned he could arrange.
Murphy of the Kimball Family.
"Forest."
"Yes?"
"Have you heard from Murphy recently?"
Forest's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"How did you know? Murphy contacted me this morning. He said he had something to discuss with you. I was planning to tell you after we finished talking."
Truthfully.
Oliver asked what Murphy had contacted him about, and Forest replied.
"He said the payment he promised has been prepared. He asked if you could come to his shop at your convenience."
...
Oliver visited 43rd Night Street in the T-District, located near the factory zone.
There were many people in the area, as it was close to the worker residences. Most of them were heading in groups to nearby taverns or to mysterious establishments with red roofs. Occasionally, the sounds of women screaming, swearing, or fighting could be heard—a curious environment for Oliver, who had never visited such places before.
It was full of emotions.
Here, it seemed possible to extract emotions without harming anyone.
'Should I consider this more seriously? As long as I hide the extraction process, it seems like I could easily secure emotions. That would save money, too.'
It didn’t seem like a bad idea.
It was something worth spending time to think about.
However, for now, Oliver put this idea aside and continued toward the agreed meeting spot.
Forest had relayed Murphy's message that he had finished making the identification card Oliver had requested, though he apologized, asking Oliver to visit the shop to pick it up, as business had been particularly busy lately.
Murphy had also been quite polite in his request, and since he was offering a valuable identification card, Oliver accepted without complaint.
He was curious about the shop Murphy had mentioned as well.
"Is this the place?"
Oliver muttered as he stood in front of a descending stairwell nestled between two red-brick buildings.
It wasn’t too deep, but at the bottom of the stairs was a small door, and several people were entering one after another.
According to Forest, this was the secret tavern run by the Kimball Family, though it didn’t seem so secretive.
‘If you slip the district police some money, anything can become a secret.’
Forest's words echoed in his mind.
Oliver stood for a moment, observing the tavern, before blending in with the crowd and heading inside.
The path was narrow, but following the people made it easy not to get lost.
Step by step, he descended the stairs and entered the small door into the underground tavern.
The inside was surprisingly luxurious, far exceeding the expectations set by its exterior.
Of course, it wasn’t as grand as the Blue Moon Hotel, where Joseph liked to spend his time, but for a tavern in the T-District, it was rather impressive.
The brick walls were clean, the tables and chairs were solid furniture, and behind the bar counter, various bottles of colorful liquor were neatly arranged.
Among them, some of the drinks glowed faintly with magical energy, likely indicating that they were magical brews.
"I’ll have a glass of Palm Essel."
"Yes, coming right up."
"I’ll take a bottle of Ife Vege."
"Sorry, we don’t sell by the bottle."
"Damn... Fine, just give me a glass, then!"
"Five glasses of Suke Piek, please. I’m sharing with my friends here."
The skilled bartenders poured drinks into glasses, serving the bustling customers. The patrons eagerly handed over cash and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
"Fascinating."
"What’s so fascinating?"
Oliver turned his head toward the voice.
There stood Murphy, with a stony expression and his hair slicked back to one side.
He wore a neat suit, a gold wristwatch, and polished shoes—he looked much more prosperous than the last time Oliver had seen him.
Oliver answered his question.
"I’m intrigued by the labels on the bottles. Strictly speaking, this is illegal alcohol. How does it have labels?"
"I ordered them myself. The product is important, but so is the packaging. It’s like makeup for a woman. It adds an extra layer of class."
Murphy spoke with ambition and confidence.
It was a convincing argument, and Oliver could see why Forest regarded him with such caution.
"You’re impressive."
"Thanks for the compliment. I’m not just selling bootleg booze, I’m selling a product..."
Murphy paused, then continued with a courteous tone.
"Anyway, thank you for coming. I’m sure you're tired from the Contaminated Zone cleanup, so I apologize for calling you here. I hope you understand. I wanted to deliver this personally."
Word certainly traveled fast. News of the Contaminated Zone cleanup had already spread.
"No problem. Can I receive it now?"
"The identification card is in the shop’s office. Could you follow me for a moment? There are a few things I’d like to discuss as well... If you don’t mind."
Murphy was being much more cautious than the last time they had met.
It seemed he had an agenda, though it didn’t feel like he had any malicious intent.
So Oliver agreed, following Murphy into the Kimball Family’s tavern office.
After all, there was something he wanted to ask, too.
‘I heard the Crime Firm has a real estate division where you can buy warehouses. I wonder if I could buy one.’