"You take this thing."

The kite man drove the car to the location where he connected with his superiors according to the instructions on the ID card, and in this unremarkable stolen car, Mason handed a bat flare gun to his younger brother.

This was obtained from Nightwing Boss when he left last night, and Mason had already gotten the blueprints but hadn't had time to make them yet.

He said to the kite man:

"If something happens in a while, I'll take it first, and you fly to the sky to ask for support. Rest assured, Batman is focusing on me now, and as soon as the signal sounds, he will definitely rush to check it out. ”

"Hmm."

Charles picked up the flare gun and put it in his jetpack, and he looked at the building in front of him again, and his face turned strange.

He said to his boss:

"Why did they choose this place to meet? Is this implying something to us? ”

Mason glanced out the window.

In front of the parking lot is the Penguin Man's Iceberg Bar.

There are five chains in Gotham of this extravagant and quirky place, but this bar is the first Penguin store in the city and the home of the Penguins.

This place has a "special meaning" for Mason.

This is where his new life began, and where his old life ended.

The bottle that stoned the young man to death was dropped from the height of the iceberg bar, and Mason still doesn't know which brother who drank so high casually threw the bottle and welcomed an otherworldly soul into this world.

Maybe I'll have to find him in the future and "thank" him fiercely.

"Let's go take a look."

Mason narrowed his eyes and opened the door and walked up the steps.

He wore the gray trench coat and walked around the police cordon and walked in through the side door of the closed bar.

The place that had been closed for nearly ten days was very deserted, and the two found the power to turn it back on, took the elevator all the way up, and walked into the top floor to see a light light outside the penguin's original office.

The ball of light hovered in the doorway, like a pointer.

Mason patted the kite man on the shoulder to stop him from being nervous, and he let out a sigh of relief before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The huge floor-to-ceiling windows let the morning light shine into the gorgeous and spacious office, and in front of the two of them, a tall figure wearing the same starry sky cloak as the old K is standing in front of the window, as if overlooking the entire Gotham morning landscape.

Only one person came.

But looking at the master's momentum that people don't provoke and the demeanor of this villain on the stage, you know that he is definitely not ordinary.

Mason and Charles, like employees summoned by their bosses, stood in the office with their hands tied up and clean enough to shine a shadow, waiting for the superior in front of them to give a lecture.

Perhaps this is also a fateful moment?

"Old K is dead?"

After nearly a minute of silence, the superior in front of him finally spoke.

A calm male voice, quite magnetic, doesn't sound too young anymore and has a faint sense of oppression.

"Well, our beloved captain has died in the ruins of Hogwarts House, possessing a suspected cursed item and being besieged by monsters in the Forbidden Forest.

We would love to help him.

But our strength is too poor to collect his body, so we can only burn his body in that hellish world like the monster he eventually hunted according to his last wishes. ”

Mason told most of the truth in a smooth voice.

Incidentally, he took Hagrid's hunting knife from his bag, which was still stained with the venom and blood of the eight-eyed spider, and he placed it on the desk in front of him as if he had handed in evidence, and said:

"Charles and I did our best to capture a few monsters involved in killing him with the magic items left by Old K, and we can release them if you need to.

But it's dangerous. ”

"Not necessarily!"

The superior stretched out his hand and waved, saying:

"When you embark on this path, life and death should be put aside, it doesn't matter how he died, the important thing is that his death can please the dark stars and illuminate the way forward for us."

As he said these eulogy-like words, Mason felt a chill in his heart, and if he remembered correctly, Old K had said such a thing.

And more than once.

So, is this also a tradition of the Stellar Society?

"To introduce myself, my name is 'Hunter,' which is a code name, of course."

The superior turned around, revealing a face with a starry sky mask. The star-patterned cloak obscured almost his entire body, barely missing a crack like Batman's cape.

He stretched out his black-gloved hand, touched the blood-stained hunting knife, and introduced it in a gentle tone:

"Currently serving as the 'Exploration Mentor' of the Stars Society..."

He said his position, but looking at Mason and Charles in front of him with a blank look, the hunter was stunned for a moment, and then asked in a strange tone:

"Didn't Old K tell you the inside story of the Star Society and the division of members?"

"He promised to say after our 'induction test'."

Charles gestured and replied in a sad whisper:

"But he died too suddenly... So..."

"I see."

Mr. Hunter nodded and said:

"Then I'll forgive you for this faux pas.

Let me give you a brief introduction to our organization in place of Old K. You are now an E-class personnel, and new members of the organization are generally instructed by specific C-class personnel to familiarize themselves with the day-to-day work.

Old K was supposed to be your novice guide, but he had an accident.

When you complete your first mission to explore another world, you will become a D-class personnel, which is considered to be the backbone of the official entry into the Star Society, and after twenty missions, you will be assessed to complete the C-level promotion.

There are internal rules for the promotion of B-level and A-level members, and you don't need to know much about it now. ”

"Are you an A-class, then?"

Mason asked softly.

"No, I'm the Great Mentor of Exploration."

Mr. Hunter re-emphasized his position, and he glanced Mason up and down, and said:

"The Commander-in-Chief above the A-Class Council of 12. The three Great Mentors of Exploration, Operations, and Logistics are in charge of the daily operations of the Star Society, as well as the internal and external affairs of the organization, and above the three of us, there is also a 'Destiny' Excellency.

He is the founder of the Stars Society. ”

"Big shot!"

This thought jumped into Mason's heart, causing him to immediately bow down to the person in front of him, and kicked Charles, who was still stunned in place, and the kite man quickly leaned over to salute when he came back to his senses.

I thought that the superior sent was at most a guy at the same level or one level higher than Lao K, but I didn't expect a big boss to come directly!

This is the same as a new employee of the company reporting to his superiors, thinking that the other party is just a business manager, but he didn't expect that the guy sitting there listening to his whistle is actually a member of the company's board of directors.

That's scary, isn't it?

"Well, the etiquette is very standard, the mind is lively and introverted, I am very satisfied."

Mr. Hunter nodded, pulled out the penguin's chair and sat on it, waved his hand in a comfortable and relaxed manner, and said to Mason and Charles:

"It seems that the quality of the newcomers selected by Lao K this time is good. I'm guessing you're wondering why I'm here, and I'll explain it to you...

Don't be so inhibited, Mason, and Charles.

I'm an easy-going person.

Have a seat.

We are going to take up a little bit of your time in this conversation, but I hope you don't have anything urgent to do today. ”

The big man spoke, and Mason and Charles naturally complied.

The two of them sat on the black sofa, maintaining a very decent posture, and then they watched Mr. Hunter play with the giant hunting knife that killed Old K, and said in a gentle tone:

"The first reason I'm here is simple. Did Old K tell you the story of his former rookie squad? I'm his novice guide, his old captain.

At that time, the Stars Club was just established, the rules were not perfect, and the 12-member council had not yet been established, so I had to do this kind of thing occasionally to bring new people.

Old K was selected by me.

He was the only one in the original team of 7 who became a C-class member alive, and everyone else had already used death to please the dark stars.

What a tragedy.

Now the best students I've ever taken are dead.

Frankly, it makes me a little sad. ”

Mason's heart tightened, good you old K, you are still a relation!

You said it earlier that there was such a relationship...

"Your heart is racing, Mason, are you a little nervous?"

Mr. Hunter's fingers brushed the blade and he suddenly said something faintly.

"I'm only 17 years old, Lord Hunter."

Mason whispered:

"The most powerful person I've ever met is none other than the guardian of the city, a transvestite named Batman, and you're one of the leaders of a vast organization that spans countless parallel worlds.

The old captain I couldn't save is still your friend, and it would be strange if I wasn't nervous in this situation. ”

"Well, that makes sense."

Mr. Hunter nodded, no longer dwelling on the question, put down the hunting knife and said:

"As for the second reason, it is the peculiarity of the world in which you live.

Old K may not have had time to give you a definition of the parallel world of the Science Stars, but I must tell you two that the world you live in is extremely dangerous.

It is rated A in our world rating system.

But to be honest, it's an A-class world not because it's only a level of danger, but because the highest level of evaluation in our system is only A-level.

Especially since there is a Kryptonian in your world called Superman..."

Mr. Hunter paused, shook his head, and said:

"The Swordsman, the most powerful combat master in the Stars Society, encountered him during his exploration of this world a few years ago, and he broke his ribs with two punches and fled back to the Star Castle in embarrassment.

Since then, all large-scale exploration of this world by the Stars has been frozen.

You shouldn't base here.

This is not for newcomers like you, and that's the second reason I'm here, you can use a safer world as a base.

This is a special right that belongs to you, and I can arrange it for you. ”

"Wait! Mr. Hunter, I have a question. ”

Mason raised his hand and asked:

"If the exploration of this world is frozen, then how is Old K..."

"I'm talking about all 'massive' explorations, Mason."

Mr. Hunter emphasized:

"Listen up! Also, don't interrupt me, it's not a good habit. There are other squads in your world that operate in stealth, and the lowest of those squads are C-Class.

As for the old K...

He could have been a B-class, but his promotion was stuck after twice causing Team K to be wiped out, due to his wild style.

At the B-level level, we need explorers and leaders who can master the whole picture, not a reckless man. ”

Mason nodded.

At the same time, I thought in my heart that if Lao K's combat power could become B-rank, then this group of stars would not seem to be as powerful and invincible as he imagined.

Not to mention anything else, it is estimated that it will not be too difficult for Batman to beat Lao K, and Superman can defeat the other big man of the Stellar Society head-on, so it is necessary to lower his evaluation of the Stellar Club only in terms of combat effectiveness.

Downgraded from "like a god" to "invincible".

Well, it doesn't seem to make a difference?

"So, what about the two of you?"

Mr. Hunter gave Mason and Charles three minutes and asked:

"Do you want to change the base world? For the sake of Old K, the thirty-three C-level worlds I am currently responsible for managing are up to you to choose. ”

Mason glanced at Charles, who gave him a "boss, you decide, I obey" look, the young man nodded, stood up and said to Mr. Hunter:

"No, we don't want to change the base world, my lord. It's not because we think highly of ourselves, it's because we've built up some connections in the world and have gained something precious through hard work.

Like this one. ”

Mason pulled out a set of drawings from his bag and spread his hands out on the desk in front of Mr. Hunter.

The battle line on the drawing is a very complex and annotated suit diagram, and if Batman is here, he can see at a glance that this is the structure of his regular bat suit.

Mason's character card has finished analyzing the main body of the bat suit, and the young man drew these to study it before, which will come in handy.

"This suit... The tech content is good, it's great for melee combat and stealth infiltration, and there are so many reserved weapon slots that can obviously be modified multiple times to meet different combat needs.

Not bad! ”

Mr. Hunter is obviously a knowledgeable person too.

He reached out and stroked the drawings to take a closer look, and when he got closer, Mason suddenly noticed a playful strand of long hair peeking out from behind Mr. Hunter's mask.

Well?

Is this a woman?

Or an art-deed-style man?

"Are you going to dedicate this set of drawings to the organization? Mason. ”

Mr. Hunter asked:

"Although it is only the most basic blueprint suit structure diagram, the members of the organization who take the technological route will probably like it, and it can give you a lot of much-needed things.

If you trust me, I can help you find a suitable buyer.

At the trade fair in a month, you can complete the transaction. ”

"Of course, my lord, I can't ask for it."

Mason replied.

He then took out a dark jewelry box and opened it in front of Mr. Hunter, containing an irregular, thumb-sized blood-red hedron.

When he saw this thing, Mr. Hunter, who was very calm, also buckled his fingers.

"What is this?"

He looked at Mason, and the young man explained:

"The relics of old K, my lord. He said that he had entered the world in search of this thing, and that it was the organization's bounty mission.

This is the Philosopher's Stone.

It was the treasure we found in that ruin, but unfortunately it had been shattered in the disaster, and we searched through the entire ruins and found only this one.

We can't afford to expect bounty rewards.

This is something that Old K did by himself, so I think you, as his old captain, should complete that task instead of him and get that reward. ”

Mr. Hunter did not speak, but stroked the small piece of Philosopher's Stone in front of him, and after ten seconds of silence, he let out a strange laugh and said to Mason:

"You're really a sharp-minded little guy, and I pretty much know why Old K chose you to take over as captain. Unfortunately, I don't need the reward for this task.

Because its reward is to increase the level of its members.

Old K is looking for this thing to complete the B-rank promotion, Mason, and I can't get promoted.

Take out your ID card. ”

As he spoke, Mason decisively pinched his fingers and took out the Stars ID card.

Mr. Hunter also took out his card, which was a luxurious crystal card, and the texture alone was so high that it was something like Mason's playing card.

The moment the two cards touched, a dazzling red light surged up Mason's arm, and the violent burning sensation made the young man's eyes dizzy, and the whole person fell to the ground and was picked up by Charles, who pounced on him.

"The first promotion is like this, not to mention that it is still promoted two levels in a row, which can be regarded as a small promotion record. This is normal. ”

Mr. Hunter said to the Kite Man:

"Take him next door to rest, and we'll continue to talk when he wakes up."

"Thank you, sir."

Charles walked out of the office with the unconscious Mason in his arms, and after the two of them left, Mr. Hunter reached for the blood-stained Giant Hunting Knife.

He stroked the sharp blade and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

After a few minutes, he sighed and said:

"Old K, did you call me over just so I could see him? This is the 'parting gift' you want to give me, and you think he can help.

But how did you, an old hunter, get killed by such a rookie?

Did you miss it? Or do you not want to live anymore?

It's a shame.

Alas.

May the death that we all come in the end please this cold and unforgiving dark star..."