After spending more than half a day and researching several of the larger pharmaceutical factories in the Eastern District, Douglas was half accomplished in his mission.

The remaining half will wait until Yuval and Melissa summarize the relevant information, come up with a complete industrial process design, and get the approval of both the Mother Earth Church and the Church of the God of Steam, and then come to the Eastern District to inspect the equipment supplier for bidding, proofing the design into a real thing, and carrying out feasibility tests.

At the same time, Antina and Antonia, who are responsible for the formulation and production of drugs, also need to adjust the pharmaceutical process that can be popularized according to the existing plan to match the equipment.

These two processes have nothing to do with Douglas, who is semi-literate.

What does it mean to be able to work hard, and the illiterate to fish...... After sending the two of them out of the East Side with all their beards and tails, they took a ride back to the Harvest Church to return the seals, and after a brief report on today's work, Douglas began to take on a new job, going to the confessional room to listen to the confessions of believers.

Although there are few followers of Mother Earth in Beckland, the church has all the facilities it should have, and the confessional room is naturally one of them.

After being treated as a regular officer, Douglas began to learn and learn similar clerical work, but it was actually a more relaxed job, sitting in a small cubicle with a pine scent and a candle lit with essential oils, casually flipping through the canon, which was not only marked with many bookmarks, but also densely annotated with notes written in the cracks or with additional notes.

These are the precious notes left by the predecessors, teaching the later colleagues who took on this work how to use the stories and sayings of the saints in the canon to enlighten the believers, and the corresponding words are also summarized in many ways.

Douglas watched with relish.

I always feel that there are a few more repentant believers on duty, and his "master of tricks" potion may be digested faster.

After all this kind of small work, he got off work with honor, and instead of going home in the first place, he took a public carriage to the Holy Wind Cathedral in Jowood, bought a cup of ice cream from the surrounding vendors, and sat down on a square bench to eat.

After a while, François, who was burly and majestic. Lupo walked out of the church, walked straight to Douglas, and sat down next to him.

The thick-eyed "Angry People" looked at Douglas, who was scraping the last bit of cream at the bottom of the paper cup, and breathed a sigh of relief not very conspicuously, and then asked, "You wrote a report letter in the morning?" The steam station found a member of the Aurora Society. ”

"Yes, I was carrying other people with me at the time, so it was inconvenient to follow." Sucking on the last bit of sweetness on the wooden spoon, Douglas flattened the paper cup and raised his hand to throw it into the trash can a few meters away, "What's the matter?" ”

The spiritual instincts that had sparked at the steam station at that time did not reassure him.

"Yes." Françoyer took out a copy of the transcript from his pocket and handed it to him, while briefly stating, "This steam locomotive broke down in the middle of the train less than half an hour after departure, the official cause was a mechanical failure, in fact, the wall of the lavatory of the fourth carriage of the train was suddenly damaged in a large area, causing the passengers to panic and be forced to stop." ”

Douglas shook off the briefing, looked at the instructions and black-and-white photos, and frowned slightly.

It's too elegant to say that it is broken, and in the photo, the entire wall of the car has been punched through a large hole, and the floor and nearby wheels are damaged.

François continued: "No one knows when the damage occurred, there was not much movement, and it is said that the passengers in the back carriage saw something flying out of the damage, but because of excessive fear, they could not say anything, and the channeling and divination also failed. ”

"Excessive fear?" Igniting the materials in his hand and burning them to ashes, Douglas caught the point from his words and keenly asked, "Are there many casualties on the train, and why are the passengers so panicking?" ”

"That's the problem...... The most serious casualties were falls due to emergency braking, but the passengers were very emotional, especially those close to the breakage. After that, we also checked the passengers, and there was no problem overall, there was a gap between the total number of passengers and the number of tickets sold, but this is a normal situation, whether it is missing the train or evading the ticket is very common. ”

Emotional, overly panicked?

The more Douglas listened, the more familiar it became.

Isn't this the hallmark ability of the "Demonic" path?

But it shouldn't be, I only went from Fusak back to Beckland to go to the spirit realm so fast, could it be that the "demon" path has evolved to the speed of running demigods to cross half a continent in two days?

Well, although there are traces of "demons", they are not necessarily the "demons" I know, and Beckland also has local "demons......

For example, the "blood worship cult" that put Douglas on the list of sacrifices before.

"If there is any new investigation into this matter, please let me know."

Françoyer responded without much pressure.

Because there were no serious casualties and few clues, the secrecy level of this case was not high, everyone could look through the information to provide investigation ideas, and it was easy for his team leader to obtain the corresponding results.

After saying what was happening, François was silent for a while, and then spoke: "That MI9 Tyron who colluded with the witch has been tried and is now sent to the Church of the Storm to serve as a seal tester. ”

"Seal tester......" Douglas sighed as if he sighed helplessly.

It occurred to him for a moment that if he failed to leave the church, there was a good chance that he would end up in a similar situation.

Françoyer also sighed: "The most odious thing is Winkel...... And the clues that she might find other traversers are broken, you, do you have any clue next? ”

"Yes!" Douglas glanced sideways at him with a smile and said seriously, "That is to take the initiative to find the Blood Worship Sect, the Rose School, and those organizations that are connected to the evil gods, and see how they position us." ”

Françoyer immediately turned his head nervously to look around, and then frowned disapprovingly: "Don't kill you?" ”

What he wanted was to find the organization, not death.

Those organizations that believe in evil gods are either weird or crazy, and they are no worse than the Aurora.

However, Douglas is not talking nonsense, Amon mentioned that those evil gods seem to have a special way of distinguishing between "traversers" like them, and are very keen to sacrifice "traversers".

"Just kidding."

If I don't look for them anyway, they will come to me sooner or later...... Douglas, who had a full understanding of his own affairs, waved his hand casually, and told François in a specious way, "But the evil god organization still needs to be concerned." Have you ever heard of the doomsday theory? The world will usher in an apocalypse, and before that, the influence of extraordinary powers will expand, and many cults will be ready to move. I suspect that our crossing means an opportunity, an opportunity related to the end of the world, which means that whether you want to or not, there will always be a difference between the relevant events and the sooner or later. ”

What apocalyptic theory, I have never heard of it! Without hesitation, Françoiser asked, "Where did you learn about this theory?" ”

"Russell's diary."

Skillfully using the fellow as a shield, Douglas took the opportunity to tell Francoiser some basic knowledge, such as the three laws of extraordinariness and the law of acting.

This buddy's prospects in the Storm Church are good, and it will only be good for Douglas to continue to be promoted and raised.

And if you want to go to the Aurora Society part-time without being beaten into a seal tester, it is quite important to have a friend who can grasp the movements of the Storm Church - a mid-sequence squad leader like Francoyer is obviously the backbone of the encirclement and suppression of the Aurora Society.

After a wave of friendly knowledge sharing, François accepted Douglas's rhetoric of the coming of the end with a short hand, after all, it is also a matter of taking advantage of his position, which he usually uses a lot.

In addition to this, Douglas also inquired about how many basic potions recipes François could master.

The answer is that there is basically no mastery except for the "sailors".

Adjacent to the "reader", "sun", "audience" and other pathways, François can be sure that there is a low-order formula related to "readers" in the church, because the colleagues of this path have always been the most powerful assistants to the "sailors" who are not good at occult methods when solving crimes, and of course there are many "voyeurs" who play a similar role.

But the "sun" doesn't, and if you think about it, you know that even a seal praises the sun every day, and it's hard for the grumpy old buddies to endure a colleague who is so easily disturbed by the "eternal sun".

It is even more impossible for the "hanging man" occupied by the Aurora Society to exist, and as for the "audience", Francoyer said that he had only seen the seal.

"By the way, speaking of the Church of the Eternal Sun in Intis......"

As they chatted, Françoiser patted his head and suddenly remembered an old thing.

"It's probably the time when we just crossed over, and a group of team leaders from within the church were going to go to the sea to carry out a mission, as if to investigate the movements of the Church of the Eternal Sun on the five seas. At that time, I had just crossed over, and I didn't dare to leave the big city, so I didn't sign up. I don't know how this task is now. ”

Eternal Sun? Movement at sea? Do they have a formed force at sea?

Douglas also thought about it, and was not impressed by it.

But considering the complicated relationship between the Aurora Society and the Storm, the Sun, and the Wisdom, and considering that he is also backed by the Medici forces, he also asked François to pay attention to the follow-up of this mission.

If necessary, he would consider writing to ask Vanna.

While Douglas and Francoyer were chatting with each other and exchanging information, after reporting the results of their research to the teacher and politely declining Yuval's request to go to dinner together, Melissa . Feeling a little tired, Moretti stepped out of the carriage and walked to the "Rune Charity Foundation" on Pesfield Street.

Many of her classmates who had been injured in the war had been helped by the foundation, and Melissa had the opportunity to find a part-time clerical job within the foundation, valuing the opportunity to help others more than her salary.

When she witnessed the current situation in the East End and felt at a loss, Melissa's first instinct was to come to the foundation to do some tangible work, or talk to teachers who have more charity experience to relieve her anxiety.

Of course, a few distances beyond the Foundation is St. Samuel's Church, which is also a place where people can feel calm.

Melissa first turned into the Foundation and greeted several staff members she knew, and just as she was about to ascend the stairs to the second-floor office, a young lady with bright blond hair and green eyes happened to come down from the stairs with the sound of clattering footsteps.

At the sight of this lady, all the staff members smiled with heartfelt pleasure on their faces, calling her "Miss Audrey" or "Director Audrey".

Even Melissa, who had something in her heart, felt the warmth of being blown on her cheeks by the spring breeze at this moment, and her spirit relaxed a little.

Audrey. Hall greeted everyone very kindly, her gaze lingered on Melissa for a moment, and then, Audrey said to the dark-haired, brown-eyed, thin-faced girl with some apologies: "You've come just in time, Melissa, if you have time, can you please help me sort out the files from last quarter?" ”

"Okay." Melissa responded very neatly, because this was part of her job. Follow Audrey to the archives and start working on a spacious desk.

The files compiled this time are the files of students who are eligible for funding after a visit to public schools last quarter. Melissa and Audrey combed through the registrations, and based on the records in the file, they made plans for future home visits or re-inspections. Looking at the photos of those students of all kinds, immature or youthful, Melissa inevitably remembered Marlene, the street girl she helped in the morning, and couldn't help muttering: "I don't know if Marlene can get home safely......"

Audrey, who was sitting next to her and writing the plan, tilted her head and looked at Melissa with some curiosity: "Sorry, I didn't hear clearly?" ”

"Ah......h

Wandering was discovered by her boss, Melissa pursed her lips embarrassedly at first, but then felt that what she encountered was also closely related to the cause of the Student Foundation, so she naturally briefly recounted what she encountered in the morning to Audrey.

After Audrey heard this, there were waves in her green eyes, and she gently pointed the end of the pen on the tabletop, making a small regular "tuk-tuk" sound.

"Melissa, you have done everything you can to help that unfortunate child, and I don't think anyone can do a better job than you did on the spot." She first affirmed the other party's behavior, strengthened the positive feedback, and then said in a sweet and soft voice, "But, you don't seem to be so happy?" ”

"Because...... There are many, too many of them. ”

Under the gentle inducement of the "audience", Melissa's brown eyes showed a long-suppressed emotion of fear and self-blame, and her hands on the edge of the table were folded together.

"Miss Audrey, for a moment I felt that my life was sinful. It's not that I haven't experienced a life of poverty, but after contacting the Foundation, I found that I was at least protected and supported by my brother, and I was at least able to go to school; After the war, I found myself fortunate not to be disfigured or disabled; After visiting the East End, I found that there are hundreds of thousands or more people who are enduring what life endures......

"I know, I understand, that I can have the life I have now, because my brother has worked hard to earn it, and there is nothing to lose. But in front of those who are so unfortunate that they have never seen the sun or the opportunity at all, such an innocent life seems to have become a sin.

"It seems that by birth, they and I are people in two worlds, but ...... Actually, I'm no different from them. No one would have had a bad life if they had the opportunity I did, and if I had been born in the East End, my best efforts would have been to be able to eat and be literate, rather than live in a house in the North End.

"I ...... I am frightened by this, because it seems to say that all our achievements and happiness are an illusion of vulnerability. Miss Audrey, I don't know, if it's fate that determines where everyone is born...... So, what is the point of human effort?

"And, moreover, I can't imagine how we can make all people live equally, because we can't free up manpower by making all the machines produce everything they need, and we can't make everyone satisfied with their lives......"

The huge sense of absurdity about life and fate cast a shadow over Melissa's heart, as if she had encountered an unsolvable loop of calculations, which made her uncontrollably hit herself with these questions again and again.

Audrey was silent for a moment, put her hand on Melissa's shoulder, and did not explain directly, but said with a sigh: "Melissa, do you know? When I first started working as a charity student, I felt very arrogant and terrible. ”

“…… Yes? ”

This description broke Melissa's previous perception of Audrey, and made her involuntarily distract herself from what Audrey was telling.

She saw Audrey, who had a beautiful face, pointing to the materials on the table, and showed a smile with a faint bitter taste: "Do you think these are all the children who need help?" Apparently not. But we screened them out by our own criteria, which meant that our goal was not to save them all in the first place.

"Of course it's not fair, is it? The children who didn't have a file may have a harder time the next week because their parents went bankrupt, some left school without waiting for funding at all, and sometimes I feel like a cold god who picks the redeemed, and I use my arrogance to make some people and ignore others. ”

Melissa couldn't help but be stunned by this bold statement, and she subconsciously said, "But even so, the work of the Foundation must be meaningful, because ...... Because of those who are chosen, they will really be saved. ”

"That's it, Melissa." Audrey looked up and looked at her with a smile, "If we want to pursue complete fairness, can we give up those who could have been helped in peace because we can't help everyone?" No, you can do as much power as you want, at least everyone in the file now, they care about the hand you stretch out.

"Maybe there's no absolute fairness in the world, and we're doing it because we want to do it and we can do it.

"No matter how tall the mountain is, it is also measured by people with their footsteps. I don't deny the absurdity of fate, hehe, maybe only gods can really break free from fate, and mortals like us can only help a limited number of people in their lifetime.

"A friend of mine has given me a blessing, and now I want to send it to you, Melissa, 'May you still have the courage to love this world after seeing everything'.

"Don't feel guilty, don't be afraid...... It is enough to remember the courage in your heart when you helped others today, and let that courage live on for a long time. ”

As if there were bursts of pale gold light rippling in the room, Melissa's eyes were slightly dilated, but the dark clouds shrouded in her heart were gradually dispelled under the warm light of the sun, although she could still feel the physical and mental exhaustion, but the decadent, negative thoughts had been properly processed and did not leave too many traces.

On Melissa's island of mind, Audrey in a plain dress. Hall's figure crept on, scanning everything around him with his golden pupils, making sure that there were no hidden dangers left behind, and that there was no interference from extraordinary powers.

But she didn't look through Melissa's memories and thought it was too offensive and disrespectful.

Instead, there were small psychological hints that made Melissa visit to the Foundation more recently, and Audrey was ready to follow up on Melissa's psychological state through the next few meetings.

In this way, they chatted normally and diverged from each other until the end of the work at hand. Melissa said goodbye to the Foundation and walked to St. Samuel's Cathedral, not far away, where she listened quietly to the bishop's sermon on a bench and gave a simple mass to further relax.

Then she went straight home and had dinner with her brother Benson and sister-in-law Ruth. Benson, who was also dark-haired and brown-eyed, and only looked a little old because of the receding hairline, asked Melissa the reason for her late return, and after knowing that she was going to church, she didn't think there was a problem, and it was quite normal for any believer to pass by the church and go in and listen to a sermon or two.

But as she spoke, Melissa suddenly remembered something, and said to her brother, "I'd like to visit Mr. Douglas next door later, and he asked me to help Veretti choose the right school." ”

"Oh, of course." Benson touched his broad forehead and looked at his sister with a smile, "To be honest, seeing that kid is a bit like seeing you when you were a kid...... Well, since you promised others, it's good to do it seriously. ”

So half an hour later, Douglas, who had just arrived home, opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see Melissa standing at the door.