The Lord Of Mysteries
Chapter 4: The Forecast

Returning to his seat again, he heard the distant cathedral bell ringing again. It continued seven times before Zhou Mingrui slowly stood up. She went to the front of the closet and took her clothes.

A black vest with a matching suit, trousers that stick tightly to his legs, the halved hat and its faint academic aura made Zhou Mingrui feel like he was watching a Victorian-era British drama.

He suddenly muttered softly as he shook his head with a wry smile, "I didn't go for an interview. All I did was buy some ingredients to prepare for my lucky increase ritual…"

Klein was so worried about his upcoming interview that it became an instinct. When she is not focused enough, she usually wears the only decent outfit.

After taking a breath, Zhou Mingrui took off his suit and vest, switching to a brownish-yellow coat. He also replaced it with a felt cap with rounded ends of the same color.

After her clothes were done, she walked to the side of the bed and lifted a square pillow. He extended his hand into the inconspicuous hole beneath him and searched around before finding the intermediate layer.

When he pulled back his right hand, there was a roll of paper money in his palm. There were about eight tones with a faded dark green color.

These are all savings that Benson currently has. This includes the cost of living for the next three days. Two of these are five-soli notes and the rest are one-soli notes.

In the Loen Kingdom currency system, soli is ranked second. It came from an ancient silver coin. One soli is equivalent to twelve copper pence. They have denominations of one and five soli.

At the top of the currency system is the gold pound. They are also paper-based but are secured by gold and pegged directly. One pound of gold is equivalent to twenty soli. They have denominations of one, five, and ten pounds of gold.

Zhou Mingrui spread the notes and smelled a faint unique ink smell.

It's the smell of money.

Perhaps due to Klein's memory fragments or his constant desire for money, Zhou Mingrui felt like he had instantly fallen in love with this note.

Look, their designs are so beautiful. It made the fierce and old-fashioned George III and his two whiskers look very adorable…

See, the watermark that can be seen when the banknotes are put in the sun is so alluring. The beautiful design for the anti-counterfeiting label makes it completely different from that fake fancy schlock!

Zhou Mingrui admired him for almost a minute before issuing two single tones. He then rolled up the rest of the banknotes and put them back into a layer of hidden pillows.

After arranging and flattening the cloth around the hole, Zhou Mingrui folded the two banknotes he took neatly and stuffed them into the left pocket of his brownish-yellow jacket. He separated the banknotes from the few pennies he had in his pants pocket.

After all this was done, he stuffed the key into his right pocket and carried a dark brown paper bag with him and quickly walked towards the door.

His dragging steps slowed down from a quick step until it finally stopped.

Zhou Mingrui stood by the door and was unsure when he began to frown.

Klein's suicide was full of weirdness. Will he have an 'accident' if he just leaves?

After some deep thought, Zhou Mingrui returned to his desk and opened the drawer. He then took out a glittering brass revolver.

This was the only defensive weapon he could think of, and it was the only weapon with sufficient strength!

Even though he had never practiced shooting, taking out such a revolver would definitely scare anyone!

He stroked the cold metal revolver before stuffing the revolver into the pocket where the note was. He clasped the money in his palm as his fingers pressed the handle of the gun. It was perfectly hidden.

Feeling safe, he who knew a little about everything suddenly became worried.

Am I gonna end up shooting wrong?

Flooded with such thoughts, Zhou Mingrui quickly thought of a solution. He pulled the gun and removed the cylinder. He then aligned the empty space which was the result of 'suicide' along the hammer of the gun before closing it.

This way, even if misfire were to occur, he would release the 'empty round!'

After putting his gun back in his pocket, Zhou Mingrui kept his left hand there.

He pressed his hat with his right hand and opened the door before leaving.

The corridor during the day remains dim as limited sunlight enters from windows located at the end of the corridor. Zhou Mingrui quickly went down the stairs and left the apartment before enjoying the brilliance and warmth of the sun.

Although it is almost July, it is still considered to be mid-summer. However, Tingen is located in the north of the Loen Kingdom, so it has unique climatic characteristics. The highest annual temperature does not even reach 30°C on Earth, with colder mornings. However, the streets were flooded with dirty water and rubbish scattered. From Klein's memory, this was not a rare sight in low-income communities, even if there were sewers. After all, there were simply too many people and people needed to survive.

"Come and try our delicious grilled fish!"

"Soup hot and fresh oysters. Drink a bowl in the morning and feel fresh all day!"

"Fresh fish from the harbor for only five pence!"

"Muffin and eel soup make the perfect combination!"

"Keong! A conch! A conch!"

"The freshly picked vegetables from a farm outside the city. Cheap and fresh!"

…

Travellers selling vegetables, fruits and hot food shouted along the street as they gestured to the hustling hikers. Some of them will stop and compare carefully before buying. Others will impatiently wave their hands as they have not found work for the day.

Zhou Mingrui breathed in the air that fused a dangerous and fragrant aroma. As he clenched the revolver tightly in his left hand, he held the note tightly. He pressed his hat with his right hand as he passed through the busy road, slightly bowing.

There must be thieves in populated areas. In addition, this road is not short of poor people who work part-time after losing their previous jobs. There are also starving children who are utilized by adults to do their bidding.

He continued forward until he reached the point where the surrounding crowd returned to normal. He straightened his back and raised his head to look at the street.

There was an accordion tramp busking. The melodies are sometimes fun, sometimes excited.

Beside him were some children in tattered clothes with pale skin due to malnutrition.

They listen to music and move to the beat, dancing to homemade choreography. Their faces were filled with excitement as if they were a prince or an angel.

A flat woman passed by; her skirt was dirty and her skin was dull.

His gaze looked dull and lethargic. Only when he saw the group of children did a flash of light dim. It was as if he had seen himself from three decades ago.

Zhou Mingrui caught up with him and turned the other way before stopping at the Smyrin Bakery.

The owner of the bakery was a seventy-year-old grandmother named Wendy Smyrin. Her hair was completely grayish-white and she was always smiling kindly. From the very beginning of Klein's memory, he had been here selling bread and pastries.

Zhou Mingrui swallowed a mouthful of saliva and smiled.

"Mrs. Smyrin, eight pounds of rye bread."

"Oh. Dear Klein, where's Benson? Is he not back?" Wendy asked with a smile.

"A few more days," Zhou Mingrui replied faintly.

As Wendy picked up the rye bread, she sighed. "He's a really hard-working kid. He's gonna have a good wife."

After saying this, the corners of his lips curved up as he said playfully, "Everything is fine now. You've graduated. You are a history graduate of our Khoy University ~ Oh, you will soon be able to make money. You should not live in the apartment you currently live in. At the very least, you should have a bathroom that you can call your own."

"Miss Smyrin, you seem to be a young and energetic woman today." All Zhou Mingrui could do was respond with a dry smile.

If Klein successfully passed the interview and became a lecturer at Tingen University, it was true that his family would soon be raised to a higher socioeconomic status!

In fragments of his memories, he once fantasized about renting a bungalow in the suburbs. There will be five or six rooms, two bathrooms, a large balcony on the top floor, two rooms, dining room, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and basement storage space on the first floor.

This is not a dream. Even a lecturer on probation at Tingen University would earn a weekly salary of two pounds of gold. After the trial period, the salary will be raised to three pounds of gold and ten pounds of soli. One should know that despite working for many years, Klein's brother, Benson, only had a weekly salary of one pound and ten soli. Ordinary workers in a factory don't even get a pound or, at best, a little more. And the rent for a bungalow is about nineteen soli to one pound and eighteen soli.

"This is the difference between earning three to four thousand yuan and earning fourteen to fifteen thousand yuan a month .." Zhou Mingrui muttered to himself.

However, all of this was based on the premise that he passed the Tingen University or Backlund University interview.

Not much of another chance. People without connections cannot get recommendations to become civil servants. And those who study history are more limited in employment opportunities. There is not much demand for private consultants from royals, banks, or industry figures.

Considering that the knowledge Klein possessed was fragmented and incomplete, Zhou Mingrui felt awkward and guilty towards Madam Smyrin's expectations of him.

"No, I've always been this young" Wendy joked.

As he spoke, he packed the sixteen wheat breads he had weighed into the brown paper bag that Zhou Mingrui had brought. He stretched out his right hand and said, "Nine pence."

Each whole wheat bread weighs about half a pound because the difference is inevitable.

"Nine pence? Wasn't eleven pence two days ago?" Zhou Mingrui asked subconsciously.

It costs 15 pence the month before the previous month.

"It should be grateful to the people who rallied in the streets for the repeal of the Wheat Act" Wendy said, shrugging her shoulders.

Zhou Mingrui nodded in vague acknowledgement. Klein's memory of this is incomplete. All he remembered was that the core principle of the Wheat Act was to protect the prices of domestic agricultural products. Once prices rose to a certain level, imports of wheat from Southern countries such as Feynapotter, Masin, Lenburg were stopped.

Why are people protesting against this action?

Without saying much, Zhou Mingrui, afraid that he would take out his revolver, carefully took out his notes and handed one of them over to Madame Smyrin.

He was given three copper cents instead. Putting it in his pants pocket, he picked up a paper bag filled with bread and headed for the 'Lettuce and Meat' market across the street. He worked hard for the goat meat boiled with peas that his sister had advised.

There is a town square at the intersection of Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street. Many tents were set up there, and clowns in strange and funny clothes were handing out brochures.

"Is there a circus show tomorrow night?" Zhou Mingrui glanced at the leaflets in the hands of others as he read the contents quietly.

Melissa would love it. However, how much does the entry cost?

With that thought in mind, Zhou Mingrui approached.

Just as he was about to ask the clown with his face painted red and yellow, the voice of a hoarse woman sounded from beside him.

"Do you want to try a prophecy?"

Zhou Mingrui subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a pointy hat and a long black dress standing in front of a short tent.

His face was smeared with red and yellow paint and his eyes were grayish blue.

"No," Zhou Mingrui shook his head in response. He has no spare money for the prophecy.

The woman laughed and said, "My tarot forecast is very accurate."

"Tarot ..." Zhou Mingrui was instantly dumbfounded.

This pronunciation is almost identical to tarot cards on Earth!

And tarot cards from Earth are a set of cards used for divination. They just have charts that represent different signs.

He suddenly remembered the origin of the tarot prophecy in this world.

It did not come from the seven orthodox gods nor was it an ancient inheritance. Instead, it was made by the Consul of the Republic of Intis at the time, Roselle Gusta, more than 170 years ago.

This Roselle master invented the steam engine, repaired sailing ships, overthrew the imperial rule of the Intis Kingdom, and was recognized by the God of Workmanship. He was also the first Consul of the Republic of Intis.

Later, he invaded other countries and placed Lenburg and other countries under his protection. He made the Loen Kingdom, Feynapotter, Feysac Empire and other powerful Northern Continent countries submit to the Divine Core Republic. After that, the Republic was then transformed into an Empire and he became a self-proclaimed 'Emperor Caesar.

During Roselle's reign, the Church of the Work received its first public holy revelation since the Fifth Age. From then on, the God of Workmanship was transformed into the God of Steam and Machines.

Roselle also discovered the tarot prophecy. He also founded a contemporary system of paper-based cards and their playing style. There were many familiar styles that Zhou Mingrui was familiar with, such as Upgrade, Fighting the Landlord, Texas Poker, and Quint…

Moreover, the naval fleet he sent found the sea route that led to the Southern Continent through the stormy and turbulent seas. It also started an era of colonialism.

Unfortunately, he was betrayed in his old age. In 1198 of the Fifth Age, he was killed by a combined army of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the former royal family of the Intis—family of Sauron, and other nobles. He died at White Maple Palace.

This ... To remember such general knowledge suddenly made him frown.

Could this be a senior transmigration?

With this in mind, Zhou Mingrui was interested to see what the tarot cards looked like. Therefore, he nodded at the pointed-hated woman with a painted face and said, "If .. well.. the price is reasonable, I'll give it a try."

The woman immediately said with a laugh, "Master, you're the first one here today, so it's at home."