newbobooks Chapter 252 Deception
Chapter 252 Deception
Chapter 252 Deception
Watching Alice's departing figure, Alger picked up his coffee cup and took another sip. He remained seated, showing no intention of leaving, as he had to deal with the aftermath.
He wanted to use this upscale coffee shop to force Mr. "Power" to reveal his identity, but Mr. "Power" saw through his plan.
His response was completely unexpected by Alger; "Mr. Power" turned into a woman and easily defused Alger's test.
Not only did they not reveal their identities, they also presented Alger with a rather difficult problem.
Alice's appearance was so outstanding that she made no attempt to hide her charm, which captivated all the men and some of the women in the café, while the rest of the women were filled with envy.
This can be seen from the fact that some people, after Alice left the café, couldn't wait to chase after her, disregarding gentlemanly conduct or the expressions of the women who came with her.
Those who didn't chase after them were people with more social experience.
Because they all recognized Alice's noble demeanor and expensive clothing, and were unwilling to fawn over her like the others, like stray dogs chasing after food, they turned their attention to Alger, who clearly knew Alice.
The people in the café are all wealthy and powerful, and Alger must handle these troubles carefully, otherwise they will soon be able to investigate him thoroughly, and his status as a member of the Church of Storms may be exposed.
The priests of the Storm Church could not gain the recognition of the pirates. Although the pirates generally believed in the God of Storms, they would never regard him as one of their own.
This would cause a significant loss of the resources Alger had accumulated and reduce his value in the eyes of the church's higher-ups, rendering years of hard work futile—something he absolutely did not want to see.
Alger was already regretting provoking Mr. "Power"; now he could say he had shot himself in the foot.
Although dealing with the aftermath was troublesome, it was just troublesome for Alger, not something he couldn't handle.
He was just becoming increasingly curious about Mr. "Power's" identity.
What's the point of concealing your identity now? If the Kingdom of Rune forms a strategic support force, the commotion will be huge. Just keep an eye on the relevant information, and your identity will be exposed anyway!
Alger sneered, inwardly mocking "Alice".
Meanwhile, Alice, with her nimble movements as a "hunter" and "assassin," sat in a carriage, holding a small vanity mirror. With her lace-gloved hands, she tidied her slightly messy hair, then chuckled. With her laughter, the entire carriage seemed to brighten a bit.
"Alger is probably being pestered by the people in the coffee shop right now! Men's pursuit of beauty and women's jealousy should not be underestimated!"
Alice put down the small mirror in her hand, thinking about Alger's predicament, and couldn't help but smile as she thought about it.
Moreover, Evan's transformation into "Alice" this time was not just to adapt to her female body, but also to mislead Alger.
The more Evan concealed his identity, the more convinced Alger became of his previous guess that Mr. "Power" was a member of the Augustan royal family.
Moreover, Evan deliberately mentioned in front of him the purpose of his purchase of the ghost ship.
On the one hand, it was because the whereabouts of the ghost ship could not be kept secret, so Evan simply stopped hiding it from him.
On the other hand, Evan planned to use George III's birthday banquet to try and get Edsac Augustus out of trouble and make him the nominal supreme commander of the newly formed army, in order to reduce related resistance.
When Alger hears the news, he might, based on his previous speculation, immediately conclude that Edsac Augustus is the "Power" of the Tarot Society.
If that's the case, that would be so much fun.
The carriage carried Alice to the West End. Alice looked at the shops and people on the roadside through the carriage window with a sense of ease. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. With the sharp vision of an eagle brought by the assassin, she noticed a mailbox with a slightly strange pattern on it.
This was a communication signal sent by Beckron, the Intis ambassador to the Kingdom of Rune, to Miss Alice, a senior intelligence agent of the Fusak Empire.
These past few days, while Miss Sharon and Klein have been busy digging a hole for "Master of the Puppet" Rosago, Evan has also been busy.
He directly used his authority within MI9 to forge the identity of "Alice," deliberately approaching Beckron and preparing to turn him into an intelligence agent of the Fussac Empire.
Beckron quickly came to believe Alice's identity. The reason was simple: Alice told him directly that she wanted to turn him against her because she was after the rats in the high command of the Fussac Empire's intelligence agency.
Alice tells Beckron that Zereil's accidental exposure and death have led Zereil's former superior, now Lieutenant General Kalinin, the highest-ranking official in the Fussac Empire's intelligence agency, to suspect that there is a traitor within the agency's top ranks.
Furthermore, through a secret investigation, it was discovered that Intis's embassy in the Kingdom of Rune had an unusual connection with Saint Milon, the capital of the Fusak Empire.
Combined with Zeryl's plan to steal the ironclad warship blueprints and the unusual activity at the Intis Embassy, the Fussac Empire directly targeted Beckron.
Because Alice's explanation was so clear and her logic so rigorous, Beckerang had nothing to say.
Moreover, much of this information was unknown to Beckron himself, such as Zeril's identity and information about his former superior, Lieutenant General Kalinin. Therefore, Beckron was convinced of Alice's identity without any doubt.
Because of his fear of being secretly executed upon returning to Intis, Beckeron was not at all opposed to contact with "Alice." Life will find its own way, and Beckeron, who did not want to wait passively, would not give up any possible chance to survive.
Therefore, he has been actively contacting "Alice" and negotiating terms.
Previously, their contact had always taken place at relevant banquets, but today they suddenly switched to using coded language, which likely means that something has happened.
"Let's go to the nearby municipal park."
Alice turned her gaze away and gave an order to the coachman.
Soon the coachman brought Alice to the nearest municipal park. After paying the fare, Alice avoided the crowds and went to a quiet corner. She sat on a park bench and took out a piece of paper.
"12 midnight, 47 Red Rose Street, Queens!"
A ball of flame appeared in Evan's hand, instantly burning the note to ashes.
"It seems that Beckron has officially received his transfer order from the Republic of Intis."
Evan knew the exact information about Beckeron's transfer order before Beckeron himself, since the change of ambassador also required notification to King George III and consultation.
Beckeron has reached a dead end. He now has two choices: one is to obtain the blueprints for the ironclad warship tonight and make an indelible contribution to the Republic of Intis.
Another option is to defect to the Fusak Empire, hoping to use his knowledge of "rats" to secure a minor official position. Rosago hasn't even made a move yet, and the outcome is still uncertain, but he's already arranged to meet me. His scheme is practically suicidal.
Alice shook the piece of paper off her hand and let out a cold laugh.
Beckeron's plan was that if Rosago's operation failed, he would take advantage of tonight's farewell dinner to secretly leave the embassy, and then, with the help of "Alice" and the exit channels provided by the Fusak Empire, defect to the Fusak Empire.
If Rosago's operation succeeds, he will no longer be in danger of losing his life. He will then try to kill "Alice," the woman who knows that he may have defected to the Fusak Empire, to eliminate any future troubles.
Beckeron's plan was well-conceived, but he didn't know that the so-called ironclad warship blueprints were a bait to lure him and Rosago.
He had no idea that the so-called "Lieutenant General Kalinin's" most capable subordinate, "Alice," was actually the deputy director of the Ninth Military Intelligence Bureau of the Kingdom of Rune in disguise, and that she had wanted to kill him from the very beginning.
The reason for wanting him dead was exactly the same as the reason for wanting him dead in Intis: to protect Petrov Andrei, who was lurking in the heart of the Fussac Empire's intelligence agency.
To some extent, Petrov Andrei is Beckeron's nemesis. Both sides wanted to kill Beckeron in order to protect him. "Since the meeting is tonight, it means that Rosago will also make his move tonight. We need to tell Klein and Miss Sharon this news as soon as possible so that they can prepare for it. It would be best to lure Rosago to the outskirts of Backlund."
The municipal park in the West District isn't far from Evan's safe house, which is also where Evan changes clothes, avoiding being seen by others.
He turned and entered the villa, changed back into his male form, put on an inconspicuous set of clothes, and arrived at Klein's house in the Joewood district.
Knocked on the door, and as expected, Klein wasn't home. Evan unsurprisingly produced an envelope.
The envelope has an inverted triangle drawn on it, which means that the contents of the envelope need to be deciphered using the "Steam and Machinery Bible".
Klein disguised himself as a believer in the god of steam and machinery, and always kept the "Steam and Machinery Bible" at home.
After leaving Klein's house, Evan, to prevent Klein from not returning and seeing the message he left behind, found a homeless pickpocket on the street and asked him to inform Ian Wright about the matter.
Ian Wright was the bait Miss Sharon and Klein used to lure Rosago, and was deeply involved in the operation to lure and kill Rosago, so they were in frequent contact. Evan might not even know where Klein was now, but Ian Wright certainly did.
A simpler method would actually be to pray to Mr. Fool, but Alger's reminder today gave Evan a jolt.
We can't be too casual with Mr. Fool, lest Klein notice something amiss.
This kind of communication is really inconvenient. I have no way to recruit spirit messengers, at least I wouldn't dare to do so before becoming a demigod. Should I ask Klein to do it in advance?
After thinking for a while, Evan decided not to change the storyline for such a small matter.
The spirit world and reality are closely connected, and it is absolutely impossible for Exeggutor to stay in the corresponding spirit world region of Backlund.
Even for the sake of Backlund's safety, the three major churches and the royal family must protect the spirit world corresponding to Backlund.
Therefore, if Klein were recruiting messengers in Backlund, he would absolutely not have met Exeggutor.
Exeggutor is also an important part of Evan's future plans, so he cannot take the corresponding risks. After all, even Miss Sharon does not know that her teacher is still alive, and establishing contact with her is a pipe dream.
As dusk fell, Klein, having received the news from Ian Wright, rushed home and took a stack of envelopes from the mailbox outside the door. They contained bills for water, gas, and sanitation, as well as some GG (Goblin) notes.
Having found Evan's envelope, Klein couldn't wait to go inside, turn on the gaslight, and open "The Holy Book of Steam and Machinery."
Translation is being carried out urgently.
Not long after, Klein deciphered Evan's letter.
"Rosago will launch its operation tonight!"
After reading the letter, Klein flicked his wrist, and the envelope containing Evan's letter and his translation were burned by the sudden flames. He then stood up, looking at the setting sun outside with an unusually cold and stern gaze.
Backlund, Queens, Intis Embassy in the Kingdom of Ruen.
Young couples danced gracefully to the music played by the band.
Alice, carrying a glass of pale yellow champagne, "accidentally" walked up to today's protagonist—the outgoing ambassador, Becker.
"Thank you for attending my farewell banquet. You are the most beautiful lady I have ever seen."
Slightly thin, with a bit of stubble, and quite handsome, Beckerang politely kissed the back of Alice's gloved hand, making no attempt to hide his inner desire and boldness.
In fact, whether in public or in private, Becker has never hidden his desire for "Alice", and "Alice" takes the opportunity to play a tug-of-war with him to show the sincerity of the "Fusak Empire".
This aroused disgust among some people who followed Beckeron, and some even wanted to step forward and take away the beautiful "Alice"—although none of them knew "Alice," it didn't mean they didn't want to know her.
But after considering the occasion, they managed to suppress their impulses.
Alice, who had been kissed on the back of her hand, felt like she was about to vomit, but she didn't show it on her face at all. Instead, she gently bit her lip.
It expresses regret over Beckron's departure from the Kingdom of Rune.