Chapter 254 - 254 111

Words : 1360 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

254: 111. Level 254: 111. Level The unnaturally large crow was mistaken by Lu Li, visiting for the first time, for a gray hawk. After understanding the relationship between investigators and crows, he no longer thought it was a hawk. As Tesla had once done, Lu Li took out his Black Crow Badge with a single eye and placed it into the crow’s mouth. A strange mechanism started to operate, and seconds later, the badge fell out of the cloaked figure’s facial area. The wall paintings slowly parted to each side, Lu Li took back his badge and put it in his pocket, then walked into the elevator behind the painting. Clang— The gate closed and the elevator began its descent with a slight tremor, reaching the conduit access. Lu Li stepped out of the passageway, the base’s great hall as desolately spacious as ever. After scanning the area, he strode towards the Alliance Personnel wiping glasses behind the rest area’s counter. “Hey, Lu Li.” The shout came from behind him; a door opened in the left section, and Tristan waved in his direction. He was wearing only a white tank top, his robust build fully on display. “Tristan.” Lu Li nodded at him. Tristan closed the door behind him and walked over to Lu Li, the muscles on even his angular face contracting to reveal a warm smile, “I like seeing new members with such a positive attitude. Most investigators these days are too lazy; many don’t even visit the base once a year.” The person in charge, left to watch over the base and feeling bored, complained for a bit and then looked down at Lu Li, “So, what brings you to the base?” “I want to ask Tesla about something,” Lu Li replied. He hadn’t made an appointment in advance, and it seemed Tesla wasn’t here at the moment. Tristan puffed up his pecs, his manliness inflating to a level that could be frightening to women, “It’s my, Giant Stan’s, turn to be on duty this week. If it’s a personal matter, you can find him at his home. He likes you, and I think he would be delighted if you paid him a visit.” “It’s not a personal matter; I want to learn about the procedures for becoming a Regular Investigator and visit the library.” Tristan pulled a face muscle, showing his teeth in a grin, “No problem, I’ll take you to the library and explain how to become a Regular Investigator on the way.” “Please wait a moment.” Lu Li stopped Tristan, who was about to turn away, and walked to the counter to order a glass of milk. “You like drinking milk?” Tristan moved behind Lu Li, his large frame almost blocking all the natural light from the narrow window on Li Li’s left side. He raised his finger, perhaps as thick as a baby’s arm, and ordered a glass of milk as well, saying to Lu Li, “I like it too. It makes you healthier and stronger, and it reminds me of my mother’s taste... Do you exercise regularly?” Tristan’s first impression was one of intimidation and inaccessibility, but in reality, he was quite amiable and easy to talk to. And after making contact... he was almost like a chatterbox. Possibly it wasn’t his nature to be like this, but being stuck in the base with nothing to do was exceedingly dull, so naturally, he’d talk more when he finally met a new face. And this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Lu Li answered, “Just the basics to avoid the decline of physical functions.” “Physical functions...what?” Tristan didn’t understand Lu Li’s words, as he wasn’t used to Lu Li’s formal way of speaking, but that didn’t prevent him from grasping the meaning. Tristan rested his arms on the counter, his arms as thick as an adult’s thigh, confirming to Lu Li that he might be able to wrestle a Vampire Monster, “Being strong lets you hit harder and run faster—” “Please don’t lean on the counter.” An Alliance Personnel said, handing over two glasses of milk with an ugly look on his face to Tristan. “It’s very sturdy.” Tristan shook his arm, and the counter made a creak as if it couldn’t bear the weight. The Alliance Personnel’s face turned to a shade of iron blue and handed the milk to both men, “But it will become very fragile under your weight.” “Hahaha, how could it...” Tristan let out a few dry laughs, took the milk, and spared the poor counter. The Alliance Personnel said irritably, “You should save that comment for the fourteen counters you’ve already cracked.” Lu Li quietly drank his milk, watching the two make jokes as if there were no hierarchy between them. Bang!!! As Lu Li finished his last sip, Tristan gulped down his glass of milk and slammed it onto the counter. Lu Li gently put down his glass and walked with Tristan towards the passageway leading to the library. “What do you want to know?” On the way, Tristan asked Lu Li. “About the general details and salary of an Apprentice Investigator’s promotion to a full position.” The salary for an Apprentice Investigator was 350 Shillings per week, the same as that of a retired investigator, but only temporary. New recruits to the investigator ranks wouldn’t stay an Apprentice Investigator for long. Normally, within the first to second week, the assessment for promotion would come. Apprentice Investigators would take on an event provided by the headquarters of the investigators, equipped with the standard gear of an investigator. To ensure the safety of Apprentice Investigators, a Regular Investigator would secretly follow them. They would intervene to save the apprentice if they encountered life-threatening danger. But once the Regular Investigator extended a helping hand, it meant the Apprentice Investigator’s mission had failed—in the past, an investigator who failed once would be dismissed. However, as the world became more dangerous and the need for more personnel grew, the investigators lowered their standards, increasing the margin of error for Apprentice Investigators. Which means after one failure, they would still have a second chance at the assessment. An Apprentice Investigator who passed the assessment would be stripped of the ‘Apprentice’ title and would earn the weekly salary of a Regular Investigator: 700 Shillings per week. This was the minimum salary, the remuneration one would receive if an investigator took no events and accepted no commissions, a sort of social safety net. The difficulty level of the assessment event was not high, roughly 0.75 times that of a simple event unless something unexpected happened. For example, if the headquarters made an error in assessing the level of a site, leading to a significant increase in difficulty. Should such an error occur, headquarters would usually directly promote the Apprentice Investigator. If they survived. The difficulty of events was divided into four categories: Simple, Regular, Difficult, and Nightmare. The ranks of investigators were divided into four types: Regular Investigator, Senior Investigator, Scout, and Legendary Scout. The specific performance was a change in the color of the eye of the Three-Eyed Crow Badge. A Senior Investigator had silver eyes, a Scout gold, and a Legendary Scout obsidian. An investigator’s promotion was not as ambiguous as that of the Exorcist Association, which required internal recognition from the association to promote members. Investigators simply needed to complete events of the corresponding difficulty level three times. Regular Investigators typically dealt with simple difficulty events, completing three of which would lead to promotion to Senior Investigator. Senior Investigators generally handled both simple and regular difficulty events, and completing three regular difficulty events would lead to promotion to Scout. Scouts generally dealt with simple, regular, and difficult events, but would not be promoted to Legendary Scout. Only by surviving and completing a Nightmare difficulty event once could one be promoted to Legendary Scout. Tristan’s tone became vague here. It seemed he did not want to delve too deeply, or perhaps even he feared Nightmare difficulty events.

Chapter 254 - 254 111

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