The Deceitful One



Back in Damascus, when Bryan had killed Jack Brown and later raided his house, he had found a blueprint for the telephone designed by Jack's father, Jim Brown!

The telephone was a revolutionary instrument that would allow for the transmission of human voices from long distances. It was basically an upgrade of the telegram!

At the time, Bryan thought that if he could capitalize on this opportunity when he arrived at Nadir, he would have made loads of money.

He had even made plans about partnering up with Grace, who hailed from an entrepreneurial family and register a patent for the telephone design.

If he had done so, he would have been earning passive income for 20 years. Because that was the protection period for patents in the Belize Kingdom.

This was also one of the main reasons why he was so easygoing about spending money when he arrived here. He was still under the impression that the telephone had still not been invented. But after listening to Meryl, all his plans came crashing down.

'Fuck!' Bryan cursed in his heart, 'I can't believe the telephone has already been invented by someone in the one year that I've been in the Dreamworld.'

Well, technically he was only there for a week or so. It's just that a year had passed in the Waking World.

Looking at Bryan's shocked expression, Meryl couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lombardi, do you not know what a telephone is?"

After all, in this day and age, who wouldn't know what a telephone was? When the telephone had first come out, its inventor had become rich overnight and was even personally given a reward by the King of Belize.

It had only been a few months since the invention of this revolutionary instrument. And its inventor now was one of the leading businessmen and innovators of the Western Continent.

Furthermore, he was also given an honorary position at the Dicentra Research Institute!

Bryan snapped out of his thoughts and decided to play along, "I was meditating in seclusion for the past year. So, I'm not aware of most of the things that have happened in that time."

"Oh, I see." Meryl thought that it was reasonable. After all, even she knew that meditation was one of the most crucial factors for any Transcendent.

She had even seen the elders of her family meditating for a long period of time. So when she heard that Bryan had gone under seclusion for a year, she couldn't help but respect and admire him even more.

Meryl and Dillon then began to tell him about the story behind the telephone's invention and when it was released to the public.

Bryan nodded from time to time as he listened to them. On the surface, it seemed as if he was paying attention to them but inwardly he was thinking about his future plans, 'It seems like I have to find a new way to earn money now.'

Although 140,000 pounds was a large amount, it would only last him a couple of years. Earlier, he had planned to live off of the money he made from the telephone blueprint, which would have hopefully lasted him a long time. But now, he had to revise his plans.

'Hmm, whom should I rob?' He thought inwardly.

His lips soon curled into a smirk, 'The inventor of the telephone seems like the perfect target, hehe.'

Seeing Bryan's smirk, Dillon and Meryl couldn't help but feel goosebumps on their skins.

Meryl stuttered, "M-Mr. Lombardi, is something the matter?"

Bran snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "What did you say the name of the inventor was?"

"Nicholas Tenant," Meryl replied.

Bryan ginned, "Interesting."

He then looked at the couple and added, "Well, thank you for your time today. I will contact you when I am free."

With that said, he turned around and walked away. And soon, he disappeared amongst the crowd walking on the footpath!

Dillon's eyes widened, "D-Did you see that, Meryl!?"

Meryl too was taken aback, "Yes, he really disappeared!"

The couple looked at each other and couldn't hide the utter shock in their eyes. Bryan had actually only taken a few steps and had disappeared amidst the crowd.

Meryl snapped out of her excitement and hurriedly pulled Dillon's arm, "Let's go back to my house. Help me look for some books and parchments related to Transcendents, in my father's library."

Dillon nodded and then the duo hopped back inside the car and left Calm Springs.

A few blocks away, Bryan stood in front of the entrance of a three-storied house with a hesitant expression on his face.

The house was made up of red bricks and sported a Gothic architectural style. A small fleet of stairs led up to the main door of the house which was made up of a dark shade of mahogany brown.

As Bryan looked at the door to the house, he felt conflicted, 'Should I let them know I'm alive?'

This house belonged to none other than Detective Watson! And currently, only Abigail, little Amy, and a handful of maids and servants lived here.

The main reason why he was hesitating to visit them was that Bryan knew that in the future, he would be bringing a lot of trouble to himself.

After all, he had already decided on waging war against the Holy Blood Sect!

And he didn't want any harm to come to his teacher's wife and daughter. If his enemies realized that he was associated with the people that lived in this house, they would surely come after them as well.

In the end, Bryan decided to not visit them and show his face. He felt that this was for the better.

He looked deeply at the main door of the house and muttered under his breath, "I will do my best to protect you from the shadows…"

Bryan turned around and walked away with determination.

A few moments later, the door to the house opened and a small head peeked outside. It was a little girl with blonde hair parted into two ponytails on the sides.

The little girl looked around, her bright blue eyes shining with curiosity and confusion. After seeing that no one was there, she shrugged and closed the door.

Bryan who was crouching on the roof of the house right opposite, couldn't help but smile warmly, "You've grown, little Amy…"

He looked at the house for a few moments and then finally disappeared.

…

Nightfall.

A couple of blocks away from Detective Watson's house, was a lavish three-storied bungalow that had its own compound. The compound included a large garden, a small pond, parking space for cars, and even a servant's quarters.

This house belonged to a wealthy business tycoon who went by the name of Connor Winchester. He had multiple businesses throughout Nadir and even the Belize Kingdom.

This house was the house he mostly resided in since it was his favorite. And currently, he was sleeping on his bed with his third wife, after an intense round of lovemaking.

Unbeknownst to him, he had drifted into slumber much quicker than it would usually take him.

And then…

He had a dream!

In this dream, he was sitting on a beach and looking at the waves crashing against each other with a happy smile on his face. This was the same beach where his father would take him fishing when he was young.

Dreaming about one of his fondest childhood memories brought him great joy. All of a sudden, the clouds above the ocean parted from the middle and a bright holy light descended!

The slightly plump, brown-haired Connor shot up to his feet and looked at the pillar of light in utter disbelief! He couldn't comprehend what was going on! He couldn't even tell if this was a dream or reality!

The pillar of light soon dissipated and Connor's gaze fell on a blond, white-robed young man with bright blue eyes.

The young man was looking at him with a warm smile.

"My Goddess!" Connor fell to his knees, his eyes shining with shock and disbelief, "W-What is happening!?"

The blond young man slowly walked towards Connor and smiled warmly, "Child, I have heard your pleas."

Connor was instantly dazed. All of a sudden, he couldn't help but mutter, "A-Are you a God?"

The blond man shook his head, "I am merely a servant of the Goddess of Wisdom."

Connor immediately kowtowed. He felt as if he had been chosen by the Goddess herself!

"I have heard your prayers of wanting to amass even more fortune. And I have visited your dreams to guide you." The young man smiled.

"Anything!" Connor kept his forehead on the ground, afraid to look at this deity, "I'll do anything."

The young man's lips curled up into a mischievous smile, "My blessed will arrive at your doorstep tomorrow. You must gift your house to him. As for you, here's what you must do…"

…

The following day, a middle-aged man with brown hair, wearing a three-piece black suit, arrived at Connor's doorstep.

The man had handsome facial features and was wearing black, round sunglasses. He had a neatly trimmed mustache and also sported a goatee.

A silver chain was tied around his vest button and the other end of the chain was inside his vest pocket. One could tell that this chain belonged to a pocket watch.

Furthermore, this person wasn't alone. A black cat could be seen walking around the man, nuzzling his head against the man's calf from time to time.

The man placed his brown suitcase on the ground and then pressed the doorbell to the house.

A few moments later, a young maid opened the door and looked at him curiously. She then asked politely, "May I know your name, sir?"

The man removed his black fedora hat and smiled,

"The name's Anthony,

"Anthony Wayne."