The Deceitful One

Bryan stepped out of his apartment dressed in all black as usual. He was wearing a black three-piece suit and a black trench coat.

One could see a silver chain tied to the middle button of his black vest. The other end of the silver chain was connected to the pocket watch that he always carried with himself. The weather was cold so he had also hung a dark gray muffler around his neck.

He called for a public carriage and got inside after instructing the driver to head toward the factory area. The Transcendent convention that he was going to was in one of the residential buildings near the factory area.

This convention wasn't the same one that he had visited with Andrew and Elijah but a different one. Over the last couple of months, he had found a few more secret gatherings through the help of his friends in the Strike Team.

He had been visiting these secret gatherings almost once every week to look for anything of interest. Also, he had placed an order for the two main ingredients that he required at these gatherings, hoping anyone would come across them.

The main ingredients required for the advancement to Theft Path Rank 1 were 10 ml of Sea Kolag's blood and 40 grams of Dusk Crab's crystal. Both belonged to Transcendent creatures and hence were very difficult to find.

Bryan didn't request any supplementary ingredients as most of them would be found at the local apothecary store that Livia had recommended to him.

Although there was still a lot of time left for him to advance to a Transcendent, it didn't hurt to be prepared beforehand.

Moreover, from Livia, Bryan also learned the process of preserving the ingredients of a potion recipe. This ensured that the ingredients that Bryan bought wouldn't be spoiled even if he stored them for long periods of time.

He drew the red curtains of the carriage window and looked out through the glass pane. Seeing the steam cars pass by on the stone-paved streets, Bryan couldn't help but sigh, "Times are changing..."

Over the past few months, steam cars had gradually replaced horse-drawn carriages. Now, most affluent people had bought steam cars for their personal use.

This had become a symbol of their wealth. And if there was one thing that the wealthy liked, it was to show off their riches.

A few steam car manufacturing factories had also popped up in the factory area of Damascus. This was truly the age of steam!

The public carriage that Bryan was currently sitting on was one of the few carriages that were still operating in the city.

However, by the end of this year, the public-drawn carriages would have become even more sparse. There would be short-term job losses but more job opportunities would be created that were previously not there.

About twenty minutes later, the carriage entered the factory area and Bryan asked the carriage driver to stop the carriage at the entrance of a nearby alley.

The driver did as instructed and soon parked the carriage. Bryan got off the carriage and his gaze landed on the driver who was shivering from sitting outside in the cold while driving all this time.

Bryan felt a little apologetic as he put his hand inside his pant pocket and grabbed a bundle of cash. He then counted five 1-pound notes and handed them to the driver.

"Here's a tip for the cold. Go home to your family. It's already very late." Bryan stated.

The driver was taken aback. He was only expecting the usual 5 pence for driving such a distance but instead, he was given 5 pounds.

His eyes began to water as he stammered, "T-Thank you, good sir! You're very kind!"

Bryan replied gently with a smile, "All right, go home now."

He then turned around and walked toward the depths of the alley. The carriage driver got off from his seat and bowed gratefully in Bryan's direction. When he stood back up, Bryan was already gone and the alley was desolate.

Not thinking too much of it, the carriage driver carefully put the money inside his jacket pocket, hopped on the driver's seat, and drove back home in a joyous mood.

Meanwhile, Bryan had already started sprinting and taking reroutes in order to make sure no one was following him. Although there was very little chance of this happening, he still didn't want to take a risk.

After running through a few alleyways and changing directions multiple times, Bryan stopped behind a dumpster in a secluded alley and brought out a black robe from his pocket watch along with a white smiley mask that he had taken from Andrew.

After putting them on, he then proceeded to walk to the address of the apartment where the secret gathering was going to be held.

After about another ten minutes of jogging, Bryan reached the back entrance of a slightly dilapidated four-storied residential building. The apartments in and around the factory area were usually places where workers lived.

This building was also the same. Bryan stood in front of the wooden back door of the apartment and knocked in a particular sequence.

Two short knocks, two long knocks, one short knock, followed by three long knocks. This was the secret code for entering the Transcendent convention. He had already come here once last week, hence he knew the current secret code.

A few moments later, a small rectangular section in the middle of the wooden door slid to the side and pair of blue eyes from beyond the door carefully scrutinized the hooded Bryan.

Recognizing the white smiley mask, the person opened the door and let Bryan in without a word. The latter slightly nodded at the gatekeeper and entered the building.

The place where the secret gathering was going to take place was apartment number four on the first floor. Without loitering around, Bryan straight away entered the fourth room to the right.

This was a very small gathering consisting of no more than a dozen people. Bryan was one of the last few to enter as he quietly took his seat.

A few minutes later, the convener declared, "It is time. You may begin!"