Endless Debt

Since Church joined the Bureau of Order, Ivan has been in charge of him. The two of them can be said to be very familiar with each other, but now Ivan looks at Church as if he is facing a stranger, and Church is not interested in this. Surprisingly, his reaction was extremely cold, as if he was accustomed to it.

There was silence between the two for a while, until Ivan fully recovered. It was like a friend you hadn't seen for a long time. You couldn't recognize the other person at first sight, and you couldn't recall anything related to the other person, but as long as you give him a certain amount of time, With time, those forgotten memories will return.

Ivan said, "It looks like this mission is very dangerous."

"Yes, after all, we are facing a defender," Church replied calmly, "Chekhov's gun can indeed delete the "process" of the hit, but I will definitely be pulled before being fatally injured. Wolf’s self-sacrificial counterattack... I am neither an immortal, nor an alchemy doll, nor a member of the Krax family. Otherwise, I will definitely die."

Ivan said softly, "Did you lower your own existence to even deceive Ralph?"

Church said, "This secret power is quite easy to use. Even the defenders can't detect my existence before I take the initiative to expose it."

"The perfect assassin's secret power, but the price is also very expensive. If it is not necessary..."

"I won't go into deep 'stealth' unless necessary. I understand, team leader."

Church replied that he had heard this sentence many times, but Ivan always mentioned it endlessly. It may be that Ivan had forgotten that he had said this sentence, so that every time Ivan and Church When I say this, this is the "first time" for Ivan.

Church added, "But this time it was necessary, and Ralph was a base keeper throughout."

Without deep stealth, Church would not have the confidence to complete the fatal assassination.

Ivan asked, "Have other people noticed something strange about you?"

"No, most of their knowledge of me is wrong information, so they will not be affected by the subsequent side effects of the secret energy."

Ivan looked at Church up and down. Even though his memory told him that Church was his most effective team member, his physical instinct was still completely unfamiliar to Church.

The more people know about Church's "real information", the more they will weaken their understanding of Church in the aftermath of the activation of the secret energy. As the depth of the stealth increases, they may even completely forget the existence of Church.

"Anything else?"

Church handed the report to Ivan and waited for his next instructions.

"It's nothing, you can rest first," Ivan said half-jokingly, trying to quickly reduce the feeling of strangeness, "In fact, you were fully capable of competing with Palmer for the Rookie of the Year Award."

Church denied with a smile, "I'm not suitable for being noticed by too many people."

A true assassin should always be hidden in the darkness, whether it is his name, face, or even his own existence.

"Hmm...Okay, then you should rest first."

Ivan and Qiu Qi said goodbye. Looking at Qiu Qi's leaving back, Ivan felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Ivan said to the back, "Don't forget who you are."

"Church Burton."

Church repeated his name, like a heavy anchor, firmly binding his will on the drifting and chaotic sea.

Ivan nodded slowly, Church turned around and disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Church's presence in the Bureau of Order was so low that even in the Crow's Nest, few people would notice that such a person existed in the Crow's Nest unless they mentioned it deliberately.

For many people, Church is too mysterious. Even his former partner Palmer knows very little about Church.

Ivan is one of the few people who knows Qiu Qi's true face.

For this reason, Ivan has been worried about Church, fearing that he will lose himself in that deep dive, and even his own existence will be stripped away.

After arriving at the dormitory area, he opened the door and returned to his room. The room was extremely clean and simple, with almost no personal belongings that could reveal the owner of the room.

It looks like a hotel room, and anyone can stay here.

Church could also be anyone.

Throwing his coat aside, Church revealed his casual shirt and took it off. The shirt squirmed strangely, as if it was alive, twisting on the bed, and then turned into a black tights and calmed down. .

This inconspicuous black tights is an alchemical weapon, known as a "chameleon". Its effect is very simple. It can be switched into different styles of clothing. Matching Church's myriad faces, he was still wearing it the last second A soldier in uniform can turn into a girl in a long skirt in the next second.

After taking off all his clothes, Church went to the bathroom and put on hot water. The warm light fell from the top of his head and shone on every inch of Church's skin, bringing a warm feeling.

Church took a long breath, almost exhaling all the air in his lungs. He slowly sat down against the wall, relaxing all the muscles in his body, like a stuffed bear lying in a corner.

Only in this narrow bathroom, with no one observing, could Church completely relax and regain true freedom.

After the hot water filled the bathtub, Qiu Qi stood in front of the mirror before taking a bath and looked at his face in the mirror, which still looked ordinary.

The water vapor gradually rose and spread, condensing on the mirror surface and forming countless tiny water droplets, blurring Qiu Qi's face. Qiu Qi stretched out his hand and wiped away the water stains, and another face was reflected in the exposed mirror surface.

On Palmer's face, Church smiled, and Palmer in the mirror also smiled. He wiped the mirror again, and this time it was Burrow's face that emerged. Church's eyes were empty and out of focus, and Burrow in the mirror Ge also became serious and cold.

This childish game didn't last long, and Qiu Qi once again changed back to his ordinary appearance. He liked his appearance, which didn't attract anyone's attention. He could be any inconspicuous person on the street.

Now that Church doesn't need to keep pretending, he can briefly be himself.

Church stretched out his hand and groped around his neck, pulling out a warped edge from the smooth flesh. He dug his fingernails into the warped edge, pulling and tearing it off little by little, leaving an almost perfect camouflage mask from him. ripped off the face.

"Church, although we are iron sentries, we are still field staff. Why don't you wear a mask?"

In his memory, Palmer punched two holes in a takeout paper bag and put it on his head as a mask.

Palmer realized it later and said, "Oh, that's right. You can change your face at will anyway. This is the most perfect mask."

Church is a born deceiver, but when it comes to his partner, Palmer, Church does not want too many lies to entangle each other. If this little bit of truth disappears, Church will always feel that his Life is a little too sad.

In order to avoid being affected by the secret energy, he will give some ambiguous answers, which can be regarded as truth or lies.

"Of course, this is my mask."

This is a "mask" in every sense of the word.

The water droplets that condensed again blurred the mirror surface and also blurred Church's true appearance. Church put the mask aside and lost the support of the ether. The mask lost its power to modify the face and turned into an ordinary object.

Church thought that if Palmer saw this scene, he would scream in fright, and then he would point at himself and scold himself for his insidiousness.

"How much truth is there in your mouth?"

Palmer should be shouting like this, but there is nothing he can do about it. Some dark jobs always require dark people to complete.

Professional matters should be left to professionals. This has always been the case in this world.

With just some properly matched alchemical weapons, Church can forge his own "secret power" and then pass himself off as the "Faceless Man".

Church stepped into the hot water, soaked in the warmth, raised his hands, and rubbed his face vigorously, feeling the existence of his face with a real touch.

This weird movement continued for a long time, until his face turned red and painful, Qiu Qi stopped. He leaned back and immersed his whole body in the water, leaving only half of his head exposed.

Melodious tunes came from outside the door. Listening to the magnificent orchestral music, Church slowly closed his eyes.