New Gods of North America

Around midday, David Mills arrived with a few people to process the case and take away the captured thugs in sacks.

As for the two surviving prisoners, they were still locked in the cellar, with Liam interrogating them for the better part of the morning without any new information; he was still at it.

The detective agency had been attacked several times in a row, and the local church didn't seem inclined to intervene.

David Mills probably suspected that the cathedral had some secret arrangement, but as someone from the Special Operations Unit, he was quite 'professional' in this regard, never asking about anything he hadn't been notified of, and just following the normal procedures.

Wayne, however, was more gossipy and curiously inquired about the suspected murder of Roy Stampler from the monastery.

David Mills's explanation was brief, but Wayne got the feeling that Pastor Barzini and the exorcist association had been quite active recently...

However, news about internal church matters seemed to be completely absent from the outside world.

David Mills even showed Wayne the lottery tickets he bought.

There were three in total, with the pre-printed winning numbers representing 'The challenger will accept the challenge,' 'Wayne will win the first match,' and 'Wayne will win more than 7 matches in total.'

Apparently, the local exorcism department people mostly bought tickets like these, with the main disagreement being on 'How many matches will Wayne win?'—some felt that there might not be that many challengers, and even fewer who would accept the challenge every time.

That's more like it; at least someone has faith in me.

No sooner had David Mills left than a pigeon flew back into the courtyard.

Conner had seen today's newspaper in Richmond, reporting that that Baker guy from Cohen Pharmaceuticals had issued a public statement, saying he would accept Wayne's challenge, with the time set for the first day of next week, which is Sunday.

According to the customs of the Holy Spirit faith, believers generally 'rest' on Sundays, the idea being to dedicate time to go to church and listen to sermons.

Although the situation was special for public officials and church personnel, and some factories and professions might not completely stop working, most workshops or shops would still be closed.

After reading the note, Wayne thought the guy was quite 'sly.'

He openly announced his acceptance of the challenge and deliberately chose a day when people were relatively free, putting on a confident front.

Secretly, he had arranged two waves of attacks in advance, so whether Wayne was dead or injured, the blame for 'the challenge not proceeding normally' would likely be pinned on Wayne.

It's just a pity that his ideals don't quite match reality.

More than 60% of the sales from the first batch of lottery tickets were contributed by this item.

Now that the results were out, the detective agency quickly compiled the statistics.

The 'Will the opponent accept the challenge?' option was the most popular, with a total amount of $1358.60, but the maximum prize money would only be 70% of the sales, which is $951.

The remaining portion, after deducting 'issuance costs,' would belong to the 'charitable funds raised.'

Although everyone thought buying this option was the safest, the reality was that almost everyone overwhelmingly bought 'The opponent will accept the challenge,' with a proportion exceeding 90%, so there were actually no winners...

As it turned out, after spending '10 cents' and winning, each winning bet could only be redeemed for '7 cents,' which was equivalent to directly donating 3 cents.

Those who didn't win were, of course, even more at a loss, with all 10 cents gone.

If it were the other way around, the situation would be 'better.'

If the opponent had not accepted the challenge, it would have become a 'minority wins' situation, and each winning bet would have become close to '70 cents.'

Ignoring costs, the return would have been six times the amount of the bet, which would have been a profit.

Wayne looked at the statistical announcement that Seth had initially drafted.

He felt that the citizens who had won but actually lost money would probably start cursing...

But on the bright side,

at least those who were optimistic about his victory should be able to make a little money in the end.

...

In an apartment in Richmond,

Malcolm Baker was in the cigar room, enjoying whiskey and 'blowing smoke rings' while looking at today's newspaper.

He was quite satisfied with the method proposed by Mr. Wiseman; as long as that 'Wayne Constantine' could be eliminated in advance, the so-called 'challenge' would naturally become a joke.

Although rumors that were unfavorable to the company's products seemed to be quietly circulating among the citizens because of this public challenge,

as long as he could deal with the opponent, the wealthy and politicians of Richmond should be able to see his capabilities.

If the wealthy and politicians remained silent afterward, the opinions of those ordinary people would not matter at all.

The public might be indignant today because of the news in the newspaper, but tomorrow they would be excited about other things, and it wouldn't last long at all.

What they thought depended entirely on what the politicians and the wealthy allowed them to 'see' and 'hear.'

Just a rabble.

At this time, his personal valet knocked on the door of the cigar room, "Sir, your lawyer, Mr. Wiseman, is here to see you."

"Bring him in here."

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Wiseman, with his dark brown hair, quickly entered the cigar room.

He looked to be in his early forties, and his appearance might have been considered handsome, but his nose was prominent, and the tip was slightly crooked downwards, resembling an 'eagle's beak' from the side.

Combined with his habitually squinting eyes, he easily gave people a feeling of being 'too shrewd,' making them want to keep their distance from him.

Malcolm Baker was in a good mood today and directly motioned for him to sit in the high-backed chair opposite him, and even offered him a cigar box.

"I had the servants bring back a few cigars from the club; they are taken care of by specialists and are well-maintained. Would you like one?"

Mr. Wiseman did not reach out to take one:

"Mr. Baker, the people who were sent to attack Georgeberg last night failed in their mission."

The smile on Malcolm Baker's face froze. "The opponent wasn't injured?"

"Worse than that."

Mr. Wiseman raised his eyes to meet his gaze. "The people who went suffered heavy losses. The bounty hunters who had a cooperative relationship with us have not returned.

"The two 'market security' members who were called in from the New York metropolitan area with your connections sacrificed one on the spot last night, and the other was injured, and left quickly after bringing back the news. He said we encountered a very difficult target this time."

"What?!"

Malcolm Baker picked up the newspaper from the side,

pointing the side with his "challenge acceptance announcement" printed on it towards Mr. Wiseman. "But I have already accepted the opponent's public challenge; it would be too much of a loss in terms of reputation to back down now."

Mr. Wiseman's expression did not change much:

"That's what I think too. Mr. Baker, you might consider concentrating the manpower within the state to deal with the opponent before the duel begins. This time, we can no longer use those mercenary bounty hunters; it would be best to have the 'market security' members handle it."

Malcolm Baker frowned slightly. "Those are the personnel arranged by headquarters; if they suffer losses, it will lower headquarters' evaluation of me. Putting them on the line would be too costly and may not be economically worthwhile."

Mr. Wiseman did not seem to agree with this approach:

"I suggest, Mr. Baker, that you had better eliminate the opponent first, even if it means continuing to use connections with other regional heads. Compared to personnel losses, headquarters may be more concerned with your ability to solve problems.

"At this time, what you need to show more of is perhaps 'courage.'"

Malcolm Baker had already stood up. "How about this, I will go to the cathedral later to see if they can help deal with it."

"What if they refuse? Are you really going to accept a ridiculous duel?" Mr. Wiseman asked.

Malcolm Baker hesitated slightly:

"Although the duel will not lead to my death, I cannot use extraordinary abilities in a public setting. In terms of shooting alone, I am not someone with an advantage in that area..."

"The detective agency has quite a few people; being able to develop to this scale in Georgeberg must be related to the local Holy Spirit Church. If we worry too much about the church, then we have no chance of winning."

After Mr. Wiseman finished speaking, he smiled. "I still stand by my opinion; now is not the time to calculate economic costs. If the cathedral refuses to provide assistance, then we had better nip the threat in the bud."

"I will consider it. If I have to gamble, I would definitely choose a more certain approach than losing in a public duel."