Mythos Reboot

Chapter 20

On the country road, a blue sedan crawled along leisurely.

The car structures from this era were quite simple and easy to repair. Wayne pretended to know what he was doing, tapping a few times with a wrench before even locating the issue when the car miraculously started up and continued its journey.

Luck explosion!

Freed from his curse and no longer needing to overeat to suppress hunger, Wayne ignored the ration biscuits and instead nibbled on a piece of chocolate with exaggerated chewing sounds.

Very loud chewing!

In the passenger seat, Willie shot him an envious look. Having transformed back into a girl, she could no longer indulge in chocolate freely.

Wayne might have been doing this on purpose. After swallowing the chocolate, he exhaled a sweet, chocolaty breath toward Willie: "Willie, didn't you love chocolate the most？ Why aren't you eating any？"

Willie, furious, tore open a wrapper…and gave it just one lick.

That was her entire daily quota - which made her even angrier!

Veronica: Well played!

Also, can't you chew that damn thing more quietly？!

Wayne wasn't doing this to avenge Veronica. He simply hadn't forgotten how Willie's previous "gay act" had disgusted him. The tables had turned, and he wasn't about to miss this perfect opportunity for payback.

“Willie, have you heard of the Free Mages Alliance？”

“The Free Mages Alliance？!”

Vily tilted her head: "Why are you asking about that？ Just a bunch of undisciplined faithless people—they're no good… Wait, where did you hear about them？"

“From the Nelson family's manual.”

“That draft notebook？ I'd advise you to read it critically. Full of nonsense from start to finish—childish and one-sided, nothing but baseless fantasies…”

“Makes for decent fiction reading.”

Wayne shrugged, not wanting to argue with Vily. For believers, this book was far too childish, but for an adult like him, it was just right.

When Wayne pulled out the spoils, Veronica and the other two flipped through them briefly. Having no interest, they skimmed a few pages before returning them to Wayne, never seeing the later entries about the Free Mages Alliance.

“The Free Mages Alliance, also called the Faithless Alliance, was formed by extremists from the Mages Guild. Lacking faith, these people are utterly profit-driven and morally bankrupt—their reputation among mages couldn't be worse…”

In the back, Senior Chris answered Wayne's questions. As a follower of the Moon Goddess, she held no favorable views of the Free Mages Alliance, offering only negative critiques without a single kind word.

"Does this organization still exist, or has it been eradicated？" Wayne asked curiously.

No one answered, indicating there were indeed many faithless mages around.

Chris clenched her fist and cleared her throat slightly, explaining: "The reason the Free Mages Alliance exists isn't due to its core values, but because it serves a purpose. Mages need to broaden their horizons and share knowledge and experience with each other. The church can't organize large-scale exchanges, so mages have to find their own solutions—and the Free Mages Alliance is a decent option."

“Chaotic, without rules or principles—and thus breeding immense darkness. Nearly every wanted criminal is…”

“The Free Mages Alliance gathers all the scum of the mage community. Their so-called 'faithlessness' is nothing but deceitful nonsense. A mage without faith won't go far and can easily stray onto the wrong path—Mike is the perfect example.”

To guide Wayne into the embrace of the Moon Goddess, the senior sister spared no effort, fearing this promising talent might go astray.

Wayne nodded along, growing increasingly intrigued by the Free Mages Alliance. He had many questions but held back, as Veronica and the others weren't the right audience. Pretending disinterest, he let the topic drop.

Wayne thought Mike's evaluation was quite accurate—the three female university students were typical academic types who hadn't experienced much of society's harsh realities, hence their devout faith.

Only after they've been through the grind of society a few times and matured would they, like the older mages, come to understand and eventually join the Free Mages Alliance.

You guys are hopeless! With such naivety, how will you survive in society？ You'll suffer when you encounter society's trash!

As their friend, Wayne felt deeply concerned. If only he were strong enough to discipline them, he'd personally take charge of their education to accelerate their maturation in the shortest time possible.

After driving for a while, Wayne suddenly sensed something. He stopped the car and began hopping back and forth across the road a few times.

“This is the spot…”

Wayne narrowed his eyes. He had driven this road before—it felt familiar. The clear sky suddenly darkened with clouds, followed by lightning, torrential rain, and ghosts appearing one after another.

At the time, he'd sensed danger, been blinded by a lightning flash, then startled by a ghost crawling out from under the car—leaving no time for careful thought.

Now it seemed the boundary beneath his feet marked the extent of the cursed space's influence.

“Wayne, what are you doing？”

“Nothing, just a sudden urge to pee. A few jumps will fix it.”

————

The blue sedan continued its journey, encountering a checkpoint set up by the Lundun police before entering the city.

In recent years, first the Great Depression, then the looming clouds of war over the continent, had led to a massive influx of spies into Winsor's territory.

As the capital of the Winsor Kingdom, Lundun was practically overrun with spies. To combat this rampant foreign threat and better manage social resources, the Cabinet urgently implemented an ID card system, requiring citizens aged 16 and above to carry identification and cooperate with police inspections.

Wayne had his ID card, as did Veronica and the other two girls. The officer stopping them couldn't help but admire Wayne for traveling out of town with three beauties, with more than a hint of worship in his tone.

Buddy, what's with that look？ Do I seem like some two-timing scumbag？ Could my body even handle that？

Wayne was speechless. Anyone could see he wasn't a playboy, and those three beauties weren't his girlfriends.

Since the truth was obvious, explaining would only seem like making excuses—or worse, mocking the officer's intelligence. So Wayne simply didn't bother. Meeting the officer's envious glare, he faintly curled his lips and gave a slight nod.

After the car drove away, the police officer repeatedly shook his head, avoided his colleagues, entered the duty room, and made a phone call.

“Mr. Landor, do you know Veronica Landor？”

“No, she hasn't done anything inappropriate—just got herself a boyfriend.”

“The culprit's name is Wayne, a so-called detective… You know the type—jobless young men in their twenties who either call themselves writers, artists, or detectives.”

“Not ideal. They were out of the city for a whole day and night, claiming they went to the countryside for a wedding…”

“Oh, and there were two other beauties in the car. According to the culprit, they were both his girlfriends. If I had to guess, they've all been deceived.”

“I'm absolutely certain. You should've seen how smugly he grinned—that arrogant face is still fresh in my memory!”

“No trouble at all. Just doing my job. Without you, us Lunden cops wouldn't be enjoying the benefits we have now.”

“Alright, I'll stop by the station tomorrow for the money. Thanks for your generosity.”