The time when Joan went out was so close to the start time of this underground gathering of intellectuals that Fan Ning found it hard to believe it was a coincidence.
He suppressed the many doubts in his heart, pretended to be nonchalant, and continued to sit on the sofa for five minutes.
Then he leaned into Sheeran's ear and said, "I'll go out for a little while too."
Seeing the little girl's puzzled expression, Fan Ning said, "Stay here with Lord Nehemiah and don't move."
Finally, he looked at Qiong's father and said, "Excuse me for a moment. If you come across a 'suggestion flow' work at a suitable price, you can feel free to buy it boldly."
"Okay, I'm about to try it."
Lord Nehemiah was listening to the explanation on stage and looking at the art review in the album. He waved his hand indifferently.
Fanning left the saleroom, walked through the corridor, and stepped out of the door of Prudence Auction House.
The night was dark and foggy.
The No. 226 warehouse area next door is a low-rise factory building that covers an area several times larger than the auction house.
The street gate is relatively clean and guarded by staff, but obviously this is not the case in all directions.
For example, the area to the southwest that Fan Ning detoured to is largely abandoned.
The outer reaches of this place are crowded with low-rise houses. The light emitted from the broken windows is weak, and all I can smell at the tip of my nose is the cold and cold smell of garbage.
Inside are more shabby sheds, leaning against the corner of the wall of the house that has not been completely demolished, supported by a few rags and wooden frames.
Several people in ragged clothes were sitting around a bonfire with a tin barrel. Some were holding flax batting in their hands, while others were weaving fishing nets. They looked up at Fan Ning with eyes that were distracted and numb.
Fan Ning walked deep into the area, sidled through the hole-riddled barbed wire fence in the warehouse area, and walked towards the metal steps extending underground. The slum area behind him gradually blurred into the thick night, turning into a huge gray-black mass.
After the attack that night, Fan Ning wanted to find out what was going on behind the scenes immediately.
The advice Dupont later gave caused his plan to oscillate between "aggressively attending the party" and "conservatively waiting to see what happens."
But tonight Joan's strange departure easily broke this swinging balance.
The stench of the sewers in the warehouse on the second floor of the basement lingered, and every time Fan Ning lifted his steps from the dirty ground, the leather soles brought a sticky tearing feeling.
In the dark corridor, the spiritual sense senses the surrounding environment. Although the vision is still dim, at least there is no need to fumble with hands to avoid hitting the wall or falling into the pit, which ensures that one can walk calmly.
"Welcome." A cold voice suddenly sounded.
It seems to come from the top of my head!
Fan Ning stopped in the dark, but instead of raising his head or looking around, he stretched his hands to his waist.
It seems like a radio?
Fan Ning suddenly realized the faint noise behind the word just now.
"There are items prepared for you in front of you. If you need to protect your privacy, please use it yourself."
The radio's noise floor disappears two seconds after the sentence ends.
Fan Ning's mental state was still tense, but it was much calmer than the big reaction just now.
Although it is made mysterious, at least it is not a hostile thing that attacks without saying a word.
He stretched out his hand into the darkness ahead and touched a flat surface similar to a metal plate. After groping around, he found piece after piece, similar to the lockers in the supermarket in his previous life.
In the greasy and dirty environment around them, their touch is rare and cool and refreshing.
Fan Ning could not find any buttons or handles that could open these "lockers".
"A test to identify the wise?"
He probed the invisible thread of inspiration into the back of one of the metal plates and found that there seemed to be a capsule-like sphere stuck somewhere, with a diameter of only three or four millimeters.
The fluctuation of the phase of "evolution"? What Fan Ning learned during the day came into use.
With the injection of his own inspiration, the surface of the capsule melted, and a small drop of liquid inside evaporated, emitting a strange gray light with mottled stripes.
Some unknown mechanical structure was activated, and with a "clang" sound, the cabinet door popped open.
Inside is a neatly folded black cloak and a metal mask with eyes and nose exposed.
"The meeting place is on your right at the end." The voice from the radio continued.
Fan Ning, who was wearing a black mask, walked in this direction, his unusually large cloak hanging out about a meter away on the ground.
The unpleasant smell of the sewer gradually diminished, and Fan Ning opened the tightly covered curtain at the end and saw the long-lost light.
"Hey, I didn't expect that in the end, we would be able to welcome one more friend."
The woman's voice is lazy and magnetic, as if she is whispering in someone's ear.
Fan Ning's eyes in the slits of the mask blinked hard several times to adapt to the bright light.
This was a small bright room, with many old walls peeled off and colorful graffiti and words painted on it. However, compared to the sewer-like dark environment before, Fan Ning still had the illusion of entering a "portal".
Six people sat around the oval table and turned to look at themselves.
"Introduce yourself, I am Sylvia, who are you? My friend." The woman sat at the front of the door opposite the curtain, and her sexy voice continued.
This Sylvia was the only person at the scene not wearing a cloak. She was wearing a sunflower-colored tea dress, which was loose but could not hide her round breasts, and she wore an expressionless golden mask on her face.
At the same time, Fan Ning's eyes glanced at one of the people wearing a silver mask. Although he was wearing a black cloak, the small man was too recognizable.
"Mendeleev." Fan Ning made up an approximation of the pronunciation of Hoffmann and announced the name to Sylvia. He did not try to completely change his voice, which would be very unnatural, but he tried to use something similar to English.
The intonation, the pronunciation of some Hofmannian words, sounds like a foreigner speaking a strange dialect.
Hiding one's figure and face is already relatively safe, but pursuing absolute privacy is unrealistic.
Well, as a chemistry dog, it’s not too much to temporarily borrow the name of the man who first created the periodic table of elements in his previous life, right?
Then, Fan Ning deliberately picked an empty seat opposite Qiong and sat down calmly.
Opposite her, Joan, who was wearing a silver mask, tilted her head slightly and seemed a little confused about her voice.
In what should have been a tense atmosphere, Fan Ning was still secretly amused.
After he left the auction house, he was too ordinary in height and was wearing a black cloak. Only he could guess her identity.
"Qiong, why do you think you are so recognizable? But why do you appear here?" Fan Ning had various guesses in his mind.
"Mendeleev?... Hey, 'Experience Officer', your commission has been ruined. It seems that the 'Grey Eagle' defrauded you of your advance payment and ran away. It's rare to see you give some trust in advance, so you made a mistake.
Are you done?" Another young female voice took over, sitting on Sylvia's left side.
"If you want to think on the bright side, maybe that guy is dead." The man known as the "Experience Officer" said with a sarcastic tone, "I just heard that the authorities shot a group of people who committed crimes.
Those who violate the ban... It seems that some things are better to be done in person."
"But fortunately, we have a new friend in Mendeleev." The woman continued, "Then let me introduce myself to the third newcomer. You can call me - the perfumer."
Sylvia smiled and said: "Let's share a secret with our new friends first. The 'Perfumer' is the actual person in charge of Prudence Auction House and a knowledgeable transaction notary. I always thank her for helping me
Organize gatherings and provide venues.”
"You're welcome, Ms. Sylvia."
The perfumer's tone was calm, and it was obvious that this information was not her secret or taboo.
"The actual person in charge of Prudence Auction House is really fishy..." Fan Ning thought to himself.
However, it is obvious that whether it is a name like Sylvia or a codename like Perfumer, they are just masks for the hidden world.
The remaining four people said their "names" one after another.
"Agent." "Experience Officer." Two ordinary adult male voices.
"Translator." An old male voice said.
"Purple bean cake." The last female voice was young and sweet.
Qiong, why is your name the only one with such a weird idea? Fan Ning cursed in his heart.
"Okay, today there are four gentlemen and three ladies, and the party has officially begun." Sylvia spoke lazily, but her speaking speed was not slow.
"Our gatherings are always more pragmatic and efficient than those of the Empire's gentlemen, so everyone can speak in turn - what is needed, what is entrusted, and what can be given... But as an old rule, in order to show our friendliness to new friends, let's ask first
Does Mendeleev need anything?"
——This is her usual tactic, the purpose is to get the newcomer to hand over the details first.
But her method is very skillful. She asks the newcomers what they need instead of asking them what they are prepared to offer. This avoids being overbearing and makes it easy for people to take off their guard.
After speaking, Sylvia's golden mask faced Fan Ning.