"It's over, it's over. I've offended an archmage and even got caught red-handed. I won't be able to survive in this country anymore."
Trav had an expression of despair as he watched Rorschach flip through his camera.
He had been in this country for several decades already. How could he not know that under the archmage's glamorous appearance, he was someone who loved to keep up appearances and held grudges?
This country's so-called laws could be summarized into two simple sentences: "The archmage has the final say" and "If the archmage doesn't keep his word, then it's an archmage who's even more powerful than the archmage who has spoken."
If he reported this, he could still use the media as a cover. Now that he was caught red-handed, wouldn't he have to lie in a ditch somewhere later?
Rorschach couldn't help but chuckle as he glanced at the paparazzi who had expressions of despair.
He was quite familiar with this job. Wasn't this what he used to do in the past? Back then, he was also lying on the rooftop of "important people" waiting for news in the cold wind.
Trav's disguise was even more laughable. He was already sick of it.
But when Sui Xiong laughed, Trav's face turned even paler. He recalled many cruel archmages who loved to play a game of cat and mouse. They would even tease their prey before killing them.
Trav knew of an archmage who would laugh and ask his opponent questions before killing them.
"Your skills are quite interesting. Did you learn them from a forest ranger? "
"… No, that's not it … No, that's not it either. What I meant was that I read about the ranger's disguise techniques in the newspapers, so I imitated them. I didn't expect …"
Rorschach was rather interested as he looked at the flustered middle-aged man and checked his reporter ID. At this moment, he suddenly had a small plan. Perhaps it would help him gain some points in front of the Truth Symposium.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to tell anyone. But if you're still so nervous, then it's hard to say. It's so cold here. This isn't a good place to chat. Come, let's go to the coffee shop downstairs."
"Ha, I told you not to be nervous. Aren't you curious as to why I saw you so quickly? Actually, we're quite fated. Not only was I once a reporter, but I'm also a ranger. Disguise techniques are my best ranger techniques. However, I only used disguise cloth when I was still a newbie … "
A ranger's nature divine magic disguise technique was similar to a mage's invisibility technique. However, the principles were completely different.
Disguise techniques used nature magic that allowed the user to blend in with the environment. Although witnesses could see the user, they would subconsciously ignore the user.
At a lower level, Camouflage was far less convenient and faster than optical Invisibility. It could not be used as long as the body was seen by others. Moreover, once the body was moved, it could be instantly exposed. Many rookie rangers would bring camouflage cloth and camouflage clothes to increase the harmony between them and the surrounding environment.
However, when the Camouflage skill reached a certain level, not only could it eliminate the appearance of the Ranger, but it could also make the Ranger's every move look like a "normal natural environment" in the eyes of others.
Legend had it that a real master of disguise could even disappear in broad daylight and assassinate a speaker on the stage in front of everyone. Only after he left would everyone be alerted that something was wrong.
Rorschach was a camouflage master who could vanish in broad daylight. This camouflage cloth for rookies could not hide the user. Instead, it was like a flag that constantly reminded the user that the user's position was unnatural and out of place. Previously, the direction was not right. Rorschach, who came out from the inside, instantly found the target.
So, sitting on the sofa in the coffee shop and tasting fresh milk ice cream, Rorschach, as a camouflage expert, gave his advice to the reporters.
"You shouldn't have used this trick for long. Even if I didn't see through it today, there would have been problems sooner or later. You might not meet a ranger, but there are some who are part-time monks. They are very sensitive to spying. There are also many spellcasters with special domains. The trigger condition for their defensive magic is to be continuously stared at for a long time, or to be stared at maliciously. Oh right, I heard that some warlocks even have the passive ability to curse those who stare at them maliciously."
"How do we deal with them? Haha, you've asked the right person. It's actually quite simple. You just don't stare at them directly. Take your camera for example. There's also the simplest mirror. Using a mirror can prevent many people who are sensitive to vision from activating their instincts. However, mirrors reflect light, so you have to be careful. Absolutely foolproof? How is that possible? It's just a warlock master who can curse people through a camera and a mirror. It's useless no matter how you resist. "
In a way, even if Rorschach wasn't the senior of these two reporters, he could definitely be called a master in camouflage and investigation.
As he spoke, Trav seemed to have sensed Rorschach's friendliness, so he relaxed his vigilance and relaxed.
As they chatted, they noticed that Rorschach was indeed a master in camouflage. Trav even took out a notebook and seriously recorded everything.
Of course, Rorschach wasn't just chatting with his "former colleague" out of boredom. As they chatted, Rorschach gradually learned more about Trav, including Trav's job position, living situation, and what Rorschach truly wanted to know about Trav's newspaper company.
Rorschach learned from Trav and Little Deere that this was a second-rate newspaper company. The company's operations were quite ordinary. Compared to newspaper sales, the company's main income was mainly from advertising.
For the sake of the money and the rise of the newspaper company, Trav did something that no one else dared to do — stalking the archmages and taking photos of them making a fool of themselves.
"You guys are really quite strong. More than twenty archmages went in, and you took photos of at least a dozen of them making a fool of themselves. But, if I didn't discover it, would you really dare to publish it?"
Trav and Little Deere looked at each other and hesitated for a moment before finally saying it.
They had the guts to take photos, but the newspaper company really didn't have the guts to publish them.
At that time, there would be a specialist in charge of "communication". These specialists would either have beautiful appearances or be good at speaking. They would bring the photos to the archmages to "communicate" with them.
"Ah, one of our subordinate reporters accidentally picked up this photo."
"It's really not a threat. How would we dare to offend you? We've already sent the photos and negatives over."
"Yep, yep, don't worry. We won't dare to leak it. How would we dare! You want to sponsor us? Thank you so much! "
Normally, a "sensible" major character would give them some "sponsorship money".
What if they didn't? That would depend on the situation. Although the negatives were handed over, who said that there was only one photo? If they could afford to offend the major character, then they would. After all, newspapers needed hot news, right?
If they couldn't afford to offend the major character … then they would pretend that nothing had happened.
But normally, not only would major characters try to bribe the major character, they would also try their best to bribe the major character because they were worried that the major character wouldn't be able to take enough.
However, since so many archmages were involved this time, the two paparazzi really didn't know if they would still use the same method as before.
What they hoped to obtain was the bonus from the "sponsorship". They could also pick a few easy targets to bully and increase the newspaper's sales.
Normally, no matter how good the negotiations were, two would be published.
On one hand, this was a necessity of the newspaper. If there was news, it couldn't be wasted. On the other hand, it was also a way to show those who bribed them, "We're being honest, right?", "We're being generous, right?", "We're being paid to do things."
If this happened frequently, there would be additional remuneration and sponsorship. Of course, this was all done anonymously.
It was just that they were the easiest targets. Due to the firm needs of the newspaper, they probably didn't even have the chance to "communicate."
For example, this time, if Rorschach didn't discover these two, it would probably be Luo, the one with the least experience, who didn't seem to have any money, and who wasn't afraid of offending, who reported it.
However, he wasn't thrown out and didn't make a fool of himself, so he would probably drag another person down with him.
Listening to the other party's explanation and introduction, Rorschach felt that his horizons were broadened. Although he used to be in the newspaper business, the way he operated and his goals were completely different from theirs. Such a way of survival was really hard to judge.
"Even tabloids have their own way of survival … Cough, I do have something to ask of you. Does your newspaper accept investments? Or to be more direct, do you accept acquisitions? "
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