'The higher-ups of the Investigators don't trust me completely?
'Makes sense … I'm a dangerous factor after all … but why didn't they just imprison me?
'So that I can go out and continue attracting the Fallen Star Church's attention?'
Fang Xian noticed something but pretended not to know as he tidied up the files one by one.
"Ahem … Rocca, you've been studying here for a month. It's time for you to go out and enjoy your vacation," Lov announced with a cough.
"Vacation?"
"Yes. Most of the Investigators are under a lot of pressure, so they must take a mandatory vacation from time to time to prevent losing their sanity …" Lov then added meaningfully, "Spirit and inspiration may not have an upper limit, but among the Secret Keepers, we divide our sanity into three levels. 0 to 35 is red, 35 to 65 is green, and 65 to 100 is still red. The closer it is to 50, the darker the green. The closer it is to 0 to 100, the darker the red … "
"That's a little weird. Isn't it better to have more sanity?"
Fang Xian asked curiously.
"Balance! Balance is the most important thing … We humans have a certain level of sensibility, so how can we be absolutely rational? There's a bloody lesson in this regard … Before the standard came out, a Legendary Investigator whose name shall not be revealed believed that he had found the path of absolute rationality. Through various methods, he raised his sanity to 100 … "
Lov's voice was deep. "Then, he went crazy! Because he had no sensibility and no goal he wanted to protect, he became indifferent to his family, abnormally cruel and indifferent, no longer abiding by the Secret Keeper's maxim … Later on, it was proven that absolute rationality is not desirable. Maintaining balance is the key. We need rationality, and we also need emotion to bring strength to our hearts! With Clark Carter's vigorous push, the new standard was established. "
"So, this is the origin of the mandatory vacation system?"
Fang Xian nodded in understanding.
"Yes. Although you didn't investigate the case, you've come into contact with too many files … This might unwittingly put pressure on your mind. My suggestion is to relax — go to a concert, get drunk, or go on a date with a cute girl …" Lov suggested. "All in all, don't think about these files for the time being. Of course, don't forget about our confidentiality agreement."
"Of course."
Fang Xian nodded.
…
When he returned to his rented apartment, Fang Xian had a feeling that it was a lifetime ago.
He went to the door, took out the key, and opened the door. He found many letters lying on the carpet.
Most of it came from editors urging him to write, friends contacting him, and a portion of it was bills for utilities.
The rental fee was paid every six months, so Fang Xian didn't have to worry that the landlord would kick him out if he didn't stay for a month.
Inside the house, the furnishings were no different from before Roca left, except for a layer of dust.
Fang Xian opened the fridge and shook his head helplessly. "It's all smelly … I've thrown it away. Let's get a new batch. Sigh … I feel that as an investigator, staying in the branch is the way to show my love for my job. Why are they forcing me to take a vacation?"
He cursed, rolled up his sleeves, and began to clean.
After throwing away the trash, Fang Xian sat back at the desk and began to read the letters one by one.
There was no need to look at the bills. He could just pay them another day.
There were also letters from his friends that he had to reply to one by one. Some of them might even contain the Fallen Star Church's probing.
Finally, there were the regular reminders from publishers and magazines.
This was not because Roca was famous, but because of the agreement, he had to provide a certain number of manuscripts every month.
"Currently … Roca still has a novel and an essay that are serialized. I need to provide poems to two newspapers every month … Annoying! I don't want to do it anymore … "
Fang Xian pouted, but he didn't write a letter to reject the offer.
Being an investigator was not a bad job, but there was no salary, no salary, no salary! Important things must be repeated thrice!
Even though the headquarters was in charge of the investigator's food and lodging, and they would occasionally receive a handsome reward from the victims of supernatural cases, it was still a rare occurrence.
He still needed a part-time job, and at the same time, he didn't want to be out of touch with society.
Even though … investigators were generally out of touch with society and behaved strangely, like mental patients …
"But … I still need to maintain my writing … Some plans can probably be implemented through it …"
Fang Xian looked at his attribute window. "I'm now a level six hidden existence … Even though I might be the most useless one in history, I still have my status. I can accept prayers and respond to believers within a certain range …
"The supernatural powers in this world are a bit of a scam … For example, the Broken Winged Bird spell requires a sacrifice of pain. If the pain isn't enough, the spell won't have any power …
"Then … can I collect the readers' negative emotions and use them as a medium for casting the spell?
"With the status of a hidden existence, this should be possible. As for how to collect them? Who doesn't know how to write a torturous story? This is mental pain, and the quality is probably better than physical pain … Hmm, I hope no readers will send me razor blades. It's okay, they don't know my address.
"It's easy to write a torturous story, but how to write it so well that the readers can't stop cursing while reading, and finally feel sorrow and pain together with the characters in the book … There's still a need to pay attention to it. Otherwise, no one will read it, and no one will read it, so it'll be useless …
"When they feel sorrow, sadness, pain … all sorts of negative emotions because of reading, they can be transmitted to me through my 'pen name', and become resources for me to cast spells … Hmm, only existences with a high enough status and can accept prayers can do this.
"In this aspect, I have to be careful of investigators. But it's okay, my tragic novel will definitely pass the censorship, because it indeed doesn't contain any supernatural powers … It won't reveal anything either. It's purely to make the readers feel sorrow and pain …
"A reader doesn't need too much, and it won't have any substantial effect on them … But if accumulated, it will definitely exceed the limits of what I can do alone!
"From today onwards, I'm going to become a tragic or horror author. Why … do I feel a little excited just thinking about it? "
Fang Xian slowly perfected his plan and looked at his friends' letters.
Most of them were from Stuart and his friends at the gathering. They were asking about him, and Fang Xian casually replied to them.
Apart from that, there were also some invitations.
Most of them were outdated, and only one was still valid. It was an invitation to an art exhibition in Orsay.
It was signed by Shayla.
The object of Stuart's admiration? I seem to smell the scent of dog blood … "
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