Chapter 7 Blue Rose Project The Special Event Investigation Department was born out of the kingdom's intelligence department and has a history of less than a hundred years. Therefore, it has retained many of the kingdom's administrative department's chronic diseases, such as organizational rigidity and slow response. In order to cope with the increasingly severe special events, the department began to prepare the Blue Rose Project two years ago, with the aim of selecting top investigators and establishing their own investigation teams. The captains in the Blue Rose file can obtain certain permissions, such as recruiting team members on their own, being equipped with exclusive operators, obtaining higher-level support privileges, etc. At the same time, and most importantly, the captain can retain and allocate a portion of the ancient relics. Those indescribable ancient beings cannot be eliminated, they can only be driven away, and some of the less dangerous ones can be controlled and contained. Among the means to deal with them, the most crucial one is to use ancient relics. There are many different opinions about the origin of ancient relics, but no matter which one they are, they are all inextricably linked to those ancient existences. It is ironic that the only things that can deal with "gods" are gods' own creations. At present, the ancient relics within the department are still under the unified management of the headquarters in order to prevent the loss of ancient relics due to sudden madness or disappearance of investigators during their missions.
But this also creates a problem, that is, when faced with emergencies, investigators often have no power to fight back and are easily put on the defensive. The essence of the Blue Rose Project is to regulate existing risks, giving investigators certain means of self-protection while ensuring the relative safety of ancient relics. And the Minister is now planning to include Ricky Baldwin in the Blue Rose Project's candidate list? You have to know that the other captain candidates have only emerged after two years of layers of selection. A hint of doubt appeared in Oliver's beautiful lake blue eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, but in the current Blue Rose Project, Gregory’s people account for at least 70%. Humph, don't I know his idiotic ways? The low-level investigators are simply consumables, paving the way for his elite investigators and sending them to their deaths." Chief Norman stood with his hands behind his back, scanning the files on the bookshelf. From his tone, one could tell that he was very dissatisfied with his old rival's working style. Oliver also figured out the Chief's intention. It turned out that he was planning to train Ricky as his confidant to fight against Sir Gregory. "However, Blue Rose's assessment deadline is in two months. Investigator Richie needs to solve two key cases in these two months to shut up that crazy old Gregory." Chief Norman pulled out a file from the bookshelf and handed it to Oliver. Oliver took it, looked at it, and his face changed. "The case of the pagans in Excel Town... Boss, is this case... too dangerous for Ricky?" Oliver clearly saw in the archives that two ancient relics were missing. The bodies of the five investigators were found in front of a deserted cemetery outside the town. The bodies were hung high and their faces could only be described as horrific. Among the five agents, one name particularly caught her attention: Carol Stanley, the distant nephew of Sir Gregory. Even Sir Gregory's direct agents died there... "If this incident can be resolved, Gregory probably won't have anything to say." Chief Norman tapped the file with his hand and continued: "However, you still need to ask Agent Richie whether to take this case or not. If he thinks it's too dangerous, we can replace him." Oliver understood what Chief Norman meant. If he had investigated an easier case, Richie and the Blue Rose Project would probably have missed out. That Ricky... Oliver thought of his previous bad deeds and thought he would probably find an excuse to turn it down.
"You can ask him about the Black Stone issue later. The report doesn't cover this aspect enough." The chief found another single-ear receiver from the drawer and plugged it into the special phone in front of Oliver. It seemed that he was prepared to personally monitor the conversation between the two. "Okay. Investigator Marquette will also need Ricky's assistance in the aftermath. I'll make sure to greet him." Oliver swiped the dial and dialed the number of the Anchor Hotel. Before she could speak, Liu Yonglu spoke first. "Hey, sister, the person from the Ministry of Internal Affairs just told me that my monthly salary is only 47 pounds and 63 pence. Is she joking with me? Or is she mistaken?" Liu Yonglu had just been chatting with the operator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for half an hour, and the little girl was making him laugh. But when he found out that his salary was just that low, he felt disappointed. The only time he came into this world when he came into contact with prices was when he bought hairtail. With a monthly salary of less than 50 pounds, he couldn't even afford the freedom to buy hairtail. It was inevitable that Liu Yonglu felt a little psychologically disappointed. But he didn't know that this salary was not low in this world. The level of technology and productivity at that time were far inferior to those of modern times. Meat was a luxury, and most ordinary people usually ate potatoes, bread, etc. In addition, the department subsidizes the investigator's food and accommodation, so the salary is not much, so before the time travel, the original owner Ricky became an investigator. Chief Norman, who was eavesdropping, frowned and winked at Oliver. "Agent Ricky, what Internal Affairs tells you is your actual salary." "Then sister...when can we get a promotion?" "Promote?" "Grade adjustment means... for example, we are a... theatre troupe, and the first-level actors earn more than the second-level actors, and the second-level actors earn more than the third-level actors. When can I, an investigator, be promoted to a higher level?" Chief Norman, who was eavesdropping nearby, was shocked. He had monitored many calls between investigators and headquarters, and Richie was the first one to clamor for a promotion and salary increase on the phone. But he turned his eyes and pointed to Oliver at the Blue Rose Project file on the table. "Ahem, Agent Richie, the headquarters does have a promotion plan for investigators. If you are promoted to the captain of the investigation team, your salary will increase a lot." "Really? Why didn't you just say it earlier? How can I get promoted? Should I write some reports or go out with the boss for social events? I'm a good drinker and I keep my mouth shut, so I can block the drinking for the boss, no problem." Oliver on the other end of the phone took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress her anger. She really wanted to scold Investigator Richie and then hang up the phone. What did this guy take the job of an investigator seriously! But when he looked up, he saw Chief Norman sitting opposite him... He smiled, nodded, and motioned for Oliver to continue. "Investigator Rich, there is a heretic case in Excel Town right now. I will find a way to have the information delivered to you. If you can solve this special case, you will have completed the first step of your promotion. Of course, I have to make some things clear in advance. This special incident is extremely dangerous. It is up to you to decide whether to accept it or not. After you get the information, you can weigh it carefully and then..." "Just answer it. Why not do it?" Before Oliver could finish his words, Liu Yonglu agreed immediately. Liu Yonglu thought that promotion only happens once a year. If you miss this one, you don’t know when the next one will be. And it seems that the unit didn't pursue the matter after old Jenny died, so he became a little overconfident. What is the Special Events Department? Isn't it just the community's job? A pagan? A few years ago, there was an old lady in Liu Yonglu's community who claimed to be the reincarnation of the Goddess of Mount Tai. She made money by fortune-telling. It was Liu Yonglu and his uncle in a wide-brimmed hat who kicked down the door and caught her. "They are just pagans, aren't they? I'm telling you so, sister. I'm not afraid of gossip. Have you heard? When we get to that Excelsior County, I'll give them a few dragons. (Give them a beating)" Oliver turned to look at Chief Norman and found that he said nothing, but lowered his head and started flipping through the dictionary again.
"Okay, Agent Ricky, there's one more thing, about the ancient relic in your hand, the black stone. Normally you would need to bring it back to the Ministry for containment, but given the danger level of the mission you are about to perform, you can keep it with you for now." "What the hell? Is this thing...public property?" "Yes, all the ancient relics found by investigators during the investigation are handed over to the headquarters for unified management." "But...someone wanted to buy it this morning, and I promised to buy it..." Liu Yonglu had nothing to hide, so he told the whole conversation between him and Patrick. "Investigator Ricky, that Patrick wants to exchange three ancient relics for your black stone? The transaction location is in Sabines Forest in Calder County?" Chief Norman, who was eavesdropping over there, actually spoke directly. "Sister, your line is crossed. Why do I hear an unlucky old man talking next to me..." "Ah, Investigator Richie, this is Chief Norman from our Special Incident Investigation Department," Oliver quickly corrected. "Ah? You mean the regiment leader... No, the general manager? Hey, well, that was just my colloquialism. Don't take it personally. Next time I come back to the company, I'll bring you two little kingdoms." There was a familiar silence on the other end of the phone. After a while, Chief Norman slowly opened his mouth and continued: "Well, Agent Rich, don't rush to return the Black Stone. Keep it with you. When you get to Sabines Forest... just bring back the three ancient relics you got in exchange. As for the secret ceremony that Patrick talked about, it is very important. I will send someone to support you when the time comes. Well...if you complete the investigation mission of Axel and then go to Sabines Forest to take care of things, I promise to keep a place for you on the list of future captains in the department." Oliver turned his head to look at the chief and found that he was nervously rubbing the end of his civilized cane. Was he excited? Or nervous? She didn't know that Chief Norman had received secret information from an informant a week ago that someone in Calder County was preparing some kind of ancient mysterious ritual, but before the specific address could be investigated, the informant lost contact. The informant might have been exposed or met with an accident, and the clue was lost. I didn't expect that Richie was on the invitation list. It's like someone handed me a pillow whenever I fell asleep. "Oh, if you were the boss, you would be very efficient in what you say and do. Don't worry, with your leadership and support, I promise to complete the task!" Facing the current situation of single-player games, I have become a Buddhist (End of this chapter)