"Why?" Klein's heart churned with shock at Dunn's words, and the question blurted out instinctively.
Did Beyonders have dangerous side-effects, ones so severe that even the Church's own judgment tribunals and the Beyonders handling paranormal incidents were easily corrupted or troubled?
Dunn Smith stepped into the carriage, sat down in his previous seat, and kept his expression and tone neutral.
"This isn't something you need to know, nor is it something you *can* know, unless you become one of us."
Klein was momentarily rendered speechless. He followed suit and sat down, asking in a tone that was half amused, half bewildered:
"How can I possibly make a decision to join if I don't understand this clearly?"
If he didn't join, he couldn't learn the truth, but he couldn't decide without the truth… It was a vicious cycle.
Dunn Smith took out his pipe again, held it to his nose, and took a sniff:
"You must have misunderstood. 'One of us' includes our civilian staff."
"In other words, as long as I become one of your civilian staff, I can understand the related secrets, learn about the hidden dangers and possible risks of being a Beyonder, and then consider whether to become a Beyonder?" Klein organized his thoughts and rephrased the other's meaning.
Dunn chuckled and said:
"That's right, except for one thing. It's not that if you consider becoming a Beyonder, you'll necessarily be able to do so. On this matter, all the major Churches are equally strict."
It would be strange if they weren't strict… Klein silently complained, then gestured emphatically and asked:
"What about the civilian staff? Shouldn't that be very strict too?"
"For someone like you, it shouldn't be a problem." Dunn half-closed his eyes, his expression relaxing slightly as he sniffed his pipe, but he didn't light the tobacco.
"Why?" Klein was puzzled once more.
At the same time, he began to mock himself inwardly: Could it be that my specialness, my transmigrator aura, is just… like a firefly in the night, so bright and so outstanding?
Dunn opened his half-closed eyes, his gray pupils as deep as before:
"First, surviving an incident like this without our help proves you have a quality that sets you apart from others… luck, for instance. And lucky people are always welcome."
Seeing Klein's slightly dazed expression, he smiled faintly:
"Alright, just take it as a humorous way of putting things. Second, you are a history graduate from Hoy University, which is something we greatly need. Although that Lord of Storms believer, Lurmi, has a deplorable attitude towards women, his views on society, humanities, economics, and politics are still incisive. He once said that talent is the key factor in maintaining a competitive edge and ensuring good development. On this point, I very much agree."
Noticing Klein's slight frown, he casually explained:
"As you can probably imagine, we often come into contact with documents and artifacts from the Fourth Epoch and even earlier. Many cults and various heretics attempt to draw power from these things. Sometimes, they themselves cause bizarre and terrifying events."
"Apart from Beyonders in specific fields, most of us aren't very adept at studying, or rather, we're past that age." Saying this, Dunn Smith pointed to his head, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as if in self-deprecation. "That dry, boring knowledge always makes one want to sleep. Even a Sleepless can't resist it. In the past, we would collaborate with historians and archaeologists, but there was the risk of leaking secrets, and it could bring unfortunate encounters to those professors and associate professors. Therefore, having a professional join us, become one of us, is a good thing that is hard to refuse."
Klein nodded gently, accepting Dunn's explanation, and asked with a wandering mind:
"Then why didn't you just… well… recruit one before?"
Dunn continued, as if talking to himself:
"This is the third and most important point. You have already been exposed to similar incidents, so inviting you doesn't violate any confidentiality clauses. If I were to recruit someone else and fail, I would be held responsible for the breach of secrecy. The vast majority of our team members and civilian staff come from within the Church."
After listening quietly, Klein asked curiously:
"Why are you so strict about keeping secrets? If many things were made public and spread around, letting more people know, wouldn't that prevent the same mistakes from happening again? The greatest fear comes from the unknown. We can turn the unknown into the known."
"No, human stupidity is beyond your imagination. This would instead lead to more imitations, greater chaos, and more serious incidents." Dunn Smith shook his head in response.
Klein gave a thoughtful hum, and said with some understanding:
"The only lesson humans learn from history is that humans can't learn any lesson from history, always repeating the same tragedies."
"That famous saying of Emperor Roselle is truly full of philosophy." Dunn expressed his agreement.
… Emperor Roselle said that? This senior transmigrator really leaves no room for later generations to show off from any angle… Klein was at a loss for words for a moment.