At 5:00 PM, Olive Avenue, Palme's Fortune Telling Shack.
He ordered a cup of Ferrell coffee from the Pas Valley on the Star Plateau in the Southern Continent, then took out the tarot deck he had bought earlier and placed it beside him. The top card was exactly The Hanged Man, depicting an angel with its hands bound behind its back, hanging upside down.
Unlike the morning, he had changed his attire, wearing a classic dark robe and a clerical-looking soft cap, like a wizard or sorcerer from folklore.
Taking a silent breath, Alger slowly savored his coffee, showing no sign of anxiety about waiting for someone.
After about five or six minutes, the brown wooden door with thick glass panels opened once again, and a young man in a black woolen overcoat and a semi-top hat entered.
The gentleman looked less than 30 years old, with a thin, angular face that carried a mix of maturity and gloom. It was Klein, who had slightly altered his appearance and changed his persona.
He wasn't wearing gold-rimmed glasses, but his vision was unaffected. His gaze casually swept the room and landed on Alger's dark blue sideburns.
Klein's gaze moved down, seeing The Hanged Man card placed on top.
Without a word, he walked over, took off his hat, sat down opposite Alger, and said with a dark smile:
"I want a divination."
As he spoke, he had already taken in the appearance of the senior
"Sharp features, rugged contours, clearly weathered, the type that is clearly capable in a fight and frequently travels."
"His skin was bronzed, but slightly different from the local race, like a pure Loenese after years of sun and rain. That dark blue hair, however, was quite special, not belonging to Loen, closer to the colonial races of the Desi Bay region bordering the Fury Ocean."
"Half-blood... Klein made a judgment in his mind.
Alger looked at the man opposite, slowly overlapping his image with "The World", then pushed the tarot deck forward and said in a low voice:
"You need to shuffle and cut the deck yourself."
Klein reached out, picked them up, spread them out for a look, then gathered them together and shuffled them with a rattling sound.
He cut the deck several times, drew three cards, and arranged them in a past, present, and future spread.
Klein leaned back slowly, but his right hand flipped over the middle tarot card. On it was a naked woman wrapped only in a purple silk scarf, surrounded by a green ring like a doorway.
This was The World, numbered 21, while the 22nd card returns to 0, symbolizing The Fool.
"How should I interpret it?" Klein asked deliberately.
Although "The Hanged Man" had never explicitly stated that "The World" was The Fool's Blessed, Klein felt it was unnecessary to rely on wishful thinking in this regard. Showing openness would help build his image — if the other hadn't guessed it yet, it was a show of genuine confidence; if Alger already knew, it would make "The World" appear composed, as if everything was under control.
He... knows that I know? Before he brought up that topic above the
Alger's heart tightened, and he replied at a steady pace:
"Reversed, it indicates failure due to insufficient preparation."
"What preparations should I make then?" Klein nodded thoughtfully, asking a counter-question.
Alger gathered all the tarot cards except The World, skillfully shuffling and cutting the deck again.
Then, he flipped over the top card.
It was The Hierophant!
Alger's voice remained low:
"You need advice, the help of faith and religion, to avoid straying onto the wrong path."
Before Klein could speak, he flipped over the second card in order. It was The Moon, looking down upon the earth:
"You will be confused, you will be lost, you will wander in dreams, but it is only temporary."
Next, Alger revealed the third tarot card. It was The Sun.
"Everything will pass, and light will eventually shine upon the earth." He spoke like a charlatan.
Klein was silent for a few seconds, then asked as if to confirm:
"The Church, dreams, the Sun?"
A faint smile appeared on Alger's face as he nodded slightly:
"That's right."
In the tarot reading just now, he had concealed hints of his subsequent plan.
In fact, given his current situation of not being in the game and completely unnoticed, there was no need for such subtlety; he could have directly stated the specific content. But Alger felt he should still test this Blessed of "The World" to see if he had sufficient intellect, instead of relying more on force.
If their IQs were on the same level, Alger thought they could cooperate more in the future; smart people don't need to say much. Conversely, he would try to keep "The World" from deeply involving himself in his affairs, only asking for his help when he needed a thug, unless Mr. "Fool" ordered otherwise.
Now, "The World"'s reply and earlier performance confirmed that the other party was experienced, tough, and had a wealth of experience.
Heh, I'm a tarot expert... in this aspect, Mr. "Hanged Man", you are just a beginner... Klein laughed inwardly, degrading the other in his mind.
The content hidden in "The Hanged Man"'s interpretation was very simple. The Hierophant meant he wanted to report the matter of "Flame" Danitz and "Steel" Maiviti to the Church of Storms, using the power of the Punishers to divide the enemies and reap the benefits.
This was Klein's usual tactic; it was easy to understand.
The subsequent "Moon" and "Sun" cards were warnings from "The Hanged Man":
Since the "Punishers" were involved, certain precautions had to be taken. According to Alger's experience, when dealing with similar issues, his colleagues in Bayam would definitely activate a