Endless Debt Chapter 1384 - 1: Absurd Life

"So, you’re saying... when you came back, this thing just appeared here?"

"Yes, the doors and windows were intact, it just appeared out of nowhere."

"Hmm... you mentioned what this thing is?"

"The Initial Scroll, part of King Solomon’s collection."

Geoffrey, filled with confusion, couldn’t help but turn back to ask Bologue, "How did it end up here? Wasn’t Raymond Gaudent completely destroyed?"

"This situation is complicated, in short, I had a mutual agreement with the Devil," Bologue replied, picking up scattered cassette tapes with a complex expression, "I thought he’d break the pact, but he did keep his promise."

Bologue added, "Just a bit late."

The Initial Scroll.

Now, this ancient heavy stone tablet stood right in the center of Bologue’s living room, not only crushing the coffee table but also leaving fine cracks on the floor, with floorboards lifting, bookshelves collapsing, and various books and collectibles scattered around.

The thing that pained Bologue the most was the war sandbox he placed under the coffee table; now it was shattered along with it, chess pieces were scattered everywhere, mixed with sand and soil.

"So, not only did he keep his promise, he also delivered this thing directly to your home..."

Geoffrey looked around the messy living room, guessing that when the stone tablet descended, it must have caused quite a commotion, with gusts of wind blowing through the cracks of Bologue’s favorite floor-to-ceiling window directly in front of them, as if with a little force, it would shatter completely.

"Do you think he did it on purpose?" Geoffrey asked quietly.

"Who knows?" Bologue sighed deeply, "But then again, he couldn’t just deliver this stone tablet straight into the Order Bureau, that would be too brazen."

Bologue walked to the kitchen, took a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, and poured himself a full glass.

After downing it in one go, Bologue gritted his teeth and said, "He definitely did it on purpose!"

Geoffrey burst out laughing.

Footsteps rushed from outside as logistics staff arrived on the scene, everyone wearing safety helmets, setting up a security line and sealing off Bologue’s home strictly.

It was bustling downstairs, police cars parked across the road with disguised logistics personnel further isolating the crowd, while the Scholars of the Sublimation Furnace Core were on their way, accompanied by a task force.

The Order Bureau placed great importance on this stone tablet known as the Initial Scroll.

Everyone was busy, except for Bologue who sat with a melancholic look on the dusty sofa, estimating that this place was likely uninhabitable anymore, uncertain of when he could return.

Fearing the contents in the fridge would spoil, Bologue straightly hugged the remaining half-bottle of orange juice and drank from it occasionally, with a somewhat world-weary demeanor.

"We’ve already evacuated the residents of this building; it’s now completely under the control of the Order Bureau."

Geoffrey plopped down next to Bologue, gestured to the cup to Bologue, who glanced at him and silently filled up a glass for him.

"How did you convince them to leave?"

"Simple, we mentioned a serious gas pipe leak, necessitating a thorough inspection of the entire building."

Having spent quite a lot of time at the Logistics Department, Geoffrey was very familiar with such rhetoric.

"I made the situation sound very severe," Geoffrey exemplified, "that if they stayed, the whole building might explode."

"Wow... that really is straightforward."

Bologue took another sip of the orange juice, feeling a bit bloated as if he’d drunk too much.

"Where to stay next?"

"We’ve assigned them to a hotel; a day is enough for us to move it," Geoffrey said softly, "mainly to avoid alarming the citizens, otherwise having the Condensers do it with a few from the Commanding School would suffice to move it directly. Like you."

As a highly skilled Negative Power User from the Commanding School, Bologue’s Power of Command was precise enough to be comparable to fine machining; in emergencies, Bologue could even, by hand, craft a rifling or assemble a rifle from blueprints, so moving a heavy stone tablet would be no big deal.

"But the proper procedures still need to be followed; the Scholars will inspect the stone tablet to ensure it poses no potential threat, after which it will be temporarily stored by the Containment Department..."

"No, no, no."

Bologue interrupted Geoffrey, looking at him wearily.

"I meant, where do I stay later?"

Before the words finished, a crash sounded from the other side of the living room as Bologue’s beloved floor-to-ceiling window shattered with a loud crash, sending glittering pieces all over as the cold afternoon wind swooped in, wreaking havoc indoors.

The mechanical noise arrived fashionably late, and then Bologue saw a crane hook slowly rising, looking down at the street; truly commendable was the Logistics Department’s amazingly efficient action, pulling in a crane for the next moving step even before the Scholars of the Sublimation Furnace Core arrived.

Geoffrey thought for a moment and cautiously asked.

"Why don’t you... start packing up your belongings?"

...

As the orange-red sunset spread over the street, a considerable number of onlookers had dispersed. The flat road was littered with shards of glass and rubble; bright yellow caution tape cordoned off paths.

Palmer sat on the sidewalk, surrounded by piles of movie videotapes, cassettes, records, and books, all of which he salvaged from the now-ruined living room.